He sat quietly in the wide hall; his dark eyes surveying the scene in front of him. A large gathering was taking place, although his presence in it was coincidence rather than planned participation. A feast had been prepared and mounds of food, bottles, flagons and glasses of liquid stood upon the groaning tables. The fires of the hall had been lit, and the sounds of musicians warming up and preparing to play filled the air with a delightful sense of anticipation. It had been too long since his heart had been gladdened so, and such magnificent company eased his troubled thoughts. There must have been a hundred guests in the hall, but the closest to him; a group of seven briefly held his interest. Three young boys stood uncomfortably in fine robes beside serious-faced figures that must be their parents. Two had hair the colour of burnished copper, and the third had very dark hair with a pale face. He assumed that two of the boys were probably brothers with their ruddy cheeks and red hair. The fathers were engaged in a heated debate it appeared, judging by the gesticulations and snatches of speech that he could hear. Intrigued, the warrior stood slowly; feeling his joints ache and audibly protest as he did so. Taking up his cup of wine he drained it swiftly and then made for the table nearest to the group to refill his cup.
"...really believe that? Our hunting parties encounter more yrch by the day - I do not call this peace."
"I am simply suggesting that the threat upon our borders are more than outmatched by our warriors, that perhaps we have forces to spare. Our kin are in need of our strength. If we do not come together then we will fail and all will be lost."
"Do not speak such words to me" snarled the taller of the two fathers. "Words of despair will only lead to failure. We will look to our own defence and others must see to their own."
He had refilled his cup and was slowly picking at small cuts of meat upon a silver platter. He glanced up briefly, in time to see the look of anger upon the speaker's face fade as his wife laid a hand upon his arm.
"Come husband. The minstrels are ready to play and it has been too long since we danced and forgot for a while the troubles of this world."
"You, stay here and behave" the father warned his pale son, before turning and leading his wife towards the dance floor. The other couple smiled faintly at each other before following. The three boys watched them departing, then broke into their own conversation.
"My father is right, we should look after our own before worrying about our neighbours" the pale boy said.
"It is selfish and short-sighted. If we look only to our own borders then we shall find ourselves alone in a sea of enemies. Perhaps you are scared to leave the safety of your home? Or perhaps you are hoping to spend some time with her?" the taller of the red-headed brothers replied, smirking slightly.
"Who are you talking about? I told you, she does not even know who I am. That is what the high-born are like. Anyway, you think I am a coward? I would not shy away from a battle; my father has told me it is glorious to fight for your home, your family, and your people."
“And for high-born nobles with long flowing locks of red….” the rest of the words were lost as the pale boy grabbed his head and put it under his arm, laughing.
"Do not be so swift to speak of the glories of war boy" spoke the dark-haired warrior, startling the boys from their playful fight. "I fear that it will find you sooner than you would wish for. When it does, perhaps you will survive for long enough to learn that glory is a lie that we all tell to ourselves to forget the horror of battle."
The three boys turned to face the stranger, taking in his unkempt appearance and trying to look older and fiercer than they were.
"It is rude to listen to the conversation of others" the younger red-headed boy said quietly and the dark stranger smiled briefly.
“So it is young one, so it is. Yet sometimes youth would do well to listen to the words of those that have lived longer than they can imagine.” He pointed over their shoulders “Your parents are returning.” With that he turned back to the table of food, picking at some overly-spiced fruit bread.
“Estarfin!” The boys and the warrior turned at the raised voice, seeing the father of the pale boy striding towards them. "It is true then?" he asked with anger in his voice.
Estarfin opened his mouth to speak.
"Silence! You disobey my command? I have heard troubling report that instead of mastering your craft with Forodhir you waste your time with squabbling; with rolling in the dirt and coming home to your mother and me with lies about accidents in the stables?”
Estarfin risked a swift glance towards his mother at the mention of her but her face was turned away as she stood in silence staring towards the fires at the back of the hall. He turned back to his father, staring at his leather boots rather than risk meeting his eye.
"I am sorry father, but I wish to be a warrior, not a smith. I only want….”
His protest was cut short as his father struck him across the face with the back of his hand. “You will obey my command Estarfin, even if I have to beat such a lesson of obedience into you. You will finish your training, you will work the forges, and you will forget about this yearning for battle and blood that is in you.” He looked around at the stranger standing nearby and staring at the exchange. “You, be gone from this place.”
“Yes Captain, forgive my intrusion.” The warrior hurried off, rather than face the wrath of his Captain.
“Come.” He grabbed Estarfin by the collar of his robes and began dragging him towards the great doors of the hall as a trickle of blood flowed from his nose. He struggled against his father’s grip, embarrassed to be treated so in front of so many of his people. Suddenly his face began to burn as he caught sight of her deep red hair and beautiful dress as he was dragged past her, and he stared at the ground rather than meet her gaze. As they walked through the doors he turned back and saw her looking away, wondering if she was laughing at him. The doors slammed shut and all thoughts of her were gone.
