Inspiration for Chapter 5: The 2003 video game, "Journey to the Center of the Earth". The 2003 film, "Timeline".
*.*.*
Bethany woke up in her room. The Ivy Bush Inn was a pleasant place to stay and rest. Books lined up neatly in a bookcase, resting on the wall to the right of her full-sized bed. Green leafy plants sat in vases, while there was a large wooden chest that stood up against the wall.
There was even a bathroom for her to use, to wash her hands, to take a shower and a bath. There was also an area where she could play meditation music, should she feel the need to meditate.
Bethany yawned, getting out of bed. Her white nightgown, lace sewn into the fabric, kept her warm and comfortable. She made her way into the bathroom to do her business. Once that was done, Bethany decided to change into a white, long-sleeved silky shirt, blue jeans, white socks, and her black boots. After she found her money, Bethany made her way out of her room to look for a place to eat her breakfast.
She smiled, grateful to see the dining area had a few people eating breakfast. She looked around, wondering where Eliza was. And there, she found her, sitting by herself, wearing a red long-sleeved silky shirt, blue jeans, a brown leather belt, white socks, and brown shoes. Eliza was reading the newspaper, which Bethany caught was showing the events of their current meshed up timelines.
"Oh, Bethany sit down, will you?" Eliza asked, pulling out a wooden chair.
"Thank you," Bethany said, taking her seat at the table. She looked at her, as she ordered her food and drinks, before asking her, "Frodo's going to forget me, isn't he?"
Eliza nodded, drinking her ice-cold milk. "Yeah. Merry and Pippin just came over and told me about it. Frodo and Parker are connected. And now, that both have forgotten their memories. This cycle's going to continue until Frodo remembers his past." She added, "I'll bet you anything that Parker's going to do something to jog his memory."
"And what about our past lives? Are we still going to research it?" Bethany asked.
Eliza drank her milk again, sighing when she set her glass down. "Bethany, unless I knew where we were, I'm afraid I can't help you. Nor can I help myself. I don't even know where we started, or where we were at the time when we met."
"Surely, there has to be something about our past," Bethany said, quite content to figure out this mystery. She stood up, causing Eliza to grab her hand.
"Don't. Please, sit down and eat," Eliza said, causing Bethany to sit down again. Eliza looked up, saying, "Bethany, I'm going to ask you something. You saw this inn has meditation places. Am I right?"
Bethany nodded. "Sure. I guess so."
"Well," Eliza continued, "I was thinking about, after breakfast, we go into our own rooms and meditate. Surely, God or somebody will inform us about what we're supposed to do next. Maybe the spirits can help."
"Are you sure? What if we get caught?" Bethany asked, warily.
Eliza shook her head. "Bethany, it's common these days for people to meditate. Jedi do it all the time. So, why not us? There are different forms of meditation. I'm sure these people meditate, too." She added, giving Bethany hope, "Look. We're not from Middle-earth. We're from Modern-Day Earth, just from different times. You have to trust me. I know this will work." She smiled, adding, "You've got to."
"I don't know, but I'll try," Bethany said, as the waiter brought her food and drinks. "Thank you." She looked back at Eliza, as they ate their food.
.
There was nothing for it now. Time for a little meditation. Oh, what would this mean for them both, Bethany didn't know. She was just happy when she could finally return to her room and start meditating.
Bethany turned to her meditation spot. She sighed, approaching the meditation pillow, as well as the candles. She lit the candles, finding the fragrant lavender scent soothing. Bethany sighed in aggravation, "Okay. Here goes nothing."
She sat on her red cushioned pillow, turning the meditation music on. The meditation music had waves crashing against a white sandy beach—or so Bethany pictured in her mind—and the sunlight reaching its highest peak. She relaxed, closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths. Her mind cleared and her head sagged.
She was lost in a meditative state, wondering what to do next.
.
She walked along the white sandy beach, the crystal-clear water crashing on a beach. The sun had indeed reached its peak, as it was high up in the light blue sky. The sun was rich and vibrant with marvelous golden hue and bright white colors.
A brown wooden hut, with a round tepee roof, stood on the edge of the beach. Bethany made her way towards the hut, feeling like she was drawing closer to something. Before her was a stone wall embedded to a ledge road, followed by a waterfall flowing down from a cliff-face with blue stone walls, as well as a dark opening beyond the waterfall.
No! Did Bethany come to Destiny Islands, from the video game, "Kingdom Hearts"? She must have! How else could she describe this place?
At last, she made her way inside the hut, finding it only had one room and a lot of open windows. The breeze sent some papers flying, while other papers stayed lodged in-between books and figurines. She picked up one of the letters, finding it was addressed to her.
She opened the letter, reading it to herself:
Bethany,
Go to the chest with ornate symbols. You'll find what you seek there.
~Beatrice Blutman
Wow! Bethany didn't think Beatrice might send her a letter, addressed to her. This was wonderful!
Bethany looked over her shoulder. There was the chest, complete with its ornate symbols. The chest required four large gemstones to fit into place. One gemstone, a round amethyst gemstone, fit on the wooden chest's silver square lock. There were three empty spaces, in the square, along with the amethyst gemstone.
She watched the amethyst gemstone glow, transforming into a round ruby gemstone. "Well, then that's what I'll need to find. Yes, indeed."
"Hey!" Frodo's voice called out loud and clear to her. She found herself outside, watching Frodo walk towards her. He was drawing closer to her.
.
Bethany opened her eyes. No! What happened? That was all she was going to see? No! How could this be?
But that chest with the ornate symbols, and the hut—it was on Destiny Islands! She would have to find the island and the hut, as well as the chest with the ornate symbols. Yes, that was her mission. Now, she just needed to find a way to reach it, before Frodo lost too much of his memories.
Bethany stood up, heading into her bathroom to do her business and wash her hands. Once that was done, Bethany finished her business, washed and dried her hands, before leaving her bathroom, as well as her room. By the time she ran downstairs, leaving her room door closed, Bethany found Eliza follow her outside.
"Did you find out something? Because I sure did!" Eliza asked, intrigued.
"Yes, it was—ahh!" Bethany screamed. A hole opened up in the ground, leaving her to fall through it. She heard Eliza call out to her. She looked up, telling Eliza, "Go! I'll find another way up. Wait… no, Eliza, NO!" Too late. The hole closed, leaving Bethany with only one way to go: forward.
She coughed and sputtered, finding an opening in the tunnel with a white-grey light shown through. She stood up, following the path outside the tunnel. No, no, no! She was on a beach and there was the hut. But this wasn't Destiny Islands. Oh, where was she? And why did she see a waterfall nearby?
Of course. It looked like the waterfall in her vision. Now, for that chest and the hut.
.
She found her way inside the hut. There was the amethyst gemstone turning ruby, along with three other gemstones, in this room. She grabbed them, placing them on the chest. That done, she observed the chest for herself, watching the square unlock the chest, allowing her to see inside it.
She opened the lid, revealing a whole bunch of letters, as well as another chest inside this large chest. Oh! No! This chest needed a key. But how was she to find the key? She peered over her shoulder, finding the key was inside the chest.
"Of course! How silly of me!" Bethany said, taking the key and unlocking the chest.
As soon as it opened, Bethany found a strange object with a small gold stick stave and a light blue oval crystal attached to the gold stave. She took the gold stave out of the chest, observing it. This wasn't no ordinary hammer, but what was she supposed to do? The oval blue crystal was flashing.
She touched the crystal, overwhelmed with memories. Memories from her past.
.
Darkness surrounded her.
She saw Frodo and herself. Frodo let out a sharp cry. His eyes were light blue, otherworldly, while her eyes were a deep sapphire color. She also saw her fangs, as well as Frodo's fangs. They both cried out, hungrily.
No! Frodo was a vampire. And herself? She had a blue mermaid's tail.
"No! Stop!" Bethany cried, landing on the ground in pain.
Frodo cackled, sinisterly. "What's wrong? Haven't you ever seen a more beautiful mermaid? Hmm. So lovely." He approached her mermaid self, as she came out of the water, dressed as pirate's garb. Frodo was also dressed in pirate's garb.
But how? Unless… Frodo was a vampire pirate hobbit and she was a mermaid pirate woman. How was any of this possible?
Frodo chuckled. "It's what we've chosen. It's our talents. Yours will prove well, once you've figured it all out."
"Good luck, dear," Bethany's mermaid self said, pulling her out of her dreamlike trance. "Beatrice—Beatrice! Oh, Bethany, awaken."
.
A white flash sent Bethany reeling. She collapsed on the dirt ground, still holding the gold stave. She picked herself up, observing the gold stave.
"Wow! I'm a mermaid pirate," Bethany said, figuring that was two of her talents. Hmm. She wondered if being a vampire was her third talent, just like it was possible that Frodo could be a merman—er, a mer-hobbit.
She looked up, surprised to hear a voice calling out. It was faint, but as the voice grew louder, she could hear a masculine voice call out to her.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" It was Frodo's voice, but the hobbit man was dressed in golden clothes. What?
"Elijah? Elijah Molvaro, is that you?" Bethany asked, rushing towards him, still carrying the gold stave. She hugged him, glad to see him. "What happened to you?" Elijah Molvaro and Ronnie Baggins resembled Frodo Baggins in appearance and voice. Except, where was Ronnie? "Where's Ronnie?"
Elijah sighed. "Not good. Last I checked, he was at the tavern, back at the Ivy Bush Inn."
"We'd better go," Bethany said, heading back to the hut. Elijah grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Now, wait. Let's go this way. It's the only way off this island," Elijah said, taking out a device and pressing a green button. A portal opened up, revealing the Ivy Bush Inn.
"Are you sure?" Bethany asked, looking at the stave. "What should I do with this?"
Elijah shrugged. "Don't know. I guess it's yours. But I would recommend putting it back. Don't want your past self not knowing about it, now do we?" He smiled, chuckling.
"Right," Bethany nodded. "I'll be right back." She stepped back inside the hut, restoring the gold stave inside the chest where she found it. She closed the lid, locking it up, before putting the chest and the key back inside the larger chest, before she closed the larger chest, too. The same three gemstones popped out from the square lock.
Well, there was no sense in opening the chest now. She turned to Elijah, rushing towards him. "Okay. I'm ready."
"Great! Let's go!" Elijah said, taking Bethany's hand, as he dragged her back to the Ivy Bush Inn, where Bethany hoped Ronnie and Eliza wouldn't take things too hard.