New and improved chapter.

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The Affairs of the Heart

Chapter Six

Lampposts, icicles and sardines.

"Alex? Wake up...wake up!"

I groggily opened my eyes and saw a blinding whiteness causing me to groan. I was cold and quite wet and I had the most horrible pain in my side which was slowly going numb. But what really confused me was that I was surrounded by trees and the Pevensies.

"How did we get outside?" I whispered with a frown as I slowly and painfully began to sit up and long around. We were in the middle of a wood with large Oak trees (much like the one in the Professor's garden but slightly smaller) and evergreen trees that still had their leaves and spines. I shivered as I stared all around me. "And since when did England get this amount of snow?"

"Alex, we're not in England. We're in Narnia!" Lucy exclaimed happily jumping and spinning around like a kid in a candy shop making her sink deep in to the snow. My jaw dropped in shock. This was Narnia? Narnia was real? Lucy really was telling the truth.

"Oh my...wow. This is incredible!" I laughed happily as I struggled to get up. Peter lifted me carefully on to my feet, being careful he didn't touch my ribs too much. "We're in a different world. How is that possible? And it's all real! That's just...bizarre!"

"Alex, take it easy. You've hurt your ribs again. Susan and Peter fell on you and nearly flattened you." Edmund said warily as he came over to help me stand up. I shook him off and held on to Peter walk, so they didn't need to worry about me.

"Oh hush up Edmund, I'm fine." I retorted in an annoyed voice. The Pevensies exchanged a glance and then stared at me warily.

"Alex, are you sure you're fine?" Peter asked anxiously. I rolled my eyes and turned to Lucy.

"What do you want to do, Lu?" I asked as sweetly as I could whilst trying to ignore them worrying about me. I'm perfectly fine.

"I want you all to meet Mister Tumnus!" she exclaimed happily. Peter sighed and then plastered a great big grin on his face to appease his little sister.

"Well then, to Mister Tumnus' it is!" he declared before walking in to the bushes.

"But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this! We'll freeze in no time." Susan said just as Peter re-emerged from the bushes with a massive pile of fur.

"Well, I'm sure the Professor won't mind us wearing these coats then." He replied as he started handing them out to each of us. "And anyway, if you think about it logically, we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe." Susan shot him a look before grudgingly putting the fur coat on. Peter handed me mine and I slipped it on, starting to feel warm already.

"But that's a girl's coat!" Edmund whined as Peter gave a coat to him. Peter narrowed his eyes and a small smirk appeared on his face.

"I know." I stifled a giggle as Peter shoved the coat in to Edmund's arms, before walking over to Lucy. Edmund glared at me and then reluctantly put the coat on. I walked past him with a small smile on my face.

"It looks good on you." I commented as I passed him to follow Peter and Lucy who had started to walk away. Suddenly I felt something cold hit me in the back of the head. I shrieked as it started to melt and drip down the back of my neck, sending shivers up and down my spine. Peter, Susan and Lucy turned around and stared at me in surprise before bursting out laughing. I spun around to face Ed, seeing his face going red as he gasped through laughing so hard. I swooped down and scooped up a handful of snow, squashing it all in to a sizeable snowball before lobbing it straight at Edmund's face.

He coughed and spluttered as some of the snow went in to his mouth as well as covering his hair and eyebrows. I sniggered before laughing uncontrollably at his shocked face. He reminded me of Santa Claus, you know; white hair, white eyebrows and rosy cheeks. The other Pevensies were roaring with laughter as I staggered forward to Ed.

"Sorry, but you should see yourself at the moment. If only we had a mirror." I sighed as I calmed down. I dusted off some of the snow in his hair and he shivered slightly. "Come on."

With that we joined the other Pevensies and we all began to follow Lucy who had started babbling excitedly about visiting her friend. "Oh, his house is so lovely and warm and there were books and photographs of his father. You'll just love it, because I know I loved it and I know you're not me, but I just know you'll like it!"

I sort of just switched off then (I'm sure the other Pevensies did too) and I stared at everything around me. It was beautiful and still so strange at the same time. How could a world fit inside a wardrobe that couldn't even fit five children? We walked in to a small clearing and Lucy ran forward excitedly.

"And we met here! This spot, right next to the lamppost! Look, you can still see my fingerprints!" That caught my attention. I looked up as we reached the middle of the clearing and indeed saw a tall, iron lamppost with flickering flames burning inside the glass. I frowned. It must've have been minus forty degrees and yet the flames were still burning brightly. Never mind that Alexandra, what is a lamppost doing in the middle of a wood, in a world that shouldn't exist? The small voice of my grandma spoke sceptically in my head. I froze and gulped back a few sobs. I had totally forgotten that this morning my grandma had...never mind. Don't remember it now, you'll only start crying. I told myself as I blinked back a few tears. Edmund caught me blinking and frowned.

"Are you alright?" he whispered next to me. I hastily rubbed my eyes, turning away from him.

"Something in my eye..." I mumbled before looking determinedly at the lamppost. Why do I always cry over such silly things? If I wanted to make the Pevensies think I was alright, then I have got to stop crying. "Let's keep moving. I can't feel my toes." We trudged on through the snow passing cliffs, frozen streams and even a glacier. It was incredible standing underneath the glacier and just staring up through the frozen water at the sky. We soon began to climb a slope up in to the woods. I stared in awe at all of the trees that seemed to go on forever in to the sky.

CREEAAAK! I snapped my head up at the noise to see a branch above me point straight down.

Suddenly I swayed slightly, feeling a little dizzy with vertigo. I screwed my eyes shut and opened them, staring at the tree again.

The guard dragged me back by my ankle as I screamed and clawed at the snow all around me. I pressed my hand to my head feeling a headache coming along. My head snapped to the base of the tree. There was a large lump underneath the snow.

"You know what to do." An ice-cold voice sneered. I saw a flash of silver rip across my throat, feeling a warm liquid slip down my neck and down my throat. I tried to scream but it only came out as a gurgle as the hot, burgundy liquid slipped down my throat as if it were honey. The last image I saw was the cold, pitiless black eyes of her as she touched the tip of my nose with her wand, laughing as she did. The pain was unbearable as I felt every cell in my body writhe as if in agony before freezing.

I gasped and stepped toward the lump of snow on the ground. It felt like I was dreaming that nightmare again, like I had been here before. But how could I have been? I knelt down in the cold snow and gingerly dug, wincing slightly with the cold. I could feel bile fight its way up my throat as I had a sneaking feeling that I already knew what was buried in the snow. I continued to dig deeper in to the snow only barely aware that the Pevensies had walked on ahead. I was a few inches deep when my numb hands brushed against something rough. I stopped and stared at the object underneath my hands, before widening the hole so that I could see what it was.

"Alex? What are you doing?" A voice asked not that far behind me. I jumped and shrieked in surprise, almost falling in to the hole I had dug. I looked over my shoulder and then glared.

"Edmund, don't scare me like that!" I hissed scrambling to get up. Edmund looked at me suspiciously.

"Why are you digging a hole in the snow?" I froze. What would he think if I had told him I was digging because I thought my body was underneath the snow? Would he think I was crazy? Would he tell the others? Would he start to worry about me? I didn't want them to start worrying about me, I was perfectly fine.

"I...uh I..." I stuttered. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing at all. Edmund frowned at me and then a look of concern and worry appeared across his face. Oh no, not you too. I thought inside my head. The other Pevensies I could count on to worry about me, because they were kind like that but I could always rely on Edmund to not care at all, but now...

"Are you sure you're alright? Shall I look at your ribs so that they haven't broken again?" he said worriedly as he reached toward me. I slapped his hands away in disgust. How dare him, he's a boy! He can't just do that, it's improper. Why would you care? You and Edmund have grown up together. It's not like anything's different, is it? That annoying little voice that sounded like my grandmother spoke inside my head.

"I am fine!" I protested angrily stepping back from him. "Stop worrying about me, I keep telling you that I am perfectly fine!" Edmund was taken aback, that much I could tell from the expression on his face. His expression suddenly changed to anger as he stepped toward me menacingly with a fierce glare.

"Well, obviously you're not because digging holes in the bloody snow! I am only trying to help you." He shouted at me, scaring me slightly with the ferocity of it and making me wince in fear. I glared back at him and stepped forward so that I was in his face. Every frustrating or annoying thing appeared in my mind and started waving flags causing my temper to fire up. All of the frustrating secrecy that the Pevensie's were keeping from me, all of the whispering behind my back and even Edmund's damn mood swings annoyed me. I hated that my Grandmother had died. I hated that my Dad was stuck fighting in the war against the Germans. I hated that I had broken ribs and I couldn't do anything to fix them. I hated everything.

"I don't need your help, you or your siblings! If you wanted to help me then maybe you should stop worrying about me!" I hissed at him before shoving him in the chest. He stumbled back and tripped, falling backwards in to the snow with his jaw open in shock. He closed it and then stood up, grumbling as he did and turned his back on me, walking away.

"Fine, be that way! You just run off with the others!" I screamed after him as he turned a corner and marched over the top of the hill, leaving footsteps in the snow. I collapsed to the snow feeling hot tears fall down my cheeks. I lay on my side and tucked my knees close, shivering slightly despite the thick fur coat I had on.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." I choked out through my tears in to the emptiness around me. What was wrong with me? Why was I like this? I didn't really mean to shout at Edmund. I don't know what came over me, and all for what? A hole in the snow that I had dug...? You're going crazy, Alexandra, the voice in my head whispered gravely. I shook my head in protest and wiped my tears before shakily standing up and wrapped my coat more tightly around me. I glanced at the hole in the snow before me and kicked a small mound of snow in to the hole. I turned and trudged through the snow, following the trail of footsteps that Edmund had left behind him. I needed to apologise to him. It wasn't his fault that I had all of this misfortune. I had no right to shout at him.

But I was so confused. What was Edmund thinking when he found me digging in the snow? Why was he being so nice to me when I had been so horrid to him? I didn't deserve any of his kindness. I was just a crazy fool.

"Alex!" I looked up and saw Susan running up to me in the snow followed by Peter and Lucy. "We've been so worried about you. Ed said you hurt your ribs and you started digging a hole in the snow!"

"I didn't hurt my ribs, I'm fine." I replied with a sigh. Edmund appeared behind Peter and he crossed his arms in front of his chest, his face void of any emotion.

"But why were you so far behind?" Peter asked with a curious frown.

"I...I dropped something and it fell in the snow." I quickly lied, covering up my hesitance. Edmund scoffed and shook his head turning his back on me in disgust. "Did I miss anything?"

"Not much, Mr Tumnus' house is just around the corner!" Lucy smiled excitedly and proceeded to lead us onwards towards the side of a cliff face that had icicles hanging from underneath the rock that overshadowed us all. We trudged after Lucy, subconsciously tightening our coats tighter to keep us all warm. We must've been in this strange world for at least a few hours and Susan, Lucy and I were all in blouses and skirts. We were shivering like leaves blowing in the wind. It seemed as though the cold didn't quite affect her as much as it did Susan and I, because she was chattering away again like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh, and just to think, there will be a warm fire, comfy chairs, books and music! Oh, you have to hear a Narnian lullaby; it was simply delightful to listen to...even though you do feel sleepy afterwards..." Lucy trailed off and froze to a stop. We slowed to a stop behind her looking warily at the little girl.

"Lucy..?" Peter asked slowly before Lucy suddenly darted off towards a cliff. My eyes followed after her and I gasped, clapping my hand over my mouth in shock. There was a broken door hanging off its hinges that seemed to have been set in the side of a cliff. "Lucy!"

The older Pevensies and I chased after Lucy through the snow, leaving Edmund to run behind us. A minute later we were all piling in after Lucy in to the small cave house. Whatever happened here, someone must've gotten hurt. There was glass all over the floor, furniture tipped on its side, torn pages out of books, dusty ash-covered logs and even a dented can of sardines next to a picture that looked like it had flown out of the fireplace.

"Who could have done this to Mr Tumnus?" Lucy whispered, tears welling up in her wide blue eyes. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a small squeeze.

"Don't worry, Lu. We'll find out who did this to your friend." I reassured her as Peter walked slowly over to a piece of paper that was nailed to a wooden beam in the middle of the room. He ripped it off and then started to read it out loud.

"The faun Tumnus is hereby charged with treason against her imperial majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting her enemies and fraternising with humans. Signed Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long live the queen..." Peter looked up from the piece of paper in his hand, a look of worry on his face. Lucy gasped and began tearing up.

"We have to help him! Come on, we have to find him!" Lucy said desperately, heading towards the door of Mr Tumnus' home in a hurry. Peter quickly grabbed his little sister around the waist making her stop suddenly.

"Hold up Lu, we don't even know where Mr Tumnus' is." Peter spoke rationally.

"This is really dangerous Peter, we should be getting back." Susan said worriedly.

"And get in trouble from the Macready for smashing that window? Fat chance." I replied with a roll of my eyes. Susan huffed and crossed her arms in front of her.

"We've got to do something! He's my friend!" Lucy cried at her family. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, there wasn't really much we could do to be honest.

"Why?" Everyone turned around to face Edmund who was stood by the door with a frown. I had totally forgotten he was with us. He was so quiet all the time, like a mouse. But when I think back to when we were playing cricket, an hour or so ago, and the very determined look on his face, I can't help but compare him to a predator. Silent and waiting to catch its prey, whatever the prey is. I seriously hope I'm wrong. "I mean he's a criminal."

"Mr Tumnus is not a criminal. He's the nicest faun I've ever met!" Lucy shouted stubbornly at her second oldest brother.

"Alright, calm down Lucy. No one's saying he's a crimi -"

"Psst!"

Everyone suddenly fell silent at the strange noise. It seemed to come from outside, but there was nothing there. It was desert. There was no one there at all, so where did that noise come from?

"Psst!"

"Look at that bird in the tree!" Susan whispered as she pointing at a snow covered tree. Sitting on a branch was a little robin. He had the most magnificently crimson chest and his eyes look like little onyx jewels.

"Psst!" hissed the bird before flying off towards a small mound of snow. The little bird Psst! us again and flapped around on the snow.

"I think he's trying to tell us something..." I whispered quietly as I edged towards the bird. Peter caught my wrist but I tugged away and led them out of Mr Tumnus house. The robin flew away and I sighed in disappointment. What was that bird trying to tell us?

"Well, that was pointless." Scoffed Edmund from behind the other three Pevensies who were huddled together. Suddenly there was a shuffling noise from behind the snow mound. I spun around to face the snow mound, making my black hair fly out around my head. I shook slightly in fear. What if it was something dangerous? Would it hurt us? Would it kill us and eat us? The shuffling grew louder and louder. It hurried back towards the Pevensies, definitely not wanting to be the first one to die.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean what I said Edmund. I am so sorry for all the bad and annoying things I have ever done to you. Please forgive me." I whispered to Edmund as I cowered beside him. He looked a little bit scared himself but I could only tell that because of his eyes, the rest of his face didn't show any fear at all. He didn't reply but he just stared at the snow mound as the scuffling sounded like it was on the other side of it. I grabbed Ed's hand and closed my eyes whilst turning away from the snow mound. Suddenly the scuffling stopped. I teased open one of my eyes and peered at the thing that was going to potentially kill us.

It was a beaver.