The sun shining through the window of the small room, Zandrianna awoke and, stretching, stood to walk over to the small bed where Althessia lay. She rubbed her eyes wearily, for her daughter had roused from her sleep twice that night, demanding to be fed. Smiling ruefully, Zan noticed that she was once again awake and apparently hungry. Before the child could announce her desire for breakfast, she quickly made her way to a small chair and began tending the babe.
With that done, she cleaned and dressed the babe who, seemingly excited about the change in routine, was kicking and cooing as she half resisted her mother's attempts to put on her small dress. Laughing merrily, Zan leaned down and kissed her forehead, brushing a curl of dark red hair away as she worked. Soon the child lay, pink and clean, dressed in a small dress, a tiny cloak ready to cover her for the journey.
Humming, Zan quickly did the same for herself, making sure that she repacked the bags neatly to save time. She took out the supply list she made, carefully marking off the mushrooms, before pursing her lips to see what else she had to buy. Most of it, she thought, could be had in Bywater. With a satisfied nod, she refolded the list and, tucking it back into the bag, picked up the baby and left the room to find someone to help her get them back to her steed.
Several minutes, and much cooing later - for the ladies at the inn simply adored little Althessia - Zan and her daughter were on the steed, the babe in her sling, headed up the road once more.
The road was not long, nor particularly treacherous, and they made good progress during the morning, stopping here and there to look at the deer or pick wildflowers. As the morning wore on, Zan decided a break was in order to eat, and the two of them paused in a quaint little village called Frogmorton where a small cozy tavern was to be found. Finding the whole place charming, despite the marshes, she decided to sit outside with Althessia and enjoy the day while they both ate their meal.
Several minutes later, Zandrianna and Althessia were on their steed and headed up the road once more. She made good time, the sway of the the steed having put the babe to sleep, and soon she found herself at Bywater. Merchants lined the walks, selling various vegetables, breads and other goods, and Zandrianna grinned as she made her way from stall to stall. Pausing to idly chat at each one, she soon found her list dwindled down as she arranged for several parcels to be delivered back to her home. Asking one of the vendors if he had honey, he said no but that not far from them was a beekeeper who would certainly be out at this time. Thanking him, she listened carefully to the directions and headed down the road walking to seek the man out.
She found the beekeeper exactly where the man had directed, a seemingly young man named Polo. Greeting her cheerfully, he nodded as she spoke and assured her that he could indeed sell her some of his honey - good honey it was too, for the bees had a large field of wildflowers nearby, and took her over to where she could see them on the horizon. Packaging up three particularly fine looking cooks of deep amber sweetness, he handed them to Zan and she paid for them. As she turned to leave, he called back to her, breaking off a small piece from a comb's corner and handing it to her. "Something sweet for the pretty lady," he said with a bow. Zandrianna blushed a bit, but smiled and thanked him as she placed the small piece of comb in her mouth, letting the golden treat slowly melt on her tongue as she returned to Bywater.
From there, Zan looked up at the sky and noticing it was now getting dark, headed the short distance away to Hobbiton, where she knew a fine tavern and inn could be found. Passing the stable hand down a couple of coins, she made sure her steed was tended, the stable hand promising to bring her bags up for her. Smiling at him, she turned and went into The Ivy Bush to secure a room for the night.
