. C H A P T E R // O N E .
For years, the Venomancers had been part of the Order alongside Aslan. They were few in number but fierce. The Venomancer race were a mix of foxes and elves and had a certain lusty charm to them. They were also extremely skilled in magic, able to control the element of fire and summon weapons. Though the order consisted of Aslan, the Venomancers, and the White Witch, there was another included; The Blood Witch. She wanted to take over Narnia and a war started from it. In this war, all but one of the Venomancers were eliminated. Though it was a victory for Narnia, there had also been great loss...
I ran towards the awful stink and footsteps of the wolves in my fox form. I had been wandering around trying to find the two sons of Adam and daughters of Eve ever since the word had gotten to me. I had to find them before Jadis did. Jadis...I hated her with everything I had. She was the very reason that Aslan and I had returned.
"They have to be somewhere around here!" I thought. I was starting to get tired from aimlessly running around in search of them. The fact that I smelled wolves miles ahead of me meant trouble. They only served the White Witch.
"Damn! Their smell is getting farther away. I have to catch up!" I thought as the scent of the wolves began to fade as well as the scent of the humans. I continued to run, but the wolves proved to be faster than me. They also had a considerable head start to where ever they were heading to. Finally I came to a small clearing surrounded by trees. I looked up in one of them and saw three humans as well as two beavers. I wondered why there was only three, but it had to be them. They smelled like humans, and why would they be hiding if they weren't? In the middle of the clearing was... a fox... It was Carack, one of my close friends. Carack looked at me, flashing a small smile and then looked away as wolves surrounded him.
"Greetings, gents. Lost something have we?" Carack asked.
"Don't patronize me! I know where your allegiance lies. We're looking for some humans." Maugrim spat back at him.
"Humans, here in Narnia? That's a valuable bit of information, don't you think?" Carack said with a little laugh. A wolf came from behind and charged for Carack, I jumped out of my hiding spot and tackled him to the ground. I quickly got up at the same time as he and barred my fangs. I pounced at the wolf again, getting on top of him and was about to sink my teeth into his neck when I heard Carack yelp.
"Make another move, and your friend is dead." Maugrim said, calmly. I backed away from the wolf, softly growling.
Maugrim turned to Carack. "Your reward is your life. It's not much. But still...Where are the fugitives?" He said with a small chuckle after his insult. I looked around at the rest of the wolves, circling the three of us. They smiled at me and laughed. I shot a look of disgust back at them.
"Hey boss, can we keep this one for ourselves?" One of them asked.
"Who do you think you are? !I'll rip you to shreds!" I growled.
"Back off, pussy cat. It was really idiotic of you to come in here like a hero thinking you could save your friend, seeing as we outnumber you by a hell of a lot." Maugrim said.
"Damn...I can't turn into my other form, otherwise they'll know who I am. Things will only get worse if they know that, because they'll know about Aslan." I thought. In some way, he was right. It was pretty stupid of me to just have jumped out in the open like that. I wasn't really thinking since I saw Carack get hurt. Maugrim turned to Carack.
"Now, where are they?" he asked. I looked at Carack with sadness, my eyes begged him not to tell.
"North... They ran north." Carack answered. He had lied to them. Inside, I was smiling, but to make it believable, I hung my head in dismay.
"Smell them out!" Maugrim yelled. The wolf holding Carack in his jaws tossed him on the ground as the rest of the wolves ran off. I yelled his name and ran over to him as he tried to get up. He chuckled as I approached him.
"It's been a while since I last saw you, Talath." He said.
"Carack...I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner." I said to him.
"Did you say Talath!?!?!" A voice said. I turned around as I saw a beaver jump down from the tree that he was hiding in. Another Beaver, a female one this time followed him shortly.
"Beaver! What do you think you're doing!" She scolded him.
"They're gone now, and look who's with us! I knew it all along! I thought you were her from the second I saw you!" The male beaver exclaimed. I ignored the excited beaver and looked at the three humans who had climbed down from the tree. Two Daughters of Eve and… One Son of Adam, almost like the prophecy said.
We were now all inside some small shelter with a fire burning. I was now in my "human" form. I probably could've passed for a human... if I didn't have fox ears where normal human ears would be and a big bushy fox tail. In this form, I had long auburn hair in a braid that hung a couple inches above my waist. I wore a short maroon maiden's button up dress with a small yale blue cloak. Underneath the dress I had black tights and beige boots. Carack was on my lap, resting while I treated his wounds. Since the very moment I had changed, I noticed that the eldest of the humans, Peter, would often stare at me.
"They were helping Tumnas. OW!" Carack groaned. "Can you be any more gentle, Talath?" He asked.
"Well if you'd stop squirming around so much, this would be a lot easier!" I replied.
"Are you alright?" Lucy asked him.
"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite. OW!" Carack whimpered.
"Sorry, Carack... But getting down to business, where is your other brother?" I asked the three humans. There was a silence between everyone. Peter broke it.
"He's been captured by the White Witch." He said.
I growled softly. "That little..." Before I could dwell on the thought of Jadis any longer, Carack rose and jumped off of my lap.
"Don't worry, Talath. I'm sure we'll get him back somehow. Thank you for your kindness, but that's all the help I have time for." Carach said.
"We have time for." I corrected him.
"You're leaving?" Lucy asked.
"It has been a pleasure my queen, and an honor" Carack said, bowing. He lifted up his head again after a few seconds and continued speaking.
"But time is short and Aslan himself has asked me to gather more troops." He said.
"I must go as well." I added.
Oh yes, he told me to make sure you stay with the humans if you find them." Carack said.
"Did he now?" I asked with a little change of tone in my voice.
"No he didn't, but you know they need your protection, Talath." Carack said.
I sighed and then smiled a little. "Tell Aslan where I am when you go back, then."
"That's the least I can do." Carack said, obliging the favor.
"You've seen Aslan?" The male beaver asked.
"So you're the one he was talking to before. I thought I saw you." I said to the Beaver.
"What's he like?" The Beaver's wife asked.
"Like everything we've ever heard." Carack answered.
"He's a lot more than that, Carack." I said.
"You're not letting me finish." Carack said. He looked at humans and then spoke again.
"You'll be glad to have him on your side against the Witch." He said.
"But we're not planning on fighting any witch." Susan said.
"Surely, King Peter, the prophecy." Carack said to Peter with a concerned look on his face.
"We can't go to war without you." I added. Peter looked at Susan and then looked back at the fire.
"We just want our brother back..." He said. Those words had pierced through all of the hearts of the Narnians surrounding the three humans like swords sharper than unicorn horns.
Of course, I was with the three humans and the two beavers as they were walking along. We all stopped when we were in a perfect spot to see over the Frozen River.
"Aslan's camp is near the Stone Table, just across the frozen river." I said.
"River?" Peter questioned.
"The river's been frozen solid for over a hundred years, so I wouldn't be worried about it melting under your feet." Beaver said, reassuring Peter.
"It's so far." Susan said.
"It's the world dear, did you expect it to be small?" Mrs. Beaver exclaimed.
"Smaller." Susan replied.
"Let's get going, I have a feeling that we're going to bump into the Secret Police soon." I said, taking in a deep breath. The six of us continued on walking across the frozen river.
"C'mon humans! While we're still young." Mr. Beaver said. I was walking next to him in my fox form.
"Yeah seriously, you seem to be getting slower and slower." I said with a little laugh.
"If he tell us to hurry one more time." Peter said picking up Lucy. "I'm going to turn him into a big fluffy hat."
"I find that highly offensive, you know." I yelled back at them. Peter laughed and apologized.
"Hurry up! C'mon Talath, you're getting slow as well!" Mr. Beaver said. I stopped and sniffed the air.
"What's the matter?" Peter asked.
"No! Behind you! It's her! Run!" Mr. Beaver yelled. I changed into my "human form" and shoved the three humans in front of me. Watching the back of them as I ran.
"Hurry!" Mr. Beaver yelled as he found a hiding spot. All of us hid under a little alcove and stayed as quiet as possible. I heard the sleigh stop right above the alcove where we were hidden. Footsteps followed as well as a shadow that was casted in the snow in front of us. After a while, the person stepped away.
"That's a little too fat to be Jadis...." I thought.
"Maybe, she's gone." Lucy whispered.
"I suppose I'll go look." Susan said.
"No! You're worth nothing to Narnia dead!" Mr. Beaver said, clutching Susan's coat sleeve.
"But neither are you, Beaver!" Mrs. Beaver exclaimed. Before Mr. Beaver could say anymore, I spoke up.
"I'll go." I said.
"But Tala-" Once again, I interrupted him.
If it is her, I'm the only one that stands a chance against her..." I said. I took a glance at Peter. "for now anyway." Peter looked a little nervous as I transformed into back into my fox form and climbed out of the alcove. I was nervous, but the feeling faded when I saw that it wasn't the witch that followed you. It was...