Chapter 3: A Place of Magic
"Here she is. We thought we lost you," said Mandle with a laugh.
"Ladrina you are very slow," said Caspian.
"If I had not gone back, we would be without food, because, Caspian, you left the basket by the door," she said with a laugh.
Mandle gave a hearty laugh as Caspian began to blush.
"These woods are beautiful. The way the sun shines through the leaves and the light dances with the wind," said Caspian.
"Yes. I am excited to see the abandoned house. It has been so long since we have been there," said Ladrina.
"I do not remember more of a cave type structure than a house," stated Mandle.
"I have a cave image in my head as well," said Caspian.
"If it is a cave then it fits in with the Stories even more," said Ladrina, her voice like she was in a dream and with great excitement.
"Ladrina, what do you mean?" asked Mandle.
"The Stories of Aslan, and the four greatest Kings and Queens that ever reined Narnia," Caspian stated.
"You mean the legends. That is all they are. Legends. Myths. Nothing else," said Mandle in his usual adult tone of voice. Ladrina had always hated that tone of voice. It always made her feel small and too young to understand anything. But she knew that he right which was the hard part. They were legends. Legends with places that actually existed, which made her, think they were real.
"I realize where you are coming from, but I must disagree. There is proof that they could have happened," said Caspian.
"For example?" asked Mandle begging for a debate.
"The house. If it is a cave, then that proves at least the first part of the story," said Ladrina with hint of pleasure in proving Mandle wrong.
"How do you mean?" asked Mandle.
"Have you not heard the stories? Mandle, did you not pay attention when they were being told. When our uncle Caspian was alive, they were allowed but only as legends. Ever since Uncle Miraz became king they have been outlawed, banned if you will. You are not allowed to even think them. But there are some who believe they are true," said Ladrina with frustration. "You cannot argue something you know nothing about."
"You are right Ladrina. I am in the fault for not knowing full well what is being discussed. Would you therefore tell the stories that I may be able to argue fairly?" asked Mandle with an air of elegance. He knew he had been beaten.
"Gladly." She began to tell the tale of Aslan, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy, the four children who became great kings and queens of Narnia.
The story was interrupted as the three travelers arrived in a small open glen. There were hills to the North and mountains to the Northeast. The grass was greener than any field the three travelers had seen in either fortress, Caspian or Ladrina's.
"Here we are," said Ladrina as she reined in Santhos. The boys reined in their horses. The three looked out at the rolling land before them. Over in the Northwest corner there was a dark patch and a pile of rocks.
"Ladrina, over there," Caspian said as he pointed in the direction of the rock.
"Race you!!" She shouted with a laugh as she urged Santhos on into a gallop. Before Mandle knew what was happening, both Caspian and Ladrina were a ways ahead of him. He took off after them.
They had left him behind. To them, he was just another adult, another adult who did not care for the old stories. Ladrina and Caspian had spent much time together in the days when Mandle had been in training to be a warrior.
Ladrina, with her head start, was well ahead of the other two. She and Santhos were a good team. Caspian and Destrier were also a good team. Destrier and Santhos had run races like this before. Finally, Santhos who had not been galloping as fast he as could, suddenly got a burst of energy. It was as if a monster was behind him.
Ladrina was therefore the first one of the three to reach the rock formation.
"Whoa! Good boy," she said as she patted Santhos' neck. She noticed that Santhos was tense. His ears were up right and forward. "What is it boy?" she asked. She looked in the direction that Santhos was staring. He was staring at the opening to the house. Mandle had been right. It was more of a cave than a house. The only way you would know it was a house was the fact that it had a door, though it was not much of a door as it was broken in about ten different pieces.
Ladrina heard her name. It was in a voice so low that she first thought it was the wind in the nearby trees, but she heard it again, barely audible this time. It was not Mandle's voice nor was it Caspian's.
She dismounted and grabbed her dirk. She looked around her to see where the voice could possibly come from. It sounded as though it came from inside the cave. She looked into the mouth of the cave and saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at her. They blinked. They were young yet wise with age, like they had seen the entire world. It was as though they were calling her forth into the cave.
"Ladrina?" a hand grabbed her shoulder. She whipped around prepared to defend herself only to see Caspian back up with hands in the air, a scared look on his face. She placed her hand on her chest with relief. She also saw Mandle finally arriving.
"What's the matter? You look as if you have seen death," Mandle said.
She looked back to the cave entrance, but received no comfort. The eyes were gone.
"Are we in danger?" asked Caspian, following her glance.
"I know not but there is as good a place as any to picnic right over there by that tree," she said pointing to a large oak tree. She attempted to use a voice that was braver than she felt. Her hand was shaking.
She put her dirk back into her boat sheath and unstrapped the basket from Santhos' saddle. She passed it to Caspian.
"Are you alright?" he asked obviously concerned.
"I'm fine. A little shaken but I'll be okay. I will tell you about it later," She said in a shaky voice. "Take this. I have to take Santhos away from this cave."
Mandle and Caspian walked over to the oak tree spread their cloaks on the ground and began to eat.
Ladrina lead Santhos to a tree near by the oak. She noticed that Santhos was still a bit tense.
"Hey boy," she said petting his velvety nose, "I know you saw those eyes as well as I did. It is okay boy," she said hugging his neck. Santhos nickered softly. "Nothing is going to hurt you while I'm here. You will be okay."
She took off the bridle so Santhos could graze. She walked over the where the boys were eating. Throughout the whole picnic, she never let Santhos out of her eyes.
"Ladrina, you never finished the story," said Mandle after much talk and eating and laughing.
As she began to tell the story from where she had left off, she heard the voice again, louder than before. She stopped telling the story.
"What is it?" asked Mandle.
"Shh!" she shushed him quickly for she heard the voice again. "Please excuse me," she said as she jumped up from the cloaks and ran to the cave.
"Where are you going?" asked Caspian as she ran off. She didn't hear him.
"What is the connection between the cave and the stories?" asked Mandle.
"It is supposedly the home of Sir Tumnus," said Caspian.
"The faun?" asked Mandle surprised.
"Yes. Why do you look shocked?" Caspian asked as they got up and started walking after Ladrina.
"I was expecting an important person living here. Like one of those children," he said disappointed.
"He was a very important person in the story. It was he who told Queen Lucy all about Narnia and told her about the evils of the White Witch."
"How does that differ from the other children?"
"King Edmund. He was first found by the Witch and he became an instrument of evil against his siblings without knowing it."
"That is a horrible thing to make a child do. Did King Edmund eventually learn that he was on the wrong side?"
"Yes, but it was not until after he had betrayed his brother and sisters. He felt horrible. I believe the stories say that he said 'I wouldn't blame them if they never forgave me.'"
Meanwhile, Ladrina had been running to the cave. Santhos had noticed her sudden movements, and ran after her. Santhos having four legs won the race to the cave entrance.
"Santhos move." He didn't move. "Santhos move," She said more sternly than before.
Still there was no movement. She gently shoved Santhos far enough that she could enter the cave.
