Not The Only One

Prologue: Discovery

Brandy Hall, Buckland, the Shire, S.R. 1387

The sun sparkled down on the waters of the Brandywine, dancing like light on shattered glass. The sound of the running water would have been peaceful and soothing, accompanied by the gentle chirping of the birds in the trees – if not for the excited screams and laughter of hobbit children frolicking in the river.

A young hobbit with light brown curls plastered to his forehead was surfacing from the water, spraying water onto another young hobbit, older than the other and with darker curls, almost black now they were wet.

'Merry!' the dark-haired hobbit laughed as the water droplets rained down upon him.

'What, Frodo?' Merry asked innocently, the sly grin giving the game away.

'You did that on purpose,' Frodo admonished him, but his lips were quirked up into a smile and he chuckled.

It was summer and the air was warm; the cooler waters were a relief – to those hobbits that could swim. Not everyone at Brandy Hall could, despite living close to the river; indeed, many hobbits were surprised at Frodo Baggins' choice to learn to swim, considering the unfortunate event that had occurred seven years before…

But such dire subjects were far from the young hobbit's thoughts as he played with his younger cousin, splashing each other and racing and diving. After a particularly vigorous race, which Frodo had only just won, he rested for a while on the far bank of the river and caught his breath again. Merry showed off by diving under the water and holding his breath, only to resurface next to Frodo and splash him with water again.

As Frodo pulled himself up closer to the bank, still catching his breath, his elbow caught on something and made a hollow, knocking noise. Intrigued, Frodo turned and looked for the source of the sound, but he could only see rushes and mud. He felt around, and then he heard a little tapping as his fingers passed over a patch of river silt.

Calling Merry closer, he began to clear away the sludge and Merry helped. It didn't take long before they found what was hidden beneath.

There was a decorative casket, of thick, good quality wood. Frodo pulled himself out of the water and sat on the bank, and Merry did the same, watching in fascination as Frodo examined the casket. When Frodo tried to prise it open, it wouldn't budge; it was tightly locked and sealed. Intrigued, the two hobbits looked at each other.

'Well, I for one know someone who would enjoy very much looking at this,' Frodo said, a grin on his face. Merry looked confused.

'Bilbo! When he arrives later, I know he'll love to see it. He's rather fond of puzzles.'

Merry gave a sigh – Bilbo liked testing him with riddles, which all too often Merry had no clue how to go about solving. Bilbo said they might come in handy, one day; somehow Merry doubted he'd ever be in a position where riddles would be so useful – except perhaps to show off with.

The two scrambled up and back to the house, grabbing their towels and clothes, ready to wait for the hobbit that could help them solve this little puzzle.

The wait seemed interminable to Merry, but Frodo seemed perfectly content as they sat outside watching the road, waiting for the wagon with Bilbo in it to arrive. Finally it came into view and as soon pulling up in the courtyard, much to Merry's relief. When Bilbo had finished with the greetings and the niceties with the rest of the family, the two approached the old hobbit, Frodo holding out the box.

'Bilbo, we were wondering if you could help us…' Frodo proffered the casket, and a sudden gleam appeared in Bilbo's eye.

'Help you? What's this?' he took the casket and eyed it, examining it closely. 'Alright. To the kitchen!'

The three of them made their way to the kitchen, Merry running and Frodo only just managing to restrain himself out of respect for the older hobbit. When they got there Bilbo reached for a long, sharp knife, and slipped it through the gap between the lid and the body of the box. It was difficult, but eventually he got it through. Carefully he began sliding it across, breaking the gummy seal inside and loosening it. Eventually he had gone the whole way around and set the knife down. The twinkle was in his eye again.

'Are you ready?' he looked at the younger hobbits, who nodded eagerly. Bilbo opened the lid; it was stiff at first but he managed to coax it open fully. The younger hobbits peered inside – and were sorely disappointed. They had been hoping for jewels and money and gold… what they found was a booklet of bound parchment, slightly damp but still legible due to the seal, along with a small black book. The book was so old that the pages had crumbled at the edges and the ink was so faded the text couldn't be seen, except for in a couple of places where a word could be made out. Merry visually drooped at this anticlimactic discovery.

Bilbo gave a little hum of delight, and picked up the sheaf of parchment and handed it to Frodo, who began trying to read it while Bilbo picked the casket up and studied it further.

Frodo was interrupted by a little 'Aha!' and looked up. His uncle was staring down in obvious satisfaction. Frodo and Merry looked back inside the casket, and were greeted by the sight of many precious stones and metals and jewellery, glinting up at them. Merry gasped audibly.

'How…?' Frodo began, but stopped when he saw what Bilbo was holding in his other hand – a thin strip of wood wide enough to fit into the box and hide things underneath: a false bottom. Bilbo gave a little laugh.

'The bottom still sounded hollow, and there was extra space unaccounted for,' he chuckled.

While Frodo and Merry gazed at the array of jewels before them, Bilbo took back the parchments and the book. Starting with the papers, he began to read.

Suddenly he shut the casket. Merry and Frodo looked at him, surprised, and he suggested they go to the library. In the quiet of Saradoc Brandybuck's library, Bilbo began to read aloud the fascinating documents contained within.

It is Winterfilth of the Year 317 by Shire Reckoning. I am putting my story onto paper, so that it will never be truly forgotten. My name is Laurel Brownlock, and I have returned from the most extraordinary journey…


A/N: I really hope you liked this little prologue! More will be here soon :)

I haven't really done longer stories with my own real plot lines for fanfic before, so I hope it all goes well! :D Please do review and let me know how I'm doing and whether you're enjoying it!