Chapter 22: The Last Chapter, I promise . . .
After a week of healing the rest of the elves were healthy enough to leave and head for the Undying Lands. Aubrey and the rest of the group helped them pack the injured and the supplies into the wagons that would lead them to the great boat ready for launch. All the elves boarded and some thanked Aubrey as others totally ignored her. Even though it was all over, some still held anger about how a child could have led them. Aubrey hoped that one day they would forgive her for the battle and the trouble she had caused, but even if they didn't she would understand.
Arwen was atop her horse as she watched the boat start to sail out into the great sea. Aubrey stood in front of Drogo who had his hands on her shoulders. She watched the back of the ship shrink as it sailed farther away. Before Aubrey couldn't make out anything or anyone, she saw two figures at the back of the boat waving toward them. Both Adrielle and Philon tried to say their last goodbyes to the group.
Aubrey felt a tear slide down her cheek as she waved her last goodbye to Adrielle and Philon. She was happy for them for they too were going too be wed in a few years time in the Undying Lands. Adrielle had stopped by Aubrey's room before she was set to leave and gave her some tips about her hair. Aubrey thanked her and neither wanted to see each other leave. Aubrey promised that one day she'd send for a boat or something and ask her to come to her wedding. They agreed that is when they would see each other once more.
Arwen turned her horse to Aubrey and looked down at the group, "Are you sure you will all find your way back to the Shire all right?"
"We will, nothing can escape dear Drogo's head. Isn't that right Drogo?" Thomas ruffled his cousin's hair and knocked on his head a few times.
All the girl's laughed at Thomas as he started to run from Drogo. Aubrey turned back to Arwen, "Thank you again for all that you have shown me, Arwen. Please tell your husband that I wish you both well and that I hope that whatever comes your way that you will be able to face it not as individuals, but as a unified soul."
"I will Aubrey," Arwen held her hand down and held Aubrey's for a moment, "Now, I must go. I have spent too much time on well wishes." She kicked at her horse and galloped off into the heavily wooded trees.
"I guess it is our time to go as well, don't you think, Aubrey?" Kate asked her.
"Yeah, it is," Aubrey grabbed the pack from the ground and the whole group started to walk down the path. Aubrey took out the broken amulet form her pocket and looked at it as she walked.
"Why do you keep that thing, Aubrey?" Kat asked as she watched Aubrey touch it, "I mean, it has no more powers, right?"
"I know, but I think I keep it for memories more than anything else."
"I think that is a wonderful reason," Lilly said putting her hand on Aubrey's shoulder, "And I think that your parents are very proud of you, Aubrey; even if you can't hear or feel them through the jewel."
"Thank you, Mrs. Baggins," Aubrey smiled at her and looked down the road.
As Thomas stuck one of the mushrooms he found on the road in his mouth a question popped into his head, "Umf, ywhferth is Geandoelf?"
Everyone looked at him with a question mark on their faces. Lilly looked disapprovingly at Thomas and hit him on the back of the head.
"Thomas Took, you swallow your food before you talk," she put her hands on her hips as Thomas swallowed the food quickly.
"Sorry, Mrs. Baggins," Thomas lowered his head saying his apology with a little lisp because he hadn't been able to swallow the food in the first gulp.
Drogo and the others laughed at him and Drogo leaned over to Aubrey, "That's my mother all right. Always trying to teach us proper, although it never got through to Thomas."
Aubrey covered her mouth as she began to laugh harder at Thomas's sad expression on his face. He finally swallowed the whole mushroom and looked back at the others, "What I meant to say when I was so rude . . ." he looked over at Mrs. Baggins and saw her nod her head approvingly, "Where is Gandalf? I haven't seen him since we left from Rivendell."
"That's because he rode a head of us earlier," Faramir said stepping up to him and draping an arm around his shoulder. He looked at Thomas's face which was still confused and continued, ". . . while we were eating first breakfast."
"That explains why I missed him," he began to think again, "And since you mentioned first breakfast . . . we haven't had second, have we?"
Faramir smacked his own forehead and stopped walking falling back again where Kat and Kate were talking. Thomas looked at the others who pretended to not hear him and kept walking, mourning the lost mealtime for the rest of the way back.
Aubrey watched the branches and over hanging brush blocked the sun's brightest rays, but still allowed the vital light to see to seep through. She saw some of the animals run into the wood away from the noisy group. Kat and Kate were arguing about something that Aubrey didn't really want to know about, Thomas was still trying to convince Faramir to snatch something out of his bag for a snack and Mrs. Baggins was talking to her son about the various things that she has missed, including how far his relationship with Aubrey has gone.
"Mother!" Drogo yelled surprised and looking at her with huge eyes after she whispered something in his ear, "Do you really think that you should be asking that?"
She looked at him and nodded her head, "Good, then I don't have to worry yet."
Aubrey could guess what she asked him and watched him stumble for words. They looked at one another and began to blush furiously. How can she even think about asking something that personal? Aubrey kept her eyes in front of her for a few minutes until she heard some one trip behind her. Both Faramir and Kate were down on the ground; apparently they had both tripped being distracted by Mrs. Baggins asking them something. They looked up with surprised faces at her covered with dirt.
"Good, I don't have to worry about telling your fathers something either," she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Both Thomas and Kat were laughing at the two couples whose faces were either red or pink from the fading blushing. Drogo held on to Aubrey's hand as the blushing faded and started to fiddle with the ring on her left hand. She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek.
After another hour they cleared another hill and out of the woods. They stood on top of the hill and looked over the plains. Aubrey took a great breath and couldn't believe what affect the sight of the Shire had on her. Her heart was in her throat and she couldn't believe that she was back. She looked over at Mrs. Baggins whose hands were over her chest as she looked at a specific hobbit hole in the far distance. Aubrey watched her lips as they shaped the word, 'Home.'
Aubrey walked over to her smiling and put a hand on her shoulder. Lilly looked at her and smiled back. Her eyes were filled with tears and she couldn't believe that she had made it back. After all those days that she thought she would never be released, after all the days were she went and prayed that she would be back in the grass fields . . . she was finally back in the Shire and back home. The whole group began to walk down the side of the hill, slowly at first but some of the young hobbits began to run -or rather roll- down the hill.
Thomas stopped his decent at the foot of the hill still laying in a patch of carrots. He looked at them and then looked at the group, knowing better then to try anything with both Faramir and Mrs. Baggins there. As they passed by Aubrey saw Kat and Kate both take a few as they stepped over. Aubrey shook her head with a small smile; it looked as if she had to go and pay another farmer for their loss.
All of them ran back to their respected homes, getting great hugs from their parents and siblings. As Aubrey, Drogo and Mrs. Baggins made it back to Bag End they saw Frodo outside in the front of Bag End raking the leaves that had already fallen. He rubbed the sweat that had gathered on his forehead and stopped raking for a few seconds. Drogo and Aubrey looked at each other with big smiles on their faces and began to run toward Frodo.
"Frodo!" Aubrey yelled waving her right hand at him and catching his attention.
"Father!" Drogo tried his turn running faster then Aubrey, trying to make it a race between the two to see who could make it there faster.
Frodo looked up from his work and saw the young lass and his son running toward him. He dropped his rake and ran out the front of the yard. As they both reached him he opened his arms and grabbed them both in his grip.
"Oh my-" he took a look at Aubrey and then at Drogo, "You're back. I didn't know . . ." He just didn't know what to say as he hugged them again. Aubrey smiled as she held Frodo in a hug, it was great to be back at Bag End. It was great seeing him again especially after thinking that she was never going to see him after she left for Rivendell. He pushed them away from him and looked at them both, "Well, it seems that you both are still in one piece."
"To tell you the truth Frodo, I wasn't sure if Drogo was going to stay in his one piece at all during the trip to Rivendell," Aubrey commented too excited to see him again to really describe it in detail.
"Me? What about you Miss Princess?" Drogo said crossing his arms.
"Hey, what have I told you about calling me Miss? And I'm not a princess anymore," she gave him a playful pout and glare, "And that is no way to speak to your fiancée."
"Fiancée?" Drogo looked at Drogo with a question written on his face and in his voice, "Drogo, do you have something to tell me?"
Drogo gave a nervous smile and held up Aubrey's left hand, "Explain enough?"
Frodo just looked at his son and at Aubrey and shook his head slightly with a smile on his face, "And you asked her with out me there?"
"Sorry, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing," Drogo said putting down Aubrey's arm and hand.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Aubrey said rolling her eyes playfully and was pushed from the side by Drogo.
Frodo looked at the two with a smile on his face, but then looked behind them and his smile began to fade into nothing Aubrey had ever seen before. She looked behind at what he was looking at and saw Lilly still standing in the dirt road, with both hands cupped together by her heart staring at Frodo.
Lilly kept her hands where they were and only could whisper the only word that came to her mind, "Frodo."
Frodo began to take steps toward her and past the two teens in the yard, "Lilly?" She nodded her head in the distance. He couldn't believe it at first, but forgot all the doubt at the back of his mind and all the pain that he had felt over the years and started to run. Lilly just stood in the road, maybe stepping only a few steps forward toward him. He soon reached her and took her in his arms burying his head in her hair, "Lilly."
Lilly could fell his arms around her, his breath washing over her hair and hear his voice calling her name. She knew that he was real; he was her Frodo she had lost so long ago. She looked up into his face and fell into his blue eyes all over again, "Frodo . . . I found my way back to you."
He smiled and stroked the side of her face, "My Lilly."
They both leaned toward one another and gave each other a kiss. Aubrey and Drogo turned away from them, giving them a little privacy. They both walked into the house and collapsed on the couch by the fire that Frodo must have lit earlier. Aubrey sighed and leaned on Drogo's shoulder.
"Isn't it romantic?"
"We nearly went through the same thing," Drogo said looked down at her, "I didn't see you sighing over that."
"Well, we were separated for three days at the most, they were separated for nearly twelve years, Drogo. Imagine how much love they had to share to keep a fire all that while."
"You mean like ours?" he said in an amused voice.
"Yeah, like ours," Aubrey looked up at him and gave him another light kiss on the lips and leaned her head back on his shoulder. They spent the rest of the last evening staring into the fire, happy that it was all over.
***
Later that week, the whole Shire was in an uproar about the upcoming celebration of the return of Aubrey and the others. They also celebrated the return of nearly all the girls that they had lost over twelve years ago and welcomed Mrs. Baggins back. After a few days Lilly Baggins was so tired of being called Mrs. Baggins that she wished for Aubrey to call her Lilly, although she still prompted Thomas to call her by the respected name. Gandalf did indeed make it back before the group, but had kept to himself waiting for them to break the ice. He, of course, brought along his fireworks for the party. Nearly everyone, including Aubrey, still wondered how he knew of the party since it was planned out of thin air.
Aubrey and Lilly were both out in the market finding some ingredients for some of the food for the upcoming party and feast. The hobbitlasses were sure to bake and cook as many treats as they could think of, so of course Mrs. Baggins and Aubrey were set for the challenge. They went from stall to stall checking off each item as they went. By the end of the hour they had finished their shopping for food. As they started to walk back Aubrey stopped in the road as she found that she no longer had a companion at her side.
"Lilly?" she looked behind her to see Lilly waving her hand at her and telling her to come over to her. Aubrey tilted her head a little but came over to her all the same. Lilly stood in front of a clothing and tailor shop looking at the pretty dresses in the windows.
"You must be tired of wearing my old dresses," she looked at Aubrey and gave a little smirk, "Why don't we do a little shopping."
Before Aubrey could answer she was swept inside where Lilly threw dresses at her one after the other. Aubrey ended up coming out of the store with a few more items then she would have hoped and looked behind her at Lilly.
"You sure this isn't overdoing it?"
"I believe that every girl should have the right to her own wardrobe, don't you?" Lilly called from behind her.
Aubrey smiled and didn't turn fast enough to see another hobbitlass right in front of her. Bags and decorations flew everywhere as the two bodies collided. Aubrey looked for her dresses, glad that none of them were ruined or even out of the bags because of how much money Lilly had just spent on them. She started to pick up some of the decorations from the ground and handed them back to the person as she stood up, apologizing the whole time.
Aubrey looked down at the hobbitlass on the ground and found it to be Kate with Kat running up the street toward them, "Kate? Are you alright?"
"I'll live Aubrey," Kate smiled, got up from the ground and took the decorations from Aubrey.
"I thought that the boys were in charge of the decorations and tents while you two focused on the layout," Aubrey said confused as Lilly stepped out of the store.
"They are," Kat butted in sounding a little annoyed, "Faramir sweet talked Kate into getting the decorations from market and she drug me with her. Although during this time we should be picking the perfect spot for the last tent and part of the dance floor. But no . . . we have to come all the way down here as the three of them sit back and 'put up the rest of the tents' as they put it. All because Kate wanted to follow her sweet Faramir."
Kate looked at the decorations and started to fumble with a few of them, "I thought it would be a way of helping out."
Lilly put her hands on her hips, "Did they really do that?" She looked at Kate as she gave her a sheepish grin, "Well, I would think that my son and Faramir would know better. I'm not so sure of Thomas, but will they hear from me, I'll tell you that right now." Lilly cracked her knuckles and started to march back toward the field where the party was to be set.
Aubrey watched her stomp off down the road and turned to the twins. All three broke out in smiles and started to run after Lilly just thinking about how much trouble the boys would be in. Aubrey also wanted to be there just in case Drogo may need to be saved from his mother. She still wanted to have the groom at her own wedding in one piece.
As the girls ran on the scene they saw both Thomas and Faramir held by the ears with Lilly standing over them. Aubrey looked past the scalding Lilly to see both Drogo and Frodo putting up the last tent. Faramir and Thomas struggled in Lilly's grip as they pleaded for their ears' release.
"We didn't force them to go? Frodo and Drogo put up the last small tent so we decided to take a break is all!" Thomas pointed at the last tent.
"You should have at least asked if you could help them," she let go of the ears to hit them both on the back of their heads.
Frodo and Drogo finished with the last tent and walked over where Faramir was being comforted by Kate and Thomas was sulking in the corner.
"Didn't I tell you both not to take the short cut?" Drogo asked in a matter- fo- fact voice. He swept the dust from his clothes and saw Aubrey back, "You and mother back from shopping all ready? I would think with all that was on the list it would take you two another hour."
"Is that why the two stopped? Thought they had enough time?" Aubrey gave a skeptical look and then started to grin, "Well, we actually finished and looked at dresses while we were in market.
"Dresses? What for?"
"Well, I am pretty much without clothes since your mother came back. I can't very well keep wearing hers now can I?" Aubrey put the basket of food in Drogo's arms as she grabs the other bag in her hand a little more securely, "And since you are done putting up the last tent, you can help me bring them inside."
"But the decorations-"
"As far as I understand, both Faramir and Thomas have to still go to town for those. Now come on, until they get back you can help your mother and I cook," she said walking toward Bag End.
"You? Cook? I though you said you once burned water," he said catching up to her.
"Yeah . . . well . . . your mother's going to help me immensely," Aubrey said trying to keep her head up.
"This is going to be fun," Drogo said under his breath and walked into the kitchen with her.
***
The night was spectacular; streamers were everywhere, nearly everyone was dancing, and Gandalf was of course setting of fireworks in the middle of it all. The small and younger hobbits gathered near the sparkling wonders or were listening to Frodo tell about every single tale he knew, including his own, when he wasn't on the dance floor with Lilly. The night sky was clear and all the stars and the moon shown down heavily on the party. All the tents were decorated with the multicolored streamers and some very nice lights that had just been introduced at market.
Faramir and Thomas laid back as much as they could because of the rigorous work of decorating Lilly had put them through. Kate was sitting by Faramir or standing in front of him trying to persuade him to dance. Thomas pushed him out in Kate's arms and laughed as Faramir tried desperately to find the beat of the music. Kat just shook her head in amusement and watched from the side of the dance floor. Drogo was sitting right beside her waiting for Aubrey to come out of Bag End.
"How much longer do you think she is going to take?" he looked at Kat.
"As long as she needs to," Kat said smiling and looking past him, "And it looks like that time is up."
Drogo looked behind her to see Aubrey with her hair up and letting the hair frame her face as it did before. She smiled and let the green dress flow around her feet and legs. She walked up to Drogo and kissed him on the cheek.
"So what do you think?"
"It's beautiful," he smiled returning the kiss and extending his hand, "Care for a dance, M' lady?"
"Why yes, kind sir," they both took steps out onto the floor and began to dance with Faramir and Kate who were already out there.
Kat looked on with longing and wondered if she would ever find love like that. Then from over her left shoulder she saw a flower wrap toward her face. She looked behind her to see a handsome young hobbit. At first she didn't recognize him, but after she thought of it, she finally remembered him name.
"Timothy Proudfoot," she took the flower from him and he smiled shyly.
"Um, would you like a dance, Miss Brandybuck?" he said kind of stuttering and rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed mostly.
"Of course," she stood up and let him lead her to the dance floor.
Thomas was too busy looking for his friends and relatives in the crowd as he spotted them all, hooked up with some one else. He wiped his hands and stood up.
"Well, looks like my job here is done, now . . . of to the food table!" he strolled over to the food table pushing in food from every which way. As he reached for another roll on the side of the tale he felt a hand beneath his.
He picked up his stuffed face to see an equally stuffed face staring back at him. They both looked at each other and looked at the roll. They both swallowed, careful not to be too rude. The girl kind of gave a small smile to Thomas and looked at his face. She was a little shorter then he was and had black hair that went to her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown, a chocolate most people would say and had the average figure of the teenage hobbitlass; not too skinny and not too chubby.
"I'm sorry," she said and let him have the roll, "You probably had your sights set on the roll longer then I had."
Thomas was awestruck for a few seconds as he never knew a girl to scarf down that much food in one setting. He was in the presence of greatness, "Uh . . . um . . ."
The girl giggled and covered her mouth to not be rude, "I'm Abigail Chubb."
"Thomas Took," he nearly whispered and handed her the roll.
She smiled big and put the roll back on the table and dragged him to the dance floor. He started to warm up to her and after a while they were charging through the rest of the couples on the floor. As Aubrey and Drogo were dancing they were knocked to the side by the too over eaters pushing them into another person on the side of the floor.
"Sorry," Aubrey said turning to the person they hit.
"Aubrey," the girl said. Aubrey looked at who it was and saw Sandy looking at her. She looked as pissed as ever and Aubrey didn't really want to deal with it. As she turned to leave Sandy grabbed her arm gently.
"Wait," Aubrey turned to her and narrowed her eyes at her.
"What Sandy?"
"They say that you brought back all the girls that were captured. It was you who actually tried to free them," Aubrey only nodded, "Thank you."
The comment surprised both Drogo and Aubrey. Sandy was actually being grateful for something, "No problem Sandy."
"My sister was one of the girls taken and it means a lot to me that she's back home," she smiled at Aubrey.
Aubrey brought herself to smile and patted Sandy in the shoulder. Even in this touching moment she wasn't ready to hug her. Aubrey looked at Drogo as they made their way to the dace floor again.
Before they reached the flat ground, Drogo held her back and nodded his head toward a hill. Aubrey smiled and got the message. They both climbed up the hill and collapsed when they reached the top. They had the perfect view for the fireworks and the party. The lights were all shining like nothing Aubrey had ever seen before.
Aubrey leaned back on Drogo and let him play with her hair, "Drogo?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you wondered what our lives would be like after we're married?"
"Yes," he said, "Have you?"
"Yeah, of course," she sat back up and looked him in the eyes, "What do you think of Mandy as a name?"
"A name?"
"For a girl," she smiled as his face broke out in one as well.
"I think it sounds very nice," he let her lay back in his lap and rest her head.
Aubrey stared up at the stars wondering if they could send a message to some one as well as tell stories. She closed her eyes and told the stars to tell her friends and everyone left behind that she still was there for them and she still loved them very much.
'No one can every replace you guys, but I have to move on,' Aubrey closed her eyes and smiled, 'I love you all so much.'
***
The house looked so empty without anyone's car in the driveway or any movement inside. There were no more voices echoing in the hall or the noise of footsteps in the young girl's room. Jane stood outside what used to be her best friend's home. Ever since they closed the house for it to be sold, she never really tried to just look at it. Josh had gone to a game and she had the entire afternoon to herself. She just shook her head lightly thinking of all the things that Aubrey would have thought of if she hadn't disappeared like she did over ten months ago.
"Where did you go Aubrey?" Jane whispered into the wind, "I wish you were still here with me. Heck, even Jeremy and Cara miss you yelling in their faces."
Jane looked up and down the quiet street looking for any sign that someone might notice her. After seeing no sign of anyone she walked up to the side of the house and opened one of the windows that she and Aubrey would climb through whenever Aubrey lost her key. She fell to the ground realizing that she wasn't as graceful as she used to be and took a quick look around the room.
All the furniture was still there, in its own place. The people that were to sell the house had not moved it out since they had no idea what to do with it. Hanna Cander didn't have any relatives and Aubrey, being the only daughter, had disappeared a few months before her death. Jane walked through the house remembering how everything was set and remembering all the games that she and her best friend would play in each room.
She eventually found her way to Aubrey's room and let her hand glide over the random things in the room. The bed, the dresser, the clothes, which she had yet to pick up, and the pile of books that were left on her floor. Her mother never left her bed in the last months and didn't bother to pick up and organize the room like she used to. Jane sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the covers of all the books. She found the copy of Lord of the Rings that she gave Aubrey before she disappeared and found that it had never been opened. She shook her head with the understanding that Aubrey probably would think that it would have been much simpler to watch the movies as they came out.
Under the new looking book she found a strange book that she didn't recognize at first, but then her face started to melt. It was a book with a white cover that was almost as wide as the dictionary and as thick as a nice sized novel. Her face grew into a smile as the tears began to form in her eyes. The book was one of the favorites of the two girls when they were too young to read novels. Aubrey's mother would read them a story out of the book night after night when Jane would spend the night. It told of the heroes and heroines of Middle Earth. Neither girl was really aware of the story by Tolkien when they were around six, so her mother would have to explain the whole story of the ring to them.
Of course at the end of the book would always be Frodo Baggins and then there would be four pages that were empty at the back of the book. Jane would point to the empty pages and always asked what they were for. Aubrey's mom would always reply that the pages were for another person to save Middle Earth. Their story would be told there. Jane never believed it, but Aubrey would always eat it up . . . each and every time.
Jane wiped the tears out of her eyes and touched the cover of the book with the tips of her fingers. She sniffed a little and opened the book and started to skim through her favorite stories and then going to the back pages to look at Frodo's journey to destroy the ring. But at the end of the book there was another story that she had never seen before. The heading surprised Jane and she dropped the book off her lap as she stood up and backed away from it.
"No way!" she opened the curtains in the room so she could see with better light thinking that she may have miss read the title. She picked the book up again and looked at the obvious mistaken title. But there was no mistaking the bold blue title that took up the top of the page. Jane put her hand over the title and read it out loud, "Sorion's Jewel and the Cander Maiden."
Jane took a deep breath and started to read. It told of orcs, a powerful jewel, a corrupt elf and a young hobbitlass that wished of nothing but to go back to the Shire . . . where her mother had once lived. Jane cried through most of the story sometimes reading out loud to herself, but always intent on finishing the story. She looked over the last page of the story and read the last few lines to herself, 'And she made it to the Shire, happy with her new love and her new life. Not totally missing the world that she left behind as much as the people, she sends out her love to the stars hopeful that the message will find its way to her loved ones left behind.'
Jane let a single, silent tear fall down her face as she flipped through the remaining four pages in the book after her best friend's story. . . finding that they were all blank . . .
THE END
Hey All!
Just wanted all you to know, even though this chapter may be done, I am already ready to start a sequel. The sequel may be a little shorter than the original, but I have an idea there if you all want it. The only problem is that I'm not sure whether you, my reviewers will like it. So if you would like to see a short preview to it, e-mail me and tell me what you think. Thanks and I hope to be hearing from you.
And if you want, I just wanted to tell you that my Pirates of the Caribbean fic is still up, so if you want go and check it out. Thanks in advance!