Hey, y'all! Welcome to the next chapter! I loved writing this chapter, and while it is retelling, I encourage you to read it because I add in a lot of Peter's inner thoughts and some extra dialogue. And the Pevensie's FINALLY get a mention of Princess Diamond. So I hope you like it!
(Peter's P.O.V)
As soon as I heard that door click open I rushed my siblings inside, myself right behind them. I actually almost broke out into a smile, thinking we got away...until I realized just exactly what room we were in. It was the room with the wardrobe, the room that had caused so much tension in my family. And yet for some reason, this wardrobe captivated me in a strange way that I could not explain. Every time I was near it, I felt cold, yet warm all at once. My heart raced a million miles an hour and pounded so loud I thought that it would literally burst out of my chest. I wondered what made these feelings within me.
"Come on!" Edmund urged as he raced to the door of the wardrobe and opened it.
"You've got to be joking." Susan said with an expression of disdain on her face. The footsteps in the hallway got louder.
"We don't have a choice, Susan." I said. I pulled her and Lucy along to the wardrobe. I let them climb in before me before getting in an shutting the wardrobe door so just a crack of light came through, for I knew that it was very foolish to shut oneself in a wardrobe. I heard those phantom footsteps of Mrs. Macready stop in front of the door and the knob began to slowly twist.
"Get back!" I hissed as my siblings surprisingly obeyed. However, it was not without the struggle. There was quite a bit of shoving and yelling going on and we all jostled for a place to hide. With plenty of elbow room of course. But, we never bumped into the back wall of the wardrobe. "Perhaps it's bigger on the inside than I previously estimated." I thought. This was starting to get a little weird, I had to admit.
Susan then bumped into me at that moment and caused me to stumble. I fell and landed on something that was definitely not the wooden floor of the wardrobe. This material was soft, powdery, cold, and very wet. Susan shortly stumbled after me and landed next to me. Her face held a puzzled expression as she sat down. We exchanged a look and then finally risked a glance back.
I could hardly believe what I was seeing! Surely my eyes were playing tricks on me. But deep down I knew this was real. This massive wintry forest stretched out as far as can be. There really was a magic land in this wardrobe. Susan quickly scrambled to her feet and I followed suit.
"Impossible," she breathed, clearly thinking herself mad.
"Don't worry," Lucy piped up, coming into the snow. "I'm sure it's just your imagination." She held a smug little grin on her face. My sister definitely knew how to make me feel guilty.
"I don't suppose saying were sorry would quite cover it," I said with sincerity.
"No," she said with her puppy dog eyes. "It wouldn't."Suddenly I was met in the face with something solid and cold. That little sprite just pelted me with a snowball! "But that might!" she laughed. I decided to return the favor, throwing a cold sphere back at her. Even Susan joined in, throwing one at Ed.
"Ow!" he whined when the snowball came into contact with his shoulder. "Stop it!" Suddenly, I remembered something.
"You little liar," I said stepping towards him, remembering that he lied about going with Lucy to this magic land.
"You didn't believe her, either," he protested. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.
"Apologize to Lucy," I said, gesturing towards her. When Edmund didn't say anything, I decided to get more aggressive. "Say you're sorry!" I demanded.
"All right," my little brother caved. "I'm sorry." He didn't cast more than a flicker of a glance at Lucy. I knew he really didn't mean it, though.
"That's alright, Edmund," Lucy said with a sweet smile. "After all, some little children just don't know when to stop pretending." Susan giggled beside her.
"Very funny," Ed whispered with scorn, narrowing his eyes to slits. I decided he had had enough and backed away.
"Maybe we should go back," Susan finally said, wiping her cold hands on her skirt and crossing her arms, shivering slightly in the cold.
"Shouldn't we at least take a look around?" said Edmund, gesturing towards the wood with a sweep of his arm. I tilted my head at him slightly. He seemed unusually chipper and eager to be here again. It made me wonder what exactly happened to him the first time he was here, and why he was so willing to stay. But, then again, I had a strange need to remain in this strange land as well. It was like I...belonged here somehow.
"I think Lucy should decide." I smiled at my little sister, hoping she would want to remain here, too.
"I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!" she said, eyes and face lighting up with delight. So did mine.
"Well, then Mr. Tumnus it is!" I replied, remembering to thank her later. But first, I knew we needed to...address the weather first.
"We can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this!" Susan exclaimed, reading my mind as I grabbed a few of the fur coats from the wardrobe.
"No," I agreed, handing the coats out amongst the others. "But I'm sure the Professor wouldn't mind us using these." I handed a soft brown one to Lucy before turning to Susan. "Because if you think about it...logically," The frown on her face was too perfect. I'd been wanting to use her favorite subject on her for years. "We're not even taking them out of the wardrobe." Finally I handed the last one to Edmund, a sliver gray with black markings.
"But that's a girl's coat!" he cried.
"I know," I cooly replied back, shoving the coat in his arms and slipping the golden brown one I had kept for myself on my arms. "Well Lucy," I said. "Take us to Mr. Tumnus."
"Sure!" she said with delight. "He lives over this way." She took my hand and I chuckled slightly as she dragged us through the snow. She lead us through a patch of the wood before we all came to a small clearing. In the center stood an iron lamppost, a single flame burning inside it.
"Fascinating," I whispered. "Strange that this would be in the middle of a forest."
"Look closer," Lucy said, looking at the glass. I followed her gaze along with Edmund and Susan up to the top of the lamppost.
"Is that..." Ed started.
"A butterfly?" Lucy finished. "Yes it is."
"That's not possible," Susan said. " I mean logically..." we all groaned and rolled our eyes at the mention of her favorite word. "Logically..." she continued. "That butterfly should be burning up, or at the very least dead. It should not be fluttering around like it's free."
"Yes." Ed whispered. "Very strange."
"What does this mean?" I asked.
"I don't know," Lucy responded. "But it feels like magic!" she bounced up and down with a grin. I smiled in spite of myself.
"Do any of you have the feeling that we're sort of meant to be here?" I asked, placing my fingers on the post, feeling that same cold, yet warm feeling I did before.
"I do." Edmund surprisingly said.
"Me too," agreed Lucy. "Susan?" she asked.
"I do feel a little...strange." she admitted. Suddenly she shook herself, as if she was trying to forget what she just said. "So which way to the faun?" she asked Lucy.
"Oh," she replied. "Mr. Tumnus is this way!" She motioned with her hand for us to follow her once more. She lead us through another patch of trees and around a giant rock face. We paraded down a slope and into what appeared to be a valley. "Mr. Tumnus might put on some tea for us!" said Lucy excitedly. "He had toast and cakes and lots and lots of..." her voice trailed off as her face fell. I saw what looked liked a door frame carved into the rock face. But when I noticed that it was hanging by its hinges in a way that was most unnatural, my heart fell as well. Lucy then took off running, prompting me to call her name and run after her, with Edmund and Susan after me.
We all rushed through the door, emerging into what looked like it used to be a spacious, meticulously decorated cave. My heart broke a little when I saw that it was completely ransacked and destroyed. Furniture was tipped over and looked like it had been thrown, broken glass littered the floor, and some things on the wall looked like it had been partially burned. And this didn't look like an accident, either. My heart went out to the poor faun, wondering what he could've done to possibly deserve this. I placed my hand on Lucy's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, and I noticed that she was shaking from fright.
"Who would do something like this?" she murmured. I walked further into the cave, venturing towards a fireplace, when I noticed something pinned to the wall. It was a thick piece of yellowish paper with a terrorizing writing on it. I plucked it from the wall and as my siblings gathered around me, I began to read it aloud.
"Faun Tumnus," I began. "Is hereby charged with high treason against her Imperial Majesty, Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for coveting her enemies and fraternizing with humans." I looked up at my sisters and brother's expressions. Lucy held sadness, Susan, fright, and Edmund...nothing. That was a little too strange for my liking. I turned back to the paper to read the rest of it. "Signed, Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police." A huge paw-print decorated the paper as it's seal. "Long live the Queen." My voice shook as I read that last line. Susan took the paper from me and scanned it with her own eyes.
"Alright," she said. "Now we really should go back!" I could tell she was scared. As was I, a little, I'll admit.
"But what about Mr. Tumnus?!" Lucy protested.
"He was arrested just for being with a human," Susan argued. "I don't think there's much we can do."
"You don't understand, do you?" Lucy looked around us. "I'm the human! They must've figured out he helped me."
"Maybe we can call the police," I suggested, placing my hand on her shoulder again, looking for a way to not only help Lucy's friend, but to find an excuse to stay here longer.
"Hello, these are the police," Susan pointed out. I looked over and noticed that Edmund was kind of backing away from us.
"What about you, Ed?" I asked. His head snapped to me. "Do you have any ideas as to what we could do?" He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. There was something off about him. "Don't worry Lu," I reassured my youngest sibling. "We'll think of something."
"Why?" Edmund finally said. "He's a criminal." We all stared at him, locking into his eyes until we heard a small sound come from outside. We all turned our heads and saw nothing but a bird tweeting it's song on a branch.
"Did that bird just 'psst' to us?" asked Susan in puzzlement. We all rushed outside to see what was going on. When we did, the bird flew away, but we heard a rustling in the brush just to the right of us, followed by another "psst" and then we heard what sounded like a twig being stepped on and broken in two. The we heard a small snarl, almost a growl. I was sure that my heart would burst out of my chest right at that very moment. I felt Susan put her hand on my shoulder and Lucy grabbed hold of her waist. I placed my fingers over Susan's, trying to be protective. Edmund still hung back, however. Wasn't he the least bit scared?
We all stood and held our breath for mere moments, which seemed to go by like hours. Suddenly, a furry little head poked out from behind a small snowbank, followed by a furry, albeit slightly chubby, body completed by a flat tail. "It-it's a beaver," Lucy said with confusion. It came a little closer to us, and I held my hand out trying to get it to come nearer, realizing I had nothing to fear from this creature.
"Here boy," I said, clicking my tongue hoping to draw it in. "Here boy," I repeated. It reached me as I shot a smile at it. It raised itself up on his hind legs.
"Well I ain't gonna smell it if that's what you want," I nearly leaped back in shock. Surely the beaver didn't just talk, did it? But it had to have, or else Susan and Edmund wouldn't have the same expression on their faces as I did. Lucy, however, giggled with delight, for this kind of thing didn't fase her anymore.
"Uh, sorry," I said awkwardly. Did I seriously just apologize to a beaver? Lucy giggled again at me.
"Lucy Pevensie?" the beaver asked, locking eyes with my sister. I noted, now that the shock had worn off, that this beaver held a British accent in his voice, just like us. This time, it was Lucy's turn for her face to turn to an expression of shock ask her smile quickly melted away.
"Y-yes?" she stuttered hesitantly. The beaver held out a piece of white cloth to her, and it was easily recognizable as her hankie, for the purple LP embroidery could easily be seen. "Hey, This is the hanky I gave to Mr.-"
"Tumnus." interrupted the beaver, who held a solemn look on his face. "He got it to me just before they took him."
"Is he all right?" Lucy asked, a small ray of hope in her little voice. The beaver looked over his shoulder, then the other, and turned back to us.
"Further in," he whispered before he scurried back the way he came. Lucy and I started to follow him, but only to be stopped by Susan.
"What are you doing?" she whispered fiercely.
"She's right," Ed said again, coming up to join us. "How do we know that we can trust him?"
"He said he knows the faun," I replied simply.
"He's a beaver. He shouldn't be saying anything." Susan said, using her "logic" again, much to my annoyance.
"Everything alright?" said beaver asked, poking his head over the small bank once again.
"Yes," I politely responded. "We were just talking."
"That's better left for safer quarters." he whispered quite ominously.
"He means the trees." Lucy whispered as well, looking up and all around us. Susan and Edmund exchanged a glance of doubt. Even I looked up as well, before grabbing Lucy's hand, turning around and following the beaver through the snow. It was only a few moments before I heard Susan and Edmund's footsteps following us, their feet crunching in the soft white powder.
"Come on," Beaver said once we all joined him. "We don't want to be caught out here after nightfall." We pressed on as fast as we could through the snow, passing through a structure that looked like a metal archway. It made me wonder if this was in fact a village, and Mr. Tumnus was one of many fauns who had been captured or even killed by this seemingly ruthless Queen. However, despite our best efforts it was dusk by the time we had arrived at what looked to be Beavers' home, a quaint little hut made of sticks along a frozen over river.
"Oh, blimey!" Beaver suddenly exclaimed. "Looks like the old girl's got the kettle on and preparing a nice cup of tea."
"Oh, it's lovely," Lucy cheerfully complimented.
"It's merely a trifle," Beaver responded otherwise. "There's still plenty to do and it ain't quite finished yet."
"I think it's very charming," I said with a smile.
"Oh." Beaver said, turning to me with a hint of surprise. "Thank you." He smiled.
"You're welcome," I smiled back.
"While we'd love to chat more," Susan spoke up. "I'm getting more frostbitten as we speak."
"Right," Beaver agreed. "Just this way. As we descended the slope, I found passing through the protective fence made of sticks was difficult, but the promise of a warm fire made it all worthwhile.
"Beaver?" called a female voice from inside the house. "Is that you?" I noticed that she had the same accent that we did. "I've been worried sick!" A female beaver came out of the front entryway, no doubt Beaver's wife. "If I find you were out with Badger again I'll-" Her voice stopped dead as she looked at us. "Those aren't badgers," she breathed before breaking out into a grin. "Oh, I never thought I'd live to see this day!" she said excitedly before turning back to her husband. "Look at my fur," she said. "You couldn't give me 10 minutes warning?"
"I would've given you a week if I thought it could've helped." he replied. My siblings and I all laughed in spite of ourselves.
"Well, why don't you all come inside?" Mrs. Beaver said, waddling back inside the house. "And we'll see if we can't get you some food." Looking at her husband, she added, "and some civilized company." As she waddled back inside, Mr. Beaver ushered us all in, and much to my surprise, Susan went first. I helped Lucy inside and followed her. Edmund was the last in. He was still acting suspicious. It was quite warm in the den, warm enough that we could take off our coats and sit down at the Beaver's small table. I decided to get right to the point.
"Isn't there anything we can do to help Tumnus?" I asked.
"Well they've more than likely taken him to the Witch's house by now." Beaver answered. "And you know what they say, 'there's few that go through those gates that come back out again."
"Oh, Beaver, don't ruin their appetites," Mrs. Beaver said. "Let then eat these fish and chips." She slid a plate of the dish in front of all of us. "But there's hope, dear." She placed a paw on Lucy's shoulder. Beaver then choked on his drink.
"Hope?" he said. "There's a bit more than hope." Then he leaned in and lowered his voice to barely above about whisper. "Because Aslan is on the move." Aslan. I don't know what it was about that name, but it suddenly made me smile, and made me feel brave and adventurous. I glanced at Susan and Lucy, and it was clear they reciprocated my feeling. Until Edmund ruined it, that is.
"Who's Aslan?" he asked, causing Mr. Beaver to laugh and repeat his question. But when none of us joined in his laughter, he became serious once more.
"You don't know, do you?"
"Well," I said. "We haven't exactly been here very long."
"He's only King of the whole wood. The top geezer. The real King of Narnia."
"What about the other one?" Mrs. Beaver asked.
"Other one?" Susan repeated.
"Yes," replied Mr. Beaver. "Aslan's brought Princess Diamond with him."
"A princess?" Lucy asked with wonderment. Diamond. For some reason that name made my heart jump.
"Yes," Mrs. Beaver agreed. "She's been with Aslan her whole life. And they've been away for a long while."
"But they've just got back!" Beaver said excitedly. "And they're waiting for you at the Stone Table!"
"They're waiting for us?" Susan said.
"You've got to be joking!" Beaver exclaimed again. "You don't even know about the prophecy, do you?"
"Well, then, explain it to them." his wife suggested.
"Very well," he sighed. "Aslan's return, Tumnus's arrest, the Secret Police, the Princess making her claim to the throne...it's all happening because of you four!"
"Your blaming us?" Lucy asked, voice wavering with hurt.
"No, dear," Mrs. Beaver reassured. "We're thanking you."
"There's a prophecy," Beaver whispered again.
"When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone
Sits at Cair Paravel in throne
Along with the one who holds the crown
The veil of ice will be torn down.
When winter's rein has met it's end
And when the spring comes out again,
The five Kings and Queens will combine into one
And the evil times will over and done"
"Well, at least it rhymes," Susan said.
"I'm afraid that's not the point dear," said Mrs. Beaver. "It has long been foretold that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will join forces with the rightful Queen, defeat the White Witch, and restore peace to Narnia."
"And you think that we're the ones?" I asked. As much as I wanted it to be true, it was impossible.
"Well you better be!" Mr. Beaver shouted. "Aslan and Princess Diamond have already figured out your army!"
"Our army?" Lucy repeated in disbelief.
"Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in another war," Susan pointed out. As much as I wanted to stay here, she was right.
"I think you've made a mistake," I said. "We're not heroes!"
"We're from Finchley," Susan added. "Thank you for your hospitality," she continued with a sigh, standing. "But we really have to go."
"You can't just leave!" Beaver tried to plead.
"He's right," Lucy agreed. "We have to help Mr. Tumnus."
"It's out of our hands," I said sadly, standing to join Susan. "I'm sorry," I told the beaver's. "But it's time the four of us we're getting home." Oh, how I wanted to stay here. And it broke my heart that I couldn't. "Let's go, Ed," I called my brother, thinking he must've fallen asleep. But when I turned around, he was nowhere to be found. He was gone. "I'm gonna kill him," I promised.
"You may not have to," Beaver spoke again, ominously. "Has Edmund ever been to Narnia before?" Suddenly my anger was replaced with raw fear.
"Lucy," I asked. "What was Edmund doing when he followed you here the first time?"
"He didn't tell me." she admitted. "But he did seem a little shocked when I mentioned..." she trailed off as her eyes went wide. "Oh, no." she whispered.
"What is it, Lucy?" Susan probed.
"Edmund's gone to the White Witch."
Now it was my turn for my eyes to widen. "What? Why?"
"He must have met her and joined her side," Beaver concluded.
"Then we have to get him back," Susan said. I nodded and turned back to the beavers.
"Where does the Witch live?"
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(Diamond's P.O.V)
This takes place right when the Pevensie's enter through the wardrobe.
I dropped my sword midway through training a minotaur. "Are you alright, Your Ladyship?" he growled with concern.
"Yes!" I smiled. "I'm better than alright! I'm wonderful!"
"May I ask why?"
"It's the Kings and Queens!" I replied. "They're here!'
"Are you certain, Your Ladyship?" the minotaur asked. "The Kings and Queens? Here already?"
"Yes," I responded. "I can feel it. Oh, I must announce it at once!" I took off running as fast as I could through the snow towards my tent after I picked up my sword. People started out of my way as I raced past them, and I picked up a small following, no doubt wanting to see where I was going in such a hurry. When I reached the tent, I pulled myself up to my full height and made my voice as clear as possible.
"May I have your attention, everyone?" I I asked loudly, still smiling. "Your Kings and Queens have entered Narnia!" A series of murmurs was all I heard. "They have come to deliver us our freedom!" This was met by clapping and a chorus of cheering and "huzzahs" went up on thw air. As the army was celebrating, I looked over my shoulder to see Aslan standing in the entrance to our tent, smiling. I smiled back, and he nodded, prompting me to once again face the army with an even bigger smile on my face.
Yes, this war was nearing its end.
And we would prevail.
Woo, this one was a doozy. It took me 3 days to write this chapter, but I am so proud of it. And I hope you guys like it as well. As always, please leave a review. I want to know if the retailing was more or less than annoying. Till next time!
XOXO -Blue
