First Adventure

.oOo.

The walk around the campus was pleasant. No one around to fight Frodo and his bride. It was just as well. Frodo would have rather chosen a peaceful nighttime stroll with Amelia any day. He turned to Amelia, taking in her features, loving her smile and friendly cheer!

"What do you think of this campus so far?" Frodo asked, inclined to know what she was thinking.

"It's nice," Amelia said, intrigued. "I wonder if there's writing classes here and adventuring classes. Ooh!" She perked up. "Maybe some other subjects as well, like Númenor and Fëanor."

"I'm not sure about them, but – hey! Let's check out that building," Frodo said, pointing to a building that looked like a mansion. He remembered hearing about this mansion and how it many wonderful things happened inside. From the sound of it, it looked like there was a party going on. "Come on. Let's check it out!" He said, leading his wife inside.

Amelia stared in awe at the mansion's interior. The foyer was huge with red carpeted floors and the sounds of children playing throughout the house. From the looks of the green punch, with its mint ice cream – she loved mint ice cream – dipped into the punch bowl, she was already giddy to see what was going on in this house.

She watched Frodo grab two cups of punch, passing a filled cup over to her. "For you, my darling."

"Thank you," Amelia said, sipping the drink. The drink left a sparkly fizz in her mouth while ejecting the mint flavor. She smiled, glad to have this drink. "I love mint. It's one of my favorite ice cream flavors, along with chocolate."

"Is it?" Frodo smirked. "We'll have to get you some."

"Have you ever had chocolate?" Amelia asked him, curious.

"Not that I know of," Frodo admitted, sipping his drink. "Hmm. It's good, but I think I'll stick with strawberry punch."

"You don't like it?" Amelia asked him, curious.

"Ah. I'll tolerate it," Frodo said, sipping more of his drink. Why was he tolerating it, when he could easily set it down and be done with it? Oh, that was why! The hosts, dressed in formal wear – one hobbit had curly brown hair, while the other had curly light brown hair that flowed down her shoulders – greeted them. He smiled, delighted to see his friends were the host and hostess. "Sam. Rosie. What are you doing here?"

"Oh," Sam said, intervening. "We're just having fun. This is our house and our party."

Frodo grinned, delighted to see them.

"Who are you?" Amelia asked the two hobbits, intrigued but also curious.

"Amelia Baggins, this is my best friend Samwise Gamgee and his fiancée Rosie Cotton," Frodo said, pleased.

"What are you two doing here? Come to join the party?" Sam asked, curious. "It's our welcome party for newcomers. Care to join us?"

"Well, actually, Frodo was going to show me around the campus," Amelia pointed out.

"At this hour?" Sam asked, concerned. He suggested, "Oh, well, you two can stay here as long as you wish… at least, until curfew hours take place."

"Around ten. I know," Amelia said, serious.

"That's all right. We'll make it our first adventure here," Frodo suggested, glancing over at Amelia.

His wife shrugged. She wanted to explore this mansion anyway. But first, she wanted to grab some chocolates. She did, taking out a chocolate on a stick, in the shape of a dog's face, and biting into it. Oh, the chocolate was so good! Oh, Frodo was looking at her.

"We can explore here for a while." Amelia agreed. "It wouldn't be an adventure without a bit of exploration." She said, wandering off.

"She's new to adventures, isn't she?" Sam asked Frodo, concerned.

"I'll stay with her," Frodo said, following his wife down the foyer and into a hallway. He extended his arm to her, allowing her to take it while she ate her chocolate on a stick. "You'll do fine here. I'm sure of it."

"When will we see Sam and Rosie again? They look like a cute couple," Amelia said with a smile.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure we'll see them again soon," Frodo said, kissing her forehead.

~o~

Amelia finished eating her chocolate on a stick, before finding a trash can and pitching the stick there. The chocolate was so delicious! She wanted more! Wasn't there any more around? She noticed Frodo chuckling. Did he know what she wanted?

Oh, look! She found a portrait that was turning into a skeleton. Wait. Was this the Haunted Mansion? Did they enter Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion? Something felt off about this place.

"Do you think we'll see spirits here?" Amelia asked Frodo, whispering in his ear.

"I love it when you whisper in my ear," Frodo said, playfully, kissing her on the cheek.

Zoom!

Amelia wasn't the only one who heard that. Frodo heard it, too. "What was that? A ghost? A vampire?"

"I haven't seen any vampires around," Frodo said, serious. He didn't want to stay. Instead, he led Amelia back to the foyer, where they were safe for now. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Sam asked, coming up to them.

"Nothing. Just thought we saw something," Frodo said, looking back at the hallway. He told Amelia, as soon as they finished their drinks and set the cups down. "Right. Let's head back." He turned to Sam, telling him, "Thank you for the party, Sam. It was great." He turned to Amelia, leading her outside. "Come on. Let's go."

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Amelia asked, stopping him.

"Look, we'll be safer together," Frodo said, heading out the door without another word. He didn't stop until he and his wife were back inside his dorm room. Man, whatever that creature was, it certainly had vampiric eyes.

*.*.*

References:

The Haunted Mansion exists at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland.