Chapter 5

The Giving of the Locket

The sun just began to climb in the morning sky when all the hobbits just finished their morning breakfast and were preparing to board their carriages that would take them all to Buckland for Esmerald's Bridal shower. Sarodoc Brandybuck's family was honoring her with this special day. The hobbits looked especially forward to the picnic in the lush green hills of Buckland, followed by boating in the Brandywine River. Primula visited with all the hobbit women when they just began to gather outside. Their husbands were busy preparing the carriages and hitching the horses.



Lobelia slept lazily in her bed with a night mask on to cover her eyes, after finishing a hefty Breakfast. The door of her bedroom crept quietly open while an unseen visitor entered and locked the door behind him, taking the key and placing it into his vest pocket. A sudden thud and a hushed, 'ouch' was heard when Bilbo accidentally hit his shin on a low stool by her dressing table. This did not awaken the sleeping Lobelia. Lids began to twist off from their jars and seemed to float in mid-air, only to be sat down again on the table. Power and cold cream floated in the air and disappeared when a small giggle broke in between the light snoring that came from the bed. A small jar of bright red rouge floated across the room and hovered just next to the wall of Lobelia's bedroom. Red lines appeared and a face was being drawn on the wall that turned into a hideous troll with large glaring eyes.

Bilbo cleared his throat as loudly as he could, trying to awaken the sleeping Lobelia, but she did not wake up. The snoring continued in even breaths while Bilbo tried again to waken her. Again this did not work. He kicked the bed, only to hurt his foot and yelped out another loud "ouch", but still she snored on. Bilbo rolled his eyes trying to think of something else that would awaken the old hag. Spying the tin lids that he removed from her jars of cold cream, Bilbo ran over to them on the table and began clanging them together.

Lobelia sat up straight in her bed and removed the eye covering from her face and awaited for her eyes to adjust to the morning light that shone from her bedroom windows. Her eyes darted over to her wall to see a hideous troll painted there. She was about to shout for Lotho because she believe that he painted this creature on her wall, but stopped before the first word was uttered when she saw her jar of rouge floating next to the wall and red lines suddenly appearing on its own.

She gasped in horror witnessing this ghostly site. She clasped her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming while her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest.

Bilbo cupped his hand over his mouth to change the sound of his voice and give it a ghostly sound. He howled out, "Lo-bel-ia!"

Lobelia screamed and dashed to the door pulling on the knob with all of her strength, but it would not open. She turned again to face the ghostly howls from the voice that seems to be within a few feet from her. "Please do not harm me! I'll do anything! Please!" she cried out in fear.

Bilbo forced himself not to giggle, seeing her sinking to her knees and a wild look coming from her eyes. He squared his shoulders and cupped his hand over his mouth again, saying, "return what you have recently stolen."

"What? Do you want Bilbo's spoons?" Lobelia said confessing.

"Spoons! You have stolen the spoons!" shouted Bilbo and he scowled at her almost forgetting to cup his mouth with his hand.

Bilbo was shocked at hearing this and tried to remember the last time he checked his spoons to see if any of them were missing, but he could not remember the last time he did this. He wondered if she might have sneaked into Bag End and stolen them again. He made a mental note to recount them as soon as he got home again.

Coming back from his thoughts about his spoons, Bilbo continued, "Never mind about the spoons...", he paused a moment and said, "I am talking about the locket you have stolen. If you do not return that locket, I will make this troll come to life and haunt your home. I will walk your halls until that locket is returned to its rightful owner."

"Okay, I'll return the locket!" she shouted. Running to her jewelry box her hands shook so badly she could barely open the lid. Her fingers dug through the mound of jewelry until she spotted the locket tucked away in the far corner of the box. She picked it up and held it up so the ghost could see it.

"Go now, as the rightful owner awaits at the stables just down the street." Bilbo said with his hand cupped over his mouth.

Lobelia slipped the locket into her nightdress pocket at that moment a key suddenly appeared on the dressing table right in front of her eyes. Picking up the key she dropped it trying to get her hands to stop shaking so violently. Falling to her hands and knees, she frantically began to search the floor for the elusive key. Finally her finger touched the key that had bounced under a small stool. Grasping the key, she raced over to the door and wiggled the key into the lock trying over and over again to unlock the door.

Bilbo tapped his foot impatiently while he waited for her to finally get the door open. Just as soon as the click from the lock opened, Bilbo pulled his ring off his finger and he appeared directly in front of her. Seeing this hideous form with foaming blue skin and red sunken eyes, she shrieked in horror almost fainting from the fear. Bilbo quickly placed the ring back on his finger and disappeared again.

Lobelia ran from her bedroom and out from her front door. Her nightdress flew around her feet that barely touching the ground, running in search of Primula.

Looking back to see if the ghost had followed her, she bumped into Otho who was just returning from his shopping expedition to purchase that big bottle of perfume for his wife. The bottle flew from his hands and shattered onto the ground. "Get out of my way you fool!" she shouted pushing passed him and continued running down the street.

Otho's mouth flew open in being so astonish while he watched his wife running down Hobbiton in her nightdress and believing she had lost her mind.

Just what the ghost had told her, Primula stood with a group of hobbits that were waiting for their carriage. Lobelia rushed up to Primula, who caught a glimpse of her from the corner of her eye. Primula turned to the fast approaching hobbit and she froze in shock. Lobelia grabbed Primula's hand and taking the locket from her nightdress she placed it into her hand. Lobelia turned and ran back towards her home, while saying nothing to no one.

The hobbit's mouths opened widely while they stood so stuned watching the retreating form of Lobelia Sackville-Baggins running in her nightdress with a wild look to her appearance. Then they all turned to each other and burst out laughing.

Primula opened her hand and saw the locket that had been missing for over eight years. Drogo ran to his wife's side to see what had just happened. She held the locket in her hand to show Drogo. Drogo smiled sweetly to his wife and took the locket. Placing the delicate chain around his wife's neck and making sure the clasp was tightly in place, he stood back to look at her. Primula smiled and touched the locket with the tips of her fingers that now rested against her chest. Taking her husband's hand he led her to the carriage.

Bilbo could barely contain himself with the fits of laughter watching that little scene being played out in front of him. He laughed even harder seeing Lobelia and Otho who now was helping her back into their hobbit hole and every hobbit had his neck stretching from door and window who also witnessed that little scene.

Bilbo turned straightening his waistcoat and began to whistle while his feet danced him all the way home. He could not wait to let Frodo know his mother had her locket back at last.



Helping his wife back into her bed, Otho mixed her a strong drink. "You must have been dreaming, my dear. It frightened you is all. Now look there is no troll painted on your wall and your jars of make-up still sit just were you have always placed them. The key is in its lock, and nothing looks like it has been touched or moved," said Otho trying so hard to reason with her.

"Oh, Otho, I was so frightened," she sobbed in his arms.

The servant girl opened the broom closet and peered out into the kitchen to make sure everything was safe again, before she returned back to her cleaning.



Bilbo opened his door wide and went directly into the kitchen. A figure bent over on hands and knees searching in his cupboards startled him. Bilbo shouted, "What are you looking for?"

Hamson bumped his head hitting it hard against the cupboard. He too was so startled by Bilbo's loud voice. Climbing out of the cupboard, Hamson rubbed his head and he greeted Bilbo, "Begging your pardon, Mr. Baggins, I was about getting Mr. Frodo something to eat and I couldn't find a spoon."

"A spoon!" shouted Bilbo. Immediately scuttling over to the cupboard where he knew his spoon were kept and opened the small door. Seeing his family spoons lined up neatly on the shelf, he was greatly relieved. He could tell by looking that not one spoon was missing from its spot. "That hag did not get her thieving hands on it!"

"Mr. Baggins, would you mind me taking one of those spoons for Mr. Frodo?" Hamson asked.

"Yes, my boy! Here take this one," said Bilbo and handed Hamson one of his favorite spoons. "Tell Frodo I will join him shortly."

Bilbo packed the remaining spoons that were very special to him and placed them into his vault where his father had never finished the fourth section to Bag End. This is where he kept all of his treasures that he brought back from his many adventures.

Seeing Sting mounted proudly on the wall of his vault brought Bilbo back to the time that he wandered the Misty Mountain with Gandalf and the dwarves. He pulled the sword from its sheath and stroked his hand across the blade before returning back to its sheath. Closing the vault and locking it, he went to find Frodo.

"Bilbo, there you are! Hamson told me that you have returned home again. He just left for Bagshot Row," said Frodo.

"How are you feeling, Frodo?"

"I am bored as can be just lying here. I think I am more than ready to be up and about."

"Not so fast, my boy. Your mother will have my head if she thought that I was not taking good care of you. Besides there is something that happened in Hobbiton today! Would you like to hear about it?" asked Bilbo and raised his eyebrow while waiting for Frodo to answer him.

"Yes, I would!" Frodo exclaimed settling back on his bed to listen to Bilbo's story.

"It seems that Mrs. Sackville-Baggins was seen running in her nightgown through Hobbiton and placed the missing locket into your mother's hand before she darted back towards her home. It was quite odd to say the least. It was as if a ghost was trailing her every step." Bilbo chuckled out-loud telling Frodo this.

"Bilbo did you have anything to do with Mrs. Sackville-Baggins giving back the locket?" Frodo looked suspiciously at Bilbo and then smiled up at him.

Bilbo sat straight in the chair and becoming very serious in his expression and stated, "Why would you ask me such a thing? I tell you I saw this for myself while I was standing in the street of Hobbiton!"

"If you say so, Bilbo, but I still wonder..."

"Whatever has changed her mind about giving up the locket is a good thing and should be looked upon just as it is." Bilbo said with a twinkle in his eye and merriment in his voice. "Now enough of all this, I have many stories to tell you, Frodo. True stories mind you.............of all my adventures."

They spent hours together reliving all of his adventures with Frodo.

The afternoon gave into the evening while the hours slowly ticked by. Bilbo sat by the kitchen hearth smoking his pipe and paging through one of his favorite books. He stroked the picture of his maps with his fingertips and becoming so lost in his memories.

On and on the hours passed by and Bilbo decided it was time for him to go to bed.

Checking to see if Frodo was asleep he quietly shut his bedroom door to find his own bed.



The next morning when Bilbo stirred the porridge he heard a carriage stop in front of Bag Eng. He rushed to open his front door to greet Primula and Drogo. However, only Dinodas approached Bilbo who waited for him by the front door.

Bilbo's heartbeat rapidly in his chest upon seeing the tears that was streaming down Dinodas's cheeks. He knew something had dreadfully happened and the news he brought was going to be disheartening. When Bilbo reached to shake Dinodas's hand to greet him, Dinodas placed a locket into his open hand. Bilbo's eyes rounded when he noticed it was Primula's locket.

Frodo stood just behind Bilbo and saw the locket that Dinodas gave him. He recognized it immediately. __