The next morning Ella woke up and yawned mightily stretching out her arms. She hadn't slept so well in a very long time. How she knew that, she didn't really have a clue, just that she felt good. 

She sat up and looked around. She seemed to be in a forest of sorts and her bed which was under a large oak tree was made of grass and moss. As she thought about it, a small man carrying a pile of clothes in his arms came over and asked, "Haw ur ye daein' the-day lass?" (How are you doing today Lass?) She smiled at him puzzled. “I hae some mair mendin' fur ye tae dae, ye min' mah nam dornt ye?” (I have some more mending for you to do, you do remember my name don't you?) 

When she frowned he quickly added, “Donae fash yerse, mah nam is Finn an' Ah am yer guid mukker. when yer finished wi' thes pile ay mendin, thaur will be mair comin'. Ah want ye tae dae as much as ye can. but first Ah hae yer breakfest an' favorite bevvy ready.” (Don't worry, my name is Finn and I am your good friend. When you're finished with this pile of mending, there will be more coming. I want you to do as much as you can. But first I have your breakfast and favourite drink ready.) 

Ella watched him curiously.

Dropping the pile beside her, he pulled out a small bag of thread and needles from one of his many pockets placing it beside the garments. 

Straightening his small frame up he went over to a nearby cook fire and took some rashers of bacon putting them on a tin plate. 

Standing so his back was to Ella he then took a mug and poured a few drops of green liquid from a small bottle he took from another pocket. Reaching for a large jug he proceeded to fill the mug with some heated Atholl brose. (a Scottish drink obtained by mixing oatmeal brose, honey, whisky, and sometimes cream) 

Taking the plate and mug, he went over to a tree that had a small yellow sack hanging from a low limb. Setting the plate down he took the sack and withdrew a small round of cheese. Breaking a piece off, he put it on the plate, before slipping the rest back in the sack. 

Next he took out a loaf of bread. Like the cheese he pulled off a chunk of bread and put it along side the bacon before putting the rest of the loaf back in the sack. He hung the sack back onto the limb picked up the plate bringing it over to her; he announced, ”Eat up quickly ye hae a lot ay wark tae dae the-day. Ah want ye tae mend thes pile afair lunch time. can ye dae 'at?” (Eat up quickly you have a lot of work to do today. I want you to mend this pile of garments before lunch time. Can you do that?) 

She nodded her head a little vacantly as she started to eat. Satisfied with her answer he added, ”Naw that's a guid lass, Ah hae things tae dae noo, but will be back at noon wi' yer lunch an' some mair mendin' fur ye! ” (Good I have things to do now, but will be back at noon with your lunch and some more mending for ya!)

As he walked away, Ella frowned a little as she continued to eat her food, taking sips of the warm beverage between bites.

It was confusing, she should know more then just that she lived here in a forest was called Lass and mended clothes. The facts were she couldn't remember anymore than what Finn told her.

Shrugging her shoulders she finished her meal and took a red hood off the top of the pile. Finding some red thread and a needle, she settled down to mend the tear in it. 

By the time noon came around, Ella had just finished the last garment. As Finn came over to her, she saw he had a cup of water and some more bread and cheese from the sack plus a handful of nuts for her lunch. 

Ella couldn't help but wonder, “Does that sack ever get empty? It didn't look any smaller.” 

Setting the garment onto the finished pile, she said, “I've finished the mending, can I go for a walk after my lunch?”

Startled he replied, ”No...no mah hen ye hae way tay much wark tae finish afair ye can gang fur a donner. besides thaur ur radge beasties roamin' abot th' forest. Ye main bide within' th' confines ay th' camp. we swatch efter ye an' aw yer needs. In return, ye mend uir garments. kin?” (No...no my dear you have way too much work to finish before you can go for a walk. Besides, there are dangerous beasties roaming about the forest. You must stay within the confines of the camp. We look after you and all your needs. In return, you mend our garments. Understand?”

She answered thoughtfully, “I suppose I do....yes, of course, you're right I need to do my work first.” 

He smiled down at her and made a signal with his hand. Two small men came running over, each with a load of garments for her to mend. They set them beside the girl and left without even a thank you. She frowned as she watched them walk away. Finn noting this said,

”Donae fash yerse abit them, they dornt hae onie manners, werenae taught onie! ye jist finish yer lunch an' wark oan yer mendin'. i'll check oan ye later.” (Don't worry about them, they don't have any manners, weren't taught any! You just finish your lunch and work on your mending. I'll check on you later.) Taking his pile of garments he turned and walked away. 

Ella frowned again before she whispered, “You didn't thank me either.” 

Sighing Ella picked up her needle and thread, chose a garment and went to work while nibbling on her food between garments. 

Deciding she wanted, no she needed to go for a walk she hastily sewed all afternoon. Finally putting the last garment down, not long before the sun was to set. 

Finally, Ella stood up and stretched thinking, “A quick walk around the camp before supper would do me a world of good. Besides I've done a good day's work and have earned some respite!” 

Straightening her torn dress she wished she had something better to wear. “I'll have to ask Finn about a new dress.” she mumbled to herself as she strode towards the perimeter of the camp.

It didn't take long for the wee folk to realize the big human female was walking freely about their camp. Both Leis and Rion ran to fetch Finn. He would know what to do!

Meanwhile Ella was enjoying her walk looking around, at what the camp was all about, having a naturally curious nature. 

She glanced past the boundary hearing an odd sound. Finally in the distance under a small shrub, she spied a small purple creature making crying sounds and waving it's arms about. It looked like it was stressed. 

She immediately set out to get a closer look. As she drew closer, she kept her voice soft and low as she talked soothingly to it. The creature, which was laying on it's back, looked up at her and reached out with it's little arms. Ella picked it up and cuddled it against her chest.

That is when Finn rushed up to her in alarm, ”Whit ur ye daein' haur? Ah tauld ye tae nae tae lae yer sleepin' place. Lae 'at creature an' come back immediately!” (What are you doing here? I told you to not to leave your sleeping place. Leave that creature and come back immediately!)

Ella looked wide eyed at the red faced little man. Feeling stubborn she stated,

“No, this creature is helpless and alone, I want to keep it! I think I'll call it Wigit.”

Finn got redder shouting, ”Lass dae ye ken whit it is? it's a bairn troll; an' ye cannae keep it. it's ma will be lookin' fur it! Noo pit it back!” (Lass do you know what it is? It's a baby troll, and you can't keep it. Its ma will be looking for it! Now put it back!)

Sticking her chin out while turning a deaf ear to his words she repeated,

“No, I want to keep it....if...if you don't let me have it I won't mend any more garments!” She watched him from the corner of her eye and waited to see what he would do.

He looked like his wee head was going to explode. 

After a few moments of fuming, Finn gave in. 

After all he knew, most troll mothers sooner or later abandoned their offspring. He hoped this one would not be looking for her infant. 

Finally, he huffed and growled, ”Recht ye can hae it, but his scran will be comin' it ay yer shaur. Sae if yer guttin' dornt come greetin' tae me. Noo come back!” (Right you can have it, but mind it's food will be coming out of your share. So if your hungry don't come crying to me. Now come back!) 

He turned and stomped angrily away. Ella gladly followed Finn back to camp and sat down on her soft bedding.

She took some of her leftover bits from her lunch and fed it to the small creature. It devoured the food in seconds, looking for more. She cooed to it and set it in a soft hollow covering it with some moss. It closed it's yellow eyes and was soon snoring lightly.

Shouting for Rion to fetch the Lass's supper ration of bread and cheese a still angry Finn stomped over and dumped a rather large pile of garments onto Ella's lap.

She looked up in surprise. 

Scowling, he turned and went over to the fire. 

As Rion dutifully did as he was told, Finn made up Ella's special Atholl brose. Giving the potion to her twice a day insured it was well into her system. 

Soon he intended to give it only once a day to keep her in the her present state of forgetfulness. Still if stopped even now, it would take at least two or three days to get completely out of her system and her memories would come back slowly in bits and pieces. It was a powerful potion.

As he handed her the mug, he announced, ”As a punishment for ye waywardness Ah gie ye thes extra pile ay garments oan top ay whit ye will receife in th' morn! If ye dornt keep up th' wee troll goes!” (As a punishment for your waywardness I'm giving you this extra pile of garments on top of what you will receive in the morning! If you don't keep up the wee troll goes!)

Taking the mug and setting it beside the tin plate, Ella nodded her acceptance of Finn's orders. She ate her dinner, leaving a good amount for the baby and emptied her mug, enjoying it's flavor very much. She yawned, it had been a long day and she was tired, she soon fell asleep.

As Ella slept, Finn paced around the cook fire thinking about how to keep the human under control. He began to wonder if it had been so wise to bring her to his camp. She was turning out to be more trouble than she was worth. Now, he had to worry about having an angry Troll mother possibly rampaging through the campsite.

Suddenly an idea came to him.

He went to his home in a hollow of one of the bigger trees. He crossed the round room stopping in front of a old wooden chest. Rummaging inside, he finally located a chain with a manacle. Hefting it over his shoulder, he also put a lock in his pocket and left. 

Quietly sneaking over to the sleeping woman, he cast a deep sleep spell on her. Once he knew she wouldn't awaken, he put the manacle on her ankle snapping it shut and wound the other end around the trunk of the tree clicking the lock securely into place. She would no longer be able to do as she pleased. 

He stood over her thoughtfully, “If the troll comes seeking her infant, as usual his people would disappear, but this poor lass would probably not survive.”

He had a bad feeling about all of this. He sighed, as he went back to his home. He had planned on leaving her in the forest, once she had finished mending all the garments. He doubted she would survive very long alone in the woods. 

But she was a drain on his people's resources and couldn't stay forever anyways. She was big and ate too much! He wasn't a mean spirit just a practical one.

Soon after sunrise, the little people were just getting breakfast started when a loud roar echoed throughout the forest. 

All eyes turned, a few of the women cried out. The roar echoed again, this time sounding very angry. As feet scurried around the campsite, a very groggy Ella stirred trying to sit up.