A/N: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

The Chosen One

NINA

After about thirty minutes or so, when it was nearly nightfall and I was starving and about ready to fall over from exhaustion, we came to a stop at the top of a hill overlooking a glimmering frozen lake and a small dam.

"And here we are! My humble abode," Mr. Beaver chuckled. "And it looks like the old girl's got the kettle on as well."

"Are all of us going to be able to fit into that?" Jerome asked doubtfully.

Amber, who stood next to me, turned around and gave him a disapproving look. "I think it's lovely," she declared, turning back to Mr. Beaver and giving him a smile.

"Oh, it's merely a trifle, merely a trifle," Mr. Beaver said dismissively, although his chest seemed to swell with pride. "Not quite finished yet. Be a lot of business when it is, though."

All of us slowly descended the snowy slope and walked carefully across the frozen lake, which Mr. Beaver assured us was stable. As we were walking across it, I noticed a small fish frozen beneath the ice. I'd never seen a fish look scared before, but this one did. I wondered briefly how long it had been frozen, and then remembered Mr. Tumnus telling me that it's been winter in Narnia for nearly a hundred years. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be frozen for a hundred years.

I couldn't.

"Beaver! Is that you?" A voice called from the dam as we successfully stepped off of the frozen lake. "I've been worried sick! If I find you've been out with badger again, I'll -" Suddenly, a furry she-beaver popped into view, looking frantic. Her eyes widened and she stopped as she saw us approaching, giving sheepish smiles. Mr. Beaver strode forward, grinning proudly.

The she-beaver's face broke into a wide grin. "Oh, I never thought I'd live to see this day!" She turned sharply to her husband. "Look at my fur! You couldn't have given me a ten minute's warning?"

I shifted back and forth awkwardly. I'd always hated being in the spotlight, or being treated as special. It didn't happen that often, but still - this was weird. I mean, we were just ten kids from Liverpool. We weren't very special at all.

"I would've given you a week if I thought it would help," Mr. Beaver replied. All of us laughed.

"Come inside," Mrs. Beaver beckoned. "And I'll see if I can give you some food. And some civilized company," she added, shooting a glare at her husband.

Mr. Beaver snickered and ushered all of us inside. Eddie, Mick, and Alfie went in first, with Joy, Patricia, Mara, and Amber quickly following them. Fabian went in next, and Jerome was about to duck his head in, when he stopped and suddenly began to stare off in the distance. I gave him a questioning look, but he just stared past me, looking almost troubled.

"Enjoying the scenery, are we?" Mr. Beaver asked, narrowing his beady eyes at the blonde boy. Jerome jumped, and quickly ducked his head under the dam. I gave Mr. Beaver a confused look but he just smiled at me. I shrugged and entered the dam, too.

In a little under an hour or so, with everyone - or mostly everyone's - help, Mrs. Beaver served each of us a steaming hot plate of fish and chips. I sat in the middle of the table, with Fabian and Amber on either side of me. Alfie quickly jumped into the seat next to Amber, and I hid a smirk, rolling my eyes. Although it was painfully obvious to everyone (except Amber, that is) that Alfie liked her, I found it kind of cute. Mara took the seat next to Alfie, closest to the door. On the other side of Fabian sat Joy, then Patricia, who didn't seem very happy to have Eddie sitting to the right of her. Mick sat at the very right end of the small round table. Jerome, always trying to bring everyone down, had refused a plate of food and chose to sit in the far corner of the dam on a stool all by himself.

Everyone quickly dug in, as soon as the plates were passed around. The food was absolutely delicious, and maybe it was because I was so hungry and exhausted, but I thought that it was one of the best meals I'd ever had. I found myself hungrily shoving food into my mouth until I caught Fabian staring at me concernedly. Blushing, I began to eat slower.

After everyone was at least halfway through with their meal, Mick spoke up. "So, what do you think they've done with Thomas?"

"Tumnus," I corrected.

"That's what I said."

I rolled my eyes.

Mr. Beaver frowned. "They've taken him to the Witch's house. And...well, you know what they say," Mr. Beaver gave them a knowing look.

"No, we don't," Patricia said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"It's well known that few that go through those gates come out again," Mr. Beaver explained somberly.

I stared down as my plate of fish swam in front of me, blinking back tears and nudging my plate away. Suddenly, I didn't feel as hungry as I had before. Mrs. Beaver set a small reassuring paw on my shoulder. "Don't forget, dear - there's always hope." She said. I offered her a small smile.

Mr. Beaver suddenly slammed his cup down on the table, causing all of us to jump. "Hope? There's a great deal more than hope!" He shouted enthusiastically. He leaned forward dramatically, causing everyone to do the same. "Aslan is on the move," he said in a low whisper.

I felt a shiver roll down my spine and my breath catch in my throat. A happy feeling began to bubble up inside me. Suddenly, I had the feeling of when you wake up and think you have to get ready for school, but then you remember it's the first day of summer and you don't have to go back to school for two more months and you have long days stretching in front of you where you can do whatever you please. Although I had no idea who this person was, the sound of their name brought a contented smile to my face, and made me feel calm and relaxed. Everyone else at the table wore similar expressions.

"Who's Aslan?" Jerome snapped, breaking us out of our trance. I looked at him, startled. He had a scowl on his face, and looked like he'd swallowed something nasty.

Mr. Beaver burst out laughing, slamming his tiny paw on the table. "Oh, that's a good one," he snickered. Amber and I exchanged confused glances, and I looked around the table. Everyone else was just as perplexed as I was. Seeming to pick up on our confusion, Mr. Beaver's laughter died down. He stared at all of us in disbelief. "You really don't know, do ya?"

Jerome scoffed and returned to his seat in the corner.

"Well we haven't exactly been here very long, have we?" Patricia said drily.

"You've got to be kidding," Mr. Beaver placed his head in his paws and sighed. "He's only the real king of Narnia!" We stared at him blankly. "He was away, for a long time - but He's just gotten back and he's waiting for you at the stone table!" Mr. Beaver cried enthusiastically.

"They're waiting for us?" Alfie asked skeptically. "Why?" All of us turned to look at him. "I mean, what makes us so special?"

"Special?" Mr. Beaver shouted, practically hysterical. "What makes you so special?! You've got to be JOKING! Everything makes you special!"

"Aw, thanks," Amber smiled sweetly, fluffing her hair.

Mr. Beaver rolled his eyes. "They don't get it!" He shouted, turning to his wife in exasperation.

"Well maybe we would, if you'd explain it to us," Eddie huffed shortly.

"Alright, alright," Mr. Beaver waved his hands, trying to calm himself down. Then he sighed, for about the umpteenth time that day. "There is a prophecy," he began. "One involving all of you." Before anyone had time to interject another question - because I had about a million running through my mind - Mr. Beaver cleared his throat.

"When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone
Sits at Cair Paravel in throne
The evil time will be over and done."

"You know, that doesn't really rhyme," Amber said when Mr. Beaver was finished.

"Doesn't rhyme," Mr. Beaver muttered, rolling his eyes. "Yer kinda missing the point!"

"Here, let me," Mrs. Beaver said, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder. She took a deep breath. "It has long been foretold that one day, five Sons of Adam and five Daughters of Eve will come to Narnia. Narnia will go into battle against the White Witch and her followers," she explained. I felt my stomach start to flip. I really didn't like the sound of this. "In the end, they will defeat the White Witch -"

"Put an end to this hundred year winter," Mr. Beaver added grimly.

"And become kings and queens of Narnia," Mrs. Beaver sing-songed. She paused, scanning our faces. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Amber said, nodding. Then she stopped. "Wait, actually, no." Mr. Beaver groaned.

"Wait a minute," Fabian held up a hand. "You think we're the ones?"

"Well you better be! Ya think it's just coincidence that ten teenagers that fit the exact description happen to show up all at once?" Mr. Beaver demanded.

"But that's not all," Mrs. Beaver added. "As I said before, there will be five Sons of Adam, and five Daughters of Eve. But one of them is..." Her voice trailed off, as if she were trying to think of the right word. "Special."

"What do you mean, special?" Patricia demanded.

Mr. Beaver cleared his throat again and began to recite yet another prophecy, but Mrs. Beaver cut him off. "Let me explain this one, sweetie." I hid a smirk as Mr. Beaver rolled his eyes. "The prophecy refers to this person as 'the Chosen One'. They, in turn, will lead Narnia into battle and fight against the White Witch. Afterwards, they will be high queen-"

"Or king," Mr. Beaver added.

"Of Narnia," Mrs. Beaver continued. "It may not be easy to tell who the Chosen One is at first, but over time it will become more clear. This person is brave, and a natural born leader, with a good head on their shoulders."

"So? Lots of people have those qualities," said Joy.

"But that's not all," Mrs. Beaver said again. "The Chosen One has special qualities about them, things others may not have. And the Chosen One will have had these qualities for most, if not all, of their life. In fact, they may not even know about these qualities." she explained.

"What kind of qualities?" I asked.

"They can sense things that others can't," Mrs. Beaver explained. "They have a way of knowing things about something or someone before they've even met them or before it even happens. They can immediately tell when something's wrong and when they're in danger. It seems they always know what to do in a dangerous situation. They can know what to do that will save everyone."

"And it's been told," Mr. Beaver added. "That in times of anger, the Chosen One can do powerful, dangerous things."

"Like what?" Alfie asked, sounding interested.

Mr. Beaver shrugged.

"Well that was incredbily vague," Patricia cried.

Mr. Beaver sighed again. "All I'm sayin' is one of ya are it. And we better get crackin', cuz if I'm correct then Aslan is already waitin' at the Stone Table with yer army."

"Our army?" Joy asked in disbelief.

"Alright, no offence, but this sounds like some sort of made-up fairytale if you ask me," Patricia declared.

"Patricia!" I hissed.

"What? Are you honestly believing every word they're feeding you?" Patricia asked. "Because I'm not."

"Patricia's got a point," Mick agreed. Slowly, he stood up, looking somewhat awkward as the rest of us looked up at him in surprise. "Not to be rude, or anything, but, er...I think you've made a mistake. The prophecy sounds fine and dandy and stuff - but we aren't the people you're talking about. We can't be."

"He's right," Joy agreed. "I didn't get evacuated from a war just to fight in another one." She stood up too, and so did Patricia. I stared at the three of them, a sinking feeling growing in my stomach.

Fabian sighed, and slowly stood up too. "Fabian!" I protested, sitting up straight and looking at him with betrayal.

"I'm sorry, Nina," he said, giving me an apologetic look. "But they're right. We're not heroes."

"Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, this is cool and all. Really." Alfie said to the beavers, standing up. "But just because I like reading about battles and stuff doesn't necessarily mean I want to fight in one." He turned to the rest of us. "Uh...I think we should leave."

"But we can't!" I cried, jumping up. "What about Mr. Tumnus?"

"It's out of our hands," Eddie said, glaring at me. "Come on, Nina. It's obvious we can't stay here."

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at my brother and the people I thought were my friends. "How could you do this? How could you just walk away?" I demanded. "They need our help!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Eddie scoffed. "Do you really think you could fight in a battle, Nina? You have to call me in to the bathroom to kill a spider with my shoe almost everyday!"

"I never said I wanted to fight in a battle," I said softly. "I just want to help. It's my fault that Mr. Tumnus is in trouble, and I'm not leaving until he's out of it."

"You may not have a choice," Mr. Beaver piped up, making me jump. For a second, I'd forgotten that the beavers were even there. Mr. Beaver had a knowing look on his face, and Mrs. Beaver looked at us forlornly.

"And why is that?" Amber asked hesitantly, slowly standing up, the one person that hadn't been participating in the argument. Instead, she'd been sitting down the whole time, wearing a puzzled look on her face...like she was trying to figure something out.

"You haven't noticed have you?" Mr. Beaver asked. We all hesitantly shook our heads. "You're two short."

"What?" Patricia demanded. "No we're-"

"Oh no," Amber said suddenly, her face pale. We all turned to her. "Where's Mara and Jerome?"

I whipped around the room, searching for the tall blonde boy and the short dark-haired girl.

They weren't there.

"They'd be at the Witch's house, I'd expect," Mr. Beaver declared, leaning back in his chair. Mrs. Beaver sighed fretfully.

"What are you talking about?" Eddie demanded.

"I'd hoped it wasn't true," Mrs. Beaver said fretfully, looking at her husband and seemingly forgetting we were in the room. "But the way he was acting - Jerome, I mean - "

"It's the eyes," Mr. Beaver agreed. "I could tell by the eyes."

"What are you talking about?" Joy shrieked, demanding an answer. "What happened to them?!"

"Has Jerome ever been to Narnia before?" Mr. Beaver looked at us questioningly.

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. "Yes. He has," I whispered, biting my lip.

"And do you know what he was doing while he was there?" Mr. Beaver asked imploringly.

"No, I don't," I admitted as my stomach began to do multiple flip-flops.

"Well that's it, then. He's met the Witch, I expect. Had some of her food. And I'll bet that she told him that if he came back with all of you, she'd give him some more. And that's exactly what he did," Mr. Beaver explained. "Or tried to, anyways. Luckily, he only managed to take one of ya."

"No," Fabian said, his eyes narrowed. "No, he wouldn't do that. I know he's mean, and cruel, but..." his voice trailed off.

"Well, I'm not surprised," Patricia stated flatly, but she looked worried. And if Patricia Williamson, the girl that wasn't supposed to care about anything, looked worried, then you knew something horrible was going on.

"So he's taken Mara, then?" Joy asked, looking sick. "What is the witch going to do to them?"

"She's not going to get a chance," Fabian said, grabbing a coat. "We've got to stop them. Now, before it's too late." He turned to face the beavers. "Which way is the witch's house?" He demanded.

Reluctantly, Mr. Beaver led us out of the dam and towards the Witch's castle. Fabian was right on Mr. Beaver's heels, running determinedly as the rest of us trampled through the snow, nearly falling every five seconds. At random intervals we would shout out Jerome and Mara's names, but there was never a reply. I watched Fabian curiously. I'd never seen him like this, but I knew that he would do anything to protect someone he loved - he was just that kind of person. Even if that person was someone as nasty as Jerome. I suppose if Eddie had been the one to go to the Witch's house, I would be acting the same as Fabian was right now.

At last, we reached the top of the slope, and skidded to a stop. In front of me was a tall, blue castle, with many pillars and spikes. It looked exactly as if it were made of ice, and I wouldn't have been surprised if it was. A long bridge stretched from my feet and towards the entrance, and I could barely make out a figure walking towards the large castle door.

"JEROME!" Fabian shouted at the top of his lungs.

"MARA!" Patricia screamed.

"QUIET!" Mr. Beaver hissed desperately, waving a paw. "She'll hear you!"

To my surprise, Fabian darted forward onto the bridge, running as fast as he could. I screamed.

"NO!" Mr. Beaver shouted, lunging forward and grabbing him by the heels. Mr. Beaver dragged a struggling Fabian back to where we were standing. "You can't! You'll be playing into her hands!"

"We can't just let them go!" Amber shrieked.

"He's my cousin!" Fabian exclaimed. "And Mara's -"

"They're the bait!" Mr. Beaver shouted frantically. "That's exactly what she's hoping for! For all of you to come charging in after them!"

"Why?" Alfie demanded, looking terrified.

"To stop the prophecy from coming true." Mr. Beaver said in a cold voice. "To kill you!"

Fabian froze. I turned and stared at the castle, feeling sick, and watched helplessly as the figure opened the large door and entered the castle. The door closed behind them, and they were gone.

There was a dreadful pause of silence, until Patricia turned to me, glaring. "This is all. Your. Fault."

I stared at her incredulously. "My fault?"

"We just had to go to Mr. Tumnus's house despite the fact that we're in some strange place where anything could happen! I told everyone this was a bad idea! Mara and I warned you, she said it was dangerous, she told you all to be reasonable, and look what's happened to her!" Patricia screamed, her voice wobbling slightly. "She could be dead by the morning! If you all had just listened to us, none of this would've happened in the first place!"

"Oh, so you knew this would happen?" I demanded. "Oh, that's right, I forgot! You know everything, don't you? Probably because you're so much better than the rest of us, right?"

"Oh, you're one to talk!" Patricia fired back. "'I'm so wonderful because I care about helping others like my friend Mr. Tumnus! Oh, we must stay and help Mr. Tumnus! Mr. Tumnus was so kind and he saved me probably because I'm such a wonderful person and I'm just so amazing!'" She mocked.

"That is not-"

"Don't interrupt me!" Patricia shouted. "Here's some advice, Nina! NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU OR YOUR FRIEND. If you hadn't been whining about your dumb friend then we would've already leftand this-" She pointed towards the tall castle. "Would've never happened!"

"You know what, Patricia? It's really sad that you have to say all these cruel remarks about me to cover up the fact that you're scared." I snapped. "And let's face it, the only reason you're blaming all of this on me is because you hate me for no reason! Ever since I got here you've just hated me with every fiber of your being and you know what? I'm sick of it! I've done absolutely nothing to you so you can just-"

"STOP IT!" Mick shouted. Patricia and I whirled to face him, surprised. Actually, I was mostly just surprised at myself. I'd never talked to anyone like that before...but it felt good to let everything out. Maybe I should do that more often. "Look, I know both of you are scared, okay? But screaming at each other isn't going to solve anything!"

Patricia scoffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest and I sighed, staring at my feet. He was right, of course. Who knew Mick could be somewhat philosophical?

"We've got to be able to do something," Eddie turned to Mr. Beaver, sounding uncharacteristically desperate.

Mr. Beaver sighed. "Only Aslan can help them now," he admitted.

"Then take us to him," Fabian spoke up. He glanced at all of us, who nodded in agreement.

A/N: Yeah, I know, it's kind of obvious who the Chosen One is going to be. But hey you never know, I could do a 180 and make the Chosen One someone completely unexpected, like Alfie or something.

You never know.

Sorry this chapter was mostly dialogue...next chapter we'll see mostly the whole thing from Jerome and mostly Mara's point of view! :D

QUESTION FOR THE CHAPTER: What are some really good books you've read recently?I just finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas which I had to read for school and didn't think I would like but actually fell in love with. If you don't get the chance to read it in school, you should definitely go get it because it's actually really good. Also, I just finished Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman, which was amazing - it's a book about becoming a follower of Christ instead of a fan and right now I'm hilighting all the really good parts (which basically means the whole book.)

ALSO, I'm reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky for the second time which is an amazing book. At first I was like "Omg this is like the weirdest book ever" but then I kept reading it and it got so good and omg if you haven't read this book yet go read it now it just makes me feel really happy and it kind of makes me want to be best friends with Charlie. I'm a nerd deal with it PLUS I'M SEEING THE MOVIE THIS WEEKEND AHHHHHHHHH

Anyways, thanks for reading this chapter and please review and tell me what you thought! Seriously it makes me so happy whenever I see that I have a new review or someone favorited this story :D