Chapter 10: The Ruined City
At about ten o'clock the first tiny snow flakes came loitering down and settled on Jill's arm. Ten minutes later they were falling quite thickly. In twenty minutes the ground was noticeably white. And by the end of half an hour a good steady snowstorm, which looked as if it meant to last all day, was driving in their faces so that they could hardly see.
"Oh God, this snow is horrible. I can't even get across," said Jill.
"Well, look at the bright side. At least we won't be able to go to Harfang," Puddleglum told her.
"What do you mean?"
"The lights are out. Look," he said, pointing.
Jill looked and shrugged. "Looks like they've closed up for the night; we're too late!"
Puddleglum nodded. "What's more, we're stuck out here, where it's snowing."
"You know, I think I have a solution for that," Eustace said.
"What did you have in mind?" Jill asked.
"Simple; I turn into a dragon and use my fire breath to melt the snow."
Jill's face beamed. "That's a brilliant idea, Eustace. Now we can..."
But she never finished her sentence. The next thing she knew, she had lost her balance and fell into a trench.
"Jill!" Eustace yelled, and ran to where she had fallen. "Are you okay?"
Jill looked up at him. "I'm fine; I've fallen into some sort of trench."
"It looks like some sort of road! I wonder..."
Jill climbed out of the trench and looked at Eustace, who had a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, he spoke.
"Alright, listen up. I'm going to transform into a dragon and use my fire breath to melt the snow. But that's not all..."
Puddleglum and Jill stood back as Eustace started to transform. Gold scales covered his body, scutes covering his belly as it deepened. A tail burst from his tailbone, the knees and arms reversing themselves, forcing him to fall to the ground on all fours. Bones cracked and reshaped themselves as his arms, legs, hands and feet thickened with muscle, becoming paws. The fingers and toes fused together, leaving him with three fingers and four toes. Black, curved sharp claws burst from his toenails and fingernails. He grew in size and length. Wings sprouted from his back as his neck elongated and his face pushed out into a muzzle, teeth sharpening into fangs. His eyes moved slightly to the sides, narrowing into slits and turning crimson. His ears became three spine fans; horns pushed out of the top of his skull as spikes ran down the length of his neck and back.
The dragon grabbed Puddleglum and Jill in its claws and flapped its wings, flying upward. It hovered in the sky for a minute and then let out a huge breath of flame that covered the snow, melting it instantly. As the last of the snow melted away, Jill let out a gasp. A ruined city was revealed where the snow had been. But she could also see the words "UNDER ME" carved in stone right below her. Eustace flew down and landed on the cracked road, setting Puddleglum and Jill down while reverting to his human form.
Jill turned to Eustace. "How did you know that the ruined city of the giants was here?"
Eustace grinned. "I had a hunch. Aslan wanted us to look for the words UNDER ME and we did. Now we just have to find the lost prince."
"How are we going to do that, though?" Puddleglum asked. "It's not like these words can take us there."
"Wrong, Puddleglum. I'll bet if we follow these letters, they'll lead us to an underground cavern."
Eustace jumped down into the trench, followed by Jill and Puddleglum. They walked for miles, winding around caverns until Eustace came to a stop. He pointed.
"Look."
Jill and Puddleglum saw what Eustace was pointing at. In front of them was the entrance to a huge cave.