The Fellowship of the Novel Characters

Hey everyone! If you’re not aware, I started writing a fanfiction about my novel characters getting dropped into the Lord of the Rings after getting prompted by a NaNoWriMo virtual write-in, but stopped because I wanted to see if I could salvage my cover illustration and also got an idea for a cool post series. But here we are, and I’ll be posting every other week, in between regular posts.

Table of Contents:

Chapter One (This one’s kind of cringe)

Trigger Warnings: Lord of the Rings is PG-13, and while my writing will not be overly gory, it will still show the darkness and death that Lord of the Rings does. Also, spoilers.

Summary: Stella, Candace, and her puppy Luke were zapped into the Lord of the Rings after attempting to watch the movies for the first time. After lamenting over their weird clothes, they came across Gandalf, who is giving them a lift to Bilbo’s party. They also meet Frodo, and conclude that they’re in somewhere totally different.

Dragon? Candace’s eyes were wide. “Stella,” she whispered in my ear. “We’re not in Georgia anymore. We’re in Middle-earth.”

“Well, obviously!” I rolled my eyes. Gandalf and Frodo glanced back at us, and we grinned. “Nothing. We’re fine!”

As we rolled along, the sound of children’s shouts was plainly audible. I looked back and grinned to see a small group of smaller children running along behind the cart. “Aw!” I leaned forward, resting my chin on the heel of my hand. “They’re so cute!!”

Luke seemed to think so. He yipped excitedly, but Gandalf did not share our enthusiasm. The children visibly deflated and I turned to give Gandalf a dirty look when something whizzed past my head. I shrieked and clapped my hand over my ears. “Fireworks!” Candace was staring at the sparking streams that dazzled the young children. They cheered and clapped, jumping up and down with excitement.

“Could you stop here?” Frodo asked Gandalf. Gandalf obliged, pulling on the horse reins. Frodo stood up and gave us all a smile. “I’m glad you’re all here. Especially you, Gandalf.” He leapt off the cart.

“So am I, dear boy.” Gandalf smiled and urged the horse back into a walk.

***

After a little while more of riding, we pulled up to a cute hobbit-hole. But the sign on the garden gate was another matter. No admittance except on party business. 

“Friendly guy,” said Candace, raising one eyebrow. 

The sign didn’t deter Gandalf. “Come on.” He opened the gate and strode up to the door, rapping on it with his staff. A moment, then someone inside called, “No, thank you! We don’t want any more visitors, well-wishers, or distant relations!”

“And what about very old friends?”

The door was flung open, and before us stood an old man, about Frodo’s size. “Gandalf?”

“My dear Bilbo Baggins.” Gandalf knelt down, and the two embraced. “You haven’t aged a day.”

Bilbo laughed and stepped back. “Who are these?”

“These are my friends Candace, Stella, and their dog…” Gandalf glanced at me.

“Luke.” He yapped and ran over to Bilbo, jumping up and placing his paws on his knee. Bilbo knelt down to pet the beagle between the ears.

“Well, come in, come in!” Bilbo led us into his cozy room and hung up Gandalf’s hat before hurrying down the hall. “You must be starving, but I’m afraid you’ve caught me a bit unprepared. We’ve only got some cold chicken, a bit of pickle, some cheese…but no, that might be a bit risky…”

I wasn’t paying much attention. Candace had moved to stand next to Gandalf, and I peeked over her shoulder. They were both looking at a framed map, charred at the edges, that seemed to have gone through a struggle.

“I could do some eggs if you liked.” Bilbo appeared into view.

“Just tea, thank you.”

“Can I have a sandwich?” Asked Candace. “I’m pretty hungry.”

“Me too,” I added.

“Of course!” Bilbo turned, but froze when a knock sounded on the door. 

“Bilbo Baggins, open the door! I know you’re in there!” An angry woman’s voice came from behind the door.

“I’m not home,” Bilbo hissed. He scurried away from the door. “I’ve got to get away from these confounded relatives, hanging on the bell and not giving me a moment’s piece. I want to see mountains again…mountains, Gandalf…and find somewhere quiet to finish my book. Oh, tea!” Bilbo put the kettle on and began to prepare our sandwiches.

Gandalf cast a look at us, but then spoke. “So you mean to go through with your plan?”

“Yes, yes. All the preparations are made.” Bilbo have us our food and Gandalf’s tea. 

“Frodo suspects something.”

“Of course he does! He’s not some block-headed Bracegirdle from Hardbottle!”

 Gandalf turned to me and Candace. “Would you two go and find Frodo?”

I mentally rolled my eyes. I knew all the adult tactics to get kids out of the way, but I was too polite to say anything. “Sure.”

***

“How do you know we’re in Middle-earth?” I asked Candace as we walked along the roads. “I thought you never read or watched the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings.”

“I haven’t, but one of my cousins did. I knew the name Gandalf was familiar, and in The Hobbit, he sends Bilbo to go recover a mountain with a dragon inside.”

I sighed and reached for my pockets, but sighed when I remembered my new dress didn’t have any. “This is crazy.”

“Yeah. This is the thing you read about in books.” She squinted. “Isn’t that him?” She pointed to a figure not too far off. It was hard to tell, but he definitely had Frodo’s red hair.

“Let’s go see.” Sure enough it was Frodo, and he was talking to another hobbit. 

He looked up as we approached. “Hi! What are you doing here?”

“Gandalf was talking to Bilbo and didn’t want us hanging around.” Candace shrugged. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Samwise Gamgee,” said Frodo.

“Just call me Sam.” He beamed. Luke, who had been cautiously eyeing them, ran into Sam’s lap, putting his paws on his shoulders and licking his face. Sam spluttered and laughed, finally picking Luke up and holding him away from his face. “Who’s this?”

Candace grinned. “That’s my dog Luke. He’s really young and not fully trained yet.” We sat down on the grass next to the boys. 

“So your uncle’s having a birthday?” I asked Frodo.

“Yes, he’s turning one hundred eleven…eleventy…one hundred…” He laughed as his tongue seemed to tie in knots. “He’s turning one hundred and eleven.”

“Wow! That’s crazy!” Candace’s eyes went wide. “Do people even get that old anymore?”

The two hobbits turned out to be really pleasant. We talked and laughed until Frodo looked up at the setting sun. “We’d better be getting back. Bilbo’s party will start any minute.” 

***

Really hope you guys enjoyed that! God bless!

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