[Child of the 7th Age]

Rose's body felt heavy and unresponsive under Nitir's touch. The older hobbit felt so terribly useless. She had no skills in nursing other than the simple remedies she had learned in rearing her own children.

Nitir pushed the table back to barricade the door, and knelt down beside her friend. At that moment, the door covering the tunnel slowly pushed up, and Zira lifted herself onto the floor of the house. "Like my mother, I am trained in healing. I will look at her wounds." She gently nudged Nitir to the side.

"What about Abar?" the older woman asked.

"He is fine for the moment. He has fallen asleep," she replied.

Zira's hands were skilled and gentle as she carefully examined the girl. "Your daughter is lucky. Only a hard bump on the head. She must have been thrown against the doorpost by all the commotion in the street. I think she will wake in a little bit."

As if in response, Rose stirred and slowly opened her eyes, "Child," she whispered, "where am I? Why did you leave without me?"

The older hobbit replied, "For the moment you are safe in Maura's house, and we are togther. We have barricaded the doors so no one can enter."

"Enough of that," Zira said. If you can manage your way down the tunnel, you must lay and rest for a while. I have a small bed there."

Zira said nothing about the strange name which the girl had used to call her mother, or the hobbit's reference to having been left behind. As Zira climbed back down the tunnel, Nitir leaned over to the girl and whispered, "You must remember to call me 'mother' here, and don't forget, your name is 'Azra.' You should not have followed me. It is far too dangerous, but I will tell you truthfully that I am so happy to know that I will not be alone in this strange land. " Rose fell into Child's arms, and the two women embraced.

[ August 09, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]