Prologue features "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins
Chapter 1 features "The Call" by Regina Spektor from the Prince Caspian soundtrack
Chapter 2 features the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

AN: This chapter features some implied violence to a minor, but nothing too graphic. If this upsets you, please skip over the latter half of the chapter.

Chapter 2: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know

The wardrobe was filled with fur coats. Remus had never liked fur, as it reminded him too much of the wolf. He was curious, though, so he set his dislike aside and pushed through them, reaching for the back. He never found it. As he pushed forward, amber eyes shut tight, soft fur gave way to a sharp, prickly something. And it was cold. Bloody cold. Remus' eyes flew open. This was most definitely not a wardrobe anymore. He found himself standing at the edge of a thick, deciduous forest. The ground was completely covered in a thick blanket of clean, white snow and a single, old-fashioned lamppost stood tall in the middle of the clearing.

"Wasn't expecting that to actually work," muttered Remus. He took a good look around him and noticed a set of fading footprints leading away from the lamppost. Remus was torn, but eventually his adventurous nature won out over his rational, logical mind.

His house is in the village, though

Remus brushed his fingers lightly over the cold metal of the lamppost. "How odd," he muttered, staring curiously at said fingers as if he couldn't quite believe that what they had touched was real. He turned his sharp gaze to the faint footprints in the snow and followed them with his eyes to where they disappeared into the thick woods. He gazed beyond the trees and with his enhanced vision he could just barely make out some large building in the far distance, sandwiched between two large, snow-covered mountains.

A sudden movement from the edge of the trees brought Remus' gaze back to his immediate surroundings. There it was again; a flash of silver and white against the dark trunks of the trees. "W-who's there?" he called, his voice timid and shaking. "I-I saw you; show yourself. Please?" The last word came out as barely a whisper.

A moment later beautiful white wolf with molten silver eyes stepped out from the shelter of the trees. Remus unconsciously took a step back, pressing himself against the cold, hard metal of the lamppost. He couldn't help his reaction; ever since he had been bitten, he had been terrified of wolves. The wolf seemed to have noticed Remus' discomfort, for it stopped several meters from the boy and sat down. Silver met amber as the two beings stared at each other, one gaze curious the other filled with fear.

The wolf cocked its head to the side. "What are you?" it asked. There was something in the voice that was distinctly female and gave the impression of silver Christmas bells.

"W-what?" Remus was in so lost in his fear that the fact that the wolf was speaking went completely over his head.

"What are you?" repeated the wolf. "You smell like wolf, but you don't look like wolf."

Remus blinked. "I-I'm human," he replied. "Or…well, mostly human."

"A Son of Adam?" Her silver gaze pierced through Remus. "I have never seen one before."

Remus, who was a very well read eleven-year-old, knew exactly what the wolf meant. "What are you?" he asked, their conversation lessening his fear. "I-I mean, how are you able to speak?"

"I'm a Talking Beast, of course," she replied. "Legend says that when Aslan created the world, he gave certain animals the gift of speech."

Remus blinked and took a hesitant step toward the wolf. "So this is Narnia, then?"

"Of course. Where else would we be?"

"England."

"I've never heard of this Land of Eng," said the wolf. "Is it very far?"

"It's just through the wardrobe," explained Remus. "I'm pretty sure it's an entirely different world from this one."

The wolf blinked once. "Another world? How odd."

Remus looked around once more. "If this is indeed Narnia, why is it so cold and dark?" He, of course, meant dark as in evil, but that was neither here nor there.

He will not see me stopping here

To watch His woods fill up with snow

"Chesapeake!"

Both Remus and the white wolf turned their heads at the harsh, deep voice coming from the woods. A look of mixed irritation and fear flashed through the wolf's molten eyes and Remus looked to the woods in time to see a large, grey wolf with the same silver eyes step into the clearing. There was something about this wolf that had Remus terrified all over again. He backtracked until he was flush against the lamppost, the bitter cold biting at his skin through the thin cotton of his shirt. As Remus' shoes made a soft crunching noise in the snow, the grey wolf turned his sharp eyes toward him.

Remus could have sworn that the grey wolf smiled then, a cruel, cunning smile. "Well, well, well," he said. "What have we here? Is that a Son of Adam I spy in Her Majesty's lands?"

The white wolf trotted over to the grey, her paws silent on the snow-covered ground. "Father," she said, gazing at him imploringly, "I beg of you—"

"Silence, young lady," the grey wolf snapped. "You are in enough trouble as it is. Do not make it worse."

"But father—"

"Silence, Chesapeake!" he barked. He then turned his cold, silver gaze on Remus. He padded forward on silent paws and circled the lamppost, his eyes never leaving his prey. "A son of Adam," he said, finally stopping directly in front of the terrified boy. "Her Majesty will be most pleased." He let out a series of growls and yips that Remus couldn't make heads or tails of in his human form and two brown wolves broke out of the forest at a run, headed for the castle in the mountains. Never taking his eyes off of Remus, the grey wolf spoke again to his daughter. "Chesapeake," he said, "you will remain by my side without complaint or so help me you will regret it come morning. Do you understand me?"

"Yes father," came the grudging reply and she moved closer to him, lying down in the snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

What seemed like hours, but was in actuality only some twenty minutes, later the soft chiming of sleigh bells sounded just beyond the clearing. Remus tore his petrified gaze from the grey wolf just in time to see a silver sleigh pulled by two large, white horses trot into sight. Inside the sleigh was a tall woman, dressed in white, with skin and hair both the color of snow. In fact, the only color she possessed at all was the dark, almost black of her eyes.

The sleigh pulled to a stop in front of the lamppost and the dwarf driver hurried to step down and offered his hand to the white woman. The grey wolf and Chesapeake both hurried to stand and bow to her.

"Maugrim," the woman said, her voice cold and cruel, like ice, "where is this Son of Adam?"

"Here, my queen," said the grey wolf, pointing his snout to where Remus stood, amber eyes wide, pressed against the lamppost.

The White Queen glided forward to stand in front of Remus, her long skirts leaving a brushed trail in her wake. She stopped barely a step away from him and peered intently into his eyes, her own like empty pits of darkness. "So tell me, Son of Adam," she said, "why do you bear the mark of a wolf on your soul?"

"I-I don't- I don't know what you mean, ma'am," he stuttered, desperate to look away, but finding himself unable to.

"Hmm. I think you do, little wolf-boy." She straightened up. "Ginarrbrik!" she shouted.

"Yes your majesty?" said the dwarf, bowing so that his long, grey beard brushed the snow.

"Load the boy into to the sleigh and make sure that he can't escape."

"Yes your majesty."

"And Maugrim?"

"Yes, your majesty?"

"You know what to do if he does."

Remus did not like the sinister smile that crossed the face of the grey wolf. What had he gotten himself into?

Between the woods and frozen lake

They arrived at the castle in the mountains in just under fifteen minutes. The ride had been uncomfortable for Remus. The grumpy dwarf had not been gentle as he had pried Remus from the lamppost and tied his hands tightly with rough rope. He had then been thrown into the bottom of the sleigh, where he'd spent the entirety of the ride squeezed between the White Queen's freezing shoes and the even colder metal of the sleigh.

Their arrival at the castle did nothing to improve Remus' spirits. It was just as cold and foreboding as the woman who resided there. The courtyard that they drove through was full of strange statues of a variety of creatures, all with looks of fear and terror frozen on their faces.

The queen was helped out of the sleigh first. She was already sweeping her way into the castle when Ginarrbrik dragged Remus out of the sleigh. He was brought, not into the main hall of the castle, but down several flights of stairs into the dungeon of the castle. If the castle was cold, it had nothing on the dungeon. The walls and floor were covered with a thin layer of ice and Remus had to fight to breath at times in the intense cold. He was thrown into a dark cell and his ankles were chained to the wall by heavy iron shackles. All he could do to keep his sanity was curl up in a small ball and pray to Aslan to deliver him.

The darkest evening of the year

He wasn't sure how long he was down there before Ginarrbrik and Maugrim came down to fetch him, but he was grateful to be out of the bitter cold of the dungeon (even if the rest of the castle wasn't much better). His relief was short-lived. He was brought into the main hall, a room as starkly white and cold as the queen, and thrown onto his knees. Maugrim and Ginarrbrik were stationed at the only door in the hall, preventing any escape attempt. If he hadn't been so scared, he would have been amused that this powerful queen seemed to be so afraid of a little boy.

"Tell me, wolf-boy," said the queen, her voice sharp as she stared unnervingly down at him from her seat on her icy throne, "are you the only one?"

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am," he stuttered, "I-I don't understand."

Her eyes flashed dangerously; she was not a patient woman. "Have you any siblings, wolf-boy," she snapped.

"N-No, ma'am," he said. "It's just me."

Her cruel eyes narrowed. "You will address me as your majesty, are we clear, wolf-boy?"

"I-I—" He stifled a yelp as a sharp, unexpected pain flared across his back.

"The queen asked you a question," barked Ginarrbrik. The dwarf had snuck up on Remus and it was the whip that he always carried with him that had caused the sharp pain.

"Y-yes, your majesty," Remus stammered, blinking tears from his eyes.

"Good. Now tell me, wolf-boy, are there others like you?"

"L-like me, your majesty?"

"You are a Son of Adam, but you are also a wolf. How is this? Where did you come from?"

"I-I was bitten, years ago, your majesty," said Remus, the threat of Ginarrbrik's whip causing him to spill his secrets (he was only eleven), "by a werewolf, and so I became one myself. I-I told the white wolf earlier, I'm from England. I've never been to Narnia before today."

The queen's piercing stare seemed to see straight to his soul; to all the hidden fears and pockets of darkness, be they real or imagined. "A Child of the Moon," she said slowly. "I have not come across one of your kind in many years." The smile that spread across her ghostly pale face made Remus want to run as fast and as far away as he could. "We have much to talk about, young wolf-boy."

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake

Remus shivered in his cell, curled in on himself to conserve what little body heat he still possessed. According to the marks he had chipped into the icy wall of his cell with a broken piece of stone, he had been the "guest" of the queen for nearly four weeks. He felt it, certainly. He knew he lost weight that he couldn't afford to lose, especially as he could feel the pull of the moon grow stronger each day. The full had to be soon; he'd estimate only another day or two more. He'd lost more blood than he cared to think about. His shirt was little more than rags now, shredded along with his back.

When he wasn't being tortured by Ginarrbrik and Maugrim (who seemed to take his continued existence as a personal affront), he was left alone in his cold dark cell with only his thoughts as company. This was not good for his already fragile mental state. As the days passed with no hope in sight, Remus' doubts and fears grew exponentially. He was too dangerous, too freakish, to be allowed around normal people. This was his penance, then, for being the monster that he was. No one was coming to save him; no one would miss him. His parents would eventually forget him and move on; maybe they'd adopt a nice, normal child that they could raise to be a functioning member of society.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake

The full moon passed, leaving Remus more drained and broken than usual. He had been left in his cell, chained to the wall as always. He supposed that the wolf would have been too injured and drained to try and escape had it not been for the presence of the White Queen outside of his cell. She had come, not to gloat, but to see for herself the small, seemingly weak boy turn into a vicious monster. She was not disappointed, if the triumphant smirk she wore on her face when he woke the next morning was any indication.

"Maybe you're not so useless after all," she said to him as he shivered, naked and bloody, on the floor of his cell.

A few hours later, Ginarrbrik came down with a worn set of trousers and a shirt. He roughly threw them at the boy and unlocked his shackle long enough to let Remus pull on the pants. He was silent the entire time, though his dark eyes were irritated and Remus knew that he would pay later. At least he was clothed now, and in clothes that were warmer than anything he'd worn since he'd found his way into Narnia in the first place. Once again he was left with only his increasingly morbid thoughts.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep

A few days after the full moon, Remus was startled awake by a strange commotion outside of his cell. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and, his curiosity getting the better of him, he slowly crawled as close to the bars of his cell as he could. He flinched back when he saw Maugrim and his two most trusted brown wolves (he'd never caught their names) herding a strange half-man, half-goat creature down the corridor. As they passed his cell, Remus scuttled backwards in a crab walk. He was terrified of Maugrim now more than ever; the tortures the wolf put him through brought him back to the night he was attacked, a place he'd wanted to forget about all together.

Remus' sudden movement was not silent or unnoticed. As the two brown wolves herded the strange creature (faun, Remus' mind supplied) to the cell across from his, Maugrim stopped in front of Remus' and stared at him with his cold, molten stare. He smiled nastily at Remus and said, "Enjoy the peace while it lasts, pup. The queen'll be back for you soon." Remus' amber eyes widened in horror as two sharp cracks sounded from across the hall. Then the faun screamed. Maugrim chuckled darkly. "Pleasant dreams, pup."

Once the wolves' footsteps had faded out of sight, Remus crawled close to the bars again. "H-hello?" he called out.

There was the soft clinking of chains and the sharp intake of breath from across the hall. "Hello, little one," said the faun, his voice trembling with pain. "I'd come closer, but I'm afraid I can't move at the moment."

"That's okay," said Remus. "I-I just—it's been so long and I thought…" Remus trailed off awkwardly.

"My name is Tumnus," said the Faun, something gentle entering his voice underneath the pain.

"Remus." His own voice sounded hoarse and odd to his ears.

"What a peculiar name. What brings you to the queen's dungeon?"

"I-I don't know," said Remus, swiping his tawny blonde hair out of his eyes (it hung down nearly to his shoulders now). "Sh-she doesn't really ask me questions anymore."

"She questioned you? And you're still alive?"

"Sh-she said there's something about me, but she won't say what." He paused, wondering why he was bearing his heart to this stranger. "She calls me wolf-boy. Sh-she came to me after the moon and told me—she told me that maybe I wasn't useless after all." He lifted his gaze and could almost make out the shape of his new companion across the aisle. "I'm afraid, Tumnus. I can't imagine she wants anything good from me."

Tumnus inhaled sharply. "I didn't know there were any werewolves left in Narnia," he whispered.

Remus cringed. "I-I don't mean to be," he said sadly. "I've only ever wanted to be normal. I didn't ask for this, you know."

Tumnus sighed. "I didn't mean to condemn you, child," he apologized. "I was simply not aware of the continued existence of your kind."

"That's because I'm not from here," admitted Remus.

Something in Tumnus' tone brightened. "Not from here? Are you perhaps from the fair city War Drobe in the far off land of Spare Oom?"

Remus was puzzled for a moment. Spare Oom? War Drobe? Suddenly something clicked. "Well, I don't know about any spare room, but I did come through a wardrobe."

"Do you, perhaps, know of a Daughter of Eve named Lucy?"

"No, I'm sorry," said Remus. "I really don't know anyone apart from my parents."

Tumnus sighed. "That's quite alright. I just thought that maybe you were one of the brothers she talked about."

"Oh," said Remus, his voice small. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm just me."

"And you is a very good thing to be," assured Tumnus in a gentle voice. "Never let anyone tell you that you need to be anything else."

But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

Remus was growing used to having someone to talk to. It was nice to have a friendly voice to come back to after his tortures at the hands (paws) of Ginarrbrik and Maugrim. It had been a week and a half, by Remus' calculations, since he had met Tumnus. In that time, Maugrim and his minions had only come for Tumnus once. They had come for Remus eight times. Each time he came back battered and bloody, his body broken. Tumnus did his best to comfort the child, but there was only so much he could do. The one time he had been taken, they had re-broken his healing legs and now he could barely move. He could only watch in pained silence as the small boy was dragged to and from his cell, offering words of comfort and hope as he lay in a freezing puddle of his own blood, curled up in his cell like a little puppy.

They eighth time they took Remus, he came back to a surprise. Remus was only semi-conscious as Maugrim's minions dragged him back to himself and let the chain magically lock around his ankle. He heard, through the pain-filled haze of his brain, Ginarrbrik speaking to someone. "Think good and hard, my prince," he sneered. "If you don't want to end up like that one, you'll behave yourself and do as the queen tells you." He thought he heard a young voice (definitely not Tumnus) say something in reply, but at that point he was rapidly losing his battle with consciousness and soon his world turned dark.

And miles to go before I sleep

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