Those of us who know Frodo's back-story know what's coming up. Those that don't, stay tight as this is pretty much canon what happens next. This was foreshadowed in The Rival Houses in one of Frodo's strange, vivid dreams, too; so, if you were paying attention, then good for you. But for those who aren't as familiar with Frodo's back-story, and are new to the Ring-bearer's back-story of his life, you will soon. Fair warning: it might shock you, what's coming up that's canon as far as events go.
As to the letters coming up, with the date for the letters, since we have no right align text in our edit screen, writers, I've had to leave the date on the left-hand side. The rest of the letter should be the same. As for what happened after Frodo reads my letter, help with this came from DoctorWhovian18 and Frodo. So yeah. :)
Stepping inside Brandy Hall was like waking up in Hogwarts, at least in Frodo's mind… and now that he thought on it, not as cold as the castle usually was throughout the four seasons. Almost every room was large, homely and welcoming, except by the many doors that persisted to separate nearly all the rooms inside the smial. Frodo, of course, had the notion in his head that he wanted to explore, not leaving Brandy Hall until he checked every nook and cranny the hobbit-hole had to offer.
Drogo told his brother-in-law, "Gorbadoc would be pleased. He was always a good host."
Rory said, reminiscing, "Yes he was. I can remember this one time when he used to serve us whole racks of steak. There would be none left by the time we finished them." He laughed merrily at the memory of his father, now long since passed away.
Frodo asked his mother, "Can I explore?"
Primula turned to her brother and said, "Rory, why don't you show Frodo where he'll be sleeping." It wasn't a question.
Rory nodded, understanding. "Right." Facing Frodo, Rory said to him, "Come on, Frodo. Let's go and see your room."
Frodo asked, curiously, "Do I still get the same room?" as he followed his Uncle Rory down the next hallway.
Rory laughed, joyfully, "Yes Frodo."
Frodo sighed, but it was a very soft sigh. Although he didn't mind much, the question still formed in his mind. But now that question was answered. He replied, "That's good."
"And your parents get your mother's old bedroom, but don't tell her that," said Rory, murmuring loudly.
Primula said, aloud, "You know I heard that."
Drogo chuckled. "Yes Primula. We know you did."
Frodo grinned to himself. He did love his father; this was one moment in which he wondered if he inherited his cheeky side from his dad. It was quite possible.
Following his Uncle Rory down a long hallway with doors on either side, Frodo stopped when his uncle led him into one of the guest rooms, where the round-shaped door had been left open. The guest room was fairly large; this was perhaps due to the Hogwarts wardrobe that, with the large Hogwarts' symbol on the front pair of doors, was found in the room, by the king-sized bed. There was also a separate dresser, plants in vases, a table that stood on the other side of the bed, and a small bookcase by the door. Frodo was reminded of Bag End, but also his parents' hobbit-hole due to the way the room was set up. Just seeing the Hogwarts' emblem on the wardrobe, he had grown so accustomed to seeing reminded Frodo of the school and how much he missed it, even if that time was for one day.
Rory told Frodo, beside himself upon seeing the wardrobe, "That wardrobe arrived just this morning, before you and your parents arrived. Dumbledore must know you're here; although, I don't know why."
Frodo was stunned. He asked Rory, "Dumbledore? You know Dumbledore?"
Rory let out a chuckle. "The whole Brandybuck family knows who Dumbledore is. You were given that note, I'm sure, about not being allowed to use magic except around those who are your family, I presume."
"The note said…" Frodo remembered now: the note not only said his parents, but also his relatives that knew about magic. How he assumed it was only his parents' house… well, maybe that was mainly for when he was at home. Blushing at the thought, Frodo said, "Well, maybe you're right."
Two hoots sounded in the room, but as Frodo looked about him, he wondered where the hoots were coming from. Staring at the wall at the same time as his Uncle Rory, out from a rainbow-lit portal flew out a male tawny owl. Frodo recognized the owl: he was Hedwer and he belonged to Aria Breuer, his friend and authoress. In Hedwer's beak was a sealed envelope, which he plopped on the table after perching on a small branch-like podium. Minding Hedwer's wide-eyed gaze and screech, Frodo took the envelope from the table.
Rory, noticing the envelope, asked his nephew, "Whose it from?"
Frodo peered up at his uncle, informing him with enthusiasm, "It's from Aria, my friend and authoress. Hedwer – this tawny owl here – belongs to her."
Rory chuckled. Seeing Frodo was preoccupied, Rory told him, "I'll be out in the parlor with your parents. If you need anything or want second breakfast, as I'm sure you do, meet us out in the dining room." He strode out of the guest room, now for Frodo's use.
Breaking the seal, Frodo opened the envelope and pulled out the folded letter. Setting the envelope down on the dresser, Frodo unfolded the parchment and read Aria's delicate, fine handwriting:
June 24th, 1992 A.H.T. (a.k.a. Authors' House Timeline)
Dear Frodo,
I am so sorry if this letter doesn't reach you on the exact date I wrote it. There are only so many owls that go out and Hedwer was being used by first Anne, then Amy, and then Abigail twice for their letters. I just now took the time early this morning to write this letter. I don't know when I'll send Hedwer to you, but it will be very soon. If not, then sometime today.
Anyway, other than my owl fiasco, how are you? What have you been doing these past four days? I'll tell you one thing: as soon as I got back to the Authors' House, my mind has been fixated on you. Frodo, I know I'm your fangirl and authoress, but with us, it feels like a real friendship is building up and blossoming. Oh, I do hope you can visit the Authors' House, when you can. There's so much here to see and do. It's incredible… that is, if you're into writing and such, but there's plenty of games and activities to do here, too.
I need to tell you – although, I'm not sure if I should be telling you this – Amy and Abigail both just received their first copies of The Lord of the Rings book trilogy. Anne got her copy last year, as did I. Still, I thought you should know, but then I'm not sure how you'd react if you ever saw this trilogy with your future adventures in it. Oh, now I am speaking too much! Oh…
Well, if you ever want to visit the Authors' House, you can. I'd invite you over. We have our very own garden, the kitchen's always open, there's even a writer's study and a library… oh, there's so much to try here. But it's up to you. I'm sorry for pressuring you and all.
Anyway… chat with you later. Hope to read your letter soon.
Your friend,
Aria Breuer (a.k.a. Maisie)
Frodo couldn't help but let out a small giggle and a big grin. The way Aria wrote her letter was enough to make his whole day filled with delightful surprise. Setting the letter on the dresser, Frodo turned his gaze to Hedwer. The owl needed to go outside.
Opening the bedroom door, even though Frodo was sure he heard his Uncle Rory close it again, Frodo told Hedwer, "Here you go. You can head outside, Hedwer."
Hedwer screeched. Flapping his wings, Hedwer flew towards the open doorway. Directing the owl to the front door, Frodo opened it for him. Hedwer zoomed out of the doorway, hooting cheerfully to be back out in the sunshine. By the time he closed the door, Frodo watched from a nearby window at Hedwer, as he perched on a high branch at the top of a nearby tree. Happy that Hedwer was enjoying himself, Frodo made his way into the parlor.
Brandy Hall's parlor had a wide window and was certainly a fairly large room. There were two tables, a long wooden ledge under the window with a few pillows set out on top of it; this ledge was the perfect spot to read or sit quietly and watch what was happening outside. There was also a fireplace set out against the wall. Along the wall were a few paintings of Buckland, the Old Forest and a large painting of the Brandybuck family.
There, Frodo told his parents, uncle and aunt, "Hedwer will be fine. He's a smart owl. He'll come back."
"All owls are," said Drogo, "especially those from the Wizardry World."
Primula told Frodo, extending her hand, "Come in here, son."
Frodo agreed in silence, entering the parlor and taking a seat between his father and mother. It was going to be a good day. But in the back of Frodo's mind, he had this strange nagging feeling that something bad would happen that day. He did not know what. Was it something he was meant to remember? Or… he didn't know.
o-o-o
Throughout the day, Frodo did his best to find his cousins. Many of them had gone off through Buckland, near Brandy Hall, to chat with other people, or else sleep. Frodo did find it a bit fun to wake those cousins who were sleeping, just to hear their dream-filled mumbles. Frodo did leave them alone, though. Some cousins who Frodo did get the chance to interact with had quite interesting, if not simple stories to tell. These stories made Frodo wonder whether he would have another adventure with Aria, Harry, Ron and Hermione during his second year. He didn't announce this to anyone, but it was a pleasant thought, in spite of the end to their first adventure.
Towards three o' clock – and Frodo remembered telling time by the sun – Frodo neared the Brandywine River. As he approached the river, a few hobbits pushed past him, apologizing as they went. Frodo didn't go very far when, standing before him, was a crowd of hobbits making a half circle by the river's shore.
"Where's the boy?" asked one Brandybuck.
"Find the lad," said Saradoc. "Frodo must know-"
"Know what?" asked Frodo, making his presence known.
The hobbits in the circle turned their heads slowly his way. There was a heavy silence, something Frodo did not quite understand. Saradoc told the crowd of hobbits, "Let him pass." His words were enough to allow the hobbits to step aside, creating an aisle.
Frodo walked through the aisle. The hobbits behind him returned to their first positions. The whole scene felt ominous, something Frodo didn't very much enjoy. What was going on that he wasn't aware of? Frodo didn't like being left out of the loop. He –
"Oh no," said Frodo, nearly choking on his own words. Lying on the ground were Frodo's parents, but to Frodo's horror their skin was as white as a sheet and they weren't breathing. Shock overwhelmed Frodo, like a huge stone had struck him. No, this couldn't be real! This couldn't…
Approaching his parents' lifeless bodies, Frodo collapsed on his knees before his mother. "Mum?" He peered over at his father, hoping his cry would wake him. "Dad?!" He wanted to scream, but some part of him told him not to do it. He was filled with both disbelief and a penetrating sadness, something that could not be easily cured. He fell on his butt, his body too heavy to do anything else.
Saradoc informed Frodo, surprised how calm and quiet the lad was responding, "Your parents drowned on the Brandywine River. I'm sorry, Frodo."
Frodo's gaze fell on his uncle. He said nothing, nodding in reply. Tears about ran down his face. Frodo rubbed some tears out of his eyes, but he found he couldn't prevent them all. Not wanting anyone to see him cry, Frodo darted away from the sight. His run caused the crowd of Brandybucks, his relatives, to stand aside in an effort not to get shoved. Frodo didn't want to risk hurting anyone, but the pain he was in was enough to say how much he was grieving.
Finding his way into Brandy Hall, Frodo continued his charge non-stop. His legs cried out in pain and agony, but he didn't care. By the time he reached his bedroom, Frodo collapsed on the bed, finally releasing the tears that wanted to leave his eyes and stain his cheeks.
o-o-o
Throughout dinner, Frodo sat in deep thought. He did his best to eat his food, but otherwise he stayed in silence. The whole table was also silent, as his Brandybuck relatives felt his grief. But that was nothing compared to the pain Frodo was feeling and the overwhelming shock of how alone he felt. Suddenly, Hogwarts was beginning to grow on him all the more. In the past few hours, since losing his parents, Frodo was now an orphan.
Re-entering the room his Uncle Saradoc told him would be his from now on, Frodo found Hedwer perched on the branch podium and Prim back inside her cage. Frodo felt too hurt to do anything, yet… there was Aria and Harry. Harry had lost his parents before he got the chance to know them. But it was Aria who he wanted to talk to, since he had this feeling – from what Aria told him – Aria already knew this event would happen. While mildly annoyed at this information, Frodo found the only way he would explain himself to her as through a reply. He had been sorely lacking it.
Finding the writing desk in his Brandy Hall bedroom, Frodo pulled out a single piece of parchment, dipped his quill into the filled ink bottle and wrote to Aria. His hand shook as he wrote his letter:
June 24th, 2980 T.A. (a.k.a. Third Age of Middle-earth)
Dear Aria,
I have news to tell you and it's hurting me right now… my parents are dead. There isn't anything I can do about it. I must hear from you soon. I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm about to come to tears. Please send a reply with advice. I need to hear from you. If you know anything about what's happening to Harry Potter this year, our friend, I'd like to know that as well. I haven't got any letters from him at all, or anyone. I need to know if they're all right; if anyone is all right.
Please Aria.
Your friend,
Frodo
Tears dripped onto the parchment as he wrote these words. It felt good to get it out of his chest, but… Frodo folded up the parchment and sealed it in his Baggins' seal. Approaching Hedwer, Frodo passed him the letter. Hedwer grabbed it with his beak.
Frodo told the tawny owl, "You know where to find Aria."
Hedwer flew through the same portal, which vanished from Frodo's room as soon as the bird was through it. Relieved the door was closed, Frodo sat down on his bed and wept non-stop. He didn't know how long he slept that night, but by morning, the tears had stopped. While it was comforting, Frodo found he missed his friends, but at this time he truly missed both his parents. Without their guidance, Frodo wondered how he would manage the rest of his life. He didn't want this to happen, and yet it did.
There were definitely tears in my eyes the first time I wrote the second to last section and learning what happened to Frodo's parents. With Drogo and Primula's boating accident, there were two theories that J.R.R. Tolkien represented when the hobbits spoke of Frodo's parents. These theories are stated as this: Drogo and Primula, after dinner, went out boating and Drogo's weight sunk the boat; or it wasn't an accident, Primula pushed Drogo into the water and Drogo pulled her in. As you can tell, I didn't specify which one, but I don't think I need to, unless you readers are actually interested. I guess I left it up to you, readers, to decide how it happened.
As to the matter concerning Brandy Hall, there's really no description on the interior, as far as I read from 'The Lord of the Rings' Wiki and, of course, there's hardly any description, if at all, of Brandy Hall's interior in The Fellowship of the Ring book. Due to this, it's given me the freedom to describe the smial's interior; although, I think some reference and inspiration was given by the Great Smials in Tuckborough from the Massive-Multiplayer Online game "The Lord of the Rings Online".
And of course, please review and let me know what you think. :)
