By the time the party was mostly cleaned up, it was about one in the morning. Noelle was headed back to Bag-end, lost in thought. All she knew was that she had to get out of this party dress sooner than later. She was too used to pants. It was going to take some time to get back into wearing a dress.

Looking down at the ground, she opened the outside gate to the hobbit-hole.

"Whoa!" someone cried. Gandalf had crashed into Noelle, and was looking like he was in a hurry.

"Gandalf! Where are you going!" Noelle was surprised to see him out at this hour.

"I must learn more about Bilbo's ring, Noelle-"

"I thought you said it was the One Ring," Noelle interrupted, lowering her voice.

"I don't know. I was only suspecting. I must learn the truth."

Noelle opened her mouth, but no words came out. She wasn't sure what to say.

Gandalf put his hand on her shoulder. "Stay here with Frodo. He is going to need you. Keep him safe." He placed his pointy hat on his head, and gripped his staff. "Farewell."

"Good luck," Noelle said with a smile, remembering Ahsoka and Anakin.

"I will need it," Gandalf replied, to which Noelle was surprised. Gandalf was always the one who believed in fate- not luck.

She watched Gandalf trudge down Bag-shot Row and untie his brown horse. Then he galloped away in full speed under the moonlight.

Noelle sighed to herself looking up at the moon. The air was clear and cool tonight, but she was tired. She couldn't remember the last time she had had a good night's sleep.

Ducking to fit through the green door, Noelle entered the hobbit-hole to find Frodo fast asleep in the rocking chair beside the fireplace.

Noelle sat down on the miniature couch, which was more like a chair. She wasn't exactly sure how to describe how she felt right now. Alone was the word she would use, because it was true. She had no one. Her own family was far, far away from her. If she ever saw them again, she doubted they would forgive her for leaving them.

And the Jedi? Well they were a mess to say the least. Noelle didn't know what had become of them, but she had a pretty good idea. What she really wanted to know was: what had become of her friends?

She rested her head against the back of the couch. What she needed to do was have a nice long talk with Gandalf when he got back. He would be able to offer her some advice.

Noelle yawned. With all these thoughts spinning in her mind, she fell fast asleep.

She slept in till about ten o'clock the next morning. When she opened her eyes, she nearly forgot everything that had happened. She jumped out of her chair with a start.

"I have to get up for studying! Wait. Where am I?" Noelle looked around to see Frodo glancing worriedly at her.

"Would you like some tea, Noelle?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh, yes please," Noelle breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't on Coruscant anymore. She was at Bag-end in Middle-earth. "Tea would be nice, thank you."

Frodo nodded and headed over to the kitchen near the front door. Noelle followed him, and sat down in the same spot in which she had been eating with Bilbo and Gandalf a few days earlier. Frodo pulled a kettle off the stove and poured tea in two china cups. Then he sat down across from her. The two of them sat in silence, and Noelle stared at her tea.

"I wish Bilbo hadn't left," Frodo said quietly, breaking the silence.

Noelle looked up. She was at a loss for words. After another moment, all she said was "I think he needed to be free of that Ring."

"I do not understand why he left it for me. Why didn't he take it with him?"

"If I'm guessing correctly, then I'd say Gandalf made him leave it behind. The Ring-" Noelle paused. How was she supposed to say this? "I think the Ring is more powerful than it looks. Where is it now?"

"It's right here in my pocket," said Frodo. He reached into his pocket and placed the small golden ring onto the table in full view.

Noelle held her breath when she saw it. She had never actually gotten a good look at the Ring before. But now, with this new perspective, it felt totally different. She didn't really know how to explain it, but it was like the Dark Side surrounded this tiny, golden ring. Ordinary people like Frodo or Bilbo wouldn't be able to sense it, but Noelle could. She glanced away from it uncomfortably.

"Could you just put it away?" she asked.

Frodo looked confused, but did as she asked and put it back in his pocket.

"Actually," Noelle said slowly. "It might be best if you don't keep it in your pocket. Maybe put it away somewhere else," she suggested.

Frodo looked hesitant, but he nodded. "If you insist, then I will take your advice," he said.

"Thank you," Noelle said, relieved.

He took the Ring back out of his pocket and slipped it inside of an envelope that was laying on the mantlepiece above the fireplace. Then he went to a trunk in the corner. Digging a few things out of it, Frodo set the Ring at the bottom.

Noelle glanced curiously at the pile of items on the floor. It looked like a lot of junk from Bilbo's adventures. She recognized a helmet from Laketown in there.

Frodo began putting things back into the trunk.

"Wait!" Noelle cried, as she recognized the familiar blue handle.

Frodo was holding a sheathed sword in his hands. "What?" he asked.

"The sword..." Noelle used the Force to gently pull the sword from Frodo's grasp into her own hands. She held her breath as she slowly pulled it out of its sheath. This was it. Her old sword. Bilbo had kept it after all these years. She gazed at the gleaming Elven sword with wonder and tears of joy in her eyes. She didn't know why she was so happy over a small matter like this. 25i64ihwdc (Blue sword is Noelle's)

She then noticed Frodo gaping at her in amazement.

"How did you do that?" he asked quietly.

Noelle was surprised. She hoped she hadn't scared him by using the Force. She had kind of forgotten that she shouldn't really use it in the Shire. It wasn't like she had to hide her abilities necessarily, it was just that hobbits weren't really familiar with it.

"It's a power I have called the Force," Noelle explained as best as she could, sheathing her old sword. "I can move things with my mind."

Frodo looked a little calmer. "Bilbo told me you trained with Gandalf, but I didn't know you were like him."

"I'm not a wizard, I'm just a regular person."

Noelle almost wished she could take that sentence back, because she wasn't really a "regular" person.

Before Frodo could ask any more questions, they were interrupted by a loud trimming noise from outside.

Noelle raised her eyebrows. "What's that?"

Frodo went over to the front window. "It's probably Sam."

"Sam?"

"Cutting the grass," Frodo said. "He's my gardener."

Noelle smiled. "Well I'm glad to see something familiar in Middle-earth."

"Are there gardeners in your world?" Frodo asked curiously.

Noelle laughed. "Yes, and more!"

Frodo smiled back, then he gazed longingly out the window. "I miss Uncle Bilbo, but I love the Shire. The woods, the streams, the fields..."

"I love the Shire too," Noelle agreed. "It reminds me of home." She felt a tinge of sadness at the memory of the place on Earth she had once called her "home." For the people she had called her "parents" and her "brothers." Deep down, she missed them so bad, but knew she could never go back there.

She pushed her feelings away. She was going to have to forget about going home. That wasn't an option anymore.

I'm just going to have to make a new life for myself somewhere else.

Noelle spent the next two weeks in meditation, because she found that was the only way to keep herself busy. She wasn't really good at doing "normal" things anymore.

During her time in meditation, she never found out any information regarding the Jedi or the galaxy far, far away, nor did she learn anything about what Gandalf might be up to.

And she didn't have any more weird "episodes," or find anything new about herself either.

All she could sense was darkness, and that was part of the reason she spent so much time meditating. Her vision was clouded and it was hard to get a sense of what the Force was trying to tell her. All she knew was that Darkness was coming to the land of the Shire.

Many times, she would get interrupted. Not because of Frodo or Sam trimming the grass, but because of the Ring.

Noelle tried to avoid meditating near the trunk. She would hear strange and eerie whispers calling to her. She knew it was the Ring, because it couldn't be anything else.

Then, one night, Gandalf came back.

Noelle had decided to go to bed early while Frodo headed to the Green Dragon to hang out with Sam and his cousins, Merry and Pippin. She couldn't really sleep, so she decided to get up and use the bathroom. As she was lighting a candle, she heard a noise. A loud noise.

She immediately blew out the candle, and dropped to the ground. If there was an intruder, Noelle didn't know why she wouldn't have sensed him. Crawling on the floor, she reached for where her sword was and crept up behind the door.

The door slowly opened.

"Frodo?" came Gandalf's voice.

Noelle breathed out a shaky sigh of relief. "Oh my gosh! Gandalf, you scared the life out of me!"

Gandalf turned to her hastily in the dark. "Noelle! Where is Frodo?"

"Uh, he's at the Green Dragon," Noelle answered. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"The Ring!" Gandalf gasped.

Noelle felt her heart stop. "It is the One Ring, isn't it?" she whispered.

"Yes."

Noelle and Gandalf were still in the dark, when they both sensed someone coming up the pathway. Gandalf silently closed the door. "Get down!" he hissed at Noelle.

Noelle did as he said, even though she didn't think this person was an intruder. Gandalf was paranoid though, as he stood in a defensive position, pointing his staff at the closed door.

The door creaked and slowly began to open. Noelle and Gandalf peered silently from behind the door.

"Noelle? Are you here?" It was Frodo. As silently as a hobbit could be, he proceeded to Bilbo's study area and glanced around. Gandalf had now come out from behind the door. He grabbed Frodo's shoulder, startling him.

"Is it secret? Is it safe?" he demanded.

The Ring, Noelle realized.

"Y-Yes!" Frodo stammered in shock.

"Find it! Quickly!" Gandalf ordered. "Noelle, light the fireplace!"

Noelle went over to the drawer on Bilbo's desk, remembering that he stored matches in there. Matches weren't a luxury she was normally able to afford in her journeys, but they were sold in the market in Hobbiton.

As Noelle started the fireplace, Frodo dug through the trunk looking for the envelope with the Ring. As soon as he found it, making an 'aha' sound, Gandalf ripped it out of his hand and tossed it into the fireplace.

Noelle jumped back in surprise.

"What are you doing!?" Frodo cried.

Gandalf grabbed the tongs from a pot next to the fireplace, and waited until the paper was fully burned away. Then he reached for the Ring using the tong. "Hold out your hand, Frodo," he instructed.

Frodo looked hesitant.

"It's quite cool," Gandalf reassured him.

Noelle raised her eyebrows. That didn't make sense. Metal heated up quickly.

"What can you see?" Gandalf asked, plopping the small, golden object into Frodo's hand. "Can you see anything?"

Frodo turned the Ring over in his fingers, and shook his head slightly. "There's nothing."

"What are you looking for, Gandalf?" Noelle whispered quietly to him.

"You'll see," Gandalf whispered back. "It's there. I'm certain of it."

"Wait."

Gandalf and Noelle turned back around to look at Frodo.

"There are markings. It's some form of Elvish. I can't read it."

"There are few who can," Gandalf said gravely. "The language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here."

Noelle felt her heart stop. "Mordor?" she whispered. She tried to block out the sound of eerie whispers coming from Frodo's hand. Anything from Mordor... wasn't good.

"In the common tongue it says 'One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.'"

Noelle and Frodo exchanged worried looks. Gandalf had obviously been busy researching over the past couple of weeks.

Gandalf took a deep breath. "Why don't we sit down, and I will explain this to you further?"

The three of them went over to the kitchen where Frodo again brewed some tea. Noelle wasn't sure why hobbits seemed to have a thing for tea, but she wasn't going to request coffee at this hour, so she accepted the tea.

Gandalf took out his pipe and began explaining to them (mostly Frodo) the history of the Ring. "This is the One Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom, taken by Isildur from the hand of Sauron himself."

"Bilbo found it, in Gollum's cave," Frodo whispered more to himself than to them.

"Yes. For sixty years the Ring lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life, delaying old age... but no longer! Frodo. Evil is stirring in Mordor. The Ring has awoken. It's heard its Master's call."

"But he was destroyed. Sauron was destroyed," Frodo stated with uncertainty.

The Ring whispered again, and this time Gandalf and Frodo noticed it too.

Gandalf shook his head slowly. "No Frodo. The spirit of Sauron endured. His life force is bound to the Ring- and the Ring survived. Sauron has returned. His Orcs have multiplied. His fortress of Barad-dur is rebuilt in the land of Mordor. Sauron needs only this Ring to cover all the lands in a second darkness. He is seeking it- seeking it all his thought is bent on it. The Ring yearns above all else to return to the hand of its Master. They are one, the Ring and the Dark Lord. Frodo, he must never find it."