A letter, consisting of a thick, sturdy parchment, folded thrice, placed into an envelope, and sealed with the waxen image of a white horse upon a green field. Addressed to: "Leoffrith, son of Leoffler, Hookworth village, Bree-land"
Dearest Leoffrith,
Before I even greet you, I wish to apologize with the sincerest heart. I know I have been gone a long while, and have not written to you until now. While it is not easy or quick to send word over these long leagues, I wish I had done so sooner. I pray you will forgive me, and I trust that you might understand that I had to leave behind all things which reminded me of that which I lost. And that included all of Bree and its people, and especially everyone closest to me and the home I once loved. But still, this is no excuse, and I throw myself upon the kind, gentle nature that I know is yours, and ask for your pardon.
Now, onto my hopes! I hope that you have been well, and are well. I pray nothing evil or troublesome has befallen you since I left. I wonder if any of my old friends still haunt Bree's cobbled streets, and might be keeping an eye on you. I did hear from Cesistya some months ago, but I do not believe you were mentioned. And twice I received letters from Aeruthuil, though I do not think he keeps within the hedge-wall of Bree very often. I hope you will tell me anything and everything that you wish; no letter from you will be too long for my liking!
How are your stable-keeping duties going? I am eager to know if you still work with horses as you did alongside me. You had such a good hand with them, firm but gentle; the sort of disposition our beloved four-footed friends respond well to. How is dear Kestrel? I pray he is well and safe and hale! Jack is perfectly fine. Being home in the Mark suits him, he struts about, proud as peacock, particularly around the mares!
No doubt you are waiting for me to stop jabbering on, and tell you about myself. Alas, I find that to be the least interesting of all subjects I might write on. I am well, though I have not been so at times since coming here. Of course, it is impossible to summarize a year and a half in one letter. There has been heartache and illness and many tears. The wound with which I departed the north could not be outrun or hidden from. It is hard to say how "well" I live with it today. Better than I did a year ago; that is a fair statement. My heart is striving to heal, in tiny bits and measures at a time, with many stumblings along the way. I will not yet declare that it may love again as it once did, but lately I have felt a measure of hope that it may yet love.
I settled in the fair city of Snowbourn, and here I have remained all the while. One of the stable-masters, a fair and proud woman named Elfswith, has been my employer. I vastly prefer the times where I am called upon to break and train horses, rather than simply shovel their manure and comb the burs from their tails. But honest work is honest work! And I will not complain.
Do you remember Gamferth? Did you two ever meet? I cannot recall now. He is another of our kin, and accompanied me on the way south. He has remained in Snowbourn as well (his mother lives yet on their family’s land here) and is a dear friend. Other names and faces are known to me here, but few that would interest you, being so far away.
I hope this letter reaches you directly from the hand of Adriellyn, who so graciously agreed to carry it north on her long journey. I pray that she meets you without any tale of trouble from the road, and in good health. Do see that she is rested and well when she gives this to you, won’t you?
You are not bound to write back to me, Leoffrith, though I would dearly love to receive word from you. I hope that I may visit Bree in person one day soon, and see you again with my own eyes. There is a certain, wistful sorrow that comes with knowing one of my brethren is so very far from home. Though I know all too well that “home” is wherever we set our hearts, as mine was once there in Bree, too.
Your kinswoman, and friend always,
Brynleigh
