[Child of the 7th Age]

Rose and Child hid behind the barrels. It was good they were so short. They held their breath and didn't speak a word.

They were so afraid that Cirdan would find them, but then unexpectedly the captain quickly closed the door. Rose and Child listened carefully. They heard something about "missing bottles" and "Mr. Samwise being in a very bad way."

They also heard Cirdan mutter: "It's those crazy hobbits. They stuck in and stole the bottles. I should never have agreed to take them on board, dead or not!!"

Child scratched her head and looked at Rose: "Did you steal any bottles? I know I didn't. I only used the bottles of polish to shine the railings, but the Elf told me to do that."

Rose groaned: "We're about to be blamed for something we didn't even do. I hope whoever did this is honest enough to admit it, or we may be in very big trouble."

Child sighed: "Something else bothers me. I'm worried about Sam. What has happened to him? To tell the truth, I always rely on him to be responsible and to keep Mr. Frodo's head tied to this earth. Sometimes, I feel I can act crazy just because I know Sam is there, and he'll pull me back if I get too far out. He has always done that for the other hobbits in the Shire."

Child glanced again at the official letter. "I was going to show this letter to Sam and ask him what we could do to help the Elves so they wouldn't have to leave the Barrow-downs. It just doesn't seem fair. I feel we are in way above our heads. I like a little fun, but I can't imagine going up to the Council of the Valar and arguing for the Elves. Now, Mr. Sam and Mr. Frodo would have the knowledge and standing to do that."

She continued: "But now Sam is ill, so he can't even help us. And there is something else I fear. And it's not the Valar themselves. What if the Elves, our barrow-Downs Elves, feel the wind blowing from Elvenhome and smell the salt in the air and see the glow of the light, and they just forget about us and their real homes."

Child looked down at the floor and felt sad. It's true she got irritated at the Elves sometime, since they had such strange ways. But she could not imagine living without Pio's beautiful words or Ver's tremendous imagination or any of the other Elves. She knew her life would be emptier without them being in it..

And she couldn't imagine what Mr. Frodo would do if the Elves left the Downs. He had such a mystical thing about Elves. Sometimes Child thought he must have been part Elf himself. Maybe Frodo would even decide to stay in the West. He had tried that once before.

And if Frodo left, Master Samwise would probably be close behind. And then.......Child stopped, then Rose, her dear friend Rose, would have to go too.

Child was feeling increasingly depressed. She wished Birdie were here to discuss this mess. Maybe Sam would get better soon and then she could bring him the letter and he could tell them all what to do.

"Er, Rose, I know you like to be independent, but don't you think you better go check on Sam?"