03; Beavers Predict the Future

Emily and the Pevensie children followed Mr. Beaver through the woods as he led the way to their surprise destination. They tried getting more information about where they were headed, but Mr. Beaver was being very vague.

Emily could only assume he didn't want the spy trees to know and tell the ice witch of his plan. Emily entered a small conversation with Peter, Susan, and Lucy about how she came to be in Narnia. Edmund took up the rear of the group and listened in while being awfully quiet.

"Let me get this straight," Peter began. "You live in California which is a state in America. You got here by a wardrobe the same as us, but instead of being from our time you're from the year 2019?"

"That about sums it up." Emily answered.

They stared at her as if she was some alien from another planet and she didn't blame them. She wouldn't believe herself either. It sounded completely bananas. Their expressions made Emily laugh and caused her to wonder if her family and friends would have had the same exact reaction.

"What is it like in your time?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I won't tell you too much because spoilers." Emily began mentally giggling at the Doctor Who reference. They nodded in understanding. "I know you all want to know what happens after the war so I will just say this, 'Wars don't last forever.'"

"Peter didn't you say something like that to us back at the manor?" Susan asked a small smile forming on her lips.

"It does sound familiar." Peter laughed looking at Emily with a smile.

Emily avoided his gaze and looked down at her feet. She didn't want him to see how flushed her cheeks were at receiving one of his charming smiles. She had never been good at being the center of attention, especially when it involved a handsome guy. Sienna had always been better in the dating scene.

"I'm glad you're here, Emily," Lucy said, taking the teens hand with her free one and as the other held on to Peter's.

Emily looked over at her with a grateful smile, "Me too."

Emily was glad to have met the Pevensies and wondered what she would be doing now had she not. She wondered if she would have come across another Narnian, or the White Witch. She shuddered at the thought of meeting the second one.

After following Mr. Beaver for a short while, they eventually entered a clearing where a little dam stood. Emily couldn't get over how cute little home was with snow sitting on top of it. She would have mistaken it for an igloo if not for the sticks poking out everywhere.

Mr. Beaver pointed at his home with much deserved pride, "There it is home sweet home."

"Oh, what a beautiful dam Mr. Beaver." Lucy replied.

"Merely a trifle" Mr. Beaver responded.

Emily followed behind Susan as they came closer to the entrance. They could hear shuffling coming from inside the dam and all Emily could think about was which animal she would meet next. A lion? A tiger? A bear? She giggled quietly to herself at the Wizard of Oz pun.

She was snapped back to reality when she felt someone's hand touch her own sending a chill down her spine. The dirty blonde turned her head to see Peter standing next to her, seemingly unfazed that his hand had grazed her own. He was looking straight ahead at Mr. Beaver's dam.

Emily followed his line of sight to see a shadow move in the window. She tensed up but relaxed at the sound of a voice coming from within the little home. She could only assume it was Mr. Beavers' companion.

"Is that you Beaver? If I find out you've been out with badgers again I'll..." The voice stopped to reveal another beaver.

Emily assumed by the feminine voice that she was Mrs. Beaver and that the two were married. She looked just like Mr. Beaver although her fur coat was slightly lighter. She also had a kindness in her tone that Mr. Beaver did not possess.

She looked at the large group in surprise before clasping her hands together in what looked like relief and joy, "Oh, they're not badgers. I never thought I would see this day!"

Mrs. Beaver ushered Emily and the Pevensies inside before she turned on Mr. Beaver, "You couldn't give me 10 minutes warning. Look at this fur!"

"I would have given you a week if I thought it would help." Mr. Beaver teased with a small chuckle.

Mrs. Beaver sent him a look before inviting everyone to sit down in their humble home. They each entered one at a time, so they wouldn't get stuck in the little entrance, and followed Mrs. Beaver to a round table near the kitchen. Emily sat down with Susan on her left followed by Peter and Lucy. Edmund didn't seem in the mood to join them and took a place near the door.

"Fish and sticks, dear?" Mrs. Beaver offered the well cooked food arranged on a wooden plate and it looked delicious.

"Thank you." Emily replied before taking one and passing it on to Susan.

While they ate Mr. Beaver explained the situation to Mrs. Beaver. Emily couldn't help adding her input every now and then as did the Pevensies. By the end of their tale Mrs. Beaver looked at a loss for words.

"Is there nothing we can do about Mr. Tumnus?" Peter asked.

"Well, there is always hope!" Mrs. Beaver offered.

Emily couldn't help the smile make its way onto her face. Mrs. Beaver was the optimistic one of the marriage. It reminded Emily of her mom with her quiet voice and thoughtful advice. Mr. Beaver also reminded her of her dad with his low chuckle and teasing jests. The thought of her parents caused her heart to ache a little. She missed them.

"Where there is hope, there is faith. Where there is faith, miracles happen." Emily recited the old inspirational quote that was on her desktop word for word. It never ceased to motivate her on Mondays.

"Yeah, there's loads of hope. Aslan is on the move." Mr. Beaver said, causing the Pevensie children and Emily to share looks of confusion.

"Who is Aslan?" Edmund asked, finally speaking after being silent for so long.

Mr. Beaver laughed at the children's expression, while Mrs. Beaver seemed to take note that they were truly confused. She placed a soft hand on Mr. Beaver's shoulder and he stopped laughing to stare. He seemed to be surprised at how clueless the group was.

"You don't know who Aslan is?" Mr. Beaver asked in shock.

"Well we haven't actually been here very long." Peter replied scratching the back of his neck.

"For some of us it's our first time being in Narnia." Emily added as she began to play with her locket.

"He's only the king of the whole wood, the true King of Narnia, and he's waiting for you!" Mr. Beaver explained waving his arms around trying to emphasize how big of a deal this actually was.

Emily stared at him in complete and utter shock as she processed this new information. All she could think about was if this King, Aslan, was connected to the lion in her dream. It sounded completely ludicrous and yet somehow sane.

There was a heavy silence for a moment before Lucy asked, with curious eyes, "Waiting for us?"

"You've got to be joking! Look at Aslan's return, Tumnus's arrest, even the secret police! They're all happening because of you!" Mr. Beaver looked exasperated at the group's lack of knowledge.

"You're blaming us?" Susan said, looking irritated.

Emily didn't necessarily agree with Susan as they didn't seem angry at their arrival, but instead grateful. Mrs. Beaver had a hopeful look on her face while Mr. Beaver looked like he was ready to burst with joy as well as irritation. He must be irritated because Emily hadn't kept up with 'The Narnian Times'.

"Not blaming you dear, thank you." Mrs. Beaver replied with a gentle smile.

"There is a prophecy: When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne,

The evil time will be over and done." Mr. Beaver began, but Susan cut him off.

"You know that doesn't really rhyme."

"I know, but you're missing the point!" Mr. Beaver snapped in exasperation.

Emily's head had begun to hurt a little bit as she tried to process all the information. Especially the prophecy that Mr. Beaver was relaying. It sounded familiar yet she couldn't place where she had heard it before.

"It's long been told that two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve will appear to defeat the White Witch, and restore peace to Narnia." Mrs. Beaver stated, but then glanced at Emily.

"But there's five of us?" Emily said, a little worried. "How can there be a prophecy on four people when five have arrived? Am I not meant to be here?"

"Only four were described in the prophecy, but Aslan had said another would come." Mr. Beaver replied patting her hand, "The other prophecy stated another Daughter of Eve would join the Kings and Queens on their journey. Her quest was to guide them in times of hardship, but beware the hidden truth. Her heart would reveal her true intentions towards the king."

Emily's breathing became labored and uneven as her anxiety level began to rise. She thought maybe she wasn't meant to be here, but now she was learning she had a vital role to play. It chilled her to the bone that such a heavy burden had been placed on a teen's shoulders.

She clasped her hands together in an attempt to keep them from shaking, but it did little good. She felt the table shake as someone got up and walked around the room. It didn't register that they were coming towards her until she felt the table shake again as they sat down next to her.

Emily watched as large hand enveloped her own and began to press soothing circles into her palm. She looked up at the person holding her hands and was taken by surprise when brown eyes met ocean blue ones. Peter was holding her hands! She blushed madly and gave him a small smile of gratitude to which he returned with a calm one.

While still holding her hands Peter turned to look at Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, "And you think we are the ones?"

"Well you'd better be." Mr. Beaver replied. "Aslan's already fitted out your army!"

"I think you've made a mistake. We're not heroes!" Peter said standing up, letting go of Emily's hands in the process.

"We don't even know how to fight. Let alone lead armies." Emily added feeling calm with the Pevensies at her side, but worried that this was something they couldn't run from.

She grasped her locket and rubbed her hand over the smooth service trying to calm herself down. What was once a dream had turned into a nightmare. Emily believed that the Pevensie were part of the prophecies, but she didn't think she could fully fill hers. That is, if it was even about her.

Susan stood up as well and yelled, "We're from Finchley!"

"They are." Emily said pointing at the others. "I'm from Anaheim."

"I think it's time we were going." Peter said helping Emily up as Susan did the same to Lucy.

"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked.

Emily looked over at Lucy, once again feeling sorry for her. There was nothing the group could do unless each of them accepted the prophecies Mr. and Mrs. Beaver had relayed to them. Emily did want to help this land, but not if it was going to get her killed. That wouldn't help the situation in the slightest.

"Sorry Lucy. It's out of our hands." Peter said, handing Lucy and Emily their coats.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Susan said putting her own coat on.

"I'm sorry we can't be of much help, but we are only children." Emily said, adjusting her coat. "I want to help, but I fear that I would only doom Narnia more than help it."

"You should have more faith in yourself dear." Mrs. Beaver said patting Emily's hand. "I do."

Emily stared at her in shock. She didn't understand how someone could trust her so quickly. Then she thought of the Pevensies and how accepting they had been with her. Perhaps she was looking at this all wrong. Instead of people trusting her, she should trust herself.

Emily was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed someone was missing from their group. She grasped Peter's shoulder just as he shouted, "Oh, I'm going to kill him!"

Edmund was missing.

"You may not have too. Has Edmund been to Narnia before?" Mr. Beaver asked.

Emily looked over at the Pevensies and knew instantly by the terrified looks on their faces that the answer was clear. He had.

The small household followed Edmund's footsteps in the snow until they came into a large clearing. The clearing consisted of a large lake frozen solid with a large castle standing tall on the opposite side. Emily could just barely make out the dark silhouette that just walked into the large castle made of ice. Emily had disliked this witch that might be related to Queen Elsa, but now she hated her.

"Edmund!"

"SHH! They'll hear you!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed in a whisper yell.

Peter began to run after him, but was stopped by Mr. Beaver and Emily, "Get off me. We can't just let him go!"

"Don't you get it?! He's the bait! The witch wants all five of you in there! To kill you!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed.

Emily didn't register what he said as she gasped out in pain and released Peter's shoulder in the process to sink to her knees in the snow. Her head was pounding even more than before as images of a woman dressed in white and holding a crystal scepter flashed in her head at rapid speed. The images seemed to be endless and the pain only increased with each new picture.

"Emily!" Lucy shouted.

She could faintly hear Lucy's voice as she crouched in the blizzard. She could barely feel the pair of strong arms that wrapped around her waist. The pain began to subside as her frail body was pulled into a strong chest.

She looked up and was met with Peter Pevensie's familiar blue eyes, full of concern. It was as if a light was turned on as the warmth of his embrace sent shivers down her spine. Everyone was looking at her with fear in their eyes as well as concern.

"Emily is everything okay?" Lucy asked.

Emily sent her a small smile, "I'm okay Lu."

Emily slowly broke free of Peter's embrace, trying to hug Lucy, but before she could move away Peter grabbed her hand. She looked up at him in confusion, but he said nothing. Instead he stared down trying to read her.

"Peter," Emily said quietly. "I'm okay. Really."

Emily looked away from him and held her arm out for Lucy. The girl wasted no time and raced over to bury her face in Emily's coat, whimpering softly. Emily rubbed soothing circles into her back and swayed side to side to calm her.

Lucy gave Emily a half smile to which she returned before they looked at the others. Peter and Susan looked at a loss for what to do. The four stood in silence until Susan could contain herself no longer.

"This is all your fault! None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!" Susan yelled pointing a finger at Peter.

"So you knew this would happen?" Peter challenged, looking angry.

"It was out of his control Susan." Emily interjected but was met with an icy glare.

"I didn't know what would happen." Susan replied as she shot her brother a glare.

Their glaring contest was interrupted when Lucy yelled, "Stop! This fighting isn't going to help Edmund!"

Emily squeezed Peter's hand that had yet to let go of her own as she tried to calm him. She knew that he was already beating himself up for not protecting his brother. He didn't need Susan yelling at him and telling him what he already knew.

She sent a calm look to Susan, "Blaming each other will not help Edmund. We need to carefully decide what to do next."

"We?"

"Yes. We." Emily said, releasing Peter to hug Susan. "I have a brother too, Sus. If Edmund was him I would go to the only person that might be able to save him and that's Aslan."

"She's right. Only Aslan can save him now." Mr. Beaver added.

Peter looked at the girls before him, each of them sharing a silent agreement, before he turned toward Mr. Beaver, "Then take us to him."