Chapter 3: Glycin

In Evendim two days after the twins left, Cadoresa and Hopeful traveled to the nearby village for some shopping. The older woman hoped it would help to ease Hopeful's sadness over her brothers being gone. They had been around her entire life; Cadoresa noticed that ever since the boys left, her daughter's eyes held a sadness deeper than usual and sometimes the sound of sobbing could be heard in her room. She pushed her mind back to the present and tugged on her daughter's hand, pointing to explain they needed to cross the street. Getting distracted by some lovely fabric being displayed outside a store, she dropped Hopeful's hand and went to examine the wares.

Hopeful followed her mother slowly and stopped in the middle of the cobblestone to pet a cat. Unbeknownst to her, a wild team of horses rounded the corner at a full gallop. Women screamed and pushed their children out of the way as men shouted and pulled the women off the road. Hopeful looked puzzled as the cat ran away. People fruitlessly yelled at her to get off the street. Something hit her hard and the next thing she knew was that she was lying in the dirt and a wagon was going by at top speed.

Glycin made sure his body took the force of their fall as he tackled the beautiful young girl. "Are you alright, miss?" he asked. Looking down, he noticed blood flowing from a huge scrape on his left leg and hoped the girl didn't notice.

Cadoresa screamed and ran over. "Hopeful, sweetie, are you alright?" she asked, motioning with her hands. Once she found out she was unhurt, she turned to the handsome young redhead. "Thank you! My daughter is deaf, so she did not hear anything. Can you stay with her a minute? I have something to take care of."

"Of course, ma'am!"

Cadoresa indicated for Hopeful to remain with the youth and jogged off in the direction the wagon had careened. The driver finally stopped the runaways several blocks away, but they still reared and snorted, eyes wild and fearful. The angry mother marched up to the wagon, oblivious of the danger. "Excuse me! Just what did you think you were doing back there? You practically killed my daughter! If I ran this village, I would have you banned because you obviously cannot control your own animals and have no business having them at all." Her eyes blazed as her protective complex washed over her.

The driver looked helpless, "I am sorry, ma'am. I couldn't stop them; some dogs ran out and scared them. I tried, honest I did. It would have killed me to run over your little girl."

Cadoresa glared at him. "A likely story indeed. Make sure you get better control over your horses or I shall have to report you to our Chieftain Arador." She stalked back to where she had left Hopeful.

Hopeful blinked and turned to the young man, who still lay on the ground. It was then that she noticed his bleeding leg. Her brow creased with worry and she tore a strip of fabric loose. With skillful fingers she, with the help of a nearby Healer, bound the young man's leg. She pushed him down when he tried to sit up and shook her head.

"Oh, did you get injured?" Cadoresa asked the young man as she came up, noticing his bandaged leg.

"It is just a scratch. Your daughter helped fix me up. I am Glycin, by the way." He offered his hand and she shook it.

"You may call me Cadoresa, and this is Hopeful." She motioned some introductions. "I just cannot thank you enough for saving her life. Would you like to come over for supper tonight? We live only about a mile from here."

"I would like that. Thank you!"

Hopeful looked up at her mother, who told her that the young man was coming to dinner. She smiled shyly at the newcomer and followed Cadoresa to retrieve their supplies and head back to the wagon.

Glycin watched the pair walk away. His heart ached to reach out to Hopeful, to protect her from the taunts she surely faced. Having a soft spot for hurting creatures, he was one to rescue injured animals and nurse them back to health. Smiling, he recalled his mother scolding him on numerous occasions for having too many creatures in his room. Shaking himself, he retrieved his horse and followed the twosome back to their house, his leg still throbbing and making the entire trip painful.

Cadoresa had Hopeful go inside with some of their supplies while she put up the wagon. "Galad?" she called, and he poked his head out of a stall. She explained the day's events while they worked together to get everything back in place and rub the horses down. "And he is staying for supper," she added as Glycin stepped into the barn, leading his horse, Crispin.

"Good evening!" he pleasantly interjected as they directed him to an empty stall. "I am Glycin," he shook hands with Galad, looking him straight in the eye. He could tell this man was a seasoned warrior who would do anything to protect his family and instantly liked him.

"Thank you for saving my daughter's life," Galad smiled.

"I would do it for anyone, especially someone as sweet as Hopeful seems."
Galad liked this young man; he seemed sensible and strong. "You are not of our race," he commented as they stepped into the house.

"I am from Rohan. I have never been this way before, but it is nice out here."

"Rohan," Galad repeated as they sat down to eat the thick stew his wife had prepared.

As was her custom when a guest was there, Hopeful left the table and sat by the fire.

"Why is she sitting over there? Did I frighten her somehow?" Glycin asked, his brow wrinkled and mouth turned down a bit.

"She does it when guests are here," Galad explained. "It is her way."

"Do you think she would come if I asked her? I hate to see her all by herself. She looks lonely."

"You can try," Galad sighed.

"Go on!" Cadoresa motioned. "She seems fairly comfortable with you, and we have never had a guest try this before. Just do not let it bother you if she wants to stay there." She squeezed Galad's hand under the table and sent him a silent message with her eyes, showing she wanted to see what would happen.

Glycin got up and crouched near Hopeful. Facing her, he spoke. "Do you not want to sit at the table?" He pointed to the table, then to her, then shrugged his shoulders and gave a questioning look, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

Hopeful started; most guests only wanted to talk with her father and brothers. Their conversations only made the loneliness come out. She shook her head.

"Please?" He pointed to her and to the table again, trying to make her understand that he wanted her there.

She looked puzzled but gave way and returned to the table.

Glycin reached over and patted Hopeful's hand, smiling at her. "I am glad you came!"

Cadoresa grinned. "That is the first time she has ever done this! I think she is learning to like you, Glycin. Maybe you could come by more often? She needs a friend, especially now that her twin brothers are going to be having missions fairly often."

"I would like that, as long as you do not mind!" He turned once again to the beautiful girl. "Would you like to see me again?" he asked and attempted to sign it out, with some help from Cadoresa.

Hopeful nodded shyly; no guest had paid this much attention to her before.

A/N: Please R & R! We seriously appreciate your comments. I get very few reviews so it makes me quite excited to know some one out there cared enough to write to me. So if my stories aren't good, I would like to know!