[Child of the 7th Age]

Andreth, Edmund, and Kali:

In normal times, Andreth might have noticed that her son did not look terribly happy when he rose from bed and came stumbling down to breakfast. But times were not normal. With so many guests packed into the Pony, Andreth found herself besieged with problems of every sort and had precious little time to devote to Edmund.

That morning, his mother came sprinting down to breakfast after spending two hours untangling a whole series of mix-ups in the kitchen and stables. She gave Edmund a perfunctory kiss, and hustled him off to school without really talking with him or taking any notice of how he felt.

Once they made their way into the classroom, the Innkeeper again found herself at the middle of a small storm. This time, there were several students who sought advice or reassurance about some of the worries concerning the bandits and their raids. Andreth took time to listen, while blithely ignoring Edmund's insistent tugs on the back of her skirts. She'd turned around just once in the middle of a discussion with one of the youngsters, issuing a terse reminder that Edmund must wait till later.

As the lesson began, the boy looked increasingly morose and withdrew to the back of the room, doodling pictures of rabbits who limped sadly across the middle of his slate. Once or twice, he stared vacantly through the window and caught a glimpse of his beloved bunnies still trapped in their hutch. By the time recess came, the young boy was feeling miserable and wondering if his mother even remembered that he existed.

When the children began a game of tag near the side door of the Inn, Edmund wandered off by himself. Before the lad could get too far, Kali waved to get Edmund's attention and ran up, pouring out an avalanche of questions in typical hobbit fashion, "Why are you so sad? What's wrong? Can I help?"

The two lads had gotten to know each other better over the past week as they went about their tasks of arranging the food in the pantries and caring for the animals. There were far fewer squabbles than when school had first begun. Still, Edmund wasn't sure whether he should trust Kali with his secret. But if he didn't talk to someone soon, he thought he was going to burst.

He sidled over to the hobbit and whispered conspiratorily in his ear, "Something bad is going to happen to the rabbits. I don't know what to do. Cook vows to put them in the stew pot. Even mama doesn't know." His face turned dour, "Not that she would care!"

Kali stared down at the ground and thought for several minutes before he spoke, "Maybe we could find a way to save the rabbits? Just us.....the children at the school?"

"That's a good idea. But, how?"

By this time, several of the children had heard the lads talking and roamed over to listen. Kari quickly piped up with her idea. "I know just what we could do. A few months ago, I went on a picnic, up past the northern gate. It rained so hard we had to take shelter. We found a little cave, set a ways back, near the end of the hedge where the cliff hangs down. It's a perfect place to hide a family of rabbits and not too far from the city. We could take turns bringing them food."

Kali beamed, "Yes, and there won't be any problem getting up there. I know just where there's a hole in the hedge....the place where I found my treasures. We can slip out at night and not have to go through the main gate. No one will even know."

Everyone in the circle nodded in agreement until Edmund reminded them, "But where will the rabbits live? The hutch they have now is just too big for us to carry." Edmund pointed towards the heavy wooden crate that rested on long poles.

"We know! We know!" Pearl and Hamson squealed out together, raising their hands and waving them in the air to get everyone's attention.

"Shh!" Kali reminded them. "Don't let the teacher or the older children hear."

Pearl leaned over and whispered, "Our father takes care of little animals when they get sick. He has wonderful small wicker carriers. He has stacks and stacks of them and wouldn't even notice if a few were missing. We'd need three of them, but they'd be no problem to carry."

Edmund looked over at his friends and grinned, "These are wonderful ideas! But we have to act fast. Tonight we'll meet up under the large tree by the north gate. No one has to know. Just sneak out once everyone is asleep."

The faces in the circles beamed as the heads of the children, Big and Little, wagged up and down in excitement. Then Kali put a finger to his pursed lips and reminded everyone to be quiet about their secret for the remainder of the day.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 3:52 AM December 19, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]