Old Magic

Chapter Fourteen

He looked about & scratched his head. Susan & Digglebe both jumped back,

'Things just seem to be getting queerer by the minute. What have you done? It has been peaceful here for so long. You show up & all hell breaks loose. By the Lion's mane, you're nothing but trouble.'

Susan, saw that Digglebe had a valid point, she had decided to forget all about Narnia, denying its very existence & now she was in the midst of it all over again. Except this wasn't Narnia, this was something else entirely. She looked around & saw Charles poking his head from around the tree, looking far better than he had before he had disappeared. He shook his head, his surroundings being somewhat confusing to him. Susan remembered when she herself had first stepped into the wardrobe & Tumnus's arrest. It felt very much like that now, she wanted to go home. That however wasn't an option; she had to take care of business. Whatever ill she had unleashed needed to be taken care of. She had almost forgotten the man, when she was interrupted from her thoughts,

'Long live the Queen,' came a hoarse voice.

Charles had finally walked back over to Susan's side; Digglebe looked up at Susan with a confused expression.

'Long live the what? You what? Someone's pulling my fur. Long live the . . . ,' he was interrupted.

'Queen Susan the Gentle. It all makes sense now . . . only you could be so gentle as to release the witch from her prison. My dear child, daughter of Eve, Narnia thought they had lost you forever but Aslan spoke of you finding your own way back, someday.'

Digglebe was rather baffled at the words coming from the old man's mouth; he wore a shabby looking robe, had a thick white beard & shaggy long white hair, his eyes however, were wise & looked as though they had seen many great battles.

'Who the blustering bubbles are you & more importantly why are you referring to this girl as a Queen?'

'Be at peace young Digglebe,' came the man's voice, chuckling. 'All that shall be known, will be told, have patience.'

'Please sir, who are you & how do you know of my title? I am awfully sorry to have caused harm to these poor innocent creatures. Where did, the witch as you call her go? Is she in fact Jadis herself?' asked Susan.

'Aye my child, she is the witch whom you, your sister & brothers banished from the glorious lands before your Golden reign. However an evil that great doesn't die, instead their spirit continues to live. Please, how did you come to find her? She could have only been released if a Son of Adam or Daughter of Eves blood was spilt.'

Susan felt sick as she recollected her encounter with the woman, looking down at the graze on her leg, which was hardly visible now, rather a dark mark where it had healed.

'I fell; she bound it with a piece of material from her dress. What have I done?' she said forcing back a sob. 'Please sir, where has she gone? Has she entered Narnia?'

Digglebe was becoming mighty annoyed with the digressing going on at this point & let out a gruff,

'Who are you old man & how do you know so much?'

The old man tried to mask the amusement in his dancing eyes, it wasn't a time for laughing but he seemed to not be able to contain himself,

'Be at peace, am I that unrecognisable to you? Though I am not such a great oath now, am I little one?'

Digglebe looked at the old chap, confused for a moment but his angry expression softened.

'Father Time? But how can this be?'

'There's a little magic in all of us Master Digglebe. Aslan must have sent me here for a reason, even if he did not ordain the events that have come to pass as they have.'

'But who is she then? We know who you are now, what is this all about?'

'The witch is at large again; she dragged me into her portal & then vanquished me once she saw I had lost my power. She probably thought that she could use me but I am very old & my power can only be used by those that do not possess a darker magic. I am the gatekeeper, so her intent was to use me to enter Narnia that which she has. She has entered the Lantern Waste, where she will make speed to where her old castle once stood. She is weak; it will take a long time for her to gain even half of the power she once possessed. There, she will open another portal, to bring chaos & the greatest battle of all time known to existence but not if we can stop her in her tracks'

'But sir please, how do we get ahead & warn the others?'

With that the old man, retrieved an item from his under garments.

'With this my dear girl,' he said producing a recognisable item.

'My horn, but how do you have it? I don't understand?'

Father Time looked at Susan's bleak expression,

'Dear child, everything that has come to pass is as it's meant to be, Aslan probably knew this time would come himself. Use the horn, where once it was used to call for help, you can use it to deliver warning, as you did when you brother slay Maugrim. But we must enter Narnia. The witch got it wrong; she thought that I would take her to exactly where it was that she wanted to go. But she used dark magic to open the door into the new world & entered it blindly; she may not have even made it as far as the new world. I only was able to allow her the passageway of time.'

'This is all very fine & fancy,' piped up Digglebe, 'but who are you then?'

Father Time smiled at the confused Guinea pig, Charles stood dazed like he had just woken up from a strange dream.

'This, my dear, is the Queen Susan, who defeated the White Witch & ruled Narnia at the end of the 100 years of winter, fulfilling the prophecy of old. Susan of the magic horn & Queen of the Golden Age, whose beauty, won the hearts of many a valiant man & whose gentleness touched the lives of many. Long live the queen,' he bellowed as he made a low bow.

Charles looked on at Susan in awe, as she blushed at such a formal introduction. She had long since forgotten, the men that had pursued her for her hand in marriage, she had turned down many suitors, for her heart was not a prize easily won