Chapter 2 – A Birthday Wish Come True

Lucy woke up and squinted her eyes. There was a beautiful blue sky above her, tall trees all around her, sweet grass tickling her cheek and the sun shining down on her. It was warm, all nice and warm, she snuggled down and attempted to return back to the world of dreams.

The grass was soft, oh so very soft. But there was something underneath her back, it was hard and uncomfortable, she did not like it. She shifted over to stare at the annoying object, and she scowled at the root which had disrupted her pleasant sleep.

Where was the car? Had Peter parked it somewhere? She could have sworn they were going to the beach. Sudden change of plan, oh well not a bad change. It was nice here, almost as nice as Narnia. She thought back to those glorious days when they had ruled over the glorious land.

She looked around her and smiled as Edmund twitched slightly in his sleep and his hair fell in front of his closed eyes. Susan's makeup was still perfect, as she was lying on her back, with her perfectly curled hair perfectly laid around her sleeping form. Peter's mouth was slightly open as his chest rose and fell.

She ruffled her hair and found it was all matted and knotted. She needed a hairbrush now! Her bag must have been left in the car. But where was the car? She crawled over to Peter careful not to wake the others and tapped her eldest brother gently on the shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly.

"What do you want Lucy?"

"I need to brush my hair and my hairbrush is back in the car. Where is the car?"

"Oh, I dunno." He said rolling over and shutting his eyes. "Su has a comb in her bag, ask to use it."

"No! You know how fussy Susan is about hygiene."

However Peter was already snoring and as she did not want to wake a grumpy Susan, perhaps Edmund might be a bit more helpful. She crawled over to her other brother and nudged him gently. No response – as usual. She shook him – again no response. She shouted in his ear.

"Oww, go away." He rolled over and fell back to sleep.

"We're in Narnia Edmund!" She shouted.

He sat up at once and looked around; and then he looked back at Lucy in wonder.

"We're in Narnia? But I thought we were never coming back."

Lucy started to laugh "Of course we're not in Narnia. I needed to wake you up."

"Oh." Edmund looked slightly disappointed "I wish we were."

"So do I." Lucy said thoughtfully

"Why did you wake me up anyway?"

"I was wondering where the car was cos I need a hairbrush."

"Car? What car?"

"The car we were driving to the beach with." Lucy said, annoyed that her brother was not fully awake and his brain not yet working.

"If we were going to the beach, then why are we in a forest?"

"You are even more unhelpful than Peter." She said sighing.

Susan was her final hope and she crawled over to Susan, amazed by the fact that her sister wasn't already awake, with the amount of noise Lucy had made waking Edmund up

Lucy shook her and Susan gently opened her eyes. The first thing Susan saw was the mess of her hair which she had curled so perfectly that very morning.

"Lucy what have you done to your hair."

"I know Su, I need a hairbrush. Do you mind if I use yours?"

"I told you to bring your own didn't I?"

"It's in the car and I don't know where the car is."

Meanwhile a magpie had flown down from the branches and was watching this whole conversation unravel with interest. It suddenly flew down and croaked out in its hoarse voice.

"There seems to be some problem about a comb. I happen to have a nice shiny comb which you can borrow, if you ask nicely."

Lucy stood staring at the magpie along with Susan. Susan blinked, rubbed her eyes and screamed. Peter having fully woken up now rushed over and clamped a hand over his sister's mouth. Lucy quickly regained her wits and replied to the magpie that she would like to borrow the comb very much indeed.

Peter had sat Susan down and she was shaking as if she was in the middle of the plains of Ettinsmoor.

"It is impossible. It's impossible. Animals cannot talk."

"Susan you let yourself believe it twice before. Surely you must remember Narnia, try and remember Narnia. Surely you remember Aslan. Aslan?"

Susan was struggling to get away but Peter's arms held fast around her waist

"Susan! Remember Susan. Aslan, that name."

"Aslan doesn't exist. You made him up."

Peter let Susan drop to the floor and sighed. Was there any hope left for his sister. Edmund rubbing the sleep out of his eyes was finally taking things into perspective.

"But Pete, Aslan said that we would never return. Are you sure this is Narnia?"

"No of course it isn't Narnia, it is some sort of weird dream." Susan replied sulking in the corner.

Peter was deep in thought – how could they have got here.

"What was the last thing you remembered Lu?" He asked – hoping she had some idea as to how they got here.

"We were in the car. You were going very fast ..."

"...and we crashed" Edmund finished off for her.

"Ah so this is a coma. This is all one big dream. None of this exists." Susan smiled at her new theory, it made sense to her.

The others sighed. When Susan had made up her mind there was no changing it.

"What should we do?" Lucy asked cheerfully. She looked around but nobody seemed to have any ideas. "Well, I think we should explore."

"Good idea Lu." Peter stood up and walked over to his sister. Edmund soon joined them but Susan remained sitting and pulled out a cigarette from her bag that she had clung on to throughout the crash.

"Well aren't you going to go and leave me in peace?" Susan huffed angrily

"Come on Lu." Peter pulled Lucy off but Edmund stayed put

"Aren't you coming Ed." Lucy asked

"I don't think that we should split up and if Susan is not going, we shouldn't go either."

"Just go Edmund. I want to be left alone." Susan huffed, puffing out cigarette smoke.

"But what if you get attacked?"

"It is a coma – nothing bad can happen to me."

"Please Su – if it is a coma nothing bad will happen with you if you come with us." Peter added.

"I can't be bothered."

"But then Su if you are in a coma this bother is not actually real." Both Susan and Lucy seemed a bit puzzled by what Edmund had just said but Susan was growing angrier by the minute.

"Can't you just leave me alone?"

"We will when you come with us."

"Fine!"

Susan stood up brushing herself down and puffed on her cigarette.

"Can you put that damn thing out? It stinks." Peter grumbled

"Cigarettes don't stink and it's calming my nerves so if you want me all stressed up then that's your choice."

"As if you already aren't" Edmund said under his breath.

The four of them kept walking in no particular direction. They met no animals and that magpie they had met earlier had seemed to have flown off. There was an eerie quiet over the forest. A cracking of a twig could be heard and Lucy turned around immediately. Seeing nothing she carried on and didn't bother her siblings about it. A strange rustling was suddenly heard and Peter stopped.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?" Susan looked frightened

"That may have been me you heard." A gruff voice said behind them

They all turned around and Susan screamed once again. In front of them stood an oversized pure white wolf, Susan grabbed her closest brother which happened to be Edmund and hid behind him quivering. Slowly five other wolves moved out from behind the trees – encircling them.

"We mean no harm friends." Peter said – taking up all his magnificence again "We are here by accident. We wish to know where we are."

The wolves were closing the circle and baring their teeth, Peter wished that he had Rhindon on him.

"Speak. I command you speak." Peter said once again

"Why should we obey you, when you should be the ones to obey us?"

"Indeed we are the ones who can hurt you; you have no weapons against us." A grey wolf added in.

"What do you want from us?" Peter demanded

"We want to know why you are here."

"I said before, we came here by accident." Peter was looking desperate, one pounce and he was dog meat – literally.

"Please leave us alone." Lucy said pleadingly

"Stop." Everyone's heads turned towards the voice. A young woman was standing there clothed in grey with a mask covering her face except her strange purple-grey eyes. Her form was slight but she stood up so tall that she gave off the figure of a tall woman. "Leuad, we have spoken off this before. If there are any strangers in this land they go to my father unharmed. Remember unharmed."

The white wolf looked down at his paws in shame.

"Thank you stranger, I thought that would be the end of me." Peter said not taking his eyes off hers.

She approached them and slipped through the enclosure of wolves. Each of the Pevensies noticed the bow in her hand and the beautiful quiver on her back. The bow was strung and all she needed was to snatch a bow out of the quiver and any of them would be dead.

"What strange clothes you wear and what a strange air hangs about you. An air which smells like smoke that would make you coughs up your own lungs. "

"Cigarettes don't smell." Susan said under her breath careful not to anger this potentially deadly woman.

"Who are you?"

"If we told you, you wouldn't believe us."

"Try me."

"I am High King Peter, this is Queen Lucy, King Edmund and that is Queen Susan."

"Ha, don't try that trick on me. I've seen it before. The four Kings and Queens of old will never return again to Narnia."

"I told you, you wouldn't believe us."

"If you are the Kings and Queens of old explain, please, why are you in Narnia?"

"Believe me – we have been trying to puzzle that one out as much as you have."

"Leuad!" She shouted turning to the wolf "Take them back to the castle with all haste. They will be a pretty present for my father."

"Of course Milady."

With this, the mysterious woman ran off into the trees out of their sight.

"Come on now, Your Majesties." Leuad said, sarcasm filling his voice.

The wolves set off at a trot and the Pevensies had to jog to keep up with them. Susan soon tired and sat down on the damp ground, a wolf immediately ran back and started to growl at her.

"Have you ever tried running in high-heels."

The wolf only growled further. Edmund seeing that his older sister was in trouble ran back to help her.

"Come on Su, run without your shoes."

"But ..."

"We have little option. Look give me your bag, I'll carry it."

"Thanks."

And so they jogged a good long distance, without rest, to Cair Paravel.

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