An Expected Travel: A Traveler's Tale

Thorin, Son of Thrain

The Prancing Pony was filled with the excited cheers of all races. They were Men, Hobbits, with the occasional Dwarf. Darcy and I made our way in behind Gandalf. The tall Wizard had made it difficult to see the other patrons without craning our heads around his arms.

He had given us cloaks before our journey here. Her's was a rich dark red. Mine was a dark pink. It had taken some work (and definitely some magic) to get it to the right shade of pink. Gandalf had been curious at my color choice but didn't ask.

Along the way, he had taught us some useful spells. They were mostly defense ones. He didn't think we were ready for full blown attack spells yet. Of course, he'd never seen Darcy with a butter knife. We could take anything to make it a weapon.

(This is not a joke. Darcy told me she knows how to kill a guy with a rubber duck!)

Gandalf had gone on to say that those wooden staffs they had weren't created for them. Usually they were found, created in the heat of the moment when the Wizard needed it most.

So, Darcy and I were being taught how to write without pencils.

As a two hundred year old crown princess, mother of two, it was degrading.

Darcy no doubt saw it as a challenge.

"Hostiles?" I asked. My eyes began doing my own sweep of the crowd.

"Assassin, bored." Darcy commented, staring idly at the thin Man from the movie. "Hasn't had a good job in-oh-I'd say four months."

"Five." I corrected. "He killed someone four months ago, but it wasn't a job. The other Man had gold."

Darcy made a noise of agreement. She observed the fatter one half blind one, hidden in the booth. "Ex guardsmen. Eager for coin."

Gandalf stared at us in surprise. "Oh. Are you familiar with those men?"

"Never seen them before tonight." My sister and I replied.

"Then how do you know so much?" Gandalf asked. He was smiling with a sparkle in his eyes.

"I'm an assassin by trade." Darcy revealed. She was continuing to observe the other patrons, as if one would leap out at us any moment. She was not a paranoid sort, more that she had four decades until her belt that taught her the joys of caution.

She liked what she saw, for her shoulders relaxed slightly. "I always need to know who else wants to kill me, and what skills they have to do so."

"You could call me a guard. It's my job to find the law breakers, wherever they are likely to turn up." I explained. "So basically, it's my job to catch people like my sister."

"And it's my job to avoid people like my sister." Darcy teased.

"So we're the best at our jobs." My sister and I agreed.

Gandalf lifted his eyebrow at us. His eyes twinkled in mirth.

"It would be for the best if I did all the talking." He reminded, cautiously. "This particular dwarf can be stubborn

"Warning you now, that's not gonna happen." Darcy warned. "I'm going to make a joke at one point. My sister is, without a doubt, going to scold me on it."

"She's right." Was my helpful reply. "In addition, I can't keep my mouth shut either. Not unless I'm properly scolded. And I mean properly. But then, Darcy gets me talking again."

Darcy gave Gandalf a thumb-up, telling him I was right.

Gandalf smiled at us under his beard. "Oh. You three will get on swimmingly."