Chapter Three - Welcome Back, Mel
And she was. Riley Ashton, known as mellonim or the Elfin Child to the Elves, was back in Middle-Earth. And once again, it had happened without warning.
Looking at her surroundings, Riley mad the quite obvious assumption that she was in Hobbiton. She was standing in the middle of a deserted road that looked very much like the one that Gandalf would use to get to Bilbo's birthday party. That reminded her of something. "When is it? For all I know, it could be a thousand years after the War of the Ring!" Or before it, for that matter. Obviously standing in the road was not going to satisfy her curiosity, so Riley began walking in the direction that she was facing.
Suddenly something hard hit her head. "Ow!" she shrieked. Putting a hand to her head and looking at the ground for whatever hit her, she found her tiny digital camera, which had more memory than her laptop did. "Oh my heck!" She grabbed it and studied it, then tilted her head back and squinted at the sky. "Um, thanks!" she called. "Okay. That was just really weird. Attack of the flying cams!" She giggled, and began walking again.
She didn't know exactly where she had picked up the habit, but whenever she was hyper, or couldn't think of anything to say, Riley sang "Jingle Bells". Granted, she usually didn't sing it out loud, but it repeated itself in her head until it nearly drove her to madness. So there she was: a young girl in blue Sketchers, walking along with all the different versions of "Jingle Bells" she'd ever heard ringing in her head. Not to mention that she was from a different world. "Jeremy and Shawn would be laughing so hard if they could see this. Oh my gosh!" Riley paused. "I left in the middle of a concert. Okay, mental note: don't do that again!" She shrugged. Last time, she had gone back at the exact same time that she had left, so she might be able to cover this up, but for the time being, there was nothing to be done, so why worry?
After a few minutes, Riley came out of the trees into what she guessed was the beginnings of Hobbiton, or at least the Shire. She only saw a couple of Hobbits at first, and their carefree faces informed her that it was most likely before Saruman took over. If only Hobbits were as carefree with strangers as they were in their own homes. The first Hobbit that she saw was an extremely fat, happy little fellow who was sitting on his doorstep. It reminded her of the beginning of "The Hobbit".
Riley approached the gate and asked politely, "Excuse me, good sir. Would a Hobbit as intelligent as yourself be able to direct me to Mr. Bilbo Baggins' home of Bag End?" She chose her words carefully to keep suspicions low, and was rewarded for her pains when the Hobbit's face brightened at the praise.
"Aye, miss, I can. Now you'll have to - oh, never you mind about directions. There's a young chap somewhere hereabouts that has been wanting to visit his friend; he's visiting, you know, but knows his way pretty well. Just you wait here a moment while I go find him for ye."
After he had gotten up and gone inside, Riley laughingly muttered to herself, "Phew; I was starting to think that we were going to exchange life stories." She chuckled.
Just then, two young Hobbits came running out of the little round door, and they promptly tripped over each other's feet. Riley bit back a laugh as the Hobbits leapt back to their feet. "Oh my word. It's Merry and Pippin!" Indeed, it was.
Merry was the first to look at her, and he paused, taking a second to look over her. Riley took the opportunity to study him. She easily identified the intelligent yet mischievous glint in his eyes. And when Pippin looked at her, she could have laughed at his facial expression. His mouth fells open, and his eyes focused on her, but retained a somewhat distant look. Poor fool of a Took.
"Hello," Riley said, hoping to get a response from the gaping Hobbits. "I am Riley Ashton, at your service." She gave a little bow.
That got them going. Or at least, Merry started moving. He made a quick bow, having to jab Pippin in the ribs with his elbow to bring him back to reality. "Meriodoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took at your service, m'lady. Most call us Merry and Pippin," Merry said cheerfully, Pippin nodding in ready agreement.
"A pleasure to meet you, good sirs. Would you, by any chance, be able to escort me to the home of Mr. Bilbo and Mr. Frodo Baggins?"
"Frodo!" Pippin exclaimed. "Why, we were just going to pay a visit ourselves. He's my cousin, you know, once removed on his mother's side.." And so they began their walk to Bag End, with Riley half-listening to Pippin's chatter about how he and Frodo were related, half-examining the surrounding hills. By the time they reached the market, Riley's escorts were arguing about which one had the best plan for getting fireworks at Bilbo's birthday party. Riley's ears picked that up, and she immediately pulled her attention away from the overly curious and suspicious looks she was getting from the Hobbits in the marketplace.
"When is Bilbo's party?" she asked.
"Oh, it isn't for four days yet," Merry answered matter-of-factly. "And while we're on the subject, Miss Riley, why is it that you are wanting to see Bilbo and Frodo?" There was a pure look of curiosity on both Hobbits' faces.
Riley didn't have to think long to come up with an answer. Part of her job, after all, was being able to answer questions swiftly, deftly, and as honestly as possible. "I am a friend of Gandalf the Grey's, and he instructed me to contact him if I was ever close again. He spoke of Bilbo a few time, and finding that I was in the Shire, I decided that the best way to find a wizard is to start with his friends."
"You know Gandalf?" Pippin asked excitedly. Riley nodded. "I've only met him a few times myself, but he is frightening, if you ask me."
Riley laughed. "I suppose he would be to people who don't know him very well." She thought about the first time she had met him, and how afraid she had been when he had demanded that she tell what she knew about the "Lord of the Rings".
"When did you first meet him, if you don't mind me asking, miss," Merry said politely, and Riley could tell that he was trying to be on his best behavior.
"No, I don't mind, but I do wish that you would just call me Riley. I met Gandalf at Rivendell about ten years ago."
"You must have been a child, then."
Riley shrugged. "I suppose so; I was fifteen years old."
Pippin squinted at her. "You don't look like you're thirty-two."
Riley laughed. "Well I should hope not! Even if I'd been living in your time I would only be twenty-five. But since I lived in my own time, I'm only eighteen; it has only been three years for me." It seemed like a fairly simple concept to her, but somewhere around "twenty-five" she had lost her Hobbit guides.
They had been trudging steadily uphill, and finally reached the road in front Bag End. At the moment, Frodo was nailing the "no admittance except on party business" sign to the gate.
"Frodo!" Pippin yelled, running forward to meet his friend.
Merry was right behind him, calling, "Hello, Frodo!" Riley grinned as the Hobbits greeted each other. Their faces were so youthful and carefree; Riley felt a familiar pang as she wished that they didn't have to go through the whole Ring ordeal.
Suddenly Riley realized that Merry had begun making introductions. He was sure to add that she was Gandalf's friend. Riley smiled kindly as Frodo's bright blue eyes looked up at her curiously. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Riley. Please, do come in and meet my uncle Bilbo; he'll be delighted to know a friend of Gandalf."
Riley had to suppressed excited giggles as she followed the Hobbits through the little round door in the hillside. She had cleverly hidden her camera in the belt on her tunic, and honestly hoped that she would not have to explain it to the suspicious Hobbits of Hobbiton.
"Uncle Bilbo!" Frodo called, and immediately the patter of feet was heard coming up the corridor toward them.
"Coming, coming. Well, my dears, what have we here? Merry and Pippin, welcome! And who is this?" Bilbo seemed quite out of breath when he reached them, but managed to get his entire speech out of his mouth in one breath.
Riley laughed and bowed. "Riley Ashton, sir, at your service. I'm a friend of Gandalf's and was hoping that I might ask you a favor."
"Bilbo Baggins, at your service, m'lady, and I'd be happy to help any of friend Gandalf."
"Well, you see, I need to get in touch with him. It's rather urgent and I.."
"Why, my dear, we're expecting him any time now. It's my birthday - my one hundred and eleventh, in fact - and he was going to bring fireworks. We were quite expecting him a few days ago, but who knows what pressing matters he has in the wizarding business." By this time, Bilbo had led his guests to the kitchen where he busied himself preparing a proper meal (tea, to be exact) for them all. "Now, Riley, how may I be of service?"
"Well, you see, I came rather un-prepared. I have no place to stay, nothing to eat. No money, actually." Pippin's mouth dropped open at the mention of no food.
"Oh, my dear, however did you get this far with no food or money?" Bilbo exclaimed.
For this Riley had no answer. She searched for an explanation in her mind, but only one stood out. She took a deep breath, and, "Well, it all started when I was fifteen years old.."
And she was. Riley Ashton, known as mellonim or the Elfin Child to the Elves, was back in Middle-Earth. And once again, it had happened without warning.
Looking at her surroundings, Riley mad the quite obvious assumption that she was in Hobbiton. She was standing in the middle of a deserted road that looked very much like the one that Gandalf would use to get to Bilbo's birthday party. That reminded her of something. "When is it? For all I know, it could be a thousand years after the War of the Ring!" Or before it, for that matter. Obviously standing in the road was not going to satisfy her curiosity, so Riley began walking in the direction that she was facing.
Suddenly something hard hit her head. "Ow!" she shrieked. Putting a hand to her head and looking at the ground for whatever hit her, she found her tiny digital camera, which had more memory than her laptop did. "Oh my heck!" She grabbed it and studied it, then tilted her head back and squinted at the sky. "Um, thanks!" she called. "Okay. That was just really weird. Attack of the flying cams!" She giggled, and began walking again.
She didn't know exactly where she had picked up the habit, but whenever she was hyper, or couldn't think of anything to say, Riley sang "Jingle Bells". Granted, she usually didn't sing it out loud, but it repeated itself in her head until it nearly drove her to madness. So there she was: a young girl in blue Sketchers, walking along with all the different versions of "Jingle Bells" she'd ever heard ringing in her head. Not to mention that she was from a different world. "Jeremy and Shawn would be laughing so hard if they could see this. Oh my gosh!" Riley paused. "I left in the middle of a concert. Okay, mental note: don't do that again!" She shrugged. Last time, she had gone back at the exact same time that she had left, so she might be able to cover this up, but for the time being, there was nothing to be done, so why worry?
After a few minutes, Riley came out of the trees into what she guessed was the beginnings of Hobbiton, or at least the Shire. She only saw a couple of Hobbits at first, and their carefree faces informed her that it was most likely before Saruman took over. If only Hobbits were as carefree with strangers as they were in their own homes. The first Hobbit that she saw was an extremely fat, happy little fellow who was sitting on his doorstep. It reminded her of the beginning of "The Hobbit".
Riley approached the gate and asked politely, "Excuse me, good sir. Would a Hobbit as intelligent as yourself be able to direct me to Mr. Bilbo Baggins' home of Bag End?" She chose her words carefully to keep suspicions low, and was rewarded for her pains when the Hobbit's face brightened at the praise.
"Aye, miss, I can. Now you'll have to - oh, never you mind about directions. There's a young chap somewhere hereabouts that has been wanting to visit his friend; he's visiting, you know, but knows his way pretty well. Just you wait here a moment while I go find him for ye."
After he had gotten up and gone inside, Riley laughingly muttered to herself, "Phew; I was starting to think that we were going to exchange life stories." She chuckled.
Just then, two young Hobbits came running out of the little round door, and they promptly tripped over each other's feet. Riley bit back a laugh as the Hobbits leapt back to their feet. "Oh my word. It's Merry and Pippin!" Indeed, it was.
Merry was the first to look at her, and he paused, taking a second to look over her. Riley took the opportunity to study him. She easily identified the intelligent yet mischievous glint in his eyes. And when Pippin looked at her, she could have laughed at his facial expression. His mouth fells open, and his eyes focused on her, but retained a somewhat distant look. Poor fool of a Took.
"Hello," Riley said, hoping to get a response from the gaping Hobbits. "I am Riley Ashton, at your service." She gave a little bow.
That got them going. Or at least, Merry started moving. He made a quick bow, having to jab Pippin in the ribs with his elbow to bring him back to reality. "Meriodoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took at your service, m'lady. Most call us Merry and Pippin," Merry said cheerfully, Pippin nodding in ready agreement.
"A pleasure to meet you, good sirs. Would you, by any chance, be able to escort me to the home of Mr. Bilbo and Mr. Frodo Baggins?"
"Frodo!" Pippin exclaimed. "Why, we were just going to pay a visit ourselves. He's my cousin, you know, once removed on his mother's side.." And so they began their walk to Bag End, with Riley half-listening to Pippin's chatter about how he and Frodo were related, half-examining the surrounding hills. By the time they reached the market, Riley's escorts were arguing about which one had the best plan for getting fireworks at Bilbo's birthday party. Riley's ears picked that up, and she immediately pulled her attention away from the overly curious and suspicious looks she was getting from the Hobbits in the marketplace.
"When is Bilbo's party?" she asked.
"Oh, it isn't for four days yet," Merry answered matter-of-factly. "And while we're on the subject, Miss Riley, why is it that you are wanting to see Bilbo and Frodo?" There was a pure look of curiosity on both Hobbits' faces.
Riley didn't have to think long to come up with an answer. Part of her job, after all, was being able to answer questions swiftly, deftly, and as honestly as possible. "I am a friend of Gandalf the Grey's, and he instructed me to contact him if I was ever close again. He spoke of Bilbo a few time, and finding that I was in the Shire, I decided that the best way to find a wizard is to start with his friends."
"You know Gandalf?" Pippin asked excitedly. Riley nodded. "I've only met him a few times myself, but he is frightening, if you ask me."
Riley laughed. "I suppose he would be to people who don't know him very well." She thought about the first time she had met him, and how afraid she had been when he had demanded that she tell what she knew about the "Lord of the Rings".
"When did you first meet him, if you don't mind me asking, miss," Merry said politely, and Riley could tell that he was trying to be on his best behavior.
"No, I don't mind, but I do wish that you would just call me Riley. I met Gandalf at Rivendell about ten years ago."
"You must have been a child, then."
Riley shrugged. "I suppose so; I was fifteen years old."
Pippin squinted at her. "You don't look like you're thirty-two."
Riley laughed. "Well I should hope not! Even if I'd been living in your time I would only be twenty-five. But since I lived in my own time, I'm only eighteen; it has only been three years for me." It seemed like a fairly simple concept to her, but somewhere around "twenty-five" she had lost her Hobbit guides.
They had been trudging steadily uphill, and finally reached the road in front Bag End. At the moment, Frodo was nailing the "no admittance except on party business" sign to the gate.
"Frodo!" Pippin yelled, running forward to meet his friend.
Merry was right behind him, calling, "Hello, Frodo!" Riley grinned as the Hobbits greeted each other. Their faces were so youthful and carefree; Riley felt a familiar pang as she wished that they didn't have to go through the whole Ring ordeal.
Suddenly Riley realized that Merry had begun making introductions. He was sure to add that she was Gandalf's friend. Riley smiled kindly as Frodo's bright blue eyes looked up at her curiously. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Riley. Please, do come in and meet my uncle Bilbo; he'll be delighted to know a friend of Gandalf."
Riley had to suppressed excited giggles as she followed the Hobbits through the little round door in the hillside. She had cleverly hidden her camera in the belt on her tunic, and honestly hoped that she would not have to explain it to the suspicious Hobbits of Hobbiton.
"Uncle Bilbo!" Frodo called, and immediately the patter of feet was heard coming up the corridor toward them.
"Coming, coming. Well, my dears, what have we here? Merry and Pippin, welcome! And who is this?" Bilbo seemed quite out of breath when he reached them, but managed to get his entire speech out of his mouth in one breath.
Riley laughed and bowed. "Riley Ashton, sir, at your service. I'm a friend of Gandalf's and was hoping that I might ask you a favor."
"Bilbo Baggins, at your service, m'lady, and I'd be happy to help any of friend Gandalf."
"Well, you see, I need to get in touch with him. It's rather urgent and I.."
"Why, my dear, we're expecting him any time now. It's my birthday - my one hundred and eleventh, in fact - and he was going to bring fireworks. We were quite expecting him a few days ago, but who knows what pressing matters he has in the wizarding business." By this time, Bilbo had led his guests to the kitchen where he busied himself preparing a proper meal (tea, to be exact) for them all. "Now, Riley, how may I be of service?"
"Well, you see, I came rather un-prepared. I have no place to stay, nothing to eat. No money, actually." Pippin's mouth dropped open at the mention of no food.
"Oh, my dear, however did you get this far with no food or money?" Bilbo exclaimed.
For this Riley had no answer. She searched for an explanation in her mind, but only one stood out. She took a deep breath, and, "Well, it all started when I was fifteen years old.."