Chapter Two

Apollo and Daphne

It could have been hours or merely seconds, Edmund couldn't tell which, before he could recover from his shock. When he did, he quickly sprang forward and grabbed Bacchus away from his sister and dragged him several feet towards an area of the woods illuminated by moonlight.

If the youthful god was startled at this interruption, he didn't appear to show it. Edmund figured he was just too used to be being drunk, nothing unexpected surprised him anymore.

"What is your wish, young faun?"

Edmund was startled at how even his voice sounded and his facial expression remained as jolly as before. He let go of him and stepped back. "You can't have her!"

"And why not?" It should have been a threat but Bacchus only seemed to be amused with him like he was a child speaking nonsense. "She is a free daughter of nature and I have offered her to be among my consorts. Go run on, young one and find yourself another nymph of your own."

"I am no faun!" declared Edmund. "I'm Edmund, the king of Narnia and she is no nymph either. She's my sister Susan, the Queen. I don't care if you're a god! Aslan crowed her himself and I don't think he'd appreciated it if he found out you were trying to seduce her." Edmund felt he really needed to make his argument clear, though he wasn't sure any form of reasoning at all could get across Bacchus.

Bacchus's brows twitched slightly. It was the only hint that he was concerned at all about this. He stared at Edmund and seemed to recognize him. "My apologies, I didn't realize," he said though Edmund felt he wasn't sorry at all. Nothing seems to bother him.

"What a pity. She is a fine one," continued Bacchus. "She has such spirit… ah well perhaps I'll find another in a few centuries." A goblet appeared in his hand out of thin air and he drank deeply from it. Edmund decided to leave him with his wine and he back tracked to find his sister. But when he turned back to the place where he left her, she was no longer there.

"Su?" he called out. "Where are you? It's time to go home!"

There was no answer, but a moment later there was a sound of light footsteps cracking under dried leaves. Edmund turned to find Bacchus behind him, goblet still in hand and looking as merry as ever.

"I realized something," he said airily. "If she is the Queen, then she is human."

"Of course, she's human," said Edmund. "All four of us are."

"Ahhh, then a fit warning to you my dear sir: I think you should stay away from her tonight."

Edmund eyed him warily. "Why's that?"

Bacchus made a silly little hand gesture as if he was a child playing with an invisible cord around his fingers and he was grinning madly. "Well I never really had much of a problem with this before… you see you're the first humans in Narnia to ever attend my feast… but in other worlds of course… there are complications…"

"What complications?"

"It's no trouble with the nymphs, oh no," he continued as if he hadn't heard Edmund. "They can go as fierce as they can but since there are no such things as male nymphs, it was never really a problem."

Edmund understood nothing of what Bacchus said, but he sensed it was important. "And so?"

"Ahhh you see… humans are different. There are male… and female… Maenads for the night attract beings of their own kind… but of opposite sex…"

"What are you saying?" Edmund asked as dread crept in him. "You mean she attracts men?"

"Oh, they can't help it…" said Bacchus jovially. "Dear souls especially if they drank too much of my wine. But I hope the poor fellows have the sense to keep their distance if they prefer to keep their limbs intact and wake to see another sunrise…"

Edmund's blood suddenly ran cold. "My brother, the High King is out there!" Edmund shouted at the drunk god. "If she finds him…"

Bacchus' smile grew smaller. Edmund realized that that was as close as he could get to a worried expression. "Well… er… perhaps we should find him then… before she does." He made a move to go forward but he was too sluggish and he stumbled down into the ground.

Edmund glared at him. Bacchus would only deter him if he tagged along and time was running.

"Never mind helping!" Edmund said angrily. "I'll look for them myself. But you better hope that I do before something bad happens to them. If I don't, don't count on having any nymphs attending your festival again."

Bacchus gave a hiccup then laughed. "You can't ban my festival."

"No, I can't but I can order the nymphs not to attend!"

Edmund was rather surprised that Bacchus' smile disappeared completely. He knew immediately that the threat hit home. He didn't stay to gloat, however. He dashed back to the clearing and headed towards the tree where he had left his brother. He wasn't there anymore, neither was Semele. He thought of the nymph and was sorry for having abandoned her, but he quickly put that minor worry out of his head for later. Something more urgent needed to be done. He had to find his brother before his sister did. Who knows what she might do if she did find him first.

The Maenads had by now dispersed from the clearing and had gone on dancing into the woods. A few fauns and nymphs had gone back to dancing, but neither Peter nor Susan was among them. Edmund caught sight of a furry leg disappearing behind a tree and rushed on to it. Unfortunately, that leg didn't belong to Peter but to a faun who was quite busy with a nymph. Edmund quickly left them alone, but he had no time to be ashamed at what he just witnessed. He gritted his teeth then began seeking for Peter and Susan frantically among the more dim areas of Dancing Lawn.

Several bushes and three blush shades darker later, Edmund was already desperate. His search earned him quite a bit more information about faun-nymph mating rituals than he wanted to know but he was no closer to finding his siblings. On top of all that, his imagination was getting creative in a very bad way. He wondered what exactly would he see when he did find them together. He didn't know which picture would be worse: seeing his brother being violently killed by his deranged sister or finding them engaged in an altogether more 'affectionate' activity.

He returned to the clearing and blindly took to the northwestern section of the woods. It was here that Dancing Lawn opened to fields and then ended with the waters of the Great River that flowed northwards towards the Fords of Beruna and eventually gushed out to the sea near Cair Paravel. The fields were bare as the plants have just been harvested. When he passed the shelter of the trees, he could see the entire stretch of wide-open fields bordered by the riverbank.

In a distance he could see two figures. One was twirling gracefully in the moonlight with her long tendrils of hair flying as if inviting anyone to come and touch those magnificent strands. The other in his ripped faun skin tried to half-run after the first figure. However, his unsteady gait kept him from fully capturing her in his eager arms. They went on as if in a futile chase; she enticing him to come closer, he unable to reach her by barely a hair's breadth.

Edmund ran the length of the fields as fast as he could. He could feel his ragged breath desperately begging for rest and his legs aching but he knew he just had to go on He had to reach them in time!

But finally, she was cornered by the riverbank and she could run no further. Edmund watched in horror as her triumphant lover leaped forward, enveloped her in an amorous embrace and buried his face in her hair. Edmund felt ill for only a split-second. For in the next instant, the reluctant maiden had attempted to push her captor away. In their struggle, both lost their balance and they tumbled into the river.

"NO!" Edmund cried as he rushed into the river's edge. The Great River was an unforgiving force that could send you rushing for miles into the coarse rocks that bordered the Fords of Beruna in minutes. Edmund could just imagine fishing out what was left of his siblings when the current carried their broken body parts and deposited them on the beaches of Cair Paravel. His terror intensified when he saw the waters of the river. It was red! Bloody red!

Edmund ran forward to the bank just as two figures emerged from the water a short distance away. He jumped in and was surprised that the cold red water was only waist deep when it should have been up to his neck, or perhaps even above his head. He realized that in the summer, the river's water level was lower and that there were some parts that were shallow. Luckily, this appeared to be one of them. The current also seemed so much slower and he noticed the water emitted a strangely sweet smell. It was wine! The water had turned into Bacchus' wine!

His siblings however were far from being out of danger. They were still struggling together in the wine with Peter attempting to kiss Susan, and Susan resisting. She managed to scratch Peter viciously across the chest and he backed away slightly. It gave her the advantage and she grabbed Peter by the back of the neck and pushed him headlong into the river of wine.

Oh no, she's going to drown him!

Edmund sprang into action and grabbed Susan from behind with both arms. She turned to him and began struggling madly, shrieking and flaying her legs around but he held to her tight and managed to carry her back to the river bank. However, Peter had also managed to get out of the river and turned his jealous eyes on Edmund.

"She's mine!" he shouted as he swung his fist at his younger brother.

Edmund had to let Susan go to avoid the assault and she scampered away. But Peter grabbed her left arm near her elbow and yanked her back to him. She in turn clawed him again across the chest.

"Stop it!" cried Edmund as he grabbed Peter by the back and dragged him away from her.

"She's mine, I tell you! My nymph! I saw her first!"

"I'm sure you did!" Edmund shouted back. "On the day she was born, you idiot!"

Peter tried to swing again at Edmund, but his hazy brain made his aim bad. Edmund saw that Susan was headed their way for another assault. Her eyes were blazing with a fury that was almost inhuman. Edmund realized he couldn't handle both of his siblings like this.

"Sorry Peter, but this is for your own good!" He gave his brother a solid punch on the left side of his face that knocked him unconscious.

Edmund then turned to Susan. He grabbed her, tossed her over his shoulder and ran as fast as he could towards the trees. She managed to hit with her fists and claw him a few times, but he was stronger and was finally able to tie her up with vines to a nearby cypress tree. He returned for his unconscious older brother and carried him back to the edge of the woods. Edmund tied him to a laurel a short distance from Susan.

When he was done, Edmund lay panting with exhaustion on grass. He could still hear Susan whimpering softly from her binds but she was starting to quiet down. Edmund figured she would fall asleep soon.

He heard a rustle of leaves and he looked up in alarm. There was a cluster of flying leaves. They finally formed together into a familiar figure.

"Semele!" he gasped in relief.

"Edmund! What happened?" she asked with deep concern. "You disappeared so suddenly, I was worried."

"Siblings…" he panted. "At each other… had to get them away…"

She noticed Peter and Susan and nodded that she understood. She knelt next to him. "Come, you are hurt. I think I may know someone to tend your wounds."

Semele helped him up and led him back to the clearing and one of her sister nymphs cleaned his wounds. While, he was attended to, a faun came by with word from Bacchus. The wine god sent his apologies and grateful thanks for saving the High King He offered assistance in any way to make up. Edmund chalked this up in his mind. He never knew when a favour from Bacchus might come in handy someday.

When his scratches and bruises were dressed, he settled down to rest on the grass and watched the stars in the sky. It was quiet now as the dances were over and the nymphs and fauns were busy with other things elsewhere. Edmund figured it would be dawn in a few hours.

"I supposed the Bacchanalia is a bit too much for humans," said Semele. She lay next to him and was also staring up at the sky.

"Yes, I think so," said Edmund. "I don't think I'll ever come to one again after this. It's too nerve-racking."

"How unfortunate," said Semele who sounded really disappointed. "The Bacchanalia is not meant to be so. I wished circumstances were different for you. I would have shown you how wonderful it could be."

Edmund smiled wistfully as he watched his favorite constellation, the Ship, though his mind was far from adventures at the moment. He had other ideas closer to home. "Maybe you still can," he whispered gallantly before turning sideways to look at her. She turned the same time as he did.

He closed his eyes and felt her lips touch his.

Peter woke up with a splitting headache. He saw that first rays of dawn had just appeared from the east. He made a move to touch his head and was surprised that he couldn't move his arm. In fact he couldn't move any part of his body from shoulder to stomach. He opened his eyes wide and found he was tied to a tree with vines. Peter suddenly grew alarmed and he tried to recall why he was there, but he couldn't. In fact, he couldn't remember anything of what happened last night except for dancing with a nymph and kissing her. There was a hazy memory of him chasing what he knew was a beautiful woman but he couldn't seem to recall her face. He quickly dismissed the image as he thought of the present situation.

He noticed that the faun skin he put on last night was torn in several places and he felt sticky all over. He could feel several aches in his body that he could not remember where he got. One side of his face was particularly throbbing.

Where am I and why am I all tied up? He glanced around and he could see the riverbank a few meters away. At least he knew he was still in Narnia. The body of water had to be the Great River near Dancing Lawn. Were we attacked last night? If so, by whom? And where is Edmund?

There was an agonized moan near him and he recognized it immediately. "Su?" he called.

"Peter, is that you? Where are you?" she cried desperately.

"I'm tied to a laurel tree. Where are you?"

"I'm also tied to a tree! It's a cypress."

Peter glanced around and saw the cypress. He noticed there were vines surrounding near the base of the tree in an unusual manner. It moved slightly but didn't snap. He realized that Susan was tied at the other side away from his vision.

"Hang on, I'll try to get myself loose." The vines were too strong for him to loosen by his arms and he searched for anything that he could possibly use to cut them. He found a rough piece of stone and used it to cut through his cords. He struggled with it for several minutes before he finally cut through. When he was loose, he quickly got up and headed towards the cypress tree. What he saw there made his heart jump with panic.

Susan was tied the same way as he was. But it was her appearance that looked alarming. Her dress was torn in several places so much that her arms and a large part of her chest were bare. Everything from her feet to her upper thigh was also exposed. Her hair was in such disarray and was littered with flowers and leaves. She smelled strongly of wine like she bathed in it and there was an ugly bruise on her left arm as if someone had gripped her forcefully there. Peter imagined the worse as he hurriedly cut her bonds. When she was free he pulled her up and quickly held her in a protective hug.

"Are you hurt? Who's done this to you?"

"I-I don't know, Peter," she whimpered with fright, and she began to cry on his shoulder. "I don't remember anything!"

She was shaking with sobs and Peter felt as if he was being stabbed in the chest with her pain. He remembered how badly he had treated her the night before. This is all my fault! Why did I ever think of seeking out an adventure like this! She was right to keep me in line! The Ceresian may not be as exciting but at least nothing like this had ever happened. If someone had hurt her…

He could do nothing but just hold her tighter to his bare chest. He winced slightly when she touched a mysterious scratch there.

"You're hurt!" she gasped as she noticed the ugly red marks on his chest. "Oh Peter your face!" Her fingers gently touched his left cheek where he could feel a bruise was. It must look as black and blue as her arm.

She sobbed even harder and Peter boiled with fury at whoever did this to his sister. He was going to kill him.

"Shhh… it's okay," he whispered to her. He was too busy trying to quiet her that he didn't hear the sound of running footsteps from behind him until it was too late. A pair of strong arms had grabbed him from the back.

"Get away from her!" his attacker shouted. But Peter didn't have time to register the voice. His anger fueled by his fear and panic made him react and he blindly punched whoever it was that tried to grab him as hard as he could.

Susan screamed and Peter tried to hold her again to keep her safe but she pulled away from him and gave him an accusatory look. Peter was confused and looked down at the ground at his now moaning attacker. He realized he just made a very big mistake.

"Ed?"

A/N: This isn't over yet. Another chapter is coming to wrap everything up.

I used the promotional film map of Narnia to chart out the location of the Great River and Dancing Lawn. In the map, the Great River runs through near Dancing Lawn, flows northwards pass the Fords of Beruna and exits to the Eastern Ocean near Cair Paravel.

Here are more mythology lessons. I was a bit confused earlier regarding Satyrs and Fauns. In the film, these were two beings. Fauns have human-like faces but goat feet, satyrs looked goat-like form head down. But when I checked the background literature, fauns and satyrs are the same. Fauns are Roman versions of satyrs. I decided that for the sake of keeping it simple, I just kept to fauns.

I named Peter's unicorn Aglaia. Aglaia is the name of one of the Graces that accompany Apollo, it means splendour.

I know I said I don't write incest, but I did come close to it here. I just couldn't resist using the story of Apollo and Daphne in this story because it fitted so well and could be used for a good laugh. If you're familiar with the myth, Daphne is a water nymph who has made a vow never to marry. When Apollo chased her she ran away from him and came upon a river where her father was the god. She asked him to save her from the sun god and so her father turned her into a tree. Any guesses what that tree is?

Anyway, the next chapter would restore everything to order, including Peter's and Susan's relationship. Thanks to those who reviewed and read the story.