Chapter II
A/N: Chapter two is finally up. Read and review! Any and all comments are welcome. Thank-you!
Tumnus and Lucy seemed to be proceeding at a leisurely pace through the drifts and between the trees, but a glance to either side revealed the forest moving by rapidly. Soon, the small girl became aware of a glow now appearing in the distance before them. The glow grew in intensity as they approached and then began to divide into several sources of light. Presently, moving smoothly around an enormous fir, the duo stepped into the courtyard of a gargantuan stone structure towering above them, its huge multi-paned windows defiantly aglow against the starless night. Stately marble columns pressed up into a low hanging mist, into what appeared to be spires disappearing upward into the haze.
As Lucy's wide eyes lowered once again to the courtyard, she saw that strange, motionless figures had begun to appear out of the fog. Extremely lifelike, but as still as death, they stood with their faces contorted in expressions of fear, surprise, or horror. As the pair walked slowly past them, Lucy identified Centaurs, Dwarves, Gryphons, and many others, all as solid as stone. She realized that they were only statues, but her fear still did not subside. She knew there was something wrong.
Tumnus led Lucy up a flight of broad steps brushed clean of snow, then across a wide portico, where they stopped before an immense oaken door. Its varnished trim and gold filigree glimmered in the diffuse light reflected off the snow.
The small girl heard her guide gently sigh, as though a bit apprehensive. Then, she watched him step resolutely to the door, grasp a heavy iron wolf's head, then release it, so that it clanged solidly against a metal plate.
They waited. Just as the faun began to reach once more for the doorknocker, slow, heavy, hoof-like steps were heard within. Two bolts clanged and the ponderous door swung slowly inward. An immense Minotaur peered out at the two.
"You're late, Tumnus. And who's this?" The Minotaur spoke slowly and ominously, examining Lucy with some curiosity, its huge head tilted toward her, its eyes glowing a dull yellow.
"I'm sorry, Chailoghdan!" Tumnus replied nervously. "But, I have some presents for Her Royal Highness!" The monster sniffed at Tumnus' humble gesture, unimpressed by the small packages the faun carried. Quickly reconsidering, Tumnus gave a slight nod to his left. Chailoghdan's massive head slowly swung to the right.
"This?" he growled. Tumnus nodded, almost sorrowfully. The Minotaur stepped heavily aside, drawing the enormous gate open.
No warmth greeted them when they stepped into the inner citadel. A shining marble floor reflected the cold bluish light of dim, ice-cut chandeliers high overhead.
Lucy shivered, surprised at the blatant iciness of the room.
Chailoghdan slowly turned, reached high up on a wall, and grasped a torch, which burned with seemingly cold flame. The torch flared briefly as he brought it down before his hideous face, its light revealing a dim corridor leading out of the large entrance hall. The Minotaur shuffled down the passageway, briefly glancing back to see that the two smaller figures were following behind.
Lucy was terrified. She had a sinking feeling that she wouldn't be returning home any time soon—or ever for that matter. A small tear of fear trickled slowly down her cheek. She didn't brush it away.
At intervals along the walls, torches glowed dimly. The hallway seemed longer than what the outside of the palace might be expected to accommodate, but presently, another larger oaken door loomed before them. The Minotaur touched a gnarled knuckle to the wood in a clumsy attempt to knock softly.
Bang! Bang!
He stepped back, his hand on his mouth.
A shrill, imperious female voice responded from within, "Who is it?"
The monster slowly pulled the door open to reveal a capacious, high-ceilinged room. Far across a white expanse of gleaming marble, a dais rose against the opposite wall. It was topped by an alabaster throne on which sat, straight and rigid, a figure clad in a full-length white gown under a long pallid mantle made entirely of fox fur. On her head was a tall, jagged crown, which seemed to be composed completely of ice. Her blue-gray eyes gazed coldly across and down.
"Well, Tumnus, what do you have?" she questioned grimly.