The Road to Middle-Earth

A fanfiction by MushrooomsPTook

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

A/N – I have to say I'm dedicating this chapter to Seafarer, because her name gave me the inspiration for...well, you'll see. Thanks, Seafarer! :)

Chapter Nineteen: Reflections

When I came to, I thought for a moment that I had died, for a light was shining down upon me. It waved and sparkled silver, so that I felt like I was floating. But after a time of just staring up at the ripples of light, I realized that I was indeed floating. As I stirred, bubbles formed around me, and I felt as light as a feather. I wondered if I really was dead, for I was surrounded by water, deep water, the sea even perhaps. But I knew I couldn't have died, because I could breathe, and the air—or water—felt so fresh against my throat. I swam upward and broke through the surface of the water. The light was immediately blinding, and I squinted to get a better look at my surroundings. I was indeed in the sea, for there was nothing to be seen except for water. I was far from the shore, and I wondered how long I had been down there. It was hard to breathe here out in the open air, so I did what felt natural, and went below again.

I had never seen the ocean before, and despite my concern, I found it to be extraordinarily beautiful. There were wondrous things all around me, coral reefs, extravagantly dressed fish, and sea shells littering the ocean floor. I wondered if this was what heaven looked like, but I reminded myself that I was not dead, despite how impossible it was for me to breathe under water. But there I was, doing just that.

I floated for a bit, and decided I should do something about my situation. I would try and go back to the shore, although I wasn't sure of the way. I figured I should start swimming in some kind of direction in any case, and I would make the best of what I would find. Once I began paddling, it was hard to stop. I was actually enjoying it, and I felt as though I could swim anywhere, anyway, and in any kind of pattern. So I did. I did somersaults, swam backwards, spun around, creating a whirlpool of bubbles. It was a freedom that I wasn't quite expecting, and I felt as though I could live like this forever.

After a while, I came across some bits of coral encrusted objects that had settled onto the sandy floor. At first, they were few and scattered, but as time went on, they became numerous. Then I came across what looked like a shattered lifeboat, and I passed an anchor. After that, I came upon a chest of gold. And then finally, I saw a huge ship that had been wrecked. It was cracked in two and was covered in coral growth. Its appearance looked ghostly, but it was so intriguing, I felt like I couldn't ignore the invitation to explore. I crept forward and entered into a doorway. The halls were dark, and the water glowed green. I swam very cautiously for a bit, wondering if there were any sharks about. I was terrified of sharks. I entered into a room, that looked to be once very elegant and richly decorated. There was a table overturned, and a chair was set close beside it, one leg broken. There was a bed against a broken wall, and beside it, in the corner, stood a full-length mirror. I approached it cautiously, but as I did, I saw something terrible coming towards me. I gave a start and stopped. It also stopped. I waited for a bit, wondering what this thing was and if it was dangerous. I crept forward. It did as well. I stopped again. It did too. I turned my head, keeping a close eye on the monster. It copied me.

Then suddenly a ridiculous thought came into my head. Testing the theory, I decided to swim nearer, bracing myself for the outcome. The creature also approached with the same uneasiness. Finally, we were only a few feet apart and I could see the details of this monster. It had the body of a very large snake. The neck alone was probably close to five feet long. Its snout was lengthy and narrow and on its bottom lip were too fangs sticking out. Its eyes were red and watery, and its short fins stuck to its side, moving just enough to keep the beast floating. The creature was starting to cry and tried to lift a fin to wipe away the tears, and I copied simultaneously, for I had finally come to an understanding. I was the monster.

How did such a thing happen, and why? I didn't like this place anymore and I wanted to get away and hide. I couldn't bear to see myself like this. I wailed loudly, but I didn't hear my voice. Instead, I heard the roar of a giant beast, and the impact broke the mirror. Then quite suddenly, the reflection changed. The beast disappeared and out of the mirror, there came a light, slightly golden, but very blinding. To my utter surprise, there was a low but soft rumble that came from it. But I was no stranger to this noise. I had heard it before, coming out of Alice's bedroom when she had been sick.

"Who...who are you?" I asked nervously.

"I am..." it said slowly.

"What do you mean?" I turned in circles, looking for the owner of the voice. "What are you? What do you want?"

"I want you..." it said.

"WHO ARE YOU!" I screamed. The roar echoed underneath the water and caused a shock of ripples to occur.

"I am. I am the tunnel that brought you and your cousin out of your world. I am the kiss of the Good Witch, Glinda. I am the creature that rescued you from the mouth of fire. I am the sandstorm that drove you out of the desert so that you should reach water in time. I am the lion that saved your cousin from certain death. And I am the cat that waited for you to stumble over it so that you would meet me face to face."

I was silent for a long while, trying to understand what all of this meant. "But...I don't see you."

"That is because you are not looking hard enough, child." Then the voice dropped to a whisper. "Open your eyes and allow your heart to find me." I closed my eyes, took a breath, and then opened them again. I stared harder at the mirror, squinting as if trying to break it into pieces with my eyes. The golden light became brighter and more golden, and then suddenly, out of it, I did see it. A lion. The lion. It was the most beautiful thing I thought I'd ever seen. "I am...Aslan!"

"Aslan," I echoed into a whisper. I felt a rush of peace sweep over me and for a moment, forgot about my current physical state. But only for a moment. "But...Aslan. Did you also change me?"

"No, daughter," said the lion. "You did that yourself."

"I don't understand. I couldn't have. I was human one minute and then...this the next."

"Child, you have allowed bitterness, and anger, and unbelief to enter your heart. I am merely showing you what you have become."

I swallowed, and understood immediately. So, this was an image of my heart. The guilt washed over me very quickly and I became very ashamed of myself. I cast my eyes away from the beautiful lion. "Will...will I always be like this?" I asked.

"No," the lion replied softly. "But you had to know what it felt like for Alice when you lied to her."

I nodded. "I'm sorry, Aslan. Do you forgive me?"

"Yes. All is forgiven. But we must hurry. There is still much for you to do before your journey is over, and your coming to this new land is just what is needed to set things in motions."

"What things?" I asked.

"You will see in time. But now..." Then to my wild surprise, the lion stepped out of the mirror and was purring. I had no idea I was crying until he bent his head and licked my cheeks with his tongue. Then he touched my forehead and gave me a lion's kiss. I immediately felt my spirits renewed and a new hope entered my soul. I felt strong. "Let the transformation begin," he said.

I began to feel a strange tingling over my body, and I realized that I was struggling hard to breathe. I did what anyone would do when they were drowning, and I frantically began swimming towards the surface of the water. I broke through and took a gasp of air while screaming in pain, for just before I reached the surface, something sharp had pierced the skin on my upper arm, and now the water around me was stained red. It suddenly felt paralyzing cold, and I thought I was going into shock. My eyes went hazy as I felt a pair of strong arms pull me out of the water, and then a voice said, "Are you okay?"

"Will she be all right?" asked the boy. He had dark curls framing his face and his brows were knitted together in concern.

"Never fear, my lad," said another person. He was much older, but also had curling hair, though it was greying. "She probably had a nasty shock is all and just needs time to rest. Give her time. She'll come around."

There was a moment of silence, and then, "I've never seen one up close before, Uncle. Do you suppose it's safe having them here?"

The older person cleared some nervousness out of his throat. "Of course, dear boy! Do you think I would have them stay here if it wasn't safe?"

"She's very fair," said the boy, ignoring his uncle's question. He extended a hand out toward her face, but the other person slapped it before it could touch the skin.

"Ah! Manners, Frodo-lad! What has gotten into that brain of yours?"

Frodo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Uncle."

"Now let's leave her be, lad. She'll wake up when she's ready. Yes, when she's ready."

I felt like I was being rocked back and forth against the gentle waves. I could hear the creaking of wood all around me, and the muffled voices of seagulls could be heard somewhere around me. I opened my eyes. I was in a room that was made out of wood and it was swaying up and down, making me slightly nauseous. I lifted a hand to ease the throbbing pain that was engulfing my head when I stopped. The right sleeve of my shirt had been torn away and there was a red-blotched bandage tied around my upper arm. I realized my pain and cradled the wounded arm in my other. After a while, I decided I should try to get up and figure out where I was. Just as I pulled my legs out from underneath the heavy blanket, I heard footsteps echoing into the room. A man shortly appeared. He was tall and very muscular. His hair was dark, nearly black, and his face was scruffy. He had a glass of water in his hand and was watching me now with curious eyes.

"Who are you and where am I?" I asked putting a hand up as a warning not to come any closer.

"Is that the way you greet everyone who rescues you?" he asked, but he had a smirk on his face. "My name is Will, and you are aboard the Seafarer."

"Seafarer?" I repeated.

"Yes, it's a ship... Have you heard of it?"

"I'm on a boat?" I asked, looking around.

The man was silent for a moment, but watched me with great interest. He stepped forward cautiously and offered me the glass of water. "Here," he said. "Have something to drink. You need it."

"What do you mean?"

"You've been out for three days straight, although you talked quite a bit in your sleep. Something about Aslan and Middle-earth, oh and someone named Alice."

I spit out my water. "Alice!" I cried. Unfortunately, the man, or Will, was in short range of my water missile, and was now shaking his hands to rid himself of the spoiled water. "Alice, did you see a—a little girl? She's my cousin. She'd be 'this' tall, and has dark hair like me. Oh, have you seen her?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I only found you, and I'm glad I did. You were nearly drowned." My arm gave a tinge of pain and I grasped it to provide it some comfort. "Oh, and, uh...I'm sorry about that. I'm afraid that's my doing. You see, I thought I saw a sea monster of some sort and I meant to hit it with my harpoon, but it would appear I missed, which is quite rare."

"You didn't miss..." I mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?"

I sighed. "Look, thank you for rescuing me and all, but we really must find my cousin and my other friends. I have to get back to land. That's where they were last, but I don't even know where we are."

"Well, the only land closest to where we are is just off yonder, about two days journey."

"Two days?"

"Calm yourself, little maiden. We will find your cousin. I'm headed in that direction anyway."

I frowned. "Please don't call me that."

"Well, then what is your name?"

"Alayna," I said.

"Very well, Alayna. Where did you see your cousin last?"

I sighed, feeling the fear of not knowing where she was. "I don't know. We'd just got there. There were trees everywhere, and there was a hill that I fell down. I think there was some kind of building in the distance, a grey building. I don't know. I wasn't focused on that."

"A building?" Will's soft expression suddenly stiffened. "And a hill?"

"Yeah. Why? What does that mean?"

"It means we must hurry. You and your friends may have accidentally trespassed on the King's castle, and if they were caught, they may now be prisoners."

A/N – No, it is not Will from Pirates of the Caribbean. In fact, his real name may not even be Will at all! But there is a hint in this chapter as to who he really is (it has nothing to do with the ship).

Next Chapter – More secrets and mysteries as the race is on to find Alice, Tom, and Charming.

Author42 – Nope, good guess though.

Mwang – Indeed it is!