A Sea of Green
By: Aria Breuer
Disclaimers: All canon material from The Lord of the Rings trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. All original material, including the plot and OCs, belongs to me, the authoress of this fanfiction one-shot story.
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I couldn't help myself. The idea just popped into my head this morning. And I thought it would be a neat way to show another side to the Fellowship-falls-into-Middle-earth scenario. Read below, but I think it's pretty obvious who ends up on Earth at this time. :)
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Frodo Baggins couldn't drink another round of ale. Two was enough, and yet his cousins Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took continued their contest. The contest wasn't the best idea they had. Already Merry had four drinks, and Pippin five. Frodo was sure they were drunk enough and needed his help getting back to Bag End…
"Cousin," Pippin started in a drunken manner, "I had thihsh dream once. Merry wash with you and…"
"I don't want to hear it," Frodo said, drinking some water.
"Come on, coushin," Merry encouraged, slapping him on the back. "Enjoysh the funsh."
"Morsh ale?" Pippin asked, raising his mug.
"I think you both had enough to drink," Frodo admitted, completely serious.
"AH!" Pippin announced, standing up. "I hearsh my thune!" Indeed, there was hobbit music playing, but the behavior Frodo's younger cousin was showing didn't help matters.
Frodo shook his head. He took another sip of ale. It was a small sip, but enough to convince him that he had plenty. A thought passed his mind: If only I could have a moment to myself. That would be bliss… what is that? He didn't know if he was sleepy or anything, but he felt a large shift and a tear through the air. It was as if he was moved to another location, not by his own will.
Only Merry and Pippin had mysteriously vanished. He wasn't in the Green Dragon inn, but somewhere else, with a hard, black road, green grass and… four leaf clovers streamed across the edges of a house meant for Big Folk. He was clearly not in the Shire.
Maybe he had a little too much to drink. Yes, that was it. Blame the ale.
But he couldn't blame or understand why he was walking inside the house. Well, the door was wide open. The moment he stepped inside the house, his nostrils smelled the sweet cinnamon cider. It smelled so calming. Maybe he should have some…
A loud crash from an empty bottle woke him up. Inside, it looked like a huge bar brawl, with everyone wearing green shirts, brown and forest green trousers, and emerald green hats. Had he stepped inside the house at the wrong time? This was not a fight he wanted to be a part of, and yet all the Big Folk were about his height. Wait… what? How did he get to be their height?
Blame the ale, he thought. Just blame the ale.
Frodo nearly rammed into a big man with a scruffy auburn beard. Already his senses were returning, but he felt awful. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know…" He was cut off, as a big hand grabbed the nape of his white shirt and dragged him over to the counter. The big man's hand released him, allowing him the chance to breathe and smell more hot apple cider.
It sure smelled good. He wanted some. But he hoped it wasn't ale. Lucky for him, there was a strange metal machine with a glass jug attached that had a quart of apple juice inside. And then there was the carrot cakes with fluffy cream on the top… he was hungry now.
"I'll have some of that," he asked a brown-haired woman, who happened to be standing behind the counter at the time. She looked at him, waiting for an answer. He remembered his manners on time, "Please, miss?"
"Here you are," the woman replied, handing to him a rather odd, yet sturdy plate. The plate looked to be made out of some sort of white foam, and there was also a white fork… or was it a spoon? He couldn't tell which it was. The glass was also clear and nearly filled to the brim with apple cider. He was given his answer by the woman, "It's a fork, and there's your glass. Feel free to get seconds, if you want." She announced, pointing to the scene behind them, "There's my husband!"
"Thank you," Frodo managed to respond, just before the woman left him alone with his food. He just ate a piece of the scrumptious square piece of cake when he looked up. There was Merry, sitting across the way from him. How…? A familiar hand clamped his shoulder. He only needed to look again to see the entire scene before him shift back to the dining area of the Green Dragon inn.
But how? Wasn't he at the strange house, during a brawl and eating carrot cake? He looked down at his food. There was the carrot cake, and the apple cider in his mug… or so he thought it was the cider. He took a sip, to discover it was hot apple cider. It was so good. He wanted another sip. A sip turned into a large gulp. He managed to stop for a bit, but… he couldn't stop. He had a second bite of the carrot cake. It was real, and on one of the Green Dragon's dark oak plate, too.
Wait…
"What happened to me?" He asked his cousins, quite confused.
"You disappeared," Pippin announced softly, "for a time."
"What?" Frodo asked, shocked.
"We thought you went somewhere, cousin," Pippin said, concerned.
"We wondered where you'd gone," Merry added, drinking a large gulp of whatever liquid was in his mug.
Frodo smiled. He couldn't help it. "I'm glad I'm back, though."
"Where were you?" Pippin asked, curious.
"A place with four leaf clovers, a large bar fight, a piece of carrot cake and hot apple cider," Frodo explained.
"You were where?" Merry asked further, confused.
"I don't know," He admitted, just as confused as his cousins. "It certainly felt real." He pointed to the apple cider, telling his cousins, politely, "Thank you for this."
"We're you cousins. Besides, you needed it, as did we," Merry explained.
"They just started handing out the cake." Pippin said to Frodo, before he turned to Merry, "Would you like some more, Merry?"
"I'd love that. Thank you." Merry nodded.
Pippin patted Frodo on the back. "You keep eating, cousin."
"I will," Frodo admitted, stating the obvious. Well, whatever the fluke incident was, he would blame the ale. But he had enough ale to drink for one night. At least he got some food and merry company from his cousins. He sighed. It was good to be home again.
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Thank you everyone for reading this story, as well as for any reviews, favorites and followings. It really makes my day to know there's someone reading my works. :) But this one I thought would be a fun little one-shot, complete with just about everything you would expect on St. Patrick's Day.
With that said, Happy St. Patrick's Day! And now I'm off to listen to more folk, Shire, and Irish music. :D
Guest Reviews:
Mari – Thanks for reviewing. :) I'll keep your suggestions in mind. So, we'll see what happens. :)