Warning! This chapter is Rated T for mild sensual content.
*.*.*
It wasn't the knights' statues who waited for them upstairs. In fact, for a moment, Frodo and Bethany saw Maleficent standing at the top of the stairs, green-skinned with very elvish-like. For a moment, Frodo thought Maleficent might get them. Instead, she walked down the stairs, in a slow, melodic fashion. When she came down to the bottom step, she looked at Frodo and Bethany, intrigued.
"Well, dears," Maleficent said, smirking, "it would seem that my invitation came a bit late. I had no idea we were bringing Bethany home."
"You… You… You!" Bethany cried, lunging towards Maleficent. Frodo held onto Bethany, holding her back.
"Well, I can see my invitation didn't reach me," Maleficent said, cackling. "I'll be seeing you." She vanished in a green fog, leaving Frodo and Bethany coughing.
"Where did she go?" Frodo asked, searching around for her. But no, Maleficent was gone. And he and Bethany were alone.
.
"Frodo, wait!" Bethany cried, desperation on her face.
Frodo stopped and looked at her. He was desperate to seek out Maleficent. He knew she had to be around here somewhere. But Bilbo's den remained empty. Oh, where was that witch with her clawed hand staff? He'd find her.
"No! I know she's here somewhere," Frodo said, determined.
"Frodo, maybe we should give up the search. It's clear she's not here," Bethany said, calmly.
"Give up? You want to give up?" Frodo stopped, facing her now. "Don't you want to go home?"
Bethany gulped, jumping back. She charged towards the stairs, stopping at the bottom step with a somber sigh. This was the last thing she wanted to hear.
"Maybe I should go back home, see how my dad is doing," Bethany said, making her way back to the closet.
Frodo eyed her suspiciously. "What do you think you'll find there? It's Bilbo's closet, not your dad's basement."
Bethany opened the closet door. No! It was true. Frodo was right. Her dad's basement was gone. No. She wasn't home! How was she to get back?
She walked towards the stairs, only to find Frodo grab her and hold her down. "Let go." She screeched.
"Where do you think you're going?" Frodo asked, his grip tight on her.
"Let go!" Bethany cried, collapsing on the floor. She spun around, only to have her wrists pinned down to the floor, by Frodo's hands. She squirmed, trying to get away. Only she couldn't. Frodo had her pinned down. "Let go! Frodo!"
"Why do you want to go back? He's not your real father," Frodo said. He sighed, admitting to her, "Do you honestly think you have a life back there? He's not your real father. It's Parker Dooley."
Bethany paused. She looked at Frodo, calming down somewhat. What did he mean? "What do you mean?" She winced in pain.
"Shh! Calm down," Frodo said, moving a lock of hair out of her eyes. "No one's going to hurt you." He kissed her on the lips, calming her down. "Do you think you can get up?"
Bethany sniffed, nodding. "So, I can't go home?"
Frodo smirked, saying, "I think you'll find a new home with me, Parker Dooley, and his wife Eliza Bowler-Dooley. You know Rachal is my mother. My real mother. She's a white cat, but she's still my real mother."
"Who's your real father?" Bethany asked, calmly.
"He's Andalas. I have no idea where he is," Frodo said. "I was hoping you could help me."
"Help you? How?" Bethany asked, trying to process everything.
Frodo chuckled, saying, "You'll see." He winked at her, saying, "Come on. Let's get out of here, and find Bilbo." He helped her to her feet, saying to her, as they climbed up the stairs. "If anything, Bilbo will be making breakfast. If not, then…" he reached the top step with her in tow, noticing how quiet it was. "Uncle? Uncle Bilbo?" He gestured for Bethany to follow, "Come on. Bilbo's got to be here."
"And no knights' statues," Bethany said, surprised there were no knights around.
Frodo stopped. The sounds of a knife cutting up food, or so Frodo assumed was hobbit food, sounded off in the kitchen. Frodo sighed in relief, telling Bethany, "It's just Bilbo. Come on." He led her across the room. Inside the kitchen, he found Bilbo preparing breakfast.
"Bilbo," Frodo said, pleased to see Bilbo.
"Frodo, it's so wonderful to see you," Bilbo said, smiling. He looked at Bethany, saying to her, "Ah! So, you've found her once again?"
"What's he talking about?" Bethany asked.
"In another life, we lived by different rules," Frodo said, pleased. "Nowadays, I'm afraid everything's changed." He nodded, wondering what his life would be like without Bilbo or Bethany around to guide him.