When the young hobbit woke up Aalyeh was already up and in the kitchen making tea. She handed a cup to the sleepy hobbit, with nothing more than a smile she cheered him up more than he ever thought possible. He could easily see how difficult it was for her to move around in such a small room. He felt bad, but soon he placed that guilt in the back of his mind and decided to think about what he needed to do that day. It was at that moment when a thought struck him more forcefully than a well-placed arrow: he hadn't tended to his fields in quite a long time, not to mention that the planting season was almost over! When he recovered from the shock of this realization, he finished his tea as fast as he could and ran out the door. For once in his lifetime he did not get lost on the way. For the first time in his life he got straight to work. For once in his lifetime he forgot to change out of his night clothes before going out.
He worked for many long hours, not stopping until twilight was just about to bathe the land once again in monochrome. All the while when he worked he could see Aalyeh out of the corner of his eyes. At first he wanted to ask her what she was doing, but later he decided to make a game of guessing. He did not find out until much later.
That day was a very good one for the young hobbit. He only got a little lost on the way home, and returned only about two hours after the time he stopped. When he returned home he found a wondrous aroma coming from all over the house. The kitchen smelled of freshly cooked bread, and the rest of the house smelled of maple. Although he questioned the origins of the maple scent, he did not let this question it for long and simply enjoyed the scent. Although he could easily tell where Aalyeh had been, he could not tell where she was at the moment. He looked and looked, but to no avail. He could not find her. He called out to her, but she did not answer. He went outside and once again cried out her name. But once again, it was fruitless. He ran down to the tree, well he tried to anyways. In his haste he took a wrong turn and soon found himself in the forest. The night was dark and the moon was hiding behind the clouds. The young hobbit was soon hopelessly lost, again. Even though he was lost he still called out for Aalyeh. He could hear nothing but crickets, and owls.
Midnight eventually fell and the small hobbit remained lost. He wandered further into the woods, until he thought he heard a twig snapping. He stopped and looked about. He saw nothing, so he simply wrote it off. "It must have been a mouse," he thought out-loud. The full moon rose over the clouds and the hobbit was once again met with silence, even the crickets were silent. The moon bathed everything in devilish light. The small hobbit's heart raced. "Just a mouse," he thought again. "Nothing more." It was at that moment he realized that he was indeed half right. A mouse scampered past. Then another, and another. Soon 30 or 40 mice and other rodents had scampered past. After the rodents came larger animals, such as deer. Something was coming, that the hobbit was sure of. Something big. Soon he could hear a rumbling. Something was coming from underground. The scared hobbit's mind went to the worst possible scenario. This time, however, reality was far worse than his imagination. The rumbling grew louder and louder until it was deafening. The hobbit fell to his knees from fear. The rumbling stopped just at his feet. Just a split second later a large writhing mass shot up from the ground. The light from the moon reviled a giant tentacle. "It's a groundsquid!" The young hobbit shrieked. More tentacles shot up and then thrust at the hobbit. The young hobbit was grabbed by the writhing masses; the last thing he remembered was being hoisted up and squeezed, much like an anaconda squeezes its prey, he then fainted
When the young hobbit awoke it was day and he was in his home. He was in his bed and once again Aalyeh was nowhere in sight. He got up from the bed and realized the damage he had taken from the groundsquid. It was very probable that it had broken at least one of his legs, as he immediately fell and could not move. He screamed because of the pain that was shooting up his leg. His noisy awakening drew the attention of Aalyeh and she quickly came over to him. She helped him back onto the bed and smiled sadly when he cradled his injured leg.
"I was looking for you last night, where were you? I was really worried." Said the hobbit when he recovered from his minor setback.
"I was in the wood shed," replied Aalyeh.
"If you are a dryad, then wouldn't that be…. Strange enough. In any case, do you know how I got back? Or even away from that groundsquid?"Asked the hobbit. "Groundsquid?" She asked.
"Yes," he said, "the last thing I remember from last night was being crushed by a groundsquid."
"Well you see," Aalyeh said hesitantly, "last night you didn't come back, so I went out to look for you. I asked the neighbors if you had gone that way and they said you hadn't, so I went into the woods to look for you. I looked for hours, but to no avail. Later in the night I thought I heard something so I went to investigate. When I found the source of the noise, I saw you in the tentacles of a giant squid. Your face was turning red and it didn't look like you would last much longer. So I took the cleaver I accidently brought with me..."
"I understand," said the hobbit. "Did you get hurt?" he continued.
"No, luckily not," said Aalyeh. The hobbit could tell she was lying. She had bruises on her arms as well as small scratches on her face. Even so he did not say anything to contradict her. He simply smiled and expressed his delight that she was unharmed.
Months passed and eventually their injuries healed. The young hobbit could walk once again, even if it was with a minor limp, the meat from the groundsquid was made into soup and the two spent all of their free time in each other's company.