Welcome back to the story, my faithful readers! Thank you so very much to those who have recently favorited and followed! (: It makes me quite overjoyed to see the new usernames and all those who have viewed my story!
This chapter focuses a lot on Henri and Edmund. I decided to leave out a lot of Lucy, Susan, and Peter's adventures (but scenes will be included, not to worry) because you read a lot about them in the book and see a lot of theirs in the movie. But don't worry about them, because I've added in some scenes of my own.
Okay, I've got a bit of a problem-I am having a tremendously difficult time selecting a name for Henri. You know how Peter ends up being Peter the Magnificent and Susan is Susan the Gentle and so on? Well, I just am brain dead thinking of one for Henri. I would love suggestions! Please help me out! Leave suggestions in the reviews or PM me with the names. Thanks guys!
Now, ONWARD WITH THE STORY! (:
Sing Out (:
SW
Disclaimer: I do not claim copyrights to any of the Chronicles of Narnia books, including characters and dialogue.
Chapter 8: Stuck in an Icebox
Lucy's POV
I'd rather not believe at all that it's Henri's fault. I don't blame her for not stopping Ed. From what Mr. Tumnus has told me, the Witch is absolutely dreadful and wouldn't be kind to Henri.
We walk back to the Beavers' dam, wondering if Aslan already knows that Edmund has betrayed us.
Peter seems to think Henri is a traitor, too. I personally don't blame her for not speaking up about me, but that doesn't mean that she's a traitor and doesn't care about my safety.
"Henri? Is the Witch scary?" I wonder.
"Not so much scary, more...intimidating. Threatening, even. There's a ceratin cold air that lingers about her," Henri tells me. "She has this huge ice crown and a long golden rod. I believe it might be a sort of magic wand, considering she's a witch and all. She's quite tall and looks as if she's made of ice. Not transparent, but pale with a chilly gaze that mentally turns you to stone. I tried not to cross too many lines in her presence."
"What about Edmund?" I ask. "Are you mad at him?"
My friend laughs darkly. "Oh, Lu, I am simply furious with your brother. How could I not be? He sold us to the White Witch! I even tried to convince him not to leave, but I couldn't change his rotten mind. If I see him anytime soon, I will sock him in the nose."
I glance ahead at Susan, Peter, and Mr. Beaver.
"I wonder if we'll continue our plan and go to Aslan tomorrow," I think aloud. Henri shrugs.
"What else can we do? We can't save Tumnus or your brother now."
We tread silently into the snowy night. We are halfway to the Beaver dam now.
I think of our trek to the Stone Table and of Aslan. I hope he'll be a kind Lion. Mrs. Beaver told us that he is not safe, but good. If he is not safe, does that mean we have to be careful not to anger him?
A howling wolf cuts into my thoughts.
"Oh, bother, the secret police!" exclaims Mr. Beaver.
"What?!" yelps Peter weakly.
"Just run!" orders our guide. Susan's eyes grow wide.
I take one look at Henri and we take off sprinting, dodging bushes and trees. Henri grabs my hand and pulls me along with her.
I can hear the wolves barking and instructing each other. Once in a while, one howls. I do hope we don't become wolf food!
We run as fast as we can up the hill that overlooks the dam. Peter reaches the top first.
"Come on!" he yells at us.
When Henri and I reach the top, Peter thrusts Henri out of the way and takes my hand.
We slide clumsily down the side of the hill right to the entrance of the dam. Henri is further behind than the rest of us.
"Henri!" Susan shouts. My friend stumbles and slips right into the snow. The wolves are currently rushing down the slope after us, close behind Henri.
Mr. Beaver holds the door open to the little entranceway. Peter pushes me roughly inside the tunnel. Susan and Mr. Beaver follow.
"Hurry, Henri!" cries Peter anxiously. Peter dives into the tunnel.
Henri just reaches the doorway and grabs my brother's arm when she cries out in pain. A wolf has clamped its jaws down on her ankle. My heart beats faster.
"NO!" I shout.
Peter fights back, struggling to save our friend. The wolves win the battle and drag her out of sight. Peter tries to run after her, but some of the wolves stay after we've shut the door and try to break through.
I whimper as I hear the screams.
Henri is gone.
*LINE BREAK*
Edmund's POV
"This way for your nom-noms!" says the creepy midget man as he holds a cold, curved knife to my back.
As we walk away from the Witch's throne, wolves appear and howl, then leave the palace after receiving orders. I have a horrid feeling that they're going after my family and enemy.
The dwarf leads me into an ice dungeon and gives me dry, stale bread with a tin cup on a tin platter. Then he leaves with an evil chuckle, slamming the heavy door at the top of the stairs behind him.
I really do loathe this thought, but I'm beginning to think Henri was right. The bloody git was right! I HATE it when she's right!
I sit there on the icy floor for about two hours, sulking and hating my pathetic life. I even have a few tears slip out. Not that I would admit that I've been crying.
GURGLE.
My stomach makes funny noises. I'm hungry now and that gross bread is actually starting to look slightly edible.
I scoot over, ankle chains clanking miserably, and pick up the bread. I bite into it. I choke, sputtering and coughing unpleasantly. How disgusting. Wasn't this the woman who told me that I'd be a prince? What lovely royal treatment.
I pick up my water cup. The water has turned to ice. Of course is has.
Just brilliant.
I bang the tin cup on the plate and groan in desolation.
"If-if you're not going to eat that..." says a weak voice from the next cell.
My head snaps to one side. A person.
I cautiously grab the bread and hand it to whoever this person is. It's a faun. Ugh, goat fur. I hate goats. They smell disgusting.
Wait...a Faun here in the dungeon? That must mean-
"Mr.-Tumnus," I realize. The Faun sighs.
"What's left of him," he replies sadly, munching on the hard bread. "You're Lucy Pevensie's brother."
Another thing I hate; being called Lucy's brother.
"I'm Edmund," I counter.
"You-you have the same nose," Tumnus observes. I wipe my dripping nose self-consciously. "Is she safe?"
"I...I don't know," I answer truthfully.
The dungeon doors bang open. I scoot away from the opening that connects the cells. It's Her. She appears at the top of the staircase and slowly, but dramatically, makes her way down.
"My police tore that dam apart," thunders the Witch, "Your little family is nowhere to be found. They did, however, catch one." She motions to another at the top of the steps. "Guard!"
Stomping feet reveal a hideous, ghastly ogre holding a limp, filthy being in its arms. I can't tell exactly who it is.
"Your enemy," the Witch tells me with an evil grin.
Henri? I think in shock. How did they manage to grab hold of HER? She probably killed a few wolves in the process, that monster of a girl.
The White Witch snaps her fingers and the ogre literally drops her in my lap. I push her off of me in digust. Her face is covered with scratches and bruises and her hair is tangled with forest brush and half-melted snow. The bottom of her fur coat is is shreds and her ankles is covered in scarlet blood. She's so dirty and pale, she looks to be dead. Then I see her chest rising and falling. Just unconscious.
"What happened?" I probe tensely.
"That," the Witch says sternly, "is none of your business. Now tell me, Edmund, where is your family?"
"I-I don't know," I answer fearfully. She barges over and picks me up by the collar of my shirt, my feet dangling at least a foot off the ground.
"Tell me where they went," she demands.
"I don't know!" I repeat.
"Then you both are of no further use to me," the Witch, growls, throwing me back to the icy ground. I scoot away from Henri.
The Witch is not pleased with me again. She'll probably kill me now. Peter, Susan, and Lucy won't care. She raises her wand.
I should tell her, or I'll die.
"He is a stranger here in Narnia! You can't expect him to know anything!" cries Tumnus. The ogre hits him with the butt of his sledghammer. I wince.
The Witch turns back to me, wand raised menacingly again.
"WAIT!" I shout. "The Beaver said something about Aslan!"
The Witch stops, a glint of fear and malice in her icy gray eyes.
"Aslan?" she stresses. "Where is he?"
"I-I...don't know. I left before they said anything," I say. The Faun sighs.
The Witch glances at Tumnus.
"Faun, why are you here?"
"Because I believe in a free Narnia." Mr. Tumnus struggles to sit up normally.
"You here because Edmund turned you in for a box of Turkish Delight, a sweet," she explains, a hint of amusement laced in her words as she points her wand at me. I shrink back against the wall of the dungeon.
Mr. Tumnus' eyes are full of hurt.
I think I've just lost my appetite.
Without shifting her gaze from my face, the White Witch gives the orders to release Mr. Tumnus from his chains. The ogre does as he is told and clamps a shackle on Henri's uninjured ankle for good measure. He tugs Tumnus away, Tumnus moaning in pain.
The Witch, being the nasty rotten prat that she is, gives me and the unconscious Henri a cold, cruel smile and exits after the guard and Faun.
I can only imagine what will happen to Mr. Tumnus.
I look over to my enemy. What the heck am I supposed to do with her? She's completely useless to me here.
I scoot over and take a look at her bloodied ankle. I tear off the end of my long undershirt and dab at the wound.
"Wha...Ed?" says Henri groggily.
"Fancy meeting you here," I grump. She's the last person I'd want to talk to at his moment, much less tend to.
She attempts to sit up, but lays back down after complaining of seeing spots.
"Wh-where are we?" she wonders stupidly.
"Hmmm...let me think," I say sarcastically. "Made of ice, so freezing cold my feet are numb...I have no idea. Take a guess."
My enemy groans.
"The Witch's House."
"The Witch's dungeon, you thick idiot," I correct.
"Well that's just bloody brilliant," gripes Henri. She sighs, then pops up to a sitting position, her eyes full of anger. "THE WITCH'S DUNGEON WITH YOU?!"
She must have enough energy left from her fighting because she punches me in the face, throwing me off balance.
"You got me flippin' captured you foul piece of dung!" she cries. "I was dragged here against my will by a pack of wolves all of YOU!"
"How is this my fault?" I argue.
"Because you had to be an airhead and think that going to the Witch will solve all your problems! I know how you feel about me and Lucy, Peter, and Susan, and for me, the FEELING IS MUTUAL! But not for your family! I told you the Witch wasn't to be trusted and who was correct? ME, that's who!" vents Henri.
"Shut up!" I tell her. "I can blame you for this too! You wanted to STAY in Narnia and explore the first time we came. I thought we should leave, but no, we went on and met the Witch! Now we're STUCK here in this BLASTED icebox with nothing to eat!"
I slap her wound for emphasis.
"GAH!" she yells, her face contorted in pain. I almost feel sorry for her until she kicks me with her good foot in the boy's soft spot. I sing soprano for a few minutes while she sits there with a smug expression on her ugly face. Okay, not ugly, stupid.
"That's what you deserve for leaving us for dead!" she yells. She doesn't look smug anymore. "It's a good flippin' thing you stayed as long as you did or we would both be dead right now! Instead, you flew off to your precious queen who is an evil witch, betraying not only me but your only family. Now I'm stuck with you as a horrible companion in this freezing hole the Witch calls a dungeon. Thanks a ton, Ed. I just HAD to get trapped here with YOU."
Then she curls up into a ball and starts shaking.
Could I really be that much of a git?
*LINE BREAK*
Henri's POV
Edmund is the last person I will ever cry in front of, but considering the situation at hand, it will make him feel worse.
I lay on the icy floor, my ankle burning like fire. Hot tears trickle out of my eyes. Edmund doesn't say a word.
"H-Henri?" he says shakily.
"What do you want, traitor?" I growl.
"I-I was just wondering...what happened to your ankle?"
I sit up slowly, trying not to agitate my wound.
"Well after you betrayed us to the White Witch," I say nastily, "the secret police came after us. They caught me right outside the dam. Peter tried to save me, but the wolves were too strong to fight without a weapon. A few of them dragged me back here. I don't remember arriving here. It's all black. I can only assume I banged my head on a rock or something."
Edmund again sits in silence.
"Will you ever forgive me for this mess I've got us into?" he asks.
I raise an eyebrow. Is Edmund trying to say that he's sorry?
"It depends," I reply. He sighs. "You know this is my fault too."
"I thought you said this was my doing," Ed says, perplexed.
"Technically, it's both of our faults. When you were talking to the Witch about Lucy meeting Mr. Tumnus, I knew I should cut you off. But the thing is I didn't did I? Mr. Tumnus wouldn't be here in the Witch's house if I hadn't stopped you from blabbing your mouth. I'm sorry for blaming you for this whole fiasco. I was trying to make you feel bad," I explain.
"Well it worked," Edmund grumbles.
We need to escape this dungeon. The only way we can do that is if we work together, I think.
"I never thought I would say this, but will you call a truce?" I hold out my hand for him to shake. He stares at it like I'm barking mad.
"What for?" spits Ed.
"Do you want to get out of here or not?" I say gruffly. He sighs as if to say 'if we must.'
"Fine," he mumbles grouchily. We shake on the deal. "So what did you have in mind?"
"I'm not actually sure how we can get out of here yet. I was sort of hoping you could help me wrack my brain for ideas," I say sheepishly.
"Must I do all the work around here?" mutters Ed, annoyed.
I could insult him and throw that frozen tin cup at him, but because we need to get out of here and I'm just so very nice, I won't.
Think, think, think, Henri, I tell myself. You're smart. You lived through the bombings of London. Ugh, but I'm not the one who built our bomb shelter, am I? What are we supposed to do? Smack whoever is keeping us and run? Ha...that'll work. Hey, that could work!
"Okay, how about this," I say. "When that guard and dwarf come down to free us, which will hopefully be soon, we attack. Once the ogre frees one of us from our shackles, that person should knock out the dwarf and take its knife while the other takes on the guard."
"You mean that gross ogre?" Edmund says, disgusted.
"Yes, him, you wuss," I retort. "The person taking on the ogre should kick it in a bad spot or sock him in the face, take the hammer he used to break the chains, then hit the creature's head. Then the other person can break their shackles and we'll both be free! Yes, it's perfect!"
"What about the Witch?" says Ed. Oh, that's a good point.
"We won't have to worry too much about her," I brush him off.
"Excuse me, but she is not somebody to take lightly!"
"I understand that, but she will probably be on ther ice throne or wandering through the palace or something. We can easily sneak past her. Trust me, it's completely fool-proof," I scoff. Edmund grudgingly nods.
"Wait, if you get freed first, what will you do to the dwarf?" asks Edmund.
"The same thing I told you to do to the ogre. Sock him in the face or kick him. That's what boys do," I reply matter-of-factly.
"But you're a girl," Ed says, perplexed. I smile slyly.
"Now that is where you are very wrong, Edmund Pevensie. I am very much more a boy."
That leaves him even more confused. Oh, the fun of having intelligence on your side. Does he not know what a tomboy is? Must be a girl thing.
Hopefully this tomboy will get us out of this icebox...
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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Sing Out (:
SW
