(A/n) Hi! Obviously I do not own anything related to the Chronicles of Narnia, nor do I claim to own any of its characters, places, events, etc. I'm just having some fun with it and trying to get out of writer's block for a change. Hope you enjoy )
The Second War: The Departure
It was a wonderful time; spring always filled one's spirit with joy and peace. The evergreen forests were magical to say the least. The flowers were in full bloom and their colors painted the woods in precious shades, full of wonder. The Dryads and Wood-Nymphs enjoyed this time more than anyone and their songs filled the air with sweet music, and the mornings with peaceful melodies, and the nights with wonderful lullabies.
Narnia was at peace. Its Golden Age was evident not only in their victories over recent feuds in history, but also because of the strength of the culture and the brotherhood and companionship its citizens displayed in every field of their lives: music, politics, feasts, wars, games and education and festivities and traditions and faith and dreams that were shared by many, inspired in all these things. And all was merry, and all was well, and the Kings and Queens that so beautifully graced Narnia with their reign were also joyful, but more importantly, they felt complete. Their completeness was not found only in each other but in the tasks that each had done throughout their lives as monarchs. They had inspired many people to recover the traces of their lives and start over again, and had given hope to many who had lost it, and faith to many who had never known it.
In the peak of youth, the adventurous Kings and their playful royal sisters had gone from their palace on the shore one morning. They had invited Lords and Ladies from various places, and a few others who were dear to them. The time of the year was perfect: the full blooming of spring was upon them and a peculiar creature traditionally roams the woods in those conditions. The Queens and Kings and their accompanying friends had decided to hunt for this creature for as to claim the prize of fame and virtue upon catching it. With it, if the creature willed it, could come also the wishing of any one thing to the one who emerged victorious. The creature was a slender silver stag, both magical and precious, and she had never before been caught.
The White Stag had been sighted a few yards from the starting point selected for the hunt. All of the human adventurers were riders, and most had promised to share the prize, including the wish, with their respective steeds. Some horses denied this, saying that they only enjoyed the sport of the chase and were content with their lives as how they were, yet others had hopes for things they had seen in their deepest dreams, or for answers to questions they had pondered their whole lives.
The night before, the royal siblings had discussed what their wish would be if they were the one to catch the White Stag. Queen Lucy thought of asking for many things, but none seemed to her a thing that she should ask a wishing stag for, but rather things she could do herself and in fact was planning on doing them. In her daydreams and deep thoughts she wondered if she could ask the stag to place an enchantment around the palace so that a nymph's song would continuously be heard inside its halls.
"It would be like having the eternal glory of spring at home" she had said excitedly to her siblings, who imagined the results and agreed that if no day went by that they didn't hear nymph's music, they would get used to it and would never miss it, and the feeling that they had each year when the music returned, that wondrous feeling, would forever be gone, and they thought that the feeling was what they loved the most, even more than the music itself.
King Peter began to think about all he had done for Narnia, and all he did not do for himself because of his devotion. He thought that he would have liked more time as a child to dream and play and enjoy, instead of having been at war since an early age, and experiencing the horrors and fears of it when he was still immature. But then he realized that he was not asking for a mere wish, but rather for a change in the history of his life, the erasing of his deeds, and the alteration of life in Narnia, and he decided that being devoted as a King was part of who he was, and the love he felt for his country filled him more than a thousand dreams of childhood ever could. In the end, he decided that he was content with who he was, and that catching the Stag was its own reward.
Queen Susan thought deeply about her wishes and desires. It was very difficult for her to decide upon the greatest of wishes her heart held, and she found it a challenge to come up with the thing she wanted the most. She reviewed her early years, how she had been interested in logic, literature, history, and how just knowing filled her with a passion she did not find in anything else. By becoming a Queen, she had turned her interests to another kind of knowledge, a foreign one and she had eventually forgotten about her old self and her first home. The search for the perfect wish had reminded her of lost memories, and it suddenly became painful to think of all she once had and how dramatic was the change when she first came into Narnia. In trying to ease her pain, she decided that she would wish for a glimpse of how things were back at the Outer World, beyond the Wardrobe, and what had happened after
her and her sibling's departure. She was certain this is what her heart and mind wanted the most; the only way she could find peace of mind without forgetting about what had been.
In his own mind, King Edmund had the most grievous time when he thought of what he would wish for if he had the chance. And what he decided and how he came to that conclusion was very personal to him, and none of his siblings ever knew what he had decided upon. His siblings knew that albeit they shared a strong bond that few could understand, their stories were still detached and individual, though sometimes intertwined in the rings of their common fate.
After sharing their thoughts in regards to the Stag, they all went to sleep. Their slumber was peaceful; the night was calm and warm. When the first rays of sun filled their respective chambers with light and heat and energy, each rose from their bed and began preparing for breakfast. The ladies-in-waiting of the girls prepared their wardrobe and chose simple gowns for the chase. Both of them wore high boots in order to make riding and chasing on foot easier and their gowns were of a light fabric and very comfortable. Susan's dress was dark blue with white and pink lacing, her boots black, and the crown on her head the usual silver with deep, shiny sapphires. Lucy's attire included brown boots, a dark red and gold dress and her small golden tiara glowing like the jewel it was against her light brown hair. The small rubies in it sparkled beautifully in the sunshine. Both girls had decided upon combing their hair and leaving it loose, so as to feel the morning breeze playing with it.
The boy's clothing was very regal, but it was also swift and comfortable. Edmund looked alive in his deep green outfit, matching the many trees and leaves around him, and the emeralds in his silver crown further emphasizing his resemblance to his surroundings. Peter's tunic was dark brown, and his blonde hair looked well with his brown and gold attire. His golden crown looked magnificent upon sight and the diamonds incrusted in it were clear and brilliant.
The look upon the sibling's faces was a look that encompassed the best in their qualities. They were happy; their kingdom had not seen a dispute in a while. Relations with other nations were favorable and overall it was a good season in a string of good years that they had been blessed with. When they were ready, they made for the starting point of the hunt. Their horses, who had
all volunteered to take them into this quest, were waiting for them, as well as the rest of the lords and ladies accompanying them. They all mounted their steeds and made ready to begin. When King Peter saw that everyone had collected themselves, and all were ready and eager, he gave words of encouragement and luck to those present and gave the order to begin the hunt. A melodious narnian horn was blown and its noise resonated in the greater trunks of the Western Woods. With it, all competitors rode away and the game had begun.
The royal siblings didn't separate from each other; they all had unconsciously agreed to pursue the stag together, so when it was in sight, it would be a race between them to catch her. They galloped in something similar to a line: Lucy went first, with Peter close behind her, then Susan laughing and talking and finally Edmund with his older horse struggling to keep up with his opposition.
As they rode farther and deeper into the woods the tension and excitement became intense and they all could feel that the chase was near to its end. They had spotted the Stag twice and were trying desperately to stay in her sight. As they rode on and on, Edmund's horse found that he could run no longer, yet he felt no guilt about it, because he knew Edmund was not interested in the rewards for the chase, but only in the chase itself. Edmund dismounted his horse and caressed his neck, waiting for the horse to catch its breath.
"Will you be alright, Philip?" he kindly asked, attentive for the well-being of his horse, yet not worried for his condition. He knew how strong Philip was, and exactly how far he could be pushed.
"Yes, worry not about me." He replied between breaths. They stood there for some minutes while Edmund surveyed their surroundings and took them all in.
"I do not remember this place," said the King in a voice just above a whisper, "The trees are still and quiet, like they would be if frozen by a spell."
"Yes, the same has come to my attention, sire." said the horse now recovered from his early fatigue.
The rest of the siblings came trotting back, laughing and talking, and then laughing some more.
"Were any of you able to catch it?" Edmund asked, amused by what he knew to be the answer to his question.
"The wild chase it has led us to! Clever little girl, that Stag is. Even if a hundred talking horses of Narnia were at gallop, we would not have kept up with it for long!" exclaimed Susan and her horse agreed with a nod.
"I take it failure has come to you all." said Edmund, between chuckles.
"Of the most amusing kind!" added Lucy, grinning. "It has been a thrill watching Peter follow it determinedly, whereas the Stag was simply going in circles!" They all laughed harder. But this time the merry sound of their voices was ceased when Lucy stopped in her tracks and dismounted. She was staring at a peculiar tree all along. Her eyes were wide and her lips displayed a growing smile of wonder and amazement. Without breaking her sight, she came closer to it and said: "What a marvelous feeling..." her voice trailed off. Edmund came closer to her; he had remembered that he had noticed something different about this particular place. Soon after, Susan got off of her horse, and walked while staring.
"A deep wonder of the world... what a feeling... like a dream from long ago..." she said as she walked closer and touched the tree that had bewitched them. It felt cold to her fingertips and hard to the touch. She found that it was made of strong metal and that it was not a tree at all. But somehow she already knew this, as did her siblings.
"...or a dream of a dream..." said Peter as he dismounted and came to Susan's side. His eyes surveyed the metal tree carefully, and the branches that had grown in it in circles and the dim light at the top of it, and the most inexplicable feeling overcame him. And he felt young again, revived and clean from the inside. Now there was peace in a place where he had had an unknown, overlooked heaviness before. He started in wonder while Lucy began searching for something.
"Spare Oom..." she said. She turned to Edmund who had trouble understanding her at first, but who followed her anyway. Susan and Peter followed suit and they all began walking South. The talking horses they left behind were left puzzled by their actions but had decided on giving them privacy. They thought that they would not go far without their steeds, and that they would soon return.
The siblings continued walking as the smells in the air became hotter and the memories came flashing back in. With each step they took they remembered a year of their life in Narnia and when they thought there was nothing left to think of, their old life came sinking down upon their minds. They felt confused; they were happy and sad at the same time; eager and relaxed, curious and afraid, joyful and in pain. There came a time in their walking where the smell of the trees and the leaves on the floor left them and everything became darker by the second. They experienced the strangest of feelings and for a moment they felt dizzy and could not remember what had happened a second before. After some moments stuck in this confusion, they came upon a hard wooden floor, and the steps they took sounded deep and whole. Strange fabrics caressed their faces and its fluffy softness made them want to sneeze. Lucy was still the first of them and she came upon a hard wall. She pushed against it out of reflex when her siblings bumped into her. She saw how it opened to reveal an empty room with only a door and two windows. Daylight came from outside and she fell head-first to the floor when her siblings collided against each other. Soon, all of them collapsed into the floor, one knee-first, one to the side, and one to his back. When Lucy tried to pull herself up she saw how tiny her hands had become. Startled, she looked at her siblings and saw the children she had grown up with years before. They had on their faces the same bewildered expression and they were about to voice their concerns when they heard an old, sincere voice saying:
"Hello, children… Tell me everything."
The siblings looked in awe at the man, who had a grin on his face of both amusement and curiosity. They looked at each other for a second and suddenly found that they remembered that the man was named Professor Kirke, and that this place was the Spare Room in his house, and that the Wardrobe was where they had come from. As soon as they remembered this, their narnian memories came flooding back in, and all was beginning to feel clear again.