I'm so sorry for such a late update! This chapter was a witch with a capital B to write. It took me forever to get the explanations to make sense. Besides that, I hope to get back on track with me weekend updates. A major thank you to all of you who have favorited/followed this story! And a special thank you to Assassin's Bullet for beta'ing for me this chapter and the previous one (which I neglected to mention). Chapter 4, enjoy!
Madison was having, what may have been, the most peaceful rest she had ever had. She was up on cloud nine and no one could bother her. That is, no one except for a feather duster. Madison bolted upright from sleep when she began to suffocate on the feathers. She ripped the duster away from her face by the handle and threw it across the room, listening in satisfaction as it made a wooden thunk against the wall.
Stray feathers were spat from her mouth with disgust. 'Now that was a rude awakening,' she thought as she glared at the offending object. It floated off of the ground and straitened its ruffled feathers. It went over to pause in the door frame, seemingly waiting for her to follow.
Madison heaved herself out of bed and followed the duster to the kitchen. Along the way, she vaguely wondered if she should question the fact that she was being led by a floating, inanimate object. 'That is a matter best solved after breakfast,' she thought as the savory aroma of freshly cooked eggs and bacon filled the house. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled.
The kitchen, by far, was the cleanest room in the house. Unlike the other rooms, you could see the stone floor and walls. It was fairly small too. There was a table and surprisingly modern appliances. A huge, stainless steel refrigerator was stationed next to a stove-oven combo of the same make. The modern day appliances seemed out of place in the medieval house.
A floating frying pan deposited scrambled eggs onto a plate. It then flew to the sink and began to clean itself. The scene was similar to the one where Harry first enters the Weasley's house in The Chamber of Secrets. She sat herself across from Merlin at the small wooden table. Buttered toast and milk accompanied the eggs and bacon on her plate.
"Good morning," the wizard greeted cheerfully, who was wearing a fresh set of his normal blue robes. "I trust you had a good night's rest?"
"Yeah, I slept pretty well. Although, I think my wakeup call was a bit too enthusiastic," Madison replied, shooting a glare at the feather duster.
Merlin chuckled, "Oh yes, he can be a bit enthusiastic at times. Let's eat while our food is still warm."
The next several minutes were spent enjoying their breakfast. Madison reveled at the taste of the food. It wasn't 'Five star restaurant' per say, but it tasted better than most of their ilk that she usually had.
'Made by magic.' Trying to comprehend that magic was real here still gave her a head ache. Accepting a new reality and laws of physics would be a difficult concept for anyone. Once she finished her meal, Madison's plate deposited itself in the sink to be cleaned. Merlin's followed shortly after.
He dabbed his beard with a cloth to remove some tiny remnants of food. He cleared his throat before speaking, "I know that you have many questions that you wish to ask. I will be more than happy to answer them to the best of my abilities."
Madison took a moment to think. She had so many questions that it was difficult to choose one to start with. "You said something last night about my world being tethered to yours?"
"Ah, yes. Both of our worlds are connected by an invisible force. Each is a universe in its own right. Here in the park is where both worlds are closest. The parks exist in both worlds and, as a result, serve as a place where the invisible force can tether your world and mine together. An important differentiating fact, though, is that my world is dependent upon this force to give us existence."
The complex idea was difficult for her to wrap her mind around, so she attempted to translate it into similar terms. The closest she could come up with was two magnets held close together, yet the similar poles kept them apart. The comparison was mediocre; however, it served its purpose.
"So this 'force' not only connects our worlds, but created yours? How exactly does that work?"
"Belief. People believing in our existence in your world allows us to have physical existence in this one. It may sound cheesy to you, but it's true."
Madison shook her head in disbelief. She searched Merlin's face for any sign that he was joking, but found nothing but steadfast seriousness. "So you're telling me that everyone her is real because my world believes you are?"
He nodded in confirmation. "Belief is a powerful thing. It can start wars, bring people together, inspire hope or fear, even influence your perception of reality. It is not too far of a stretch to say that such a force could have the ability of creation."
'Goddam physics,' she complained to herself, 'Why does it have to be so complicated?!' Madison was thankful that they were having this conversation after breakfast. Her developing migraine would have been ten times worse if it had been done before their meal.
"Let me get this straight. There's your world, my world, and the limbo that we're in that connects the two. An invisible force, fueled by my world's belief in you guys, keeps them connected and created your world. And the reason its impossible to send me home is because the force that connects our worlds was never meant to allow for travel between the two. Is that right?" Merlin nodded in reply. She buried her face in her hands and groaned, "I really hope I'm not going to be tested on that 'cause I did not understand any of it."
"It is a difficult concept to comprehend."
Madison massaged her temples in a vain attempt to banish her migraine. 'Ignorance really is bliss,' she thought, closing her eyes. In the midst of her suffering, a thought presented itself to her. "Another thing, why is Indiana here? Isn't it just-"
"Disney characters that exist here? In a way, characters like Indiana do belong here. True, they were not created by Disney, but they are connected in your world via an agreement or such."
"I guess that makes sense. The corporation must have gotten permission for them to have even built the rides. Could that be the reason Indiana was all jittery last night? Because he feels all weird around you guys?"
"I cannot say for sure because I am not he. We can only speculate why. Perhaps if you ask him, he may tell you."
"If you ask me, he's nothing more than a hoodlum with ophidiophobia." a voice interrupted. Coming to rest on a perch on the table was a tiny, brown owl.
"Archimedes, everyone has their own ways of research. Don't berate him because of his more adventurous methods."
The owl ruffled his feathers indignantly, "Anyways, I came to tell you that Mama Odie wishes to speak with you. She mentioned something about black magic and a whole manner of bad things."
Merlin furrowed his brow and rose from his chair, "Oh my, this is not good. I must leave immediately." He walked into an open section of the room, Archimedes flitting to his shoulder with the intention of joining him. "I do apologize Madison but I must ask you to stay here. I do not know how long I may be gone. Keep safe in the meantime."
With a wave of his hand the wizard disappeared, leaving only a brief twinkle of magic. Madison stared at the spot for several minutes before coming to her senses. 'That's going to take a lot of getting used to,' she thought before rising to her feet, unsure of what to do next. "I guess my room is a good a place as any to chill." When she returned, she found her bed to be newly made. Her eye twitched as another wave of pain assaulted her mind. 'Magic.'
Her eyes wandered about the room and skimmed over the numerous book titles. One yellow and black colored spine caught her attention. She carefully removed it from the stack and was surprised at the familiar title. It was one of the For Dummies books, this one being about magic. 'This may come in handy.' She settled onto her bed and began to indulged herself on the book's knowledge.
Jill let loose an arrow. It whizzed through the air before it met the bullseye. She turned to Lucy and handed her the bow. "Think you can top that, Pevensie?"
"Watch me," She notched the arrow and gave a quick glance down the shaft before releasing it. The projectile had embedded itself within Jill's, almost splitting it in half.
Jill gave a huff of disappointment. This was the third round in a row she had lost! "One of these days I'm finally going to beat you Lucy."
The girl smiled in kind, "And I eagerly await that day Jill."
They smirked at each other, enjoying their fun competition. A loud whinny made them turn to see a unicorn running towards them. It came to a stop before them, distress and urgency present in its eyes. "Your majesties! I do not mean to intrude, but I bring terrible news!"
"What is wrong Jewel? I thought you were up north traveling with Tirian."
"I was, but I came back to inform you of our terrible discovery! Quickly, we must find Aslan and return to Tirian!"
They all returned to the north joined by Aslan, the two remaining Pevensies, and Eustace. They found Tirian at the base of a hill on the edge of the Western Woods
"I trust you encountered no troubles on your journey?" Tirian asked.
"None at all," Peter replied, "What did you find that was so troubling that you wished to show us?"
The king lead them over the crest of the hill to a most terrifying sight. In the distance, a tall, white, pointed castle rose where one had not been for many centuries. An extensive area of land around the palace of ice had become white with a thick covering of snow.
Edmund was the first to recognize the snowy castle, "Aslan...is that...?" His throat seized with the memories of the castle and the terrible woman that had lived there.
The great lion narrowed his eyes, "It is, Edmund. The White Witch's castle."
"How?" Lucy asked, "She's been dead for centuries!"
Aslan's ears, in true cat-like nature, twitched in annoyance. "I fear some larger power is at work here," He turned his attention to the group. "I must go tell the King of this. I want the rest of you to return to King Frank and Queen Helen and inform them of this."
With his parting instructions, the great lion turned and ran. Within mere seconds he was out of sight.
The remaining party gave the frozen palace a parting glance before setting off to bring home the terrifying news. The White Witch had returned to the land of Narnia.
I hope that wasn't too confusing. Others are a few more things I would like to make clear. 1) Narnia world is continuing after the 7th book. Reading it might make things a bit more understandable. I also purposefully said that there were only 3 Pevensie children. Again, can be made clear by reading the last book. 2) Madison does not hate magic, she just dislikes how it can defy the laws of physics. 3) Just because Merlin lives in an ancient house doesn't mean that he can't have high-tech appliances. Magic can't do everything ;). Next chapter: Madison meets another one of the locals and falls off of a roof. Oh my! Until the weekend! R&R!