Edmund shivered as he made his way through a strange courtyard in the queen's castle. Were this many stone statues really necessary? It seemed tacky in his opinion.

He jumped when a particularly large one of a giant with his club at the ready loomed over him. Thank goodness the giant wasn't real.

The entire castle felt very dark and ominous, nothing like the last time he'd seen the queen. But he didn't believe what Lucy and the Beavers said about her being a Witch. She had been perfectly nice to him. Surely she couldn't be as bad as they said.

Edmund tripped on a small pile of sticks sitting in front of a lioness statue.

With a mischievous smirk, he picked up one of the sticks, wiped the snow off the lioness's face, and used the ash on the stick to draw glasses and a mustache onto it.

Satisfied with his work, he dropped the stick and continued walking through the eerie garden. He stepped over what appeared to be another statue of a wolf, but then the wolf sprang to life and pounced on him.

Edmund's heart leapt into his throat as the wolf growled at him.

"Be still, stranger, or you'll never move again! Who are you?"

"I'm Edmund!" the boy replied quickly. "I met the queen in the woods! She told me to come back here!"

What had she and the Beavers called him? Something that sounded really important.

"I'm a Son of Adam!"

The wolf stopped growling and took his paw off his chest. "Hm, my apologies, fortunate favorite of the queen. Or else, not so fortunate."

Edmund followed the wolf up some very steep icy steps, doing his best to not slip.

"Right this way."

The wolf led him into a throne room. Edmund looked around at the expanse of ice all around him. It was freezing, and he wasn't sure how someone could live comfortably here, but there was a somewhat deadly beauty to it all.

"Wait here," the wolf instructed.

Edmund was left alone before a large throne covered in expensive furs. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then he climbed the steps to the throne and sat down.

He smiled as he surveyed the throne room from this view. Pretty soon, he would have a throne of his own like this and his siblings and that other stupid girl would be under his command. He would make them sorry that they'd ever treated him so poorly.

"Like it?"

Edmund sprang up out of the throne at the sound of the queen's voice. "Uh, yes…Your Majesty."

"I thought you might."

The queen slowly sat down on her throne with the little dwarf, Ginarrbrik, at her side.

"Tell me, Edmund, are your sisters deaf?"

The question confused him. "No."

"And your brother, is he…unintelligent?"

"Well, I think so. But Mum says—"

"Then HOW DARE you come ALONE!" the queen yelled as she stood up from her throne.

Edmund's eyes widened in shock as he took several nervous steps back. He had never heard her speak like this before. Not even his mother had ever raised her voice at him like this.

"I tried!" he timidly insisted.

"Edmund, I asked so little of you."

"They just don't listen to me!"

"Couldn't even do that."

"I did bring them halfway! They're at the little house at the dam with the Beavers!"

The queen looked at him hardly, and for a minute, Edmund wondered if she enjoyed watching him squirm under her icy glare. "Well…I suppose you're not a total loss then, are you?"

She turned away from him to resume sitting on her throne.

Edmund carefully stepped a little closer. "Well, I-I was wondering…"

The queen looked at him once again.

"Could I maybe…have some more Turkish Delight now?"

It seemed like the wrong time to ask, but he was quite famished since he hadn't eaten anything at the Beavers' house. All he had been able to think of since the last time he'd seen this woman was the incredible dessert she'd provided for him. He could barely remember the last he'd been able to eat something sugary and sweet.

The queen looked at Ginarrbrik. "Our guest is hungry."

Ginarrbrik smirked as he walked up to Edmund. "This way…for your num-nums!"

The dwarf took out his knife and pressed it to Edmund's back in order to march him away from the throne room. Edmund didn't understand. What about making him a king above his brother and sisters? He knew he hadn't brought them all the way here, but did he really deserve a knife to his back?

"Maugrim?" the queen called as she resumed sitting on her throne.

Edmund turned around and saw the same wolf that had attacked him in the garden appear at her side.

"You know what to do."

Maugrim's loud howl echoed in the spacious castle. More wolves appeared all around the throne room.

Edmund's eyes widened in horror.

No. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. This hadn't been what he wanted!

The wolves sprinted out of the castle and headed in the direction of the Beavers' dam.

And his siblings and Elaine.

Edmund realized with growing terror that he had just condemned his family to their deaths.

The journey back to the dam was a silent and depressing one.

Elaine hadn't been any of the Pevensies' biggest fan, but she had never wished for something like this to happen. She hadn't known that Peter could have that kind of look on his face.

She wondered if she could've stopped Edmund from leaving by voicing her thoughts about his strange behavior much earlier. But she knew that wouldn't have done any good. No one would've listened to her. That didn't make her feel any less guilty.

Elaine opened her mouth to say something to Peter, but the sound of a loud wolf's howl stopped her before she could.

All of their heads whipped around at the chilling sound of growls and barks which were gathering strength and seemed to be getting closer.

"Run!" Mr. Beaver cried. "The Witch sent her Secret Police after you!"

"The Secret Police is made of wolves?" Elaine asked in a panic.

"Yes, and you don't want them to catch up to you!"

They ran through the snow as fast as they possibly could and made it back to the dam in a rather impressive amount of time.

"Hurry, Mother!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed as they burst inside. "They're after us!"

"Oh, right then!" Mrs. Beaver said, not even questioning who exactly was after them. She immediately began running around the dam and snatching items from her cupboards.

"What's she doing?" Peter asked anxiously.

Mr. Beaver shook his head in frustration.

"Oh, you'll be thanking me later," Mrs. Beaver told them. "It's a long journey and Beaver gets pretty cranky when he's hungry."

"I'm cranky now!" Mr. Beaver yelled.

In order to move things along as quickly as possible, Susan and Elaine attempted to help Mrs. Beaver pack up everything.

"Do you think we'll need jam?" Susan asked.

"Only if the Witch serves toast!" Peter answered.

Susan looked at him sharply before their attention was drawn towards the outside of the dam. Loud growls and yelps rang out mere feet away from them. The wood and logs that made up the dam began to splinter and break.

The wolves were clawing their way in.

"Grab one of the branches next to the fireplace and make a torch for us!" Mr. Beaver ordered. "We'll need the light!"

Mrs. Beaver handed Susan a lantern. "Here, carry this for us, dear."

"Come on, this way!"

Once Peter had successfully created a flaming torch, the Beavers quickly led the children through a secret door and down inside a small tunnel. It was uncomfortable to have to squat, but it was much better than the alternative.

"Badger and me dug this," Mr. Beaver told them as he led the way. "Comes out right near his place."

"You told me it led to your mum's!" Mrs. Beaver admonished.

Suddenly, Lucy tripped on a loose weed and fell to the ground.

"Lucy!" Susan exclaimed as she knelt down to help her sister up.

In the quiet, they could hear the howls and barks of the wolves that were much closer and clearer than they should've been.

"They're in the tunnel," Lucy whispered.

"Quick! This way!" Mr. Beaver urged.

"Hurry!" Mrs. Beaver added.

"Run!" Peter called to the girls.

They all kept weaving throughout the tunnels to try to get out before the wolves could catch them. Elaine wasn't really a claustrophobic person, but being trapped inside small tunnels with wolves who wanted to kill them had her on the verge of an anxiety attack.

To their horror, they soon came upon a dead end.

"You should have brought a map!" Mrs. Beaver scolded.

"There wasn't room next to the jam!" Mr. Beaver shot back.

The Beavers jumped up through a hole at the top of the tunnel and helped the others climb out after them. Susan exited first followed by Lucy. Peter pushed Elaine forward and she too climbed out of the hole. She then turned around and grabbed Peter's hand to help him out as well. Regardless of their animosity towards each other, she was not about to let him get mauled by killer wolves.

As soon as Peter was free, he and Mr. Beaver rolled a heavy barrel in front of the hole to delay the wolves for however much time it gave them.

Lucy stumbled over something and fell backwards. When she got a closer look, all of them realized that she had tripped over some tiny stone animals.

Elaine looked over at a small living space next to the tunnel and saw a much larger stone animal in a defensive pose with terror etched on his face.

With a sense of dread, Elaine realized these weren't statues. These were living animals that had been turned into stone.

Mr. Beaver approached the terrified one, the 'Badger' they had heard spoken of several times this evening.

"I'm so sorry, dear," Mrs. Beaver said tenderly.

"He was my best mate," Mr. Beaver lamented.

They looked around to see several more animals all turned to stone in different poses that reflected how scared they were in their last moments.

"What happened here?" Peter asked.

"This is what becomes of those who cross the Witch," a voice stated.

Peter quickly pushed Susan and Lucy and (much to her surprise) Elaine behind him protectively. A fox stepped onto the roof of the small house and faced the Pevensies.

Mr. Beaver started towards the fox angrily, but Mrs. Beaver quickly held him back.

"You take one more step, traitor, and I'll chew you to splinters!"

"Relax," the fox laughed as he hopped down onto the ground. "I'm one of the good guys."

"Yeah? Well, you look an awful lot like one of the bad ones."

"An unfortunate family resemblance. But we can argue breeding later. Right now, we've got to move."

The sound of the wolves' howling and barking got louder and louder as they approached the tunnel's exit. That barrel wouldn't hold them off for long.

Peter quickly turned back to the fox. "What did you have in mind?"

The fox smiled and sprinted over to a tall tree. "Climb up here so you're out of sight. I'll get rid of them."

The Beavers climbed up the tree with ease followed by Susan and then Lucy.

Elaine looked up at the high branches with a growing panic.

"Elaine, come on!" Peter said quickly.

She took a nervous step back. "No, no, I-I can't, I-I-I'm afraid of heights!"

"Elaine!"

"I can't!"

Peter grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Elaine, please!"

She anxiously pressed her lips together and met his equally terrified eyes.

"I'll be right behind you, but you've got to get up there now!"

Elaine looked up at the other girls and the Beavers perched on the high branches. She could feel her hands getting clammy, but she forced herself to begin climbing the tree one branch at a time, Peter close behind her.

Somehow, she managed to make it up to the highest branch that supported all of their weight to join the others.

Elaine hugged the trunk of the tree and clamped her eyes shut. She tried to even her frantic breaths for fear that the wolves would hear her.

The fox used his tail to brush away their footprints just as the wolves burst out of the tunnel and surrounded him.

"Greetings, gents," he said easily. "Lost something, have we?"

"Don't patronize me!" one of the wolves growled. "I know where your allegiance lies. We're looking for some humans."

The wolf sounded like the leader of the pack. Elaine guessed that was Maugrim, the Captain of the Witch's Secret Police which she recalled from the parchment they had found at Mr. Tumnus's place.

The fox laughed. "Humans? Here in Narnia? Well, that's a valuable bit of information, don't you think?"

One of the wolves lunged at the fox and sank his teeth into his torso. Peter quickly clamped his hand over Lucy's mouth before she could cry out, and Mrs. Beaver had to do the same to her mate.

"Your reward is your life," Maugrim taunted. "It's not much. But still. Where are the fugitives?"

There was a lengthy pause, and though Elaine wasn't watching, she worried that he was about to give them away.

Then he mustered out, "North. They ran north."

"Smell them out!" Maugrim ordered.

The wolves began barking as they took off in the direction the fox had directed them.

The wolf holding the fox in his mouth threw him back onto the ground where he groaned in pain and lay motionless. Everyone quickly clambered down to help.

Everyone except Elaine.

"Elaine?" Peter said when he saw she wasn't coming with them. "It's okay, they're gone."

Elaine shook her head and kept her eyes closed because she couldn't bring herself to look at him like this. "I-I can't," she said, her voice shaking. "It's too high."

Peter gently touched her hand which was holding onto the trunk so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. "I'll help you. You don't have to look down. Just look at where I'm pointing."

Elaine carefully opened her eyes. Her hands trembling fiercely, she released her iron grip on the tree trunk.

"Okay, put your right foot right here and your left hand there."

She followed his instructions and put her right foot on the branch where his hand rested.

"Good. Now put your left foot here and your right hand there."

They continued this way until Elaine's feet were once again on solid ground. She shoved her trembling hands into her coat and turned away from him.

Peter took a step towards her. "Elaine—"

"Just…go join the others. I'll be there in a moment."

The boy sighed, but he obliged her request and left.

Elaine leaned against the tree and tried to breathe as she wiped petrified tears from her eyes.

That was humiliating.

She had been chased by wolves that would maul her without a second thought, and she'd been more afraid to climb a stupid tree.

And even worse, Peter had to coach her out of the tree.

How was she ever going to face him or any of them after they had seen her like that?

After taking a couple more minutes to compose herself, she made her way over to the Pevensies. By this time, they had started a campfire and Mrs. Beaver was tending to the fox's wounds.

She quietly sat on a small log next to the fire and was thankful that no one said anything about her tardy entrance.

"They were helping Tumnus, and the Witch got here before I did," the fox explained.

Mrs. Beaver hit a tender spot.

"Ow! Oh!"

"Are you all right?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite. OW!"

"Oh, stop squirming!" Mrs. Beaver scolded. "You're worse than Beaver on bath day."

"Worst day of the year," Mr. Beaver muttered.

The fox stood up. "Thank you for your kindness. But I'm afraid that's all the cure I have time for."

"You're leaving?" Lucy said.

"It has been a pleasure, my queen, and an honor."

That's going to take some getting used to, Elaine thought. The Pevensies may be in denial about it, but if this prophecy was accurate, they were all going to be kings and queens by the time it was all said and done.

So where did that leave her?

Who was she kidding?

What use did they have for a girl who couldn't even climb a tree?

"But time is short and Aslan himself has asked me to gather more troops," the fox continued.

"You've seen Aslan?" Mr. Beaver gasped.

"What's he like?" Mrs. Beaver chimed in.

The fox smiled. "Like everything we've ever heard. You'll be glad to have him by your side in the battle against the Witch."

"But we're not planning on fighting any witch," Susan insisted.

"But, surely, King Peter, the prophecy!"

Mr. Beaver turned to him. "We can't go to war without you."

Peter looked at all of them in defeat. "We just want our brother back."

The fox gave Peter a sympathetic look. "I will see what I can find concerning his whereabouts, my king. And I swear that should our paths cross, I will protect him with my life."

With one final bow, the fox turned and scurried into the woods.

"Come on then," Mrs. Beaver said. "You all should get some sleep. We have a long way to go to reach Aslan's camp and you'll need your rest."

"It's not safe for you in the open," Mr. Beaver told them. "We'll put you inside Badger's place tonight."

Susan looked at Mr. Beaver hesitantly. "But…"

"Badger would've wanted it this way."

They put out the fire and went inside Badger's living space. It was small, but it was big enough for all of them to at least rest their heads for the night.

Peter started up a small fire in the fireplace to keep them warm. Then they each picked a spot on the floor and took off their coats so they could use them as blankets.

Elaine lay on her side, but even though she was exhausted, she couldn't fall asleep. Too much had happened in the last several hours, and her head was still spinning.

"Elaine," Peter whispered. "Are you still awake?"

Elaine didn't answer him and hoped he believed she was asleep. She was still thoroughly mortified about the entire tree incident and couldn't look at him.

Peter sighed and she thought that she had managed to convince him she wasn't awake.

Then he said quietly, "I'm afraid of dogs."

Elaine's brow furrowed. She tried to pretend she was still asleep, but her curiosity got the best of her and she couldn't help turning her head in his direction. "What?"

She heard Peter laugh quietly, seemingly aware that she had only been pretending. "I had a bad experience with them as a kid, so I'm terrified of dogs."

Elaine realized what he was doing, and she had to admit that she felt a little touched.

If he spoke the truth, then being chased by wolves earlier had to have been a doubly unpleasant experience for him, but she admired him for hiding it enough so that he was still able to protect all of them.

"I like reading mystery novels because I like to try to figure out the culprit before anyone else does," he continued as he stared up at the ceiling. "My favorite thing to listen to on the radio is The Shadow. I've always been terrible at doing my schoolwork, but somehow, I've still managed to make fairly decent marks. I think it's because Susan always pushes me, but I'll never admit that to her. And my mother used to make us this particular dish involving cabbage and turnips that I said I loved when it really tasted terrible."

Elaine smiled as she turned to lay on her back and looked up. "My mother gave me a book that she said was my father's favorite. I started reading it, but I just can't understand the appeal because it's really boring."

"I find all of Edmund's jokes funnier than I let on."

"When Lucy got all of us to play hide-and-seek, even if it ended poorly, I had forgotten how much fun I used to have playing that game."

"I'm also afraid of thunderstorms. I didn't used to be, but then…thunderstorms became too similar to the air raids and the bombs falling…"

Elaine sighed, seeing that they were getting into more personal territory. "I know more about making battle plans than half the boys our age. Before my father left for the war, we used to sit at the dining room table and plan out battles and discuss different strategies. My mother used to discourage it but even she eventually joined us. Sometimes, I'd hear the boys at school talking about their ideas and I'd hear a lot of mistakes, but I never gave my own input. Who would listen to a girl when it comes to that kind of thing?"

"I know I should be proud of my father for fighting for us in the war, but I've been mad at him ever since he left. I still remember him telling me that I was the man of the house and that it was up to me to look after my mum and my siblings. But I wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility. And it's unfair that that kind of pressure has been forced on me like this."

Elaine felt guilty that she'd given him such a hard time about acting like a father when he had practically been told that that's what he would have to do while his own father was gone.

"I never had any siblings," she said softly. "I think my parents wanted another child, but it just…didn't happen. So I've always felt like I had to make up for the sibling I never had and prove to them that I was enough."

"According to this prophecy, I'm supposed to be king of this entire world and lead an army into battle. I have no idea how I'm supposed to do that. How can people keep putting things like this on my shoulders? What do I possibly know about running a country? Who's going to want to follow a fifteen-year-old into battle?"

There was a brief pause as Elaine thought of what she wanted to say next. "…I have felt out of place…since the moment I stepped off the train," she told him.

She heard Peter sigh. "Hearing about that prophecy probably made that worse. And I suppose I haven't really helped matters."

"I haven't exactly been very pleasant either. I think…I wanted you all to dislike me. I thought it would just make it easier. Because…I was scared that I wouldn't like where I was staying, but…I was even more afraid that I would. Like I would be betraying Mum if I enjoyed being away from her."

"I'm really sorry for what I said…yesterday." He let out a rough chuckle. "I can't believe that was only yesterday. It feels like so much more time has passed since then. But it was really a rotten thing for me to say. Between Lucy talking about a magic land in a wardrobe and Edmund's poor timing and me trying to manage everyone in such an unfamiliar place, I just….That doesn't excuse what I said, and I wish I could take it back. Because to be honest…I don't care what the prophecy says, I'm glad you're here too."

Elaine's lips curved up the tiniest bit. That was the first time since she'd left home that anyone had seemed happy to have her around.

She swallowed thickly. "Four months ago, Mum and I got a notice in the mail that…my father was Missing in Action."

Silence except for the crackling fire stretched between them for several long minutes.

"I'm so sorry…" Peter finally said.

Elaine couldn't believe she had just told him that or any of the other deeply personal things she'd said. She had never been so vulnerable with anyone before, not even her own mother. But it was much easier to confess all of this while they were both in darkness and she didn't have to look at him in the dim light from the fire.

"Edmund wasn't always the way he is now. I think he had a really difficult time at school with the other boys and soon, he just…stopped trying. I knew that…and I still always gave him such a hard time. At first, I couldn't understand why he would choose to go to the Witch, but the more I thought about it, the more I can't really blame him. We weren't exactly giving him a good reason to stay. And I'm terrified that…something is going to happen to him…and some of the last things I've said to him…"

Elaine turned onto her side so she could look at him. "We're going to find him."

Peter turned his head. "How do you know?"

"Edmund is smart. He'll find ways to survive until we can get to him."

"I hope you're right."

She hoped she was too.

Elaine knew that in all the stories she'd ever read, prophecies always had a way of coming true regardless of who tried to stop it. But she didn't say that because it would probably just put even more pressure on him as he tried to come to terms with the prophecy himself.

"Do you think we're going to regret saying all of this tomorrow?" she asked.

"I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea what tomorrow is going to bring."

Elaine laughed lightly. "Fair enough. Good night, Peter."

"Good night, Elaine."

She rolled over onto her other side and closed her eyes.

Maybe being along for this journey wasn't so bad.