The Road to Middle-Earth

A fanfiction by MushrooomsPTook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. You might as well say it owns me!

Chapter Eight: Alice in Wonderland

A/N – I'm sorry once again for the delay, but I want to thank you all for the gracious reviews that have been coming in. I am so touched and I want you all to know that I'm writing this for you, not me. Well, maybe a little bit for me. ;) With that said, onto the story!

I stirred awake to the sounds of birds chirping and to the gentle rustle of trees in a summer breeze. The sun was shining all around me as I sat up on the dirt-covered earth. I looked about me and noticed that I had been lying at the foot of a stake, surrounded by leaves, branches, and skulls. That's when I remembered where I was. I stiffened as I gazed around for our captor. But the only things to be seen were giant drums and abandoned torches that were scattered around the area. I checked myself over, remembering that the last few moments that I recalled were accompanied by pain. To my surprise and relief, there was not a scratch on me. My wrists had miraculously healed overnight, though there were faint scars, and my head was no longer throbbing. Indeed I had no burns on me from the fire.

My gaze turned to Alice, who was sitting not far from me. Her eyes were intensely staring down the witch's gingerbread house, and she clutched her stick—Gandalf's staff—anxiously in her hands. She didn't notice when I scooted close to her poised form.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Waiting," she said, not meeting my eyes. "Just in case she's in there." Alice gripped the stick tighter, her knuckles turning white.

"I—I don't think she is," I said. "I think she may be dead."

Alice now met my gaze, questioningly. "Really? How?"

"I...I don't know. I had a strange dream," I rubbed my head, trying to remember the details, but they were foggy. "I dreamed that...well, that she...it was." I cracked up at how ridiculous I must have sounded. "That's funny. I don't remember it anymore, well, except that it was strange."

"I had such a good dream," Alice said, smiling.

I smiled back. "What did you dream, Alice?"

"I dreamt that we were in the Shire and that Bilbo was making tea for us, and after that he let me make cookies with him."
"What kind of cookies?" I asked, my smile broadening.

"Peanut butter." Naturally. They were her favorite. "But you couldn't have any."

"Oh? And how come? Did you eat them all before your big cousin had a chance to have any?"

Alice rolled onto her back and stared at the puffy, white clouds. "No. You were sick."

I frowned. "Oh, well, I'm glad to see you didn't catch it." I glanced around me, deciding I didn't care for my part in the dream. "Where's Tom?"

Alice perked up at the question and her eyes widened a bit as she looked around.

"I—I don't know! You...you don't think..." She swallowed nervously, turning her attention back to the house. I stiffened slightly at the thought, but I tried not to worry. Instead, I got to my feet, deciding it was time to investigate where the third member of our party was.

"Stay here," I said to Alice. She didn't respond to my voice, but looked anxiously in every direction.

I walked warily to the front of the house, occasionally turning my head to see if any danger was about. The door was opened, and I peered inside the doorway for a moment, looking around. The sight of the cage in the back corner and chairs overturned made my skin crawl. I tiptoed in, careful to not let my heavy breathing alert my presence.

"Tom?" I whispered. No response. I began to get a little anxious. What had happened to him, I wondered? I continued to creep along, looking left and right, shuddering at the near memories, when I was startled by a voice from behind.

"'Layna!" I jumped and put my hand on my chest in an effort to calm myself.

"Tom! You scared me out of my wits. Where were you?"

"Come and see it, 'Layna! Hurry!"

With that he grabbed my hand and pulled me after him. Alice was on her feet now and as Tom rushed past her, I grasped her hand in mine, dragging her along. She gave a yelp in surprise as her little feet hurried at the fast pace that Tom had set.

"Tom, slow down," I said. "What's so important that you have to go 85 miles an hour?"

"You'll see," he panted.

We had gone past the sight of the house and were now back in the woods, going deeper in. If anything Tom hastened his pace, so that little Alice had to jog in order to keep up. Finally, he stopped suddenly and I nearly bumped into him. Alice did bump into me.

"This is what you brought us to see?" I asked exasperatingly. We were in the thick of the woods and there was nothing else around except for a small stream and a few stones.

"No, don't you see it?" He pointed to a crescent moon just above the branch of a large tree. Although it seemed too early to be able to see any kind of moons, I was getting past the point of being surprised by anything new, considering I had been greeted by so many.

"Big deal," I shrugged. "So, it's a moon. Haven't you ever seen any?"

Tom glowered and crossed his arms stiffly. I started to turn back, when the moon widened at both ends and even jiggled a bit. Then it started mumbling a song that was anything but rational. It stopped and quite astonishingly, it split into two, and there was something in between the two moons. A bright, pink tongue.

"So, it's a moon, is it?" the thing said.

"I—I..." I didn't know how to respond. But I caught a smug glance from Tom, and he smiled, sticking out his chest in pride .

"Well?" it said and now, I could see two great eyes—cat eyes—that hovered above the moon, or whatever it was. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

I scoffed at the remark. "Well, no, of course not! It's just that I don't know what you—" Two pointed eared now appeared above the eyes and a head faded into view to complete the appearance of a fuzzy face.

"You're a cat!" cried Alice.

"A Cheshire cat," corrected the animal, its tail lifting the ears in a greeting.

"Well, this is quite something," I said. "You're not any kind of cat I've ever seen before."

"Of course not," the cat replied, "because I'm the only cat worth seeing." A chuckle escaped my lips and the cat noticed. "Oh, was that funny? Because I know something else that will have you rolling." He said this by rolling over on his back, still looking at me.

"And what could possibly be funnier than a cat that can remove its appendages?"

"There's something back there," the cat pointed with its tail, "that is riddled with hilarity."

I turned my head and pointed with my thumb. "Back there? But we just came from there and I didn't see anything."

"Well, you aren't there now," said the cat, playing with its whispers.

I looked at the cat suspiciously now. "And why would we want to go back there and meet any hilarious creatures?"

"Oh, because you have no food for your journey."

He was right. We didn't have any food for our journey, and there was lots to be found at the witch's house. But something else had me more concerned.

"What do you know about our journey?" I glared.

"Oh everything, of course! I know you came here from a funny place called Oz and that after you gained another companion," he looked at Tom, "you were captured by a witch who tried to eat you and now she has fled." The cat was now filing its claws with a twig. "Oh! And I know that you'll go back to the witch's house because you know you cannot possibly carry on without any food...to this Middle-Earth place." The cat sighed. "Oh the lot of these places that you visit and their funny names."

My heart skipped a bit."You—You know Middle-Earth...?"

"Well," the cat said smiling, as though he was expecting this question. "I can't say I've ever been, but I know where that road of yours is."

Alice gasped.

"Where is it?" asked Tom, before I could respond.

"Where is what?"

"The road, of course!"

"What road?"

My eyes flashed angrily. "You know what road! The road to Middle-Earth!"

"Middle-Earth?" he asked as if he had just heard the name. "What's that?"

"Ugh, forget it," I grabbed Alice's hand and turned to go.

"Forget what?" the cat said before his body disappeared.

I looked back at the cat's head angrily, biting back certain words I didn't particularly want Tom or Alice to hear. Then still looking at the cat, I said, "Enough of this. Let's go. We can find it ourselves."

The cat grinned as its head slowly vanished. "Don't forget to mind your heads." Then it slipped back into its song, and was gone.

"Such nonsense," I muttered to myself as I led the children out of the thick forest. "Why anyone would speak in such riddles is beyond me."

When we got back to the house, I looked around, expecting to see some new, weird sort of creature. But everything was as we'd left it, and the only people there were Tom, Alice, and myself. I puffed frustratingly at the thought of the Cheshire cat telling me about my surroundings and what we would find when we got back.

"Alice, Tom," I said, turning to look at my two companions. "I'm going into the house to get some food for us."

Alice looked at me miserably. "I'm not hungry, Alayna. I don't think I'll ever be hungry again."

"I know, Alice, but you will get hungry later on, and we have to be prepared. Do you want to come with me? It shouldn't take too long."

Alice looked warily at the house before shaking her little head. Tom reached down and took her hand in his.

"I reckon I can stay here with her," he said..

"Fine. But if something happens, come and get me. Alice? Don't forget you have a very powerful weapon." I gestured to the object in her hands and she smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Hang onto it. We've still got a ways to go before you can give it to him."

Tom shook his head at the stick and rolled his eyes, but I ignored him. With a hesitant look at both children, I turned and went into the house.

"Vegetables, potatoes, bread, meat..." I mumbled to myself as I worked quickly, stuffing nearly any food I could find into my backpack. There were a good things, edible and non-edible, that naturally, I felt uncomfortable about, but most things we'd already had during our stay (or imprisonment), and I was confident that they could provide us without any problems.

I lifted my backpack slightly to test the weight. It was nice and full and I decided that if I fit one more item in it, I'd be scooting on my rump for the rest of the journey. I was just zipping it up, when something of bright red caught my eye in the corner of the counter area. It was an apple, a very large apple and I could now smell the golden, sweet scent that it gave off. Even though I wasn't hungry in the least, my mouth watered. But there was only one apple, and I was soon convinced that I couldn't leave this delicious gem in a place like this. I would have to pack that as well. I picked it up and brought it to me, where I inhaled the rich smell. I looked at it longingly for a moment, and then put it in a little pocket in my pack.

My head suddenly returned to me when I heard a loud and agonizing scream. It came not from Alice, but from Tom. Danger. I swung my backpack on my shoulders and raced out the door of the house.

If I hadn't been so terrified of the undetermined threat, I would have laughed at the sight before me. Tom was crouched in a protective stance and clinging onto the sleeve of Alice's arm. He stood slightly behind her, using her as a shield. His face was white.

"Tom! What is it?" I asked. From what I could see, the whole fuss had been about nothing, for nothing is what I saw. But Tom insisted on portraying his fear, so much so that he lifted a finger and pointed to the ground, trembling as he did so.

"W-w-what is it?" he cried. Alice seemed as confused as me, and continued to stay confused as my eyes grew wide in concern. I saw what had scared Tom and my face blossomed into a beautiful portrait of one that mimicked his.

"Alice!" I grabbed each child by the hand and pulled them to me protectively. Alice had seen the threat, but she remained confused—almost amused—probably from Tom's and my reactions.

There on the ground, about five feet away from us, stood the assailant. It was small, but the horrible appearance that befell it was huge. It had black eyes, one of which was sagging from its socket, had red stuff all around its, well, what I guessed was its mouth, and was spotted black and white, with a little green mixture on one side of it.

"It's—it's..." I stuttered.

"I'm a duck!" it retorted.

"It speaks!"

"Well, of course, I speak," it said, glaring. "Which is a little more than you can do!"

"But," said Tom, "well, you don't..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "What I means is, ah, you don't look like no duck I ever saw before."

"Go on." The duck quacked...or did it squawk? "Say it. Say it! I won't be offended. You think I'm ugly, don't you?"

The guilt was now kicking in. "Well..." I shuffled my feet. "Well, not ugly, maybe just a bit—"

"Ugly!" shouted the duck. "Don't lie to me. I've heard it so many times. It's the first thing everyone can think of when they see me. I'm an ugly duckling, or was, and it hasn't changed."

"Oh, you're not ugly." I was surprised to see Alice stepping forward and then crouching to look into the duck's face. Truly, she was mad. Brave, yes, but also mad. "I think you're pretty."

I couldn't tell if the duck looked humored, touched, or insulted; the red around its bill was a mess and covered up any traces of facial expression. But I guessed that it was touched by the way it looked down at its freckly webbed feet. But I was wrong.

"No, I'm not," it said. "You're lying."

"No, she's not," I said. "She doesn't lie. She might be crazy—" I glanced at Alice "—but she's no liar." The duck did not respond, so I tried to move past the ugly bit and get to know this creature. "Um, so, what's your name?"

"I don't have one," the duck replied. "I was never given one, I was too ugly. My mother called me an ugly duckling, and that's what I've gone by since."

I had to agree, but I tried to put forth some kind of sympathetic protest. This was too awkward for me.

"Well... well, my name is Alayna. And this is Tom and Alice."

The duck cleared its throat. "Nice—nice to meet you." It lifted up its winged feathers in what I guess would have been a hand (wing) shake, but I stopped myself from taking it when I caught sight of the vomit-colored patterns, and so scratched my head instead.

"Um, charming," was all I could say.

"Oh! That could be his name. Charming!"

The duck, Tom, and I all stared at Alice incredulously before the silence was broken.

"Well," the duck ducked its head. "Well, if you insist, of course—well, I mean—if—if it's not too much trouble..."

Incredibly, Alice laughed and pulled the duck into her arms, giving it a hug. So brave. But also so mad!

"Well," I started eagerly, "we...should probably get going. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Duck."

"Charming!" Alice protested, throwing me a dirty look.

"Okay! Okay, sorry...Charming."

The duck sighed. "I should probably go too."

Alice looked at me with pleading eyes as the duck—Charming—slowly turned its back to us and began to waddle away. I tried to imagine it going off in search of the rest of his family, nestling itself among the bunch of them when night came. But it was a vision that wouldn't come and I felt a tinge of pity for the miserable creature. I knew the reality of it. No family, no nestling, and little sleep throughout a cold night. I couldn't bear the thought, no matter how ugly it may have been.

"Wait," I said softly. "Why don't you come with us?" The duck stopped waddling, but did not turn around, although it did tilt its head slightly at my words, so I hastily explained. "We're on a journey to visit Middle-Earth, and, well, although it may be a long one, you may be glad of the company, just as we'll be glad of yours."

Both Tom and Alice looked at me with wide eyes, although they both read differently. One demanded an explanation, while the other was beaming full of joy. Alice hugged me tightly as the duck finally turned around. I knew I had made the right decision when I saw the wet, black eyes.

"You...you mean it?" the duck asked. "Truly?"

I sighed, knowing my next word would seal the deal, and possibly our fates.

"Yes. I mean it."

The duck waddled rapidly towards me, squawking excitedly, and I restrained myself from stepping back. It stopped at my feet and embraced my leg with its distracting feathers.

"Truly, I am mad," I thought to myself. "Brave, but mad all the same."

A/N – I know this chapter didn't have much of Wonderland in it, but the title seemed to fit anyway. Also, as you're probably aware, the Cheshire cat follows the personality of the one in the Disney film more than the book (I have to be honest, I haven't read it ::gasp::). A few of his lines are echoed in the film as well, with some changes, of course.

Next Chapter – will be updated probably at the end of the week, maybe later.

Lynn-o-chan – Don't you just love cliffhangers? ;) I'm glad to see that you're enjoying it. Please stay with me, it'll get gooood.

Daddys number 1 girl – Glad to have you on board. Updated!

Seafarer – Can't say I've heard of Roald Dahl, but I will research it. You've caught my interest! ;)

memo bonafide – Thank you very much. I'm delighted to know how much you're enjoying it.

Calemireth – [Gollum voice] Patience! Patience, my love! [/Gollum voice] It's not over yet. There's plenty to come, but if you stay with me, it'll be worth it. I promise!