It was the middle of the night, and everything didn't seem as old. There was a newer Bag End right in front of me, with a scratch on the door. Beth and Dakota were already by the door.
"Isn't that Gandalf's mark?" I asked Dakota.
"Yeah. " she answered. "We should go inside."
"No! Who knows what happened?" Beth argued. "We just got transported to a different time!"
"How do you know it's a different time?" Dakota asked.
"It was daylight and suddenly it's nighttime." Beth answered.
"Well, the mark could mean future or past." I said.
"Did anything happen to the previous owners of bag end?" Dakota asked.
"For all we know, Frodo could be living here, if it is the past." Beth added.
"Well, then we'll just have to knock on the door." I decided, and went to knock.
"Hold on!" Beth cried. "Don't mention anything about the ring, or what happened to us, in case this is the past."
"Alright." I answered, and knocked on the door. Then I stood behind Dakota and Beth.
For about a minute, nobody answered the door. Then it was opened, and a hobbit stood behind the door. "NO MORE DWARVES." He said.
"We're not dwarves." Beth replied.
"You're not? Oh, you're not. Sorry, my house is full of them!" He said. "Who are you?"
"I'm Beth, and this is Dakota and Ra." Beth answered.
"I assume you want to come in?" He asked.
"Yes, please." Beth said.
"Sorry, you can't. There's no room." He responded, and went to shut the door.
"Bilbo, who is that?" Someone called from inside the house.
"Just some strangers!" Bilbo answered.
Then Gandalf came to the doorway.
"Gandalf!" Dakota cried.
"Do I know you?" Gandalf asked.
"I guess not." Dakota said, confused. "I guess this is the past."
I groaned loudly, while Beth kicked Dakota.
"Come in and explain what's going on." Gandalf ordered, and the hobbit started complaining.
"There's not any room, and the dwarves have ruined everything! The food is all gone, along with some of my best wine and beer, and the seed cakes- I worked hard on those. We simply can NOT have more guests here-"
"Bilbo, be quiet!" Gandalf said. Bilbo shut up.
We went into a room (which happened to be Bilbo's bedroom) and Gandalf told us to explain what was going on.
"What do you mean, this is the past?" Gandalf questioned. "This is the present."
"Dakota, you slipped up, you explain this." Beth said.
"I'm not explaining this." I added.
"Okay. We went back in time from when the Shire has an... adventure. A lot of things happened, and then suddenly we were here." Dakota explained. "That's the best I can do."
"And why did you knock on Bilbo's front door?" Gandalf asked.
"We knew the owner from our time, and he lived in Bag End and is related to Bilbo. Also, your mark was on his front door." I answered.
Then someone new opened the door. It was a dwarf with a long white beard wearing red.
"Thorin wants to know when you'll be coming out." He said.
"Tell Thorin I will come out when I please." Gandalf answered sharply.
Then the dwarf noticed us. "Who are they?" He asked.
"For now, it is none of your business." Gandalf snapped. The dwarf left.
"Who was that?" Beth asked.
"Balin, one of the dwarves in Thorin's company." Gandalf answered.
"He was old." I muttered.
"Do not insult the dwarves!" Gandalf said sharply. "Their leader is a king. A dragon invaded his home, and now they are going to take it back."
"Kinda sounds like your problem." I said to Dakota.
"It's your problem, too." Dakota pointed out.
"What problem?" Gandalf questioned.
"Dakota is the princess of a kingdom in the future that was attacked by orcs in the middle of the night. The orcs tore down the palace, and killed almost everyone, excluding her evil godmother, a dumb guard, some strange guy I don't know, and the two of us." I recited dully.
"A band of orcs did this, you say?" Gandalf asked disbelievingly.
"Her parents didn't do too much to help the defense. In fact, the only thing keeping us safe was a wall." I explained.
"Could you help us go back to the future?" Beth asked Gandalf.
"If you travel with Thorin's company, you might find a way back." Gandalf suggested. "There could be one along the way. BILBO!"
Bilbo came in, nervously tapping his fingers on his jacket. "Can you PLEASE get the dwarves out of the pantry? At this rate, there won't be anything left for breakfast- or second breakfast for that matter- and why are THEY still here?"
"They will be leaving tomorrow with the dwarves, as will you, Bilbo. Now, let us go and talk to the dwarves.
"Wait." Bilbo said. "Talk to the creatures that tore apart my PANTRY, and KILLED my outhouse?"
"Yes, Bilbo, talk to them. And you'd best get used to it now, as you'll be traveling with them for quite a while." Gandalf replied.
Bilbo stopped in shock, with his mouth hanging open and his fingers finally freezing.
