A small crowd was beginning to assemble around the bizarre scene concerning the coal chute. Pio walked closer for a better view. Her eyes flew wide at the familiar mop of unruly curls.
She smiled at the Hobbit's sneaky antics. then a grinned widely, and finally a loud laugh spilled from her, frightening some of the smaller Hobbits. Pio saw the curly head try to duck down lower in the chute as if to make itself invisible.
She reached down, quite unceremoniously, and took hold of the filthy, sooty collar. Giving a great heave, she pulled the hobbit up and out of the chute and plunked her down in a dusty heap on the ground.
Two brown eyes, in a sea of white, peered out from the coal blacked face, and a sheepish grin spread on the tarry face. Pio tapped her foot on the ground and looked squarely at the Hobbit.
'By the One, Camellia Goodchild! What did you think you were doing now?'
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Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.
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