Lucy picked up her pace as they approached, all while calling out to her brother twice more. He didn't hear her at first. Gabriella wanted to tell her to be quiet because humans still weren't supposed to be in Narnia, but thankfully he turned around.
"Oh, Edmund!" Lucy cried. "So you've got in too! Isn't it wonderful, and now-"
"All right," said Edmund snappishly, "I see you were right and it is a magic wardrobe after all. I'll say I'm sorry if you like. But where on earth have you been all this time? I've been looking for you everywhere." He looked at Gabriella rather harshly. "Who are you?"
She didn't have a chance to reply. "This is the girl I told you I met here." Lucy's face was flushed with excitement. "Her name is Gabriella and we've become friends. She'll be coming back with us because she can't return home on her own." There was a pause and then, "I would have waited for you if I'd have known you'd gotten in." She was almost bouncing with excitement. "We've been having lunch with dear Mr. Tumnus, the Faun, and he's very well and the White Witch has done nothing to him for letting me go, so he thinks she can't have found out and perhaps everything is going to be alright after all."
"The White Witch?" Edmund asked. "Who is she?"
"She is a perfectly terrible person," Lucy took it upon herself to answer. "She calls herself the Queen of Narnia though she has no right to be queen at all, and all the Fauns and Dryads and Naiads and Dwarfs and Animals - at least all the good ones - simply hate her. And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia - always winter, but it never gets to Christmas. And she drives about on a sledge, drawn by reindeer, with her wand in her hand and a crown on her head."
Edmund began to feel very uncomfortable for reasons unknown to the girls. Lucy was too happy one of her siblings had made it in to notice this change, but Gabriella saw it.
"Who told you all that stuff about the White Witch?" he asked.
"Mr. Tumnus, the Faun," said Lucy.
"You can't always believe what fauns say," said Edmund with false confidence.
"Says who?" Gabriella decided to pipe up.
"Everyone knows it," said Edmund; "ask anybody you like."
"I don't know anyone who believes in fauns." She could tell he was lying in order to seem important, and she hated when people did that.
"Well, ask others here in Narnia," he tried to cover up. And then to change the subject, "anyways, its pretty poor sport standing here in the snow. Let's go home."
"Yes, let's," said Lucy still bouncing with joy.
"The book!" Gabriella said with sudden realization. After standing in the snow for a while she had noticed her hands were particularly empty. "I left it back at T- Mr. Tumnus'!"
"Oh we can go back to get it. That way Edmund can meet Mr. Tumnus too," Lucy replied.
"No. We need to be getting back to our world," Edmund did not want to meet Tumnus, especially if the Faun was going to be insisting the nice queen he had met minutes ago was a witch.
"But-"
"Let's go" he said with finality and moved to go back towards the wardrobe.
"It's fine," Gabriella assured her friend. "I can go alone and get back, I know the way."
"I'll leave the wardrobe door open for you," Lucy replied and kept waving as they both walked away. "She doesn't come into this world through a door which means she isn't able to get back to her country. So she's going to be staying with us until we can get everything sorted out," she explained to an Edmund who was becoming even more uncomfortable with the situation.
The jeans and sweater were not enough. By the time Gabriella reached the Faun's cave-home, she was freezing. She began running once it was in sight, wishing to huddle by the fireplace before having to venture out into the cold woods again. Once she was inside, holding the book and standing near the fire, a knock was heard at the door. Tumnus went over to answer it.
"You need to get out! RUN away! She's coming after you!" a high pitched voice called out. Gabriella looked over to see what was going on.
"What do you mean, Blue?" Tumnus asked.
The voice was coming from a bluejay who was beating her wings frantically as she flew around the entrance. "The Witch— she found out! She knows you've betrayed her! Her police are probably on their way here now!" she cried out.
Tumnus went white with fear. "It's too late then. There's no way I can make it anywhere before they find me. I-I-" he began stumbling over his words in fright.
"What's going on?" Gabriella asked as she approached the door.
The bluejay screamed out in shock. "One of the Daughter's of Eve!" she cried. "You need to get out of here at once. The White Witch cannot get a hold of you!" And then she turned to Tumnus, trying to persuade him to leave too. "Beaver is on his way for a visit, I flew past him just a few moments ago, he'll be able to help."
"If I am arrested, I can throw them off the scent (perhaps literally) of the humans."
Just then, a larger than average beaver came running to them from the edge of the woods.
"There he is now," Blue said and explained the situation to him.
"Here," Tumnus went inside and over to a drawer. He pulled out a napkin. "This is the handkerchief the other Daughter of Eve gave me." He handed it over to Beaver. "I doubt I will see her again. When she returns, give this to her and explain everything. Make sure she is not caught."
"Yes, I will, I will," he assured his friend. And the three of them began discussing the final plans in more detail.
Gabriella stood there in shock. It was one thing to meet a half-goat half-man creature who told you talking animals existed. It was quite another to meet them yourself. All her life she had wanted to be able to talk to her pets, and other animals around her. Try as she might of course, communication was mostly one sided. The animals never understood her. And now, here was her dream right in front of her. Animals of human intelligence with the capability of speech.
"And you," said Beaver addressing her. "It's most important that you do not get captured."
"I can go back to my world," she began.
"No, the path by the lamppost is the most travelled," Tumnus interjected. A calmness had come over him as he became resigned to his fate. "You'll run into her secret police."
"Beaver, you should take her to your home and keep her there," Blue suggested.
"It's a long walk. We should start now, if we don't want them to track us," Beaver and Blue began to leave while Tumnus started towards his chair.
"Wait," Gabriella said, clutching the book to her chest. Everything was happening too fast. She needed to think. "How long will I have to stay there? Lucy will be waiting for me back in our world, and my parents..."
Beaver looked at her with a face full of concern (a beaver's face could look concerned in this place!), "you'll have to stay until everything clears over and they stop searching. That might be—," he looked to the others.
"A month or more," Tumnus said from his chair. He was still feeling faint from what was to come.
Gabriella's heart sunk. Blue landed on her shoulder. "It will be alright. Narnia is... very fun despite the harsh weather and ruler. All the good Talking Animals will treat you like family."
"We need to be going now," Beaver stated gently.
"Tumnus, hand that blanket to the Daughter of Eve. Humans don't have fur or feathers to keep them warm in the snow," said Blue.
A minute later after the quick, teary goodbyes were said, Blue, Beaver, and Gabriella were all on their way to Beaver's home. They started off at a quick pace in order to create a distance between themselves and the cave-home. The sun was setting and the woods started to grow colder and darker. Gabriella was grateful Blue had thought to bring a blanket. As it was, she could hardly feel her feet. Her tennis shoes were completely soaked through.
After a while they slowed so Gabriella could catch her breath. "How much farther is it?" she asked.
"It's still a while off. We should hurry, if we want to make it before the coldest part of the night," Beaver replied. "Once we get there, Mrs. Beaver will have food ready, but we must be careful now. The land is harder to navigate by night for humans. We know you have weaker (begging your pardon) senses than we do."
The three continued to travel at a steady pace. The two animals kept checking on Gabriella, making sure she didn't fall or stumble off into a tree. To herself she thought now they'll think all humans are as clumsy as I am. Suddenly, they were all standing at the edge of steep, narrow valley. With no trees above them, the full moon was able to shine enough light down to reflect off the frozen river which ran through said valley, making it look a lot brighter than it was.
"Wow," the human girl breathed in wonder. She had never seen such a view before. The winter valley seemed to glow a dim white color, and the dark forest created a beautiful frame to the sight.
"It's not much, really it's not," Beaver said as they made their way down. Gabriella was confused for a moment before realizing there was a beaver's dam in the middle of the river. She had been so distracted by the view she had not seen it. Beaver must have thought she was complimenting the dam. Of course. Even though they were talking animals, they still lived in homes appropriate for their species. She felt bad for not actually complimenting it.
"Did you build it all by yourself?" she asked as they made their way to the icy walkway on the top of the dam. It was very big for only one or two beavers to have built it. In the middle and partly on top of the dam was a small house-like building, with a small stream of smoke coming out from the top.
"Most of it, with the help of Mrs. Beaver of course. And it isn't even finished!" he replied.
Blue made a chirping noise that sounded almost like a laugh.
As they approached the door at the side of the house Mr. Beaver called out "We have an unexpected guest, Mrs. Beaver." And then they were inside.
Immediately the warmth from the stove enveloped them and Gabriella felt herself defrost. The home was cozy not only from the fireplace but because of the food that hung in strings from the ceiling. On the wall were shoes, hatchets, and other materials for gardening and fishing. Near the oven stood another beaver, slightly smaller but with just as kind of a face. She wore oven mitts and was reaching in to pull out a tray of food. The smell was enough to make the girl's stomach growl. It hadn't been more than a couple hours since she had had tea and snacks at Mr. Tumnus' home, but the treks through the freezing woods had brought back her appetite.
"Oh my!" Mrs. Beaver said as she saw who had entered. "I'd never thought I'd see the day." She placed the tray on the table and turned to Gabriella. "A Daughter of Eve, in Narnia! We've been waiting for this for so long." She reached out with her unmitted paw to pat Gabriella's hands.
Gabriella smiled, and then Mrs. Beaver told them dinner was ready. There were only two places set as they had not been expecting company, but quickly another set of utensils was found. Mr. Beaver and Blue solemnly explained the situation with Mr. Tumnus to Mrs. Beaver. Her eyes became cloudy as she got the rest of the food out. Blue left with a promise to be back in the morning and soon they began to eat the mixed vegetables and pieces of fish in silence. There was a question that had been bothering Gabriella since they arrived and she decided to ask it then.
"Why are humans so special here in Narnia? Mr. Tumnus explained to Lucy and I that humans were forbidden here, that the White Witch would imprison us if she knew. And everyone else acts as if... as if we are some sort of magical creatures." The irony of the situation was not lost on her.
The two beavers looked at each other before Mr. Beaver spoke.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you're enjoying it. Feel free to comment on the main character, it would be nice to get some feedback.
