His plan was simple; he had to get back to the island and get to the cave they'd come out from. Then he would be back in a world that he knew and liked. Not like this one, with children bossing over grown-ups and animals that talked. And all of those weird creatures, they gave him goose-bumps. It would be too late for him to give his lecture now, but if he told those that had come to see him that he had to go away to visit a sick aunt of his. He would then tell, with a sad look on his face, that he had been present when she drew her last breath. They would understand why he had had to leave.
And he definitely wouldn't tell them some story about being transported into another world, then he would be considered to be mad. That was the least he was. He was a respected Professor, one of the youngest to be called a Professor actually, and he was not mad. This would later be just one of his strange nightmares.
He had passed the river now and had climbed up the mountain on the other side. It wasn't possible that he would make the whole distance in a day, but as a lone wanderer he would be able to walk in his own pace and not have to follow the others.
He could see that the forest cleared some metres away. Then he'd reached the shore. He smiled to himself, congratulating himself in his mind. So he had been able to go the distance in one day. He stepped out of the forest, and stopped. This was not where he'd intended to end up; this was a place where people ran back and forth building a bridge over a river. There where soldiers everywhere and he felt scared. Something told him they wouldn't be helping him get back to the island.
"Hey! You!"
A man grabbed him by his shoulder, pushing him forward.
"Don't just stand there, you're here to build that damn bridge!" the man said, giving him another hit in the back. Henry was about to protest, but then realised that it would be to no use. This man wouldn't listen to him.
"Has anyone seen Henry?" Tanya asked, walking back along the line. Jonathan followed her, adding descriptions of their missing companion. It seemed like no one had seen him since before they came to the Hill, their camp, and Tanya got really worried. What was that stupid Professor up to? He was definitely not someone that should be wandering about in the forest as he didn't carry any weapons and didn't know how to see the difference between a friend and a foe. Jonathan comforted her, telling her it would be alright, that he would be back, but Tanya doubted his words. She knew that Henry didn't like the company he'd ended up with and he was still pissed off about that lecture.
"We'll send people to look for him", Glenstorm, the centaur captain, said. Several of the mice ran off into the forest, followed by several birds and some squirrels, though Glenstorm warned them that squirrels could have a hard time concentrating.
Since that, Tanya had been sitting on the grass-covered hill, some metres up from the entrance. Some of the scouts had returned, most of them squirrels who had been very excited about the food they'd found. But none of them had seen Henry.
"Tanya!"
Amy came running out of the Hill, looking up at her. She slowly rose, seeing the worried look on Amy's face.
"What?" she called.
"There's a meeting, you have to come, now!" Amy called back. Tanya nodded and hurried down, before she rushed after her friend into the tunnels of the Hill.
She'd hardly walked inside of it before and she found herself stopping every ten metres, looking at some new painting on the cave wall. Amy pushed her on until they reached the Hill's most sacred room. At first Tanya couldn't understand why, but then she saw the old stone, cracked in the middle, that was in the middle of the room. The others had gathered around the table, it seemed like Peter and Caspian were arguing. They hardly noticed her approaching.
"If we stay here, they will starve us out", Peter said, while giving Caspian an angry look.
"At least we have our stronghold here", Caspian answered, his voice stern.
"Hey!" Tanya called. They turned towards her.
"Is this how you behave in an army, or have I a feeling of that you two are about to split us up?" she asked, leaning back against the wall. None of them said anything.
"Have I got this right?" she continued. "You, Peter, wish to go and find the Telmarines, while you, Caspian, whish to stay here and attack from here when they find us."
Susan nodded.
"Those are the two ideas, yes", she said. Tanya nodded, looking at the two leaders with her forehead wrinkled.
"You are both right, in a way", she said. "If we have to retreat after a battle here, the Telmarines will have us caught."
Peter nodded, a triumphant look in his eyes. She didn't like it.
"Though, if we attack, there is a risk of that we've counted their numbers wrong, that the Telmarines will have us caught there as well", Tanya continued. The triumphant look disappeared from Peter's eyes.
"Both ways could lead to victory", she ended. "And both ways could lead to a massacre."
By some reason she felt that she was the only one that hadn't given her opinion about this. It was like being the one deciding the destiny of an entire world.
"What do you think?" Glenstorm asked. That was when she realised that it was probably already decided and by seeing the look that Peter gave the centaur, she realised who was going to win. And it wasn't something she liked.
"I think Caspian's plan is the best one", she said. Caspian gave her a thankful smile, but Peter looked like he was going to explode.
"What made you chose that?" he asked.
"I do not have to tell you everything", Tanya answered in a frosty tone.
"Why do I even ask for your opinion?" Peter muttered.
"Why are you all talking like that?" Lucy asked. She was sitting on the table, looking at them all.
"Like what?" Peter asked.
"Well, you all act like the choice is either dying here or dying there", she continued. Peter sighed, turning to face his younger sister.
"Lucy, I do not think you've listened…"
"No, you haven't listened!" she exclaimed. "Have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch?"
She turned towards the wall behind her were a great lion had been carved out of the stone. Tanya felt like his eyes were watching every single movement they made. Peter frowned and turned towards his sister once again.
"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough", he said and stomped out of the cave to organize the troops.
"I just wanted to thank you for believing in my decision", Caspian said. They were walking up the corridors of the hill. Tanya nodded slowly.
"I think that this is not a good night for an attack", she said after a while. "There's something in the air…"
"They're called clouds", Peter said, pushing past them. Tanya raised an eyebrow at him.
"So you think that the clouds will give you victory?" she asked, sarcastically. He twisted around, standing in front of her, eying her with a grim expression on his face.
"If you didn't know, the clouds will help disguising us and leaving the land in complete darkness", he hissed. She looked calmly into his eyes.
"Really?" she said. "Well, last I looked there's also a moon behind those clouds and if the clouds disappear, you will have light all over."
She walked past him, catching up with Caspian who'd walked a bit ahead.
"He's quite irritating", she muttered to the Prince, but he didn't answer. They were approaching the gate of the hill. Outside, several griffins were waiting for them.
"You all remember the plan?" Peter asked as he came outside.
"Yes", Glenstorm answered. He looked at Tanya, who shuddered.
"I will not go", she said. The others looked at her.
"What?" Peter exclaimed. "You'll ruin the whole plan!"
"No, I won't", she answered. "I would be in the army, as a lot of others. My mission wasn't like yours or Caspian's or Susan's or Edmund's, my mission was to fight like the others of the Narnians."
Then she turned her gaze to the forest.
"Besides, Henry hasn't returned yet", she said slowly. Jonathan, who was standing with one of Glenstorm's sons, came up to her side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"If it is your decision to stay here, I will respect it", he said. "I know you've been extremely worried and you still are."
Peter sighed, annoyed.
"Very well, stay here then", he said in a frosty tone. "Though I do not understand why you care so much about that Professor."
Tanya twisted around and pulled him closer, one of her hands gripping his shirt so that she almost lifted him off the ground. Then she threw him to the ground, her eyes were dark as she looked down on him.
"Does the word friend mean anything to you?" she hissed, before she gave the others an encouraging nod and walked back under the hill. Peter pulled himself up and didn't look after her even once as he allowed the griffin to lift him off the ground.