Disclaimer: Recognize it? It's Tolkien's.

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Pippin burst through the door of the Green Dragon, searching the tables frantically. Rosie Cotton, a bar maiden at the inn, approached him with a bright smile.

"Pippin, how good to see you again," she greeted. "Your usual, I presume?"

"Not today, Rosie," Pippin said hurriedly, spotting his cousin Merry sitting at a table near the back of the room. He rushed over and sat down across from him. Merry grinned at Pippin with a half-drunken sway, raising his mug in greeting.

"Well, 'ello, Pip!" he said, his words sort of slurring.

"Merry, sober up for a second," said Pippin. "It's important. Frodo. . .he's kidnapped someone."

"Frodo Baggins?" Merry questioned. "I don't believe it for a second! Frodo Baggins is one of the kindest Hobbits in the Shire. He'd never hurt a fly." He raised his mug to drink from it.

"No, but apparently he'd hurt my sister," Pippin returned.

Merry put down his mug. "Piper? He's kidnapped Piper? Now, Pippin, where would you get an idea like that? Maybe she just ran away."

"No, there was a witness," Pippin explained. "Tillen Proudfoot was over for Supper tonight, and at one point Piper didn't feel too well, so she went to her room to lay down. Tillen went to check on her and the next thing I know, there's a loud crash from inside her room and Tillen's staring out the window with a knife in his hand."

"A knife?!" Merry cried, lowering his voice when a few heads turned towards the two. "A knife? Pippin. . .maybe it wasn't Frodo who-"

"I thought of that, too," Pippin continued. "But when I questioned Tillen on where Piper was, he said that Frodo had come through the window, attacked him with the knife and kidnapped Piper."

Merry was silent for a few moments, taking in his cousin's story. It seemed too farfetched. No one had ever been kidnapped in the Shire before. No one had ever attacked another with a knife, either. It was all too crazy to be true. No, no, it wasn't true. It couldn't be. Merry sighed, looking back at his younger cousin, half smiling at his seriousness about the whole situation.

"Pippin. . ." he began slowly. "Perhaps. . .perhaps Piper left of her own free will. Maybe, to Tillen, it looked as though Frodo were kidnapping her, but she had planned it out all along."

"Are you accusing my sister of attacking Tillen?!" Pippin demanded.

"No, no, nothing like that, Pip," Merry said quickly. "I'm simply saying that maybe she wanted to go with Frodo. That's a very real possibility. Maybe she planned for Frodo to get her tonight, but she hadn't expected Tillen to be there."

"Then why would Frodo have a knife?"

"For protection."

"Protection against what?! If neither of them had expected Tillen to be there, then they had no reason for protection."

Merry didn't know what to say. He knew that Pippin was right, but he couldn't believe that Frodo would do such a thing. Frodo had always been the kind of Hobbit who, if someone needed help in the garden, would be perfectly happy to help them. Or if a basket of something was dropped and scattered all over the ground, he would be right there to help clean it up.

With a sigh, Merry ran a hand through his hair, then looked across the table at his cousin. "Come now, Pippin, you can't seriously believe Frodo would do such a thing. You've known him as long as I have. Has he ever, once, been cruel or violent to anyone?"

"Well. . .no, but what else could have happened?" Pippin challenged. "The facts all point to Frodo kidnapping Piper. That's all there is to it. Hobbits change, Merry. Don't forget that."

* * *

Piper and Frodo sat silently in a small clearing, surrounded by trees so that no one could see them, even though they were only about fifty feet from the Road. Piper knew that Frodo wanted to know what had been going on, but she was not sure if she could tell him. She had not told anyone, and Tillen had said himself that he would kill her if he found out that she had.

Frodo glanced over at his best friend. There was something troubling her, he knew there was, but he knew of nothing he could do to help her. The only way he could do anything was if she told him what was going on, and by the way she was acting, that was not something she was planning on doing.

"Frodo. . .thank you," Piper said softly, cutting the silence.

Frodo was a bit startled. "For what?"

"If you hadn't shown up tonight. . .I don't know what might have happened," Piper told him. "That Hobbit you fought with, that was Tillen Proudfoot."

"Tillen Proudfoot?!" Frodo repeated, shocked. When he had met Tillen earlier that year, he had seemed like a very kind, responsible young Hobbit, not like someone who carried a knife around in his pocket!

Piper nodded. "Aye."

"But. . .it looked to me like he were about to kill you!"

"No. . .he was about to kiss me." Piper drew a shaky breath, knowing that it was time for her to tell someone what had happened. Frodo stood at this point, as if waiting for her to go on. With a deep breath, out it came. From start to finish, Piper recalled for him the whole of what had happened. He simply stood, dead silent, hands in his pockets, staring at her in disbelief.

"It can't be true," he said finally, seating himself beside her. "It just. . .can't. Things like that can never happen in the Shire. They can't."

"I didn't think so either," Piper said. "But unfortunately for us, it has happened. Your parents drowned, and no one thought those sorts of things could happen, yet they did. I never thought that there were any Hobbits like Tillen living here, but I was wrong." She looked over at him. "And I don't know what to do. He's threatened to kill me if I tell anyone. . .and he would do it."

"You have to tell someone besides me," Frodo told her. "Someone who has the authority to stop it. . .and also the heart to stop it. But first, you must get them to believe you. And you must not be afraid of Tillen. As long as I am with you, he can't hurt you."

"But he can hurt you," Piper said, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't want to see you get hurt again. Twice you've been hurt from this whole thing. . .but no more."

Frodo smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'm more worried about you. It's you that Tillen's after, not me. . .well, now he may be after us both, but we can't be afraid of him. That's what he wants. If you're afraid, then he can do anything he likes."

A small, weary smile formed on Piper's lips. "You. . .you are not afraid?"

"No." Frodo's hand touched hers, and he smiled encouragingly. An angry yell sounded in the trees, and Pippin burst out from behind them, tackling Frodo. Piper stood to pull her brother off of him, but Merry jumped out and held her back.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Piper demanded.

"It's for your own good, Piper, just keep out of it," Merry said quickly.

Pippin and Frodo scuffled about for a moment, before Frodo caught him with an uppercut and pushed him off. Pippin got to his knees slowly, holding his head.

"Pippin, Merry, what's gotten into you?" Frodo asked through heavy breaths.

"The fact that you kidnapped my sister!" Pippin shouted.

"And a bit of ale, but that's not the point," Merry put in.

"Kidnapped me?!" Piper exclaimed. "Now where did you get a crazy idea like that from?"

"Tillen!" Pippin told her. "He told us everything that happened! And according to him, you, Frodo Baggins, are a kidnapper!"

"Listen, Pippin, I wouldn't trust Tillen if I were you," Frodo said calmly. "He's been lying to everyone since the day he had his Coming of Age party. He attacked Piper and I rescued her!"

Pippin turned to his sister. "Is that true?"

"Yes, Pippin," Piper said, sighing.

"I believed you the whole time, Frodo," Merry said quickly, smiling.

* * *

The four Hobbits made their way quickly to Bag End, doing their best to blend in amongst the shadows. The other three stood watch while Frodo hurriedly knocked on the door. It swung open and there stood three Hobbits: Bilbo, Paladin. . .and Tillen.

"Well, well, well," Paladin said. He turned to Tillen. "Didn't I tell you that we'd find them if we just stayed in one place?"

"Frodo, these Hobbits were looking for you," Bilbo said, his tone a bit confused.

"Ah, just the Hobbit I was looking for," said Tillen coolly. "Frodo, might I have a word with you. . .privately?"

"No," Frodo replied quickly.

"Would someone please explain what's going on?" Bilbo asked.

"Your nephew here is a kidnapper, Baggins," Paladin explained, his voice low and calm.

Bilbo was quite taken aback. "Surely you gentlemen have made some sort of mistake. Frodo would do nothing of the sort! I've brought him up better than that!"

"Frodo isn't the Hobbit you think he is, Mr. Baggins," Tillen said, his eyes fixed on Frodo. There was an unmistakable anger in them that chilled Frodo to the bone, and the other three as well. Tillen continued. "He's a sly, treacherous, evil young Hobbit, and his sights have been set on Mr. Took's daughter ever since the day he met her." As Tillen said these words, his eyes narrowed, his voice gained a harsh edge and he had taken about five paces closer to the group of Hobbits before him.

Frodo drew backwards, though in his eyes there was a defiance and an anger to match Tillen's. "You, Tillen Proudfoot, are a liar and you know it. Everything you say is false. You know what really happened tonight, but you place the blame on me because you know that if anyone found out what has been going on these past few weeks, it'll be your word against Piper's."

"Piper's words would mean nothing," Paladin cut in. "She is not yet Come of Age. Her story would not matter. And neither does yours, Frodo Baggins."

"Give it up," Tillen growled. "There is nothing you can do to save yourself."

"I will not allow myself to be subject to lies," Frodo shot back. "I have done nothing wrong."

What happened next was hard for any of the four to recall later on. It happened so fast, it was almost as if it hadn't happened at all. Tillen jumped at Frodo in a sudden rage and thrown him to the ground. Pippin and Merry ran to Tillen and pulled him back. Piper helped Frodo up and when Paladin came at them, they, along with Pippin and Merry, ran off down the path that led to Bag End and then scrambled down the Road towards the market.

Tillen ran to the gate, closely followed by Paladin and Bilbo, who was most bewildered. Pulling a dagger from his pocket, Tillen turned his head towards the other two.

"They won't get far," he said softly. With that, he jumped over the gate and headed quickly in their direction.