Chapter 1:

There had already been so many goodbyes, and now she had to say it to her husband once more. Tears stung her eyes and she could hardly look at him without wanting to fall apart. Two years of marriage now seemed to have gone by so fast and she wished them back. The baby in her stomach kicked when she thought of the pain of parting with Frodo for a second time.

She knew how dangerous this journey was going to be, there was the chance that none of them would survive. With all of her might she prayed that Frodo would be safe, her child couldn't grow up without a father. The bond she shared with him was stronger because of that cursed Ring, she could feel it. The power of it radiated off of him; it scared her, and was no doubt the cause of her nightmares. When he slept beside her the night before, she could hear it calling his name, whispering promises that were surely lies.

Locking eyes with her husband's bright, blue eyes, Karolyn could only hope that she would someday see him again.

There was absolutely no time to think of boys at her age, Karolyn had seen enough of her sister's failed courting attempts. Her parents were insisting she seek a suitable husband soon, since she had just come of age. At first it enraged Lily that her parents were practically forcing her to marry, but she had to admit her eyes had fallen on a few handsome hobbit lads in the area.

"This is the sixth man, Lily, do you think he's the one?" Karolyn teased as she nudged her sister in the side.

Lily turned her nose up, fixing her hair, "For your information, he sought me out."

Karolyn's eyes widened, "Well that's wonderful news!"

Lily smiled, "Yes it is, you'll never guess who it is."

"Please tell me, I want to know who my new brother is going to be!"

There was a knock at the door and both girls scrambled to their feet, running towards the door. Already there were the three younger Underhill siblings, Cedric, Flora, and Diamond. Following behind the girls were there parents, eager and nervous for their daughter.

"Please tell me you remembered to brush your teeth this time, dear." her mother whispered from behind her.

"Oh please don't remind me of that, but I did,"

"Wouldn't want to scare this one off, too!" Cedric cried out, unleashing a loud laugh with Karolyn.

Lily's eyes filled with tears, but her mother scolded them before she could begin crying. There was another knock at the door, and they all froze.

"Seems we've forgotten to let our guest in," Albert Underhill mumbled as he opening the door.

Karolyn peered over her mother's shoulder to get a look at who this next suitor was, but she couldn't quite see when her family suddenly crowded in front of the door. Sighing she walked away to the living room where there large bookshelf was. Quickly she reached for her book and ran to her room, where she climbed out the window and headed for the meadow just beyond their hole.

Truth was she was jealous of Lily, getting to choose her husband and meeting all of these new lads. Just in the next three years she would be turning of age, and she would be lying if she said she hadn't been stealing looks at boys as they walked past. The books she read didn't help either, they all involved love interests with dramatic plot twists and mysterious men in cloaks who got to sweep the girls off their feet.

She plopped down on the ground, her overly-large feet stretched out in front of her and the calm breeze moved through her blonde ringlets. It would've been easy to fall asleep right there, had it not been for the wonderful adventure in her book. Before she realized it, the sun had begun to set.

"Mother is going to have my head," she whispered as she sprinted back to her hole. As soon as she had slipped back in, their guest had left.

Karolyn sighed, "Of course I missed it."

"Young lady if you-"

"It's alright mother, don't scold her," Lily said with a smile. It comforted Karolyn to see such happiness on her face, the last five boys hadn't been able to produce that yet.

"So how was it?" Karolyn inquired as they walked back towards her room.

Lily slid down against the wall, "Oh he's so dreamy, Karolyn. And his eyes, my heavens they're beautiful,"

"Who is he, then? I can't wait all night!" Karolyn exclaimed as she sat down in front of Lily.

She blushed, "It's Frodo Baggins!"

The younger girl had to hold her laughs back, that boy's uncle was psychotic and everyone knew it. The old Gaffer always talked about how cracked he was, and how his son still went over to garden for them everyday. They would all laugh and dismiss Bilbo's stories and odd behaviors. The children seemed to love him, though, especially his stories.

While his uncle was a bit odd, Frodo had never seemed fazed by it. This also didn't stop other young hobbit women from staring after him. It was hard not to, with his bright, blue eyes and dark black hair to go against them. Many talked about how Elvish he looked, he could calm a room just by entering it.

Karolyn had to admit that she was now even more jealous at the wonderful man that her sister was now wanting to marry. Perhaps someday she would find someone like Frodo Baggins.

And so I present to you the beginning of my second story, The Road Before Us. This story is a pairing with The Steward's Children. My updates for these stories will be once every month! So check back in when you see that alert!

Reviews always welcome, thank you for reading!

~Kendall~Mrs. Frodo Baggins~Mirabella Millstone of Bywater~