I'm using the name Avery again because I really like the name.
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My name is Avery Dowel and I was born in England. When I was five years old my parents took me and moved to Canada because they said they needed a 'change of scenery'. It was fine, I was young so moving didn't really make a difference to me. Now at 17, however, I'm making a move back to England and I absolutely hate the idea. I'm leaving my friends, my home, and everything I grew up around.
My parents just recently died in a fatal car accident so I'm being shipped off to live with my great uncle. I've only ever met him a handful of times and he's a nice guy but something is just off with him. Apparently he's the only family I have left though, seeing as my dad was an only child and my moms brother died in the war.
I had to take a plain and a train to get to where I am - seemingly at a train station in the middle of nowhere - and I'm still waiting for my uncle to pick me up to take me to my new 'home'. I've been sitting here on this bench for about an hour now and there is no sign of anyone coming up the dirt road to collect me. I let out an irritated sigh and looked up at the sky. It's going to rain soon.
As if the sky heard me, water drops started to fall from the sky. The good thing was, that at the exact same time, a car started to drive up the street. I picked up my sac and ran to the car as it pulled over near me. When I got in the car, an old man with square glasses was looking at me.
"Hello Uncle Digory." I said quietly.
"My my Avery, you've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you." He said with a smile.
"That's what people do as time passes. They grow and get older." I replied as I leaned my head against the flimsy window, "You haven't seen me since I was eleven. We're practically strangers."
I didn't see but his smile softened and he spoke, "Yes well, you best get as comfy as possible, it's going to be a long bumpy ride."
He wasn't kidding. It was a very long ride, to me at least. We were in the car for about an hour and half. The road was also very gravely causing my head to bump the window quite a few times.
Uncle Digory was always the one who visited me and my parents, so I've never seen his home before. In fact, I haven't been to England since I was five. When I did see his house though, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. It was more like a mansion. The yard was huge, considering it was in the country and all, but the house itself was amazing. I couldn't help but stare at it in awe as we drove up the driveway and pulled over in front of the house.
When we finally entered the house I looked all around me in wonderment. It was decorated so medieval style, I loved it.
"I had all your clothes and possessions put away when they arrived. I didn't want you to worry about tedious little things like that." He said.
I looked at him, still holding my sac of my more personal and meaningful possessions. "Uh, thank you." I said.
He motioned me to follow him up the stairs and I did. He then led me to the far room on the right, "I thought you might like a nice view of the garden. It's quite a sight when the whether isn't quite so dreary." He said and then walked to the door. "I'll leave you to get settled then, feel free to roam the house before supper. I'll have someone call you down when it's ready." With that, he left the room.
It was a pretty basic room. Nothing to fancy, just the way I like it. I set my sac on the end of the bed and walked to the window. I did have a good view of the garden and it looked like it would be quite beautiful if the rain would stop and the sun come out. I walked back over to my sac and opened it to take out a few pictures. One of me and my parents that was taken about a year ago; one of just my parents before the three of us left England; and one of all my friends from school that they took as a going away gift. They told me not to forget them and I wouldn't but it was also time to let go of my past as well. That's harder than it sounds, I thought as I set the black and white pictures up on the night stand.
I then took out my hair brush, tooth brush, and make up and set them on the vanity that was placed beside the closet. I also pulled out my moms old jewellery box and placed it on the vanity as well before sitting down in the small chair. I looked in the mirror at myself and sighed before turning back to the jewellery box and opening it. The only things in it were both my parents wedding bands and a twirling ballerina dancing to a soft melody. My mother used to open her jewellery box and play it for me at bed time when I was little. She used to hum along to it as she held me. It was the only way I would fall asleep at night, especially after we moved across the ocean.
After an hour of organizing my things the way I liked them to be I was called down for supper. When I entered the dining hall I sat at the place set up for me; perpendicular from my uncle. Across from me sat an older lady, not quite as old as my uncle but getting there.
"This is Ms. McCready." My uncle replied.
"Hello, pleased to meet you." I said to her but not really meaning it.
"Like wise." I don't think she meant it either.
"Professor, when is your student due to arrive?" Ms McCready asked, ignoring my presence. I'd have to be honest, her statement confused me. Surely my uncle would have told me if there was someone else coming to live with us.
"He'll be here tomorrow evening. He's getting on the train in Finchly late tomorrow morning." My uncle said and then looked at me. "Oh, I don't think I mentioned this bit of news earlier." He said.
I shook my head no.
"Well then, I guess I'll fill you in now." He said and then took a bite of his meal. He swallowed before talking, "There is a young man coming tomorrow and he's going to be staying awhile. He's about a year or two old than you and is coming here to take history lessons from me. He'll be corresponding with the university near by. He wants to be a history professor you see." He explained.
I nodded in understanding. And was about to say something but Ms. McCready cut in. "Yes, he'll be right into his studies while he's here so please try not to bother him." She said. She looked at me sternly and I nodded. I didn't like that she treated me like a child.
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Later that night I was in my pyjamas looking out the window in my room. It still looked pretty crummy out but with the slight pink in the sky from the sun set, there was a good chance the sun might just come out tomorrow. I was hoping it would anyway, I would like to explore the grounds.
I left my room a few minutes later with a candle in hand. I wanted to explore the house a bit before going off to bed. I just hoped I didn't run into Ms. McCready, no doubt she would have something awful to say to me about roaming the halls after dark.
I walked down hall after hall and peaked in every room that had the door open and then came to another set of stairs. Being a naturally curious person I went up them and came to a door that was slightly cracked. I pushed on it lightly and it opened slowly with a loud creak. I stepped inside the room and looked around but the only thing in there was a wardrobe. How odd for this to be in hear on it's own, I thought curiously and walked over to it. I opened up the door to the wardrobe but all I saw were a few fur coats. Only fur coats? I asked myself as I pushed them a side with one hand, my other still holding the candle. When they were fully pushed aside I squinted my eyes to try and focus more on what I was seeing. Are those branches? It can't be. Wh…
"What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Ms McCready asked strictly while tapping her foot. The sound of her voice made me whip around to face her, my long brown locks hitting me in the face as I did so. "Come with me." She said and I closed the wardrobe and followed after her.
She brought me into a huge study where my uncle sat behind a desk working on something. He looked up when he heard us enter and raised his eyebrows curiously.
"To what do I owe this pleasure…" He asked and then looked at the clock, "…so late in the evening?" He added.
"She's been snooping around the house. Surely there will be consequences for her insolence." Ms. McCready really had it in for me and I had absolutely no idea why.
"You can go back to bed now Ms. McCready. I'll deal with this." My uncle said. McCready smirked down at me and then left the room. I looked at my uncle and was surprised to see he was smiling at me. "I'm sorry you had a run in with her during your exploration of the house. She can be a bit bitter at times. She, like you, has suffered great loses as well."
"So I'm going to be like her when I'm older?" I asked.
"I sincerely hope not." He chuckled a little and I let out a small giggle. "It is, however, getting rather late. Maybe you should continue your adventures in the morning?" He suggested.
"I am rather tired." I said as I let out a yawn, "Goodnight Uncle Digory." and then headed for the door.
"Goodnight Avery." He said back.
Just as I was about to exit I stopped, my hand on the doorknob. "Uncle Digory?" I asked. He looked up at me. "While I was looking around, I came upon a wardrobe in a spare room." I said and turned to fully face him. He seemed genuinely interested in what I was saying. "When I pushed a side some of the coats I noticed a forest on the other side but if I'm not mistaken, this house is surrounded by open fields." I said.
"What exactly is your question Avery?" He asked, a certain twinkle in his eye.
"Well, I know people deal with grief in different ways but…well…never mind." I said with a sigh and turned to the door again, "I was probably just seeing things."
"Avery?" my uncle asked. I turned to slightly look at him, "Do you feel out of place here?" He asked, "It's okay, be honest." He added when he noticed my hesitation.
"Sometimes."
"Then maybe here isn't where you're supposed to be just yet." He said and his smile widened when I looked at him confused.
"Then where do I belong?" I asked.
"There's a place for you somewhere and you'll find it soon enough." He said, "Aslan must have a plan for you." He said nothing more after that and motioned out of the room.
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I couldn't sleep that night. Who's Aslan? I asked myself as I stared at the ceiling of my room. I turned on my side and stared at the picture of my parents. "Uncle Digory seems to know something about me that I don't." I whispered to them, "Do you think it has something to do with the wardrobe? Does it have something to do with the forest I saw?" I asked them and then frowned as a tear escaped. I shut my eyes before anymore fell. There's only one way to know for sure if what I saw was real. I'm going back up to the wardrobe in the morning, I thought and then finally drifted off into a restless sleep.
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When I awoke, the sun wasn't shining through my window like I'd hoped. Instead there was a light tapping of the rain on the glass. That's fine, I have something else to do anyway, I thought as I got out of bed to get ready for the day.
I was sitting at my vanity in a plain gray skirt and white blouse. I also had on flat Mary Janes over top plain white ankle socks as well. I was humming along to the little tune in the jewellery box as I brushed my long brown silky hair. The lack of lighting in the room made my pale blue eyes look grey as I looked back myself through the mirror. I'll have to talk to my uncle about getting me a lamp, I thought.
I went down to find myself some breakfast after I thought I looked presentable enough. I didn't want Ms McCready saying anything else horrible about me, though I knew she would anyway.
"You actually look decent today." Ms McCready said as I entered the kitchen, "Though a young lady, such as yourself, should have their hair down." She then left the kitchen, me making faces at her back. I know it's childish but it seems to be the only way to vent my frustrations.
There was a small giggle behind me and I turned to face the cook. She was older looking and a bit plump as well. "She grows on you after awhile." She said.
I sat down at the breakfast nook, "But why is she so mean to me?" I asked.
"She's not treating you any different than she treats anyone else that's younger than her." The cook said and set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me.
"I see." I said and then started to eat. The cook said nothing more to me, just continued mucking around the kitchen.
After I ate, I went to find that spare room again. I had to know if that forest beyond the wardrobe was real. I didn't want to be caught again though, just in case I wasn't allowed to be up there so when I climbed up the stairs and came to the door, I opened it as quietly as possible. The creak was there still but it wasn't as loud as it was last night. I shut the door behind me and stood in front of the wardrobe.
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"Peter, do you really have to go?" Lucy asked with a small pout.
"Don't pout Lucy, you're not a little kid anymore." Susan said to her 14 year old sister and then turned to Peter, "Though she's right. The four of us haven't been separated for so long before." She was 18 now.
"Everything will be just fine. I'll be back before you know it." The 19 year old Peter said.
"Before we know it? You'll be gone for nearly two years." Edmund said with his arms crossed. He was now 16.
"We can't stick together always. We'll all eventually have to go our separate ways and live our own lives. My time has just come early. Besides, it's not like we wont visit each other." Peter explained. The train could then be heard getting closer. "Time to say good bye I guess." Peter said and held out his arms. All three of his siblings tackled him in a hug making them fall backwards.
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I opened up to the wardrobe and went in, shutting the wardrobe doors behind me. I kept walking until I came to be standing on grass. It is real. I thought amazed as I pushed aside a branch and walked further into the forest. I eventually came to a lamp post and scrutinized it through my narrowed eyes. "What would a lamp post be doing in the middle of the forest?" I whispered to myself and brushed my hand a long the surface.
I heard scuffling behind me and turned to look. There was a fox scurrying along. Hiding in bush after bush, behind tree after a tree. I just continued to watch her until she came to tree closest to me and hide behind it. She peaked around it to look at me and then motioned with her paw to come closer. I warily stepped closer and bent down until I was closer to her level.
"You shouldn't be here." She whispered. I yelped and jumped back.
"You're a fox, you shouldn't be talking!" I exclaimed and took a few steps away from her.
"Shhhhhhhhhhh! Someone might here you, and then we would really be in trouble." The fox said frantically.
Footsteps and talking could then be heard and the fox motioned me to follow her quickly. "Come on, hurry, unless you want to be locked up in a cell." She said.
I didn't know what to make of a talking fox or if I could even trust her but I followed anyway, my instincts telling me I'll be in more danger here than wherever she's taking me. We ventured further and further into the forest until the trees were more closer together and then we stepped out into a clearing.
"Alright, we can talk here, the guards wont venture so far into the forest." The fox said and then sat down on a boulder, wiping her forehead as she did so.
I just looked around the clearing. I couldn't help but feel as if there were eyes on me. Dozens of them. Feeling like you're being watched is very unsettling.
"I'm never leaving Safe Haven again." The fox muttered, "Someone else can risk there life next time." She then looked at me, "It's about time you got here too. We've been waiting so long for the one that con blow the horn."
"What are you talking about? Where am I? and how did you know I was here?" I asked as I crossed my arms. I felt like an idiot, talking to a fox. I think I've finally lost it.
"Whoa, hold on. One question at a time." The fox said and then sighed, "But to answer your second question, you're in Narnia."
"Narnia? Where's that?" I asked confused.
"South of Archenland of course." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"How did you know I was here? I only just came through the wardrobe not even five minutes before you came to me." I said.
"The tree's told us. They're quite useful you know." The fox said. Maybe I've gone and bumped my head on something, there is no way trees can talk…Then again, I thought foxes couldn't either. "You say you came through Ward Robe?" The fox asked.
"Yes, in the spare room." I replied.
"Spar 'Oom?" The fox said excited and stood on her hind legs. "Then you really are the one we've been waiting for! You've come from the same land as the Kings and Queens of Old!" She exclaimed and then shouted, "Alright everyone! It's safe, come on out!"
Just then, creatures of all shapes and sizes came into the clearing. I guess there really were people…er, things…watching me. I looked around at them all. There were squirrels, mice, bears, cheetahs, wolves; animals of every kind. There were even fairy tail creatures that I've read about like Centaurs, Minotaur's, dwarves, griffons and fawns. There were so many and I couldn't help but look at them all in wonderment.
A Centaur then stepped up to me. He seemed to be the leader. "Welcome, Daughter of Eve, our new hope." He said, "My name is Gans, and on behalf of all the Narnians, we welcome you to our land. Can you please tell us your name?
"My names Avery and uh, thank you but I think you're mistaken. I can't be your hope. I don't even know what I'm doing here." I replied a little nervous. I was standing in the middle of the circle they all had formed around me.
"You're here to blow Queen Susans horn to call the Kings and Queens of Old to help save our land. You're here to fight along side them." A chipmunk that came and perched itself on my shoulder said.
"But why can't one of you blow the horn. Surely one of you are more qualified." I tried again.
"Unfortunately, only a Daughter of Eve or Son of Adam…only a human can call our Kings and Queens through the horn."
I let out a deep sigh and held out my hand. "Alright, hand it over."
"Well, we don't have it." The fox said.
"Then where is it?"
"It's in the castle being held by the King along with the other possessions of the King and Queens."
"If Narnia already has a King, then how come I need to call more? Can't he just fight for you?" I asked. This was all getting rather ridiculous.
"It's the current King that we are trying to save ourselves from." Gans said, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, "He came to Narnia with his soldiers from some land far away. He enslaves us or kills us. We've tried to revolt on our own but his army is to strong. He's very evil and we need our Kings and Queens to help bring Narnia to peace once again."
"Well, if the horn is in the castle, how do you expect me to get it?" I asked.
"King Nazar keeps the keepsakes of the Queens and Kings of old in his thrown room." The Chipmunk on my shoulder said, "Since you're human you should have no problem getting into see him."
"We want you to say that you've come from Archenland to serve in his army. You'll then have freedom to roam the castle at night. That's when you can get the horn." Gans said, "It's a plan that should work."
"Should?" I asked, "What happens if it doesn't?" I asked.
Complete silence over came the crowd and some of them shared glances with each other. I guess I have my answer, I thought and took a deep breath. I could die but these creatures need my help. It's not like I have much to lose anyway, I thought and then coughed a little to get the attention of the crowd.
"I'll do it. I'll do this for you guys." I said quietly, but loud enough from them all to hear.
The chipmunk on my shoulder spoke, "You'll do this for all of Narnia."
I nodded and smiled a little, "I'll do this for Narnia."
The crowd clapped and roared and celebrated. The trees danced and the creatures danced with them. I could help but feel good that I was the cause of this. I brought hope to the Narnians.
That night as I lay in the grass, looking up at the stars, the fox and the chipmunk came and laid beside me.
"We leave in the morning. We'll take you as far as the border of the forest. There you'll see a soldiers camp. You'll be on your own after that I'm afraid. It's not safe for us Narnians to be out in the open." The chipmunk explained.
"I understand. I wouldn't want to put any of you in danger anyway." I replied, keeping my eyes on there stars. "You two haven't told me your names." I said and turned on my side to face them.
"My name is Vixen." Said the fox with a slight curtsy.
"And my name is Cornhunter. My mother wasn't at all original." The Chipmunk said.
"It was nice to meet both of you but I think it's time we get some rest." I said with a small smile. The nodded and curled up beside me.
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In the morning I yawned and sat up. The sun was peaking through trees and I smiled. I feel like I haven't seen the sun in ages, I thought and stood up, brushing off my skirt and blouse.
There was already some hustling and bustling as I walked around the clearing. I sat down on a rock, not knowing if I should help with breakfast or anything. I asked a female Centaur by the name of Zafria but she said that everything was fine and that I could sit and wait for breakfast to be served to me, which is what I did.
After everyone was done eating, Gans came up to me. "We cannot send you into a soldiers camp unarmed." He said and then had a fawn present a sword to me. It was in it's sheath attached to a belt so that I could wear it on my hip.
"Thank you, but I don't know the first thing about wielding a sword. What if they ask me to fight?" I asked.
"I'm sure you'll think of something." Cornhunter said to me, once again perched on my shoulder.
I sighed, "I'll do my best everyone. It feels good to have so many put so much faith in me. I just hope I don't disappoint you all." I said and then turned to Vixen, "Lead the way." She nodded and we left. All eyes of the Narnians on my back.