[Child of the 7th Age]

Exactly at midnight, five young hobbits gathered at the foot of the Hobbiton barrows. Here there were two great earthen mounds, covered with a profusion of flowers standing less than a mile north of the village. To the distant south lay farms and families, and even a tiny hint of light. But, in all other directions, no matter how hard they peered, the children could sense only tangled groves of trees pressing in and an eerie feeling of blackness.

It was a desolate spot, or so Cami felt. They could all hear the hoot owls and other small prowling creatures that were making their twisted paths through the woods whether on foot or wing. A crescent moon stood high in the sky, but even it was obscured by clouds, so that it was hard for one child to make out the features of another who was standing only a foot away.

Cami was beginning to wonder if this idea of hers had really been so wise. Still, she wasn't about to let the others know that. She cleared her throat, and spoke in as commanding a voice as she could muster, "Marigold Gamgee step forward. Here in the presence of your sacred ancestors, the Gamgees of old, you must take a sacred vow never to reveal what we tell to you tonight."

Cami hesitated for a moment. She had initially planned to offer a long and graphic list of terrible things that would happen to Marigold if she broke her vow. But, somehow, as they all stood quaking on the barrow, she didn't have the heart to go into all that.

Cami could be bossy, but she was not a mean child. She herself had been bullied enough by others, that she knew the difference between right and wrong. She didn't want to terrify the younger girl, only to make sure that she didn't open her mouth and ruin the party for Frodo and Bilbo, and get them all in trouble.

She continued in a gentler voice, "Marigold, if you keep your promise of secrecy, then nothing bad is going to happen to you. But, if you don't, then your own kin will rise out of this mound, and I wouldn't want to see what would happen then...." Cami's voice trailed off, leaving everyone to fill in visually whatever punishment they thought best.

"Anyways, I know you like Frodo a lot, and if you blab he's going to be mad at you. And he'll never trust you again as a friend. And I don't think you want that to happen." She stared intently at the girl. "Now go ahead and say your vow. Sam, if you want, you can have her repeat after you."

[ January 15, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]