The sky was dark and the wind was warm when the hawk, Idlebeek, plunged beneath the canopy of the western woods. Aslan had said to deliver the news to Archenland's Charge and that he would find him in the mountain forest just to the south of Narnia's border.
As if by some strange magic – how wondrous strange all of Aslan was – Idlebeek saw a glimpse of a well kept fire near the mouth of a small cave. As the sight drew nearer he made out two distinct figures and a small camp with a horse for each rider. They were the only humans for hundreds of miles.
He had found the Charge.
Raising his wings to descend quickly, Idlebeek landed on a log next to a young girl, not a day younger than good Queen Susan he'd just left hours before.
The girl was startled and with a shout of alarm, swept her arm to the side and knocked the hawk onto his back in the damp grass behind him.
He coughed.
"Good sir and lady, I bring news from Aslan himself!" he sputtered as he stood to his feet and caught his lost breath. Instantly after, he began preening his feathers and shaking himself back into place.
"Oh bullocks, sorry!" she apologized, petting his feathers back into order.
The man stood up to an impressive height and narrowed his brown eyes at the bird.
"Aslan you say? Bless his name! You've come to tell us about the melt?" the man asked, scooping Idlebeek into his arms with a smile. This came as a shock to the hawk but he took it well and even chortled in a clucking sort of way.
"Yes, my Charge. Oh, I am to assume that you are the Charge of Archenland?" Idlebeek posed, never being too careful.
"Indeed. What from Aslan?"
"The four thrones of Cair Paravel have been filled and upon the new day, High Kings Peter and Edmund and High Queens Susan and Lucy are crowned!" he squawked, excitement pouring through his beak into his every word.
"The white witch is dead!" cheered the young girl, who could not contain her excitement and leapt from the log. "The melt, the warm breeze, the long winter is over!"
Joyously, she clung to her father and they danced around in a frenzied circle, Idlebeek flapping above and laughing in delight.
"Yes! It is true, the witch rots, the witch rots! The war has been fought and won!"
Father and daughter continued to celebrate while Idlebeek settled on the log once again. The flight here had been hurried and he needed to rest to gather his strength for the long journey back.
"What's your name, good messenger?" the girl asked, plopping down next to the bird and stroking his glossy feathers again. He stretched and closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the attention to all his aching parts. As the daughter of the Charge, he assumed that she was well-versed in the ways of Narnia, including how to treat its intelligent beasts and soaked up the touch.
Peeking an eye open, he caught her looking down at him with a calm expression on such a young face, covered in freckles and newfound hope.
"My lady, I am Idlebeek, a hawk from the north – ahhh." His voice trailed as she gingerly massaged her fingertips over his wings, soothing his pains away.
"Idlebeek seems like an awfully ironic name for a message hawk." She jested, laughing richly.
His piercing golden eyes opened when he heard the Charge approach, with horses behind in reigns, ready to ride.
"We ride for Narnia immediately. It has been too long since Archenland has had allies to the north. They deserve to know our allegiance. Start packing."
"My Charge, I request the name of you and your daughter, the Charge-in-training I presume?" Idlebeek prompted cordially.
He Charge chuckled good naturedly as he began stripping down their tiny camp.
"I'm Tholyn!" cried the girl over her shoulder as she bolted to help her father strap their few belongings onto their steeds. "And this is Jeza!" she indicated by patting the flank of a large, fuzzy grey mare.
Jeza stomped her foot a little and shook her black mane.
"I can speak for myself, you know?" the mare chided in a sing-song tone of playful indifference. Snorting, Jeza settled and stood still to let Tholyn secure the weapons onto her.
The Charge guffawed outright at this and slapped his knee in the middle of dousing the fire.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Tholyn and Jeza." Idlebeek replied graciously. "And you, my liege?"
"Blane," said the Charge. He was far too excited to be bothered with speech, and was still a good deal tickled by the interaction between his daughter and her horse. "We're much honored as well."
"No doubt, you're the closest to Aslan I've ever been!" Tholyn added eagerly as she swung up into the saddle. Since Jeza was so large, Tholyn had to sit high up on the horse's back, and Idlebeek thought she looked like a dwarf on a regular sized horse. Such an image caused him to chuckle. Everything was joyous today, the spell of cheer's sleep was over and they were all so giddy they hardly knew themselves!
"Here Idlebeek, you can rest in my lap while we ride to Narnia." Tholyn offered as the last bit of light hissed to an end in the fire circle. "I've fashioned a sling for you and everything."
"Oh my dear, that's quite all – WOAH!"
Idlebeek's refusal was cut short when Blane swiftly scooped the sleepy bird off from the log and carried him to his daughter.
"She won't take no for an answer and neither will I." insisted Blane with kind sternness. "We have a ceremony tomorrow! You must be sharp for it!"
Before Idlebeek had time to protest he had been settled into a rather comfortable piece of material that Tholyn had strapped across her body like a bandolier. He lay against her heart and could hear its rhythmic drumming calling him to a place far away…
"Comfortable?" she asked.
The only answer she received was a contented sigh as the hawk fell right to sleep.
"Silly things, birds are."
"You humans aren't much better." Jeza remarked humorously.
Blane mounted his silent, simple horse and aligned him to the north after a quick consultation with his compass.
"We ride through the night; the moon should light us well enough." He informed firmly, casting a look over to his daughter and confidante. She nodded and tightened her grip on the reigns; she knew how long of a ride it was to Narnia.
As quickly as Idlebeek had fallen to sleep, so Blane and Tholyn took off, leaving the little cave campsite behind, ready to usher in a warmer age of reason and harmony with the return of their allies to the north.