The Fellowship of the Novel Characters: Chapter Three

Hi everyone, welcome! If you’re unfamiliar with this fanfiction, I was inspired by a NaNoWriMo prompt to drop my novel character into my favorite movie, book, or TV show. I picked Lord of the Rings, because it’s AWESOME!

Ahem. Anyways, here we go!

Table of Contents:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

(Psst! I have other Lord of the Rings and Hobbit content. This is a review of the Lord of the Rings trilogy featuring my little sister, this is a review of The Hobbit, and this is me interviewing Sister about The Hobbit)

Boom! The sky shimmered as a fireworks rocket blossomed into a tree, sparking flowers falling to the ground. Tables were piled with food, and hobbits browsed, chatting, laughing and dancing. Me and Candace were sitting with Frodo and Sam. Luke was sitting at Candace’s feet, occasionally whining about wanting to explore. Candace kept a close eye on him.

We noticed Sam looking over at a pretty hobbit twirling with the others, amber threads sparkling in her hair and the light of the fireworks casting rainbow shadows on her blue dress. “Go on, Sam. Dance with Rosie!” Frodo was insistent.

“Yeah,” said Candace. “You’ve been looking at her for this whole party.”

Sam shook his head. “I think I’ll have another ale.” He got up to leave, but Candace snatched the glass out of his hand as Frodo gave him a push, sending him straight towards Rosie. I laughed as Rosie grinned at Sam, taking his hand and dancing away.

“Who’s she?” I asked Frodo as he downed the remainder of ale in Sam’s cup.

“Rosie Cotton. The Cottons have been good friends with the Gamgees forever, it seems like. Sam likes her, but he’s too shy to tell her that.” Candace and I exchanged smiling looks. It sounded like books we’d read at home. I was about to ask another question when there was another loud boom that signaled a firecracker.

But instead of a magic cascade of light, a golden dragon soared straight for us. Flying straight over our heads, it circled and came back for us. “Bilbo!” Called Frodo, running for him. “Watch out for the dragon!”

“What dragon?” Asked Bilbo. “There hasn’t been a dragon in these parts for a thousand years.” Frodo plowed into Bilbo, knocking him down just before the dragon roared over their heads. Luke was howling up a storm as the dragon flew up, somersaulted, and exploded with light. After a moment, the crowd, realizing the dragon wasn’t real, exploded into cheers.

After everything had gotten rearranged, the hobbits began to clamor for a speech. Bilbo stepped up onto the podium, clearing his throat. “My dear, dear Bagginses, and Boffins, Tooks, and Brandybucks…Grubbs, Chubbs, Hornblowers, Bracegirdles, and Proudfoots—”

“ProudFEET!” Shouted someone, and everyone laughed.

Bilbo continued. “Today is my one hundredth and eleventh birthday. Alas, however, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to live among such admirable and excellent folk such as yourselves. I don’t know half of you as well as I’d like, and I like less than half of you as well as you deserve.”

There was scattered clapping and I wrinkled my nose, trying to decipher that statement. 

Bilbo’s face went solemn, and I noticed him pull something out of his pocket and hold it behind his back. “I…I have things to do that I have put off for far too long. I regret to announce…this is the end. I am going now, but bid you all a very fond farewell.” He glanced to Frodo and I saw his mouth move, but couldn’t hear what he said. In a blink, the space he had occupied was empty.

I shrieked and stepped back, grabbing Candace’s arm. Her face was pale, and Luke ran barking to the spot where Bilbo had been, beginning to sniff.

I saw Frodo, whose eyes were brimming. He began to push through the crowd, searching for Bilbo. “We should let him be,” I said to Candace. She nodded.

“Luke!” She hollered. “Here, boy! Here!” She turned back to me. “We can go back to Bag-End after the party.”

Luke, who’d been exploring the ground with his nose, walked back reluctantly.

***

We walked back to Bag-End and I knocked softly on the door. “Frodo?”

It was a moment before the door opened. I didn’t understand the drawn expression on Frodo’s face. “We’re wondering if there’s a good place to spend the night. We don’t want to saddle you with guests, especially—” Candace elbowed me, and I swallowed the words. “So, is there a hotel who’d give us a night’s room for free?”

“Here.” He disappeared into the house, coming back with a small pouch of money. “The Gamgees might let you stay the night, but if not you can go to the Green Dragon inn.”

“Thanks,” said Candace, taking the money. “And I’m sorry about your uncle, Frodo.”

***

We stayed with the Gamgees and didn’t see Frodo for a few days. But then Sam invited Frodo to come to the Green Dragon, and asked us to come as well. We agreed.

After a few ales (I had one myself ;P), we got up to leave. Sam cast one look at Rosie as we got up to leave. But as we said goodbye and left with Sam, we could hear a soft, familiar voice. It was Gandalf!

“I wonder what he’s doing here?” Said Sam.

“Let’s find out,” said Candace with a little grin.

“How?” Asked Sam.

“The window, for one.” Candace and I shared evil grins. Sam looked between us.

“Isn’t that eavesdroppin’?”

“Aw, you’re friends, what’s a little listening-in?”

It took a little convincing, but finally we were under the window, listening to Frodo and Gandalf. And I’ll be the first to say their conversation was weird.

“You’ll have to leave the name of Baggins behind you. That name is not safe outside the Shire,” There was a pause. “Travel only by day and stay off the road.”

“I can cut across country easily enough,” said Frodo.

“Oh, my dear Frodo. Hobbits are amazing creatures. You can learn all there is about their ways in a month, yet in a hundred years they can still surprise you.” Everything was silent for a moment, until a thick wooden staff with a pointy end reached down, jabbing Sam in the shoulder. Luke barked and Sam yelped as an arm reached out of the window, grabbing Sam and dragging him up.

“We have to save him!” Candace whispered. I nodded and we ran around to the door, banging it open. “Let him go!”

Gandalf glared at us. “Confound it all! Have you been eavesdropping?” He crossed over and pulled us into the house, shutting the door behind us.

“We ain’t been dropping no eaves, sir,” said Sam. Candace and I bobbed our heads in agreement.

“Yeah, we were cutting the grass,” said Candace smoothly. I envied her lying skills; I either took too long to think of a lie or I smiled and giggled when I told it.

“A little late to be trimming the verge, don’t you think?”

“We came because we heard raised voices,” said Sam.

“What did you hear? Speak!”

“N-nothin’ important!” Sam looked like he was on the verge of tears. “Just something about a Ring and a Dark Lord and the end of the world, but nothing important! Please, Mr. Gandalf, don’t turn us into anything unnatural.”

“Yeah!” I added. “Please! I don’t wanna live my life as a frog!”

“No?” I thought I could see a faint smirk under Gandalf’s beard. “Perhaps I have thought of a better use for you.”

Comments