I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies. I just think they make the most adorable guinea pigs for my literary experiments.


"Well," said Lucy, fiddling with the bottle that held her cordial and avoiding his eyes. "I guess this is goodbye."

"Aye," said Thomas gravely. The morning sunlight fell lazily across the landscape, grey-yellow rays that made everything look clear but indifferent, as if the day had yet to choose its colors. The area was frighteningly still, with only their small camp making any noise at all.

"You'll be joining with the army, then?" asked Lucy. Thomas nodded.

"There's a camp about a half day's walk from here, we'll be heading for that," he replied. There was a long silence. Then he leaned over, ruffled her hair affectionately and said, "Whatever happens, Lucy Pevensie, I am glad to have met you."

She stood there with her mouth hanging open for a few seconds before she laughed, which felt so good that she had to keep doing it. Thomas straightened out and looked torn between confusion and merriment, a baffled smile twisting his lips.

Thomas and Tumnus, she thought for a very good reason as he bowed to her one last time and left to stand by Carrul and the others. Susan appeared at her side, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezing it gently. Lucy looked up at her, smiled, and looked back over at their friends.

"Good fortune be with you," said Carrul, inclining his head respectfully.

"And with you," replied Peter, doing the same. "Thank you for your guidance in this past week. Please know that if ever you wish to visit, the Cair welcomes you."

"Many thanks, Your Highness. May you be successful in your quest."

"We'll do our best. Good wishes until we meet again, then."

Peter stepped forward, as did Carrul, and they shook hands.

"It has been an honor," said the centaur. Peter nodded his thanks, and then the party was setting off. Lucy watched them go unhappily as they disappeared into the forest. But just before they were gone, Thomas turned, lifted one hand in salute, and winked. She laughed and waved back.

"Good luck!" he called. She smiled and waved one last time before turning to her siblings, who looked solemn but ready, and together they strode to the edge of the lake. A few green-skinned merpeople were resting in the shallows, waiting, and as the monarchs approached they straightened out. The one who seemed to be the chieftain, a powerfully built male with a long, shaggy beard, wore a satchel, and now he reached into it and withdrew a small item. It looked to be an intricate mask, made of different shells pieced together; it had eyeholes but the rest was a solid sheet of shell. He held it up for the Pevensies to see.

"The Mask of Amphitrite," he said in squeaky, hissing voice. "It will bring you safely to the Winter Queen's palace, but only the one who wears it will breathe in water. We will return for the others and bring you one at a time."

The four rulers exchanged a look.

"I'll go first," said Peter, and they didn't argue. "Lu, you'll follow me." Here he paused, as if unwilling to leave either one of his remaining siblings alone on the lakeshore for however long.

"I'll go last," said Edmund firmly. He met Peter's intense gaze evenly, as if daring him to object, but the High King nodded mutely, turned and waded into the lake. When the water was up to his waist, he reached out and took the mask from the merman chieftain.

"I'll be seeing you shortly," he told his siblings, and slipped the shell over his face. It did not slip off, despite the fact that it had no fastenings. He checked his sword-belt briefly then nodded to the merpeople, and two of them swam forward to take hold of his arms. There was a great splash as they took off. Then Lucy and her remaining siblings were left staring at the surface of the lake, ripples moving outward from where their brother had disappeared.

"Be careful," said Susan inconsequentially, as if she'd just thought of it.

They stood in uncomfortable silence for a bit less than ten minutes until finally the merpeople resurfaced. One was a female with flowing golden hair, the other a stocky male with a scar that looked suspiciously like a bite mark from a large fish on his shoulder. Lucy stepped forward into the lake; the water came up to her chest before she was in deep enough to reach them. She took the mask from the mermaid and brought it to her face. When it touched, it stung slightly, like salty breeze on a scrape, but she withdrew her hand and it stayed there. Her field of vision was framed by the eyeholes now, and her mouth felt strange, suddenly very dry. She turned to Edmund and Susan, giving them a little wave before she took the arms of the merpeople and pushed off, plunging into the lake.

It was absolutely freezing and if she hadn't been too surprised by the fact that she could breathe, she would have screamed. Lucy kicked hard and was rewarded as she sped through the water. They were pulling away from the lake bottom now, it was dropping out beneath them as they swam over a deep pit of endless blue. She let her eyes pass over the shoals of silvery fish and the fluttering of kelp and other water plants. They came to rest on something else.

Crumbling stone walls, a broken gate, currents that pulled little schools of fish back and forth far beneath the glowing surface of the lake. The remains of what once had been a glorious castle. Turrets like broken limbs, jutting up into the frigid water, casting dark, menacing shadows that danced with the changing light from above.

She jerked out of the dream-memory and shuddered visibly. The mermaid turned to her in concern, pointing to the surface with a questioning look but Lucy shook her head. She wouldn't go back because of a silly dream. But the castle was there, just as she had dreamt it – looming, ominous, sinister somehow, a huge structure that dominated everything else in the landscape. She couldn't escape the sick feeling of dread that swelled within her stomach at the sight, but she swam on doggedly, her chain mail weighing her down. If the merpeople hadn't been there she surely would have had to walk across the bottom of the lake; it was impossible to swim in it without assistance.

After what seemed like hours (but was probably only five minutes), they changed their angle to drop beyond the gates, in a courtyard of the ruined castle. It was equally ghostly up close, like a horror story waiting to unfold. The two merpeople let go of her arms and nodded towards an open doorway, so she walked towards it, her movements sluggish in the water, her hair, cloak and dress drifting eerily behind her. When she put one arm inside it was the oddest feeling – it was dry, as if there was a barrier in the air itself. She stepped fully inside and pulled the mask from her face, handing it through the doorway to the waiting merman. Then the two were swimming off, and she turned to Peter, who was leaning against one stone wall.

"Not exactly welcoming, is it?" he joked weakly. She noticed that his clothes were completely dry and was about to ask how he'd done it when she looked at herself and saw that the same was true for her. He smiled. "Yes, I was a bit surprised too. I expect it's that mask."

"Right," said Lucy distractedly, looking around the room. It was a hallway of some sort, completely unadorned except for candle-holders every so often on the wall. To her immense surprise, there were torches burning in them, crackling at full height as if they'd just been lit. She assumed it was magic that kept them that way. "So…what are we looking for, again?"

"We're waiting for Su and Ed, first," said Peter. "After that, I really don't know. Anything could have been enchanted to grant power to whoever stumbled across it. I think we'll know when we find it, though."

" Okay." She turned her attention to the stone walls, running a hand across them. They were completely free of dust. It was as if everything had been preserved perfectly. Sighing, she sank down on the floor cross-legged and rested her chin on her hands. Several long minutes passed, then there was a sound from the outside and Susan came through the doorway.

"Bit nippy," she commented, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself up. The entire castle felt chilly, thought Lucy, and drew her own cloak around her shoulders a little tighter. They waited longer for Ed than for anyone – after fifteen unbearable minutes which only saw Peter looking more and more anxious, he finally staggered through the doorway looking quite ill. Susan placed a hand on his arm.

"Are you all right?" she asked. He shook his head miserably, bending over with his hands on his knees, trembling visibly.

"Is it the castle?" asked Lucy. He gave her a look, nodded, and turned his face away in shame.

"It's okay to be upset," said Susan kindly, and she gave him a gentle hug. He gave her a feeble but grateful smile.

"Sorry," he said in a small voice. Lucy looked over at Peter, who was biting his lip.

"When you're ready, Ed," he said, and she had the feeling it had come out a little more brusquely than he'd wanted.

"I'm all right," said Edmund. He stood up straighter as if to prove it, his face pale but his breathing even.

"I think we ought to split up," said Peter, looking around at them all. "Two and two. Lucy, you come with me, all right?"

" Okay," she agreed.

"Shout if you find anything, then?" said Peter to Susan and Ed, who nodded, and they walked together until the hallway split into two staircases, one going up and one going down. Susan put a hand on the banister of the one leading downward, glancing at Ed; he shrugged and they set off down it.

"See you soon," called Lucy, and followed Peter up the other stairway. The utter tranquillity of the palace frightened her somewhat. She placed a hand on her cordial as if to reassure herself, and headed up into the unknown.