Chapter One:
A Caged Animal
Frodo Baggins looked out the parlor window. Three years had passed, and every so often he felt as if someone was watching him. He feared the villains would come to the Shire, but he hadn't seen any yet. Aragorn told him he would find someone to train him, in case any villains did arrive and attacked without cause. However, fighting villains wasn't the only thing on his mind. His cousin Merry Brandybuck was left to raise his daughter, Malinda Maura, after divorcing Melissa Snowberry. Merry was courting Estella Bolger and planned on proposing to her. That day, Malinda was staying over at Bag End.
Frodo was considered taller and fairer than most hobbits. He had lighter-than-usual skin due to this Fallohide blood, bright eyes, and a cleft in the chin. For a perky chap, Frodo was odd thanks to his time spent with his uncle and cousin Bilbo Baggins, who taught him the Elvish language and told him stories of his adventures. Bilbo was away now to the Undying Lands. Frodo knew he would head West some day, but he feared his uncle wouldn't be alive by the time he came, should he choose that path. Frodo was different than most hobbits because of his adventures in the limbo world Peradus, which he survived to tell the tale. He wasn't alone, for his friends Samwise Gamgee, Merry, and Pippin Took had been there with him.
"Mr. Frodo, we can take care of Malinda while you're gone," said Sam, offering.
"I'll be fine, Sam," said Frodo. He called, "Come, Malinda." He waited until Malinda caught up to him and grabbed his hand.
Frodo left Bag End, allowing Malinda to run on ahead. Malinda was five years old and had brown, curly hair and green eyes. Frodo took Malinda's hand, the second they reached Hamfast Gamgee's house. Hamfast, commonly called the Gaffer, called to Frodo:
"Mr. Frodo, where are you headed?"
"We're off to Bywater," said Frodo, speaking for himself and Malinda.
"This must be Merry Brandybuck's daughter," said the Gaffer, noticing Malinda's distracted gaze. "Sam told me about her when he visited last week. I didn't think Merry Brandybuck was a family man."
"Times have changed," said Frodo. "Well, I'll be seeing you."
"Them folk in Bywater are something. There's a huge crowd, or so my ears caught. Some say they caught something in one of those cages the King of Gondor sent our way."
"An animal?" asked Frodo. He noticed Malinda's impatient touch.
"Could be. You tell Sam to be more careful. I don't like it when folk have caught something outside our land," said the Gaffer.
"We'll be careful." He turned to Malinda, "Won't we?"
Malinda stared at one of the nearby flowers. "Pretty."
Frodo picked Malinda up. He told the Gaffer, "I'll see you later."
"Good luck to you in Bywater. If that animal isn't put down, trouble will sure be brewing," said the Gaffer, watching Frodo walk down the road.
o-o-o
When they reached the village of Bywater, Frodo noticed there was indeed a crowd swarming in front of a large silver cage. Taking Malinda by the hand, Frodo walked over to Robin Smallburrow, the local Shirriff. Robin was having a pint over at the Green Dragon inn.
"Robin Smallburrow, what's happening?" asked Frodo.
"Someone caught a large cat. We managed to put her safely in that cage King Elessar sent us. So far, she's dangerous. I wouldn't go anywhere near that cat… but I think it's time to move the crowds," explained Robin. He then walked towards the crowd, helping the bounders control the crowd.
Frodo looked down, relieved to see Malinda. Malinda, on the other hand, wondered what the crowd was looking at. She looked up at Frodo with a worried expression. Frodo picked up Malinda, moving her curly brown hair off her face. Taking his chance, Frodo pushed his way through the crowd. Unable to find a way through, Frodo allowed Malinda to go on ahead of him. Malinda snuck past the hobbits, while some allowed her passage through. After hearing a high-pitched yelp, Frodo managed to get through the crowd. When he came to the center of the circle, Frodo pulled Malinda back before the cat could take another swing at her. Malinda had a few bruises, but was also cowering. As Frodo held onto Malinda, the cat – turning out to be a scarred lioness – spoke:
"You have every right to be afraid of me, kid," said the scarred lioness.
"What did she do to you?" asked Frodo, bravely. "She only wanted to see-"
The scarred lioness growled. "I don't have time to deal with twits and their little brats!"
"Watch your mouth," said Frodo.
"Oh, I'm sorry Baggins. I didn't realize we were in a fight, yet," said the scarred lioness, sneering.
"You're locked in a cage. There's no way you can fight now," said Frodo.
"You wait and see. Scar-ra will find a way out. Then you'll be sorry," said Scar-ra, taunting him.
Frodo peered over, seeing an injured hobbit. He told Scar-ra last, "Well Scar-ra, I doubt you can catch me now. It looks like you're stuck for a while. So, get used to things around here. You'll find no villains here." He walked off, carrying Malinda. Approaching the hobbit, Frodo asked, "Do you need some help?"
The hobbit glanced up. "I'll be fine. I've been in scraps before, and they were a lot bigger than this."
Frodo recognized the hobbit, "Elijah? Elijah Molvaro, what are you doing out here?"
"What?" asked Malinda, confused.
Frodo told Elijah, "Here. I'll take you to the healers. I'm heading that way now."
Elijah said, being modest, "No thank you. I think I can manage from here."
"No, let me take you there. I promise, it'll only be a short trip," said Frodo, hoisting Elijah's arm over his shoulder.
Elijah said, amazed, "You truly are a decent hobbit."
o-o-o
Frodo watched as the healers cleansed Malinda's wounds, as well as Elijah's wounds. Elijah was permitted to spend the night at the healer's house to rest up. Once Malinda's wounds were bandaged, Frodo thanked the healer. He and Malinda spoke to Elijah for a bit, before one of the healers told the two to leave him in peace. They said their goodbyes to Elijah before leaving him.
Malinda told Frodo, "I like him."
"As do I," said Frodo, as he took her out of the healer's house.
When they returned to Bag End, Frodo and Malinda found Sam working in the garden. As Frodo let Malinda play with Elanor and Frodo-lad, Frodo looked out at the rolling hills. He wondered if he could handle another adventure, yet his heart was telling him to go explore. Shaking off the thought, Frodo went inside the hobbit-hole. Rosie was in the kitchen, baking a pie. Frodo sat down at the dining room table. He was joined by Rosie, who sat down at a chair next to him.
"The pie's baking in the oven," said Rosie.
Frodo nodded. "Good."
Rosie asked, "How's Malinda? I heard you two went for an outing."
"She's fine. Better now that her wounds are healed." Frodo saw the concerned look across Rosie's face. "She met a scarred lioness today. Thankfully, that scarred lioness is in a cage."
"Hopefully, it's someone we recognize," said Rosie. "Frodo, you shouldn't have put Malinda in danger."
"I'm sorry. Danger seems to follow me. I hope it doesn't do the same to Malinda, but I can't watch every movement she makes," said Frodo. He sighed, "I worry for her."
"Merry's coming over tomorrow, isn't he?" asked Rosie.
"That's when he said he'll be here," said Frodo.
Rosie went into the kitchen to check on the pie. Frodo could smell apple, which delighted his senses. The apple pie was ready by lunch. Although the family didn't eat together at lunch, they enjoyed the food and the pie. Frodo found Malinda disagreed with him about the apple pie, but she could bear it. Sam returned to the garden during lunch.
After lunch, Frodo told Malinda and the Gamgee children stories from his adventures. He left out the tales after the War of the Ring, for fear that it may give the children ideas about other worlds. He had a feeling they weren't ready to hear the stories, or hear about the horrors that came from those two journeys. Malinda, however, was just as curious.
"Frodo, is there any tales that you have besides the Ring quests?" asked Malinda. "That cat in the cage today couldn't have come from the Shire."
Frodo asked, hesitant, "Why do you ask, Malinda?"
Malinda shrugged. "It's just that cat today knew who you were."
"Maybe another time," said Frodo. "It's… difficult to explain."
"But that cat…"
Frodo stopped Malinda. "Maybe another time."
"Oh," said Malinda, saddened by the news. She watched as Elanor, Frodo-lad, and Rose wandered off to play. She glanced up at Frodo the second he got her attention.
"Don't worry about it, Maia. One day, you may hear the full story," said Frodo. "I just don't want to give you nightmares."
"It's okay," said Malinda.
Frodo watched Malinda as she ran towards Elanor. He saw Elanor and Frodo-lad take off with their sister, leaving Malinda alone in the parlor. She glanced back at Frodo once, before heading down the hallway herself. Frodo was joined by Rosie, who sat down at a chair across the way.
"Malinda's alone again?" asked Rosie.
"Yes. I wish there was some way I could help her," said Frodo.
"You have to give Malinda space and time to grow up. She'll find friends. Sam thinks she'll have a good life," said Rosie.
"Yes, but alone?" asked Frodo.
"She won't always be alone, Mr. Frodo. Sometimes, these things happen," said Rosie.
"Rosie, your children just abandoned her," said Frodo, serious. He didn't receive a response from Rosie. Frodo said as he stood up, "Do I always have to do everything by myself?"
"Sam looks after you, Frodo. He cares about you," said Rosie, concerned.
"I know he does." Frodo added, "I wasn't talking about Sam, Rosie. I was talking about Malinda."
"Frodo, let her grow up and figure things out on her own. That's what we're supposed to do, give the children some leverage as they get older. How else are they supposed to learn?" asked Rosie.
"What if Malinda's different?" said Frodo. He ended the conversation there, leaving the parlor. He noticed Malinda follow Elanor and Rose-lass into one of the bedrooms. He was surprised by Rosie, who came up behind him.
"See? All Malinda needs is a little push," said Rosie. She returned to the kitchen.
Frodo said to himself, "Maybe."
The next morning, Frodo greeted Merry outside Bag End. The two went inside, just as Malinda rushed up to her father. Merry scooped up Malinda, as the hobbit girl told him about her time spent at Bag End. Merry stayed for a while at Bag End, informing Frodo about Pippin's engagement to Diamond Took, the date of the wedding he and Estella set, and the latest villain activity that was swarming around Buckland. Frodo feared the villains would find their way to Bywater and see that Scar-ra was still locked inside the cage. A few hours later, Merry put all of Malinda's belongings inside the cart he brought with him. After Malinda and Merry said their goodbyes, Merry set off out of Hobbiton, heading straight back to Buckland.
Frodo left Bag End a little after noon. He set out for Bywater, intending on seeing how Elijah Molvaro was doing and to check on the activity involving the caged scarred lioness. He entered the healer's house, finding Elijah awake and being taken care of by a healer. Elijah looked up as Frodo approached him.
"I see you're awake," said Frodo.
"Thanks to your efforts, I'm lucky to be alive," said Elijah. He told the healer, as she dressed the wounds, "Thank you. Can I have a word with my friend?"
The healer nodded. "I'll be back to check up on you." She left Frodo and Elijah alone.
Elijah faced Frodo. "How are you, Frodo?" He asked, as a matter of interest, "I trust that hobbit girl that was with you was your daughter."
Frodo looked stunned. "No, she's my cousin. She's Merry's daughter."
"Oh," said Elijah. "Well, you looked as if you were taking good care of her for him."
"Yes, but I doubt I'll ever have children. I don't think it's in my future," said Frodo.
"What? What happened to all that talk about finding the girl of your dreams?" said Elijah.
"It's different in reality," said Frodo. He changed the subject, "So, how did you get here? Last I saw you was before I fell into that twenty-year sleep."
Elijah said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" He recovered, "All right, I'll tell you what happened." He explained, "In the moment after your friends and you awoke, I ran. I decided that I should take my own course for a while. Amber Fray did find me eventually. When we came back to the Animal Headquarters, about six years later, we heard word that the heroes had returned to their home worlds. Melissa Snowberry didn't look the same. Nash Wimble told me what happened. Seems Melissa didn't recover."
"Well, Merry was wed to Melissa for a time," said Frodo.
"Yeah, Melissa can be a handful," said Elijah.
Elijah continued the story. "Then I heard a rumor that villains were going to attack the Shire, in search of you and the girl from the prophecy. I figured this was my opportunity to find you and see how you fared. I didn't know Scar-ra and Katrina were leading the attack. I fought them off as best I could, but you understand what happened next: Scar-ra ended up locked inside that cage. As for Katrina, I fear there's no sight of her."
"Katrina was leading a group of villains here?" asked Frodo, concerned.
"Just a battalion of scarred lionesses. For all I know, they fled and haven't returned since yesterday," said Elijah. He returned to the first topic. "But enough of that, how's Malinda doing?"
"She's all right. She's with her father now. That's all that matters," said Frodo, being modest.
"Listen, Frodo, I know you don't think you're a part of any prophecy or have a future with someone who loves you," said Elijah.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't a part of anything," said Frodo.
Elijah said, attempting to convince him, "But you can't spend your whole life alone. You'd be lucky enough to find a lover and be loved. I don't mean to sound pushy or put pressure on you in any way, but living a loner's life isn't all glamorous. Sometimes it can be sad and frustrating. If you're lucky in life to have love, then you should enjoy it and spend as much time as you can while it's still there."
Frodo murmured, "Maybe I did feel a spark when I was with Malinda."
"I'm sorry?" said Elijah, not hearing him.
Frodo heard a lioness growl from outside. He said, standing up, "Listen, Elijah, I'm going to find out what's happening out there." He asked, "Do you have any place to stay?"
"Not that I know of. I won't be here for much longer," said Elijah.
"You can stay at Bag End until you get your effects ready," said Frodo.
"Thank you, Frodo," said Elijah.
Without another word, Frodo left the healer's house. Returning to the square at Bywater, Frodo saw, trapped in a second cage, another scarred lioness. The scarred lioness looked familiar to Frodo. His gaze locked with the scarred lioness for a moment before she returned to pawing and batting at any who attempted to come near her. Frodo approached the cage where Scar-ra was at and grabbed her water dish. Scar-ra looked up, alarmed, upon seeing Frodo. She nodded, before resting her head back down on her forelegs. After filling up the water, Frodo returned to the square. So far, the crowds had died down and the new scarred lioness was left alone. Frodo returned the water back inside Scar-ra's cage, moments before he closed the cage door and locked it.
"Thank you, kind hobbit," said Scar-ra.
"It's Frodo Baggins to you, at your service," said Frodo, bowing his head.
"You rescued that Halfling, Molvaro was his name," said Scar-ra.
"I did," said Frodo.
"And you gave me water, when I didn't ask for it. Your folk are unusual," said Scar-ra.
"It's only out of kindness, something that was learned over time. It's something that you fail to understand," said Frodo. "The heroes aren't bad, Scar-ra."
"You think talking to me from outside a cage is going to settle things. The villains want your head, Master Baggins. That's all they seem to care about these days, you and that girl from the prophecy. By the way, who was that girl that approached me yesterday? She seemed very brave for her age," said Scar-ra.
"Or timid, but from what I know about her she's a lot like her father. They're both willing to take risks wherever it suits them," said Frodo.
"Who was she?" asked Scar-ra, intrigued.
"Why is that your business?" asked Frodo. "Why did you come to the Shire?"
"Why else? The villains come looking for you, and yet you heroes have already prepared cages to trap us scarred lions and lionesses. It is all the more reason for the villains to be wary of you," said Scar-ra. "Seems you know a good deal about hunting."
"Not in the least. Although, it was fortunate fate came our way," said Frodo.
"What is it that you want?" asked Scar-ra.
"If the villains are planning on coming to the Shire, then there has to be some way to stop them," said Frodo.
Scar-ra reached a paw over to the edge of the cage. Just as she touched Frodo's hairy foot, Scar-ra inquired, "Well, it's not in my nature to say whose coming to attack-"
Frodo whacked a stick quickly at the cage, forcing Scar-ra to back her paw away from his foot. Scar-ra jumped at the sound of the stick, glancing up in time to see Frodo's stern gaze. He told her, fast, "Do not think you're out of the woods yet, Scar-ra. Aragorn trained me himself on how to defend myself better. So I suggest you not toy with me."
"You'd be useless against scarred lions and lionesses," said Scar-ra.
"How would they be any different than facing off any other animal?" asked Frodo, serious.
Scar-ra said, "Ha! You clearly underestimate scarred lions and lionesses. We're more skilled than our counter breed, the lions and lionesses."
"Like I said, how would they be any different?" asked Frodo, moving the stick away from the cage.
Scar-ra asked, nervous, "What do you want?"
"We'll see with time. If Katrina is here, then more convincing will need to be done. I will not lose my friend again, no matter what she did," said Frodo.
"So you'll let me out of this cage?" asked Scar-ra.
Frodo shook his head. "No. You'd best get comfortable. You may not be free for a very long time." Taking the stick in his hand, Frodo walked away from the silver-barred cage. Scar-ra looked shocked yet determined to find out what was really happening. Could she trust the heroes, let alone the Halflings? Scar-ra had a feeling she was about to find out.