Chords and Lords

She met Lord Rionir Aradill of the Defenders of the Free Peoples while playing her harp at the Pony. He strode up to her confidently, listening to her play. She became rather selfconscious, missing notes or playing wrong ones. He smiled magnanimously at her. She stopped playing and curtseyed to him. This was clearly a man of noble blood. He bowed elegantly back and introduced himself as Lord Rionir Aradill. She felt rather intimidated, never having had much use for titles and such, but her tutoring had enabled her to hide such feelings and respond appropriately. Her father would have been falling at the man's feet to show his respect and fealty and had spent a great deal of money to turn her into the kind of girl acceptable to the rich and noble. Her father set such great store by money and titles, it was sickening to her. The lord offered her a drink, which she accepted gracefully, and they went to sit by the fire to talk. She listened to him speak of his home in Gondor, her tawny eyes watching him, captivated by the splendour and majesty he described. He asked her about herself and something in his voice made her realise he was genuinely interested. This wasn't just some polite question he was asking. His voice was gentle but insistent. It was almost more than she could bear and a tear escaped her eye. He looked at her in surprise. 'Shall we go somewhere more private my dear?' He asked her. She nodded mutely. He stood up gracefully, then turned to give her his hand. As he helped her up she looked into his eyes. They were a blue so intense it frightened her a little. But he was gazing at her kindly. They made their way out of the Pony and walked along the road towards the West Gate. He led her to the Windview Estates and sat under a tree there. They sat quietly for a while, she trying to collect her thoughts, he looking perfectly calm and handsome, watching her concernedly. She briefly wondered why this highborn man would care about her problems when they had never met before but dismissed the thought as ungracious. She started telling him about her time in Celondim, intending to keep the story short, but he was insistent on details and she found herself telling him everything, about her father, about her running away, about the return... It was the first time she had told anyone the complete story on what had happened and she felt lighter after she was finally finished. As if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She was grateful to this man, who was obviously so much older than she yet still had time for this slip of a girl he had only just met. He said he would speak to her father about his behaviour. She looked at him, her eyes wide in alarm. 'Oh no! Please, do not involve yourself in this sir! You will only make it the worse for me!' He frowned then agreed. 'But I will see what I can do about taking you on a trip. Get you out of Bree for a few days perhaps.' She smiled then. 'Oh! That would be wonderful!' she breathed. He nodded, his gaze looking over the fields. 'Time to get you home my dear. If he is home, I will speak to your father at once.' They walked back to where she lived arm in arm. It was strange how close she felt to this man, a perfect stranger just a few hours ago. Now her confidant and perhaps even a friend.