Chapter 29
Break In
Susan and Sophia both stayed where they were on the floor, tears fell from their eyes as they continued to rub their necks where William had strangled them. Slowly Susan got to her feet and made her way over to where Sophia remained on her knees staring at the open door where William had fled.
"Are you okay"? She asked her
Sophia didn't answer but just shook her head, she then stood up and walked over to the door and stood in the doorway just staring into space. Susan was about to say it will be alright however before she could say anything a weird blue glow appeared in the room.
Both girls turned and tried to see where the glow was coming from and saw that it seemed to be coming out from underneath William's bed; Susan moved over there and pulled out Excalibur which was still sheathed. However the eerie blue glow was coming from the sword which Susan unsheathed and had to divert her eyes immediately from the strong glow which was occurring from the blade.
Sophia came over to the blade and touched it, Susan copied her and as soon as her skin touched the blade it became suddenly hot causing both of them to let go and the blade to hit the floor with a thump.
Then to the astonishment of both Susan and Sophia white smoke poured from Excalibur which was still glowing blue. The smoke covered the whole room and then a white light appeared where a beautiful woman stood shining like a star in the night sky.
The woman wore a lovely white dress which showed her slim body; long blonde hair hung down from her head and reached her shoulders. Her eyes were a piercing ocean blue and both Susan and Sophia had to agree that this was the most incredibly beautiful woman they had ever seen.
"Greetings" the woman said , her voice sounded so heavenly it felt like anyone would fall into a trance upon hearing it; she gave a dazzling smile which showed white teeth which glowed along with the rest of her.
"It can't be" Sophia whispered her eyes wide in shock
"Hello Sophia, it has been long time" the woman said smiling at her
Sophia only nodded in reply as Susan looked from her to the woman trying to understand what was going on. The woman then turned to Susan and gave her a wide smile, Susan had never met this person before her but she felt comfortable in her presence.
"Who are you"? Susan asked in wonder
"I am Swanwhite, Queen of Narnia, the first of my name, Lady of Cair Paravel and Empress of the Lone Islands" She replied to a shocked Susan.
Now that Susan looked at her she had to admit there was something regal about her, however before she could say anything else Sophia took a step closer to her and looked straight into Swanwhite's face.
"But you died" Sophia whispered
Swanwhite bowed her head at that; Susan couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She couldn't believe that this woman was dead, she never believed in ghosts but since her adventure with William and Sophia had started she didn't know what to believe anymore.
"Yes I did, but I have watched you and William for a long time" Swanwhite informed with another beautiful smile
"But why are you here"? Sophia asked
"I am here because only one of you has the power to break Tash's hold over William" She explained
Sophia looked at Susan who still looked shock, she noticed that Swanwhite was looking at her as well and started to feel uncomfortable. She didn't know who this woman was but she knew Sophia and William which confirmed she was not a foe.
"Step closer Susan the Gentle" Swanwhite said
Susan opened her eyes even wider, she didn't know how she knew her name but she also didn't know how she knew the name William had said belonged to her in Narnia. However Susan slowly took a step forward and was surprised when the woman hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Thank you Susan, you were the one who brought William back to the man he was" Swanwhite informed letting go off her
"What are you talking about"? Susan asked confused
"When I was murdered it drove William into a fit of rage, he immediately went to confront my killer. He would have also died that day if he hadn't been saved, but still something had died in him he no longer cared about honour or chivalry he was a broken man"
"But what do you mean I saved him"?
"When he met you the thing that died inside him was reborn, he became who he was again because of you"
"How do you know him"? Susan asked confused at what she just said
"I was his wife"
Susan gasped in shock, Swanwhite smiled at that and gave a soft chuckle. Sophia was also smiling but Susan couldn't believe what she was hearing, William never told her he was married then Susan suddenly remembered William shouting at Sophia that he thought about her every day.
"Susan, it is you and you alone that can sever the connection between William and Tash" Swanwhite informed
"How"? Susan asked surprised
"I am afraid you must discover that on your own for only you can find the answer, now I must take my leave"
"Why must you go"? Sophia asked
"I have other tasks I must attend to, but don't worry Sophia we will meet again one day" She replied with a smile
Sophia nodded and smiled back, Swanwhite smiled to Susan who returned one half-heartedly and then she disappeared back into the blade of Excalibur, the smoke and both the white and blue glows disappeared with her leaving both Susan and Sophia staring at the mystical blade.
William ran down the street away from the hotel, rain was falling which meant plenty of drops were landing on his head. He couldn't believe he had just tried to strangle both Susan and Sophia. His head still ached from it and he was desperately trying not to lose control again.
He turned down an alleyway and came out onto another street; he saw a park across the street and quickly hurried across where he fell to his knees onto the wet grass. He stared out across the park and started crying.
"Please Aslan, I'm begging you answer my prayers" He whispered
Nothing happened, the silence of the park continued which caused William to cry even more. He had no idea where Aslan was, now he needed him more than ever.
"Do not cry my son, I never left you" a deep voice said
William looked up to see a blinding golden light and out of that light came a huge lion, William looked at it in wonder and instantly his tears dried themselves.
"Aslan" he whispered
"I am here my son" he replied smiling
William stayed on his knees, he was so happy to see Aslan again that he was temporarily stunned into silence. The Great Lion only smiled at him which caused William's hope to be a little bit restored.
"Aslan please I need your help, Tash has a hold over me" William said hurriedly
"Yes I know William, Tash's power is slowly growing" Aslan answered gravely
William looked into his golden eyes and hope he had a solution, Aslan always had an answer however as he looked into his face William could tell something was wrong.
"William my power here is slowly decreasing, as Tash's power grows mine weakens" he informed
"But what do I do, if he takes complete control he will have me kill Susan and Sophia"
"I can only break the hold temporarily, it will last only a few hours which should be enough time for you" Aslan explained
"Enough time for me to do what"? William asked confused
"To continue the quest" Aslan answered smiling
William understood what he meant; there was still four more items to collect to stop Tash from being released which meant he needed to break into Scotland Yard. He nodded which made Aslan smiled even more.
"Aslan how to do I break Tash's hold over me permanently"? He asked
"You cannot William; it must be Susan who breaks it"
"How can she do that"?
"That is for her to discover and her alone"
William nodded at that respecting that Aslan had his own plan for Susan; however William was afraid because Susan had still not remembered who she used to be. His fear must have shown on his face because Aslan gave him a sympathetic smile.
"You cannot rush her William, Susan must remember who she is in when she is ready" Aslan informed
"I understand" William said giving a small bow
"Now my son I must take my leave" Aslan said
"What have I need of you"? William asked desperately
"I am always with you, all you have to do is look for the signs" Aslan answered cryptically before he disappeared and the golden light faded leaving William kneeling on the wet grass in a dark park once again.
Kadius stood looking in the mirror, his lip was bleeding but that only made him smile. He washed water over his face from a basin which sat on a small table before he turned back to the bed where the naked female laid there crying.
He washed some more water around his neck causing drops to fall down his bare chest, he then made his way over to the bed where he laid down and watched her with a cold stare.
"Stop your crying" he snarled
She didn't respond, she just crossed her arms covering her bare breasts and cried even more causing Kadius to growl in anger.
"You should consider yourself lucky that I took a fancy to you and not one of my men" he whispered furiously
"Your nothing but a monster, I hope you die"! She shouted through her tears
"Listen Victoria, a great power is coming and when it arrives it will be only my protection which will keep you safe so I suggest you start speaking to me much more pleasantly.
Victoria did not answer but just cried even more, Kadius sighed at that and got off the bed and began putting on his black priest robes. He hated Sundays because he had to do the idiotic services up in the church with a fake smile plastered on his face.
"I have to go and be a priest, I suggest you work on your manners before I return" he said darkly before he opened the door and exited slamming the door behind him.
"Where would he go"? Susan asked pacing up and down while Sophia sat on William's bed
"I don't know, but I think he will return when ready" Sophia answered
Susan didn't reply but just carried on pacing, they were both still shocked at seeing Swanwhite that they hadn't really spoken since. They had agreed however to keep it a secret from William as she said only Susan could break Tash's hold over William which she didn't know how to do.
Then suddenly Susan stopped and stared straight into space her mouth opened, Sophia frowned at Susan's behaviour and wondered what on earth she was doing.
"Susan what's wrong"? She asked
"I know where William is" Susan answered turning to face her
"What, where" Sophia replied jumping up from the bed
"Scotland Yard" Susan whispered
Sophia opened her mouth in shock; she couldn't believe she had been so stupid. Earlier William had said he was going to try breaking in tonight but it had completely slipper her mind.
"He's going to try and get the rings" She said
"We have to help him" Susan replied firmly
"Then what are we waiting for" Sophia said running to the door and wrenching it open, she gestured for Susan to follow and then exited out the room and down the stairs with Susan quick on her heels.
Scotland Yard was silent, only a few officers moved around outside but apart from that there was nobody else around. One officer was standing around the corner from the main entrance smoking a cigarette; he closed his eyes and sighed. Today had been a long and stressful and he was thankful that his shift was over soon and then he could go home.
He was then suddenly grabbed from behind and had his head pushed into the brick wall knocking him unconscious. William slowly laid him down on the floor and started to unbutton his tunic while looking around to make sure nobody else was around.
"Sorry, but I have to borrow these" he mumbled to the unconscious officer as he undressed him
Soon William was in a full Police uniform, the black tunic was a bit tight but luckily it wasn't that easy to spot. Once he was fully dressed, he slowly made his way to the entrance where two other officers were outside talking.
William took a deep breath and quickly walked towards the entrance, the other officers nodded to him and he nodded back. He opened the doors and walked into a reception area where an overweight Police Sergeant sat behind the desk.
He nodded to William who nodded back and proceeded up a flight of stairs; he arrived on the first floor and saw many different officers walking round the corridors which caused William to plead that his disguise would hold up.
He slowly made his way down the corridor looking at each room searching for the evidence room because that is where the rings were sure to be. However he could not find it on the first floor which meant he had proceeded upstairs to the second which made him anxious because sooner or later someone was going to find the officer who he knocked unconscious.
He hurried up the stairs to the second the floor where found more rooms but not the evidence room, it wasn't on the third floor either but when he entered the fourth floor he found at the bottom of a long corridor one door which said Evidence.
William's heart gave a leap of joy, his luck continued when he turned the handle of the door and found it unlocked. He silently thanked Aslan and then pushed the door open to reveal many shelves all stacked with evidence from crimes and disasters.
"Please be here" he whispered to himself
He entered the room and started searching the many shelves of the room, he saw many different weapons which had been used in different crimes, he also found ordinary items that had been found at crime scenes.
He continued to search until he made to the back of the room where he found shelves full of items collected from different accidents and disasters that had occurred in the city of London. There were many pieces of clothing, pocket watches and plenty of jewellery which caused William to smile with anticipation.
He searched the many necklaces, bracelets, pendants and earrings before he began finding rings. However none of them had the green or yellow metal of the ones made by Andrew Ketterley, he carried on searching until he heard footsteps behind him and had only time to turn around before another officer came round the corner carrying a box of evidence.
"What are you doing in here"? He asked in surprise at seeing William
"I was just looking for a piece of jewellery recovered from the scene of an accident, a woman at the front desk is asking about it" he said hurriedly
"Well right then I guess I'll leave you to it" he replied cheerfully walking past him and opening the box where he began to place the different pieces of evidence on the shelves.
William quickly carried on searching but he still could not find it, then a whistle was suddenly heard from down below and William's heart sank. They had found the officer he knocked unconscious he knew it; he could heard whistles being blown and voices shouting from outside.
"What the devil is going on"? The other officer asked approaching the window of the room and looked outside to see many officers gathering around a half-naked figure motionless in the courtyard.
William carried on searching but the other officer turned to him and started looking curiously at him. He moved closer causing William to watch him out of the corner of his eyes.
"I've never seen you before" he said
"New transfer" William answered still looking
However that lie didn't work, realisation dawned on the officer's face and he drew his truncheon from his belt and shoved William back into the shelf causing several items to it the floor.
"You're not an officer, who are you" the Policeman demanded
William was about to answer when he looked down on the floor and saw two small black ring boxes which had been taped together, there was an old dusty label on them and when William read it his heart leapt into the air. It said Recovered from Finchley train accident, 6th October 1949.
William started smiling; however a sharp poke from the officer's truncheon reminded him of his predicament. The officer repeated his question but William didn't answer and when the officer went to poke him again he grabbed the truncheon and quickly punched the officer hard in the face causing him to collapse into a shelf opposite.
William snatched up the cases and opened them to reveal two green rings and two yellow rings which made him smile wide. However footsteps were heard approaching and William that the crash of the shelf had been heard, he hurried to the door just as it opened to reveal two officers.
"What's going on"? One of them asked
William just swung the truncheon at him which hit him around the head and caused him to hit the floor. The other officer quickly drew his truncheon but William knocked it out of his hand and then knocked him out as well.
He ran at full speed down the corridor and down the stairs, he met no other officers and he thought his luck was still there until he reached the main reception area and saw the officer he had knocked unconscious standing there in his underwear with blood dripping from his head.
He was mumbling about not seeing who had done but then he saw William standing frozen on the stairs and immediately his eyes went wide.
"That's my uniform"! He shouted
All the other officers looked straight at him causing him to turn and run back up the stairs now being followed. He reached the first floor and raced down the corridor knocking many officers out of his way as he passed, however more officers came out of the stairwell leading to the second floor causing him to be trapped.
One officer approached and tried to grab him but William quickly grabbed his wrist and then kneed him in the stomach before punching him in the face where he hit the floor unconscious.
He ran into an office where an officer was standing with his back to the window reading a file, he looked up when William answered at stared at him in confusion while the floor shook with the footsteps of all the officers chasing him.
He looked at the window and a crazy idea popped into his head, he sighed as he ran full speed at the officer who could only stand there dumfounded before William collided with him causing both of them to fall through the window which shattered and land on the top of a police car parked just below.
William rolled off as the officer groaned in pain, other officers were shouting from the window but William ignored them and ran around the corner to the street where the entrance was located. The doors burst open with many officers running out.
Before William decided what to do a car came speeding around the corner and stopped dead in the middle of the road, the door to the backseat opened and Susan stuck out her head and spotted him.
"William, come on"! She shouted
William ran and jumped into the backseat of the car while Sophia hit the accelerator causing the car to speed off with many officers attempting to pursue on foot.
"So much for sneaking in" Sophia said sarcastically
"Yeah I had to improvise" he replied with a small smile
"Did you find the rings"? Susan asked
"Of course I did" he answered pulling the two boxes out of his pocket
All three of them smiled as their car sped through the streets of London desperately trying to avoid any Police cars on the roads.
Kadius stood smiling in triumph and the huge object covered by a white sheet, Quigley entered the chamber and slowly approached him. Kadius didn't say anything to him but just continued to stare at the object.
"My lord" Quigley whispered
"Yes" he replied
"There is some news I think you should hear"
"What is it"? He asked turning away from the object and looking at Quigley who took a step back scared of what might happen
"There was a break in at Scotland Yard, one male made it to the evidence room and it is said that two pairs of rings were stolen" Quigley explained
Kadius said nothing, he walked away from Quigley and started smiling and then exploded into laughter. Quigley was confused at this; he assumed he would be angry he had never expected this to be good news.
"So William has the rings"? He asked through laughter
"Yes my lord" Quigley asked
"Good that means he found them for us, it also means he will go for the horn next we know it's in the British Museum which means he will go there" Kadius said to himself
"And then what my lord"? Quigley asked
"He will not travel without the items, they are too valuable to left alone; that means he will take the painting and the rings with him to the museum and when he does we will take them all for ourselves" He informed laughing
"Excellent plan my lord" Quigley mumbled
"Yes, soon we will have all five items" he boasted walking over to the object and pulled away the white sheet revealing a beautifully carved wardrobe.
He smiled at it, they had Digory Kirke's wardrobe and soon they would have all the other items and maybe William's death as well. That's what Kadius hoped for slowly stroking the hilt of Calgri.
