AN: Sorry I haven't been updating as frequently as I used to; I have been super busy lately with school, going places, etc. Anyway, thank you all for sticking with me and reviewing and following and all that wonderful stuff! It really makes me feel better when you complement my chapters, especially when I don't feel very confident about them. Anyway, here's chapter 7!
The next morning, after eating a huge breakfast at the inn, Elena and Eldarion set off to complete the last bit of their journey. They got to Hobbiton a couple hours after lunch. Elena was so thrilled to be here. It was definitely the best place she had been so far since Rivendell was uninhabited but Hobbiton and the rest of the Shire was still filled with the wonderful little hobbits going about their normal business.
As soon as it came into sight, Elena and Eldarion went straight to Bag End, which looked just like it did in the movies. They walked straight up to the little round door and knocked loudly. A lovely hobbit woman answered, and Elena recognized it to be Rosie, Sam's wife, although she did look a bit older than in the end of The Return of the King, but that was expected since this was fifteen years later.
"How can I help you?" She asked in a sweet voice that sounded used to visitors.
"We would like to speak to Mayor Samwise, and it is quite urgent," Eldarion said.
"Of course, I'll get him at once. But he may be curious as to who exactly you are."
"Oh! Please accept my apologies for not introducing myself sooner. I am Eldarion, son on King Aragorn of Gondor, and this is my traveling companion Elena McKinley."
"My goodness! I'll get him at once your highness." With that she rushed inside calling out for her husband, who must have been pretty deep in the hobbit-hole because it took a minute or two for him to come out.
As soon as he appeared Elena gave out a little squeal in her head. It's Sam! It's really the famous Samwise Gamgee who went on the great quest to destroy the Ring, who received the elvish rope and the box of Lorien soil from Galadriel, who singlehandedly defeated the great spider Shelob! Well, almost defeated her anyway.
"Please come in, your highness, I'm sorry my wife left you on the porch, in her rush she must have forgotten to invite you inside. Would you like anything? Some tea or cakes perhaps? Or maybe some of Hobbiton's finest ale. There's a nice barrel that's been aging for quite some time now and would be quite delicious with the brown bread my Rosie's just finished baking."
"No thank you. We really must be getting on to the subject I came to talk to you about," Eldarion said. "But first, please don't mind the formalities. You can call me Eldarion. After all, my father says that you knew each other well back in the old days. I don't see why we shouldn't have a friendship too. Anyway, let's return to the subject at hand." Eldarion then explained the whole situation with the coming war, telling Sam that most likely there wouldn't be any trouble on this side of the mountains, but it was possible and that he should prepare the Shire in case something did get past soldiers of Gondor and Rohan. He also told Sam about the scout he had found, and that there was a possibility that there were orc armies gathering in Moria as well as Mordor. If that were the case though, the orcs would most likely stick to attacking Rohan on the East of the mountains, since there weren't many people on the west side. The hobbits should still expect some activity though, even if it was simply a few raids with small numbers of enemies. Sam said that he would inform Pippin immediately, who was now in charge of any military activity and was responsible for all weapons, defenses, and the recruitment of soldiers in case of conflict with any invaders.
When Pippin was mentioned, Elena blushed slightly, but thankfully no one was paying any attention to her. Like most fan girls, she had always had a slight crush on Pippin, especially because of his Scottish accent and his adorable naivety. Also since Sam looked exactly like Sean Austin, who played him in the movies, she was sure Pippin would still look the same as Billy Boyd, or a bit older at the least. It made her giddy to think about meeting him in person.
"I can't believe that if I could have just finished Shelob off, this whole situation wouldn't be caused," Sam said, breaking Elena from her daydreaming. "She was already so weakened, it wouldn't have been difficult, but I was too worried about Frodo to pay much attention to her once she was no longer a threat."
"Don't blame yourself," Eldarion replied. "Who knows, she might have already laid some of her eggs before you and Frodo passed through her cave. Or even if her offspring wasn't part of the war, the orcs might still have built an army for the revenge of Sauron. In any case, what is done is done, and there isn't anything we can do about it now except to defend ourselves and hopefully win and create a much more lasting peace than before."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but would you like some food? I've just finished with dinner and there is plenty to go around." Rosie was standing in the doorway, holding a platter piled with steaming rolls that she was about to put on the dining table.
"That sounds wonderful. Thank you very much." Eldarion replied. They all went into the dining room and sat down to a delicious meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes (still one of Sam's favorites), and of course the rolls. They had a very merry evening, despite the foreboding circumstances, and had a wonderful night's sleep in the comforts of Bag End. I wish I could live here forever, Elena thought. But unfortunately they would have to leave much sooner than Elena would have liked.
AN: How was it? Please review and tell me your opinion! Also if you have any requests or suggestions as to how the story is going to go please tell me! It isn't guaranteed that I will use them but I still could use some help on how to fill in some gaps and stuff. So far I only know how the outcome of the story will be. Also if anyone has an idea of how she is going to get back home then please tell me because I still don't know. Anyway, until next time!