A/N: Here's the next chapter. It's a little less like the Tolkien style writing because I'm not sure exactly how to do it with dialogue. Working on it though. Enjoy.

"Ruby!"

The screeching of a tired and cranky caretaker such as the one Ruby had to put up with was exceedingly vexing. So exceedingly vexing that Ruby wanted to cut off her ears so that she would never have to listen to that screeching again. But seeing as how painful cutting off your ears would be, Ruby came up with another solution: Running away.

Oh, don't worry, little Ruby never went far and always came back. She knew that there would empty stomachs and tired feet and, worse, more screeching, if she went away for too long. However, the few precious hours she had to run through the meadows and pretend she was far, far away were enough to satisfy her longing for something exciting. Almost enough.

"Ruby!"

Unfortunately, it was already too late for Ruby to escape on that particular afternoon. Now she had to suffer through some horrid chores to help the upkeep of the small inn that was run by her caretaker. Though she was but a small hobbit, Ruby was sturdy and old enough to do a little work to repay the kindness of her caretaker, who had been willing to take her in after her parents died when she was very small. Ruby didn't think that it was a fair trade but this was a normal reaction for a wee little hobbit child.

Ruby turned from the circular window that was cut out of the side of the hill and looked into the face that belonged to the screeching voice. She knew that now was time to stop daydreaming about catching butterflies in the fields and time to start concentrating on finishing dusting the mantelpiece that was over the huge fireplace in the comfortable parlor of the inn. The screeching got closer but the volume went down a little as Ruby frantically moved her duster back and forth on the lovely rich wood of the mantelpiece.

"Ruby, I've been calling you for five minutes now!"

"I'm sorry," she began but stopped when she saw that there wasn't the usual sternness in those eyes that accompanied the screeching voice.

The face sighed. "Child, the afternoon's getting on and you've been distracted all day." The screeching was still present but the voice didn't fit the speech or the face. Ruby wondered if this was one of the rare days when her keeper was in a good mood and she would be able to roam free for the afternoon. It was. A smile appeared on the face and the voice screeched one last time for the day. "Go on and get out of here."

With a bright smile and a jump of joy, Ruby was out of the inn quick as lightening, her little head filled with ideas of things to do in the bright meadows on the Shire.

When you were a child you most likely savored every bit of sunlight that you were allowed. With hobbit children, this is exactly the same. From mischievous hobbit boys romping amid the fields to lively hobbit girls playing hide-and-go-seek among the trees, spring and summer was the pinnacle of rowdiness and play for the children of the Shire. For Ruby, it was a time for her to dream. She loved to wiggle her toes in the sun baked earth, let the wind tug at her dark, curly hair, and close her eyes to what seemed to her a boring life of crops, chores, and quiet.

This was precisely what she planned to do that particular afternoon. There was enough daylight left for a few hours play and she was going to take advantage of it. As she skipped to join some other hobbit children, she thought back to the stories she had heard about dragons and trolls, treasures and Elves. Though she herself did not particularly want to have an encounter with a dragon or troll. The stories of the Elves always fascinated her and treasures were, of course, a rather interesting subject as well.

"Tag! Ruby's it!"

Absorbed in her thoughts, the little hobbit-girl had not noticed the few hobbit-boys and girls that were around her, playing an animated game of tag. She placed her slightly chubby hands on her hips and frowned.

"I wasn't playing!" she declared, looking the hobbit-boy who had poked her straight in the eye.

The boy laughed at her. "What's the matter? Afraid you won't catch us?" He looked at his friends, hoping they would catch on to the taunting.

Now, Ruby was the type of girl who didn't like taunting, especially if it was aimed at her. Her mind filled with the tales of adventures and battles, she had the childish strategy that would win her a 'war' with these adversaries: Retaliation. With a determined look in her green little eyes, Ruby set her jaw and yelled back at him, all the while smiling inside at how clever she was.

"I'm not afraid of anything!"

And with that she was off, chasing after the other children, all of them laughing. She was quick, like many hobbits, and knew every blade of grass in the meadows and every leaf on every tree of her homeland. At that point in time, her target was the boy who had tagged her. He was fast, but not fast enough. She was about to reach him, just at the edge of a path when Wham! she ran into something solid and tumbled to the ground, her rump feeling very uncomfortable, even in the soft grass and now slightly flattened flowers that edged the side of the path.

With a look of horror, little Ruby realized who that particular path belonged to. And she also realized that the slightly flattened flowers were personal property of the owner and from the stories she'd heard, he probably wouldn't be happy.

However, the surprise that surprised her more than all the other surprises was when she discovered what, or rather who, she had run into.

"Well now, what do we have here?"

Ruby looked up and stuttered, "R-ruby, sir."

The face that belonged to the voice bent down to her eye level and pulled her to her feet. "Not to worry, not to worry. That actually reminded me of the time in the Goblin caves when it was so dark the dwarves and I all kept bumping into each other."

Ruby blinked. "Goblin's cave? Dwarves?" She hadn't heard such stories told from a first person narrative! Did this mean the rumors about this hobbit were true? She could only hope…

He smiled. "Yes, yes!" He got a faraway and somewhat distracted look in his eye and then smiled again down at her. "You look a little scraped up. Would you like to come in and have some tea?"

The little hobbit-girl thought about it and the possibility of a seed cake going with that tea, and maybe a story along with it, made her nod enthusiastically. A strange hobbit, stories of adventures, and tea and cakes was much better than listening to the old screeching of her caretaker. Much better.

End Note: So there you are. I appreciate comments if you have them. Let me know how I'm doing. Thanks!