Yorkshire, So Very Far Away
James Herriot, pilot trainee for the RAF, lay asleep in his bunk. Not surprisingly, he dreamed of Helen and home back in Darrowby. When removed from the real thing, dreaming was the best substitute to being there. It was in the middle of the night when he awoke to a hand shaking him gently.
"Herriot, wake up. Get dressed quietly and report outside the barracks" a large figure said in the dark. "Special night flight training. Get moving." The figure moved off and James rubbed his face before swinging his legs out and down to stand up.
He made his way partly by feel to the foot of his bed where his cloths lay out for quick muster. In no time he was dressed and, in the pale light of the room made his way to the door and slipped out into the night. Waiting beside the door was the tall officer that had awakened him; James saluted. "Herriot reporting as ordered sir" he said, barely suppressing a yawn.
"Very good. I am Captain Paravel and I am taking you up on a special night flight. Follow me." The captain set off at a brisk pace and James hurried to keep pace. They crossed the tarmac and walked up to a converted Vickers Wellington that was already idling. Captain Paravel climbed up the few steps and James followed into the aircraft. The captain secured the door. "Take the co-pilot seat and strap in."
James did as he was told. The captain sat and secured his safety belt, then donned headgear. He spoke briefly into the microphone and worked the throttles as he steered the plane clear of its parking spot and onto the runway. A final clearance was given and the captain gave it full throttle, gathering speed down the dimly lit runway before finally taking off. After the initial climb, the captain throttled back as the engines settled into a steady rrrRRAAARRrrr rrrRRAAARRrrr rrrRRAAARRrrr. James listened with half a mind as the captain talked on and on about nighttime disorientation and navigation, and the need to watch out for the hypnotic drone of the engines, the dangerous hypnotic drone they made. Between the sound of the engines, the monotone voice and the early hour James was asleep before he knew it. The captain grinned and began turning the plane.
…
The bit of turbulence woke James up from his sleep. When he looked around he noticed that it was daylight. Looking out of the side window, James saw a horrific scene below. The grassy field was strewn with bodies in all directions. A battle had been fought here, and recently. He caught sight of a few shields, carts and hand weapons but no trucks or tanks. Looking around the sky the best he could, he saw no other signs of aircraft. The plane banked and made for a clearing to one side of the battlefield.
The captain landed the plane skillfully and brought it to a halt. "Unstrap and go over your supplies in the back quickly" the captain said. James did as he was told and was surprised to find boxes of medical supplies; but not just any supplies, they were of the type that a veterinary service would use. He turned to ask what was going on and saw Captain Paravel open the door.
"James Herriot, you are a trained veterinary used to treating a large variety of animals. Now listen to me carefully: you are not in England anymore, nor anywhere on Earth. Nevertheless, you have patients out there that need your help. Save the ones that you can as quickly as you can" the captain ordered.
Before James had a chance to ask any questions, a young girl ran towards the plane. The captain said "Lucy, this is Doctor Herriot. He is a vet and will treat the wounded as best he can. James, Lucy has a cordial that contains a very powerful medicine. Use it sparingly, and only a drop when there is no other hope for it cannot be refilled. Now go heal!"
But before he climbed down from the plane the girl Lucy said "We could use some more help. Mr. Grandel!" she yelled across the field. A creature came running toward them; the upper half looked like a man and lower half looked like a goat or elk.
"Mr. Grandel, this is Mr. Herriot who is a doctor. Mr. Herriot, show Mr. Grandel what the different things are and he'll get what you need while we're with the patients." James quickly opened boxes and named the items that were within.
Out on the field, the first patient that James came to was a dog with an arrow through the chest. Its eyes were glazed over and the breathing was shallow. "It's okay boy," James said as he examined the wound "take it easy. I wish I could make you understand."
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere" said the dog.
James fell back. The dog spoke. It actually moved its mouth and words came out!
"Sorry doctor, forgot to warn you. A lot of the animals can talk here" said Lucy.
"This really isn't Earth" sputtered James. A whimper from the dog brought him back to the problem quickly. "That arrow is bad. The head went clear through and is sticking out his stomach. I really can't do much for him. I'm sorry fellow."
"This one's mine then" said Lucy. "Get the arrow out and I'll give him a drop."
James broke the shaft and pulled the arrow parts out as quickly as possible. "Now Lucy!" he said and she issued a drop on the tongue.
In less than a minute the dog was healed and wagging its tail. "Thanks doc" he said as he licked James' face for a moment. "Sorry, got excited there" he apologized as he stopped the licking.
"Right" James said. "Mr. Grandel, get a box and put thread, needles and bandages in it along with a tin of that white powder, a scalpel, and tweezers. Oh, and some of those wood splints too. We've got work to do."
And their work was cut out for them. Some of the creatures were already past saving; others were saved only by Lucy's cordial. But the majority required help that James could administer. He was so busy he scarcely noticed that time itself seemed to slow on the field, with the exception of the medical team and the patient they were working on. Magic could be the only explanation how so many could be helped so quickly. After all the patients that required Lucy were seen to, she left to join the rest of her siblings in the hills. Susan should be returning to the battle with reinforcements from the witch's castle soon.
James and Mr. Grandel continued with the lessor injuries until all had been treated to the best extent possible on the field. It certainly helped matters to be able to talk with his patients for once. No more guessing about the location of a pain or the type of an injury.
James stumbled back to the airplane exhausted. It felt like he had spent all day working on his patients, but in fact the sun scarcely moved from the same spot in the sky as before. Mr. Grandel joined him and sat on the ground in the shade of the plane.
"You are a blessing today, son of Adam" Mr. Grandel said. "Aslan chose well when he brought you here. I am impressed with your abilities, and many are in your debt because of them."
"Son of Adam, right. I was called that several times today by different people…um…patients. What does that mean?" James asked, also sitting down.
"It means you are a man, a human. Probably from the same place as Queen Lucy and her sister and brothers. There were humans here many years ago, the stories say, but none now save you five. The nearest humans are many miles away to the south. But you are weary so let me play you a song of my people; we're called fauns by the way." He produced a pipe from somewhere, although James had seen no pocket, and began playing a tune. The blades of grass seemed to dance as the music moved around the air; James could feel his exhaustion ease considerably.
A thought occurred to him. "You said Aslan chose well; I was brought here by a Captain Paravel."
"Paravel?" Grandel stopped playing and laughed at what must have been a private joke. "Sorry, but that was an interesting name to choose. No, you were brought here by Aslan; he only appeared to you as this Captain Paravel. See, he's in front of this vehicle now."
James looked under the fuselage and saw the captain coming around the front of the plane. But as he rounded the corner, his appearance shifted and he became a great lion. James had been subject to too many wild and odd experiences over the last few hours to be frightened; he was almost in a state of shock so that he simply accepted this newest revelation with little effort. Grandel had risen and was bowing.
"Jim, you see me now as I truly am here. Grandel spoke the truth when he said that many Narnians are in your debt; even those who fought for the White Witch have benefited from your help. I wish that we could have you stay and teach your skills to those that are here, but that is not meant to be. In Narnia the name Herriot shall be spoken in gratitude and reverence for generations to come. But you must return to your world for there are creatures there that need you too."
"Thanks Aslan. Sir. Majesty." James stumbled a bit and Grandel laughed. "Sorry, I'm still getting things sorted that happened today. I think I should write them down or else no one will believe me."
"Do not tell others of what happened here today, for most will think you a liar or worse. Take comfort that in time you will write of your own adventures as a doctor back home. In the meantime remember to respect and honor all creatures, be they great or small. And one day you will find yourself speaking on their behalf while also inspiring others to follow in your profession, Friend of Narnia."
"I shall Aslan." James turned and stuck his hand out to Grandel, who looked at it oddly. Not knowing what to do, he gingerly stuck out his hand and James grasped it and shook it a few times. "Mr. Grandel, you have the makings of a great doctor. Thanks for your help."
"The gratitude is mine, Mr. Herriot. I thank you for your kind praise; I don't know what a doctor is exactly, but if you are one then there are many things I could aspire to that are worse."
Aslan changed his appearance into that of Captain Paravel again. "This way Jim, it is time" he said as he pointed into the plane.
James climbed the steps, took one last look around and stepped through the opening…
…only to find himself in the barracks' latrine in the middle of the night in his sleeping attire. He checked the clock on the wall and saw that it was 0100, the same time he had boarded the plane. He made his way back to his bunk and lay down. As he started to drift off to sleep, he thought of his last look at Narnia. Something wasn't the same about Captain Paravel. He looked a little different, and vaguely familiar; maybe he'd think of who later. With a faint remnant of Mr. Grandel's tune playing in his head, he soon fell fast asleep and again traveled in dreams to Helen and Yorkshire, so very far away.
The End
A/N: While watching the first Narnia movie, I was looking at the first battle site against the White Witch's army. As the battle moved into the hills, a lot of combatants would have been left behind. How do you treat all the wounded? The animals and creatures must have had some small skills of their own, but it would be nice to have a trained vet come in to help; someone located in England during the same time as the Pevensies. Hmmm, who could that be...maybe bring two book series that I enjoyed together.