AN: I've actually had this idea for some time now, a couple years. I've been meaning to save it as an Easter release, but then Easter came and went, and I didn't have it written. Finally decided to just publish it anyway.

Chronicles of Narnia and the characters that aren't original are not mine. Don't sue.

Where Judgment Belongs

Chapter One

The Crime

Susan Pevensie sat on the grass alongside the large red and gold blanket which she and Lucy had delicately laid out. Sitting on the side that was opposite to her was Peter, and on Susan's right, Lucy. With everything that had occurred since they had arrived to Aslan's Camp: their introduction to the Lion, the time spent in trying to refresh themselves from their long journey from the Beavers' dam, and finally the confrontation with Maugrim; the Pevensies were attempting to have a more peaceful afternoon meal.

Resting on the blanket was a variety of foods for lunch. Sandwiches which featured a variety of meats such as: chicken, pork, ham, fish, egg, liverwurst, and salami. Each sandwich came with a choice of vegetables: lettuce or cucumber, tomatoes and spinach, peppers and onions. Of course the sandwiches came with side dishes such as chips, complete with a choice of either mayo, sweet-and-sour sauce, or custard in which to dip them. A side of freshly split pickles had been provided to them. Of course they had also been served dessert: a fruit salad freshly put together by some nymphs which were busy preparing food for the army over at the pavilion. Largely it consisted of: blueberries, raspberries, along with strawberries, bananas, blackberries, among others. To help them with the digestion, the three future monarchs were served some wine (however greatly watered-down so as not to result in intoxication).

All around them, the Pevensies could hear conversations taking place among the Narnians. Not too far off, they could hear Mr. Beaver, who was gathered alongside Mrs. Beaver and couple of Hares. Apparently, the Hares and Mr. Beaver were going over a few jokes. They mainly consisted of badgers getting stuck in their holes and dwarfs that got conned out of trades because they took the shine more into account than the actual worth. While some of them actually did sound very funny, Susan was not in the mood to find anything funny. It was already late afternoon, and there was still no sign of Orieus or the rest of the rescue-party that had went after Varaden, the wolf whom Aslan had let get away so that they could follow him as he went to the Witch.

Peter and Lucy on the other hand, were laughing. At first, Susan wanted to scold them (but kept her ideas to herself). Their brother was probably being tortured or beaten at this moment, if he wasn't dead or turned to stone already. Despite Aslan's reassurances that all would be done, she still had hints of doubt. Aslan had said that it would be harder than they thought. Even though the other two seemed willing to press that fact aside, Susan couldn't bring herself to do it. She was worried about what would happen to Edmund, even if Aslan could save him.

This fear had only escalated after Maugrim's attack. Glancing at her eldest brother, Susan felt the terrifying memory of her brother fighting the Wolf as she and Lucy hung in a tree came to mind. Her eyes had taken in every aspect of the scene and had committed it to memory. She could still picture the Wolf's snapping jaws and his growls. She could remember being completely horrified as she watched the scene unfold. Desperately she clung to the branch in the same way her terror gripped her. She wanted to look away from the scene, but felt that if she did that something would happen to Peter. It seemed as though the entire outcome in the battle hung in the balance, and that anything could possibly tip the scale in either the favor to the Wolf or to her brother.

While Peter slaying the Wolf Chief-of-Police helped in lessening her fear, as well as Aslan sending out a rescue-party, she was still greatly concerned to the point she couldn't partake fully in the merriment taking place around her as much as Lucy. Her happiness made Susan both upset and envious of them. What she wouldn't give to have the ability to not worry, to just live life and have little concern about what the future may bring.

Peter seemed to be in a similar state that she was in, however he was less willing to let it show. She had a feeling it was because he didn't want to spoil what good mood that Lucy was in. It was the first time since they had first entered the Camp that they had had any chance to find some time to themselves and to actually enjoy the peaceful moments.

"These chips are delicious," Lucy commented, having eaten one and was proceeding to take another out of the basket and dip it in mayonnaise.

Susan had polished off most of her chips and was saving the ones that were left for a bit further on in her meal. "They're alright," she remarked in a tone not as cheerful as she had hoped it would sound.

Peter had noticed. "Come on Su, you have to lighten up a bit. It doesn't suit you being all worried."

"I have every right to be worried," Susan snapped. "Our brother is in danger, and here we are in general safety. It's easy for you to go and tell everyone else that they shouldn't worry too awful much. Look at what happened to you in the past couple of hours since we've got here. You killed the Witch's Chief-of-Police. You've been dubbed a knight and everything! You're now considered a hero among the Narnians! Where's Edmund? Do you see him eating with us? Or being dubbed by Aslan for a great and heroic deed? Do you see or hear any of the Narnians cheering his name or speaking in great confidence about him? No! Wherever he is, it's not here."

"Aslan says that everything will be taken care of," Lucy said.

"I agree," Peter said. Susan narrowed her eyes at him, and he quickly explained. "Look, I won't deny it, I'm just as terrified as you are about Edmund. Every moment I'm thinking about what that Witch could possibly be doing to him. Yet I also know that worrying is going to do nothing other than make things worse for us. We still have a long wait, and the more we let our terror get the best of us, the longer that wait is going to seem. Right now, the three of us are safe here in the Camp. The Guard for the Camp has been doubled, so we don't need to worry about an incident similar to what happened with Maugrim trouble us. Aslan sent out a rescue-party which is being head by General Orieus. Everything is turning out alright so far. Let's wait before we start to worry."

"He also said that it may be harder than we think," Susan pointed out. "Our brother or not, the people here consider him a traitor. He's going to be made to answer for his crimes. Something tells me that that is the thing that's going to make it harder than we think."

Peter frowned. From the look on his face, Susan could see she had made her point. Yet Peter, being as stubborn as he was all too often, wasn't going to acknowledge it, especially in front of Lucy. Instead he looked back down at his food and continued eating, only pausing to say under his breath, "You worry too much."

It was all Susan could do not to retort that one of them had to. She may not have lost the resolve to do so, had not a voice suddenly spoke up. It was a new voice, one that they hadn't heard before yet. As the voice spoke, it sounded as though the owner was speaking with a high air. "Your brother is a traitor, and he will answer to his crimes accordingly. One of Four or not."

Susan turned to her left, and she saw that standing in front of them was a Dwarf. He had a full head of red hair and a long red beard which he had braided in order to keep it from falling down to his feet and causing him to trip. The Dwarf appeared to reach about the average-size for his people, approximately three-and-a-half feet tall and probably weighing about forty-eight pounds. He was dressed in highly decorative clothing that must have had something to do with the Dwarfs and their culture, because neither Susan or the other two could recognize the images of the hammers depicted on his chest. The Dwarf carried a glass of wine with him, however it was at this point difficult to tell if he had reached the point of being drunk or not. Susan had a suspicion that he was on his way. Most of the Narnians in their interaction, even if they weren't too happy about the situation with Edmund, weren't as bold in stating their thoughts as this Dwarf.

"We beg your pardon?" she finally asked the Dwarf after considering her choice of words carefully, offering him a chance to possibly apologize.

However no such apology was given. The Dwarf merely smirked arrogantly at her as he drank from his goblet, drinking so deeply as to cause some of the wine to dribble down his beard. Patting it dry to the best of his ability with his hand, he went on and said, "Your brother may be one of the Sons of Adam from the prophecy, but no one is above the law. All people must pay for their crimes. Aslan may be able to rescue him from the Witch. But nothing can prevent justice from demanding that treachery be paid its dues."

"I don't quite understand," Lucy said.

Susan squeezed her eyes shut. She could already tell that the explanation was going to more than likely be harsh.

The Dwarf roared with laughter. "Don't understand, eh, Daughter of Eve? Let me explain then-"

"You might better mind your tongue, Dwarf," Peter suddenly cut in, standing up. Susan watched as her brother's hand automatically went to his sword handle.

The Dwarf sneered, an atrocious grin across his face. "And you might better mind where your hand goes. You got lucky there with the Wolf. If it weren't for Aslan, you three probably would be dead by now."

Nobody could comment. Despite the Dwarf's rude remark, they all couldn't deny the fact that it was true.

The Dwarf nodded his head and in a voice that lacked anything pertaining to sincerity, said, "And a fine afternoon, your majesties."

As the Dwarf looked away and began making his way back to where he had come from, Susan glanced down at what was left of her food. She couldn't bring herself to eat any further. "The Dwarf has no right," she said. "He alone has no right to condemn Edmund for what he has done. He doesn't know what drove him to do what he did."

Before either Peter and Lucy could say anything in agreement, they heard a shout coming not too far away.

Susan turned to the left, where she had heard the sound. From the sounds of things, it sounded like it was half the entire distance of the entire camp away from where they were sitting. She turned to Peter, "Did you hear that?"

"I did," he responded.

"I did too," confirmed Lucy. "Who do you suppose it is?"

Nobody responded. Partly because nobody knew, but also because that was when they heard more shouting. At first there was one voice. Now there was two. Two voices- both of them sounded like they were coming from masculine voices- were shouting. Then a few more voices joined in, and this time the three of them could make out some feminine voices in the chorus of shouts. All of a sudden they heard grunts and squawks intermingling with the shouts. Not only that, but they could also hear that the shouts were getting closer to where they were sitting at.

Lucy got up so that she could see if she could get a better look. Peter followed suit. Susan got up as well, her curiosity now driving her to search for answers as well. She squinted, and could make out what seemed to be a group of Narnians coming towards Aslan's tent, which stood just on the other side of the pavilion.

"They sound angry," Lucy said, her eyes flickering with interest.

Susan looked down at her sister, "That's because they are."

"Wonder why they are?" asked Peter.

"I guess that's the question."

Resolve seemed to enter Peter's eyes. Checking to make sure that his sword (Rhindon as he now called it, a name he had given to it after the battle with Maugrim) was placed carefully in the sheath, he turned to his sisters and said, "I'm going to have a look see. The two of you should probably stay-"

"No," Lucy said. "We're coming with you."

"I really don't think that's-"

"She's right, we're coming," Susan said firmly as her eyes seemed to harden with her own resolve. For a moment she and Peter locked eyes, the two siblings caught in a battle of wills. "Peter, it's just in the Camp. I'm sure if it were anything having to do with the Witch's forces, they would have entered here more indiscreetly."

Peter glared at her, but then relented. "Let's go then," he said.

Susan turned to Lucy and nodded that they had better follow. For a moment her little sister glanced up at her, both awe and shock written in her eyes and on her face. Susan understood why her sister had the expression. Normally in these circumstances, she would have objected. She wasn't one to normally go and seek trouble. But for whatever reason, she felt strongly drawn to what was now happening in the Camp.

The three of them made their way from their picnic blanket and over to Aslan's tent. When they arrived, they could see that the Great Lion had come out of His tent. In the afternoon light he radiated with an essence that Susan couldn't help but admire. She didn't know what it was about Aslan. Whenever she was around Him, she always felt less self-important. Yet at the same time, she also felt a sense of importance as well. Quite an interesting irony, if she had to say so herself. How was it possible that when she stood next to the Lion that she could feel so small and insignificant like a little girl again and yet so valuable and big as if she were a queen at the same time?

She cleared her head of her thoughts though. Instead she walked up to the Lion carefully and asked, "Aslan?"

"Daughter of Eve," Aslan said, not taking his eyes away from the scene that was unfolding in front of them.

Susan looked away from Aslan and over towards the direction that the Lion was looking. From here she could see the scene slightly better. From where they were originally sitting and observing the commotion, she couldn't make out too many details.

Now though everything was more clear. She could make out the fact that what was originally a small group of shouting Narnians was now hundreds. She could see that there were centaurs, fauns, satyrs, nymphs, as well as various other talking beasts. She noticed that while this immense group made their way towards Aslan's tent, other Narnians were standing back, watching the scene unfold. There was definite curiosity among them as they watched the crowd walk by. Some of them choosing to join in once they figured out what was going on (which Susan was still clueless about) and others continued to look on in confusion and curiosity.

It was only when they were within the distance of the last few tents before reaching Aslan's tent that she could make out more important details. One of these happened to be a Dryad, who looked as though she was being pushed and dragged along the path. One of the Narnians, a Dwarf whom Susan immediately recognized as the one who had been telling them that Edmund was going to be paying dearly for his crimes, seemed to be the one who was leading the rally as he dragged along the Wood Nymph in a firm grip. Glancing back at the Dryad, Susan looked into her eyes. The Dryad looked absolutely frightened. Her eyes flickered all around her, looking for a way out yet finding none. Amidst the shouts of anger and fury, Susan could just make out her sounds of anguish.

Susan's eyebrows lifted in disbelief at what she saw next.

Apparently the Dryad wasn't moving fast enough to the crowd's liking. The Dwarf used his other hand to grab a handful of her hair, which was made of the leaves of the Tree which she had come from. Susan, having studied the patterns of leaves back in school, could recognize by the shape that they were from a beech tree.

Upon closer glance, Susan could see that the Dryad was immensely beautiful. Now, many of the Nymphs were pretty. That was nothing strange that Susan had noticed. However, there was something about this Wood Nymph's beauty that seemed to really distinguish her from the others. Susan wasn't quite sure what it was, perhaps it was her eyes and the odd way that they seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Or perhaps it was the luscious green appearance of the leaves that made up not only her hair, but also the rest of her body. Or perhaps even now as she was tugged violently along, she still manged to maintain a certain air of grace about her. It reminded Susan of a pile of leaves which had been picked up by a wind and which were being carried away by that said wind.

As the crowd pushed the Dryad further along and as they all drew closer, Susan could finally make out what they all seemed to be shouting. They were shouting things like, "Sinner! Breaker of the law! Sinner! She must be brought to Aslan! He will be the one who makes her answerable to her crimes! Let the Lion condemn her!"

"Aslan, what is happening?" Lucy asked, her eyes looking at the Lion, yet not directly at His face. "Why are they hurting that Dryad? What has she done?"

"A great sin, Lucy Pevensie," responded the Lion. "From what seems to be said. However, I do believe that the best way to really get an idea of what occurred is by listening. Let us all be silent and hear what it is this crowd presents to us."

Finally the group of Narnians stood before Aslan in the same exact spot that the three Pevensie children and the Beavers had previously stood when they had arrived and first met the Lion. For a few moments they all remained where they were, shouting abuse at the Dryad as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried looking down towards the ground. Susan couldn't help but pity her. It didn't take second eldest Pevensie long to realize that it was mainly the Lion's face that the Wood Nymph was trying to avoid.

However, the Dwarf tugged the Dryad's hair roughly, making her cry out as she was made to look upon the Lion. Each time she tried to look away from the eyes, which made one feel as though their entire soul was being cut open, the Dwarf would force her to look back. Causing her to cry out more, which in turn produced more sobs. Susan watched as tears caught the rims of leaves and slowly slid their way down to the soil in front of them.

"Look at Him you sorry immoral wench!" shouted the Dwarf. "Look upon the almighty gaze of the Lion."

The Dryad squeezed her eyes shut. "Please!" she pleaded. "Don't make me look, I beg of you! Don't make me look into His eyes. Please I beg of you, spare me of such suffering, for I don't believe I can bare any more shame."

"You broke one of the highest laws in the Narnian world," the Dwarf sneered. "One of the most important laws that the Great Lion's Father Himself presented to us through the prophets of Old. You chose to disobey them-"

"But if only you knew my story-" the Dryad began to interrupt desperately.

"Be silent, you dog!"

Susan watched in horror as the Dwarf roughly shoved the Dryad onto the ground. The Wood Nymph went to get up, but the next thing anyone knew, the Dwarf took out what appeared to be a cane of some sort and brutally hit her along her side. Susan had thought that because the Dryad was mainly consisted of leaves that it would just brush through her, but no, the cane made contact. The Dryad cried out in agony as the Dwarf continued to beat her with the cane until she was lying on the ground with only her elbows to prop herself up. She went to block the cane with her hands, which resulted in an even more violent beating.

Susan couldn't take watching the scene anymore. "Stop! For the love of all that is good, please stop! Leave her alone!" Before she could stop herself, she made her way over to where the Dwarf was beating the Dryad and threw out her arm and shouted, "Leave her alone you brute! Have you no heart?"

The Dwarf stopped beating the Dryad and glared at Susan. "Have you no respect for the laws of Narnia? For a Daughter of Eve who is said to be one of the future queens of Narnia, you seem to show much ignorance with how things are done here. And how we treat evil-doers like this Dryad."

Peter stepped forward now. Mainly to rise up to the aid of Susan, though he too felt some sympathy for the Dryad. "Pray tell then, what is it that she has done?"

The Dwarf glared at Peter. "You think you're all high and mighty, Sir Wolfsbane? Do you really think that I am answerable to you? No, I am answerable to Aslan first, and it will be to Him that I will explain the atrocity that this Dryad committed. To Him I will explain the wretched deed that this Nymph partook in."

"Then explain, Son of Earth," Aslan stated. His voice rumbled with authority, causing everyone to look at the Lion. However, none of them could look directly at the Lion. "What law has this Wood Nymph defiled?"

The Dwarf bowed deeply. Susan, glancing at the Dwarf, couldn't help but feel a sense of loathing for the creature. She had disliked him because of the things that he had said about her brother, no matter how true that they were. Now when she glanced in his direction, she couldn't help but completely despise him. She looked from him and to the weeping Dryad, to the stick which he held in his hand, and then back at him. Something within her reared up, something that felt alien to her. She felt as though a creature that had been sleeping within her previously had now suddenly awoke. Awoke, and was now rearing its head back and snapping at anything and everything. Desiring to break free from her control and destroy everything in its path. (More particularly the Dwarf.)

While retaining control, she glared at the Dwarf as he said, "Your Majesty, this Wood Nymph is the guilty of one of the most greatest of sins. She has broken the sacred laws that the prophets of Old laid down for us. She has been..." the Dwarf paused for a few moments as he searched for words to best describe it. When he found them, he said, "She has been 'friendly,' in more ways than one, with some of the soldiers who happen to be enemy males. Not only that, she has been friendly with some of the males here in the camp. Even though she also happens to be committed to someone."

Susan felt her eyes widen in shock and her mouth hang open. She turned to Peter, who just looked at her in return. The two of them glanced at the Dryad, who was busy looking down at the ground now. She was still weeping and sobbing, but now she was curling herself up into a ball. Looking at her, Susan found herself not pitying the Dryad so much. After all, what she had done was very terrible. Back in England, if such a thing had been discovered about a woman, that woman would have immediately been considered an outsider...a disgrace to the community as well as to every other woman out there.

Immediately after the Dwarf explained the Wood Nymph's crime the Narnians which had been part of the crowd, as well as the ones that had been standing off to the side, were speaking amongst themselves. Their voices all mingled together, and many of them began shouting, demanding that the laws be upheld and justice be dealt out swiftly.

"Every one knows the law!" the Dwarf shouted above the crowd, bringing them all into silence. "Everyone knows how this must be done. Long ago, the prophets wrote how we ought to deal with such circumstances. A female of any sort who has committed such a despicable act must pay for her crimes."

"What are you going to do to her?" Lucy asked them. It was the first time Lucy had said anything since the crowd had started shouting and abusing the Dryad. (Susan wasn't sure if Lucy quite understood what they were talking about. But Lucy was smart enough to make out that the Dryad had done something terribly wrong and that she was going to have to pay the price for it.)

"Yes, what's going to happen to her?" Susan found herself asking.

The Dwarf smiled proudly. "According to the Laws of Old, she must be stoned to death."

AN: Thanks to Ariel of Narnia, Arisa, and Not Really Specific for their beta work. Really appreciate it.