CHAPTER SIX

Hairy Feet Are the New Hype

Just to be certain, Ariel and Dylis decided to follow the river from the east side. No doubt the wolves that had chased them weren't the only ones out here, but at least they knew how to scare them away now.

Things had changed between Ariel and Dylis. Even though they'd settled things and had apologised to each other, there was still this lingering tension between them. The ruthless heat of the sun glaring down at them didn't help lighten the mood.

They weren't looking forward to another night in the wild. In fact, both of them seemed to pick up the pace, thinking that the quicker they walked, the quicker they'd find anything.

The farther they walked, the more they found that they indeed had been lucky before: the water had started to rush loudly beside them, and stones and rocks rose just above the surface, making the water swirl. The river had also become broader, making it more difficult to cross.

Perhaps they'd have to climb trees in order to escape wolves, should it come to that.

It was just after noon that Dylis squinted her eyes and slowed walking. They hadn't had their break yet, and Ariel's legs were aching.

"Berry-time?" Ariel asked, looking to her left, at the forest. They'd lost all the berries they'd plucked this morning due to their unexpected jump in the river, so now they had to start all over again.

But Dylis wasn't looking at the forest. Instead, she pointed at something in the distance.

"Look," she said. "You see that?"

Ariel followed her gaze, curious. She couldn't see very much, but when Dylis re-directed her gaze to the river, Ariel gasped.

"A bridge!" she exclaimed. "There's a bridge!"

Far off in the distance, they could both make out the vague lines of a bridge crossing the river. It was the first sign of civilisation they'd seen ever since they came here, wherever here was.

Ariel couldn't believe it. Finally they'd found something!

"Come on, let's go!" she said to Dylis, beaming. "Where there's a bridge, there's people crossing it. We can ask there for directions."

The closer they got, the more thoughtful Dylis became. There was something with this bridge, but she didn't know what.

The two kept their pace steady, but swift. Ariel was right, Dylis thought. This bridge might finally give them— well, probably not Ariel but at least Dylis— a clue about where they were and where they could go.

When the bridge was fully in sight, and Dylis gave it a once-over, she suddenly froze in her tracks.

She recognised it. This was the Bridge of Stonebows, which meant that this river was the Baranduin!

Relief made her shoulders sag. They were in Arthedain. They were close to Fornost— in fact, they had been even more close to Fornost the moment they'd arrived. Dylis had just picked the wrong direction. No matter, though: if this was indeed the Baranduin, they were near the Shire and Bree was a day or two away.

"It's quite pretty," Ariel said, coming to stand next to her. They were standing by the riverside, looking out on the stone bridge.

It stood upon thick wooden stilts, high enough to allow small vessels to pass, and on the bridge were two gates.

Dylis had gone through those gates only once or twice to pass on messages from the king.

"Yes, it is," she murmured. She then looked at the paths connected to the bridge. "It is not very busy," she noted. The times she'd been here, there were always people coming and going. But it was quiet now.

"Look! Someone's coming!" Ariel said, nodding her head to the road leading up to the bridge. She ran her fingers through her hair, straightened her once white shirt. "How do I look?"

Dylis arched an eyebrow. "Like someone who's spent four days in the wild."

Ariel rolled her eyes, dropping her hands to her side. "Alright, I'm gonna ask if he knows where we are."

Dylis followed her gaze and immediately her eyes widened. "Wait, Ariel—"

But the girl was already on her way. Dylis watched anxiously how Ariel went from walking confidently to faltering in her steps as she realised the person she was approaching didn't come higher than her waist.

Ariel now came to a stop, just when the person noticed her and stopped walking, too.

She studied him with a confused look on her face. His height made her almost think he was a kid, but his face made her think otherwise. It was mature, and his hair was greyish— and his feet.

They were large and hairy, and he wasn't wearing any shoes. Who would walk barefoot outside?!

Noticing that she was being equally curiously studied as well, Ariel shook herself out of her surprise. Staring was rude, and even though this person was… somewhat peculiar, this wasn't the first time she saw a little person.

"Excuse me?" she started, hesitantly. The… little man looked up at her, probably not sure if he should be disturbed by her messy looks or curious. "My friend and I are pretty lost. Do you know where the closest town or city is?"

The man pointed over the bridge. "Bree is nearest, some fifty miles away if you follow the East Road."

"Thank you so much!" Ariel said, smiling. She was about to turn back to Dylis, but stopped. "Do you also know if there's maybe a place nearby where we can get some food?"

He studied Ariel for a moment, then did the same for Dylis, who was coming up to join Ariel. "How long have you been lost and wandering? You look horrible!"

Ariel raised her eyebrows. That was blunt. "Four days," she replied.

Now the man's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Four days!" he repeated. "You must be starving!"

Ariel smiled sheepishly. "We've been living on berries."

"Berries—" the man started, eyes wide. "How outrageous!"

Dylis and Ariel shared a look, not sure whether to laugh or be startled. Maybe both were fitting in this strange situation.

"Sir, do you happen to know a place where we can restock our supplies?" Dylis asked kindly.

"If I see any more berries, I'm gonna go jump of that bridge," Ariel joked.

The little man looked from her to Dylis, who both shifted a little. He seemed to think hard on something, as if hesitating on what to say. "From where did you come?" he asked.

Ariel looked at Dylis.

"From a village near Fornost," she replied a bit too quickly.

Ariel cocked an eyebrow. What the fuck was a Fornost?

The man nodded, still with that pensive look on his face. He eyed the two again, and finally, he smiled with resolve. "That is quite far, indeed. There is a place where you can restock," he said. "It's Brandy Hall."

Dylis frowned. "Brandy Hall?" she repeated. "But isn't that—"

"My house," the little man finished. "Yes. Ladies like you shouldn't look so starved and thin. Come, come. Let us go, now. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can bathe and eat and sleep comfortably."

"Good sir," Dylis said before he could walk away, "may we first know your name?"

"Ah, of course, my apologies, good lady," he said. "Can never be too careful these days, eh? With all the talk of the Big Folk… Strange people crossing the borders…" He suddenly eyed them warily, eyes flickering from her to Ariel. Both girls smiled sweetly, furiously hoping he wouldn't change his mind. A bath, a buffet and a comfortable bed sounded mightily fine at the moment. The little man was convinced. "Anyway, Saradoc is the name. Saradoc Brandybuck, in fact. And your names, good ladies?"

As Dylis introduced themselves as Sigrid and Tilda (since, apparently, one can never be too careful these days), Ariel frowned in thought. A strange name, that little man had— and a strangely familiar one at that. Well, not his first name, but his surname sounded somewhat familiar. She didn't know from where or what she'd heard it before, though. She gave Saradoc a once-over again, but still couldn't put a finger on it.

"A pleasure to meet you both," Saradoc said with a kind smile. "Come now, my home is not far off. Only a few hour's walk."

Ariel wasn't sure if she should ask how long "a few hours" were, because she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"We cannot thank you enough, mister Brandybuck," Dylis said as they followed him over the bridge.

The little man wove his hand in dismissal. "It is of no problem, dear. And please, Saradoc will do just fine."

Dylis nodded, a smile on her face. Brandybuck. Wasn't he the master of Buckland? A grateful sigh escaping her lips, she figured there could've been far worse places with worse people to end up in.

o0o

Ariel was baffled to see Dylis so trusting. Of course, the little man seemed harmless, but seeing as Dylis had been all suspicious about meeting people and going as far as creating alias names, Ariel had expected Dylis to be a bit more wary.

They followed Saradoc over the bridge and trailed the sandy path over the green hills.

"I must say I'm surprised to see Big Folk— oh sorry, old habit." Saradoc laughed. "Men, I mean, of course. Haven't seen your kind walking around here for years!"

"Our kind?" Ariel repeated, an eyebrow arched up. She huffed, joking, "If you're not of our kind, then what are you?"

"Tilda!"

Ariel looked at Dylis, confused, until she remembered Tilda was her new made up name.

Saradoc wove his hands unconcernedly. "Oh, that's quite alright," he said. "Not many of the Big— er, Men know of us. You might have heard of us being called Halflings, but we prefer the term Hobbit."

Ariel opened her mouth, paused, sought for words again, then stopped. "A hobbit?" she repeated. She looked him up and down as he walked in front of them.

He looked over his shoulder, flashing a grin. "Yes, a hobbit."

Ariel again opened her mouth, but was cut off by a jab in her side. She whipped her head to Dylis, who was giving her a warning look.

"Don't be so rude!" she hissed.

"What do you mean, rude?" Ariel whispered back. "Come on, a hobbit? How could I believe that?"

"Well, either pretend to, or continue being rude to him and we'll get to sleep in the forest for another night," Dylis snapped.

"Is everything alright?"

The girls stopped and looked up to see Saradoc had stopped walking as well, and was watching them both curiously.

Dylis straightened and smiled. "Yes," she replied with a nod. "Discussions are unavoidable when having spent four days in the wild with each other."

"Ah." Saradoc nodded and chuckled awkwardly. "Shall we go on, then?"

"Of course," Dylis said. "Lead the way."

On this side of the river, the landscape alternated between rolling hills and flatlands. Here and there were some farms, but most of them were unlike the farmhouses Ariel had seen at home. They seemed, for one, a bit small— even in the distance.

The strangest cottages seemed to come out of the hills: as if the cottage was just a decoration and the real house was underneath the hill, like some secret hide-out.

Ariel studied the farmhouses curiously, wondering if the hills were there first or the houses underneath. She asked as much, to the annoyance of Dylis who'd often enough fallen victim to the "Egg or Chicken"-question, and Saradoc launched into an explanation of how their beloved "Hobbit Holes" were built.

It was after walking for about an hour when another little man walking on the same road passed them by, and Ariel had to close her mouth to stop herself from gawking. After that, there were more little people walking past them, and they all seemed very, very real.

Ariel tried not to stare at them, but she just couldn't help it. It was like these people were an entire different species! It could not be a coincidence that there were so many little people living in one place.

What if they were hobbits?

No, that was totally insane! Because if they were hobbits, that would mean that she and Dylis were in…

No. She was not going to finish that thought. Even knowing that she was just thinking about thinking it was absolutely absurd.

Ariel shook her head. They weren't hobbits, and they weren't in a fictional story. These little people weren't a species; they were just little people who'd sought each other out to live together. That was all. Totally not weird.

"Just a mile left, good ladies," Saradoc said with a quick glance over his shoulder, "and then you'll be having a warm bath and a neat supper."

Dylis smiled tiredly, but didn't have the energy to reply. Both girls felt like they were stumbling forward, swaying on their feet. Exhaustion had washed over them long ago, and only the prospect of a place to lie down kept them moving.

Finally, when the sun was slowly disappearing behind the tree tops to their left, the flatlands through which they walking now slowly rolled into hills. At first Ariel groaned, not looking forward to climbing up and down those hills again.

But then she saw a large hill looming up in front of her, with soft light coming out of many round windows. She could count almost twenty of them on this side only, and she assumed there were many more on the other sides. Around this hill there were other smaller hills, and in these hills were more houses; sometimes a hill had two or even more houses in it, others had one entirely for themselves.

The path lead around the big hill, and Ariel whipped her head side to side to take a good look at the houses. It was the first time she saw a "Hobbit Hole" up close, and she had to admit that they were impressive.

There were more little people in this area, and most of them, just like those they'd met on the road, gave them curious and wary looks.

Ariel played with the hem of her dirty shirt, feeling incredibly awkward. Why was everyone looking at them like they were the weird ones?

She noticed they were walking straight to what Ariel assumed to be the front door of the big estate under the hill.

"We have arrived," Saradoc said with a smile. "Welcome to my home!"

Dylis stopped. "This… is Brandy Hall?" she asked, looking up the hill and then back down to the front door, of which the height reached no higher than their chin.

Saradoc opened the door and nodded. "Yes, it is," he said, then stepped to the side and beckoned them over. "Come in, come in! Oh, mind your head, though."

After sharing a brief, curious look, Dylis and Ariel ducked a little to go inside.

Ariel was baffled to realise that she wasn't in a cave: it looked exactly like what a house should look like from the inside.

Warm. Spacious.

Cosy.

To her right, a rack with coats hung on the wooden panelled wall, and there were a lot of coats. A chest stood underneath the rack, bulging with scarves, hats and all things too warm for the summer.

A peculiar thing Ariel noticed was that she saw no place where they stored their shoes. But then, Saradoc and all the other little people she saw walked barefoot, so maybe this was another weird habit of them.

"Please," Saradoc said, and Ariel looked down at him, "put out your shoes. The floor has just been mobbed."

"Oh! Of course," Ariel said. Her shoes were lost causes anyway. Hopefully, she'll be able to wash and dry them a bit before… well…

Before what, actually? This was… this was not supposed to exist on Cape Cod. They weren't even on Cape Cod.

So she had no idea what would happen after tonight's sleep.

She quickly put off her shoes and, since Saradoc was walking barefoot as well, left her once white sneaker socks in them as she set them against the wall.

The floor was a little cold against her bare feet, but she didn't notice much of it. Her feet were numb, anyway.

"Saradoc?" came a voice from the left, where an arch lead to another room. "Have you brought visitors? You should have warned me, I would've prepared— oh."

A plump, little woman appeared in the hallway and openly gaped at Ariel and Dylis in surprise.

"Er, Esmeralda dear," Saradoc started, a bit nervous, "these two ladies are Tilda and Sigrid. They were very lost, so I offered them a place to stay for the night."

For a second she was silent, and she studied them both for a good while with a deep frown on her face as she quietly muttered unintelligibly to herself.

Finally, she spoke up. And once she did, she couldn't seem to stop. "Well, this won't do, Saradoc!" she exclaimed. "Will you just let them stand here all evening? Come, girls! My name is Esmeralda. A pleasure meeting you. You must be tired of walking all day! I'll have a bath made for you! When you're all freshed up, dinner will be ready and you can join the table. I wasn't prepared to cook for two extra mouths, but I'll figure something out. If only Merry hadn't eaten so much of the cheese already… Wonder where that boy is now… probably up in Hobbiton… Anyway, follow me!"

Both the woman and Saradoc seemed to have the same habit of rambling when faced with two dishevelled girls, and Ariel smiled at Dylis in amusement. But as Dylis watched Esmeralda's retreating back, her mouth curled into a pensive frown.

As much as she tried to hide it, there was resigned look on her face, and Ariel caught it.

"You must have a big family to have such a big house," Dylis said to the two little people, her voice too kind to match her countenance.

"I do think the Brandybuck tree is rather impressive," Saradoc agreed, nothing short of pride.

"I'd say the Tooks are an ample bunch, too," Esmeralda argued.

Ariel hadn't really paid attention to the woman at all, having been watching Dylis and looking around the hallway and the paintings on the wall in interest, but now her head shot up.

There was a loud thump as her head collided with the ceiling, and she yelped.

Fool of a Took!

Ariel frowned at Gandalf's voice in her head. The Tooks? Fool of a Took?

No, no, no. She'd probably misheard it. It was probably pronounced like it, but written as Toock, or Tuck. Or they were inspired by the stories and called themselves Tooks.

Yes, that was probably it.

"Are you quite alright, dear?" Esmeralda asked, eyes wide in concern. These people were so expressive, Ariel mused as she rubbed the top of her head.

She nodded. "Yeah," she said, cheeks warming in embarrassment.

"I suppose the height is a bit uncomfortable for you Big Folk," Saradoc said. "We don't have them visiting very often these days, but you're not the first to bump your head!"

"Do you have many hobbits visiting, since your house is so big?" Dylis asked, and though she obviously tried to sound innocently curious, Ariel frowned at the blonde. What was she trying to get at with all those questions?

Esmeralda and Saradoc didn't seem to notice; they were delighted that someone of the "Big Folk" showed such an interest in them.

"Yes, yes, many visitors," Saradoc replied. "Some complaining about anything and everything, some come just for the food… most times they're family I haven't seen for years. It's curious, almost every month I meet a new family member for the first time!" He laughed. Ariel cocked an eyebrow.

"Have you many children?" Dylis continued asking. "I once heard that hobbits tend to have lots of them."

"No, we don't, though sometimes Merry is already a handful enough!" Saradoc said, laughing again.

The pensive look on Dylis' face deepened. "Merry?"

Esmeralda and Saradoc stopped in front of a door.

"Our only son," Esmeralda supplied. "He's not here today, probably with his friends up in Hobbiton. He'll be back tomorrow. Oh, he will be delighted to meet you!"

Dylis nodded slowly, almost absently. Ariel watched the worry etching into her face, and felt her own worry rising with it.

"Well," Esmeralda said, gesturing to the door. "Here it is. I'll get someone to fill the tubs for you. If there's anything you need, you can ask them— I have to finish dinner. Maybe I'll make some bread and honey! Do you like bread and honey?"

Dylis' face broke into a smile. "Truly, anything is fine, Ms. Esmeralda."

"Such a dear, you are! Leave it to Merry to be picky about food," she added in a grumble.

"We will see you at dinner," Saradoc said with a smile.

Then they walked off.

The two watched the little people for a moment. When they were out of view, Ariel turned to Dylis.

"What is it?" she asked her. Dylis shot her a puzzled look, and Ariel rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Dyl. You might fool them, but I've known you for as long as I remember. Why the sudden interest?"

Dylis shrugged, opening the door and letting Ariel in. "Aren't you curious about them?" she asked her in reply, casually. Too casually. "I mean, they're quite peculiar, don't you think?" She closed the door behind them.

This was a washing room, a pretty big one, too. To their left, there were three room dividers in between four bathtubs. The tubs were made of a dark wood, and a narrow wooden board was set upon each of the them. Against every tub, there was a small stool to step on in order to get into the water less awkwardly.

"Damn," Ariel said, looking around with raised eyebrows. "They must have a love for the middle ages."

"You still don't believe it, do you?" Dylis asked, her arms crossed. Ariel turned to face her, a frown on her face. Dylis shook her head, a huff escaping her lips. "Or maybe you're just not willing to believe it."

"Believe what?" Ariel asked, deeply confused, but there was a nervous feeling fluttering in her stomach.

Dylis sighed and looked up at the ceiling. There was a silence. Her fingers drummed on her upper arms. "Where do you think we are?" she asked eventually, eyes drawing back to Ariel.

"How would I know?" Ariel asked. "We've been lost and wandering for five days! If anything, I'd say you have a better clue than I have, with you talking about that Fronos!"

"Fornost," Dylis corrected immediately, almost automatically.

"Wha— You— whatever! You're missing my point! They believed you when you told them that lie— how did you know?"

Ariel couldn't put to words how confused she was. For days she'd been boiling with questions, yet every time she asked, she got this. Questions in return instead of answers. Ariel was sick of it.

For a second she felt dizzy, and Ariel closed her eyes. She breathed in and out, calming herself. If she didn't calm herself, her lungs would go confused again, and her brain would get confused, too, so she focused on her breathing.

When the dizziness receded and her breathing was steady again, she looked at Dylis. The blonde had already taken a step forward, to step in if her panic would go spiralling.

"Please, Dylis," Ariel pleaded. "Please explain to me what's happening. I know you're hiding things from me. You do remember what I was telling you before this whole… event happened, don't you?"

Dylis shifted, her lips pursed. Ariel could see the mechanisms working in her mind, the gears turning. "I—"

The door opened, four little women walking in carrying barrels with steaming hot water inside.

"Miladies," a little woman with curly, ruddy hair said, and Ariel's eyebrows shot up at the title. "We're here to fill your tubs."

Dylis let out a whoosh of air and put on a smile. "Yes, of course," she said as she stepped aside to make way for them.

The maids had to walk in and out of the washing room five times before both tubs were finally filled.

"Would you like us to wash you, miladies?" the same one who greeted them asked once they were done.

Ariel shot her an incredulous look and opened her mouth to make some sarcastic reply, but Dylis beat her to it.

"That won't be necessary, but thank you," Dylis said with a smile. "Besides, we're no ladies. Please, call me Sigrid. This is Tilda."

The maid bowed her head slightly. "Of course, mila— Miss Sigrid." The skin around her cheeks flushed red. She then pointed to a wooden bench opposite to the tubs, on which there was a stack of clothes. "Mrs. Saradoc found two dresses that might fit you. They're probably a bit short above the ankles, but I'm afraid we have no other dresses suitable for Big Fo— Men, I mean."

"I'm sure they'll be just fine, thank you," Dylis said.

The maid dipped her head again. "Enjoy your baths. Dinner will be ready in half an hour. I will lead you there then."

"Thank you very much," Dylis said.

The maids left the room, and the two of them turned to the bathtubs, looking at them for a long moment.

"Well," Ariel sighed, taking off her filthy shirt and throwing it on the floor. "I've been longing for a proper bath since day one of our little adventure."

Dylis huffed. "Me too."

They both stripped out of their clothes, relieved to finally be able to put them off. Ariel stepped on the stool, then swung a leg over the edge of the tub.

She hissed, the hot water pricking against her skin.

From behind the screen, she could hear Dylis sigh blissfully. Ariel shook her head. Somehow, the blonde was never bothered by too hot water.

Ariel gritted her teeth and stepped inside the tub, then lowered herself in it. Now, she, too, let out a satisfied sigh.

Oh. This was good. This was heaven.

As she rested her head against the tub, she looked up at the ceiling. "Don't think I'm letting it slide, Dyl."

Now, Dylis sighed tiredly. "Wasn't counting on it." There was a long pause, almost as if she was contemplating something. "We'll talk about it tonight, after dinner. Does that sound good?"

Ariel hummed in agreement, sinking deeper into the water. Through half-lidded eyes, she looked at the wooden board balanced on the edge of the tub.

There was hard soap, a scrub, some sort of twig beside a glass jar with paste, and another jar with a liquid in it that looked like honey.

Soap, shampoo, and… she frowned at the twig. What was that for?

She took it in her hands to study it closely. Suddenly, she remembered a guest lecture from her first semester this year. She recognised the twig, its softened bristles on either ends of it.

"Miswak," she whispered.

"Hmm?" she heard Dylis from the other side of the screen.

"The twig," she clarified. "It's called miswak, used for cleaning your mouth and teeth. It's said that people started to use it thousands of years ago, most of all the Romans and Arabs, to name a few."

"Glad to know they value hygiene," Dylis said.

"Who doesn't value hygiene?" Ariel asked.

All she got as a reply was a snort.

Ariel shook her head and rolled her eyes, then grabbed the soap and scrub and started to clean herself.

o0o

Dinner with the little people proved to be a hearty one, and afterwards Ariel felt sick to the stomach by the sudden change in diet. Still, she and Dylis were glad to have something else than berries as dinner.

Esmeralda and Saradoc were chatty, Ariel had already noticed in the short time she'd got to know them, and asked them many questions about their travels.

Dylis answered those, making up some story about how they were planning on heading to some sort of town called Bree, but that a pack of wolves drove them further west and from their route.

Ariel listened to her story trying to keep a straight face, but she was dumb-founded to see the little people nod like it all made perfect sense.

This was crazy! How could they believe Dylis' story? How could Dylis know they would?

As the two hosts again launched into a banter about their family trees some time later, Ariel leaned over to Dylis. "You have some serious explaining to do," she said lowly, then took a sip of her beer. Or ale, as they'd insisted on calling it.

Dylis brought her wooden cup to her mouth, smiling at the hosts who beamed at her in turn as she replied underneath her breath, "Tonight."

Ariel nodded, then proceeded to stuff another piece of bread with honey in her mouth. It was surprisingly good, this medieval themed dinner.

They had quite a lot of food, which was a bit strange since Esmeralda said she hadn't expected any visitors. However, throughout their dinner, it became clear to Ariel that even though these people were little, they could eat a lot.

Every time she put the last bit of food on her spoon or fork, Esmeralda would immediately stash her plate with some more meat, some more salad and another piece of bread.

Eventually, after four servings, Ariel called it quits, saying she was starting to get sick. Saradoc and Esmeralda relented then, though she did hear them mutter that it was "no surprise that the ladies are so thin and bony."

The plates were finally carried out by some maids, and Ariel discreetly rubbed her belly, glad that she wasn't wearing her tight jeans anymore (though Dylis had tied the straps of her dress a bit tightly around her waist).

Saradoc leaned forward. "So you are still planning to go to Bree, no?" he asked.

Dylis nodded. "Yes, we are," she replied.

He and Esmeralda exchanged a glance, and Ariel wondered at their unsettled expressions.

"The roads are… not dangerous, but definitely troublesome," Esmeralda explained as she noticed Ariel's glance. "Sketchy folk walk to and fro, doing dark business no doubt. I would plan out my route carefully, if I were you."

Dylis frowned pensively. "We were planning on taking the East-West Road," she said, doubt already gnawing at her words. This time, Ariel wondered about her worried expression.

Dylis was biting on the inside of her cheek, staring at the wooden table, thinking deeply. Eventually, she looked up again. "It may sound a bit odd," she said, "but could you tell me the date? I fear we have lost track of time."

Ariel whipped her head to Dylis, outraged. How could she forget the date? Today was her fucking birthday!

Saradoc smiled kindly, almost pitifully. "It's August 24th."

Dylis nodded, then swallowed. "The year 3018, right?" Her voice sounded hollow.

Esmeralda laughed. "My, how long have you been out there in the wild?" she exclaimed teasingly.

But Ariel's eyebrows furrowed into a deep V. Was Dylis insane? Had she even noticed she'd said three thousand?

And why were these little humans not correcting her?

And why the heck did Dylis have that sad look on her face? It wasn't even sad… it was as if someone had just confirmed something she'd been too scared to accept.

It was grief.

Dylis shifted in her seat, her eyes crossing with Ariel's. The blonde looked profoundly uncomfortable.

It was time Dylis told Ariel what she had to say. And if it would take any longer, Ariel was determined to drag the words out of her.

Ariel didn't catch any more of the conversation between Dylis and the little people; she was too much in her head, trying to sort out what was missing. What Dylis had to tell her. What in the world was going on right now.

After dinner, they were lead through the round halls to their room. It was, as the maid said, the only room suitable for Big Folk. There was, however, only one bed, so one of them would have to sleep on a mattress on the floor. Dylis volunteered for the first night.

It was only when Dylis said "first night", that Ariel realised they were going to stay her for more nights than only one. The idea unsettled her greatly, even though she much preferred a bed over the forest floor.

Once the door was closed, Ariel automatically went to plop down on the bed. She'd expected it the veer deeper than it actually did— she scowled as she rubbed her butt.

The bed was made of wood— as almost everything seemed to be made of in this house— and squeaked with every move Ariel made. There was a bedside table with a candle on it, and opposite to the bed there was a dresser. Then there was a rocking chair.

That was it.

It didn't only look medieval. Everything about this room, this house, this entire village… it felt medieval.

Which was weird because apparently, according to Dylis, it was three thousand eighteen.

Thinking that absolutely absurd, she decided she liked to get some answers now.

With her arms crossed and an expectant look on her face, she watched Dylis close the door behind her.

Dylis was fumbling with her fingers.

Dylis never did that. Just like she never seemed to be nervous, even though her face had a slightly anxious expression at the moment.

"Well," Dylis said with a sigh, still standing in the middle of the room.

Ariel nodded slowly. "Well."

There was long, heavy moment of silence in the room, broken by the squeak of the bed as Ariel shifted impatiently.

Dylis looked at her, then nodded to herself as if encouraging herself to start talking. "Alright," she said, resolve making way for nervousness. "This is going to sound… very strange. As in, so strange that you might call me insane… You are probably not going to believe it, but—"

"I'll believe anything right now," Ariel huffed.

"—we're in Middle Earth."

"…but not that."

Dylis' glanced at Ariel, hurt, but unsurprised.

Ariel looked back at her, her mouth pursed in order to stop herself from bursting out in laughter.

Dylis shot a look to the ceiling, sighing tiredly. "I shouldn't have bothered," she mumbled.

The laughter that had welled up in Ariel subdued, and now Ariel again waited expectantly for Dylis to go on and tell what was really going on here.

When Dylis just settled down in the rocking chair, Ariel let out an annoyed huff and stood up. "Uhm, hello?" She waved a hand in front of Dylis. "I'm still waiting for an explanation. A serious one," she added.

Dylis gave her a look as serious as Ariel could've wished for. "Where do you think we are?"

Now, Ariel rolled her eyes. "Come on, you've already asked me that goddamn question," she said. "Why do you think I'm asking you?"

"You haven't asked me where we are yet," Dylis said blankly.

"Fine!" Ariel growled, throwing up her hands. "Dear Dylis, could you please tell me where the fuck we are?"

Dylis levelled her with a stony look. "Middle Earth."

"Aargh!"

"I'm not kidding!" Dylis said, jumping out of her seat. Ariel took a step backwards at the sudden outburst. "What do you think these little people are? Hobbits! Where do you think we're sleeping tonight, huh? Hobbit Holes!"

Ariel was shaking her head. "You're crazy."

"I'm not!" Dylis said, her voice breaking. "We're in goddamn Middle Earth, with hobbits, in the Shire. We've been back— we've been in this world for five days by now."

"God, listen to yourself, Dyl!" Ariel snapped. "I don't know what has gotten into you, but you seriously need to wake up. We're not in a fucking fantasy land, alright? I know you've always had some weird-ass obsession with Lord of the Rings, but it's fake. It does not exist!"

She glared at Dylis, trying to get through to her, but it was fruitless. Rather, the blonde's face was almost turning red.

Somewhat worriedly, Ariel took in her balled fists. Clenching her teeth, she looked back at Dylis' face. "You know what," she said, her voice cold, "I shouldn't have asked anyways. You've been way to shady lately." She stepped into the bed, drew the covers high up to her chin, then turned her back to where Dylis was standing. "Good night."

Thanks for reading, guys :)