FLIGHT OF FREEDOM
Just a little something that randomly popped into my head. You'll read about Terence in this, but for once, Tumnus won't be involved. Read and review, and save your flames for your barbecue grill.
Characters (with exceptions) © C.S. Lewis and Disney/Walden Media
Story © unicorn-skydancer08
All rights reserved.
Lucy sat alone on the soft white beach below Cair Paravel, hugging her knees to her chest and gloomily watching the Eastern Sea as the tide rolled in. Normally, she was a very upbeat, vivacious girl, but today, tears were trickling steadily down her face, and she felt as though her heart would surely break. She never made a sound, aside from an occasional sniff, and the only movement she made was to lift her hand to brush futilely at her moist cheeks.
Presently, a large shadow overcame her, and she raised her head to find her friend Terence standing over her, looking down at her. His bright gold horn shone dazzlingly in the sun, and his long mane rippled like silver water in the breeze. A look of gentle concern filled his eyes, which were as blue as the ocean itself, if not bluer.
"Are you all right, Lucy?" the young unicorn asked. "What's the matter?"
"N-nothing," Lucy murmured, ducking her head self-consciously to hide her tears. "I-I'm fine."
Terence, of course, never bought that for a minute. "Come, now, my dear girl," he persisted, "you can tell me." He lowered his graceful head to her level, and nudged her lightly with his snout.
Lucy sighed, but gave in. "Well," she said slowly, "Peter and Edmund took their horses and went for a ride today, in the Western Wood. I wanted to go with them. But…" She trailed off.
"What?" Terence questioned.
Lowering her head to her chest, Lucy answered, very gloomily, "Peter thinks riding is unladylike."
All her life, Lucy had dreamed of riding a horse. To her, there were few creatures in the world more beautiful, or more splendid, than a horse; and to actually ride one seemed nothing short of paradise. She often heard it said that a horse meant freedom, and she recalled hearing a proverb somewhere that the wind of heaven was that which blew between a horse's ears.
Now, as a queen of Narnia, she had easy access to riding, as they owned several horses in their royal stables. But Peter wouldn't hear of it. Somehow, Lucy's eldest brother held onto the notion that only boys and men could ride, and that it was much more proper for girls and women to ride in carriages and wagons, with their skirts tucked primly about their ankles. Edmund seemed to understand Lucy's feelings much better, and had tried several times to persuade Peter to give their sister permission, but Peter refused to change his mind.
"It's out of the question," he'd said that morning, when Lucy pleaded with him. "Girls are not meant to ride horses. It's simply not becoming."
It wasn't fair, Lucy thought bitterly.
How was it that she could be forbidden from doing something she yearned so much to do, just because of her femininity? She could ride as well as any man, if only given the opportunity. As much as she loved her brother, she couldn't help resenting Peter's stubborn nature. She wished that for once—just once—she could do exactly what she pleased, when she pleased, without him keeping her tethered on a leash. She was twelve years old, after all; she knew how to take care of herself by now.
Terence said nothing, at first. Then he had an idea. "Would you really like to ride, Lucy?" he asked. "Right now?"
"Of course, I would, Terence," Lucy didn't hesitate to say. "More than anything."
"Well, come on, then," said the unicorn, kneeling down in the sand next to her, "let's go!"
Surprised, Lucy immediately jerked her head up. "What?" she gasped.
"Why bother with one of those silly horses, when you have a unicorn right here?"
Lucy knitted her brows in disbelief. Was Terence serious?
"Come on," Terence persisted. Slyly, he added on, "No one's watching."
"But, Peter—"
"What Peter doesn't know won't hurt him."
"But I don't have a saddle, or a bridle."
"You don't need either of those things to ride a unicorn. Just climb on my back, and leave everything else to me."
Lucy thought about it a moment longer, then agreed. She knew Peter wouldn't be happy if he found out about this, but she figured it ought to be all right, especially since it was Terence who offered the ride in the first place. Besides, riding a unicorn sounded much more thrilling. So, without further hesitation, Lucy hauled herself astride Terence, and held onto his mane as he ascended to all fours again. She gave a slight start as she felt herself rise from the ground, but then a grin a mile wide split her face, and her heart started racing with excitement.
"Ready?" Terence asked her, glancing briefly over his shoulder at her.
"I'm more than ready!"
"Hang on tight!" With that, Terence took off at a swift, steady canter down the beach. He loped along the shoreline with perfect ease, gliding like a feather.
It turned out he was more than right about there being no need for a saddle. Lucy could easily stay on his back without one. She could even lie down flat if she wanted to, without getting thrown off. Unlike horses, who bounced and jarred their riders, Terence moved with such grace and poise that Lucy hardly felt a thing. The only way she could tell she was even moving was from the way the world rushed past her eyes, and from the way Terence's mane billowed in her face. Lucy felt as if she were flying, just like a bird. She felt as if she could float away from the earth, rise to the very stars. Pure exhilaration flooded the girl's body; she could feel it pulsing in her very veins, and as Terence carried her onward, she gave a shout of sheer joy.
This was easily the most fun she'd ever had in her life! This beat horse-riding by a long shot; surely, a horse couldn't compare to this!
Lucy reveled in the rush of the wind in her face, the feeling of weightlessness, and the wild sensation of being free. It was like she and Terence were the only two beings in the entire world, and there were no cares or worries. Terence seemed to take pleasure in Lucy's delight, and he promptly lengthened his stride so as to go even faster.
They soon reached the end of the beach, where the cool green trees of the Western Wood replaced the fine white sands.
Terence wove his way through the elaborate maze of trees like water, all but floating over the logs and stones, and essentially anything that stood in his path. Once, he jumped a hollow in the earth that was over three feet wide, and well over four feet deep. For those few glorious seconds in the air, Lucy was convinced they'd just sprouted wings. Then Terence landed smoothly on the other side, and kept going, never once faltering in his stride. "This is amazing!" Lucy cried to him. "How can you bear to even stop?"
"Well, I do have to take some time to rest, and to eat," the white stallion replied, sounding amused. "I could go on for hours like this—but not forever."
Somehow, Lucy wished the ride could last forever.
Then, quite suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Edmund appeared, astride Phillip. They almost collided with Terence and Lucy; Lucy gave a shriek, and Terence's hooves gouged up dirt as the startled unicorn slid sharply to a halt. Phillip and Edmund seemed just as surprised, if not more so. Phillip whinnied shrilly and reared up so far on his hind legs that Edmund was nearly hurled out of the saddle. Then, when they all recognized each other, everyone dared to breathe freely again.
"Lucy—Terence!" Edmund gasped, his hand over his heart. "Don't do that to me again!"
"One is liable to have a serious accident that way," added Phillip, in his rich baritone.
"Sorry," said Terence and Lucy at the same time, Terence laying his ears back slightly and lowering his head just enough to appear apologetic.
"Where's Peter?" Lucy asked, realizing Peter was not with them.
A look of great distress came over Edmund's face. "There's been a terrible accident," said the boy.
Lucy's eyes widened, and she immediately felt the color drain from her own face, like water from a spigot. "What?!" she gasped.
"What happened?" Terence asked anxiously, his nostrils aquiver. "Is—is Peter okay?"
"Peter was thrown off his horse, and he broke his leg," Edmund explained grimly. "Phillip and I were just on our way to fetch help."
"Oh, no!" cried Lucy. She clapped a hand to her forehead in dismay.
"We need your fireflower juice right away, Queen Lucy," said Phillip. "Do you happen to have it on hand?"
"I got a better idea," Terence spoke up. "I'll tend to Peter myself."
"But what can you do, Terence?" Edmund queried.
"I'm a unicorn, remember?"
In that instant, Lucy recalled that unicorns possessed healing powers in their horns. They could cure almost any injury, and neutralize almost any poison.
And with Terence's speed and agility, they could get to Peter much sooner.
"That's a great idea, Terence!" the girl said.
"Where did you leave him?" Terence asked Edmund.
"Just by the Great River, about a mile or so off Beaversdam—" No sooner were the directions out of Edmund's mouth than Terence was off like a falling star, with Lucy clinging tightly to him.
Lucy didn't even care about the trouble she would most likely land herself in, when her eldest brother found her out. She urged Terence to go faster, notwithstanding the stallion was already galloping as fast as he possibly could. Terence moved practically with the speed of light, his white legs essentially a blur. Within fifteen minutes, they at last came across Peter.
He was exactly where Edmund had said he would be; the young man lay on the ground in a crumpled heap, not moving at all. "Peter!" Lucy shrieked to high heaven when she saw him.
Terence forthwith pulled to yet another stop, and Lucy jumped down from his back and hurried swiftly to her brother's side. "Peter!" she exclaimed again, dropping to her knees. "Oh, Peter!"
Peter's face was pasty white. A thin layer of sweat glazed his forehead, and he was shaking all over from what could only be described as pain.
His right leg was all bent and twisted grotesquely; it sickened Lucy just to look at it.
"Lucy…" Peter groaned, when he became aware of his sister's presence.
"Are you okay, Peter?" Terence asked as he joined them. His concern was genuine.
"No," was all Peter could say. His leg felt as if it were on fire, as if over a thousand white-hot knives had been driven right through the bone.
It wrenched Lucy's heart to think of how her poor brother could have gotten so badly hurt. "Terence…can you heal him?" she asked tremulously, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Terence dipped his head, examining the wounded leg closely. "Yes, I believe so," he said a moment later, to both Lucy and Peter's blessed relief. "But I'll need your help," Terence added on. He nodded toward several large rocks nearby that were firmly embedded in the earth. "You must force Peter's foot between those rocks, and pull back until his leg is straight."
"What?" Lucy blinked at the unicorn, unsure of whether she'd heard right. Even Peter stared at Terence in disbelief.
"The leg is broken very badly," Terence explained, "and I will be able to mend it more properly if the bones are more aligned."
Peter's already pale face grew even paler at the idea.
Lucy hesitated, not wanting to cause her brother more agony than he was already in; but after a minute, she nodded in acquiescence. "A-all right."
So she half-dragged Peter over to the rocks (it was no easy task, considering how much bigger and heavier he was), and did just as Terence asked. Peter cooperated with his sister, and even helped to pull himself back when his foot was wedged securely into place—though the spate of pain was nothing short of torture, and he actually screamed. He very nearly blacked out on the spot; Lucy felt her stomach churn with nausea, and her own leg ached in sympathy. But then Terence touched the tip of his horn to Peter's throbbing leg, and, with a flash of gold, it healed within two seconds. Even after the pain had vanished, Peter lay still a while longer, slowly regaining his breath, his face shining with both tears and perspiration.
Lucy stayed with him, tenderly brushing his damp hair off his feverish brow, feeling their roles switch for the time being. At length, when Peter felt he could stand, Lucy helped him to his feet. Then she flung her arms about his waist and hugged him so tightly that she nearly cracked his ribs. Almost without thinking, Peter enfolded her in his own arms, and hugged her back.
When Terence moved in closer to them, Lucy embraced the stallion as well, while he warmly nuzzled her hair.
"Thanks, Terence," said Peter fervently, when the unicorn's eyes met his. It was the only thing he could find to say.
Terence nodded mildly, and replied, "Don't mention it."
Later that same day, toward evening, Lucy stole quietly into Peter's chambers. She found him by one of the windows, gazing out at the world with his arms crossed over his broad chest.
Gathering up her courage, she spoke up. "Peter?"
At the sound of her voice, Peter immediately turned his face to her. "Lucy," he acknowledged.
"May I come in?"
He nodded, and answered quietly, "Please do."
So Lucy stepped further into the room, though she moved very slowly, and with every step she was more tempted to turn around and make a run for it.
"Peter," she said meekly, hardly able to meet her brother's gaze, "there's something I have to tell you…"
"There's something I have to tell you," Peter countered.
Lucy knew that he knew about her sneaking a ride behind his back, and she braced herself. Yet to her utmost astonishment, Peter, instead of telling her off or reprimanding her, took her into his sturdy arms and held onto her. When he was looking her in the face again, he asked her very seriously, "Lu, will you forgive me?"
"Forgive you?" Lucy knitted her brows at him incredulously. "What for, Peter?"
"For being so stubborn and unreasonable." Absently, Peter toyed with his sister's silky red-gold hair. "I know how much you've longed to ride," he admitted, "and after the way you and Terence helped me today, I realize how unfair I've been. Will you forgive me?" His plea touched Lucy's heart; she knew, in reality, she ought to be the one asking for forgiveness.
But she smiled, and answered, "Of course."
He smiled also, looking greatly relieved. The two embraced again, and then Peter said, "To make it up to you, Lu, we're getting a horse, just for you."
"Really?" Lucy's eyes instantly lit up at the prospect. "Do you mean it?"
He chucked her playfully under the chin. "Since when do I say things I don't mean?" he teased. "Yes, you silly goose! It'll be purely yours to keep, to care for, and to ride whenever you want."
Ecstatic, Lucy flung herself at him once more, nearly knocking him flat. "Oh, thank you, Peter!" she gushed. "Thank you so much! You're the best brother in the world, the absolute best!"
"Well…nothing's too good for my little sister," Peter grunted, hardly able to speak due to the fact that Lucy was squeezing him so hard he could barely breathe.
Later, when Lucy told Terence all about it, the unicorn mused, "Huh, talk about a change of heart!"
"I know!" Lucy said. "Isn't it incredible? One day, Peter refuses to let me within so much as three feet of a horse; the next, he bestows one on me, for keeps!"
"Now I've seen everything." With a hint of disappointment, Terence added on, "I guess this means you won't be needing me anymore, then."
"Oh, no," Lucy didn't hesitate to say. "Quite the contrary, Terence—I plan to ride you more often! That is, if you agree to it."
The unicorn looked puzzled. "But you just said you were getting your own horse."
"I know, and it will be a pleasure to ride it." Placing her hand on Terence's flank, Lucy added cannily, "But, personally, I like riding a unicorn better."