Author's Note: LOTR is owned by Tolkein, not me.

Chapter 3 – Let us go to Hobbiton!

'Okay pigs have officially flied…'

I groaned mentally as I looked to the ground, rubbing my temples.

"And your name, my lady?" The old man called Gandalf asked, waiting patiently for my side of answer. I looked up at him with a small smile I could muster out of me for the moment.

"Jac...Jacqueline, Jacqueline Chow. It's a pleasure to meet a wizard like you Mister Gandalf." I said honestly. After all, it's rare to actually meet a wizard in real life… wait, what was real and what was not! I shook my head mentally to stop pondering about reality. Anyway, it's best not to lie to a wizard, especially if the wizard was Gandalf. And he looked so much like the actor in the movie, but yet, he wasn't.

Gandalf's stare lingered on me and I shifted uncomfortably.

'I must have looked pretty strange to him… after all, I don't think he has seen a Chinese on Middle Earth.'

I grinned slightly at the thought of Gandalf confronting with a China person. Man that would be hilarious. Just then, I remembered one very important thing.

'SHIT! I AM REALLY ON MIDDLE EARTH! I AM NOT DREAMING! HOW AM I GOING TO RETURN BACK TO SINGAPORE?'

I shook my head in despair. I looked up, and saw Gandalf still staring at me, this time with more amusement.

Stay low, and seek the Grey wizard… Follow him…

That same voice that I heard in the darkness returned in my mind, this time, it was softer. My eyes widened from the intrusion and then the voice was gone again.

My heart thumped faster.

'Follow the Grey wizard… I can do that. Perhaps, I may know the reason for my presence here… hopefully.'

"Tell me Lady Jacqueline," Gandalf's voice broke through my thoughts and continued,

"You are not from Middle Earth, are you not?"

I held my breath. So he knew…

"Yes Mister Gandalf. I am not." I confirmed and I saw his eyes widened in surprise and narrowed again. I gripped my left arm slightly.

"I will tell you everything. About how I got here…"

There was a great silence in the air as the wagon moved at a reasonable pace. The occasional bump sounds could be heard as the wagon passed by stones and small rocks on the path. I looked at Gandalf from the corner of my eyes and saw him smoking in his pipe, his thoughtful gaze looking straight at the road before us. I sighed softly.

I had been sitting on his wagon for 20 minutes now since the meeting. I had told him my story and the words that voice told me. After which, he remained quiet.

"So Lady Jacqueline, this book you found in your world…" Gandalf said, breaking the silence, "you said it was written by Bilbo and Frodo Baggins."

"Yes, in fact, come to think of it, it was the same book I saw Bilbo writing in the movie…"

"What movie?" Gandalf's voice sharpened, his head suddenly turned towards me, causing me to jump in surprise.

'I didn't tell him about my knowledge…'

I laughed sheepishly. "Well you see… in my world, there are many ways to tell a story, like through books and plays and movies. Movie is one mean to tell a story. It is the same with plays where there is a stage and has actors and actresses in them. But the play is captured onto a device which can be seen and replayed repeatedly…" I explained hurriedly, "and… and I saw Bilbo writing his tale in his book, of his previous journey… and… the fate of the One Ring."

"The One Ring...," Gandalf said, and his eyes widened, "you knew about the One Ruling ring that…"

"Yes, that Sauron, the Dark Lord of Middle Earth, had made, from the fires of Mount Doom."

Gandalf frowned at the new information he heard, his two grey brows tightened together.

"And you know the future of Middle Earth, Child?"

I paused and nodded. "Yes… not totally, but the key events. This world is in fact, a fictional story in my world, spun from Tolkein, the creator of the story. I have never finished reading the books written about Middle Earth and the movies made from the books. But I somewhat knew what was going to happen from fanfictions, which are stories written by those who loved the books and the three movies."

After saying that, I breathed slower, trying to pace my racing heart, and looked at Gandalf to see his reaction. But only to find the wagon suddenly jerked to a stop.

I held myself against the wooden pole that was attached to the wagon beside me to prevent myself from falling.

"So you knew me?" Gandalf asked and his voice edgy.

I gulped.

"Ye…yes. A little, but not fully. All I knew is that you are a wizard and a Maia, though I do not know what that is."

"I see…" Gandalf muttered as he returned to his smoking and started the wagon again. I sighed in relief. For one moment, he looked quite… scary…

'Notion to self, never piss the wizard unless for dire situations…' I thought as I looked ahead.

"That voice you said of, it told you to seek and find me. Is it of a woman or a man?"

I thought back hard. "I believe it's a woman. " I answered, turning towards Gandalf.

And with that, Gandalf's face broke into a small smile. He stopped the wagon again for the second time and twisted his body to face me. I looked at him in confusion at his actions.

"Listen well child," he said seriously, "I do not know the reason why you are brought here from your world, but I believed that you might be in great danger for the voice to tell you to seek and follow me. The book that you found and teleported you here might be a tool from Sauron. Ever since the last Great battle, he was defeated and had lost his powers and form, which was the One Ring. And for many centuries, it remained lost til now, for there seem to be rumour of the Ring being discovered and Sauron is regaining his powers…"

I froze at my seat. I knew there was a catch for me to be here!

"You might be sought after by him to obtain your knowledge of the future and with it; he can change the course of fate and eliminate all those who lived on Middle Earth."

I gulped at his speech. 'Great, I am suffering the same fate that all Marysues have to suffer when they stumbled here.' I groaned at the thought.

"Thus, you have to follow me. Though your strange clothing can be changed for something more unnoticeable, but your looks… it is too unique and different. It will be hard for you to blend in easily."

"I know… after all, I don't think Middle Earth has Asians or Chinese as a race here anyway." I grinned.

"Asians? Chanese?" Gandalf's eyebrows rose. I could have laughed at his expression but I forced back the laughter surging from my body.

"Chinese." I corrected and continued, "From where I come from, the world is dominated by Man and there are many different races. Like Eurasians, Malays, Indians, each with their own unique skin colours, faces and their own forms of languages. I am from a race called Chinese and my looks are definitely quite different from the people on Middle Earth. I am sure no one has black hair and black eyes around here."

"True for the race of Man, but for the elves, there are the Rivendell Elves, known for their dark hair." Gandalf said with a small laugh as he moved the wagon once more. I smiled at the loss of tension between me and the old wizard.

"You mean Lord Elrond and his children? Although they have dark hair, but their eyes aren't anyway." I rebuked with a grin.

Gandalf's eyes rose at this. "So you knew about Lord Elrond as well." He added softly.

"Yeah…" I whispered, feeling the tension coming back. "Mister Gandalf…"

"Call me Gandalf, Lady Jacqueline…"

"Then you too call me Jacqueline, or Jack if you want. I am not too fond of formalities Gandalf." I grinned as I swung my two legs up and down slightly. Gandalf laughed heartily before letting a comfortable silence settled in between the both of us.

"May I ask where we are going Gandalf," I asked softly, not wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere, "and also what year I am now in?"

"You are about to enter the Shire, Jacqueline. The year now is 3001 of the Third age, March the 30th in fact."

'I am like… 17 years before the Fellowship is formed! What the heck! But wait, I am going to the Shire…. That means…'

"You mean I get to see the hobbits?" I exclaimed loudly, excitement rising in me.

"Yes you will. In fact, I am visiting an old friend of mine there. I am sure you already knew who Bilbo is with your knowledge," Gandalf replied , his gaze softened, "He is about to celebrate his one hundred and eleventh birthday together with his nephew, who is having his coming of age on the same day. I was to deliver fireworks for his celebration." And after which, he pointed at the big bump beneath the cloth that was covering the entire cart with his pipe.

I looked behind and widened my eyes with a grin. "So Bilbo is celebrating his birthday together with Frodo as well!" Then a cold silence splashed at me, and I shut my mouth tight, wondering if I had said something I should not have.

"Jacqueline, don't reveal about your knowledge to anyone, for rumours will spread. And don't say anything about the future, not even to me. Let fate runs its course as it should be. And remain low." Gandalf said, his gaze remained on the road.

I looked at Gandalf and returned my gaze in front. Images of events from the movies I had watched so far raced across my mind. I closed my eyes and breathed out.

"I understand Gandalf. Who knows what might happen if I tampered with it." I whispered, my eyes looking up at the sky.

We had been traveling for around many hours now I believed. Gandalf and I had been talking much during that period. I told him more about my world, and even introduced him to my handphone and the MP3 player I had with me. Man, you should have seen the look on his face when I played a rock and roll tune from the MP3.

"Your world is quite interesting. I am astounded by how these… machines or technology as you said, are being used. It's unlike what I have ever seen in Middle Earth." Gandalf commented as he observed my handphone with one hand and the other still on the reigns.

"You can never believe it Gandalf." I laughed goodheartedly.

"Perhaps child, perhaps." He too laughed until he noticed a screensaver of Canthini that I had taken with my handphone. I looked over at him and saw it.

"That's Canthini, one of my two best friends in my world." I said, capturing Gandalf's attention. "She is quite intelligent and hardworking, unlike me and we have been friends since our secondary school days… if you wondering what is secondary school, it's a school with a much higher teachings. Do you get what I mean?"

Gandalf nodded.

"Well, we had many great times together, but she had left for overseas studies after we graduate… though we may be apart, we still contacted each other through emails and long distance calls." I smiled at the fond memories and noticed Gandalf looking at me questionably.

"I shall explain to you about emails and long-distance calls later my dear old wizard, as it is quite complicated," I grinned. A girl teaching a wise wizard, the feeling is kinda great actually I thought with a mental smirk. Gandalf just shrugged his shoulders and looked ahead thoughtfully.

'But I wonder, can I return home somehow? What if, I cannot go back to my own home? What if I am stuck here on Middle Earth and never to return!' I shivered at that thought. 'I cannot stay here… I still have so many things I have wanted to do back home, like becoming a comic artist and an animator for God's sake!'

"Can you help me find a way back to my world, Gandalf?" I asked, my heart thumping louder than usual.

Gandalf remain silent for a moment.

"I do not know how to bring you back to your world Jacqueline. The book that brought you here may perhaps has the ability or powers to sent you back…"

"I see… But the book should still be in my world, in that lift I was in before I was brought here…"

"Then I do not know any other way. For traveling between two worlds required a great deal of power and wizardry. Still Child, I will help while I can." He gave a kind smile.

I smiled back and thanked him gratefully.

"Jacqueline, look." Gandalf said. I looked forward and saw that we were no longer surrounded by trees. Wide green fields spread throughout the land contrasting with the blue clear sky, and small hills could be seen sprouting from the fields. Small figures could be seen moving down narrow paths that spread wide and far and faint sounds of animals and people talking could be heard. Stone walls of at least two meters lined on the right side of the path and trees and flowers continued to decorate the land. I stared in awed as I felt the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

"Welcome to the Shire, Child, the land of Halflings."

We had entered Hobbiton after another one hour or so, crossing stone bridges, passing beautiful flower fields and ponds and rivers. I even saw cottages and hobbit hills, or smials, as what Gandalf had told me of.

Gandalf was quite knowledgeable about their race. He informed me about their weakness for mushrooms, their lives in the Shire, the invention of pipeweed and so much more. From the way he spoke of the folk, I could see how much he cared for the hobbits and his love for the Shire. Even I could not help but feel that this was a paradise.

But I could not help but noticed the stares and looks of unwelcome pointing towards me and Gandalf as we passed by several hobbits during our trip and immediately felt quite uncomfortable by it. Gandalf later told me that hobbits were quite untrusting with strangers from outside the Shire, which I knew. In the end, I decided to smile friendly at the staring hobbits, but they turned their backs and returned to their duties, ignoring my actions. I shrugged it aside and instead, I asked Gandalf about himself.

But all the old wizard said was, "A wizard should not speak and reveal too much about himself, and I thought you knew much about me Child, with your knowledge." And then he smiled mysteriously.

"Well, I was not such a huge crazy fan of the story to an extent where I know almost everything about each character in it, even to what colour underwear worn." I countered and rolled my eyes, but laughed along with him in the end. The hobbits around us who heard our laughter, just stared at us puzzled and with caution.

We had crossed many smials by now and the wagon was going uphill slowly. When we finally reached the top, a large smial was seen with a huge tree planted above it, giving the area much shade from the sun. The wagon stopped exactly beside the wooden gate and behind it, was a flight of stairs that led to the round green entrance of the smial. There was a small garden below the one of the windows that was in full bloom. I held my breath at the beauty I was seeing before me.

"This is the Bag End, home of Bilbo Baggins." Gandalf said as he got down from the wagon with his staff in his hand and patted his brown horse gratefully. I too got down on both feet and walked towards the edge of the path, which overlook the entire land of Shire and stared in awe. 'I wished I had a sketchbook and a pencil with me. Then I can sketch what I see right now…' I thought, letting my eyes embraced the breathtaking view, not noticing Gandalf looking at me with amusement.

"Is this how the Shire look like in the movies you have said?"

I turned towards him and smiled widely. "Almost the same, but yet, there are more sceneries that the movies did not show."

Gandalf nodded with a knowing smile.

"Come Child, I shall introduce you to Bilbo himself."

I nodded and followed him through the wooden gate and up the stairs. I stood behind Gandalf as he held his staff up, preparing to use it to knock the round door. My heart raced with excitement at the thought of meeting Bilbo Baggins himself.

"Do not forget about my warnings, Jacqueline. Do not reveal about your knowledge of this world." Gandalf reminded sternly, twisting his body such that he could look at me.

"I swear to the Lord above me. I shall be careful." I swore, raising my right hand up as I took the oath.

Gandalf nodded and used his staff to knock the door. Then we waited.

"… who is it?" A male, middle-aged voice called out from inside the house.

"An old friend. " Gandalf replied loudly and immediately, the green door, swung open inwards, revealing a child. But his face was that of a middle aged adult and his curly grey locks concealed little of the pointed ears that were poking out. Despite his slightly wrinkled face, his eyes told the opposite. They were filled with much joy and untold vitality as he stared at the old wizard. His dressing was quite unique, unlike those hobbits I had seen. He wore a comfortable looking long sleeved shirt underneath and a maroon vest with a wide collar. Three golden buttons was sewn on the vest. His feet was larger than a normal foot like mine and was covered in hair, which the evidence of being a hobbit, besides the obvious shortness of the man.

"Gandalf? My dear old friend!" The hobbit cried with sheer happiness as Gandalf kneeled down and welcomed him into his wide opened arms with a great smile. I smiled warmly at the exchange from behind.

"Bilbo Baggins!" Gandalf laughed as he gently pulled away from Bilbo, "It's been a while, my old friend… it's soon to be your one hundred and eleventh birthday. I have brought the fireworks you have requested for…" But when he studied Bilbo's face, he paused slightly before answering, "… and you haven't age a bit…"

I stared at Gandalf and realized that he said the same last line in the movie. But this time, it was before the party. Come to think of it, I had not meet Frodo yet.

I heard Gandalf laughed slightly before standing up and Bilbo just shrugged with a joyful smile. Then he noticed me from behind. I bowed slightly towards him with an awkward smile. Why, this man, err hobbit was nearly one head shorter than me!

"And who is this fine-looking lad that I had never seen before Gandalf?" Bilbo questioned, his eyes filled with curiosity and interest. I sweatdropped at his question. Did I look like a guy in his eyes? Come to think of it, when I first met Gandalf, he too thought at first I was a guy!

Gandalf could not help but burst into a booming laughter, causing Bilbo to look confused and I looking offended, mistaken as a male twice no less. One by a wizard and the other a hobbit. How nice.

"Why Bilbo, you are looking at a lady!" Gandalf exclaimed, his grin still visible. Bilbo widened his eyes at the truth and looked back at me. His eyes shifted toward my chest and his sparkling eyes widened further.

"By Valar, you really are a lady!" Bilbo said in surprise as I smiled weakly at the hobbit. "Your dressing, it is quite inappropriate for a lady indeed and your hair is quite short as well." He continued as he scrutinized me further up and down. "If you are flat chest, you will make a nice looking lad, though the shoulders should be broader."

"Thank… thank you for the compliment Mister Bilbo. " I said and noticed Gandalf's eyes twinkled with sheer amusement at the exchange.

"I am sorry for the mistake I made, my dear. I am Bilbo Baggins, the master of Bag End." He bowed charmingly and gave an apologetic smile.

"Jacqueline, Jacqueline Chow, or Jack for short. No harm done. After all, an old wizard had said the same thing to me when we first met." I looked towards Gandalf who shrugged his shoulders and held his staff close to him. Bilbo continued to look at me with interest.

"Gandalf, I have never seen her race before with such unique appearances. What is…"

"All will be answered in due time, old friend. Now, shall we enter your home and get this lady a more suitable attire?" Gandalf interrupted gently.

"Of course! Where are my manners! Come in! Come in both of you." Bilbo said cheerfully as he walked back into his home, his feet not making any sound against the ground and opened wider the door.

"Lady's first, Jacqueline, " Gandalf said, as he stepped aside to let me enter but I paused.

"Do I need to remove my sandals?" I asked Gandalf, pointing towards my pair of sandals I had on my feet. Gandalf raised his eyebrows and Bilbo laughed, his laughter rang through the halls of his house.

"No need, my dear. Just come in. " Bilbo smiled warmly and with a deep breath, I took my first step into Bag End…

Hope you enjoy the story so far. Please review.

Cheers.