The day had started off very pleasantly. Despite the grotesque cold of the early morning and the sunrise still to make an appearance, Rick made his way out his house with a spring in his steps. Frost made the grass and stone walls glisten. The candle light gushing out the windows of the house behind him illuminated his path till he reached the beck crossing.
His gradual arrival at the farmland was met by the scolding gaze of his younger brother who was already hard at work and hulking two buckets of milk into the farm house. The cows, Moo and Milk, sang out in their happiness at being relieved of such a heavy burden from their udders and began to gnaw away at the troth filled with scraps, a little treat for them.
The stony gaze of his brother only made him smirk, unlike the hesitation his brother likely expected him to feel.
"Oh, what have I done now? Or did you get kicked out of bed for snoring?"
"First of all, you were not supposed to know about that. Secondly, what on earth is with that shoddy job on the crates. It looks like a child hammered those lids on. How am I expected to deliver those and say we are professional?"
Rick retorts with his ever amused grin. Copying his way of speaking.
"Firstly, it was hardly a secret, Gythleth. She was here all hours and seen coming out your house in the first breath of morning. Secondly, I didn't do the crates. Ness Did."
"Oh so you were spying on me?"
The milk bucket were put down sharply, causing the milk inside to ripple and threaten to spill.
"What? No, no. It's hardly spying when we live in a damn village where people are often about-yes, maybe, sort of. But come on, it was shady. Any time she was bumped in to she looked like she was concealing murder. It was very obvious."
"Well don't tease her about it."
"I wouldn't dream of it..."
Rick grinned wickedly, the way he said the last sentence stunk pungently with sarcasm, causing Gythleth to glare at him and turn away to resume his work.
The daily tasks of the farm were in full swing, everyone settled into their prescribed tasks as the sun slowly rose outside. The crates were loaded onto the cart and Gythleth began to prepare for the road.
"Before you go..."
Rick came out the farm house, dusting his clothes free of sawdust and flour. "Since you are going North. Can you stop by a house for me?"
Gythleth turned as he fixed his overcoat and pulled up the collars of his shirt to his cheeks, stiffened from their morning pressing with the flat iron. The request threw him off. "A house? What house?"
"Ness said her Mother and Father have been writing to her, pestering her for a visit but she's- She's been putting them off for personal reasons. I think it would do her good to see them. Could you just call round for five minutes and tell them they can come. I'll put them up in one of the cottages."
"Does Ness know about this?"
"No. Nor will she. She can hate me for it later. But if you could do that, I'd be grateful."
The house directions were exchanged from Ricks vague remembrance and Gythleth was waved off. Rick watched the cart trundle down the path and through the thicket of farmland and once it was out of sight, he turned and cleaned up the farm for the remainder of the day. The door left unlocked for Paigey's admittance in the afternoon to go over Rick's work in her own style. As Rick never does it properly...apparently. He knew better than to correct a woman.
Rick was glad to see the house as he walked up path. He knew Ness would still be asleep, as it was still morning and since when did Ness get up before breakfast? No,she would still be in bed, lucky for some.
Dog greeted him as he opened the door and Rick kindly pushed him aside so he could at least come thorough the threshold. Paigey had clearly been at some point as the firepit and hearths were blazing hot, the logs changed and chimneys smoked. Breakfast was on the table in the family room covered by metal lids to keep it warm and fresh and the window sashes were pulled open. Even the letters had come, shockingly before mid day, this was a first.
Rick sat down at the table and took the weight off his legs, stretching them with an unflattering grunt. The lid of the breakfast was lifted off to nosey at the pickings and Rick was relieved to see plenty of meat. Paigey dared to serve up "Rabbit Food" once and Rick recalled being as miserable as sin that whole day.
He sat back with a rash of bacon pinched between his fingers and reached over for the small pile of correspondence. Some he could see just from a glance were just recurring orders and those were sarcastically dropped aside. Another sealed envelope is peered at to see from where it had come and is immediately thrown into the fire. Ha. No.
The final letter of the pile snatched his attentions and with genuine animation he pries open the wax seal. The directions of the sender he remembered very well. He recalled their last correspondence before Yule and expected this was simply a reply.
The pleasant smile on his face dropped. His brows etched into a grim gray expression. He read the lines feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end and his hand began to quiver.
"No. No..."
He was not sure how much time had passed when Nessya finally came into the family room. Nessya made her way in from the other room, starting to turn to make her way up into the kitchen, but she pauses at the sight of him and lightly quirks a brow, tilting her head to get a better look at his expression before she pauses. "..Everythin' alrigh' there, hun?"
He looks up when she appears but he doesn't respond immediately, his brain was too frazzled. "Erm.." He clears his throat and stands up, rubbing his hand down his face, "No erm..."
Nessya crosses her arms slowly as she turns towards him more, watching him and his bit of frazzeledness, though a slow smirk of amusement falls upon her lips at the realization it was not crossness that had twisted his expression, but simply deep levels of thought. She prompts, though a subtle playful jab at him all the same. "Yeah? Take y'time, didn't mean t'snap you out of your thoughts."
Rick licks his lips and showed her the letter and glances at the words that scorched into the pages. "Torr's dead, love...."
Nessya stops then as her amusement dies away from her face as his words sink in, her arms unfolding slowly in faint shock as she steps over. "Dead?" She repeats rhetorically, for the look on his face said it all anyway."...When?- How?"
Rick starts off with, "I--" but his voice briefly croaks till he clears his throat again. The letter is folded and let to drop back onto the table. He turns and folds his arms. "A cart overturned in the bad weather...Both of them...He had the little one with him..."
Nessya nods slowly, giving him the time to catch his voice and speak, while she simply sort of stares him head-on in shock. By the time he gets around to speaking, she sighs heavily and shakes her head slowly at the fate of it all. For a moment she's silent, having no words to supply to the lingering silence. Only after a while does she look back to him slowly.
"...By any chance, then," she says heavily, forcing the words. "They did not suffer. We can be... ugh, 'thankful' for tha' much."
The remainder of the morbid conversation continued with remorse and a heavy heart. Several days would be given off for the farm to come to terms with the loss. After the sad passing of his wife, Tordann had decided to go away with their infant child. His last letter had detailed his plans to return for a visit. His Mother still lived in Bree. Rick would have to visit her. He could guess she would want her Son and Grand Child returned home. It was a horrible mess and Rick felt it deeply. The loss of a dear friend was...Wretched.
