Bree: Apologies and Questions

A woman enters the common room, not looking very hungry a tall and commanding presence she is, amidst the other patrons here who are seeking a midday meal. Muirgheal walks in as though looking for someone. Her dark eyes don\'t linger overlong on any certain face, yet. She hasn\'t found who she\'s looking for. She\'s armed, her sword swinging with each graceful step she takes, but she doesn\'t look as though she\'s after any trouble here.

As she does most days, Cordelia is helping out in the common room during the busy mealtimes. She\'s just finished setting a cheese and mutton pie before two very hungry looking hobbit children and their mother. Those patrons attended to, she wipes her hands on the apron she wears over her dress while working, then looks around to see if any of the other customers need attention. And so it happens that her eyes fall on Muirgheal as she enters--or rather more specifically, on Muirgheal, the decisive way she walks and that sword swinging with each step. With a small squeak, Cordelia backs up suddenly, bumping into the bench of the table behind her--there\'s nowhere for her to go.

Jacquelyn is also working in the common room today, the busy time needing a number of hands, and while Cordelia was delivering food, Jacquelyn was set on keeping everything clean between patrons. At the moment she would happen to be holding an empty plate in one hand and wiping at a table with the other, glancing up only briefly with her brown eyes to catch sight of Cordelia squeaking at the sight of the other woman.

Muirgheal can\'t help but grin a little when she hears Cordelia make a startled noise at the mere sight of her.

But the golden haired young woman hasn\'t come to threaten, nor to intimidate. \"It\'s alright, Cordelia I\'m not a harbinger of death, or bad news. I actually came here to...tell you...something. About the other day. On Bree Hill.\" It\'s very faint, but in those dark eyes is a tiny twinge of guilt.\"

On Bree Hill...yes...\" Cordelia can\'t skitter out of the way of the woman, but she still looks as if she wants to, and sounds nervous, too. \"I wasn\'t -trying- follow your husband. He knows I go up to that place often...\" She frowns. Pretty soon she\'ll have a reputation for snooping like Keldean--and that thought makes her look up toward Jacquelyn. \"Jacquelyn, do you know Muirgheal? Seeker\'s wife.\"

Jacquelyn arches a brow curiously, her attention having already been turned to the two of them considering Cordelia\'s reaction. \"Oh.. no, we havn\'t met before.\" She says, shaking her head a little, her pigtailed braids swaying a bit with the motion. \"Give me a second and I\'ll come over and introduce myself properly.\" She offers Muirgheal a little smile, taking the empty plate in her hand over to the kitchen.

Muirgheal takes another step closer to Cordelia- not intimidating at all, no. \"I\'m not sure if you were trying to follow us or not,\" the lady begins slowly, choosing her words. \"But that\'s not why I wished to speak with you. I rather- wished to er, say something else. That I\'m, er...well...sorry.\" After much stammering, she manages to get her mouth around a word that she hardly ever uses. \"I may not trust you yet, but, you\'re only a girl, and Seeker seems to think there is some good in you.\" In those dark eyes, however, is a promise that at anytime, she can become someone\'s nightmare, should they provoke her. Then she looks to Jacquelyn, and smiles a little, \"Jacquelyn- it\'s nice to meet you. I\'m Seeker\'s wife, Muirgheal of Dunland and Rohan.\" She watches the girl move toward the kitchen, though she still stands near Cordelia.

It\'s a hell of an apology, and at first Cordelia just meets Muirgheal\'s dark gaze without blinking. Then she nods--it is, after all, still an apology. \"Seeker -has- helped me,\" she notes. \"I owe him my life, and twice.\" She reaches to pick up a dirty mug from a nearby empty table. \"I don\'t expect you to trust me. You\'ve no reason to, in fact, and I hope to stay out of yours and Seeker\'s life. Doesn\'t seem to keep turning out that way, though,\" she grimaces. Cordelia then looks toward Jacquelyn as Muirgheal addresses that girl. \"Jacquelyn is Keldean\'s sister,\" she says casually.

Jacquelyn drops the plate off in the kitchen before making her way over towards the pair, wiping her hands off on her own apron. She waits a moment until the conversation seems to have turned from the apologies and awkward statements to the introductions. She would offer her pale little hand over to Muirgheal in greetings. \"Jacquelyn Pinewick, sister of the pain in the rear end that gets in everyone\'s business. Pleasure to meet you.\"

Muirgheal looks at Cordelia with her fey, still, dark eyes for a very long moment. Then she gives the woman a slight smile. She seems quite satisfied with what Cordelia has said. \"Just mind you be kind to Arabella she feels quite badly for telling Seeker what she did. And she\'s like one of my children I\'ll be kind to you, so long as you\'re good to my family. /All/ of them.\" Then, when Cordelia explains just who Jacquelyn is, Muirgheal looks a little troubled. \"Oh...Keldean\'s...sister. Yes, lovely.\" This is said to Cordelia, for when Muirgheal turns to face Jacquelyn and the girl introduces herself, it\'s all the golden-haired warrioress can do to keep from laughing. She extends her hand and takes Jacquelyn\'s to shake. \"He does that, it would seem. But it\'s a pleasure to meet you as well.\" Muirgheal smiles at her.

Thump, thump,thump. Little feet come pitter patter down the stairs and following right behind them are two small legs and a neatly dressed black-haired little girl rubbing her eyes as she comes into view.

\"I have no intention of hurting you or your family or Bells,\" Cordelia answers, keeping her voice very quiet. Again she looks steadily at Muirgheal, breaking eye contact only after several long seconds. \"As for Bells...I knew she would go to your husband. And I told Keldean that his best bet would be to be honest with Seeker about things himself--to tell Seeker what he had done before Bells told him.\" She shrugs, and then perhaps realizing that Jacquelyn has no idea what Keldean did, she smiles apologetically to that girl. But then, Cordy\'s eyes don\'t stay long on Jacquelyn--at the arrival of the black-haired girl, she smiles widely and gestures for the girl to come over.

Jacquelyn had finally seemed to have gotten used to her brother\'s antics because she offered Murgheal a little smile after her comment. \"I\'m not much like him.. except in appearances obviously.\" She would turn to the sound of pitter pattering footsteps, looking over to watch the little girl entering the main room. When Cordelia speaks however the girl turns her head, listening intently to everything that applies to Keldean.. though it comes out a little too cryptic for the girl to understand, a confused expression crossing over her face. She frowns a little when Cordelia looks at her, her own gaze flickering to Muirgheal for a moment and then finally back over to the child.

Sticking her thumb knuckle in her mouth, the little girl comes over to Cordy, but her eyes go wide at the blonde woman and she looks back at Cordelia. She also look over at Jacqueline, her eyes less scared.

\"You could also tell your sister that I\'m not here to cut her throat out.\" Muirgheal says softly to Cordelia. To Jacquelyn, she smiles again and asks pleasantly, \"So you work in the Pony then? And with Keldean as a brother...my, that must be interesting.\" She grins a little. Then her eyes find Cordelia\'s little sister. She\'s quite curious about that frightened-seeming girl.

Noting the confusion in Jacquelyn\'s expression, Cordelia nods. \"Keldean...well, Muirgheal\'s husband, Seeker, had to, umm, talk to him the other day.\" Not much of an explanation, but her attention is caught by Muirgheal\'s words, then, Liuni\'s arrival. An apologetic smile is given to Muirgheal, and then Cordelia kneels to whisper to the little girl.

Cordelia whispers, \"\"She won\'t hurt you. Even though her hair is that color.\"\" to Liuni.

\"I work here in the Pony because I have Keldean as a brother.\" the girl says with a bit of a huff, shrugging her shoulders some. \"He is interesting.. never a dull moment when you have Keldean around to keep you occupied.\" She looks over at the little girl, piecing some of the comments together with a look of acknowledgement for the little one. She\'d listen to what Cordelia said about Keldean, but her expression would show no more understanding than before.

Her thumb still in her mouth, the little girl looks up carefully at Muirgheal and nods, her eyes still a little nervous. Very slowly, she moves her thumb down and says, hesistantly. \"I\'m sorry I was scared of you.\"

Muirgheal gives an appreciative look to Cordelia before she bends down a little, resting her hands on her knees, so that she can better see Liuni. After all, the women of Dunland are very tall. \"That\'s quite alright. You\'ve played with my friend Bells before, haven\'t you?\" the golden-haired lady asks, her dark eyes now smiling and sparkling, pleasant.

The little girl nods her head up and down. \"Liked Bells. She\'s nice.\" She turns and looks back at Cordelia. \"(Eothrik) Do I hafta be nice to the straw lady?\"

\"Still kneeling besides the girl, Cordelia looks up to Jacquelyn. \'Your brother,\' she says, \'uh...is interested in learning how to shoot a bow. Wants to earn money to buy his own.\' That\'s innocent enough--she doesn\'t go into -how- he earned his money most recently, but then she is distracted as Muirgheal leans over to Liuni--and she coughs suddenly, looking quickly at Muirgheal as Liuni asks a question in a foreign language. \"(Eothrik) You should, yes, be polite to her. It\'s best, at least for now. Like a big game of pretend. Uncle would want it, too.\" Another look to Jacquelyn, apologetic. \'This is my sister Liuni, and she\'s not very comfortable here yet, or comfortable with the common language.\'

\"It figured that\'s what he would want to do. One minute it\'s a sword, the next it\'s a bow.\" She shakes her head a little in disapproval, the girl not questioning it anymore however. She watches the pair with a little smile and nods some to to the pair of them. \"It\'s a pleasure to meet you Liuni.\"

Muirgheal raises a brow at Cordelia. The little girl has piqued her curiosity with her talk in a foreign tongue. \"Where has your sister just come from? What\'s that language that she prefers to Common?\" These questions, of course, directed at Cordelia. Muirgheal can\'t help but like Liuni in fact, she smiles at the girl again. The pretty but hard warrioress has come to like small children now that she has two of her own.

The little girl turns all the way towards Jacquelyn and smiles. \"It\'s nice to meet you too. You\'re much nicer than your brother.\" and then looks back at Cordelia and babbles softly in the foreign language. \"(Eothrik) Ok. As long as she doesn\'t KISS anynody!\"

\"Kiss anyone?!\" Whatever Liuni has said, it startles Cordelia into using the common language. \"I don\'t think Jacquelyn goes around kissing people, especially not in front of half the village of Archet.\" Her ears go slightly red, though. Could she be talking about Keldean? Muirgheal\'s questions earn the woman a brief look. \"We come from a merchant family that travels fairly widely.\"

Jacquelyn eyes get big at what Cordelia started spilling out. The friendly little look she had for the child had turned into one of shock, her eyes widening and her mouth dropping. \"Kissing?! I\'ve never so much as had a boy ask to court me.. I\'ve never even kissed a boy at all.\" Her face would go bright red, going a little deeper than the color of her hair.

The little girl nods to Jacqueline. \"Papa says you\'re not \'posed to kiss boys until you get married.\" Then she looks at Muirgheal critically for a moment and says, to her. \"Does that mean that you kiss Seeker?\"

\"Merchants, I see.\" Muirgheal replies softly the look she gives Cordelia says that she isn\'t quite satisfied with so vague an answer. But whatever has got everyone sounding surprised garners her attention, too. \"Who\'s been kissing who?\" As an aside to Jacquelyn, Muirgheal flashes a wicked grin and advises, \"You might want to try it sometime. It\'s rather fun.\" Then it\'s Liuni who gets Muirgheal\'s gaze. She\'s trying not to laugh again. \"Yes, I kiss Seeker,\" she says smiling, and adds cryptically, \"Among other things.\"

Cordelia looks distinctly uncomfortable. \"Oh, Liu, you know that not everyone has arranged marriages like Papa wants for me. And you know that even *I* don\'t want that.\"

Jacquelyn looks absolutely mortified at the advise about kissing, her face only getting a deeper shade of red when she hears that comment about \'other things\'. The girl looks positively uncomfortable and embarassed to the core. She almost missed what Cordelia was saying, already walking away from the little group to go get herself a glass of water.

Hands on her hips, Liuni turns towards Cordelia with a scolding tone in her voice. \"\'Posed to listen to Papa.\" She turns towards Muirgheal and says. \"Is kissing nice?\"

Muirgheal hasn\'t spent too much time in the company of young women, and so she looks confused as to why Jacquelyn suddenly is so embarassed, and about to walk away. She just shrugs it off, and smiles at the poor girl besides, Liuni is asking a question. Dark eyes return rapt attention to the girl. This time, Muirgheal /does/ have the good sense to look just slightly uncomfortable. \"Oh, yes, it\'s very nice. Especially if you\'re in love- and older!\" She adds at last.

Hazel\'s voice now drifts out of the kitchen, calling Cordelia\'s name. The young woman frowns, and then turns again to speak quietly to her sister in their foreign tongue. \"(Eothrik) I have to go do some work. Will you be all right here? The strawhead woman won\'t hurt you, but she\'ll just want to ask a lot of questions about the type of place you\'re from and what our family is like. You know what to say?\" She straightens up, then, a smile given to Muirgheal. \'Hazel needs me, and I\'d better run. I think Liuni might stay and eat some stew that I\'ll bring in to her.\'

The little girl rolls her eyes. \"(Eothrik) Papa sells wine, Mama makes dresses, our sisters are annoying and we\'re from Buhr Mahrling. Stop worrying so much, Uncle drilled me.\" and then turns her brilliant smile on Muirgheal. \'Does everyoe get to fall in love?\'

At least that last statement of Muirgheal\'s made Jacquelyn giggle a little. She would have her water by this point, sipping at it lightly as she watches the little group of people standing there together.

Muirgheal is caught off-guard by the girl\'s innocent question. \"Well, I\'d like to think so. I certainly didn\'t think I\'d ever get to be in love, not someone like me...and then one day, I saw Seeker.\" The warrior answers Liuni. \"And we fell in love. Maybe one day, you\'ll get to as well.\" She smiles. Then she acknowledges Cordelia slipping off to the kitchen with a wave of her hand, feeling a bit friendlier toward the young woman than when she first walked in.

The little girl frowns for a moment again and looks at Muirgheal. \"Are you mad at my sister?\"

With a low chuckle at whatever Liuni answered, Cordelia ruffles her sister\'s hair, then slips off to the kitchen in a hurry. A meal of stew and bread is soon brought out to the girl by one of the other servers here, but Cordelia is away at work in the kitchen.

\"No, not anymore.\" Muirgheal answers honestly enough. \"She\'s alright, I think.\" With that, the warrioress looks to the door, then back to Liuni, and smiles. \"I\'m quite glad you don\'t find me frightening any longer. But I\'ve got to get home to my son and daughter, and Bells. Goodness knows what she\'s done to my house...\" Shaking her head, Muirgheal begins to walk out.

Jacquelyn shakes her head slightly, taking her water with her as she moves towards the kitchen as well, offering a wave of her hand in the direction of Muirgheal and Liuni, needing to get back to work as well.Shrugging, the little girl goes to join her sister in the kitchen.