CHAPTER ONE
Narnia had to be one of the most wonderful lands in the entire universe. For one, it was beautiful, and after the fall of the white witch, everything seemed to be at peace. The rolling hills and a sky full of white clouds showed serenity and comfort. The castle of Cair Paravel was a place of royals and elegance; were the Kings and Queens of Narnia lived.
This is probably why no one ever suspected a terrible secret to be hidden behind its walls.
Even I may have not discovered it, even for the adventurous and clever girl of fifteen that I was all those years ago. Of course, I do not remember every detail of my adventure, but I do recall my suspicions arising on the day of Queen Susan's fifteenth birthday….
I stood in Queen Susan's room on the chilly October night, chatting with the royal as she began getting ready for the party. "What do you think of this?" She asked, holding up a royal blue gown to her chest. "I think it'll do, don't you agree?" she added as she closed the doors of her wardrobe. "It's nice; plus it matches your crown," I said, noting the beautiful gold designs that bordered the neckline.
Susan slipped the velvet gown over her under-dress as there was a knock on the door. No sooner did I recognize the voice of Susan's eight year old sister, Lucy. "Susan," she called, "Its Lucy. Can I come in?" Knowing Susan's answer would be 'yes' I opened the door and the little queen bounced in. "Hi Danielle!" she greeted to me, then her focus turned to Susan, who had just finished getting ready by placing her golden crown on her dark curls. "You look beautiful!" exclaimed Lucy, looking at her sibling with admiration. After a moment she continued, "Peter and Edmund wanted me to tell you that it's time for you to get ready to make your entrance." "Oh!" Susan exclaimed as she pulled on her shoes, "Let's go."
So Susan, Lucy and I set down the long corridor. "This is confusing." Lucy commented. It was true, we had only been in Cair Paravel for a few months, and didn't exactly know it like the back of our hands. "Well, lets go this way. There is a door at the end of this hall," I offered as we turned a corner. Once we reached the door, Lucy tugged on the handle. "It's…. locked." She said with a raised brow. "That's not possible," Susan said, worried of being late to her own party, "It's probably just stuck." After a moment of pulling on the door, Susan was proved wrong. The door was indeed locked. I remember feeling a cold chill flash down my spine. Something in my heart told me that there was a big problem here. But before I could say a word about it, a fawn in a green scarf came down the hall- Mr. Tumnus, a friend of Queen Lucy and part of the royal court.
"Ah," he said, "There you are! Come this way, the public is awaiting your entrance!"
And with that he led the three of us down the hall and away from the door.
(……)
"Isn't this just a wonderful party?" Lucy asked as she sat down next to me at one of the long tables. "It's great." I said, not really in a happy mood after the door incident. Lucy sensed my discomfort. "What's wrong?" she asked, "You look awful." I wanted to tell Lucy my suspicions, but it just seemed silly. So what if a door was locked, even if it was the only one like that in Cair Paravel?
