[Child of the 7th Age]

Cami was singing cheerfully to herself as she bustled about the small kitchen in the burrow. Her hands moved deftly over her work as she set the final touches on a fine array of deserts and main dishes, some of which she'd prepared for the picnic and others for the needs of her own family. She had two buttermilk pies cooling on the ledge and four loaves of egg bread piled up on the table, each braided into an intricate circular design.

She carefully crimped the crusts, then began deboning and cutting up the venison for two additional meat pies. She halted for a moment as the cadence of two familiar voices caught her ear, wafting in through the open window. She set down the butcher's knife and glanced up to see Maura push open the door and come over to greet her with a warm hug. Frodo walked in directly behind him, carrying several bags of tasty nut-brown field-mushrooms that Gamba and his brothers had collected earlier in the morning when they'd gone walking in the woods.

Cami held out one knife for Maura and another for Frodo and had the hobbits start cleaning and chopping the mushrooms. In very short order, the two finished their job so that Cami was able to put together the ingredients for the last of her pies, popping them into the oven and sitting down to rest.

"I should run down to the Inn. Please remember to take out the pies for dinner," she instructed. Every afternoon, Cami visited the Dragon to play with the twins and find out if Pio had heard anything more about what had happened to her daughter, as well as to Bird and Mithadan. Usually, there was little news, but Cami was careful to check just in case her friend picked up any information through osanwe or the loose tongues of visitors who were staying at the Inn.

Maura turned and grinned broadly, "I'd wait on that if I were you. Frodo and I went by the kitchens. Your friend looked as if she was being tortured. She'd apparently been at it for some time, and was having trouble coming up with a dish that met Cook's exacting standards."

Cami looked concerned and shook her head. She could never understand why someone like Pio who was so competent at so many things, and had tremendous gifts of organization, would have such difficulty when it came to simple chores like baking and cooking. Cami remembered the one or two occasions when Pio had actually prepared supper on the Star. Most of the crew had ended up dumping their plates into the trash cans and scavenging about in the kitchens later in the evening for more food. Like most hobbit girls, Cami had taken in these skills at her mother's knee even before she'd formally learned how to read or write.

"Perhaps, I'd best go help her," Cami noted.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," replied Maura. "She might not like admitting she needs help."

Cami shrugged off her husband's concerns and decided to see if her friend could use some assistance. As she headed out the door, Cami could vaguely hear the thwack of wood-on-wood coming from behind the burrow as Frodo and Maura dueled with practice swords. For the past few days, Maura had taught Frodo a number of tricks in swordplay as well as sharing hints on how to creep up on an opponent to surprise him.

At heart, Frodo Baggins still hated to handle weapons. Even so, Cami could sense that he'd decided it was better to be prepared for any eventuality. The kidnappings in the Shire and the continuing rumors about evil Big Folks on the loose were clearly on his mind.

Neither had Cami forgotten the threat that hung over all their heads. She'd been careful to keep the children closer to her than usual, and lectured Gamba on the need for caution and restraint. She'd also put in more time on weapons' practice than she'd ever done before. Maura had been insistent that she learn to handle a knife as well as the bow. When she pressed him for an explanation, he had skillfully changed their topic of conversation. The bandits were certainly part of the puzzle, but Cami thought there might be something else involved that he wasn't revealing to her.

After hours of additional practice, Cami found that her ability to defend herself with a bow and knife was indeed improving. She would never reach the level of skill of someone like her own daughter Rose, but she'd gotten to the point where Maura had begun pressing her to learn to use a sword. When she'd groaned and stubbornly refused, he had flashed her a stern eye and a quiet warning, "Have it your own way for now, but, one way or another, I'll get you to do this."

She'd tried to press him again for an explanation, but he only stared at Holly, refusing to say anything further. Cami was still trying to puzzle out his behavior when she arrived at the Inn and got her first glimpse of Pio hard at work in the kitchen, buried under a mountain of flour.

[ May 16, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]