After I finished writing Chapter 5, I was thrown off and had to reorganize my thoughts. As I rewrote, revised, and proofread this chapter, I caught another irony about this story. Kovu started as a villain, but in the end became a hero in "The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride", whereas Anakin started as a hero, ended up a villain, and was redeemed at the end by his son, Luke Skywalker, in the "Star Wars" saga. Still, you as readers should see the irony between these two characters.

Like I said, more irony is to come. So, keep your eyes open. Also, the idea ValueMyHeart gave to me had to be moved to the next chapter, due to chapter length. Now, let's continue with the story.

Chapter Six:

Private Chambers

Returning to the Evenshire Camp…

As Aslan climbed down the wide, arched tunnel, he noticed he was being followed. He looked back at Simba as he approached, with a hotly expression across his face. It seemed obvious that Simba wasn't finished with their brief discussion.

Calmly, the Lion told the King of the Pridelands, "Simba, I appreciate you coming to me with your concerns. However, we have nothing further to discuss."

"No," Simba corrected him, "we have plenty to discuss. For instance, how do you know my father? He must have lived after your time."

"You forget that we are from the same Universe, Simba…"

Simba interrupted, in fury, "Aslan! I know you think you are the ruler of this Universe, but you don't know what I have…"

"Do you wish to test my will, your majesty?" Aslan roared, growing angrier by the second.

Simba paused, letting the tense silence sink in. Calmly, he told the Lion, "No, but we will discuss more about my father, after training is complete this afternoon."

Aslan shook his head. "I was afraid you would say that," he answered, muttering under his breath. He ended their conversation with a calm response. "Come. You are welcome to sit with me and watch the end of the first half of training, as well as Frodo's training towards the second half. I know that will thrill some of the animals in the crowd."

"If they haven't acted thrilled enough with their 'entertainment'," muttered Simba, sarcastically. He continued his short journey with Aslan through the wide, arched tunnel.

o-o-o

The audience in the stands turned their attentions to the wide, arched tunnel. There, they watched in momentary silence, at the same time the three groups of heroes-in-training also turned their gazes to the tunnel, as Aslan and Simba re-entered the underground arena. Just as Aslan cocked his head towards the audience, signaling to a male chipmunk in the nosebleed section with a silent nod, Simba's gaze fell on Kovu and Mumble as he walked across the dirt-and-pebbled ground, back to his spot beside a long, curved, wooden bench. Aslan joined Simba moments later, watching with full alert as the training continued.

When the second hour of training was complete, Aslan stood up, walked to the centre of the arena, and spoke to all, "The heroes training this morning deserve to eat lunch first. After they have their lunches, sent to the armory, the rest of you will head to the food pavilion in medium-sized groups. We will begin target practice in one hour. If any being wishes to try archery, come and see me in the next thirty minutes.

"Until then…" He was cut off by a burst of angry yells from the audience in the stands. He silenced the crowd in seconds, "SILENCE! I can assure you, you will all eat lunch! I may not be a tame lion, but I have enough common sense to know when you are hungry! You can complain all you want, but until I tell each and every one of you to stop by the food pavilion, there will be no more words said here. That is all I will say for now."

Facing the three groups and Anakin, Aslan told the seven in a low mutter, "You may proceed to the food pavilion with your friends and family. Come and see me in fifteen minutes, if you wish to accompany the other heroes for archery training." His gaze was now on the six heroes. "I would suggest calling it a day. You six have worked hard, the hardest I have seen yet from heroes. You still have much to learn and I will be glad to assist all of you." He added, out of consideration, "You do not have to join the archers for their training, but you can sit and watch from the sidelines." Facing Anakin, Aslan apologized, "Anakin, I am sorry to admit this, but we do not have any Jedi for you to train…"

Anakin interrupted. "That is fine. I have done training all my life." He said, as if quoting a codebook, "The path of a Jedi is difficult. I cannot deny what is written in the Jedi Code."

Aslan nodded. "That you cannot, but I need to speak with you more in private." He faced the other six heroes with a calm look. "The rest of you are dismissed." He walked with Anakin towards a wide, arched tunnel.

Turning to Frodo, Edmund asked, "I wonder what they will discuss."

"I'm not sure I want to know," said Frodo, now confused. After a brief meeting with Edmund's sister, Edmund and Lucy's cousin, and the large mouse called Reepicheep, Frodo followed Edmund through the narrow opening, the furthest one to their left.

Frodo realized, during the time he spent in the arena, he would not be allowed a few minutes of privacy, or so he thought at first. He did not expect meeting another human teenager in the armory. Except this teen was the second human girl he had seen in the Camp since the other afternoon. She had bushy brown hair and brown eyes. This stunned Frodo, considering how he knew almost every hobbit in the Shire, apart from him, had brown hair and brown eyes.

The human girl with the bushy brown hair approached him. She said, immediately, "You must be the Ring-bearer Harry mentioned. I guess my mind didn't fully register the term 'Halfling'. I was thinking of a house-elf…"

Frodo interrupted her. He told her, tensely, "Half a minute! I do not know what you mean by 'house-elf'. Do they have anything to do with Elves, miss?" However, the human girl gave him a confused look. "A tall man with pointy ears…"

The bushy, brown-haired human girl answered, "I'm sorry. I have never seen a taller Elf up close. Maybe these 'Elves' will show for archery training." She asked, "What are they like?"

Frodo sighed. How could he explain Elves to this human girl, without offending her? "I was hoping at least one Elf, from my home country, would come to this Camp. Sadly…"

The human girl interrupted him. "Oh! Well, don't worry so much about home. Most of us left home, so we can complete Aslan's task with finding those shooting stars. The last group, sent out a month ago, hasn't returned to the Camp."

"What happened to them?" asked Frodo, now alert and concerned.

The human girl shrugged. "We don't know. Rumors spread through the Camp about villains running a prowl, sending their most wicked servants to help them find and capture any hero that leaves the safety boundaries, surrounding this encampment. I do hope the villains aren't planning on sneaking into the Evenshire Camp, or else it would spell doom for us all."

"Right," said Edmund, joining the conversation. "Can you stop thinking aloud for once, and give Frodo Baggins your name?"

"Right," repeated the human girl. "Thank you, Edmund. I nearly forgot my manners."

"Of course you did, Hermione!" called a ginger-haired teenage boy, who was finishing his conversation with Harry.

Facing Frodo again, the human girl introduced herself. "I'm Hermione Granger. From what Edmund said, you must be Frodo Baggins."

"Now you've noticed," said Frodo, jokingly. He wondered if he was about to act like his younger cousins, Merry and Pippin, who almost always had a new prank up their sleeves. No wonder they are 'scoundrels'…

Frodo's thought was cut off, as Hermione asked, "Do you need someone to show you the Camp? I'd be more than willing…"

"Hermione!" scoffed the ginger-haired boy.

Turning sharply to the ginger-haired boy, in his late teens, Hermione fought back, "Oh Ron, you could act like a gentlemen."

The ginger-haired boy named Ron told her off, "Yeah? Well, no one gave you permission to send a little pipsqueak out all day, through the Evenshire Camp." He added, casually, "Actually, he looks like a deformed child with those big hands and incredibly, hairy feet…"

Fed up again with the insults, Frodo snapped, "All right. Do you want to take this discussion outside?" He added, fuming, "I'd be more than happy to…"

Hermione pulled him back, "Frodo! I mean, Mr. Baggins – oh!" She gave up. "Come on then. I'll show you to your chamber. It's this way, Mr. Baggins."

Hermione dragged Frodo out of the armory. The long, dimly lit corridor she led him through was different from the underground tunnels. Frodo thought he was somewhere distant from the Evenshire Camp. Unlike the underground tunnels, which Frodo assumed were carved out from the earth so neatly, this corridor was made from natural rock and stone, creating its own distinct formations.

As Frodo and Hermione continued their journey through the winding corridor, which took minutes to complete, the two found an observation balcony, carved and shaped by the rocks themselves. Frodo stopped Hermione in her tracks as he peered out from the wide opening. This massive cavern had dozens of stalactites and stalagmites that formed along naturally-curved rock walls. Some commingled to form pillars of stone, unifying in a way that they could not break their sealed bonds. Large pools of crystal-blue water could also be found in the cavernous chamber, with a few wrapping around pillars like a tree always in need of a drink of water.

"Are you done admiring the scenery?" asked Hermione.

Snapping back to the present, Frodo glanced at her and replied, "Sure." He could swear he saw someone in the cavern, but who was she – if the person or creature had been a 'she'… Frodo looked at the cavern floor for another moment, before he continued to follow Hermione further down the stone passage.

At the end of the corridor was a closed door made solely out of rock. Hermione, with luck, managed to open the door. After crossing a small hollow threshold notched in the floor, Hermione told Frodo to wait, which he did. Once the rock door sealed shut, Hermione led Frodo down a series of wide stone steps. Towards the bottom of the staircase, Frodo followed Hermione into what appeared to be a secondary room with dim, dark blue light and closed doors seen along the four rock walls. Hermione ran up to a closed wooden door, standing directly across from the stairs. As she opened the door, she beckoned Frodo to follow her into the next room.

The room turned out to be a private bath chamber, assembled with its own spring that flowed down into a medium-sized pool of water. The steam coming off the water would have made the room completely humid, if it weren't for a few shafts in the ceiling, sucking out most of the steam and moisture in the chamber. Lying on a wooden bench, near a changing room, were a set of freshly-folded clean clothes. Similar to what Frodo saw inside his tent, no one else was in the chamber, admitting it was him or her who confessed to have set the clothes out for him.

Hermione told Frodo, once the hobbit was inside the room, "This is your chamber. Aslan requested that you should have your private area, while you're here."

Overwhelmed by the room's spaciousness, Frodo said, "It's just…"

Hermione asked, "What?"

He paused. "Doesn't this seem a bit… much? I'm a fallen hero. I would prefer something closer to home…"

"I'll leave you alone," said Hermione.

"Thank you," said Frodo, kindly.

Hermione asked, confused, "For what?"

He explained, "For listening to me, but I doubt…"

"I'll leave you alone," repeated Hermione, closing the door after her.

Forty Minutes Later…

The second Frodo left the chamber, washed and dressed in clean clothes, unsure where his now-dirty clothes had vanished, he closed the door silently after him. On his way back to the stone staircase, Frodo glanced over and saw Edmund close one of the wooden doors in the dimly-lit room, leading into another private bath chamber. Frodo's gaze soon diverted to the rock door above the stairs, where he heard, as he made his way up the stone steps:

"Gurgi likes delicious crunchies and munchies… Gurgi will find good friends, new friends to share crunchies and munchies…" The voice sounded to Frodo much friendlier than Gollum's raspy voice, when the gangly creature became his and his friend Sam's guide for the rest of their journey to Mordor.

Edmund asked Frodo from behind, "What is that creature saying?"

Startled, Frodo guessed, "I don't know – how do you know he's a creature?"

"He's talking about food and friends to share his 'munchies'." Edmund said, as he opened the rock door, "Come on. We should head back to the armory. My guess is the other heroes are back." He led Frodo back up through the corridor.