Rosa couldn't sleep, and the late watches found her kicking pebbles into the Brockenborings pond.
Where would Fred have gone?
She stared into the water, which reflected only dim starlight. Fred quite liked ponds, and even rivers. He was curious about boats (though to her knowledge, he'd never been on anything bigger than a fishing raft). Grandma Esme had a book about the waterways of the Shire, with lots of pictures, and when he was little Fred always used to turn straight to--
Bucklebury Ferry!
For a moment Rosa sat very still. Then she quietly walked back up the lane to her parent's hole.
Her pack was still sitting just outside the door. The sky was just turning grey around the edges as she hoisted the pack onto her back and began walking down the road.
She wasn't sure how far it was exactly, but the Ferry was certainly a long walk.
She walked, and walked, and walked. She sang to herself as the sky lightened, peach-blossom pink. The only people she saw were a few farmers in Budgeford, who gave her curious looks but courteous nods as she passed.
After a while she simply had to stop. There were honey-cakes in her bag, and after all that walking it was certainly time for a little something. So she settled down beneath an apple tree just off the main road, ate her cake, and watched the sky brighten.
Golly, she was already tired...
