Frodo slept on, chuckling as he slept. The dream he had was good. Merry and Pippin arguing over shrimp. Mmm. Shrimp sounded good. Frodo sighed. What more could he dream about in this facility? He wondered that as his mind called out to him.

Get up!

Frodo opened his eyes. A mysterious, lithe voice, playful and mischievous, alerted him. Had he heard this voice before? Where did it come from?

Get up, Frodo!

Frodo sat up, ruffling his dark brown, curly hair. What was he just experiencing? He looked over his shoulder at the red dragon sleeping on the bed next to his. What was a dragon doing here? He shouldn't be here. Wait! The dragon was a he? This was intolerable!

GET UP!

Frodo yelped, getting out of bed with a horrid expression. He looked around the room in terror. Was he hearing voices? At this hour? He looked out the window. Yes, it was still dark out. What time was it?

Get up! Frodo, wake up!

"I'm awake," Frodo murmured, lowering his head. He didn't want to hear the voice. Surely, it would leave him alone.

Ha ha ha! I'm still here!

"No!" Frodo cried, rubbing his eyes. He didn't want to get up. He wanted to stay in bed. Surely, the mysterious voice knew this. He looked around the room in angst, wondering where the voice came from.

Only the dragon, sleeping in the same room as him, was asleep. At least, that's what Frodo assumed. Frodo lowered his head, trying a new strategy.

"Who are you?" Frodo asked the voice, terrified.

I'm Cynthia. I'm also Elsa, but that's from "Frozen". You may call me either one, but I mostly go by Elsa.

A door creaked open, leaving Cynthia—em, Elsa, worried. Elsa turned to Frodo. For a moment, he could see she had blonde hair and her blue dress she was wearing.

I must go. Excuse me.

"Wait! Please," Frodo said. It was too late. The voice was gone. Frodo was alone; at least, in his mind he was. It felt strange to hear a voice. But then, he wondered if he could stand the silence for a little bit.

No. No, he couldn't. It was too much to bear.

"Frodo," Parker called out, leaving Frodo gasping.

No, Frodo had to remember why he was here! Merry and Pippin brought him here. That's what he knew. It made sense. Did he really have a wife? Or did he not have one?

Frodo tensed. He didn't want to talk to Parker, if that was his name? Was it his real name? Or did they have a life before this one? Just what was happening to them that he didn't know. Were there such a thing as universes pre-existing before this one? Or were there universes coinciding with this universe? Were there universes in the future he didn't know about?

"All these philosophical questions…" Frodo exhaled, pitying himself more.

"What?" Parker asked, chuckling.

Frodo shook his head. "Oh, never mind. You wouldn't understand."

"No, the fact that you were debating with yourself about the universe…" Parker chuckled. "…it seems strange. To think that there's life before our current universe… seems kind of strange, doesn't it?" He asked, "Or did you think Merry and Pippin brought you here?"

Frodo shrugged, facing him, "What else am I supposed to do? Bethany's gone, if she's really my wife. I'll never know."

Parker sat up, encouraging him, "Look, what Bethany and my wife Eliza are trying to do is important. You may not see it now, but they're doing the one thing that we should be doing: searching for answers." He spoke up, answering Frodo's question, "It's the only way we can find out what's happened in the distant past, before this universe started. There's more than one timeline out there, Frodo. Millions of timelines. Not just seven timelines."

He added, "Well, we're about to enter the seventh timeline, the moment all the worlds change and we're stuck in this healer's house."

"What are you talking about?" Frodo asked, cautious.

Parker smirked, "Well, I am 200 years old. What say you to that?"

Frodo raised his eyebrows. The number shocked him, "You're that old? You look young."

"Thank you, Frodo. Thank you. I needed to hear that," Parker said, sitting on Frodo's bed, next to him. "But I really am 200 years old. My birthday was last May. Or was it June?" He smirked. "I hardly remember. How amnesiac am I? Let alone yourself? Although, you do seem to be remembering things a lot better now."

"I don't know what you mean," Frodo shook his head. "It's like a distant past opened up, as if I'd forgotten it."

Parker smiled. "Well, we all came a long way." He smirked, saying, "Well, you should get some rest. It's a long journey and we want to be refreshed for tomorrow." He returned to his bed, laying down and sleeping again.

Frodo smirked, staying in a sitting position on the bed. "Right. Goodnight Parker."

Parker looked at him in amazement. Was Frodo remembering something? "Goodnight Frodo. I'm glad to see your memories are restored."

Frodo smiled, not knowing what to say, "And to you."

*.*.*

References:

Elsa comes from the movie "Frozen".