Chapter Eleven: Of Magic

Earth Kid Tree Hugger: I wish I'd updated sooner, but I've been in Europe! Hope you can forgive me.

princess emma of narnia: The next update is here

NarniaQueen and QueenofFantasy: Yes, Brody is despicable. He really knows how to hurt people.

She dreamed a world of brilliance. It was so colourful and vibrant, and Rose looked down to see that she was wearing a flowing gown of purest white – so different from the ugly steel armour she normally had to wear. Impulsively, she clutched a handful of the gown – it was soft to the touch – and spun around and around. Before she knew, she was laughing.

She stopped spinning when she saw the lion. Rose knew who he was immediately, and her eyes widened as she dropped to her knees and averted her eyes. So this was what her dream was all about. She should have known.

"Aslan."

"You are sad, child." He padded towards her, the epitome of grace and elegance. Seeing him hurt her eyes – not physically, but just the sheer radiance that washed off him. He was something she could never aspire to be. He was something she saw with wonder. "Why is this?"

Rose gnawed at her lip, daring to look up into golden eyes that were both terrible and beautiful. "There is a sorcerer in Narnia. One with power they say rivals the White Witch."

"Rumours should not trouble you," Aslan told her softly, "They can be founded on the most ridiculous base knowledge."

"I think it might be true," Rose's lip trembled, "Oh, Aslan. I feel so very guilty. He is making me do something terrible."

Then she told him everything – how Brody had captured her, pretended to be Edmund. How she had forced her into deceiving her best friends and her true love. How he had claimed Edmund had darkness inside him, claimed that he wanted her. By the end, Rose was sobbing, begging for forgiveness. Aslan stood and passed no judgment, but that was only worse.

"I don't want them to die," she sniffed, wiping at her eyes and feeling miserable, "But at the same time, I hate for them to think of me badly because of what he's making me do."

"Have you ever thought of just telling them?"

Rose blinked, astonished. Of course she hadn't. Because if she did, Brody would kill them all. She felt that even Aslan couldn't help her this time.

"I don't think that's possible."

Aslan offered her the hint of a smile. "Anything is possible, dearest. You must find a way out of this situation. It is not my place to interfere in these matters."

But the Pevensies could die! Rose's mouth opened into a gape of horror. How could Aslan say such things? Then Aslan's eyes turned grey-green and he was covered by a cloud of darkness. Rose cried out in horror, but it was Brody that emerged, laughing maliciously.

"You thought Aslan could help you?" His voice was mocking. "You're wrong. No one can save you, Rose Finley. No one."

Then her brilliantly-coloured world faded into black and white, and she found herself screaming.

Edmund knew Dvina had arrived when he heard the tinkling of jewellery. Sure enough, when the sorceress herself appeared, her arms were adorned with glistening bracelets. He counted the number of earrings in each of her ears. There were more than half a dozen.

Dvina's cat eyes – luminescent gold, and apparently all-seeing – danced when she saw the Just King. No one knew exactly how old she was – she only appeared to be the same age as Rose – but apparently she had been courted by several lords of the Narnian court. She had attempted to flirt with the High King himself, but Peter had rebuffed her cheeky advances.

"King Edmund," Her voice was husky and deep for a woman's. She curtsied almost mockingly before the Just King, but Edmund supposed he'd just have to bear it. If he wanted Dvina's help, he must put up with her sardonic ways. "You called me here to help you. Surely you know my prices are steep?"

Like most other sorcerers and sorceresses, Dvina was driven by greed. Her services were very expensive, and she was clearly a rich woman because of the ridiculous amounts people were willing to pay.

"You know of the Lady Rose?"

Dvina's eyes twinkled with laughter. "Ah, yes. Who doesn't? The High King's betrothed, the Protector…rumour has it that she is nearly as beautiful as the Gentle Queen herself."

If she was teasing, he would not rise to her bait. He forced himself to count to ten. Surely Dvina's all-seeing ways meant that she knew of his affections for Rose.

"Recently, she was captured by the sorcerer Brody. Now, have you heard of him?"

Dvina's expression darkened into a scowl, contorting her striking features.

"A nasty piece of work, that one. I was his tutor when I was younger. I taught him everything there was to know about magic…and of course, he stretched his knowledge and it took him down the dark path he wanders to this day."

Edmund couldn't help but ask. "Exactly how old are you, Dvina?"

He didn't expect an answer, of course. No one knew precisely how old Dvina was. She had apparently been turned to stone by the White Witch when she tried to stop her from taking power…so she was at least a hundred and twenty years old by now.

Dvina gave him a cheeky wink. He didn't know how she managed it, with eyelashes thickly coated with mascara and eyelids crusted with glitter. He cringed inwardly, glad that the women of the Narnian court were not as extravagant in their appearances.

"Never you mind, young King. Continue with the matter at hand."

Edmund brought his mind back to the current task. "Recently, Brody ambushed and captured Rose. He did…something. She hasn't been herself since she returned to the court, but healers at are a loss to explain what happened. Evidence suggests that he has physically assaulted her on numerous occasions, but nothing lasting. There is no evidence to suggest that he has tortured or defiled her, but that could be concealed by magic, couldn't it?"

Dvina's lips curved into a smile, but her eyes smoldered.

"Indeed, your Majesty. You believe he has tampered with her using magic, to make her behave so strangely?"

Edmund inclined his head. "Yes. I would request that you observe Rose and diagnose what the problem is. It must be magical."

Dvina tilted her head to the side, smiling mischievously. "What if I refuse your request?"

Edmund's eyes narrowed. "The request may turn into a command from the High King, which you would be extremely unwise to ignore."

Dvina sighed heavily and raised her eyes to the heavens, and Edmund wasn't certain whether she had been joking or not.

"I see. Then I shall have to obey. But you still owe me a handsome sum of money, King or not."

Edmund smiled grimly. "Which you shall receive."

PARAGRAPH

Rose noted Edmund talking to the young woman with the heavy jewellery and the sparkling eyes, and she guessed things had just gotten complicated. Their demeanour was nothing if not courteous, but there was something…different. What if the boy she was supposed to be making fall in love with her was already seeing somebody else?

As Rose approached after Edmund's leave, the young woman turned to face her with a small smile. She jingled with every movement, and she curtsied respectfully to Rose, although her eyes stayed fixed on the Protector.

"My lady. I am the sorceress Dvina. And you are Lady Rose, of course."

Rose's eyes narrowed slightly. So Edmund's interest was in a sorceress? She was left to rethink what she'd just seen. The two of them, talking urgently together. Perhaps she'd got it wrong. After all, if a sorceress was at court, it meant that Edmund was having magical troubles.

From observation, Rose guessed that this sorceress was powerful. An idea occurred to her, one so wild it might work. Her dream involving Aslan and Brody had been…complicated. She couldn't begin to understand if it had actually meant anything. Yet this young woman who could be no older than her, the sorceress Dvina who stood before her, could be her salvation.

"You are powerful?" Rose asked the question casually.

Dvina's eyes glimmered and her smile widened.

"Oh, yes."

Rose forced a saccharine smile and leaned forward to take Dvina's arm in hers as if they were just going for a morning stroll. The sorceress looked surprised, but didn't comment. Only when she was sure there was no one around did Rose dare whisper; "Save me."

Dvina stopped. She had been subtly examining the young woman for some time now. Although there did not appear to be any magical tampering inside the girl's mind, there was something blocking out Rose's thoughts and memories…a barrier that Dvina could not get past. She was puzzled as to what it might be, except that she was certain it was not of Brody's making. Rose must know how to guard her mind against magical invasion. Whatever was wrong with this girl, it wasn't to do with magic.

"From what, my lady?"

Rose frowned impatiently and linked arms with Dvina again.

"Just walk with me, else we risk attracting suspicion. This way, people will only suspect us of girlish gossip and won't want to interfere."

Dvina immediately saw that Rose was a clever young woman. She hadn't thought of that before she'd pulled away. Rose glanced around, and only once she was satisfied they were out of earshot of anyone nearby did she start talking.

"There is a sorcerer by the name of Brody…"

Dvina felt a sting of irritation. Why did everyone assume none of the sorcerers knew each other?

"Yes, he was once my protégé. What about him?"

Rose masked her astonishment. Dvina only looked around seventeen or eighteen, and Brody was older than that. She must be older than she appeared.

"I was captured and he blackmailed me. He believes King Edmund has darkness inside him. He told me that if I didn't seduce Edmund and turn the Pevensies against one another, he would kill them all. I'm terrified for them. I don't want to hurt them…but I don't want them to die. He wants Edmund as High King."

Dvina ruminated on this information. She had a deadly weapon here: knowledge. But Rose was by no means naïve – she was desperate. Dvina was her last hope, and the sorceress couldn't help but pity the young woman. Here was a girl truly worthy of the High King's affections.

"And what do you suppose I might be able to do about it?"

Rose bit her lip, looking on the verge of tears.

"I don't know. But you're a sorceress. You might be able to put a stop to him…especially if he was your protégé before. You could save the Pevensies."

Dvina found this very tempting. She would be known as the sorceress who stopped Brody from taking power. She could be worshipped…but she was not the sort who did something out of the goodness of her heart.

"What price are you willing to pay?"

Rose's eyes sparkled. "I'd do anything. I'd give my life."

Dvina raised her eyebrows. It was clear that Rose was serious about what she said.

"What about my pick from the palace treasury?"

It was a huge demand, but Rose closed her eyes and nodded. She hoped that Peter wouldn't care because he would have been saved from death.

"But you have to stop Brody first."

Dvina inclined her head. "What did you have in mind?"

Rose hesitated. "I've yet to think of that. Meet in this same courtyard at midnight and I should be able to tell you what I've thought up."

PARAGRAPH

Rose headed down to the courtyard with nothing but a torch to protect her from the darkness. Peering around for Dvina, she wondered with chagrin whether the sorceress had not taken her seriously.

"Dvina! Are you there?"

"She's unavailable at the moment." Rose spun around at the horribly familiar voice. "But don't worry; there's another sorcerer I'm sure can help you."

Brody stepped into the waxen light of the torch, which Rose promptly dropped in alarm. She stumbled backwards in blind panic. Brody always turned up at the wrong time. He must know about her conversation with Dvina. He must have heard.

"No," she whispered, but then her voice grew stronger, "Where is Dvina?"

Brody tilted his head to the side with a mocking smile.

"You should know. You were the one that attacked her."

"What?" exclaimed Rose.

Brody frowned and backhanded her across the face, so harshly that Rose fell heavily to the ground.

"You shouldn't have tried to warn her, Rose. Whatever happens to her now is on your conscience."

PARAGRAPH

When Rose walked into the infirmary, everything was chaotic. Healers were rushing everywhere, and her heart plummeted as she saw the Kings and Queens crowded around a bed belonging to someone with long coppery hair. Dvina.

"Whoever did this will suffer," Edmund spat, his hands clenched into fists, "They will hang from the gallows for their treachery!"

"Calm down, Ed," Peter attempted to soothe his brother, but Rose guessed it was for all the wrong reasons. The High King must believe his younger brother to be in a relationship with Dvina, as Rose once had. Then Peter turned around to see Rose.

"Rose." He rushed towards her, gripping her by the shoulders. "There has been an attack on the sorceress Dvina. We suspected Brody, but the method used was physical, not magical. Edmund has declared whoever has done this will be sentenced to death."

Susan offered Rose a grim smile. "Happy birthday, Rose."

It hit Rose like an arrow to the chest. Her birthday. She was eighteen today. How had she not remembered? Perhaps it was the thick fog that clouded her mind, making her oblivious to everything except one horrible fact…

"Then you're going to have to kill me, aren't you?"

Edmund whipped around, his gaze sharp. "What are you talking about?"

Tears glimmered in Rose's eyes before sliding down her cheeks. She bowed her head in shame, feeling guilty because of what she'd done.

"I did this to Dvina."