THE SERPENT AND THE LION
One of my friends proposed this idea to me. It sounded like a very good idea, and after giving it some thought, I decided to try to make it into a full-fledged story. I like how the first bit turned out; let's hope the rest of the story turns out just as well, if not better. Cookies for those who leave me with a nice, juicy review at the end!
Characters (with exceptions) © C.S. Lewis and Disney/Walden Media
Story © unicorn-skydancer08
All rights reserved.
Preface: The Calm Before the Storm
Ten years had passed since Jadis, the ill-famed White Witch, was defeated by the Pevensie children, through the aid and grace of the almighty Lion, Aslan.
Within those ten years alone, Narnia had flourished resplendently. The four Pevensie children, now renowned as the Four Kings and Queens of the realm, now blossomed into four fine young adults, ruled well together, in harmony and uprightness. They were gracious and kind to everyone and everything, and were dearly loved by all who knew them.
They made good laws, kept the peace in the land, and maintained a civil relationship with their neighboring countries.
King Peter, otherwise known as the High King, who held the uppermost position of his siblings, was as strong and brave as any other man or creature alive. Though he sometimes let his brawn override his brain, and his imperial status take priority over his common sense, he was nonetheless a great leader, and a fierce fighter.
He was especially notorious for his skill with the sword. Precious few people within and outside Narnia could outdo him in combat.
King Edmund was also a master of swordsmanship, and one of those select few able to beat Peter and live to tell about it. Once a traitor to Narnia, Edmund was now among Narnia's most loyal defenders, willing to give his life for his country and his people. Unlike Peter, Edmund was the more quiet, sensitive type, taking time to listen thoroughly to both sides of an affair before coming up with a final decision. He very rarely lost his temper, and he was never too busy to stop whatever he was doing to spend time with his loved ones.
He loved it whenever his sisters, or brother, would come seeking a heart-to-heart talk with him, even if the talk lasted for only a few minutes.
Queen Susan was among the most beautiful women ever to be found in all the land, or in all the lands beyond. With her long, luxurious dark hair that flowed clear down her back, her creamy complexion, and her shining blue-gray eyes that matched the sea, she was about as fair as any girl could get. Yet somehow, she managed to look even prettier with every day. Many a handsome beau came to the Castle Cair Paravel, from far and wide, to seek the young queen's hand in marriage. Though Susan told her siblings she wasn't quite ready to settle down yet, her siblings had a shrewd suspicion that their sister was enjoying the attention from these men more than she let on.
And Queen Lucy, the youngest of the whole royal lot, was like sunshine and fresh air, on the first day of spring. Though she was not as stunning as Susan in her physical appearance, Lucy maintained a different kind of beauty. She had a smile that could melt the heart of an ogre, and a sparkle in her eyes that could easily light up a darkened room.
Unlike the rest of her siblings, who were bold, intrepid, quiet, and reserved, Lucy was a more bubbly, lighthearted, vivacious sort of girl.
She cared very little for makeup and fancy dresses, jewels and trinkets, silks and satins, perfect manners and perfect conduct, and least of all for the stuffy, stifling royal prats she was forced to merge with on an almost daily basis. She would much rather run through a wide field of flowers in her bare feet, with the wind catching her long red-gold hair; or else go for a swim in the Eastern Ocean in her good dress, or dance around a blazing bonfire in the middle of the night with the fauns and dryads of the Western Wood.
Notwithstanding these little discrepancies between the royal foursome, for the most part they got along extremely well, and the Golden Age of Narnia was a very suitable title for that era.
But this time of joy and prosperity was not to last.
For, unknown to the Four Kings and Queens, unknown to all the rest of Narnia, a great evil was stirring. Even after the White Witch, after the countless other foes they had fought and trounced, they were about to face something else…something more ancient, more powerful, and far more terrible than anything they'd ever faced, or could ever imagine.
Like a deadly serpent pending its prey, this particular evil lay in hiding, biding its time, waiting for just the right moment to strike…
"In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper."
~ Proverbs 23:32 (NIV)
TO BE CONTINUED…
