This is the last chapter.
*.*.*
Everything was coming back now. Frodo senses were returning, and yet the back of his head ached a little. There was no blood, but then the bump could have been a bruise from the shovel… the shovel. Who was carrying a shovel inside the Green Dragon inn? He was stopped by Samwise Gamgee, the sandy haired hobbit and his gardener.
"Whoa. There's no rush, Mr. Frodo. Take it easy," Sam said.
"But the hobbit who had the shovel…" Frodo didn't know what to say.
"That may have been my doing," Pippin Took said. The rascal.
"You. Why you, Pippin?" Frodo asked him.
"Well, I may have encouraged Merry to come to the Green Dragon and have some tea," Pippin explained, moving a golden lock of hair away from his eyes. Frodo shrugged. It was nothing serious. He needed to get his head straight.
"Frodo, I'm sorry for what happened to you this morning." Rosie said, standing up. "I did bring a jug of apple cider. But I'm not sure if you're up for it."
"I am," Frodo said. He wasn't about to let what happened in the prism prisons bother him. This time, he would make a new memory.
"Here," Rosie said, passing to him the drink. It was still hot. "Be careful. It's hot. Let it cool down before you drink some."
"Thank you, Rosie," Frodo said. He admitted, "I had this really strange dream, that I was in this rainbow prison. The only way to get out of there was to find the rainbow gems. And then, towards the end, I saw Bilbo, who wasn't himself." He looked away for a moment. He admitted, a little relieved, "I'm sorry for what happened to me. I must have caused you grief."
"There's no need to be sorry, Frodo," Merry said. "You were asleep for a couple of days. After Folco banged that shovel across your head, you were knocked out cold. We thought you'd entered a coma, which you did. And here you are. Safe and sound."
"I'd give Folco a piece of my mind. Ow!" Frodo felt the back of his head. It felt bruised, but it wasn't bleeding.
"He's here," Merry said, as Folco Boffin rushed in.
"Frodo, I'm really sorry about the shovel," Folco said. "I didn't know what I was doing when I had that shovel. I was just prancing around with it, in search of Fatty."
"You're forgiven." Frodo said, drinking some of the apple cider and some water. His voice was hoarse.
"Here. Take some rest. I'll be around Bag End until you're well," Folco said.
"You had better not bring another shovel, Folco!" Frodo cried hoarsely.
"Frodo, relax," Rosie said. "And drink more water. It's better to keep your fluids up."
"Thank you, Rosie," Frodo said. He looked on at his friends. Inside, he felt the effects of the apple cider. There was a herbal remedy that he tasted in the drink. He felt so sleepy… and this time he slept better. No rainbow prism prisons. But strange dreams that left him feeling changed.
And he was changed. For whatever road took him, one thing was certain: there was a way home.
The End.
*.*.*
Thanks goes to Sev Baggins for her reviews, favoriting and reading this story. Thank you readers for reading this story, all the way to journey's end. It is much appreciated. :)
Well, this story itself has been a long journey. Starting out as a spark that came from the game "Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse", this story was originally titled Frodo's 13 Terrible Days, in which all seven rainbow gems would show up in each of those days. In the end, we've reached the revised version, which is, of course, Frodo's 7 Terrible Days.
And now, we've reached the end of this fanfic. I'll see you readers in the next story. :)
Aria Breuer
