Sorry for the delay. I was working on other fanfics. Also, I had to go back and rewrite this chapter. So, hopefully, it's worth the wait. Here we go. :)

*.*.*

"Who are you?" a golden house cat slammed into the gate, glaring at Parker and Frodo, startling them. "Huh? What brings you to the Chesapeake Manor? We're closed to guests and visitors! This place hasn't seen visitors since the First Age, when a poor hobbit got knocked unconscious by a senile talking dragonoid. Now who are you and what do you want?"

"Um… that was me," Parker pointed to himself, presenting Frodo, too. "And this is Frodo Baggins. I knocked Frodo out, but Aslan revived him and his memories."

"Oh, that makes sense," the golden house cat sneered. "We're still not allowing visitors at this hour. Come back at a reasonable time, please?"

That wasn't enough for Frodo. Upon realizing the golden house cat was going to keep them locked out of the manor, before they had the chance to sleep there, Frodo moved past Parker Dooley, presenting himself before the golden house cat. He had to say something. Otherwise, he feared he might not get another chance.

"What do you want?" the golden house cat asked, sneering.

"Please, if you let us in, we won't bother you," Frodo pleaded, kindly. "We'll be good guests, if you'll let us stay. Is there a reason why there hasn't been guests and visitors since the First Age?"

"A new family moved into the Chesapeake Manor. They don't invite guests, unless they're related to Parker Dooley, but Parker Dooley has done a treacherous thing by knocking you unconscious," the golden house cat glanced over at Parker and then back at Frodo. "And that kind of mark stains a house. You may not live to see the next day, if you stay here. And no one wants this manor to live up to its haunted name."

Parker looked up at the sky. Storm clouds were rolling in. The sun was starting to set. That wasn't good. He had to say something… now!

"Listen," Parker said, facing the golden house cat again, "we want to enter this house. We need to enter it. We won't leave until you let us in. We won't be a bother and we won't curse this house. Please, let us in! Please?"

The golden house cat eyed him suspiciously. This was not Alindor, but apparently this golden house cat was the gatekeeper of the Chesapeake Manor or its groundskeeper. Still, the golden house cat obliged, unlocking the gate and giving Frodo and Parker a couple of seconds to enter the manor's grounds, before he closed the gate again.

"I only let you in because you two have been so kind to me. I cannot promise that what happens inside this manor will be good. Maybe in the first few years it will be, but I doubt it will stay this way forever," the golden house cat said, leading Frodo and Parker over to the front doors.

Parker looked at the grounds. The grass was so lush and green here, the garden filled with bright, beautiful flowers. Parker soon followed Frodo past the front doors, entering the foyer in no time. The foyer was so large, larger than the last time Parker and Frodo had been to the Chesapeake Manor.

Was there magic involved? An ancient magic not uncovered until today? Some powers causing the foyer and, he guessed, the rest of the house, to look so grand? Parker didn't know. He just hoped nothing went wrong today.

As he looked around, Parker noticed the stairway and the balcony leading to the first floor were made from dark mahogany wood. Statues lined the walls, while antiques and antiquities covered some parts of the ground level. Tapestries and rugs, as well as few wide mirrors, showed off throughout the room.

Parker sighed. A lot changed in the Chesapeake Manor, since the last time he was here. He looked at the front door, at the same time as Frodo, as the golden house cat walked outside, closing the doors behind him. Frodo and Parker were now alone inside the house.

.

Parker turned his gaze to one of the white marble statues, representing a man with fair hair and fair features, staring off at one of the closed doors. The marble man's index finger pointed to the closed room, as if testing Parker to open the wooden doors with their gold leaf designs surrounding the arched doors.

These arched doors were massive, as if they held a secret or two that Parker so longed to find out. He followed the marble man's finger, walking over the soft, red rug representing a large crest showing a golden lion on the left and a white unicorn with a spiral horn on the right, separated by a yellow divider, blocking the lion and the unicorn from interacting or dueling each other.

Parker wasn't sure he wanted to know the outcome of that battle, just that he wanted to find out what lurked beyond the doors. At last, he reached the doors, opening one door a bit to get a glimpse inside the room.

The room was large with its curtains closed. Candles protruded the area, giving the rather large library with its tall blue painted bookcases, filled with books and scrolls, a rather dimly lit glow. A tan globe sat on a stand, ready to be spun and reveal its location.

Parker sighed, entering the room and leaving the door ajar, just in case Frodo searched for him and didn't know where to look for him. Parker turned to his right hand, making a rather large ball of bright light float in his hand. With another gesture, the ball of light made its way to the chandelier, brightening up the room.

He turned his gaze towards the rather tall, wide glass windows. Dusk had begun to set across the land, leaving an ominous feeling, no matter where Parker looked. It truly was a sight for the light red dragonoid to see, now he was inside the Chesapeake Manor.

This library he was in had a red and gold color scheme on the large rugs, with their gold leaf designs scattered across the red backdrop the rugs provided. Even the carpets were decked in a red patterned floral design. The wallpaper on the walls was a sort of greenish-white tiled design, shown on all the walls in this room. The bookcases ran all the way to the top of the ceiling, leaving an ominous, overwhelming feel to the room. Lucky, there was some space between some of the bookcases to make the room less overwhelming.

If anything, it made Parker nearly lost in the library's splendor. He turned his attention to the rest of the room. Long wooden tables, made from a light oak wood, stood in neat rows in the centermost part of the room. Wooden chairs with red and green throw pillows lined the tables, as well as desk lamps and an assortment of ink bottles, quills, and stacks of parchment paper had been placed on the tables for safe keeping.

Naturally, there were a few writing desks, made from dark oak wood, placed along the corners of this library. A long ledge sat underneath the windows, lined up along the flat corner and the two wide windows making up the opposite end of the room. A single wooden door stood opposite the windows, nearly hidden behind one of the bookcases.

Parker looked up at the ball of light. It flickered, signaling to him it was time to move on. Parker nearly did leave the room, but not before walking over to the singular wooden door and opening it, only to discover a bathroom, with pink and white tiled wallpaper hung on the walls, stood off to his left with the door left wide open so Parker could see the white sink sitting underneath the mirror medicine cabinet with its light oak frame embedded to the wall. A hallway stood between the library, the bathroom, and the parlor next door with its dark green carpet and tan and white tiled wallpaper hanging on the parlor's walls.

It was then that a gentle-hobbit, who looked just like Parker's human-hobbit self and Frodo Baggins, proceeded to leave the parlor and walked past the small salmon wallpaper room with its own dark oak staircase, leading to the second floor. This small room stood next to the small bathroom Parker was looking at, but before the dimly-lit hallway with its soft, dark green floral carpet that stood in-between this small room, the bathroom, and the library. This gentle-hobbit wore a regal royal blue robe, a light blue waistcoat, a white dress shirt, tan suspenders, and dark blue breeches. The way this gentle-hobbit walked in a more gentlemanly stance, as if he was the Master of the Chesapeake Manor.

Parker had to meet this gentle-hobbit! He perked up, smiling when he saw this gentle-hobbit. It definitely wasn't Frodo. Frodo was more down-to-earth and dressed well. This hobbit did, too. But… what was this regal gentle-hobbit like? Parker had to know and soon, for this regal gentle-hobbit was heading his way!

Oh perfect! What was the light red dragonoid to say to this posh gentle-hobbit? Something! It had to be something!

He tried to speak to the regal gentle-hobbit, but it seemed this regal gentle-hobbit's focus was towards someone else standing in one of the manor's rooms. Who was he? That was an excellent question, one that Parker Dooley would know soon enough!

"Delphi, did you get the newspaper we sent you?" one servant asked, passing to the regal gentle-hobbit a paper depicting various articles written in ink.

Delphi stared at the newspaper in confusion. Parker stared quizzically at the paper, too. He hadn't seen a newspaper since his time on Earth, back in the 1940s. Well, he wasn't sure if he saw a newspaper in the 1950s, since Frodo was searching for his Shire salt, when he and Frodo first met at the Chesapeake Manor during this Universe's First Age.

Parker's eyes widened as Delphi turned to him. Oh no! What was the light red dragonoid to do? His long, furry red ears pricked up, sort of bumping into his short, curvy, wavy grey horns in the process.

He was caught!

"Have you been standing there this whole time?" Delphi asked the light red dragonoid. He gestured for Parker to come closer. "Come here." Parker hesitated, walking towards the regal gentle-hobbit a moment later. Delphi took a good look at the light red dragonoid standing before him, asking in a timid, casual manner, "What's your name, dragonoid?"

"How did you know I'm a dragonoid?" Parker asked in return, timid as well.

"Well, you don't meet dragonoids a lot in these parts, but that doesn't mean I haven't heard of them before," Delphi admitted with a shrug and a smirk. He paused, letting the thought sink in. "Now, tell me your name. You didn't answer my question."

"Parker." Parker said at once. He cleared his throat. "I'm Parker Dooley." He added, "I came here with a hobbit. You may know him from the terrible stories and rumors told inside this manor. His name is Frodo Baggins. He's my descendant."

"Then you came back," Delphi said, knowingly. "The both of you are here."

Parker nodded. What was he to say to that?

"Yes, we're here, Delphi," Parker said, pleased. He asked, raising an eyebrow, "Who are you?"

"Delphi," Delphi answered with a warm, friendly smile. "I'm your descendant. Your journeys are legend. My brother Dalpha is around here somewhere."

Parker honestly couldn't believe this gentle-hobbit had the same name as the oracle. But then, he knew his own name was unique, too. Hmm… that was something.

What was he doing?

"Um… so, as the Master of this Manor—that's me!—I'll take you to your room myself," Delphi said, escorting Parker through the parlor.

Parker gasped at the sight of the parlor. There was a crystal chandelier hanging above one of the tables, which had a white lace placemat with a set of silver candlesticks on top of the placemat and white flowers on either side of the candlesticks. There were also mahogany china cabinets, where the dishes were stored. There were also furnished light green couches and light green chairs sitting about the room, even next to the fireplace with its mantelpiece underneath an elegantly framed mirror. Parker wanted to stay in this room, but knew he had to make his way into the next room, if he wanted to see other parts of the house first.

"Ahem!" Delphi cleared his throat, getting the light red dragonoid's attention. "Are we standing around here, admiring the furniture? Or would you like a tour of the manor?" He raised his eyebrows, admitting freely, "This manor has magic. It won't be the same again."

That got Parker thinking. What if the foyer was in the next room? Still, as he followed Delphi into the small white painted drywall antechamber, with its dark oak stairway, leading to the first floor, Parker wondered what sort of powers this manor had?

He jumped at the sight of Delphi opening a door, allowing them access into the foyer.

"Well, that's only one small section of this manor!" Delphi said, leading Parker up the foyer's grand staircase and down the right balcony. "There's lots of rooms in this manor not yet explored! Well, maybe you'll have better luck than me at finding them." He sighed, turning the corner to the long hallway. "I'd love to figure out the manor's mystery."

"You would?" Parker asked, as they walked past a couple of oil paintings that looked like they were moving.

"Oh yes." Delphi said, pleased. "It would certainly bring some light to this place." He opened a door, gesturing for Parker to walk through. "Here we are. Your room. Everything's inside. Aslan made sure of it. So, why don't you explore and I'll see you downstairs? We're having supper in the east parlor. It's close to the kitchen. You can't miss it."

"Thank you," Parker said, making his way into the bedroom.

"Not that you would. I'll see you soon," Delphi said, closing the door behind Parker, leaving the dragonoid alone in his room.

.

The first room Parker entered was the sitting room. Dragonoid statues littered the floral red carpeted floor, soft red rugs with a gold dragonoid emblem sewn into the rugs. A mahogany dining table sat in the centermost part of the sitting room, with paintings of the history of the First World and the Universe, up until the end of the First Age, revealed on the oil paintings. These paintings hung over red tapestries depicting dragonoids, unicorns, and merfolk.

Next to the sitting room was Parker's bedroom, which had a four-poster king-sized bed with red curtains draped around the bed and a red cushioned bedroom bench sitting at the end of the bed's light oak frame. Two dressers were set up in the bedroom, along with a light oak end table with a clock sitting on top of the end table's wooden surface, and a dark oak writing desk in another corner, complete with its own set of blank paper, quills, pens, and an ink bottle nestled in the writing desk's storage spaces. A wooden ledge with pillows sat on one end of the room, showing tall wide windows and a red curtain hanging in front of the window.

Next to the bedroom was Parker's bathroom with white and black tiled floors, a bathtub with its own showerhead and curtain, a white toilet, and a light oak counter where the sink was attached to. There was a medicine cabinet with a mirror hanging above the sink, while wooden rails covered the walls in the bathroom.

In all, Parker found his room interesting. He nearly decided on relaxing on the bed and falling asleep there, but his stomach was clearly thinking about food. Sustenance. He needed sustenance! He'd been hanging around hobbits too much! Still, he licked his lips, leaving his suite and making his way down the hallway, where he hoped to find Frodo and Delphi, but to discover where the dining room was located.