Chapter 1:
Ben's eyes shoot open quickly. Quickly, he begins grabbing around himself, touching his head, neck, torso, and skimming down his legs to check for injuries. Funny enough, he didn't have any.
"Interesting."
He stands up, glancing around. He was expecting to see the road, the car, Lauren and Mrs. Smith freaking out, or the house he was staying in. But, he doesn't see any of that either.
He starts internally panicking. "Did I just flat out die? That's it?"
Taking a few steps in a random direction, he stops quickly to try and see if he does recognize the area, but he simply can't. Surrounded by trees in every direction, and everything is covered in snow.
He sighs. "Let's start walking somewhere."
However, he had only been walking for about a minute before he heard noises. Sleigh bells, someone speaking, and an animal groan. He stares over to his left, and is surprised as to what he sees.
There is a dwarf, with a thick beard and long stocking cap standing next to several reindeer that were being used to pull a sleigh. Sitting in the sleigh was a woman, with pale skin, white clothing, and she appeared to be rather large.
The woman stares at him with cold eyes, as does the dwarf.
"Who are you?" She snaps, coldly.
"What? Who are you, first off?" Ben replies, thrown off by the two.
"Do not be silly with me, Son of Adam. What is your name?"
"Son of Adam? That's not even my dad's name-"
"Answer my question!"
He takes a deep breath. "Ben."
"And how, Ben, did you come to enter my dominion?"
"Your dominion? What even is this place? Am I dead or some shit?"
"Do not disrespect our Queen, Son of Adam," the dwarf sneers at him. "It would become your biggest mistake."
"Queen? What the fuck is going on here?"
"You do not want to know what I do to creatures I find troubling," the Queen stands, showing herself to be significantly taller than Ben. She holds in her hand a crystal wand that looks somewhat like a carved icicle.
"Perhaps another question is more fitting, Ben? So answer this, what family do you have? And are they here?"
Ben hesitates before answering. "I have two sisters. But, they're dead."
The Queen sits back down. "Well, I suppose Ginnabrik can finish the job."
The dwarf laughs as he draws a knife. Ben darts over to look at him. The dwarf slashes at Ben, but misses. Ben turns and runs in the opposite direction, not wishing to engage in a fight. As he runs, he can hear the Queen shouting at Ginnabrik as he chases Ben.
"Do not let him escape!"
Ben picks up his pace, not looking over his shoulder as he gets distance between the two. His only comfort is that the dwarf is never able to catch up to him.
After double and triple checking that the two he ran into earlier weren't anywhere visible, Ben sighs, leaning against a tree. By now, it had started snowing, which Ben found quite relieving.
"That'll cover tracks," he says out loud, not knowing someone else could hear him.
"Not quite," another voice responds, not one that he recognizes.
"What the fuck?"
The voice laughs as the figure reveals himself, walking right up to Ben. Ben stares down at the animal that had just talked.
"Okay, fox, I'm not stupid, and you're definitely not taking me. So before I consider kicking you in the head, explain where we are and how you're talking."
"Don't fret, human. We're perfectly capable of taking you."
"We're?"
The fox shouts as loud as it can. "Hey, I found the human the Witch is after!"
"Listen here, shut the fuck up!"
Ben turns to start running, but the fox lunges at bites at his coat's sleeve, intentionally missing Ben's hand. Ben lifts up, raising the fox onto its hind legs before pushing at its neck and forcing it off himself. The fox rolls over a couple times, before quickly popping back on its feet.
During the time that this happened, Ben had been surrounded by several other creatures he wasn't expecting. Three centaurs, a satyr, and four fauns were standing around him, cutting off any further escape.
"Do not run, Son of Adam," the biggest centaur speaks in an extremely deep voice. "We're here to help."
"Here to help?" Ben retorts, glancing around at his forces. "How can you help? Where even are we? How can I trust you all? Who are you?"
"I am Orieus, and we are warriors of Aslan. We are organizing a rebellion against the Witch, to bring Narnia back to the glory it once had."
"What is Narnia? Is that where we are? Who's Aslan?"
"We are in Narnia, yes. Aslan is the Great Lion, the creator of Narnia, and ruler above all others. The Witch took over Narnia from him nearly 100 years ago, but her rule and the Everlasting Winter will be ending soon, with our efforts."
Ben takes a deep breath. "That's a lot to take in. And you're a centaur, you're traveling with a satyr, fauns, and a talking fox, none of which I've ever seen before."
"Where do you live that you have never seen a Narnian before?"
"Minnesota."
"I have never heard of it. Perhaps we really are from different places."
"It would seem so. Speaking of which, is the Witch you mentioned the tall woman with a dwarf servant riding around in a sleigh?"
"She has much more followers than the traitor dwarf, but yes," the fox explains for Orieus. "You can call me Fox. What was your name, Son of Adam?"
"Ben. Short for Benedict."
"So are you with us?" Orieus asks. "We are heading to regroup with allies near Dancing Lawn."
Ben hesitates. "Why should I trust you? That you won't just lead me to the Witch for execution?"
Orieus draws a sword, before spinning it around in his hand to offer it to Ben. Ben grabs it, shaking it around to get a feel of the weight before lowering it in his arm.
"One more question. Anyone have a phone?"
"What's that?"
"Alright, nevermind. Let's go."
"We're terribly sorry, Sir, it won't happen again. Let's go, Susan."
"No, wait, Peter. It's our sister, Lucy."
The girl, Susan, stands firm, staring at the eldery man while not letting her older brother pull her away.
"The one who was weeping," the older man replies to the girl standing in front of him.
"Yes, she's upset."
"Hence the weeping."
"It's nothing," the older boy, Peter, tries once again to leave with Susan, "We can handle it."
"Professor, our sister thinks she's found a magical land, in the upstairs wardrobe," Susan says very bluntly to the old man.
The Professor's head shoots up from his tea. "What did you say?"
He puts a hand on her shoulder, gently guiding her to have a seat in one of the chairs in his office, while Peter attempts to elaborate.
"Lucy thinks that there's a snowy forest in the wardrobe, the one upstairs."
"And she just won't stop going on about it!" Susan adds.
"And what was it like?" The Professor asks.
"Like talking to a lunatic!"
"No, no, not that. The forest."
"You believe her?"
"You don't?"
"Of course not. I mean logically, it's impossible."
"Logic? My, oh my, what do they teach in schools these days?"
"To be fair," Peter jumps in once again, "Edmund did say they were pretending."
"And he's the more truthful one?"
"No, this would be the first time, actually."
"Well, then, she's not lying, and she's obviously not mad, so you must assume that she's telling the truth."
"So, you're saying we should trust her?" Susan tries to clarify.
"I think you should trust her. After all, you're family. And in this day and age, with you youngsters growing quickly, it's time to start acting like one."
Susan rolls over in her bed again, this time facing away from her sleeping sister.
"Is this where my life leads? Just nowhere? Unable to do anything about it?"
She sighs, closing her eyes to try to fall asleep.
"Maybe sometimes, something will change."
Ben walks through the camp, which lately has been increasing the amount of people in it. It isn't even dawn yet, but already Narnians are getting ready for the day, cooking meals, and a couple have started molding to make more weapons for the assembling army.
"This doesn't happen in Minnesota."
It had been a massive challenge for him to keep the Narnians alive, let alone organized. After his escape from the witch, her wolf patrols had constantly been searching around for him and other known threats to her rule. Even dryads living in the tree were choosing sides, either joining the fight for freedom or betraying all causes of good and often spying on Ben.
Over the year he had been in his current position, he had practiced sword fighting daily, learned how to ride a horse, practically memorized much of the surrounding area, learned of effective military strategy, and perfected secrecy tactics with Oreius and others they truly trusted.
6 months ago
"So, that's another traitor gone," Ben stares at Oreius.
"I am sorry that I could not catch that dryad," Oreius replies. "If he had not made it to General Otmin and a group of her soldiers, I would've engaged him. But now, maybe I should've gone for it and risked death."
"Hey, Orieus, it's alright, you did what you could. But instead of killing yourself in an unwinnable battle, I'm glad you came back instead."
Ben sighs, before continuing. "We're moving camp now. But even if you caught and killed that fucker, who's to say someone else didn't find out where we were hiding? We can't get stuck on 'what-ifs.'"
"That is good to hear from you, Benedict."
Ben smirks. "I introduced myself as Ben. Haven't I already said why? But that's not the point."
Ben pauses again, before thinking of something great.
"Orieus, you don't know sign language, right?"
"What's sign language?"
"I have an idea for a simpler code we can use. We'll keep it tight and it should work. I can teach you."
In that time since, Orieus and the others he taught had learned ASL well, and they used it subtly to communicate when they found it necessary. Currently, however, Ben is looking for Orieus through the camp they have set up near the Stone Table. Stepping into the center tent while trying to find the centaur, he is shocked at who is before him. He may not have met the Great Lion yet, but he could quickly figure it out.
"Aslan!"
He turns around as the Son of Adam bows to him. "Benedict. You have done a lot since entering my realm."
"Uh, yes, I guess I have. It's been the craziest year of my life."
"Do not deny it, my Son. Your work has helped bring about the Golden Age of Narnia."
"Thank you, Aslan."
"Now, Benedict, I have a very important task for you."
"What is it?"
"The prophecy is about to come true."
"Prophecy? What prophecy?"
"2 Sons of Adam, and 2 Daughters of Eve will enter, and with your guidance, they will defeat the White Witch."
Ben nods. "Where do I go to meet them?"
"You should head to Beaversdam. Beaver already expects you. From there, head to the home of Tumnus, a Faun who lives close to the lamppost. Then come back here with them, for there will be more to do."
"Alright. I'll meet Beaver. Thank you, Aslan."
Ben bows once more, before leaving the tent to notify Orieus of his immediate departure.
Ben takes a deep breath, before approaching the lodge and knocking on a firm looking piece of the door. It only takes a couple seconds before the door swings open, and he finds himself staring at a beaver.
"You're Benedict, right?" The beaver talks to Ben.
"Yes, I am," he replies, no longer phased at talking to things he didn't always believe could talk.
"Well, it's good to meet you, then. I'm Mr. Beaver, and Mrs. Beaver is just inside. Come on in now, though, we need to talk."
"Yes, we do," Ben ducks way down to avoid hitting his head. The height to the ceiling doesn't seem to ever get higher than 4 feet.
"Beaver?" A voice shouts out. "Did you let Badger come over without letting me know again?"
"I'm not a badger, Ma'am," Ben responds, before seeing the second figure staring at him in shock. "You must be Mrs. Beaver."
"Well, I am, Sir, it's good to meet you," she begins talking hastily, "Here, have a seat right here."
"Uhhhh," Ben stares at the chair offered. His weight would definitely break it. "Thank you for the offer."
Ben sits down on the floor, surprised that it isn't as bad as he thought it would be. "So, Mr. Beaver, I'm heading for Tumnus' house, the faun, and I know you know where it is, so…"
"We can't go to his house," Beaver replies while sitting in a chair, yet still not sizing up to Ben.
"Why not?"
"He got raided by the Witch's police. Probably led by Maugrim."
Ben stares at him in disbelief. "Why?"
"Apparently he met a Daughter of Eve, named Lucy Pevensie."
"You mean to see there's other humans here? That I'm not the only one?"
"I don't know, I never met the human girl. But I talked to Tumnus 2 days ago, and his house was raided yesterday. He's either lying dead inside it, or he's been taken to the Witch's castle."
Ben takes a deep breath. "Okay. It's already almost sunset, so here's the plan: we spend the night here, then tomorrow you take me to his house. We'll work from there, trying to see if we find any other humans while we're out there."
Beaver hesitates before nodding. "Sounds quite alright."
"Great to hear. Now, Mrs. Beaver, need help with dinner?"
The Next Day
"Wake up! Beaver!"
Beaver groans. "Alright, alright."
Ben sighs. "Is he always like this?"
"I deal with it everyday, sweetie," Mrs. Beaver responds, "It's a skill that has to be learned. You sleep alright?"
"Yeah, considering the tightness of the space, and that I don't have cramps in my knees, so it's good."
"You have a bad knee?"
"It's kinda hard to explain, but yeah, you could say that."
Ben looks over his shoulder. "Nice to see you awake, old man. Your joints worse than mine?"
Mr. Beaver groans. "Let's just eat and get going."
Ben takes the bread, immediately taking a massive bite out of it. "It's good bread."
"Thank you, dear."
While Mr. Beaver is still getting a grasp on what exactly is going on, Ben is sitting around again waiting for him. "Come on, Beaver, how fast of eaters are you guys?"
"Well, it depends on how hungry I am, and how important the wood is," He responds sarcastically.
"Well, I'd say today is pretty important, in my opinion, at least-"
"Okay, okay, I'm done, Ben. Let's get going, follow me."
Shorter than I plan on making the average chapter, but this should help establish some more and give helpful foreshadowing for years into the future! For now, enjoy the chapter! Leave a review, let me know what you think!
