*The writing would appear to have been written in haste and not in her customary perfectly scripted text*
My Dearest Hardoleth,
You have my solemn oath that I will not swing my sword around in the house again. T'was bitter cold outside, and I have been urged to practice at every opportunity. In truth some of the blame is yours, as it is rather foolish to hang a stags head in the bedroom, had you not done so then my sword would not have so easily damaged it. Please do not slaughter another unfortunate beast to replace it, I am quite sure I can repair the trophy. I shall ride to Bree and speak with the Taxidemists and I will be home before you even know that I have gone.
Just one more thing, Fromgast ate the carrot, I will need to get another nose for the snowman whilst I am in Bree.
Love ~Neyaa~
Neyaa looked up from writing her note with some guilt at what remained of the Stags head upon the wall. She had never enquired of it's origin, for all she knew it could have been a prized hunting trophy shot by Hardoleth himself or given to him as a gift. She frowned, just because she had never cared for it nor understood why anyone would want to mount the head of such a noble creature upon a wall it did not detract from the regret that was beginning to consume her. Neyaa sucked upon her bottom lip...it did not look "that" bad with only one ear and one antler, but somehow she did not think the Captain would see things that way, nay, she must fix it.
It took some considerable effort to get it off the wall, her plan was to drive a hole into the top side of the skull and secure the antler in the hole. The ear, she would sew back on. Neyaa pondered on what she might use to make such a hole. She reached for the beautiful dagger Fastdred had kindly given her, gazing upon it with such pride, turning it around and around marveling at the carvings upon the hilt, the jewels and the sindarin text inscribed upon it, Nay, she could not risk damaging her dagger. She scanned the room for inspiration...ah, yes the poker. Within moments, Neyaa had taken the rock from the Pitcher on the table where the toad she had rescued lived and was sat upon the edge of the bed. She raised her eyes upwards and gave praise for the strength in her thighs as she held the stags head firmly between them and drove the end of the poker through the skull of the beast with four short taps with the rock.
Neyaa could only look on in dismay when she heard something hit the floor and her eyes followed the black shiny glass eye that skipped across the floor followed by a steady stream of sawdust leaking from the eye socket...
...
No matter how many different ways, Neyaa angled her head now that the trophy was back in it's place upon the wall the antler did not look right, there was no needle and thread anywhere in the house to sew the ear back on and she was not quite convinced the eye was the right way up either, it also appeared rather sunken! It was another awful moment, when the antler began to tilt slowly away from the other one and fell on to the floor with a clatter. Time froze, Neyaa stared in disbelief. The depleted number of mugs upon the shelf in the parlor was a horrible reminder of her past clumsiness, Hardoleth would be furious, there was only one thing for it.
Neyaa snatched up the note she'd written and cast it into the fire, she must go to Bree and buy him another and only hope he would never discover what had occurred that day...
