After what felt like days, someone roughly shook my shoulder awake, making me grumble in response. That was when I heard the familiar voice of Meriadoc Brandybuck over my head. At first, I was irritated with his boisterous tone. But I could quickly sense why he was excited. 

"Elysia — it's Frodo! He's awake this time! He's been asking for you!" 

And without another word, he dashed out the bedroom door, not even bothering to wait for me to properly wake up. I grumbled to no one in particular before pushing myself up from my mattress. I slid my feet into my shoes before quickly leaving. By the time I reached the door to Frodo's room, I hesitated. 

Did Frodo really want to see me? It seemed as though everyone else was already in there. I knew that I had no choice but to enter the room. 

Blue eyes bore into mine. The gaze caused my breath to catch in my throat. They were just as bright and as beautiful as ever. But instead of being filled with desperation and hopelessness, they were now filled with light and relief. 

"Elysia!" The Hobbit cheered enthusiastically. 

I laughed at his reaction of me coming into his room. I allowed my feet to carry me to his bedside. Merry and Pippin eventually moved out of the way so that I could get close to Frodo. When I got to his bed, I sat right on the edge of it and took his face in my hands. And, without warning him, I pressed my lips firmly against his. 

I could hear the entire room going quiet, but I didn't dare stop. Not until I was out of breath. When I did, I continued to rub his cheekbones with my thumbs. He close his eyes at my touch. 

"Looks like my suspicions have been right the entire time," Gimli joked. 

I turned to look over at the Dwarf, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

"What d'you mean?" 

"What I mean, Miss Hlothar, is that I had a sneaking suspicion that there was something going on between you and Mr. Baggins the first time I laid eyes on the two of you." 

I blushed. I didn't have any response. Gimli laughed at my reaction. Gandalf finally spoke up.

"Oh, come now, Gimli. Leave the lovebirds be. They were perfect for each other to begin with." 

I spluttered in shock, leaving everyone laughing at my reaction. 

Aragorn's coronation was one of the highlights of our journey — besides seeing the Ring finally getting destroyed. But what I did not expect was for everyone to bow down to us at the end. 

After staying in Gondor for a while, Gandalf sent us on another mission. Thank goodness, it was nowhere near as dangerous as the previous journey we had taken. We were all very thrilled to be with each other again, heading back home to the Shire. Merry and Pippin had told us of their tales with Treebeard, a treeherder. Or, a Shepherd of the Forest, as Merry referred to him as. 

They mentioned new people that I've heard of before, but have never seen. Such as — Lady Eowyn, Lord Eomer, King Theoden, Gamling, and Denethor. But, of course, we already knew who Faramir was. According to Pippin, Faramir did not seem to expect to see other Hobbits on the journey with us. 

And in return, Sam, Frodo, and I told the duo of our adventures, and how we had narrowly escaped the Witch-King of Angmar twice more, once at the Dead Marshes, and the other at the Witch King's lair. And of the wretched creature, Gollum. 

I still had no regrets for him. He deserved to be punished for being corrupted by the Ring, anyways. 

"I never trusted Gollum," I finally put in once I told them of Gollum's fate at the end. "He was villainous, and betrayed us more than once." 

*****

We finally arrived upon a familiar sight. I nearly cried tears of joy when I saw the familiar country that I was born and raised in. But at the same time, it felt odd, too. It felt odd to be back home with no danger ahead of us. 

I parked my horse in front of Hlothar Hall. I hesitated before knocking on the front door. To my left, I watched as Frodo walked back into his beloved Hobbit-hole, Bag End. 

After a moment or two of waiting, I finally came face-to-face with my mother, Eruraviel. Her eyes widened and she gasped in disbelief when she saw me standing there in front of me. With hesitation, she put both of her hands on my cheeks. I noticed that she had tears in her eyes. 

"Elysia? Is that you?" 

I smiled. "Yes, mother. It's me." 

My mother pulled me into a hug. "Oh, thank goodness, you're alright! Where have you been?! For two years, I've worried about you. I was afraid that you weren't going to return!" 

"I'm fine now, Mama," I reassured the distraught woman. "I promise. We've had. . . . quite an adventure." 

"I can see that," my mother returned with a light scoff. She tugged at one of my loose, brown curls before her hand went to my velvet dress that I currently wore. "Well, come inside. We have a lot to discuss about your adventure!" 

I walked inside. Once we sat down on the couch in the living room, my mother immediately went ahead and made tea for me. When the tea was made, I sat down and told her everything. She seemed to be impressed by everything that we had done to save Middle-Earth. 

"Well," she commented. "I'm happy that my daughter had done something useful for Middle-Earth. But I am not glad that she ran off with our next-door neighbor without telling me goodbye. You had me worried sick for three years! As for that, you are being punished for your actions." 

I groaned. 

Really? This was how my mother was going to treat me after all that I'd done to save Middle-Earth? Going on adventures was in my blood. 

"Mama, really?" 

"Yes, really. And I've got the perfect job for you. You, my dear daughter, are going to take my place by working at the Prancing Pony." 

Okay, that's not so bad. I knew that Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo were going to be celebrating their victory there. So I did not complain, nor did I tell my mother my thoughts. 

"Alright. Fine. What time do I need to go there?" 

"Later this evening. Don't you worry." 

As promised, my mother gave me her job as a punishment for me. But also, as promised, the four Hobbits that I had journeyed alongside with, were also there. I was happy to prepare Frodo his drinks. They deserved to celebrate all that they had worked hard for. 

They put their glasses together in celebration before drinking. I watched as Frodo glanced over at me through the rim of his glass. I noticed and smiled at him before some other Hobbit men came over, asking me a bunch of drunken questions. 

"Where have you been the last three years, Missus?" one Hobbit asked. 

"Yeah! You look like you could use a break. Why not sit down with us and have a pint for a bit, eh?" 

"No thank you, boys," I rejected at once. "I've got work to do. But here are your ales." 

I passed them their ales before going back to work. I felt someone's eyes on me again and caught Frodo watching me once more. I smiled at him reassuringly, letting him know that I was his and his only, before I went back to work. 

When I had my back turned, I did not realize that Frodo had gotten from his seat. he went behind the counters to approach me. He tapped my shoulder to get my attention. When I turned around and saw him, I was confused. 

"Frodo, what are you doing back here? You're not supposed to be here!" 

But he ignored me, taking both of my hands in his. I was confused until he got down on both of his knees, ultimately declaring his love for me. He took out a ring from his back pocket, presenting it to me. 

"Elysia, you have been the light in my darkness during our adventure. You kept me on your feet. Despite me pushing you away at the Stairs, you never gave up and came to my aid when I was in need of help. You stuck to my side the entire way, never pushing me away, even as times were rough. I love you for your dedication to me. You showed me a reason to stay in Middle-Earth, despite everything. I love you. Elysia Hlothar, will you marry me?" 

***Elysia Hlothar's engagement ring*** 

Of course, I couldn't say 'no' to this sweet Hobbit! Despite everything he'd gone through the past few years, he was a pure, sweet Hobbit who didn't deserve the torture he had to endure during our entire quest. 

"YES!" I squealed. 

Several months later, Frodo and I had gotten married. But not everything was as happy as it should be. Frodo constantly woke up from frequent nightmares, but I stayed at his side the entire time. I did my best to comfort the traumatized Hobbit. 

One morning, I woke up with a gasp to the feeling of my little one kicking inside of me. I've been pregnant with our first child for five months, now. I chuckled quietly and put a hand on my stomach, feeling my child kick again at my touch. I glanced over at the sleeping Hobbit at my side. 

Poor thing. He had woken up in the middle of the night due to yet another nightmare and a burning sensation in his shoulder from where he got injured by the Ring-Wraiths just four years ago. Now, he slept soundly. But I noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. 

The little one in my stomach kicked out again, startling me. I rubbed my stomach softly, a small smile on my face. 

"Alright, little one. I'm up. Let's leave your father to rest." 

I carefully got to my feet and let my feet pitter-patter across the bedroom to the living room. I sat down in a rocking chair and pulled out a blanket, covering my growing belly with it, and got out a book for me to read. My relaxation ended shortly when I heard the sound of a glass shattering to the floor, and then a familiar scream of nothing but pain. 

I jumped from my seat and I ran right back to the bedroom, as fast as I could. I stepped over the broken glass from the cup that had fallen just moments earlier. Frodo was wrapped tightly in his blankets, shivering. He didn't move until I put my hand gently on his forehead. That was when he finally looked up at me with pain-filled eyes. 

I frowned. I noticed that his skin began to feel cold once more beneath my touch. 

Then, I realized what day it was. It was October 6th, the attack on Weathertop. The day I thought that I was going to lose Frodo to those Wraiths forever. 

His head shifted restlessly from side-to-side, and his breathing was heavy. I did my best to soothe him.

"It's okay, love," I whispered softly. "The Wraiths are gone for good. There's no one here that can hurt you. Okay? You're safe, here. You're here at home." 

Frodo finally opened his eyes, which were filled with tears. I noticed that they were shattered from pain. 

"It hurts, Elyse," he whimpered, grabbing my hand tightly. "The wound hurts too much." 

I pressed a kiss to his forehead, which was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. I ran my fingers through his curly hair. 

"I'll get you the Athelas, Frodo. Aragorn sent some home with us when we were leaving home." 

Frodo nodded, letting me know that I had heard him. 

"Please be quick, Elyse," he pleaded. 

I nodded. I began to leave the room when I heard the front door open again. 

"Miss Elysia? Mr. Frodo?" 

I relaxed as soon as I heard Samwise's voice. I moved back over to the bed, grabbing Frodo's hand again. 

"We're in the bedroom, Sam. Please be quick!" 

Loud footsteps were heard, and Sam quickly approached us, looking concerned. 

"What's going —?" He began. But he stopped when he saw Frodo's pale face. He seemed to know exactly what was going on. "I'll go get the Athelas plant, Miss Elysia." 

I nodded and continued to stay at Frodo's side, moving his head to my lap. I continued to run my fingers through his damp hair. 

Finally, Sam returned with the Athelas plant-infused water. I immediately took the bowl and wash cloth before dunking and wringing out the washcloth in the infused water. I carefully unbuttoned the first few buttons of Frodo's shirt before I placed the washcloth directly on his inflamed scar. 

Moments later, I felt Frodo relax against me. A small smile appeared on his lips. I wanted to cry with relief when I saw the slight smile on his face. 

After a while, he opened his eyes again. I was relieved when I saw that there was no more tears of pain in his eyes. 

"Thank you, Elyse," he breathed in relief. 

I bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. 

"Anything for you, my sweet Hobbit." 

When the Athelas water had been entirely used, I set the bowl back on the nightstand and began to leave. But Frodo quickly grabbed my hand, causing me to stop short. I turned to face him, scrunching my eyebrows together in confusion. That was when I noticed the hopeful look in his eyes. 

"Please. Stay." 

I smiled. I knew that I could never say 'no' to my Hobbit. So instead, I went to the other side of the bed before climbing in. Frodo immediately moved to my side, hesitantly resting his hand on top of my still-growing stomach. He rested his head gently on my shoulder. 

"Of course, my sweet Hobbit. I will stay by your side, no matter what."