Hebrews 13:9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace
Frank I met the Witch for the first time in the Other World. He was driving a wagon through a great city when the monstrous woman appeared in the road. She stood as tall as the horse Strawberry who became the first winged horse in Narnia, and who was pulling the wagon in the Other World. So strong was the Witch, she wrenched an iron bar from the lamp post nearest and used it as a club to threaten the people around her. So pale was she, the whiteness of her skin seemed as bone to our future king, and shone horribly in the sun so that she was painful to look upon. Her hair was dark as the gullet of a dragon. Her face was pure terror and depravity. She wore outlandish clothing, for she was from a whole other world as well! That was a dark, dying world, which she had placed under a terrible curse with the greed and wrath in her spirit. The Witch had a poor old man with her, whom she thrust into the wagon as she leapt onto the seat where our future king was sitting. So fearsome and powerful was she, it was more of a step than a leap, and she stood on the seat as a plinth! Then she used a whip to scare poor Strawberry, and the wagon raced all around the city. Laughing madly all the way, she overturned tables and stands, and people fled before her mad gallop.
At long last, the careening carriage veered back to its berth. Two brave children waited with magic rings there. As soon as the haughty woman dismounted from her perch, pulling her hapless old companion along, the children came forward, for their rings would allow them to transport the Witch back to the Wood Between the Worlds. The Witch raised her iron bar threateningly. Frank of course stepped up to restrain the giant, afraid for the children's safety. As it was, the children, the Witch, the old man, Frank, and Strawberry were all caught by the magic of the rings and entered the Wood.
From the Wood, the group entered Narnia, and it was the dawn of creation. The Great Lion sang to bring light to the skies and life to the earth. Our king and the other good people there immediately hearkened to the Lion's song, of course, but the Witch despaired. The perfection of the song was inimical to the evil in her heart. Her face twisted in utter rage, becoming quite horrible to see. With hideous strength, she threw the iron club at Aslan. The iron bar flew straight and true, but bounced off the Lion as if it had the lightness of a daisy! It was then that Frank I and Strawberry first knew the power of the Lion.
The Witch fled to the North, where she remains to this day, as you know. The wonders of creation continued, with the birth of all manner of plants and animals and nymphs from the earth. What surprise is it then, that among all the new life sprouting from the fertile ground, a foreign seed, carelessly planted, should also sprout? The Witch's iron bar, torn from a lantern in the Other World, quickened and grew to be the Lantern Tree we know today, an immortal light, testament of the Beginning, and monument to the world of Adam and Eve, first home of our beloved king and queen. And that is the first story of both the Witch and the Lantern Tree.
—Excerpt from A Book of Tales for Children by Mrs. Dolly Fauna
"I had forgotten that one," Swanwhite laughed, as her sister-in-law finished reading the children's tale. "Mistress Fauna makes the Witch sound so frightful!"
"Well, she was," Cassandra commented with a slight smile.
"Of course she was!" Swanwhite said. "But not in body, at least not at first. Wasn't she supposed to be a great beauty in the world of her origin, and in the Other World of Adam and Eve?"
Cassandra reflected a moment. She had read the simple story to various children so many times, she had forgotten her own history lessons. "You're right," she said in surprise. "Her outer beauty initially concealed her inner twisted nature from the Son of Adam who brought her, and Frank I, here..."
"Diggory?"
"Yes, that's the name."
Swanwhite laughed again, and Cassandra saw she was watching Helen, who had become distracted after a couple stories to chase a rabbit across the lawn. The rabbit had indulged the princess for a few minutes but now seemed to have escaped to her own errands. Helen was now running in circles and waving her arms above her head in the meaningless and endless game of childhood.
"Helen, stop running all around like that and sit with us," Queen Cassandra called to her niece. She smiled uncertainly at Swanwhite. She had been second-guessing herself all week around her sister-in-law. It was difficult to reinitiate their relationship, especially with regards to Helen. Cassandra had acted as the young princess's mother for so long, how could she surrender that duty back to the woman who birthed her yet disappeared when Helen was still a babe? Quite simply, she couldn't, and her heart fluttered as she watched Helen sit down, closer to Swanwhite than to her. Helen was ecstatic to have her mother back, even though they really were complete strangers.
Not that that was Swanwhite's fault, Cassandra reminded herself sternly. The fair queen smiled obliviously at her daughter and stroked her hair. "You are becoming such a lady, my love."
Helen giggled and pointed teasingly at the decanter of sweet wine on the little table between the two queens. "Does that mean I'm old enough to taste unwatered wine at dinner tonight, mother?"
Swanwhite grinned at her cheek. "No. It means you get to keep studying with your aunt and me and keep practicing your poise and graces so that all will continue to grow in admiration and love for you, so you will be a worthy leader in the future."
Helen rolled her eyes but smiled back, happy for any praise from Swanwhite.
"Your mother is right, sweetling. And she is right for both you and for her and me. Older women are also to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to too much wine," Cassandra said. "They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the will of Aslan may not be reviled."
Swanwhite barked a laugh at this. "Oh, why did you never marry, Cassandra?"
The other queen blushed slightly, ire and confusion battling within her. Swanwhite was almost too ready to laugh. "I never met the right man, I suppose... Were you and Colin talking about me, my lady? What else did my brother say?"
Grinning, Swanwhite answered, "I didn't need either of your brothers to tell me that, dear. I can simply tell from your words. You are quite right in a way, for it is virtuous for anyone, man or woman, to be reverent and speak judiciously, teach good habits to our young. Pure. And we women must surely need self-control to submit to husbands and the tedium of caring for homes. But my dear Cassandra, we are also queens, after all. I defer to Colin because he is the High King, as do all Narnians, but I am also my own person. And you, had you married, would far outstrip your consort in rank as a scioness of the royal house! The royal dignity is an equal or perhaps even greater duty than the bond of matrimony, I should think. How would it be if I or Colin abandoned our duties to the country out of selfish love?"
"Forgive me, but I must be blunt, my lady," Cassandra argued with an edge to her voice. "You are confusing your daughter. Colin is High King. Ultimate authority is his, and all of us, including you, bow to him."
"Helen is quite old enough to grasp the nuance of royal power, I think. You are being reductive. What is your power as queen, or Hector's as king, if the High King is the final word? I would argue that the first duty of every crowned king and queen in Narnia is to rule."
"Um..." Helen's eyes grew wide at the tension between the two queens, neither of whom were now sparing her the least attention.
"And what if you were the eldest and crowned High Queen, Cassandra?" Swanwhite persisted. "Would you expect to submit to a husband if you had one, or expect him to submit to your doubly anointed head?" She snorted. "Or remain virgin as you have done, and sidestep the problem entirely?"
Cassandra's jaw dropped. "You think that's why...?" she sputtered. She felt an angry flush spread across her face but she forced herself to calm before replying stiffly, "My lady, I think we have been strangers too long. And I do not appreciate your unfounded...speculation. Especially when we are not alone." Her gaze flicked down to Helen momentarily, nervously checking to see how the child would take her comment.
Swanwhite smiled thinly, skin tightened around the point of her chin and the high crests of her cheekbones, and her cold eyes flashed. "You find my presence strange, Cassandra?"
The other woman sighed. "That is not what I meant..."
"I know it is not what you meant, but it is what you feel. Do you deny it?"
..."I don't know what you expect me to say, my lady."
"From you, I expect honesty."
Cassandra stared at her then rolled her eyes. "Any way I answer that you could take amiss. Are you trying to be difficult, Swanwhite?"
One thin eyebrow rose. "Perhaps."
Cassandra glared at her. "You didn't used to be this prickly."
"I have aged."
"So have I, and I don't like playing mind games. I am trying to be accommodating -"
"And you are doing a marvelous job, dear."
Cassandra huffed in annoyance. She just could not relax around her sister-in-law! It was almost like Swanwhite was deliberately needling her, and that had never happened when they were younger. She did not want to say anything untoward around Helen... but she would if she pursued this conversation much further, she concluded. She looked towards the tents. "It is hot," she said. She rose, dipped a short curtsey, and walked briskly away.
A soft sound escaped the Queen as she and Helen watched Cassandra storm off. "I think I have upset your aunt, Helen. Perhaps you should go after her?"
"But... what was that about, Mother?"
The Queen smiled softly. "I think your aunt is nervous about losing you since I am here."
"Why?"
"Because I am change, Helen, and she knows change is not always good."
"But of course it's good that you're back!" Helen cried, shocked.
The Queen grinned. "Of course, and I'm not saying Aunt Cassandra does not want me here, she is just uncertain." Helen's brow furrowed. Evidently, it had not occurred to her that the miracle of her mother's return could cause problems too. "That's why I need you to reassure her." Finally, Helen nodded. She kissed her mother's cheek before following after her aunt.
The Queen waited just long enough to be sure her daughter was truly going before getting up in search of King Hector. She found him absorbed in a an intense game with the other boys. He and Prince Henry were teamed up against Crown Prince Frank and his little sons. And a young calf and centaur, she noted. Hector and Henry passed a small, soft ball over the heads of the others. Prince Frank tried to catch the ball, and his twin sons and their playmates ran back and forth in pursuit, laughing hysterically but making minimal effort to catch the ball themselves. Princess Rosemary, Frank's wife, lounged in the sun on the far side of the field with some other females. A number of them, including Rosemary, were amusing themselves twining flowers into the coat of a cow, who sat in the middle and chatted with the other women amiably. There even seemed to be an Aura in the mix, the rare wind nymph gathering flowers and petals from all over the meadow, setting them all a-tumble in sumptuous patterns in the air before dropping them into a pile before the princess and her ladies.
The ball game paused as Swanwhite came into view. All the princes came to hug her, and Hector kissed her hand. She waited patiently as Henry enthusiastically recounted the game for her, with a few interruptions from Frankie and Col.
"Would you like to play too, Mother?"
"No, thank you, darling. I wanted to speak to your uncle, actually."
Hector tossed the ball to his eldest nephew. "You're it, then, Frank. We'll watch from the sidelines for a bit." The game resumed without further ado, the centaur colt now trying his best to catch the ball as the littlest children frolicked around his feet. Hector and the queen strolled to the shade. She allowed her shoulders to slump ever so slightly and her expression to darken. "What's on your mind, my lady?"
She bit her lip before answering. "I had an argument with Cassandra."
"Another one? About what?"
She waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing of importance, really."
"But you're worried... why?"
After a moment, she shrugged, brow furrowing artfully.
Hector sighed and sat down on the grass, gesturing for the queen to join him. "I think you're worried because this is all new again. Remember how it felt when you were first introduced at court and had to learn how to be with everyone? This is the same. We all have to learn to be a family again. And it will feel strange because you are different, and we are different. We have all become set in our ways. We have mourned you for years, and you have... had your own trials..."
He studied her. She did not look at him but did not gainsay him. "Do you want to talk about that yet?"
"No."
"It will get better, Swanwhite. We are all here for you, especially Colin. Remember that."
"Thank you."
Smiling, Hector reached an arm around her shoulders and gave her a fraternal squeeze. He turned back to watch the game, enjoying the contentment of the moment and the presence of his sister-in-law.
Hector and Cassandra rode together for the first leg of the journey from the marshes to the coast. Hector grinned unconsciously. He was watching Colin and Swanwhite at the front of the line. His brother had not appeared so happy in years. He was simply thrilled to have his wife back, as were his children. The whole group clustered right around the queen, or at least as near as the children could convince their patient mounts to stay. Most of the horses tolerated the close-quarters pretty well, understanding of the royal children's needs. Actually, the horses Hector and Henry were riding had swapped places; Henry's four-legged friend Phillip liked his space and had talked Hector's Alissa into trading riders for a bit. Allisa was a bit of a prankster, though, which was its own amusement. Phillip and Hector both snorted in mirth every time she suddenly pranced ahead of the pack, tail in the air, vocally teasing the prince on her back for his youthful prattling.
Hector heard Cassandra sigh beside him and glanced at her askance. She was also watching their brother's family, but she looked rather despondent. "What's eating you, sister?"
Cassandra startled and guiltily tried to tool her features into a happier expression. "Nothing."
"You've never been a good liar, you know."
Her cheek twitched. "I know." She sighed again. "It's just... Swanwhite."
"What about her?"
"She's just... so... young! And please don't repeat any of this to the others, Phillip, Daisy."
The horses' ears flicked backwards and forwards again. "Never fear, your highness. Daisy and I will not pay you or King Hector the least bit of attention, unless you fall off."
"Quite," Daisy agreed. "You have my word, majesties."
"Thank you," Hector said graciously. "Now, what do you mean, Cassandra?"
"I don't know what I mean," she complained. "She keeps trapping me in these ridiculous little arguments, ones I don't think even she cares about. It's almost like talking to a sassy teenager! I'm walking on eggshells around her, and I don't know how to fix it. And I'm worried about Helen, and Henry. They're both so excited to have her back, but they don't know her. I'm not even sure I know her anymore..."
"Forgive me, sister, but are you sure your problem is with Swanwhite?"
"Pardon?"
"It is only right for her children to love being with her, precisely because they do not know her. It is healthy for them to explore that relationship. Perhaps your fear and your arguments with Swanwhite are more because of your own...insecurity?"
Cassandra exhaled slowly. "It might be. I keep telling myself to give her time, let her find her place. Let things settle. But something just feels...off. Any time I'm with her, she does not seem to be connecting to, well, anyone. Not to the children, not to me, not even to Colin, really."
"Cassandra, we cannot expect things to be as they were, and we cannot expect Swanwhite to be her old self or even normal, especially not yet." Cassandra looked at him curiously. "We still don't know what happened to her," Hector said frankly. "But it was not good."
"What have you seen?" Cassandra asked softly, her own worries forgotten. Both horses flicked an ear back, listening despite their promises. Everyone in the realm was curious, after all.
"Have you not noticed, she avoids the wells and waterways of her cousins, no matter how they call out to her? Before she vanished, Swanwhite would visit every Naiad in the country on these yearly journeys. Since she has returned, she has not greeted a single one that I have seen. I asked Colin, and he agrees. Remember she missed the Adoration of the Lion ceremony at the solstice? I think she may have been avoiding the Naiads and Water God of the River Shribble who would doubtless be there. Something terrible happened to her, Cassandra, and she has not been able to tell Colin, or me, what it was. She vanished without a trace on the Northern border. She may have survived the Witch herself, and who knows what that might have taken from her?"
Cassandra seemed to shiver at the very mention of the White Witch of their childhood nightmares. She was silent for a time. "I hadn't noticed," she said finally, voice shrouded in guilt. "And you're right. She deserves time. I will be more considerate."
Hector leaned forward to murmur in Phillip's ear. The horse obligingly eased closer to Daisy and Cassandra. He reached out and patted his sister's shoulder comfortingly. "It's alright. You were worrying about the children. You've been mothering them for so long, it's only natural. But the best thing we can do for them is to help Swanwhite adjust, so she can love them as well."
She nodded, staring ahead. "Of course."
Author's note: stay tuned for more exciting things next chapter! If you read closely, you might notice that some of dialogue paraphrases specific Bible verses, particularly Cassandra's. That's for a reason. Also, the full verse at the top is actually "Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them." The bit about food, although rather amusing, distracted from the point I was trying to make with this chapter, I think.
Fun Fact: C.S. Lewis also wrote a trilogy of Sci Fi books: Out of the Hidden Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. They are also very Christian. Perelandra is the best of those three in my opinion. The first one was pretty good too. The last one was just weird.
Chapter 4 is drafted, but not finished.
