AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, yes. Here I am again with another story. And I know that sometimes I can prattle on endlessly in my 'introduction' or whatever, so I'll just go on ahead and post this. Hopefully you'll find this story entertaining and interesting. Please review; your thoughts are much appreciated.
*Set before the Pevensie children return back to their own world through the wardrobe in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS/STORY/PLOT OF THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. THEY ALL BELONG TO C.S. LEWIS.
PROLOGUE
Johns breathing is getting shorter and shorter, his heart races even faster and his whole body is shaking with panic and fear. He feels the warm blood running down his hands. As he stares at his wife, her face twisted with pain and suffering, tears run down her face as she lets out another fatal scream
"Breath Grace, just breath. She's almost there."
Grace pushes, as she lets out another screech of pain. She groans in the scrutinizing pain, as the beads of sweat run down heavily on John's face. All of a sudden, the cry of a baby silences everything. The groaning stops, and it's like time itself slows down for the moment of love and serenity.
John picks up the baby and cradles it gently in his bloody arms. He stares down at his daughter's precious little face; he feels a tug at his heart as she opens her eyes for the first time. She has his eyes, deep, blue and beautiful. He sniffs as a tear falls gently down his cheek.
"Is she okay?" Grace asks weakly, lifting her head up slightly.
"She's fine dear." John replies back, smiling gently at his beautiful, tired, worn-out wife.
"You did wonderful. Do you want to see her?"
"Of course." Grace replies feebly, her voice hoarse and croaky.
She pushes herself up, and leans her back against the trunk of the tree behind her. She stretches out her arms gently and motions for John to give her the baby.
Grace takes the baby slowly, and immediately takes the instinct of a mother and starts to cradle the precious thing in her arms. Grace looks down at her daughter's small, rounded face.
"She's so beautiful." She comments softly, brushing her cheek gently with her small finger.
"Of course, she looks like you." John adds sweetly, leaning in softly to Grace, planting a gentle kiss on her lips.
"I can't believe we have a daughter." He adds, as he pulls away, wiping tears off his face.
"I love you John. "
"I love you too Grace." John replies, placing a hand gently on top of his wife's.
"She needs a name." Grace comments, squeezing John's hand in hers.
John thinks quietly over this for a moment. He then quickly glances at his child's face, seeing her suddenly open her tooth-less mouth into a wide grin.
"I know, what about Annabelle?" He grins, holding his daughter's small, fragile hands in his.
"Annabelle." Grace repeats, letting the name sink in.
"It means grace and beauty." John says, his face lighting up with so much joy and excitement.
"It's perfect." Grace agrees, smiling happily at her husband.
"She'll do great things." John says dreamily, unable to take his eyes off his daughter's face.
"I know." Grace concurs, smiling at her husband.
Grace's contemplates about her daughter's future when suddenly a loud roar tears through the cold, eerie, night air. She gulps, praying and hoping that nothing would happen to her daughter.
No, not now.
She thinks to herself. She clutches her daughter closer to her chest as her eyes slowly observe the environment they're in. Everything is cold, there's snow on the ground and on almost every pine tree that's present in the dark, lonely forest. Beyond the horizon there are large mountains, tipped with white snow. Their first arrival here was two days ago.
Two days ago when things were normal, two days ago when they weren't in a mysterious snow covered, freezing place such as this, two days ago when they lost all sense of reality.
Grace had never felt so content and happy in her whole life, she sat next to John and held his hand as they splashed their feet against the surface of the lake. At that moment, she had felt the absolute simple things that brought joy into her life. The love she had for John and he for her was one she could have never imagined as a child. Her parents were an arranged marriage, so their love was different, it always seemed empty and forced.
Not once in her life had she ever thought that such a love like this could be possible. And yet, here they were.
"You're so beautiful tonight." John said from beside her. He slowly grabbed her hand and held it in his.
"So what about all the other nights then? Am I not as beautiful?" Grace teased him; she pushed him gently and smiled.
"If I said you were beautiful every day and every night, I would be lying. And I don't want to lie to the woman I love." John replied. He laughed sweetly as he leaned into Grace and placed a kiss on her soft lips.
"What does that mean?" Grace asked.
"It means that I love you. And even when you're old and grey and fat and grumpy, I'll love you even more." John said sweetly, stroking Grace's cheek with his finger.
John then leant towards her, careful to not squash her big, pregnant belly. He put his arms around her waist and kissed her slowly and passionately. Her hands lead themselves up his neck and into his hair where her fingers entwined themselves between his brown, moppy locks.
Suddenly Grace felt a sharp, agonizing pain inside her stomach.
"Ow!" She screamed out loud.
"Is it coming?" John asked, his body and voice suddenly turning into panic-mode.
"No, just a kick." Grace replied, as she put a hand on John's arm for support.
"Feisty little thing isn't she?"
"How do you know it's a girl?" Grace asked him, her eyebrow raised.
She helped herself to sit up, as the pain started to subside.
"I just have a feeling." John shrugged, a small smile, slowly appeared on his face.
"Where are we going now?" Grace asked, the question hung in the air.
They had both run away from home just a few days ago. Their town was not accepting of teenage mishaps, especially one so young. Grace was only 14 and John 16 when they had heard the news of Grace's pregnancy. Grace was so scared that night that she had found out, she didn't know how much she could depend on John then. But he had stuck with her all this time. Her parents kicked her out and John ran away from home just to be with her, to protect her, and for that Grace was eternally grateful.
"Too be honest Grace, I don't know." John replied with a melancholy tone. He felt like he disappointed her.
"It doesn't matter." Grace said reassuringly.
"As long as I'm with you right?" She continued, as she leant towards him to give him a small hug.
John hugged her back and nodded.
"Right." He agreed, gently patting her arm.
Grace then suddenly stared out into the sky her thoughts wandered to her daughter, then to John, then to remembering the horror on her parent's faces when she had broken the new. It was like a constant reminder of all her failures and successes. Suddenly something had caught her eye, white, small dots that seemed to be falling. She looked down unto the lake, her reflection looked back at her. But there was something different, something mysterious. Around her reflection there were snowflakes that fell all around, and pine trees in the background covered in snow.
"What on earth?" Grace said out loud, puzzled by what she had seen.
Grace leans in closer, as she observed the trees and the white snow. Suddenly she slipped, losing the grip on the ground beneath her she, fell into the suddenly felt extremely cold and all her senses felt suddenly frozen. She tried to swim, as she attempted pushed herself up unto the surface, something else seemed to have dragged her down. She felt cold, long, sharp nails digging into her ankle as she let out a silent scream. Then, unable to breathe, her chest became tighter, her face turned into an ugly shade of crimson.
She heard John's panicked voice calling her name; "Grace! Grace!"
But she couldn't do anything to fight the force that's pulled her further down. So she did what she could. She wrapped her arms gently around her belly, as she desperately tried to protect the child inside her.
At that moment Grace thought she had literally died. But just as she was on the verge of giving up all hope, she gasped out loud for air.
John jumped in after her and ended up with her. At least they were together. Grace came out shivering and wet, with John not far behind. She remembered her first reactions were instant denial. She didn't want to believe that all of this was happening, that they had just entered a world unknown to them; a scary, eerie, frozen wonderland.
That first night, Grace cried her eyes out, John tried to keep his tears in, as he comforted her as best as he could, he rubbed her back gently and stayed close so that she was warm and comfortable. But the next two days were frightful; they had heard noises at night from the forest; owls hooting, bushes shifting, a howl of a wolf and even the roar of the lion.
At one point John tried to get back into their world by jumping back into the freezing lake. But all that did was get him even more wet and cold. Something or someone got them here and they seemed to be determined to keep them where they were.
And then that's how it happened, that's how they ended up in this weird winter wonderland.
Grace looks down at her beautiful daughter, her small face now calm and dry from the tears. Annabelle's face lights up as she looks back at her mother, she opens her tooth-less mouth and grins.
"Look she's smiling John!" Grace says excitedly, tears of joy filling in her eyes.
John leans in forward and looks over Annabelle, her eyes shifting from her mother's face to her father's and back again.
"She has your eyes." Grace says.
"And your beauty." John adds as he leans down to kiss the top of his daughters head.
Suddenly a low murmur starts, getting louder and louder. John and Grace both look to the trees, realising the noise, are actually people, talking speaking in low tones.
"I heard something. I'm telling you!" A high-pitched manly tone says from the woods.
"You better be sure about this." A lower tone says, grumbling.
The footsteps of the men get closer and closer. John shuffles next to Grace, wrapping his arms around her and the baby protectively. Both their hearts race as the two men approach.
Suddenly out of the trees a dwarf with fierce looking eyes, a pouting face, a long grey and a pointy red hat emerge. Behind him follows a large black bull, his horns sticking up into the air and his nose ring dangling slightly from the wind.
"Look! Buck! What did I tell you? Humans!" The dwarf shouts, pointing towards Grace, John and Annabelle.
"And the right age too! The Queen will be so proud!" He says, jumping up and down his beard flopping up and down in the air as his feet make small dents in the snow.
"Are you sure it's them? The prophecy says there were four." Buck says scarily, his voice thundering in the air.
"Who cares? If there are two others then we'll find them later. We have to take them back!" The little dwarf says his eyebrows furrowing with excitement. He stomps towards Grace and John.
"Get away from us!" John exclaims, raising his hands defensively in the air.
But the dwarf ignores John, marching faster towards them.
"John! Annabelle!" Grace says, panic-stricken, clutching Annabelle closer to her chest.
"Get away!" John shouts even louder than before.
The dwarf, only inches away now, bends over to grab the baby from Grace's arm.
"Don't touch her!" John shouts angrily as he stands up angrily, much taller than the dwarf, he punches him in the face.
The dwarf falls over, clutching his bleeding nose.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" The dwarf shouts angrily at John.
"Now, now. Let's not make any trouble here, okay?" Buck the bull says as he closes in on John, grabbing John's shirt roughly from behind and lifting him up into the air.
"John!" Grace shrieks as the Dwarf, hands and nose now dripping with blood, pulls away the baby from Grace.
"What do you want with us?" John screams at the dwarf, raising a fist towards him.
"You'll see soon enough. Buck, get the girl." The dwarf orders as he marches on, into the woods with the newborn baby in hand.
Buck then reaches over with his other hand to grab Grace by her shirt and pull her up into the air. She shrieks with pain as she clutches unto her stomach.
"She just gave birth you big idiot! You can't hold her like that!" John shouts as he thumps his fist against the big bull's chest, hearing his fingers crack against the force.
"Fine then." Buck replies un-sympathetically.
He places John down unto the ground and pulls out a rope connected to the bull's leg.
"Here, tie this around yourself. And no funny business or your girlfriend here gets thrown back into the lake." Buck says, making gestures towards the freezing cold, ice lake.
John complies and starts to tie the other end of the rope to his arm, while Buck repositions himself to carry Grace with both his hands.
"C'mon then."
The Bull marches forward and John, connected to the rope falls instantly and hits the ground face first. He pushes himself upwards but the bull takes another step and John takes another agonizing fall.
The whole trip is torturous and painful. As John is pulled senselessly along the ground, he hits rocks and branches and bruises and injures himself time and time again. He can hear Grace's soft whimpering from above, his heart aches for her and for his daughter, whose future is now uncertain to him and to Grace.
Suddenly Buck stops walking and comes to a halt. John lifts his dirty, tear stained head from the snow covered ground and sees the most terrifying place you could ever imagine. His heart stops beating as a piercing cold breeze hits him, his whole body feels frozen and numb, and not just because he was just dragged through the forest, but because he had a feeling, a feeling that this was a place that held much despair.
"Where are we?" John asks, fear striking his voice.
"Snow Queen's palace." Buck replies.
"Snow Queen." John repeats, he feels as if he's heard that name before, somewhere in his dreams, somewhere in his childhood.
Buck then presses on forward and enters through the icy palace doors. When they reach inside, the floor is wet and cold, like an ice-skating rink. The Bull takes another step forward, dragging John against the slippery, wet, cold ground. He looks around him, observing the huge walls of the icy palace. He looks in front of him and his heart suddenly freezes. He finds himself staring at the most death-defying, evil, vicious, beautiful woman he ever saw.
She looks down at John from where she sits. She looks radiant and brilliant, but John knows that as much brilliance there was, there's also the strong sense of cruelty and evil that lurks behind her dark, empty eyes. She wears a crown, shaped like icicles and completely made out of ice. Her long, flowing dress, white and stiff against her bony body. And in her hand she holds a wand, one that holds great power.
She smiles slyly at John, a cold shiver runs through his spine and unable to hold back the tears, he cries softly un-meeting her gaze.
Suddenly Buck stops, just in front of the Queen, he unties John's rope from his arm and John stands up, barely able to keep himself standing. The bull puts Grace down gently and she sits on the ice cold floor, sobbing in front of the Snow Queen. The dwarf then comes along and places the crying Annabelle on Grace's lap, where Grace holds her tightly in her arms.
"Welcome to my humble abode." The Snow Queen says majestically, sarcasm full in her voice.
She looks at Grace and the baby and a small smirk appears on her face she then looks at John and her eyes linger on him longer.
"I guess you're both wondering why you're here." She continues, standing up to hold out her wand held in her bony fingers.
"Of course. I demand you let us go. My wife has just her baby just now and you pull us through the forest, exhausted and suffering. Why on earth would you do that, and who the hell are you?" John exclaims, his fists balled up in frustration and tears running down his face.
"Well you're here my darling boy. Because of the prophecy, the prophecy that states that when two sons of Adam and two daughters' of Eve come and fill the thrones at Cair Paravel, I shall fall." She says her voice full of such hate and spite.
"So? You think that has something to do with us?" John asks, attempting to sound brave.
"Of course, you are a son of Adam and her a daughter of Eve." The Snow Queen says, with a slight impatient tone as she points to John then to Grace.
"The baby, I do not know about. But she can die with you two." The Snow Queen states casually as she turns around, to return back to sit at her throne.
"D-d-Die?" Grace says, stuttering, her voice so full of desperation and fright that it makes John's heart ache even more.
He feels as if he's let her down, as if he's failed to protect her. Now all they could look forward to was death.
"Yes my dear, you see, you cannot gain the throne at Cair Paravel and I cannot fall from power." The Queen snaps at Grace angrily.
"What makes you think we're even any of the four sons and daughters of Adam and Eve?" John shouts at her, full of rage.
"I cannot take any risks John. Better safe than sorry." A shiver runs through John's spine as she says his name. A small evil smile appears on the Snow Queen's face as she grabs her staff with one quick swift and points it at Grace. She stands over Grace and Annabelle with strong intimidation.
Grace starts to tremble uncontrollably and Annabelle's screeching cries get louder and louder.
John suddenly, influenced by the events, turns around and grabs the sword that hung by the bull's belt. He acts so quickly even he was surprised, he stabs the bull on the bull's waist making the bull fall in pain and making the whole palace tremble. As the bull shouts and squirms in pain, John runs as fast as he can over to the dwarf who was holding Grace tightly by the shoulder's to keep her from escaping.
John then swings the sword and slashes the dwarf in the back. He breathes a sigh of relief and before the Queen can react he throws the sword, blade first, at her face, where she hits it with her staff and it breaks it into a million pieces.
John covers both Grace and Annabelle from the flying glass and then helps Grace to stand up.
"You!" The Queen shouts furiously at John, pointing the staff at him.
"Run Grace, run! I love you and I love Annabelle! Don't forget to tell her that!" John shouts at her, pain and passion full in his voice.
"But John..." She starts, tears falling uncontrollably from her eyes.
"Go!" John urges Grace, pushing her towards the door.
Then suddenly Grace turns and starts to run, farther and farther away from John and from the evil Snow Queen. She ran as fast as she could, her bare feet hitting the cold, hard floor and her stomach aching with every movement she makes. She clutches Annabelle tighter to her chest.
She suddenly heard a piercing cry, John's shrill voice, shouting her name and then a roar of a lion. Grace dares to look back and found John, dead and bleeding from his chest on the floor. She then sees the Snow Queen and her deadly black eyes.
She look towards the door and as if by magic it suddenly opens, the icy doors spreads open to let her out and as she continues to race past them, they shut immediately. She whispers a low thanks and hears a lion roar in the distance.
Grace runs as far as she can take the pain and the weight. Finally, she drops to the ground in the middle of the forest, full of exhaust and pain.
"Oh dear, sorry love." She puffs tears of exhaustion, frustration and mourning staining her face.
She carries Annabelle in her hands and leans against a rock, closing her eyes and thinking of John and the sacrifice. Her brain then clicks, suddenly thinking of her daughter's safety. Grace knows full well that the Queen would soon be after her.
She rips off a part of her dress and wraps Annabelle in it, kissing her daughter on the forehead.
"Listen to me Annabelle Jones, I love you and your father loved you, so much he d-died for us." Grace weeps as she utters these words.
"I wish I could stay with you forever darling, but they're coming soon. And I know I'll be fine in the end, because I'll be with your father in heaven, but you have to promise me something. Promise me that you'll always try and remember us. Especially your father, always try to be like him, brave and noble."
Suddenly Grace hears a howling in the air and footsteps getting closer and closer.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be with you. I'm sorry I didn't stay to see you grow up. I love you Annabelle."
And with these last words to her child Grace gently and softly places Annabelle behind the bush, covering her out of sight.
Suddenly out of the trees emerges the Snow Queen herself, around her stands ferocious, hungry looking wolves. Grace shivers, wrapping her arms around her, closing her eyes and waiting for the pain.
"Aha, there you are. Now that your husband is dead, you can join him." And with that the Snow Queen raises her staff as Grace cringes with fear, The Snow Queen lets out a powerful force and kills Grace instantly.
A roar of an angry lion was thunders in the silence.
"Oh shut up Aslan." The Snow Queen says with spite. She then turns around and marches back to her icy, cold, lonely palace.
AN: Long, I know. But if you're reading this then YAY! You've made me happy. First chapter to come soon! Please review!
REVIEW!