Orlie took me everywhere, even to a very neat looking house, which, he told me, was where the hobbits lived. I stared in awe, wondering if the hobbits were in there right now.
�Do they ever come out?� I asked, not taking my eyes off the house.
�Come out?� Orlie questioned. �Uh, no. Sorry to tell you this love, but hobbits aren�t real. They�re made up. That�s why your uncle is playing one in the movie.�
�Oh.� I sighed, disappointed. I didn�t want to be the only short person here. It was hard talking to people when they�re tall, like Orlie. You had to strain your neck way back. Being a kid can have its problems.
Orlie seemed to feel my disappointment because a second later he grabbed me off of his shoulders and set me on the ground. �Okay love, here�s what we�re going to do.� He began, a mischievous smile spreading across his lips. That�s what I liked about Orlie, he was still fun even though he was a grown up. That was also why Uncle Billy was my favorite� but don�t tell my daddy. He�d wonder why his brothers weren�t my favorite.
I looked up at Orlie having to strain my neck. See what I mean? This is why I wish there were hobbits... Haw-bits. I like that word. �Orlie? What are you thinkin� of?� I asked, eying him with a sly grin on my face.
�Well...� Orlie started. He told me this neat plan to play on Uncle Billy later on. I liked it. A lot. Even more then the fishin� story. We decided to play the trick at supper time because that�s when all the people in the movie were getting together for a meal, that way we can make an even bigger fool out of my uncle, even if he didn�t deserve it.
I had only met three people on the set so far, one of which was Uncle Billy, so I guess only two. I still wanted to meet the other hobbits though. If I was lucky, one might be as short as me! Plus, I wanted to know who this Peter guy was. He sounded like he was king around here since both Bobo AND Orlie did anything he said. I wanted to see how tough this guy actually was, being able to boss my uncle around an� all. Maybe Peter was able scare off skunks without gettin� sprayed too.
I was shaken out of my thoughts as Orlie and I rounded a dirt path we had been following and I heard some voices up ahead. They were coming from in the wooded area in front of us. It sounded like people were screaming or something, like they were in trouble. I looked up at Orlie to see if he had heard the screams too. He just was looking ahead, watching the forest, but acting like nothing was unusual.
�Orlie? Did you hear that?� I asked in a whispered voice.
He nodded slightly, but we still kept walking towards the screams.
�Shouldn�t we see what�s happening? Somebody could be in trouble!� I asked, hearing more screams coming from up ahead. Something didn�t seem right though, one of the yells sounded really familiar. Too familiar. I froze in alarm. I hadn�t seen Uncle Billy in a couple hours because of the tour... could that be him?
Pulling away from Orlie, I started running as fast as my little legs could take me. If the screams were coming from who I thought it was... oh no.
I darted toward the woods and the screams, hearing Orlie call my name from behind me telling me to stop and come back. I ignored him, why didn�t he care about the screams?
I crashed through the wood, hopping over fallen logs and ducking under low tree branches, rushing to get to the source of the screams. All of a sudden I came to a hault. Looking on in front of me, down a small slope, I saw a big black mean looking horse. In front of the horse, I saw a black-cloaked figure cornering a couple small figures on the ground. The little figures on the ground were screaming at the top of their lungs. I gulped in terror as I saw, on closer inspection; one of the figures was Uncle Billy.
I saw the black figure pull out something long and silver... he had a sword! I watched, unable to move as he lifted the sword above his head, aiming right at Uncle Billy. This can�t be happening. In a burst of terror, I broke out of my trance and charged down to where the figure was.
�Noooo!� I screamed, terrified for myself and my uncle and the other little figures, as I reached the black figure and pounced on him. I grabbed the cloaked figure around the neck and hung on for dear life as I screamed and kicked and hollered at him to not touch my uncle.
�What the... Ouch! Stop that you little squirt! Help me, the kid�s insane!� I heard a voice yell, it was the black figure. This confused me. A lot.
Seconds later I felt strong arms grab me around the waist, trying to pull me from the neck of the black figure. I got in one good bite of the figure�s shoulder before I was ripped off of it by the strong arms.
�Let me at �im!� I hollered, squirming to get away from the arms that were wrapped tightly around me. Tears streamed down my face, as I looked on at the figure, hatred running threw my mind as I thought of what he was going to do to my uncle.
I kept on struggling to get away from whoever it was that was holding me down until I heard the soft hushes in my ear.
�Shh, Alex, stop it. Calm down, it�s all right. Look, I�m not hurt, okay? It�s only a movie kiddo.�
I stopped squirming as I realized who it was that had me in the tight bear hug. I turned around and a wave of relief washed over me. �Uncle Bobo! I thought he was gonna hurt you! I was so scared, I just wanted to protect you...� I started to blab, but he put his finger on my lips to silence me. I shut up and wrapped my arms around his neck, still a little shaken up.
It was then that I realized that there were other people around us. Looking about, I saw the dark figure, who now had his mask off and I noticed that it was just some guy. He was checking out his shoulder and I saw the blood on his fingertips. Next to him, I saw Elijah and two other people that looked like hobbits staring at me, bewildered. There were various other people around, all of who were staring at me in shock. All accept one guy. He had long curly hair with glasses and a button shaped nose. He came towards Uncle Bobo and I, and had a very serious look on his face.
I decided this had to be that Peter guy and promptly ran behind my uncle, peeking out from behind his legs. Boy, was I ever in for it now.
�Young lady.� Peter spoke. He had a thick Kiwi accent, which under normal circumstances, I would have laughed at, but right now didn�t seem to be a good laughing time. I peered up at him, scared out of my mind, even if my brave uncle was in front of me.
Peter continued. �Do come out here for a moment. I would like to have a small talk with you.�
He sounded stern, but Uncle Bobo gave me hand a quick squeeze to reassure me. This made me feel a little better. I stepped out from behind Uncle Billy and walked over to Peter, wishing I was taller so that I didn�t have to crane my neck to look at him.
�What�s your name?� he asked me, his voice still tough and scary sounding.
�A-Alex.� I replied, stuttering a bit from fright. I knew I should be brave in front of him, but he was tall!
He nodded, then turned to face my uncle. �So this is your niece, huh Billy?�
My uncle nodded, a small smile on his lips.
Peter looked back down at me. �You are one brave young lady.� he smiled warmly. Relief washed over me. �What you did just now, that is what I need for this movie.� He looked up at the hobbits, especially Uncle Billy. �See how she just tackled him, without a second thought? That�s what these hobbits are like. They may be small, but if something is attacking someone they love, they�ll put up a good fight for them. Got it?�
The hobbits nodded as Uncle Billy placed his hands on my shoulders.
�Thank you Alex for the wonderful demonstration. There�s only one thing to say in a situation like this, considering your Billy�s niece.� he said.
Everyone looked at him in curiosity.
He grinned, showing his teeth. �Fool of a Took.� he said, then broke out into a cheerful laughter. Everyone around me cracked up, but I had no idea why. Even Uncle Bobo was chuckling. I just stood there, looking very, very, confused.