Chapter 20- the start of two separate journeys
Back with Kushanku's group
Kushanku, together with Nyarth, Satoshi, Akira, Sandstorm, Crystal, Snowwing and Dahlia and also Shadewing, Mensa and Rubyfeather and the rest of the villagers who had chosen to go with Kushanku's group and the Phoenix continued to follow the firebird down what was a path through the forest. All of them were attired with thick coats and flat things called snow shoes and Emberflame had been transferred to a larger lamp to be carried on the journey for she could not survive for very long out in the cursed wintery air. The group had passed by an abandoned winter weather attire and gear store for humanoids (such as Elves and dwarfs) which would have been a twenty-minute walk from Green Leaf Village without the deep snow, and the Phoenix had ordered the group to take the thick coats and snow shoes and put them on for it was extremely cold indeed, while Emberflame had moved into a new lamp. The coats were quite cumbersome and were hard to carry but the Phoenix knew that the group would not be able to travel to Gandalf's base without appropriate protection against the freezing winter. The group also had a small stock of food on them but they knew that they will have to restock on it once it ran out, as well as look for shelters to spend the nights on the journey. However, the Phoenix knew best.
As Kushanku and company continued to trudge along, the snowshoes on their feet impacting the snow and kicking up some small balls of it with every step, the Phoenix began to give the group further instructions and warnings.
"My name is Blaze," said the firebird as he flew ahead of the group as they trudged along, "And as Kushanku in front of you will have told you, I have been sent by Aslan to guide you guys to Gandalf the Wise Kitsune's base."
The walkers struggled to trudge along for the snow was indeed deep and the thick coats were quite heavy, but they were determined to get out of and away from the Witch's oppression as soon as possible for a much-needed break.
"Are there other Phoenixes leading other Narnians to this base?" asked Nyarth as he trudged alongside Kushanku.
"Yes," replied Blaze, his beautifully scarlet, gold, yellow an d black wings beating at the frigid air and condensation clouds escaping his beak with every exhale, or in pieces as he talked, "Aslan has sent other Phoenixes, Thunderbirds and Rocs to do just that."
"What's a Roc?" asked Snowwing with a sceptical look on his face. At this, Mensa came up beside him.
"It's a large hawk-like snowbird with icy blue, white and grey plumage," she explained, "They're often considered the icy version of the fiery Phoenix or the electric Thunderbird."
"The males also have long, flowing blue tails while the females just have a tail like an eagle," added Rubyfeather as she carried Emberflame in her new lamp and trudged along with Crystal. Because of the heavy coats, the flying beasts were too weighed down to fly, so they had to walk in snowshoes like everyone else. "Rocs have a love for winter and snow and ice but…" the Parrot then trailed off. Nearby, a Fairy and her grandson, who rode on the Ostrich's back due to their small size, just exchanged glances with the Ostrich, three Chickens and a young Bear and shrugged. Blaze then went to finish Rubyfeather's explanation.
"That's right, my Parrot friend," said the Phoenix but then his face fell, "But unfortunately due to the state and conditions the Witch has locked Narnia, the Rocs have become much stressed with the constant snow and ice. Not to mention the freezing cold being too much for them. Also, they miss Christmas and spring, summer and autumn very greatly as well."
"We've never had a Christmas at all," said Akira as she lifted her snowshoe-attired feet and placed them down on the snow with every step.
"There hasn't been a Christmas for well over thirty years," said the elderly Fairy as she and her grandson rode on the Ostrich's back, "I don't know if this has something to do with that Witch's curse but Father Christmas hadn't been seen since the beginning of this horrible Age either."
"Let's just focus on getting to Gandalf and Kyukon's base and we'll talk about it there," said Blaze and with that, he resumed leading the group along.
A little while later, the group was finally away from Green Leaf Village and were ready for the next part of the journey. As the group neared a thicket of snow and ice covered trees lacking any leaves, some of the group members carrying the smaller ones, such as the kids and Rubyfeather carrying Emberflame in her lamp while a few others carried the bags of food and other supplies they were able to get their paws, hands or wings on, Blaze turned to them, a stern look on his face.
"Right, now that we are out of your village and before we venture any further, I'm going to go over the instructions and warnings with you once again, so listen carefully," said the Phoenix as he went over to a branch. Kushanku and the others stopped before the Phoenix as he perched onto a branch of a nearby tree. Some of the snow was shaken loose as Blaze perched quite heftily onto the outstretched wooden arm.
"This journey will be, as you will now know, extremely dangerous," said Blaze. At this statement, all ears cocked to listen. "Up and down the winter-locked land of Narnia, there are countless groups of the cronies of that Witch on patrol, as well as any Dryad and Sylph living in these trees or gliding about the Narnian air who are on her side on the lookout…" Kushanku shuddered as he gazed at the leafless trees. Blaze continued, "So it is essential and vitally important that we stay together. That is, we must NOT lag behind, wander off or leave each other's sides. Is that clear?"
Nods rolled through the group, much to Blaze's satisfaction.
"Good," said the Phoenix, before continuing, "This journey will not only be risky with the Witch's cronies and followers on patrol, but will also involve a treacherous trek over snowy terrain as well as," the Phoenix's stern gaze hardened more, "passing by some evil individual creatures who have set up places thanks to that Witch's curse who will try and tempt Narnians into coming over to them by offering them their desperate needs such as assistance or hospitality in shelters, as well as warm food, when in fact they are luring them into a trap."
This sent shivers down the spines of the listeners and Crystal huddled against Rubyfeather. Blaze continued, "And there will be such creatures who will try and lure you lot away from my trail with those temptations and catch you, potentially for the Witch. So to avoid that, you MUST ignore them and keep on my trail, or you'll end up facing potential doom at those creatures' clutches…"
"Excuse me, Mr Blaze," said Nyarth, "What sort of creatures could tempt us from leaving your trail?"
A dark look came into Blaze's onyx-like eyes. "Creatures such as Yuki-onna, the Snow Woman, who have made their home in this land due to the Witch's winter curse."
"Yuki-onna?" repeated Kushanku, Akira, Nyarth, Sandstorm and Satoshi together while Snowwing, Dahlia and Crystal just exchanged glances with each other and the other kids and shrugged. At this, the elder Fairy came in, her dainty, wrinkled face laced with a dark expression.
"Yuki-onna is a very evil creature who resembles a humanoid woman dressed in a white outfit and has long black hair, icy blue lips and snowy-white skin," she explained, "She often roams Narnia at night when there is a heavy blizzard, but despite her beautiful looks, she is a savage predatory creature and a temptress."
"Yes, she prowls around in the blizzard looking for vulnerable individuals, but most especially male ones, to capture and kill," explained Blaze, "When she finds one, she uses her beauty and sly behaviour disguised as distress to ignite curiosity and awe in her victims so that she could then lure them towards her and to their deaths. So many Narnians have been lured away by that evil creature and have never been seen again…"
Some of the members of the group trembled and some of the kids actually huddled against their parents or carers as they heard this.
"I hope we're not gonna run into a blizzard," murmured Mensa as she held Snowwing close in her front paws.
"It is likely, sadly," said Blaze, "But in the event of that, we will have to look for some shelter until that blizzard dies down, but we'll get to that when we come to it. Anyway, continuing…"
As Blaze continued giving more instructions and warnings to the group, Kushanku gazed at the Fairy and her grandson and said, "Based on that description of this Yuki-onna woman, she sounds like a snow version of a Siren."
"That's exactly what she is, Kushanku," said the Fairy, "She's a real temptress. In fact, she's been dubbed as The Temptress of the Snow or She-Jack Frost based on her behaviour and how she prowls around in the blizzards."
"Sounds like she may be loyal to the Witch," said Sandstorm.
"It's plausible that she is, since she has taken advantage of the constant winter," said Mensa, before putting on a firm facial look, "Anyway, enough on Yuki-onna and let's resume listening to Blaze's instructions. It's very important."
Sandstorm and Kushanku nodded and returned their attention to the Phoenix with Nyarth, Akira and Satoshi and the rest as he went on to explain some other things such as food and shelter and what the group will do when they had to find these. Then as soon as he had finished, he commanded the group to follow him and once again, Kushanku and company was off, and they followed the magnificent firebird through the thicket. The little ones and youngsters were kept tightly by the sides of their parents or carers as they walked on.
Meanwhile
Hours later, dusk was coming over Narnia, signifying night-time. Back in Soran and his family's new den on the Witch's palace grounds, a certain group of animals was preparing to abscond and escape. Between now and when Trotterhoof had led Alexandrite, Cyril, Paddy (Padparadscha), Link, Desdemona, Trotterhoof and Molayne from the table during lunch, Trotterhoof had to reason with Soran, Growler and the other members of the family and persuade them to think of the other members of Green Leaf Village and up and down Narnia as a whole once more and what struggled they will have to face in the next ten years such as the freezing winter and the 'Queen's' dictatorship, among other things. However, to the Pig's utmost dismay and sadness, none of the other family members listened to his pleas and began to treat Trotterhoof with contempt. Some of them began to call the Pig immature, cowardly and absolutely spiteful for rejecting the Queen's gift of the better life after Soran won the Fighting League, while some played deaf and pretended he wasn't there. Yet still some others, such as Growler and Silver-Ears simply flashed Trotterhoof a glare and turned their backs on him to resume their activities. Giving up, Trotterhoof eventually resumed enacting his plan of escape with Alexandrite and the other six and returning to Kushanku and the others, starting with how they were going to reach the outskirts of the Witch's palace grounds undetected.
And so, Trotterhoof was in one of the bedrooms with Alexandrite the Nekomata and her sister Paddy, Cyril the Hippogriff, Link the Peryton, Desdemona the Griffin and Molayne, the only Dog from Soran's family who had decided to leave with Trotterhoof for he was clearly troubled for the other Narnians unlike the rest of the Dogs, not to mention their attitude towards them and the Witch's dictatorial use of wicked events such as the Fighting League, and the corrupted law system to oppress everyone else out in Narnia. However, he was also very heartbroken and distraught over his parents, cousins and sister's refusal to listen to Trotterhoof's pleas to remember the other oppressed Narnians, and was still weeping even now. While Molayne continued to mourn and grieve his biological family's refusal to consider the other Narnians and their suffering, Trotterhoof was discussing the first step of the plan: how they were going to escape the den and go through the Witch's palace territory undetected.
"It is important that we stay together," said the Pig with a stern face, "Because otherwise if any of us wander, our cover may be blown and we may end up caught and brought before that Witch."
Alexandrite and the other five including the tearful Molayne nodded in understanding. Then Cyril spoke.
"How are we gonna sneak past the Witch's servants and followers?" he asked.
"Exactly," said Desdemona in agreement, "Wouldn't you think a small group of Talking Beasts consisting of a young Griffin chick, Hippogriff chick, Peryton fawn, two Nekomata youngsters with brightly coloured fur, a silvery grey Dog puppy and an adult Pig would stick out like a bare brown-black tree trunk against the white snow to those hideous creatures?"
Alexandrite, Paddy, Molayne and Link nodded in agreement to this. If the little group of seven creatures tried to escape without some form of cover, they would be discovered very easily. However, a wily smile formed under Trotterhoof's nose and snout.
"I'll tell you six kiddies how," said the Pig in an equally wily voice, the tone of voice you would use if an excellent idea popped into your head, "We're gonna dress like those Banshees, Hags, Tenome and Shadows."
Alexandrite, Cyril, Paddy, Link, Desdemona, Trotterhoof and Molayne gazed at the Pig curiously but then their answer was revealed when Trotterhoof opened a drawer and showed the six its contents.
"Black covers?" asked Alexandrite as she gazed at the black items in the drawer, which were actually black blankets and curtains.
"But how are we gonna use these to look like a small group of Hags or Banshees?" asked Paddy. Molayne backed away, a slightly disgusted look on his face. He clearly did not want to dress up as one of the Snow Queen Tyrant's followers. However, in order to escape, he had no other choice. Then Trotterhoof began to explain.
"We're gonna add tatters to the rims of these blankets and curtains and style them after the black hooded cloaks of the Hags and Banshees," explained the Pig. As he spoke, Desdemona and Cyril pulled out some of the black sheets to examine them. Then the Pig's gaze found the reluctant looks on the faces of Molayne and Link, the latter who also wore a rather disgusted look at the idea of dressing up as one of the Witch's followers, "I know it sounds contradictory to our behaviour and you don't like doing this but how else are we gonna get out of this place without getting spotted by that evil Snow Queen's followers?"
This prompted the Dog and the Peryton to agree to this statement for there was no other way. Even flying out of the Witch's palace grounds was a no-go for there were the Witch's followers who could also fly, such as the Manticores, Bat-Harpies and the Vultures that had defected to the Queen's side, on patrol, and a Peryton, a Hippogriff and a Griffin could easily be spotted and reported, and Desdemona, Link and Cyril, who were those three creatures, shuddered at the thought of meeting the evil Witch and her wrath, especially how she had executed it by turning a certain Cheetah into a statue back in Green Leaf Village when she came to take Soran and his family the other night.
While Trotterhoof was discussing his plans and commanding the six kids to get some more of the black blankets and curtains out to make the cloaks, the sounds of talking suddenly reached their ears through the door to the room, prompting the group to stash the black covers under the beds in case the talkers, who were Soran, Growler and one of the Goats, opened the door and entered the room. However, they didn't and continued to speak outside the door. As the trio spoke, Alexandrite and Molayne cocked an ear each towards the door to listen in on the conversation.
"What's going on Mr Trotterhoof?" asked Paddy but Trotterhoof replied with a sharp "Shh!" and an abrupt raising of his front hoof-like foot in a 'stop' gesture, prompting Paddy to pipe down. Then Paddy, Cyril, Link, Desdemona and Trotterhoof began to listen on the conversation as well.
"I heard our Queen has sent some of her Wolves and Manticores down to Green Leaf Town and Purple Flower Village to search out any believers of the Great Lion to either kill or bring to the Queen herself to be turned to stone," said the Goat's voice.
"That icy blue, grey and white Nekomata is certainly one of them," said a second voice, Growler's. At this, Alexandrite mouthed "Kushanku" under her breath. But then Growler's voice tone began to change and as it did, it sent chills down the spines of Trotterhoof and the other six.
"But Soran here certainly did very well in telling the Queen about Kushanku's belief in that Lion," said Growler outside, "I hope he is hunted down and disposed of. After all, any discussion on the Lion or anything related is strictly forbidden and highly offensive to the Queen."
"I just wanted to honour her for her generosity in giving us these luxurious improvements we have for so long craved, Dad, such as this much better den, warmth and the plenty of food after I had emerged victorious from this decade's Fighting League," said Soran's voice. This sent hot rage burning through some of Trotterhoof's group members, especially Molayne, and the rest shuddered violently.
"I think Soran and the others are definitely too far gone," whispered Cyril warily.
"Yes, totally bewitched by that Snow Queen," hissed Desdemona in quiet bitterness and with her feathers and fur puffed out. Trotterhoof, however, just shuddered and shed a tear. This conversation was indicative of something not good at all. Not only has Soran's family abandoned Kushanku and the others, but they had also betrayed them to the Queen.
"You have done very well, son," said Growler's voice and as Growler spoke, the voices faded as the trio walked on down the corridor, "Like I've said, any topic on the Great Lion is strictly forbidden. Anyway…" the rest of the words became inaudible for Growler, Soran and the Goat were now out of earshot. Trotterhoof and the other six remained still and silent for a few moments but then Trotterhoof broke it. "Let's just resume dressing ourselves up as Banshees and Hags."
"But Mr Trotterhoof, what about Soran and the others?" asked Paddy. However, the pink and orange Nekomata found herself on the receiving end of five pairs of glaring eyes as Alexandrite, Cyril, Molayne, Link and Desdemona shot her an angry look, making Padparadscha flinch. Trotterhoof turned to her. "I'm sorry, Paddy but we're gonna have to leave them. They're too rooted in this 'improved life' given to them by the Queen and there's nothing more we can do. Now let's just focus on turning these blankets and curtains into tattered rags and dress ourselves up."
Paddy nodded and returned to carrying out the first step of the plan. First Trotterhoof and the six youngsters put rips and tears along the rims of the curtains and cloaks and poked holes further towards the middle of the sheets by biting them, clawing them and poking their claws or talons through the fabric. Then as soon as the black curtains and blankets were turned into a ragged enough state, Trotterhoof, Alexandrite, Cyril, Paddy, Link, Desdemona, Trotterhoof and Molayne then began to dress themselves in the tattered sheets.
"Boy, this certainly does make us look dark and dreadful," muttered Molayne as he draped one of the blankets over his back and, with Paddy and Alexandrite's help, wrapped the blanket around his body, tail and head. Trotterhoof did the same with his blanket and curtain.
"Well, like I've said before, Molayne," said the Pig, "It's the only way we're gonna get out of here undetected."
Molayne breathed a sigh and continued dressing himself up. Then as soon as he, along with Trotterhoof, Alexandrite, Cyril, Paddy, Link and Desdemona, had finished wrapping themselves in the black cloaks (which will also keep them warm during their escape through the palace grounds), the seven stopped to admire their work. To Trotterhoof's satisfaction, the septet looked no different from the Hags, Banshees and, to some extent in the case of Trotterhoof, Desdemona, Cyril, Molyne and Link who walked on all fours, the Hellhounds who were also black. The tattered blankets and curtains wrapped around the seven's bodies indeed resembled the ragged cloaks worn by the Hags and Banshees and the group had even cleverly styled part of their disguise around their heads to resemble a hood.
"Excellent work, you six kids," said Trotterhoof, "Now, let's get out of here."
With that, the group converged towards a window, which was larger than the windows back at Soran's family's den, rounded and had a moveable glass pane attached for opening and shutting. Trotterhoof had planned against the group sneaking out of the front door for Soran's family was up and down the den and he did not want the group getting spotted which would subsequently rouse suspicion, so the group had to escape through one of the windows instead. Desdemona went first and climbed out of the window, but as she landed onto the snow, the flap of her hood flopped over her eyes and temporarily blinded her but the Griffin managed to readjust it with her talons (a Griffin's front feet) and tie it around her head to cover her ears and beak but keep her eyes exposed so that she could see where she was going. Then Link went next, followed by Alexandrite, Paddy, Cyril, Molayne and finally, Trotterhoof. As soon as the Pig had landed onto the snow and the group had adjusted their hoods so that their distinctive facial features were hidden as much as possible, the sounds of footsteps reached the group's ears. At this, Trotterhoof seized Link and Desdemona and with a silent bark of "hide!" to the other four, the seven dived behind a snow-covered stone wall as a group of five Banshees, their black cloaks almost identical to the makeshift cloaks of Trotterhoof's group, walked by. As the five hideous Wailing Women walked past, Trotterhoof heard them conversing.
"I'm glad Soran and his family had enjoyed their lavish lunch, girls," said one of the Banshees, whom Trotterhoof had identified as one of them that had served said family their lunch, "but preparing the meat had been quite a challenge."
"Tell me about it," said another Banshee, "Those pesky, stubborn Beasts wouldn't stop squirming, squealing, shouting and protesting while the Wendigoes and the Xenojaws were trying to drag them to the slaughter area."
At this, Molayne mouthed the words 'shouting' and 'protesting' as he heard this while Alexandrite flinched again. Trotterhoof then shot these two a confirmatory glare.
"Yes, the lumps of meat that had been served on our dinner table by those two Banshees and group of Xenojaws had been the meat of Talking Animals," he whispered, "That's one of the reasons why I wanted to get you six away from the table as fast as possible."
Alexandrite, Cyril, Paddy, Link, Desdemona and Molayne flinched violently to the point of gagging and Molayne felt very sick to the stomach. To eat the meat of a Talking Beast was as barbaric and murderous as cannibalism in our world, and as Molayne's mind flashed the images of the lumps of meat on Soran and his family's dinner table, and his family… however, Molayne trailed off as his stomach lurched even more. This was the final snap in the threat in his relationship with Growler, Soran and the rest of the family, and Alexandrite and the other five had also severed their bond with that family and their respect for the Queen as well. However, the seven resumed their concentration on the Banshees as they walked away to follow some Hags, also dressed in ragged black robes, who had called them as they passed by. Trotterhoof commanded Alexandrite and the other five youngsters to follow the Banshees and the Hags, which they did. As they abandoned their hiding spot, Molayne refused to look back at his family's den and was more eager than ever to escape the dreadful Witch's clutches with Alexandrite, Cyril, Paddy, Link, Desdemona and Trotterhoof.
Sadly and with his heart breaking, the Dog followed the only six family members he had left as they crept after the Banshees and Hags in their makeshift blanket and curtain-based cloaks which made them resemble the hideous humanoid women very well despite Cyril, Link, Desdemona, Trotterhoof and Molayne being four-footed.