Edmund shivered miserably inside the cold, dark cell where Ginarrbrik had chained his ankles to the icy wall. He looked down at the small plate the dwarf had tossed inside a couple hours ago. A small piece of rather unappetizing bread rested on it along with a dirtied cup.

With his stomach growling furiously, he gingerly took a bite of the bread.

It was revolting.

He coughed as the stale and moldy bread slid down his throat. When he went to drink some water from the cup, he saw to his disdain that the liquid inside had frozen and was therefore useless to him.

"If…" a strained voice said next to him.

Edmund looked over and saw for the first time that he wasn't alone in the prison. Through a large hole in the side of his cell, he could see another creature in a separate cell next to his.

"If you're not going to eat that…"

Edmund picked up the bread and crawled over to the hole in order to give it to the creature.

The creature crawled over as well albeit with great difficulty. "I'd get up, but…but my legs…"

Edmund glanced at the creature's chained legs which were those of a goat. The creature was a faun. How long had he been locked up? Would Edmund too get to the point where he begged for something that wasn't even edible just to curb his hunger?

"Mr. Tumnus," he put together.

"What's left of him," the faun answered as he ate the bread.

Edmund felt sharp stabs of guilt pierce his gut with no mercy. It was his fault the faun had been captured and reduced to this.

He hadn't known this was going to happen when he'd told the Witch about him previously meeting Lucy. How could he?

That didn't make him feel any better.

"You're Lucy Pevensie's brother," the faun said.

"I'm Edmund."

"Yes, you have the same nose."

Edmund guiltily looked away from him and self-consciously rubbed his nose with the back of his wrist.

"Is your sister all right? Is she safe?"

The boy jumped when he heard wolves' growls and barks above him. Then he looked at the faun and brokenly admitted, "I don't know."

Edmund had never been so scared. Even when he and his family had had to run to the bomb shelter back home in the middle of an air raid with bombs exploding all around them, at least they were all together and he knew they were safe. Now he had no idea if they were still alive, and it was entirely his fault.

And the fact that it was wolves who were going after them…

Peter had tried to hide his fear of dogs from his family, but Edmund had secretly found out about it a few years ago. Peter didn't know that Edmund knew, and for both their sakes, Edmund had decided to keep it that way in case he needed to use it against him someday.

Such a horrible experience must've been that much worse.

He must be even more terrified.

If he was even still alive.

The Witch slammed the gate to the prison open, and Edmund and Tumnus quickly moved back to their original places.

"My police tore that dam apart," she told him as she stood over him. "Your little family are nowhere to be found."

As terrified as Edmund was to be in her presence like this, he felt overwhelming relief at the knowledge that his siblings and Elaine had managed to escape before they were killed.

The Witch grabbed Edmund by his shirt collar and lifted him off the floor. "Where did they go?"

"I don't know!" Edmund frantically insisted.

"Then you are of no further use to me."

She threw him down on the ground and held her wand above her head.

"Wait!" Edmund pleaded.

He needed to tell her something. Something important so that she would see that he was still useful. Anything to buy him some time and keep him alive.

"The beaver said something about Aslan!" he blurted.

Tumnus's head snapped up to look at him.

For the first time since he'd met her, Edmund saw the Witch's eyes cloud over with fear. He still wasn't exactly sure who Aslan was, but he must be pretty powerful to strike fear into the heart of the ice-cold woman.

"Aslan?" she bit out. "Where?"

Something told Edmund that he really shouldn't say where Aslan could be found. "I…"

"He's a stranger here, Your Majesty!" Mr. Tumnus quickly interrupted. "He can't be expected to know anything!"

Ginarrbrik hit Tumnus on the head with the bottom end of his axe which made Edmund wince.

"I said…where is Aslan?" the Witch demanded.

Edmund looked at Mr. Tumnus's tearful eyes and wondered how long he'd been subjected to this kind of treatment. "I…don't know," he admitted. "I left before they said anything."

The Witch glared at Mr. Tumnus as if it was his fault Edmund couldn't answer her question.

"I wanted to see you!"

"Guard!" the witch called.

A fearsome ogre came through the gate to the prison. "Your Majesty," he growled.

Edmund was certain that creature was going to be appearing in his nightmares.

"Release the faun."

The ogre-guard roughly broke the shackles on Tumnus's feet. Edmund winced again as Tumnus cried out in pain. The guard dragged him over to the Witch's feet.

"Do you know why you're here, faun?" the Witch demanded.

Mr. Tumnus looked up at her defiantly. "Because I believe in a free Narnia."

"You're here…because he turned you in." She pointed to Edmund as she gave a small but wicked smile. "For sweeties."

Mr. Tumnus looked at Edmund in disbelief.

Edmund wanted to protest and explain that he hadn't known this was going to happen. He hadn't meant for Tumnus to get arrested and treated like this. But anything he said wouldn't matter. It wouldn't change the fact that he had been caught all because of him.

He could only look away in shame.

"Take him upstairs," the Witch ordered.

The ogre-guard began dragging Tumnus away as he cried out again.

"And ready my sleigh. Edmund misses his family."

Edmund hugged his knees to his chest as the Witch exited the prison.

Now he was truly alone.

He wanted to see his family again. He wanted to tell Lucy how sorry he was for not telling the others about Narnia and making her look foolish. He wanted to tell Susan how much he appreciated her trying to look after him. He wanted to apologize over and over again to Peter for making him confront his worst fear and for nearly getting them all killed.

He wanted to see Elaine too. She'd looked about as miserable as him all this time, and he shouldn't have yelled at her. She had probably only wanted to try to fit in with all of them since she was the only one not related to any of them.

But most of all, he wanted to see his mother again.

He wanted her to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay. He regretted not letting her hug and kiss him when they had parted at the train station. That interaction might have been the last time he ever saw his mother, and he hadn't even been able to bear her hugging him one last time.

But even if he could see his family or Elaine again, they probably didn't want to see him and he wouldn't blame them. They would probably never forgive him for this. The thought of all of them, even Elaine, hating him that much made his eyes water.

How could he have been so stupid? Lucy had told him that the White Witch called herself a queen but she really wasn't, and he had been thick enough to not believe her even though she clearly knew this world better than he did.

He was Lucy's older brother. He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to look out for all of his siblings. Peter shouldn't have to bear that burden alone.

And he had done just the opposite.

Peter was right. He really did make everything worse.

Edmund wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he was startled awake when the horrible ogre-guard from before roughly kicked him. His extremities had since gone numb, but that didn't stop him from feeling horrible pain when the ogre-guard smashed the shackles on his feet, and for a moment, he feared the creature had broken his ankles. Fortunately, he was still able to stand when the ogre-guard forced him to his feet.

Ginarrbrik smirked and whipped him with his long horse's whip which Edmund was sure would leave behind large welts on his back and arms. "Come along then, Your Highness," he sneered.

He pushed Edmund out of the castle and through the garden at the entrance.

When Edmund looked at one of the statues, his face paled.

Mr. Tumnus.

That's when Edmund realized that the statues weren't statues. They were living beings cursed to turn to stone with the Witch's horrid wand. All of these many, many statues had once been a living, breathing creature.

Edmund thought he might be sick.

"When you're ready, Son of Adam," the Witch crooned from her sleigh.

Ginarrbrik forced him to move forward out of the nightmarish garden and into the Witch's sleigh.

"Come on, humans!" Mr. Beaver yelled early in the morning. "We've got to get moving now if we want to reach Aslan's camp by the afternoon."

Elaine groaned. Maybe if she just kept laying here, they would let her rest for at least a few more minutes.

"Oh, I'll have none of moanin' and groanin'! Get up! The missus and I found some breakfast for you."

After last night's dinner of too-raw fish, Elaine was afraid to ask. But she was also starving and would eat wood chips if that's what they had prepared. And with them being beavers, it was quite possible that was exactly what was waiting for them.

She reluctantly sat up and rubbed her eyes. Sitting on the nearby small table, the Beavers had cooked some berries, nuts, and fish over the fire.

Elaine smiled as she combed her messy hair with her fingers and fixed it into the usual braid. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, dear," Mrs. Beaver said warmly. "Now come on, eat up quickly. We haven't a moment to waste."

Peter sat at the table across from Elaine while his sisters sat on either side of him.

Elaine thought for sure that she would wake up regretting everything she had said the previous night, but when she looked at Peter while they ate, she was surprised to find that she didn't regret it at all. She liked learning about all the additional layers he had and was honored he had chosen to peel some of them back for her.

And for her, it was somewhat of a relief to be able to share some of the things that had been burdening her even if she hadn't known it was a burden until she'd spoken about it.

Once they had finished eating, they doused the fire, put their coats back on, and ventured back out into the cold and snow.

They walked for about two hours before they started to cross a natural bridge.

Elaine abruptly stopped walking. The bridge itself wasn't narrow, but it was much too small for someone who was deathly afraid of heights.

Peter realized why she was frozen in place and wordlessly took her cold hand in his without looking at her as if it was no big deal. He could feel her trembling, but she nevertheless moved forward with him.

"Now, Aslan's camp is near the Stone Table just across the frozen river," Mr. Beaver pointed out.

"River?" Peter asked.

What was in front of him certainly didn't look like a river.

"Oh, the river's been frozen solid for a hundred years," Mrs. Beaver said.

The children looked out at the beautiful but intimidating expanse before them. They had such an awfully long way to go.

"It's so far," Peter said quietly.

"It's the world, dear," Mrs. Beaver smiled. "Did you expect it to be small?"

Susan gave Peter a coy look. "Smaller."

Once they'd made it across the bridge, Peter released Elaine's hand, and she was surprised to find herself wishing for the briefest moment that he hadn't let go.

They continued walking across a large snow-covered field towards Aslan's camp for another few hours. By this time, Elaine's legs were sore, her feet were frozen, and her eyes hurt from all the pure whiteness surrounding them. Why couldn't Aslan have set up his camp a little bit closer?

"Come on, humans!" Mr. Beaver called. "While we're still young."

Peter stopped walking and crouched down so Lucy could get onto his back. "If he tells us to hurry one more time, I'm going to turn him into a big fluffy hat."

"Hurry up! Come on!"

"He is getting a little bossy," Lucy said.

"No! Behind you! It's her!" Mrs. Beaver cried urgently.

They looked behind them and saw a large sleigh quickly approaching.

"Run!" Mr. Beaver yelled. "Run!"

Peter quickly set Lucy down again. "Run!"

Gripping Lucy's hand tightly, Peter and the others ran the rest of the way across the field and towards the trees as fast as they could. They were painfully reminded that the snow and their thick coats made it incredibly difficult to run fast, but their fear of the White Witch kept them moving. If any of them were caught, it was all over.

"Hurry!"

Once they made it inside the forest, Mr. Beaver quickly directed them to a small alcove. "Inside! Dive! Dive!"

The four children huddled together as they listened for movement above them.

It was silent for a few seconds, then several pieces of snow dropped in front of the alcove, and a large shadow loomed on the snow in front of them.

Susan clutched onto Elaine's arm, and Elaine put her hand on the other girl's. Neither of them cared that they'd only said probably ten words to each other. Right now, all that mattered was having someone to hold on to.

The shadow stayed on the snow for what felt like hours even though it was only a few seconds.

Finally, it disappeared from the whiteness.

Everyone listened intently for any sign of further movement, but it was silent aside from their shaky breaths. Mr. Beaver sniffed the air.

"Maybe she's gone," Lucy said quietly.

"I suppose I'll go look," Peter said, moving to venture out.

Elaine unconsciously put her hand on him to stop him. She wasn't about to let him be noble and get himself killed for their sakes.

"No!" Mr. Beaver whispered quickly. "You're worth nothing to Narnia dead."

"Well, neither are you, Beaver," Mrs. Beaver said to her mate.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

Mr. Beaver left the safety of their hideout and went above the alcove.

Each second seemed to last an eternity. Maybe the Witch had turned him to stone the moment he'd come out and they just hadn't heard it. There was no way of knowing.

Susan clutched onto Elaine tighter which made Elaine squeeze her hand harder.

The tension was thick enough to strangle them…

Suddenly, Mr. Beaver's head popped in front of the alcove which made Lucy scream and everyone else jump nearly a foot in the air.

"Come out! Come out!" he said eagerly. "I hope you've all been good 'cause there's someone here to see you!"

Elaine looked at the Pevensies questioningly. If it wasn't the White Witch who'd come after them, then who was it? Who else rode a large sleigh around Narnia? And why did it matter if they'd been good?

The four humans came out into the open and were met with the last person they had ever expected to see: Father Christmas.

He laughed boisterously as the children stepped forward in disbelief.

"Merry Christmas, sir!" Lucy smiled.

"It certainly is, Lucy, since you have arrived," Father Christmas said kindly to the girl.

Susan turned to the older ones. "Look, I've put up with a lot since I got here, but this…"

"We thought you were the Witch," Peter interrupted, turning back to the man.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry about that," Father Christmas apologized. "But, in my defense, I have been driving one of these longer than the Witch."

"I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia," Susan said.

"No," he admitted. "For a long time. But the hope you that have brought, Your Majesties, is finally starting to weaken the Witch's power."

With the White Witch having reigned for a hundred years under an eternal winter, Elaine could only imagine how wonderful it felt to the creatures in Narnia to finally begin to feel free from her terrible clutches. The fact that the mere presence of the Pevensies in Narnia caused the Witch's power to weaken was surely a sign that they had an extraordinary destiny ahead of them.

Which was great for them but she again questioned what all that meant for her.

"Still, I daresay you could do with these!"

He turned and lifted a huge sack out from the back of his sleigh.

"Presents!" Lucy cried with delight.

Father Christmas laughed again. He took two items out of his bag and knelt down in front of the youngest Pevensie. "The juice of the fire flower," he said as he gave her a small bottle filled with red liquid. "One drop will cure any injury. And though I hope you never have to use it…"

Lucy timidly took a small dagger held in a red leather scabbard from him. "Thank you, sir. But…I think I could be brave enough."

"I'm sure you could. But battles are ugly affairs."

Lucy stepped back in line between Peter and Susan.

Father Christmas retrieved another two items from his sack. "Susan."

Susan hesitantly came forward.

"Trust in this bow and it will not easily miss."

He placed in her hands a beautiful white quiver with her initials on the rim that held several red-tipped arrows.

"What happened to 'battles are ugly affairs'?"

Father Christmas chuckled lightly before also giving her an intricately carved horn in the shape of a lion's mouth. "Though you don't seem to have a problem making yourself heard, blow on this, and wherever you are, help will come."

"Thanks."

She returned to the line with her other siblings.

"And Peter."

Peter took a step forward.

"The time to use these may be near at hand."

Father Christmas handed Peter a beautiful sword and a shield with a lion on it.

Peter slowly slid the sword out of its sheath and examined its gorgeous quality. Though he knew that a lot of pressure came with this sword, he couldn't help feeling excited at being given such a marvelous tool that every young boy he knew dreamed of owning someday. "Thank you, sir."

Elaine smiled a little, but she would be lying if she said she didn't feel a little jealous at such impressive gifts. Watching them receive presents to aid in their journey here just reminded her how insignificant she was when up next to them. She knew that with this prophecy, the Pevensies were under intense pressure to save this world, but it had to have felt nice to have a sense of such purpose.

"Elaine," Father Christmas said.

Elaine's head snapped over to look at the older man. "Sir?" she said softly. "You…have something for me as well?"

"Well, of course I do."

She nervously took a step forward. After her prior thoughts, she felt as if she didn't deserve whatever he was about to give her.

Father Christmas produced two final items from his bag.

She held out her hands as he presented her with a small red leather satchel.

"Use this well, and it shall not miss its mark."

Elaine opened the satchel and saw the tip of some kind of instrument inside. When she tried to take it, it kept growing and growing until she was holding a long wooden staff with beautiful red and gold Narnian designs etched on it. She wasn't exactly sure how it had fit inside such a small bag, but considering all they'd been through so far, it wasn't the strangest thing she had witnessed.

"And if you ever find yourself lost or confused, look into this and the answer you need will come to you."

He presented her with an exquisite silver mirror with a raised engraving of a lion on the back.

"Thank you very much," Elaine said.

She couldn't understand why she was being given gifts. So far, all signs pointed to the conclusion that she wasn't supposed to be here in Narnia. Yet…Father Christmas had Narnian items ready specifically for her?

If she really was meant to be here, why was she not included in the prophecy?

"These are tools, not toys," Father Christmas explained seriously. "Bear them well and wisely."

Peter returned his sword to its sheath while Elaine put her staff and mirror back in the satchel.

"Now, I best be off. Winter is almost over, and things do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years!" He lifted up the giant sack and returned it to the back of the sleigh. Then he smiled at the children and the Beavers. "Long live Aslan! And merry Christmas!"

Father Christmas rode off as they shouted their thanks and good-byes to his departing sleigh.

Lucy turned to Susan. "Told you he was real."

Elaine smiled as she ran her hand over the leather satchel.

"He said winter was almost over," Peter murmured. "You know what that means. No more ice."

Elaine's eyes widened. "The river."

"Quickly, now!" Mr. Beaver ordered. "This way!"