My Dear Frodo: It's Time I Told You The Truth

Chapter 5

"Here we are." Dain pushed open the grand double doors to Bilbo's room. "Here, master burglar, is your room. That door over there opens to Frodo's, so the lad will always be close by."

The king pointed to a door to their right. It had been left open, revealing a room mirroring the one they were in down to the finest details.

"Whoa...." Frodo slowly stepped into the room and looked all around.

The door they had entered opened to a grand sitting room with lavish couches, each with at least two pillows. The fabrics were made with deep, rich shades of blues, red, purples and greens, all very different from the vibrant colours hobbits used.

A decadent fireplace carved right into the wall stood on the far side of the room. Frodo could make out dwarven runes carved into the mantle but could not read them. He wondered if he would get the chance to learn the language during his stay.

The now curious and excited tween raced over to a set of double doors directly to the left and pushed them open. There he found a dining room fit for a king. The table in the centre of the room was huge and could accommodate quite a few people. Frodo could see an entryway on the far end of the room that led into a kitchen, which he could only assume was just as grand as the dining room.

Once he had a brief glimpse of that room, he moved on to the next. The doors to the right of the dining room opened up to a grand study. Bookcases were carved into the wall, and every shelf was filled with books of all sizes and languages. The ones written in Westron that Frodo could see told of far-off lands and the people that lived in them. He wanted to read them, but his curiosity about their accommodations was still active, and since they would be staying for some time, he could always return to the study later.

Before Bilbo could follow the lad into the study, Frodo ran out and went to the next set of doors. These led into the bedroom that held the most gigantic bed the boy had ever seen. He estimated it to be thrice the size of his father's bed back at home, which was already a decent size for a hobbit.

"Papa! Look at the size of this bed!" Frodo peeked his head out, and Bilbo saw a big grin on the boy's face.

"A hyper little thing, isn't he?" Dain chuckled as the two adults watched the boy disappear back into the room.

"Oh, you have no idea," Bilbo sighed. "He is very much like... Like my boys...."

Dain immediately reached out and clasped Bilbo's shoulder to comfort him. Like the hobbit, the pain of losing the two young princes was still fresh in the king's memory. He had watched those two grow up from when they were Pebbles fresh from the womb. Despite living so far away, he had loved them and would forever miss their boisterous laughs and big, goofy smiles. Sometimes, during the late hours of the night, he could swear he still heard them laughing as they plotted their latest schemes.

"Aye, I miss 'em too...."

"How is Dis?" Bilbo asked after a few moments of silence, but Dain never had the chance to respond.

"I am doing as well as a mother in mourning can be, dear burglar."

"Dis!"

Bilbo spun around and saw the princess enter the room. Like any royal, she held herself tall and proud, but the hobbit could see the pain in her bright blue eyes. He could tell it had dulled the brightness that had once been there.

It broke his heart to see his sister-in-law in such a state. One that surely mirrored his own. The only difference was he still had his son, whereas she had lost both her boys all those years ago. She had lost practically everyone near and dear to her. It made Bilbo wonder how she was able to get up every morning.