Disclaimers: I do not own The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien does.
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This particular cliché I'm all too familiar with, perhaps because I daydreamed about it so much growing up. Granted, I don't know everything there is to know about this cliche, the only thing I have to go are the daydreams. Honestly, I wasn't sure if and when I would be back to actually write one, this time in full, but here we are. And here we go. :)
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No one could have expected this, except for those who write tenth walker fanfics. But then, even my experience with this new development was much bigger than I could have imagined. And it all began at home, when no one was at home and the air was different. I had just taken a nap when I felt darkness creep up on me. It was so mysterious and so wicked, the last thing that I could have expected was this madness. It felt like I was living "The Nutcracker" play all over again.
Wait. Was I truly living "The Nutcracker" play, the play I had seen over the years and loved. I opened my eyes. So far, everything looked the same, but there was hardly a sound in the house. Quietly, I entered the living room. No one was up and it was still early in the morning. Only my cat was awake and alert, looking at me as if wondering when I would give her food and fresh water.
"Not now," I whispered to my cat. She quietly growled, before moving downstairs. I grunted my frustration. "What did I do?"
"What didn't you do?" said a familiar deep voice. My attention turned to the voice, jumping in shock to see the wizard, Gandalf the Grey, in my house. No way. "Are you looking for something or rather is it you are seeking a quest? I know the feeling and that is why I have come."
"I must be dreaming," I said, patting my cheeks a few times. "No, no. I must have gone crazy or else this is a dream or I'm dying."
"You are neither dying nor mad, but whether or not you are dreaming, you would know it," Gandalf said, staring at me with intrigue. "Go on and pinch yourself. You know how long dreams last."
"Right," I said, panicking a little. I closed my eyes and pinched myself. No. How could this be? "Ow!" I yelped in fright. It wasn't a dream. I was awake and Gandalf… I pointed to him. Gandalf was real, or was it truly Gandalf the Grey? "You? Aren't you Gandalf the Grey? What are you doing here?"
"Ah," Gandalf stood up. "Yes, I am Gandalf the Grey. As for why I have come… well, you certainly don't want to feed hungry hobbits here, not when they've spent so much time plucking food from you. I suspect Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took are the cause for your food missing. And maybe Frodo Baggins, but where we're going, and we are going back in time to see him, Frodo won't even know it's you. You'll have to introduce yourself."
"Going back in time?" I huffed, panicked once more. "Wait a minute. If I go back with you, Frodo… I thought he knew who I was. NO!" I cried a little too loud. I thought someone had heard me, but once again no one was up. I was alone again. "Why would you send me back in time for? Won't that change something here?"
"Ah, my dear Aria, didn't you know…." Gandalf placed his hand on my shoulder, "….Frodo has spent much time communicating with you already, but you two haven't met before. Not in person. I'm doing you both a favor."
"How long won't he know me for?" I asked, saddened to hear his news.
"Well, let's just say until he remembers who you are. I'm afraid I don't have a complete idea how long it will take. I'd give it about a year or two. Also, we're going to the Shire two or three years before the quest. If he doesn't take a wife before the quest, then he won't be himself by the time the quest is done and he's done. I'm doing you both a favor, as I said," Gandalf said, patting my shoulder. "Now, we should get going. I'm afraid you won't need to be human-human for this task. Just a human-hobbit. Only your height and hair will change. The rest… well, that'll come later. Now come on."
I was reluctant by his words. Should I really trust Gandalf for this quest? It wasn't the first time I've gone mad and for a moment, I thought I saw Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin in the shadows, taking out food from the cupboards. Really? Seriously? Did they have to do this? And yet, I followed Gandalf outside and witnessed my blue jeans shrink, my white socks shrink, my blue blouse shrink and the rest of me shrink. It seems I forgot to wear shoes again. How typical. My socks were more than likely going to get ripped, before I was done. But wait. My feet were growing, growing larger and no longer fitting my socks. I had to take them off on the brown porch, narrowly tripping myself on it. I lost my balance all right, falling into the area behind the bushes. Man, did it hurt.
"Are you all right?" Gandalf asked, chuckling.
"I'll be fine. Ow!" I could barely move. My ankle throbbed. "I think I twisted my ankle. I can't move."
"Did you? Why don't you check again?" Gandalf asked, shooing the thought at me.
"What? I—" It was a miracle. My ankle didn't hurt anymore. Why was that? "How did you do that?"
Gandalf laughed again. This was clearly becoming annoying. "You see, child, this kind of magic will only work here. But should you need assistance like this again, just ask and it will be granted."
I just barely made it out of the bushes, throwing my socks into the light green grass, when a portal opened in the middle of the field. No way. I had done my fascination with portals in the past, but nothing like this. I smiled. Was I really going through a portal?
"You've got to be kidding me." I looked up at Gandalf then and there. "Are we going through that?"
"Just follow my lead," Gandalf said, charging forward down the slope. "Come on!" I did follow him, almost at a run. Well, I was still youthful, but a bit mature for my age – as maturity could come along – so running just felt natural to me. Still, it made the wizard laugh. "You remind me of a child I once knew."
"Who? Bilbo?" I asked, doing my best to slow down; only I couldn't slow down. Something was dragging me forward. The portal, of course! Did it really have this kind of wind? "Huh? What's going on? What going on?!" I squealed. I didn't want to be pulled through yet. I had questions to ask the wizard, questions that needed answering.
Gandalf laughed again, no surprise there.
"I'll meet you on the other side!" Gandalf shouted. "Maybe not in this form or in this present time, but when we meet again, it will be under different circumstances. Now go!" He smacked his staff on the ground. I didn't know what else to do. I – I was pulled through the portal, landing in a tumble on a cobbled stone bridge. Oh man, did it hurt. Wait. I was nowhere near home. Where in the blazes was I?
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Thanks for reading. :)
