The Green Dragon Inn #11 - The Last Chapter

[Firefoot]

Willy was sorely disappointed by the departure of the nice man with the monkey. The creature itself was fascinating; at first he had thought it to be some strange type of cat, but he quickly found that it was not so. Shimshins - even his name was exotic! - was far more interesting than any cat could ever hope to be with his nimble little hands and expressive face. The man had to work, though, and Shimshins went with him. Willy turned to Nick, who appeared as down-trodden as himself, and said, “Well, I guess we’re on our own.” Nick looked up at him with big brown eyes that were again filled with shyness and worry over breaking the rules. It was one of Willy’s only frustrations in Nick’s companionship - the younger hobbit was not yet old enough to understand that some rules were meant to be broken.

“Come on, Nick!” said Willy jauntily, trying to imitate his oldest brother’s carefree attitude. “There’s nothing going on in here. Let’s go outside.” Nick reached over and grabbed Willy’s hand. He nodded, “Okay.” Willy led Nick outside where everyone was working busily. The man - Seamus? - had said they might be able to help, or watch his monkey. Willy was saddened to find the monkey still perched on the man's shoulder. Tables were being moved, which were too heavy for either of them to lift, among various other things, but nothing looked interesting to a young hobbit lad with a penchant for excitement.

The next best thing to excitement was mischief, and Willy wondered what he might find to do. The stables caught his eye. Stables meant cats and cats were fun to rile up. He would never actually hurt the animals, just scare them a bit. He tugged Nick along beside him and carefully avoided the attention of busy workers, especially the one Willy had picked out as the stablemaster. Inside, the smell of ponies and freshly turned hay greeted the brothers, and Willy’s sharp eyes quickly found what he was looking for: a fluffy white cat. He motioned for Nick to wait and be quiet as he snuck up behind the cat. He nearly had it when the first strains of a chord became audible. The band was practicing now!

“Later,” he promised the cat, and snagged Nick. “Maybe we can see Shimshins dance now,” he said, hurrying outside. Nick struggled to keep pace. “Wait!” he called. “I want to see monkey dance, too.” Impatiently, Willy waited for his slower brother to catch up. He did not want to miss Shimshins. He had no need for worry however; the band was only just warming up, and Shimshins had not yet left the man’s shoulder, as if waiting for a cue. Willy went right up to the platform; Nick followed behind more reservedly but eager for another look at the funny creature. Willy was not disappointed; the monkey soon began to strike up a merry dance...

[Noinkling]

The thick curtains pulled shut across the little window kept the sunlight from reaching in to wake him. Tolly’s snug, Hobbit-sized room was at the far end of the Inn, the last one in fact on the ground floor. And yesterday had been long and tiring. and the night a late one. Tolly’s eyes had grown heavy and closed just moments after his head hit the pillow. His sleep had been dreamless, his bed comfortable and warm.

It was only when the sound of someone rapping on his door poked through the haze of sleep that he had roused up. And looking round the still dark room wondered for a moment where he was.

‘Mr. Greenhand, sir,’ came the pleasant voice. ‘Mr. Greenhand!’ it called again. ‘It’s going on mid-day and I’m needing to clean up the room and straighten the linens.’

‘Mid-day!’ squeaked Tolly, jumping from bed. He picked his breeches up from the rug where he’d dropped them and jammed his feet through the legs. Tucking his shirt into the waistband of his breeches, he called out for whoever was on the other side of the door to come in.

‘It’s me,’ said Ruby, just coming to see to your room for the day. ‘Didn’t mean to wake you.’

‘Well, thank my lucky stars you did,’ Tolly replied, running his fingers hurriedly through his short crop of curly hair. ‘I promised I’d help with the tables and benches this morning.’

‘No need to hurry, then,’ Ruby laughed. ‘You’ve planned it just right. The early risers have got the tables all arranged like Cook wants them, and the chairs and benches have been brought out, too. Some of the ladies have started to put out the tablecloths on the food and mathoms’ tables and others are putting the flowers about.’ She handed him his vest that he’d hung on the door knob. ‘You just go down and get a plate of food and enjoy the nice weather that’s come up this morning.’

She opened the curtains wide and cracked open the window for a little fresh air. The sound of music came drifting into his room . . . a merry tune . . . just the sort he and Blossom like to dance to.

‘The band is practicing, as you can hear,’ said Ruby, as she hurried over to straighten the bedclothes. She plumped the pillow, then took down yesterday’s used towel by the washstand, and left him a fresh one. The sound several lads doing heavy lifting obscured the dance tune. Ruby looked out again, and smiled back at Tolly as she drew in her head.

‘Now there’s something you can help with,’ she said, pointing out the window. Tolly squeezed in beside her, following the line of her finger. A number of strapping Hobbits had hoisted the first of the ale kegs onto the crossed-bar holders and were preparing to tap it. ‘They’ll be needing volunteers to see if the ale’s up to par for the party.’ She watched as several other teams of hoisters, maneuvered their kegs to their own crossed-bars. ‘Go on now,’ she laughed. ‘Get some food in your belly first then help the men test the ale . . . tis a Dragon tradition.’

Tolly started out the door and down the hall to the kitchen. He heard Ruby call out to him a last time. ‘Best pace yourself, Master Tolly,’ she said, grinning widely at him. ‘There’s the rest of today and much of the night to get through . . .’