It had been many thousands of years since my death. The Grey Death wasn't the only thing that the Witch had wished upon me. After I left the Narnian World, I found myself in a chamber of ice. I was greeted by Jadis... of course she was there. She had been waiting for me for three and a half years, and finally there I was. For hundreds of years, we fought nonstop, unable to be killed but able to be harmed. Our wounds healed after an hour, and both of us seemed to never run out of blood. Simple weapons could be summoned whenever we needed them, but other than that we couln't use the magic that we had mastered in the Narnian world. The only thing that we could do was fight and sleep; We couldn't get out. I was stuck in a white, icy void, fighting the witch for what I guessed to be the rest of time. Now I knew that it wasn't just my mortal suffering she had wished upon me, it was my eternal suffering.

. C H A P T E R // O N E .

I had been living in London with my two sisters and brother ever since we got transported out of Narnia through that stupid wardrobe. At first I blamed Lucy for being so curious, as always, and having to look there in the first place, but I got over it after a while. Though there was one thing that I never got over... that was Talath. She was always on my mind; when I went to bed, when I woke up in the morning and many other times throughout the day. Though it had been many years since she died, I never stopped loving her or thinking about her. Right now, I was in the subways of London, in a fight because some of the kids "my age" bumped into me and tried to make me apologize.

"If they only knew who I was before.. If I only was who I was before!" I thought to myself.

A crowd gathered after a while, Lucy and Susan being in there. Susan was disappointed in me, as usual, and Lucy was worried. Edmund came in to help me, though I didn't need it. After the police cleared up the fight, the four of us sat on a bench, waiting for our train to come so we could go to our "home". Lucy rubbed your shoulder a little.

"Your welcome." Edmund said.

"I had it sorted..." I snapped back at him. I turned away from Edmund and got up, walking away a little.

"What was it this time?" Susan asked.

I looked at Susan. "He bumped me."

"So you hit him?!" Lucy said with a raised tone.

"No, after he bumped me, they tried to make me apologize. That's when I hit him." I spat out. Even though I had gotten over it for the most part, I had become quite a bitter person since we accidentaly left Narnia.

"Really, is it that hard to walk away?" Susan asked.

"I shouldn't have to! I mean, don't you ever get tired of being treated like a kid?!" I yelled.

"Um, we are kids!" Edmund said.

"Well I wasn't always!" I retorted. I turned away from my siblings as they all looked at each other, remembering Narnia. I walked back to them again, sitting down.

"It's been a year... how long does he expect us to wait?" I said.

"I think it's time to accept that we live here. It's no use pretending any different... Pretend you're talking to me." Susan said. I looked at her weirdly.

"We are talking to you." Edmund replied. Susan gave me a stern look. Then, out of nowhere, Lucy bolted out of her seat and screamed "OW!"

"Quiet, Lu..." I said.

"Something pinched me!" She replied.

I felt something pinch me as well. I immediately looked at Edmund. "Hey! Quit it!"

"I'm not touching you!" Edmund said.

"Would you all just-what is that!?" Susan said as she also felt the pinch. Edmund and Susan got up at the same time.

"It feels like magic!" Lucy said, her face lighting up with joy.

"Quick! Everyone hold hands!" Susan said. I grabbed Susan's hand, of course Edmund had to make a fuss of holding mine.

"I'm not holding your hand!" He whined.

"Just do it!" I yelled. Edmund made a face and grabbed my hand. We all watched as the train sped past the four of us abnormally fast. We looked around as the lamps shook and flyers ripped right off of the walls from wind coming from the train. I looked at the train windows, entranced by the visions of Narnia I saw through them. The train disappeared once it passed, and we were no longer in the station. We were in some sort of alcove. I walked outside of it to find a beach with my siblings following me. Immediately, we all realized we were in Narnia and ran off taking off un-needed garments. We ran into the water and splashed about, laughing. For some reason, Edmund stared at the sky instead of joining in.

"Ed! Ed..?" Susan said, trying to get his attention.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Where do you suppose we are?" Edmund asked.

"Well where do you think?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I don't remember any ruins in Narnia..." He said. We all looked up at the same spot where Edmund was looking and saw the ruins of a castle. There was a deep silence between the four of us. All that could be heard was the pounding of the waves against the shore. We made our way up to the ruins and took a look around. I climbed up a small stairway to get a better look at things. Lucy walked over to what used to be a balcony overlooking the beach we were previously on.

"I wonder who lived here." she asked. Susan followed her and picked up something from the ground, looking at it quizzically. It was a small solid gold centaur.

"I think we did..." she concluded. I followed Edmund to Lucy and Susan.

"Hey, that's mine! From my chess set!" he said after taking a look at it.

"Which chess set?" I asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?" Edmund replied. Edmund took the chess piece from Susan and looked at it.

"It can't be..." Lucy said. She took my hand and ran over to four eroded platforms on top of stairs. She made us face the rest of the ruins once we were in front of one of the platforms. As she spoke, she positioned everyone. Then she got into the last spot herself: "Matching walls, and columns there! And a glass roof..."

We all stood in shock, realizing... that this was our home... what remained of it anyway.

"Cair Paravel..." I said.


We continued to walk around the ruins of Cair Paravel. Edmund stopped at what looked like a piece of the eroded wall. He bent down and examined it.

"Catapults..." He said.

"What?" I asked.

"This didn't just happen, Cair Paravel was attacked..." He answered. I walked up to the nearest remaining secret doors and pushed the wall blocking it aside with Edmund. Then I opened up the door. Realizing it was extremely dark down there, I got a branch, tore a piece of my shirt off, and tied it onto the branch.

"I don't suppose...you have any matches, do you?" I asked Edmund.

"No, but..." Edmund dug into his bag and pulled out a flashlight. "Would this help?" He asked.

I smiled. "You might've mentioned that a bit sooner!" I said. Edmund smiled back at me and then descended the tunnel with the flashlight first. I let Susan and Lucy go in front of me, and then went down myself. When we got to the bottom of the stairway, everything was just as we left it. There were five golden chests in the room with five lights on them; One for me. One for Edmund. One for Susan. One of Lucy. And one for... Talath. Excited to see that the first level was in good condition, we continued to go down.

"I can't believe it... it's all still here!" Lucy exclaimed as we reached another level, much like the one we just passed. Lucy ran up to another one of her trunks as everyone else did with theirs.. I went up to my shield with the engraving of Aslan on it, picking it up and blowing the dust off of it. I gazed at it, and then the small statue of my older self above my trunk. I walked up to it.

"What is it?" Lucy asked Susan.

"My horn. I must have left it on my saddle the day we went back." Susan replied. I went over to Talath's trunk and stared at her statue for a while. Then I opened it up and picked up her sword. She had used the same one that she got from Father Christmas ever since it reached her hands. I held back tears as I unsheathed it and watched the blue blade glimmer in the dim light. I jolted up a little as I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Susan. She said nothing, yet her eyes said everything. So did Edmund's and Lucy's when I saw they were watching me the entire time. I sheathed the sword, putting it back in it's place, and closed the chest. Then I took one last look at her statue, thinking to my self "If only you were here..." I walked over to my own chest once again and bowed lightly to the statue. Then I opened my trunk, taking out the sword which I had fought with ever since I could remember. It was the sword in which I had slain Maugrim and fought alongside Talath with. I unsheathed it and read the symbols along it's blade.

"When Aslan bears his teeth, winter meets its death..."

"When he shakes his mane, it's Spring again... Everyone we knew... Mr. Tumnas and the Beavers... they're all gone..." Lucy finished. Everyone looked around at each other. Though I cared about everyone, the only one who was on my mind was Talath...

"I think it's time we found out what's going on." I said after a short silence between us. We found some clothes that fit all of us in another chamber. We put them on, grabbed our weapons and set off. Along a river, we saw two men on a boat carrying a dwarf to throw over the shore. Susan shot a warning shot at the boat to get the attention of the men. I ran up to her and unsheathed my sword.

"Drop him!" She said, ready to fire another shot at the men. The two men "did as she said" and threw the dwarf overboard. Edmund and I ran into the water to rescue the Narnian. I got him and brought him to shore, and Edmund retrieved the boat the two men were previously using when the remaining man jumped off of after Susan shot the other one. Lucy cut the ropes on his hands off when he was on shore. Then the red haired dwarf took the cloth gag off of himself and got up coughing.

"Drop him?! That's the best you can come up with?" He said to our surprise.

"A little thank you would be alright." Susan replied.

"They were doing fine drowning me without your help!" The dwarf retorted.

"Maybe we should've let them." I said.

"Why were they trying to kill you, anyway?" Lucy asked.

"They're Telmarines... that's what they do." the dwarf replied.

"Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund asked.

"Where've you been for the last few hundred years?" the dwarf asked.

"It's a long story..." Lucy said. The dwarf eyed my sword as Susan handed it to me. Then he looked at all of us.

"Aww, you've got to be kidding me... You're it? You're the Kings and Queens of Old?" The Dwarf asked.
I put my hand out for the dwarf to shake. "King Peter, the Magnificent."

"You probably could've left off the last bit..." Susan said.

The dwarf laughed "Probably?"

I unsheathed my sword and pointed it at the dwarf. "You might be surprised."

"Oh, you don't want to do that boy." the dwarf said.

"Not me." I looked at Edmund. "him."

I handed my sword to the dwarf while Edmund unsheathed his own. The fight was over quickly. The dwarf sat down in amazement.

"Maybe that horn worked after all..." he said.

"What horn?" Susan asked.


My siblings and I were now rowing down the same river where we found Trumpkin, the dwarf, in. I of course, was doing all of the rowing. I didn't mind it though. Still, the only thing on my mind was Talath, even though I had a job to do. I did notice that something was different about Narnia. I couldn't place your finger on it, but something felt like it was... missing.

"They're so still." Lucy said. That was it... the trees.

"They're trees. What'dya expect?" Trumpkin replied.

"They used to dance." Lucy stated.

"Wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded. Those who survived retreated to the woods. And the trees... they retreated so deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since." Trumpkin said.

"I don't understand... How could Aslan have let this happen?" Lucy asked.

"Aslan? Thought he abandoned us before you lot did." Trumpkin said.

"We didn't mean to leave, you know." I told him.

"Makes no difference now, does it?" Trumpkin said.

"Get us to the Narnians... and it will." I said sternly. We continued to row down the river until Trumpkin told us to go to the shore. I did so, and he anchored the row boat to the shore. Edmund and I pulled the boat in when we got on land.

"Don't move, your majesty!" Trumpkin yelled. I looked at Trumpkin and saw he was talking to Lucy, who was trying to talk to a bear. She ran away from it as it ran after her. Edmund unsheathed his sword and Susan aimed her bow at the bear.

"Don't move!" Susan yelled at the bear.

"Shoot! Susan Shoot!" Edmund screamed. Before she could do anything, an arrow was fired, but not one of Susans; It was Trumpkin.

"Why wouldn't he stop?" Susan asked.

"I suspect he was hungry." Trumpkin replied. Edmund and I followed Trumpkin towards Lucy. I helped her up, keeping my sword pointed at the bear in case it was still alive. She hugged me for safety and thanked Trumpkin.

"He was wild..." Edmund said.

"I don't think he could talk at all." I added.

"When you're treated like an animal long enough, that's what you become. You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember." Trumpkin said. Lucy cried into my chest as Trumpkin skinned the bear. I turned away, myself, not wanting to see a fellow Narnian skinned, wild or not...


"I don't remember going this way." Susan said.

"What's the problem, girls? Can't carry a map in your heads?" I asked them.

"That's because our heads have something in them." Lucy said with small laugh.

"I wish he'd just listen to the DLF in the first place." Susan said.

"DLF?" Edmund questioned.

"Dear Little Friend." Lucy answered.

"Oh, that's not at all patronizing, is it..." Trumpkin commented. I stopped walking when I reached an unfamiliar cave.

"I'm not lost..." I said.

"No... you're just going the wrong way." Trumpkin said. I turned around at the sarcastic comment.

"The quickest way there is to cross at the river rush." I said.
Trumpkin looked around. "Unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing in these paths." He said.

"That it explains it then, you're mistaken." I snapped at him. I continued walking even though now I had no idea where I was going. Finally thing started to look good when we reached the end of the cave. I walked up to where River Rush used to be, to find it all the way at the bottom of a huge River Valley.

"See? Over time the water erodes the Earth's soil, causing-" Susan started.

"Oh, shut up." I said.

"Is there a way down?" Edmund asked.

"Yeah, fallin'." Trumpkin replied.

"Well, we weren't lost." I said.

"How do you feel about swimmin'?" Trumpkin asked.

"Rather that then walking." Susan replied. I sighed and turned around. I quickly looked back as Lucy spoke.

"Aslan?... It's Aslan! It's Aslan, over there!" She pointed to empty spot. "Don't you see he's right- ...there..." Her voice faded as she looked at the spot.

"Do you see him now?" Trumpkin asked.

"I'm not crazy, he was there. I know it, I saw him." Lucy said.

"I'm sure there are any number of lion in this wood. Just let that there..." I said to her.

"I think I know Aslan when I see him." Lucy retorted.

"Look, I'm not about to jump over a cliff for someone who doesn't exist." Trumpkin said.

"The last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid." Edmund stated, thinking back to the time that we first found Narnia and he denied it beforehand. I looked at the spot where Lucy said she saw Aslan.

"Why wouldn't I have seen him?" I asked.

"Maybe you weren't looking." Lucy said.

"Sorry, Lu..." I apologized to her. I sighed and then walked away from what was now River Rush Valley.