A/N: Yet, another update. I am really busy these days with clinicals and work at the hospital, but I'll write whenever I can. Trust me – I will never give up on this story, even if there will be some time between updates. I appreciate all of your patience, and I promise, I will reply any question here in the author's notes.
Oh, and for those you sent me PM's, the voice of Voytek sounds much alike Paathurnax' voice from the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim x.
Now, read on, and I hope you enjoy!
Soundtracks:
Winterfell – Ramin Djawadi
Wildfire – Ramin Djawadi
Himinbjorg - Jeremy Soule
The day after a memorial service was meant to be a day for grieving, and so it was eerily quiet in the village and in the castle, with the exception of the scuttle of servants and maidens and guards going about their daily duties. It was snowing heavily outside, and the people of Narnia had given up on the hope to see the sun again. The summer had been short, too short, and a heavy winter was ahead. The Telmarines thought it odd, yes, but the Narnians… Their suspicions grew more for each day, and they were worried, resolving to stay inside their homes, be it in trees, caves, in houses, in the woods, dams or the like.
The weather, along with the fact that the Pevensies had a whole day to their disposal, they slept in to get their rest. It was a rarity they seldom allowed themselves these days. Lucy as well, allowed her this, as she knew Voytek the polar bear, last of the White-Marshals, needed his rest, and so there was no rush in waking her brothers' and sister.
Said sister were currently shifting under warm covers, rousing slightly as she did. It was warm and the bed a welcome comfort, but, a thought struck her drowsy mind as she blinked open her icy-blue eyes, ridden with sleep and inhibited her eyesight for a moment as she grew accustom to the light; it was not her bed.
Furthermore, she was not alone. Memories from the night before danced in her head. The memorial service, her hunt after Caspian whilst he disappeared…. The wine. Oh gods, the wine. The room spun, and the light made her head ache – truth to be told, she had not been hungover since a great party her siblings held for her 30th birthday in the Golden Age. It was not something she had missed.
Once orientated, she was reminded of the weight beside her, that was still sleeping comfortably. Caspian was a silent sleeper, but she could tell he slept well; his face was free of all concerns and troubles of court-life, and his body sank and rose evenly with each breath.
Susan's instinct was to leave, and it wasn't long before she silently sat on the edge of the bed, and quickly dressed. As she tied the corset on the front, Caspian shifted in the spot beside her, dragging a hand across his face as he removed sleep from his system.
"Susan," he called in surprise, his voice husky and sleepy, and yet oh-so sexy. Susan flicked her hair over her shoulder, freeing it from its braids and pearls, deciding to let it flow free, and in a less… Suspicious manner. She turned her head around and watched him sit up, trying to place a hand on her shoulder as he did. Before he could, she stood up and turned to face him.
"Caspian, I'm sorry, but I have to go,"
"Wait, what?" he mumbled as he stood up from the bed as she walked towards the doors. He stood by her side, and she stopped in her tracks, stepping away to get some distance between them.
"This… It cannot happen. I… It was a mistake, and I'm sorry," she said, her gaze fixated upon him, but her whole being wanted to escape. He noticed her fleeting voice, her anxious way of facing him. He tried to step closer and give her bicep a comforting squeeze as he beheld her gaze with his. She might've as well been a frightened animal.
"Why are you fighting this? It's alright…" he tried to reassure her in a gentle voice. He did not blame her for feeling this way, nor did he regret their night together, and he knew she didn't either, but he wanted her to understand; understand that it was quite alright to have someone that cared for her, that she didn't have to lock her heart away like this. He knew she was stubborn, caring, and had the most beautiful soul he had ever met – it saddened him that she felt she had to retreat from him.
She took a step further away from him and removed her arm.
"You know why," she hissed, her eyes glossy. He exhaled through his nose, his warm, brown eyes expressive as he read her.
"Look – I understand it's hard, and that you're afraid… But it doesn't have to be like this. Please, don't fight this," he said gently as he straightened up. His shirtless, powerful and muscly torso would distract her, and maybe even coach her at a different setting, but right now, she couldn't handle all of this. Last night wasn't supposed to happen, and even if she needed it, if they needed it… Needed some kind of… liberation from the world and the chaos they were currently in, it still was not meant to be. She couldn't put her heart through the pain of it all again, once they left.
She didn't have it in her to answer him, to euthanize the hope of them ever being together; instead, a shaky sigh escaped her lips, tears threatened to spill, and before they could roll down her cheeks, she turned away, walked out the doors to his bedchamber, and did not turn back to his call of her name as the Gentle Queen rushed off to her own chambers. She was grateful that she did not stumble upon anyone in the early hours of the morning as sorrowful tears streaked down her cheeks.
Caspian was left standing in the centre of the room as his gaze lingered on the shut doors. A frustrated sigh escaped him as he turned towards the edge of the bed and slammed his closed fist upon one of the tall bedposts before resting his forehead against that fist in both dejection and frustration. That woman tormented him in a way no one else has, and her own tormenting of herself certainly didn't help. How could he make her see?
. . .
"Morning, Ed," Peter yawned as he found his seat at the breakfast table. Edmund had already started engulfing his first meal of the day with vigour. He mumbled back a "'murnfh' and continued to hog down on his platter of fruits, breads and cheese.
Peter could only laugh and begin on his platter for himself as he started conversing with Trumpkin the dwarf and Caine.
Not by long, Susan and Lucy joined them for breakfast as well. Caspian, however, was not to be seen. When Lucy questioned this very fact, both of her brothers could only shrug and suggest he was still asleep. Edmund noticed Susan's silence and sad gaze, and decided not to push the matter further.
"Morning, girls!" Peter beamed as he pushed the silver jug of water their way once they took their seats.
"I have fascinating news, everyone," Lucy exclaimed from her seat, receiving everyone's attention.
With everyone's attentive and expectant news upon her, Lucy cleared her throat and continued.
"Professor Cornelius showed me something yesterday that I'm sure will help us along during this winter, or at least, postpone it," Lucy said with a nod towards the elderly scholar.
"Oh?" Peter mused, now intrigued.
"Indeed. Did you know, that Talulah is after several artefacts that will aid her conquest over Narnia and the other Kingdoms in the end?"
"What artefacts?" Susan asked, now having abandoned her breakfast consisting of fruits.
"Oh, I have no idea. But, the Professor introduced me to the very person who does know last night. He can help us." Lucy said with a clever beam. Peter rubbed his stubbly chin in thought as he looked her way, with Edmund furrowing his brow. The room grew silent, and the only sound to be heard was the furious wind outside the tall windows.
. . .
Lucy led her brothers and sister down the same treacherous stairs that the halfling had taken her last night. They had been told that Caspian had rode out early that morning, with a party of escorts with him. Peter and Edmund would have questioned his absence had they not been too expectant of Lucy's… associate. Cornelius had gone down beforehand to treat Voytek's wounds, and once Lucy knocked on the small wooden door before entering with her siblings behind, he was found on the floor with the great polar bear's front paw in his lap, currently putting dressing around it with a strong-scented, minty-green ointment on the bandages.
"What in the world?" Peter questioned, whilst Susan and Edmund shared gazes in confusion. Lucy ignored him.
"How are you feeling, Voytek?" she asked the bear as she stepped forward. The bear grumbled out a sigh.
"I am alive," he replied monotonously, startling all of her siblings as he talked.
"There, we are done," the round halfling said as he stood up, brushed his knees and gathered his pouch of ointments and remedies. The bear grumbled a thanks to the elderly man, who scuttled out of the room. "Thank you, Professor!" Lucy called after him as he nodded her way and exited the room.
"Voytek, I have… my siblings with me, King Peter, King Edmund and Queen Susan," she began, and the bear sat up to pay heed of the company in the cold room.
"Greetings, Voytek," Peter said, a bit unsure of the situation. Once again, the bear grumbled.
"He… Lost his family to Talulah's troops, and he is the only one left of his kind. Cornelius found him just outside the castle walls, and took him in," Lucy said as she turned to her siblings.
"I'm sorry," Edmund said, his gaze of amazement upon the great white bear.
"So am I," the bear replied. A moment of silence appeared between the company, until Lucy cleared her throat and spoke once again;
"Voytek… Yesterday, you mentioned something about ancient items that Talulah seeks, and is the reason why her forces attacked your settlement… Could you tell us more about that?" she said, her voice low and gentle. Voytek sat down on his behind against the stone wall, and as his large paws turned forward and his front paws rested on his stomach, it made him look a lot friendlier, almost like Bulbous the brown bear that aided them during the claim of Caspian's throne. His position would have been laughable, even, had it not been for his one dead eye, his scarred snout, his ripped right ear and split lip that revealed his canines.
"The artefacts… Are in fact, the remnants of the White Witch's wand. The Two Crystals, the Silver Hilt, and at last, the Receptacle. The vessel is not a part of Jadis' wand, but created in her time, and is to this day hosting the power to exterminate the world as we know it," the White-Marshal explained with a gruff voice.
"I thought the wand was destroyed during the Winter Rebellion?" Susan stated as she took a step forward.
"It couldn't have been. At the How… Back when Jadis' was almost summoned back… The staff had been restored, that's why Jadis' was able to be summoned…" Edmund explained, keeping his eyes on the bear for validation.
"And then it was brought into custody. Separated, all pieces kept apart for the world's protection. And so, there are four White-Marshals to keep the pieces protected and hidden away from the world," Voytek explained. Edmund stepped forward.
"But then… Why weren't the pieces destroyed, once and for all? I destroyed the wand once!" he said, making Voytek puff out a gruff sigh.
"Tell me, Son of Adam… Do you know how the wand was created?" the bear asked him.
Edmund held his tongue, for he did not know the answer. Nor did his siblings. In fact, no one alive knew how the wand came to be.
"The origin of the wand is unknown, but it came most likely from the world of Charn. We know nothing of Charn, as it was destroyed long ago. When you do not know how something so powerful is created, how can that certain item be destroyed? It cannot be destroyed, as it contains black arts known by no one. And so, the only way to keep the world alive and its forbidden magic at bay, is by protecting the pieces meant to destroy all that we know." Voytek explained, and his words made the Pevensies realize the true power at hand in such a way they became immobilized.
"Where exactly are these relics located?" Susan asked the bear, her eyes shimmering with expectations. The bear studied her for a while.
"I guard the Silver Hilt and know only of that item's location. I cannot speak for the other items, as they are not mine to guard. To reveal the given artefact's location is to break the life-bound vow a White-Marshal pledges his life to. Thus, I do not know of the other artefacts." Voytek said with a small shake of his head.
"Well, that gives us a problem," Lucy stated with a sigh. She turned towards her siblings once more;
"He may be the last of his order, and there is no way to know if the others survived, apart from exploring the settlement," she explained further, making her siblings frown in doubt - so they were already at an impasse.
"My Queen, unless I can be of further assistance, I would like to rest. I feel… Great pain," the bear requested, shifting his position to a resting one, gritting his teeth as he did so.
"Thank you, err…. Sir. My siblings and I will retreat and give you rest," Peter said with a small bow of his head, ushering his brother and sister to leave with him. Lucy, casting a lingering gaze upon the injured bear, she decided to take advantage of the situation as he closed his eyes to rest. Discreetly and silently, she opened the flask that contained her healing cordial, and tipped a drop of the potion into Voytek's bucket of water, before hiding the flask, and following her siblings.
. . .
"Peter, why are you being so stubborn?! This could work!" Lucy exclaimed as they walked up the stone steps. Peter stopped at the top of the staircase and looked his baby sister dead in the eyes.
"I said no. We are not risking our hides and going back to his haunted settlement. It's too dangerous!" he ordered, and opened the door, allowing his siblings to go first. He stopped Lucy before she could pass him by putting a firm hand as her shoulder. He towered above her as he met her determined gaze but did not frighten her in the slightest. Peter William Pevensie barked more than he bit towards his siblings, he always had.
"Despite giving us valuable information, I do not trust that bear; if we go after that settlement, we could be ambushed, Lu. We'll make a decision once Caspian's returned." Peter said in a low voice. He could not risk being heard, despite the hallway being empty.
"Make a decision about what?" a familiar voice caught their attention down the hall. It was Caspian's voice, and he was currently removing his fur cloak that was covered in snow. His tunic was wet, and his hair damp from the snow. He approached them with an unreadable look upon his face. Peter's jaw clenched as he let out a sigh.
"You're back." He said, his voice undeniably sour. Caspian tilted his chin at him, standing straight in his spot.
"I had errands to run."
Peter locked the door and hid the door behind the heavy drape.
"Well, we got more errands for you. We need to talk," he said.
Running a fleeting gaze upon the eldest King and Queen, and then the youngest, he ushered them to his study. "Come on."
. . .
"So, there are four parts of Jadis' wand, and they are spread all across Narnia?" Caspian recapped as he was bent over the map on the large table. They had told him everything, of Voytek, of the items, the power within them – to solve this issue, however, was improbable, and would not be done tonight. Rome was indeed not built in a day.
"We don't know exactly where they are, they could be anywhere as far as we know. But essentially, yes," Edmund said.
"That's helpful," he said as he ran a hand across his face, tired.
"There might be a way," Lucy began, but Peter's cut her off.
"Lucy, don't bother," his face was stern.
"No, let me explain," she barked back at him before turning towards Caspian. "Voytek managed to escape the assault on his village and he came here to tell us all that we know at this very moment. Don't you think that would be a valid reason to investigate?"
"Lu… The possibility that anyone survived that attack is too small, it's not something we can risk looking into. And I admit, I share some of the concerns Peter has. How can we know for certain that he can be trusted?" Susan tried to explain to her younger sister, but she merely groaned and turned away from the table in frustration.
"Why on earth would he come to us with this information if he didn't want this to end? He lost his family! You saw the injuries on his body!"
"Lucy…" Edmund called softly in an attempt to calm her down, but she would not have any of it.
"No, listen to me! You heard what the spy who killed Drinian said; Talulah will take over this world with us, or without us in it. It doesn't matter if we're here to stop her or not – this is not the Golden Age Prophecy! This time, we have to act, and quickly, before she gets a hand on any of the artefacts. Had I the same cruel ambitions that Talulah has, I would not spend time hunting down four Children of Eve when their influence does not matter in the first place." Lucy explained as she paced, desperately wanting her family to understand.
"Lucy, we hear you, and we understand… But we cannot go blindly into this. We do need a plan of action, I agree, but we cannot do this alone. We need men, discretion, a guarantee that court will not be overtaken, the list goes on." Edmund suggested, and it did calm his sister, but it was not the course of action she desired.
"Last year, we made alliance with Galma through trade, and since it is a seafaring region, we have promise that Galma will send aid if needed. If we send word that we need men, they will strengthen us greatly," Caspian told his fellow royals.
"Do you suggest we send word, then? So we can make further progress?" Peter asked, his arms crossed.
Caspian gave a nod of confirmation, before continuing: "When the matter falls on grain and other provisions, Lord Bern from the Capital of Narrowhaven has promised us deliveries. The people will not starve, but we are still suffering from a lack of number after the advance on the Calormene Army in the Great Desert, and that is where we can take advantage of our alliance with the Galmanian forces."
"Alright, then." Peter said, agreeing on the matter.
"It seems we have an agreement for now - I suggest we meet up later after I have sent word," Caspian said, as he looked upon each face in the room. He noticed Susan barely met his gaze, her soulful eyes instead upon the map before them. His heart still ached from her rejection that morning.
With no one else disagreeing, not even Lucy, they split up.
. . .
Caspian had sent word that same hour with his falcon Xerxes, and the winged predator flew off with determination and fury.
Once meeting up as agreed, the five royals agreed that they would wait until word returned before they would tackle the artefact-issue and go after Voytek's abandoned settlement. Even if nobody had survived Talulah's attack, surely, they could find trace after other White-Marshal's artefact, and their location, if they were lucky.
. . .
That night, the snow fell lightly, and the wind had left them for now. Court was still eerily quiet as was the custom, and the Pevensies retired early that evening - all but one:
Lucy, dressed in warm clothes, a cloak over her shoulders, her hair braided away, with twin daggers strapped at her waist along with her cordial, snuck away from her chambers through the hallway, down the treacherous stairs yet again, and made way to Voytek, torch at hand.
Opening the door and calling out his name, the bear had never looked as vibrant. His coat whiter and thicker than ever, his wounds closed, and his limbs lither than ever.
"My Queen… You should not have given me that drop." Voytek said, his voice sombre. Lucy turned to him.
"You've suffered enough, Voytek. I didn't want you to be in physical pain if I can help it." She explained. He let out a gruff sigh, and shook his head sharply in disagreement, but did not protest any further.
"Why have you come, Eve's-daughter?"
"Voytek, there was another reason as to why I healed you. I need your help," she said, her eyes that of determination. The bear walked over to her, his head level with hers.
"Pray, why do you need my help?" he asked her, his warm breath washing across her face.
"Because you are the only one that knows where the hilt is." She said. Voytek grew silent and furrowed his brow. A rumble escaped his chest.
Then, a rustle of chains and a sudden bang of the door behind them startled them both.
"Ah, yet another Son of Adam," Voytek stated as he sniffed the air once. Lucy faced the door, her eyes wide.
"Lucy, you are not going after that artefact," Caspian's voice called through the room. The Seafaring King strode across the room towards her, his eyes landing briefly upon the great white bear. He didn't look faced at all that there was an earlier-assumed extinct specimen in his own castle.
"Caspian, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked, her voice pitched high in surprise.
"I could be asking you the same thing; I saw you enter and knew exactly what you had in mind. I came down to question Voytek myself and inquire him if he would be battle-ready be it needed. I am not happy that you've gone behind our backs, Lucy."
"I had no choice, Caspian! By the time we get word from Galma, it could be too late." Lucy said in a stern voice, before turning towards the polar bear:
"Voytek, the Silver Hilt. We need to get it before Talulah can… Where is it now?"
"Not far… Not near."
"Could you take me there?" she asked, making Caspian grab her arm.
"Lucy, don't." he said, his voice ridden with determination and concern.
"Caspian, don't worry – I'll have Voytek with me. He's as powerful as ten men. We can do this! I will be back before dawn, I promise," Lucy explained in a voice so persuasive it made him grow silent and unable to cross her.
"Only if I come with you." Caspian said, but Lucy tore away from his grasp.
"No. You have to stay here and keep the others occupied and cover for me," the Just Queen persuaded as she turned back to the bear.
"Can you take me to the artefact?" Voytek let out a sigh.
"Mmh…. Yes."
"Lucy, this is insane!" Caspian protested. Voytek turned towards him.
"Worry not, Son of Adam. I will carry the little Queen myself! We will get the Silver Hilt, and I shall keep her safe, and always by my side!" Voytek said in a voice so powerful the Telmarine-Narnian King was immobilized in speech and couldn't do anything but take a step back as he watched Lucy open the gate.
After removing chains and the wooden bars, Lucy were struggling to raise the rusty steel gate by herself. "Help me!" she demanded as she tried to turn the gate.
Letting out a sigh of defeat, Caspian strode over and helped the young Queen lift the gate. A gust of wind and snow struck them, but they continued to raise the gate until it was high enough for Lucy and Voytek to go under.
The great polar bear lay down, waiting for Lucy to mount.
"Climb on, my Queen, for I shall carry you in this unforgiving weather."
Lucy grasped Voytek's thick, sturdy white fur between her fingers, and hauled herself onto his broad back.
"Hold on, little one."
And with that, Voytek rose, ready to take Lucy to the secret location of the first artefact.
"Lucy, I do not like this," Caspian exclaimed as he watched the girl he considered his sister sitting high on top of the beast's back.
"I will be fine, I promise!"
"Let me at least tell –" he began, but Lucy quickly cut him off.
"NO! Caspian, if you value our friendship and consider yourself as part of the family, you will not tell Peter!" Lucy ordered, her brows furrowed deep. She pulled up the hood of her cloak and shot him a last assuring look.
"We will be fine, I promise."
Voytek looked long and hard upon the King, snorted once, before taking off across the perilous path along the stone bridge that led into the Shuddering Woods and beyond. That bridge was supposed to be torn down as it had eroded pretty badly, and Caspian's heart pounded dreadfully inside his chest as he watched the bear ran off. Some rocks and snow fell down the sides, but they managed to cross the bridge safely.
Caspian watched as the bear took the youngest Pevensie into the darkness of the forest, and he swallowed hard.
What had he done?
A/N: There you have it x I promise you all that from now on, it will be adventure and suspension, fun for the (rated M) family!
Until next time,
Dragon
