Chapter Eleven

The Legend of the Phoenix

Susan slowly opened her eyes; she could see daylight filtering through the curtains of her room which showed that morning was here. Susan however didn't feel like getting up after what happened between her and William yesterday, she hadn't spoken to or seen him since they had that argument and at that moment she didn't want to.

However after a while Susan finally decided she had to get up and attempt to face him. She got herself dressed and headed down the stairs; however when she arrived downstairs there seemed to be nobody else in the house.

"Hello"? She called

Nobody answered her; Susan had to admit she was feeling a little bit nervous now after the two attacks that had happened she didn't like the feeling of being alone right now. She wished she had tried to sort things out with William because now she had no idea where he was.

"Hello"? She called again

"In here" Sophia's voice replied from the sitting room

Susan entered the room to find Sophia sitting alone in one of the armchair's reading a book; she looked up as Susan approached and gave her a small smile. Susan gave a little smile in return as Sophia closed her book and placed it on a small table next to the armchair.

"Can I get you anything"? Sophia asked

"No, thank you" Susan said sitting down on the sofa opposite.

Sophia gave Susan a sad smile, Susan turned away from her she didn't want to see that look from her. As Susan looked around the room it was the first time she had done so properly and the first time she noticed what a lovely cosy room it really was. Susan then finally turned back to Sophia who was still watching her and decided to ask Sophia a question that she had been wanting to ask for a few days now.

"You said that you knew William in Narnia right"?

"Yes I did" Sophia replied

"Tell me, what was he like then if he really was in Narnia"

Sophia sat in silence for a minute and looked like she seemed to be concentrating on something. Susan sat there silently while she waited patiently for Sophia to begin; she made herself more comfortable as Sophia started.

"He was in one word amazing; he was a trueborn leader and warrior one of the greatest Narnia had ever seen. He was loved by all Narnians and hated by all Calormene's, mostly because they could never defeat Narnia while he was leading.

"What's a Calormene"? Susan asked

"It's a person from a country called Calormen, it was a country that was a huge enemy of Narnia" Sophia answered

"So William was like a general or something wasn't he"? Susan asked

"He was far greater than a general Susan; he was the first and only High Protector in Narnian history"

Susan thought about that, she had never heard of a title like that before. She also realised she was getting interested in this story and had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't real there was no such place as Narnia and there was so such thing as a High Protector. But Susan allowed Sophia to continue as she wanted to see how much of a good story her and William had come up with.

"So if he was some great High Protector, why did he leave Narnia"? Susan asked

To her surprise Sophia's face darkened, she stared into the fire that was keeping the house lovely and warm. Susan thought about asking if something was wrong but she became scared after seeing the ferocious look that Sophia now wore.

"War came, an evil witch called Jadis swept through Narnia. First her army took the north followed by the west then the south, only the east of Narnia stood free and that was what William fought so hard to defend. However it wasn't enough, William was betrayed and was eventually defeated; he lost everything and was returned to Earth"

Susan sat in silence shocked at what was just said, she had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't real but the more she tried to think that the more she slowly started to believe them. But to Susan's surprise Sophia started to smile, she looked at her weirdly but all that did was make Sophia smile more.

"Why are you smiling"?

"Because although William was defeated and left Narnia his legend lived on, you should of heard all of the crazy stories the Narnians came up with like he could make a whole army run away with just one look" Sophia explained

Susan smiled at that, she could imagine someone like William being remembered for many years. Then another question appeared in her head, this one was a little bit more private but she was curious and wanted to know.

"Sophia, can I ask you something"?

"Of course" Sophia replied smiling

"Are you and William together"? Susan asked

To her surprise Sophia started laughing; Susan didn't think the question was funny but it seemed that to Sophia it was one of the funniest things she had ever heard. Susan waited patiently for Sophia to get a hold of herself before continuing.

"What's so funny"? Susan asked bewildered

"I'm sorry, no were not together we are just close friends" Sophia answered

Susan just nodded at that, she didn't know why she had asked that question she was just curious to know if they were or not. However as she sat there another question popped into her head, she looked at Sophia who was still smiling before asking.

"Did you ever come close"?

Sophia scrunched up her face in concentration; Susan guessed she was supposedly remembering back to those days. Finally Sophia looked at Susan and gave a small smile.

"No, William fell for someone else" Sophia said

"Who"?

"Swanwhite, the queen of Narnia"

Susan had to admit, this story was drawing her in she had to keep telling herself that it wasn't real. However the more Sophia talked the more Susan found herself slowly imagining the story being true, but as she sat there listening to Sophia talk about William it suddenly hit Susan that she hadn't seen William this morning.

"Where is William"?

"He went out early this morning, said he had something to do" Sophia explained.

So the rest of the day passed with Susan and Sophia talking happily with each other, Susan helped Sophia make dinner and was enjoying spending time with her. She was laughing and joking for the first time in three years.

Suddenly the door to the house opened and then closed again. A couple of seconds later William entered the kitchen wearing his long black coat, he smiled at both of the girls but the smile he gave to Susan was a bit awkward.

"How did it go"? Sophia asked

"No luck yet, I'll try again tomorrow" William answered

Sophia nodded and resumed preparing the dinner; William took off his black coat and placed gently on the back of a chair. He then looked at Susan and motioned her to follow him, Susan glanced at Sophia who gave her a small smile and then followed William to the study.

"Now Susan about last night" William said sitting down behind his desk

"William its fine, I understand now that he was trying to kill you" Susan replied smiling

William smiled back and thanked her; they both then resumed their original plan and tried to guess where the items were. The evening wore on and soon Sophia was calling them for dinner, William lead the way out of the study to the dining room where the trio sat down and started to eat the wonderful meal that Sophia had prepared.

"So William where you today"? Susan asked

"I was looking for someone, a person I think may give us answers of where the items are" William explained.

Susan gently put another mouthful in her mouth and chewed it as she thought about what person on Earth would know where magical items were. William and Sophia started talking about where they could fine the person, this caused Susan to hurriedly swallow and ask another question.

"Who is this person"?

"His name is Nemen and he is a man said to have lived for thousands of years and has travelled through many different worlds" William answered

"So you think this Nemen person knows where the items are"? Susan asked

"I hope so, it is said that he has an incredible amount of knowledge" William answered

Susan nodded and resumed eating her dinner; she was trying desperately not to believe what William and Sophia were telling her but the more she was told the more she slowly started to believe.

The office was dark; once again the only source of light was a lone candle which sat on the desk. Father McGuiness was again hunched over his desk scribbling something on a piece of parchment; he sat in silence until there came a knock at the office door.

"Enter" he said

The door slowly opened and in walked a man dressed in a soldier's uniform, he had a big gash down the side of his face and was limping showing that his leg was injured. He closed the door behind him and limped over to the desk.

"You wanted to see me my lord"? The soldier asked

"Yes I want to know how you let Queen Susan escape a second time" said Father McGuiness

"She had help my lord, the same man who helped her last time" the soldier answered

Father McGuiness slammed his fists down on the desk causing the soldier to jump, he hated that once again William had managed to help the gentle queen escape his grasp. He looked back at the soldier and gave a small smile.

"I don't blame you" Father McGuiness said gently

"You don't my lord"? The soldier asked confused and anxious

"No you couldn't have known somebody would help her" he replied moving from behind his desk

The soldier gave a sigh of relief, but that was short lived when Father McGuiness hit him straight in the face causing him to hit the floor. Father McGuiness then kicked the soldiers many times on floor which caused the soldier to struggle moving.

"I despise failure" Father McGuiness whispered as he pulled out a dagger and with one stroke cut the soldiers throat.

He watched the soldier's life slowly fade away as blood from his now open throat spilled onto the carpet of the office. Yet Father McGuiness felt no pity and no remorse but only felt annoyance at not being able to do it to William.

"Soon William, soon"

Sorry I haven't updated in a while I have been extremely busy, I promise I will try and find more time to write.

Long Live Aslan!

Aslan's Author