"Would you be willing too?"

The fire in Diamond's eyes as she answered Cotton's question reminded Merry of another woman he knew.

"I shall go now!" she cried. "I know how to get around the Shire better than any hobbit!"

She was desperate to prove herself, to not be idle, to not be weak—how similar to Eowyn she seemed at that very moment, even though she wore lad's clothes, her hands and legs grubby, her hair a nest. A part of Merry wanted to give her that chance.

"Will you need anything?" Merry quickly asked, cutting off any objections from the surrounding hobbits who felt Diamond was stepping quite out of her place. "Food, water, weapons?"

"Its only five miles, Mister Meriadoc sir," came her reply, quick and tough. "And I've never carried a weapon, except for this." She untied something around her belt, and held forward a leather sling. "This'll do, Mister Meriadoc—I don't plan on running into any trouble."

"Diamond, all we need you to do is give them the warning, so then they keep hidden and alert. Can you get there in time?" Cotton asked.

"I'll be there before the sun," came the plucky reply.

"Diamond." She looked up one last time at Merry, her reckless excitement evident on her face. Merry lowered his voice, making what he had to say for her ears alone. "If the Big Folk should discover you, would you be able to lead the women and children to safety?"

Diamond's eyes flashed, her face set in grim determination. "I would defend them to the death, Mister Meriadoc," she fiercely hissed. "I wouldn't let them Big Folk so much as set an eye on them!"

"Do you swear by the Kings of Rohan and Gondor that you will do all that is in your power to keep them safe, even if you can only do so through death?"

"I swear it, sir!"

She was so firm in her declaration that Merry stepped back and grinned. "You are very brave, Diamond of Long Cleeve—you remind me of a great lady I fought with in a battle."

Diamond broke out in a grin—she knew that she would be given the chance! She would finally prove herself.

"They're coming! They're about five minutes away!" came a frantic cry.

Merry quickly shifted his attention. "Quick! All hobbits with weapons get into position to corner them! All the rest go to the buildings!" But before he truly focused on the fight ahead, he offered Diamond one last smile. "Take care, Diamond. You really are a gem."

Diamond chuckled—so the lass wasn't all fire and fight. "You know, if you had told me a bit ago that I was being sent to the women and children, I would have fought all the way—funny how things turn out!"

And with that, she turned on her heels, and ran into the crowd, towards the shadows of the trees. "Farewell!" she cried out, looking back for a moment to wave. "I'll be back in the morning, so have breakfast ready for me!"

Some of the younger lads cheered her on as she ran to the tree line, and disappeared into the shadows.

Away from the crowd and the fire, her body tensed up, preparing to protect herself at all cost. Her running became silent as she dodged branches, and slowed down to a steady jog as the woods became darker. Her ears quickly substituted for her eyes for searching the darkness for it's hidden dangers.

The thrill of actually doing something made her limbs burn, spurring her onward through the woods. The forest was deathly silent in that very early morning way, and Diamond could only hear her own raspy breath, and very light footfall. Away from the excitement of the square, the first signs of exhaustion quickly came over Diamond. She stumbled over a root, but bit her tongue to silence herself. There was no time to think of sleep, or food, or comfort. She had sworn to do what she had set out to do—and Long Cleeves never break an oath.