[Child of the 7th Age]

That evening, Bilbo dispatched Ned to ride hard to Tukborough and bring back Belle's mother and father so they could see to her comfort. Tukborough lay just 6 leagues south of the Shire, in an area that bordered on a wooded grove.

If the boy rode his pony hard, he could make it there tonight, and probably bring them back to Hobbiton by the next afternoon. Once Belle had awoken, and was clearly out of danger, her parents would probably want to bring her home in their wagon.

That night, Sam's mother remained at Bag-end so that she could stay by Belle's side and keep an eye on her. Marigold and Elanor and even Sam had also insisted on being with their friend and slept on the floor close to the bed, curled up in blankets. Whenever Elanor looked up to check on Belle, the girl was dozing fitfully, not quite conscious, but tossing and turning about in pain.

When Frodo came home later that evening, he was both surprised and sorry to find out about Belle. He began asking pointed questions about how such a terrible thing could ever have happened. Bilbo tried to field these as adroitly as he could so Frodo wouldn't learn how Belle had gone up to the farmhouses that lay near the Water to deliver a packet of birthday invitations to some families who lived there.

After much conversation, and several pointed looks between Bilbo and Elanor in Frodo's direction, everyone finally trundled off to bed. Just as the sun was peering over the horizon and the roosters were beginning to crow, Belle opened her eyes, to the surprise and delight of all the hobbits in Bag-end. Belle sat up, and stretched and smiled over at her friends, although she was still too weak to do much talking.

Marigold bounded up and stared at her friend with a big grin on her face. "She's going to be alright?" The young hobbits looked over at Mistress Gamgee to make sure of that.

"Oh, yes, she should be fine. But I'm afraid she'll need to spend some time at home resting. No rough play with that arm in a sling."

Bilbo nodded in agreement. Then he tugged on Marigold's arm and beckoned quietly to the other children to come into the study and speak privately. "Belle should be well enough to come back and attend our party, but she won't be able to do the rough work like cleaning or carrying boxes or all the things we'll need to do to prepare. I'm relying on you--Sam, Elanor and Marigold as well as Cami--to do those things. You'll have your hands full, but I think you can do it."

Marigold looked over at Bilbo and grinned broadly, "Of course we can! We won't let you down. And we'll make the best party in the world for Frodo, and for our friend Belle too."

Then Bilbo handed out several more packets of invitations to each of the children, telling them to be very careful in their deliveries and to let him know if they saw anything suspicious. Bilbo didn't really think there'd been bandits in the Shire, as some of the children had suggested, but still he wanted them to be particularly cautious from now on.

Before the children and Mistress Gamgee left, Bilbo leaned over to Sam and looked him in the eye, "Remember, you made a promise. I'm counting on your help, especially with Belle injured."

[ January 23, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]