AN: Just to let you know, I have nothing against the name Ginger. But for the purposes of the story, someone doesn't like the name. Oh, and I hope you can follow the story. It's kind of hard with all the conversations.

Chapter 5: The Kidnapping

Rose threw back her covers. It was about midnight and her father had just fallen asleep. She sneaked out of bed, reached under it, and pulled out the suitcase. Making sure her father wasn't in the hall, she pulled out the leather sack and slid the suitcase under the bed again. Then she tiptoed out into the hall, she peeked into her father's bedroom to make sure he was still asleep, and opened the front door slowly, so it wouldn't squeak. She went outside, and shut the door, being careful not to get her dress stuck in it. Then she took off into the darkness. *I should have thought of this sooner! Father will never know that I left! Now, where to begin my adventure. It has to be somewhere exciting, where no hobbit has gone before. BAGEND! Then I can really see if they have jewels in there!* Striking up her courage, Rose walked off into the total darkness towards Bagend.

*Maybe I should have brought a candle or something. It's a bit dark out here.* Rose felt something grab her leg and she immediately became acquainted with the ground. Rose, out of reflexes, reached down and slapped whatever was holding her.

"Ow! Ya shouldn'ta hit meh that hard! I weres jus' tryin' ter help ya!" A young hobbit crawled out aof a bush and stood in front of Rose. "If yeh had gone any farthe' yeh woulda ran righ' into a trap for mouses!" Rose looked at the child in amazement. "Why yeh ogglin' me like tha'?"

"I'm sorry, little one, but you look half-starved. When was the last time you ate?" Rose's eyes had adjusted to the light and she saw that the boy was very skinny, as hobbits go. "Do you need some food? Where's your parents? Do they know that you are so skinny? Have you always been like this? Do you have brothers and sisters? Are you alright?"

"Gah, lady! Quit peltin' questions at meh! I can only answeh one at a time anyway!" The boy looked both confused and astounded at Rose's inquisitiveness.

"When was the last time you ate?" Rose decided to ask what she felt was the most important question first.

"Yesterday."

"What's you name, little boy?"

"Why you call me a boy?"

"Aren't you a boy?"

"Quite the opposite, maam."

"You mean you are a girl?"

"That' wat I sayed."

"What's your name?"

"Agatha."

"So, Agatha, where are your parents?"

"At home."

"You mean your parents don't care if you're out at this time?"

"Nah. I get most of teh food tha' we eat, so they don' care what I do, just as long as I keep bringin' 'em food."

"So you bring all the food to your family?"

"Do yeh got a hearin' problem, lady?"

Rose was taken aback by this question. "No, what makes you think that?"

"'Cause you always askin' meh the same ol' questions ovah and ovah again."

"I'm sorry. I just want to make sure of what I heard. Do you need some food?"

"D'ya got any with yeh?"

"Well, no. Oh why am I bothering with such a little brat?" Rose continued up the road toward Bagend, completely ignoring the little girl standing by the side of the road. Then, something wrapped around her leg again. She turned around and was about to scold Agatha for grabbing her again, when she saw that the person holding her wasn't Agatha. He was taller than Agatha was and bigger around the waist. Rose tried to scream, but no noise came out of her mouth. Soon, she had ropes wrapped around her and was being dragged down the street by her kidnappers.

"I think we got outselves a rich one here, Judy."

"Don't say my name in front of her, you fool!"

"Sorry, Judy."

"What did I just tell you?"

"Sorry."

"You'd better be. We're almost there, just keep a good hold on that rope. As soon as she wakes up, she's going to want to know what's going on. You did knock her out, right?"

"Ummm.. ya."

"You didn't, did you?"

"Ummm.. nope."

"How could you?" The girl stuck her face into Rose's. "How long have you been awake, girl?"

Rose figured that this would probably be a good time to tell a little fib. "I only just woke, maam. Would you be so kind as to tell me why I am all roped up?"

"It's none of your concern. What's your name?"

Again finding this a good time to fib, Rose replied, "My name is Ginger."

"Ginger? That's a funny name. Who are your parents. You know, the people who gave you that awful name." Judy sneered at Rose.

"I never knew them."

"Good. That means no one will notice that you're missing."

"Oh, someone will notice. I have lots of friends."

"Yeah right. How could a parentless hobbit have friends?" Judy looked right into Rose's face. "Or are you lying to me?"

"I wouldn't lie to my kidnappers." Rose glared right into Judy's face just to prove her point. "Now, if you please, get these ropes off of me and let me go."

"Oh no, that won't be necessary. We don't want to end the party early, do we?" Judy laughed a horrible, wicked laugh.

Rose panicked. She wasn't in the mood for a party with these hobbits. "AAAHHHH!" She screamed as loud as she could and started kicking furiously and flailing her arms wildly around, hoping to hit her kidnappers. Her legs make contact with someone's arm. She heard a scream, but she didn't care. The only thing she was concentrating on was getting away from her assultants, and quickly. Rose could hear Judy yelling. She guessed where the male hobbit's arm was and bit it as hard as she could. She heard another scream and instantaniously the male hobbit let go of the ropes, allowing Rose to squirm away from the two hobbits and into a nearby bush.

Judy and the male hobbit were still fighting with each other and hadn't noticed that Rose had gotten away. They continued their conflict until suddenly Judy said, "Hey, where's Ginger?"

"I dunno."

"Well look for her, you fool!" And with that, Judy and the other hobbit were gone down the road looking furiously for their lost victim. Rose let out a sigh of relief and crawled back onto the road.

"I told yeh that I was tryin' ter help yeh an' that any farther yeh woulda run into a trap fer mouses." Rose looked up and saw Agatha standing over her.

"What do you mean, Agatha? I am not a mouse."

"Judy an' Johanathon consider everyone who ain't like them mouses. You ain't like them. You're nice and they're mean." Rose wasn't exactly used to other hobbits, as her father had always kept her confined to the limits of ther garden in her front yard, and wasn't quite sure if Agatha was telling the truth.

"Are you sure, Agatha? How do I know that you aren't just kidding?"

"Have you been around a lota hobbits?"

"No."

"Then you wouldn' be able teh tell."

Agatha started to walk away, but Rose stopped her. "Agatha, where do you live?"

"Jus' up teh road 'ere."

"I'm a bit lost, would you mind if I stayed the night at your house?"

Agatha looked unsure. "I'm not sure if a rich hobbit like yerself would like stayin' in my home. It' all small-like, you know."

"I don't mind at all."

"Alrigh' then. It's right 'round this corner." And with that, Rose and Agatha walked off into the darkness.

I really hope you liked this. It's a little hard to follow, but I think it's readable. Pleeeaaassseee Review! I need Reviews! I can't write without reviews! Thank you so much (