[Child of the 7th Age]

Child could hear some commotion taking place on the deck above her head, but it scarcely registered in her mind. The knife in her hand slid out of her fingers as she started down at the apparition facing her.

Looking into her eyes was the visage of a small hobbit, a bit dirty and disheveled. The giant shadow on the opposing wall which had loomed so huge was now shrunken considerably, revealing a girl who could not have been more than three-feet tall. By Child's estimation, she must have been about sixteen-years old.

The only reason Child could tell she was actually a girl was the halo of springy brown curls that framed her face. For she was dressed in the clothes of a boy: a shirt and pants, the worn garments of a worker from the Shire or perhaps one of the servant boys.

And although her eyes shone blue and clear, her face mirrored both suspicion and doubt. Clearly, she had not expected Child to return at that moment and discover her secret hiding place. She stood up slowly. For one strange instant, Child thought the girl might actually attempt to knock her to the ground and race out of the cabin. But, instead, she remained silent, looking down at the floor.

Once Child had recovered from her initial astonishment, she took the girl by the hand and had her sit in a chair. She spoke to her in a voice that was remarkably quiet and calm, "Now, excuse me, please, but what is your name? And what are you doing in my room?"

The girl, with eyes still full of mistrust, clipped back a sharp reply, "Daisy Greenhand, at your service, Mistress Goodchild. A serving maid for the Took family in their residence at Great Smials."

"My, my," thought Child to herself, "What a very long way we are from the Great Smials!"