The Road to Middle-Earth

A fanfiction by MushrooomsPTook

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

A/N – Just wanted to say thank you to all my reviewers. You mean so much to me and your reviews motivate me that much more to write faster so we can reach our journey's end, assuming that we'll get there, of course. ;)

Chapter Sixteen: Many Preparations

"Well, ev'rythin' seems to be in order, alright," said William. He was sent for as soon as I had informed Bert of the good news. Both of the men were just as amazed and astonished to see Alice staring back at them with a perplexed look on her face. She didn't understand the fuss and I wasn't about to tell her how sick she really had become. Now the doctor was inspecting Alice with the utmost care possible, as if trying to figure out the miraculous event in his head. "It's as if she wasn't sick in the first place. I can't believe it, ta be honest."

"And what about the boy?" asked Bert, still standing at the doorway, holding a tray of empty dishes from breakfast.

"Not a scratch on 'im! Just as good as new, he is. Somethin' must 'ave happened in the night, although I was sure we'd lost ya." William was looking at Alice again. "I ain't never seen a comeback like that." He stood up. "But I am happy for ya both. I expect ye'll be wantin' to depart soon for that...well, whatever ya call it?"

"Middle-earth," I said carefully. Tom and Charming exchanged glances, but Alice's eyes went wide at the name.

"Right, well, see to it that ya rest often. Don't want these young 'uns to get too puffed."

"I will. Thank you, Doctor, for everything you've done."

William tipped his head. "My pleasure, Ma'am." He nodded at Tom and Alice, and when he looked at Charming, his mouth twitched into an awkward smile. Having said his goodbye to Bert, he walked out the door and was gone.

"Well," said Bert, clearing his throat. "I'm goin' ta take these down and 'ave 'em washed. You will let me know if ya need anything?"

"Of course, Bert. I am rather anxious to continue on our journey. I think we'll leave tomorrow morning." He nodded, and as he turned to leave, I stood up quickly, remembering that there was something I wanted to discuss with him. "Bert, wait." I exited with him and pulled the door shut behind us. "I must ask you—what were you and William discussing the other day, when he was examining Tom's feet?"

Bert stiffened slightly. "Ya shouldn't 'ave been eaves droppin', Miss Alayna."

"I...I know," I blushed. "But I think I have a right to know. It's the key, isn't it? I know you saw it when I was looking for some money upon our arrival. That's what made you change your mind about us staying." Bert looked away. "Why are you being so secretive?"

"Ya mean ya don't know about it?" he asked.

"What about it?" I pulled it out of my pocket and held it in my hand. "It's not just a key, is it?"

Bert sighed before looking at it. "P'rhaps ye'd like to meet me later tonight and I'll tell ya what I know."

"I think I should like that," I said. "Thank you, Bert."

"Best just come alone, mind ye." He smiled awkwardly and headed down the hallway.

"I hate 'em! They don't feel right." Tom was glancing down at his feet, glaring at the shoes with malcontent.

"Didn't I say we'd get you in some shoes as soon as you were able to walk?"

"Yes," Tom replied glumly. "But I didn't think ya actually meant it."

"Well, I did. Do they fit?"

Tom frowned. "I—I don't know. They're coverin' my feet, ain't they?"

I sighed. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Look at these, Alayna!" cried Alice, picking up a pair of nearby boots. It was the children's first time out of the hotel that we had been staying in, and Alice was pointing at everything in awe. She got many curious stares back. It was true that the whole town knew that we, as strangers, had arrived in the night a few days ago, and they must have found about the recent events concerning Alice's sickness and her miraculous recovery, for they were whispering amongst themselves wherever we walked.

"Why can't I just go barefoot?" asked Tom, exasperatingly.

"Um...do you remember what happened last time?" I asked sarcastically. Tom sighed. "Come on. You'll get used to them after you walk around in them for a bit."

"I doubt it," Tom muttered under his breath.

Bert had graciously given me a bit of money to pay for the expense and we left the building after paying for the shoes. Tom looked down at his feet, watching as they stepped and kicking at the shoes every now and then.

"Are we really leaving tomorrow morning?" asked Alice.

"Yes. Early. So there will be no late night parties." I winked.

"That includes you too," said Charming, waddling behind us.

I blushed, remembering my incident at the saloon the other night. "Yes, thank you." I stopped suddenly as I saw something in the window of the building we were walking past. There was a knapsack hanging in the window. It was smaller than my backpack, but it had a lot of pockets. We would have to gather many supplies and we would need to store them in something. This looked just about right. I walked in, the others following me and letting their eyes roam. I immediately went to the pack and touched it, testing the leather, and opening all the pockets. I slipped it on my back and played with it a bit more before making my decision to purchase it, reminding myself to thank Bert.

We headed back for lunch a little later that afternoon. This time, however, we would be sitting in the saloon instead of having it brought up to our room. It was very lovely, as it wasn't very crowded. I'd discovered that most of the residents usually came to the saloon at night, primarily for drinking. The few occupants there, however, stared at us the whole time and nudged one another, pointing at us. From the bar, Bert nodded at us and smiled. I waved back; I would miss him. He had been so good to us while we were here. He came by our table with a sack in his hand. He handed it to me before sitting in the empty seat at our table.

"Some food for yer journey," he said.

"Thank you, Bert."

"Would ye like to come down again for supper? It'd be nice to have you here and ye'll be the guests of honor."

"The guests of honor? Whatever for?" I chuckled.

"The whole town knows of yer mishap naturally. They find it to be a curious recovery and many are wantin' to meet the person who was witness."

"But I didn't do anything," I protested. "It just happened."

"Well, I can tell ya I been around the block quite a few times to know that things don't 'just happen.' If ya want my opinion, not that it matters or anythin', I'd say someone must be lookin' after ya."

I smiled. "Well, if it means that much, then of course we'll be your guests of honor."

"Good," Bert nodded, but his smile faded away quickly. "Then I expect ye'll be wantin' to discuss that key of yers."

"Please. And Bert, for what it's worth, your opinion does matter, at least to me."

Bert rose from the table with a smile. "Thank ya kindly. I must be gettin' back ta work."

The rest of the afternoon was kept busy while I began packing the food into my new knapsack. When I stretched it open, I realized with delight that it was a good deal larger than it had initially appeared. There were two small bags of toffee individually wrapped and labeled "Alice" and "Tom". I had a suspicious notion that Bert had become fond of the children. There were also a few slices of bread neatly wrapped and labeled, "For the duck".

Charming and Tom seemed to be busy talking amongst themselves, discussing stories about duck ponds and Becky Thatcher. Alice was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at me blankly. I noticed and smirked. I pulled away from my current project and sat next to her before pulling her into me, wrapping my arms around her.

"How sick was I?" she asked.

"Sick enough that you gave me a good scare."

"I'm sorry," she said, frowning. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Of course you didn't, so don't apologize."

We sat there for a moment, side by side, staring at the blank wall in front of us in companionable silence. "Do you think that lion healed me and Tom?" At the mention of his name, Tom broke off in mid-sentence and stared over at us with intent interest.

I looked down at her in confusion. "What lion?"

"Last night, I dreamed that a lion came into our room and breathed on me."

"What?" I gaped at the memory of my own dream. I cleared my throat. "How do you know it was a lion?"

Alice pondered this for a bit, leaning back on her hands. "I don't know. I just...know. He spoke to me."

"What did he say?"

"He said it's not my time yet. He said I still have work to do. What do you think he meant by that?"

I chuckled but shook my head. "I don't know, Alice."

"Ha!" the new voice prodded me from my thoughts and I looked at the owner, raising my eyebrow at him. Charming giggled.

"What?" I asked.

"Lions speakin'! That's just stupid. Next you'll be sayin' cows jump over moons. Lions don't speak. They eat people—"

"Ducks too," Charming added with a nod.

"But they don't speak none."

"Well, this one did," Alice replied, puffing out her chest defiantly. "And I don't think he would have eaten us. He seemed...nice." Tom fell into helpless laughter while muttering to himself about how ridiculous the thought was. I didn't respond, for I was still trying to to debate whether I should side with Tom's reasoning, or if I should defend Alice and explain my similar dream. In the end, I said nothing.

When it came time for dinner, I guided my companions downstairs. Every table was filled and there was lively music coming from the piano in the corner. Before we reached the bottom of the staircase, the crowd began to cheer wildly. I blushed and both Alice and Charming hid behind me. Several of the people rushed from their seats and greeted us. I took a step back nervously as the overwhelming swarm gathered around us. Some said, "Ain't it curious?", while others said, "I never heard of such recovery". Still there were a few people who asked, "Where d'ya suppose they come from?" We were backed into the wall and I thought I felt a claustrophobic wave sweep over me, just as a voice sounded in the midst of the crowd. "All right, break it up! Break it up! Let 'em 'ave some room, folks." Bert squeezed through, trying to usher people back to their seats. I breathed in relief as the crowd broke up. He took my hand and led me and my companions to the front of the saloon.

"Ya might satisfy their curiosity, Miss Alayna. They know all 'bout the healing, but want ta hear it from you, I reckon."

I nodded nervously, and the horrid memory of speaking in front of my classroom in elementary school rushed over me. "Well..." I started. "I'm guessing this sort of thing doesn't happen too often here. Um... Well, we're—uh—travelers, you see. Just passing through, as I'm sure most of you've guessed. And, um...well, you see, we've come a long way from home, and we're setting off again tomorrow morning. This whole thing sort of happened out of nowhere, Alice being sick at all, and Tom blistering his feet." I began to share the tale, starting from the discovery of the witch's gingerbread house, to our escape (leaving out the key, of course, but including the apple), to crossing the desert, and including our arrival to their hometown. I talked about how badly out of shape were Tom's feet and how one morning I woke up and Alice was dreadfully sick, only to find out that the bites of apple she'd eaten had been poisoned. I left out all the information about Alice's dream, putting a hand over her mouth when she tried to object, and simply stated that it was a miracle that couldn't be explained. There arose a noisy cheer and Tom stepped forward and bowed.

"Where ya off to that's so important ya nearly get killed?" called a voice.

"Oh, um..."

"Middle-earth!" shouted Alice, stepping forward proudly. Many chatters came out of her response and the people fell to whispering amongst themselves. "We're going to meet Bilbo and Frodo, and I'll be able to give back Gandalf's staff!" From the corner of my eye, I noticed Tom's jaw set and Charming look down with a mournful face.

"What's this Middle-earth like?" asked the same voice. "Do they got any good drinkin' songs?"

"Oh yes, lots of songs!"

Many people got up from their seats, clapping and shouting, "Sing!" I looked around cautiously. I didn't want to be a bad guest of honor, but I couldn't sing well, and I really had no intention to. I looked at Bert for help, but he merely shrugged. "Um, well, you see," I said, "I'm not a very good singer." A lot of voices fell in protest at this statement. "A-And I don't have any of them memorized anyway."

Alice grabbed my arm. "Sing the one about the inn, Alayna. You have that one memorized. It will be perfect."

"Go on!" shouted a couple people. Someone shoved a mug of beer in my hands while my mouth was still agape. Bert threw me a disapproving look, but I smirked self-consciously, and raised my glass to his good health before taking a sip. To my shock, Alice hopped up on a vacant table.

"Alice, what are you doing!"

"Come on, Alayna," she said, pulling on my arm. "You have to get up on the table like Frodo."

"Alice," I groaned, trying to pry my arm out of her grasp, but her healing had mysteriously made her stronger than what I was prepared for. "I'm not getting up on that table, and I certainly am not singing." Tom's eyes gleamed with mischief as he had suddenly become Alice's ally. He pushed while Alice pulled, and the whole while, the crowd was shouting in impatience, demanding a song. "Alice, you are in some serious trouble." I was on the table, pulling her hand, when I turned and saw everyone's gaze on me. The piano began a peppy tune as the crowd beckoned for me to start the song, while I drank from my cup nervously.

"Now sing us the song about the inn," someone said, having heard Alice earlier. "At least for old Bert's sake. Ya owe him that much."

There was so much shouting and Tom had clambered up on the table, so that I was squeezed in between both of the children, each of them taking a hand firmly.

"Uh, there...there is an inn, a merry old inn, beneath an old grey hill," I began uneasily. At the words 'a merry old inn', many occupants raised their glasses. I decided it wasn't going to get much better, and started over, breathing in a prayer that I wouldn't get hit by any tomatoes if the song went so badly:

There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.

The ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays a five string fiddle;
And up and down he runs his bow,
Now squeaking high, now purring low,
now sawing in the middle.

The landlord keeps a little dog
that is mighty fond of jokes;
When there's good cheer among the guests,
He cocks an ear at all the jests
and laughs until he chokes.

They also keep a hornéd cow
as proud as any queen;
But music turns her head like ale,
And makes her weave her tufted tail
and dance upon the green.

And O! the rows of silver dishes
and the store of silver spoons
For Sunday there's a special pair,
And these they polish up with care
on Saturday afternoons.

The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,
and the cat began to wail;
A dish and spoon on the table danced,
The cow in the garden madly pranced,
and the little dog chased his tail.

The Man in the Moon took another mug,(I took a swig of my own)
and then rolled beneath his chair;
And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,
Till in the sky the stars were pale,
and dawn was in the air.

Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:
'The white horses of the Moon,
They neigh and champ their silver bits;
But their master's been and drowned his wits,
and the Sun'll be rising soon!'

So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,
a jig that would wake the dead:
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:
'It's after three!' he said.

They rolled the Man slowly up the hill
and bundled him into the Moon
While his horses galloped up in rear,
And the cow came capering like a deer,
and a dish ran up with the spoon.

Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;
the dog began to roar,
The cow and the horses stood on their heads;
The guests all bounded from their beds
and danced upon the floor.

With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke!
the cow jumped over the Moon,
and the little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
with the silver Sunday spoon.

The round Moon rolled behind the hill,
as the Sun raised up her head.
She hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise
they all went back to bed!

To my surprise there was a ferocious cheer from the crowd. Some of the people had been dancing to the song, and I had lost my initial fear as I thirstily drank the rest of my mug. So naturally, I began the song again at the first request, a little more tipsy than the first time around. All the guests laughed in good-nature when, after having a sudden urge to mimic the experience directly from the book, I leapt into the air at the "cow jumped over the moon", and came crashing down on the table in front of me, causing such an uproar at the unexpected spectacle. I knew what was coming as I heard Bert calling people to get out of the way. He pulled me to my feet roughly, and dusted me off, looking quite grim, but his mouth twitched in amusement.

"Miss Alayna, I thought we agreed no more crashin' inta tables!" I shrugged and giggled as many people clapped me on the back, their mouths wagging with laughter. I had only a moment to see Tom and Alice laughing wildly before Bert ushered me back to my companions. We bade the guests goodnight and Bert led us back to our room.

"Go on," I said to the children and the duck. "I'll be along shortly. I have something to discuss with Bert for a bit."

"Cow jumped over the moon," Tom laughed helplessly, walking past me, as if he hadn't heard what I said. Alice hesitated before following Tom, and Charming looked at me, chuckled, and waddled after the children.

Bert looked at me, shaking his head for a moment, before pulling the door shut and leading me into the room that had temporarily occupied Tom and Charming during Alice's sickness. He closed the door and offered me a seat at the table in the corner before taking one across from me. Finally, I would resolve a matter that had preyed on my mind since our arrival. I took the key out from my pocket and laid it on the table in front of us. Bert pulled out a sheet of paper that had been neatly folded, and opened it, laying it on the table. On it was an exact sketch of the mysterious object that sat next to it.

Next Chapter – A mystery is unraveled. Will it change Alayna's decision to lead them home? By the way, the song about the inn can be found in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter nine, and is my very favorite song from the books!

B The Shadow Ninja Samurai – ::holds up hands:: I surrender!...sort of. Here's the next chapter anyway. ;)

Calemireth – I'll try to knock some sense into her, and I greatly value your faith that they will get there. Now if we can just get her to believe. ;)

WaterDragon – Sit tight. The journey isn't over yet. Alayna has got to work out some stuff in her head. If you stay with me, you will not finish this story dissatisfied (I hope).