"By Jove, they're off like a shot," Peter said, watching Edmund and Legolas disappear into the woods.
"I hope they don't get lost on the way to Glasswater," Lucy said, leaning over the boat's edge to dip her hand into the cool water, Susan sitting beside her. "It's such a long way, and Narnia's changed so much …"
"That's all right, I'm sure they'll be all right," Susan said.
Trumpkin took a deep draught from his pipe, a hand on the rudder to steer. "It was King Edmund who suggested passing by Glasswater, wasn't it, Your Majesty? I'm sure he knows the path on land as well as the path at sea."
"I suppose," Peter said.
They glided on the water quietly, the river reminding Gimli of Amon Hen, the Elvish River they traversed, where Boromir...
All the while the girls talked to each other about what they called the "Golden Age" of Narnia.
"Pray tell, lassie, about this Golden Age of yours," Gimli said. "It sounds like a majestic era."
"Well, Edmund told you of how we were Kings and Queens of Narnia," Susan said, turning to face the dwarf. "Where do you think we should start, Lucy?"
"We should start with the Wardrobe, and how we got to Narnia in the first place."
"All right, Lu. There was a war back in London, and we had to escape to the country so that we would be safe. Peter was the one who acted as our father in those times…"
Since Peter's back was turned to them, Gimli couldn't see the expression on his face.
"Then Lucy stumbled into the Wardrobe when we were playing Hide-and-Seek, and she found a portal to Narnia." Susan paused. "At first none of us believed her, until we were forced into the Wardrobe and-"
"Why were you forced into the Wardrobe? Were you playing again?" Gimli asked. The Pevensies turned a curious shade of pink, including Peter.
"Cricket accident," Peter said shortly.
"Anyway, we found ourselves in Narnia, and Lucy's friend the last time she was there-"
"Mr. Tumnus," Lucy said. "He was a faun."
"What's a faun?" Gimli asked.
"Oh, it's a half-man-half-goat creature. He was very kind to me. But when we got to his house, he was… gone."
Lucy bit her lip and she fell silent. While Susan gave her a hug, Peter picked up the story.
"A robin led us to the Beavers and they told us-"
"Told you?" Gimli said, mouth half-open. "Well, I never! Talking animals?"
"Yes, we didn't believe it right away too, but the Beavers led us to their den, and we ate dinner there. They told us of the prophecy that the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve would come to Narnia and break the eternal winter that was on it."
"A prophecy?"
"Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."
Gimli rubbed his beard. "Who is he?"
Peter looked at him, smiling.
"Aslan."
The dwarf took a deep breath, eyes widening, a crazed shot of undecipherable joy and contentment rushing through him like a rocket. "Well, this chap sounds quite like a jolly fellow!" he said. "A noble man."
"Man?" Peter said. "What do you mean? Aslan's no man-he's a lion."
Opening his mouth to retort, Gimli stopped, his words dying on his lips before he could get them out. He'd wanted to laugh, but then he realized that Peter was telling the truth. "Then... all animals... they talk here in your world?"
Susan, Lucy, Peter and Trumpkin all gave him odd gazes. "Yes," Susan said. "Almost all of them. There's still witless ones, though."
"In our world they don't speak at all. Don't animals speak in your world?" Lucy said.
"Ha! Just wait until you meet Trufflehunter and Glenstorm. I'll get a kick out of you, I see," Trumpkin said, laughing.
"Trumpkin, look out!"
The boat was headed right towards the rocky cliff face on their right, and Trumpkin managed to turn the rudder, saving the boat from destruction. They barely grazed it. Everyone gave a breath of relief, most of all Peter, whose oars almost broke as it hit the rock. "We can't have any of that anymore," Peter said shortly. "We should focus more on the journey."
Meanwhile, Edmund and Legolas were weaving their way through the thick woods and forests, pushing away branches and ducking under the sturdier, lower ones.
"So, you-don't belong—to this world either?" Edmund asked, leaning on a tree.
"No. I belong to Middle Earth, as I have said before."
Edmund sat down on a rock, wiping sweat from his forehead. It was still far from Glasswater, even at the rate they were going, and Edmund needed a short break. When he thought hard about it though, he realized that a same journey back at home would have drained him. He grinned. Narnian air never failed to sustain him.
"Hey, Legolas, wait. I need a breather."
Legolas stopped. "Very well," he said, and took a seat beside Edmund.
"The first time we came here was in the middle of winter…"
Peering up at the trees and at the beams of sunlight falling down, Legolas frowned. Winter? This seemed to be the last place you'd expect winter. But again, it might've been a different season then.
"How long of a winter was it?"
"A hundred years."
"A hundred years?"
Edmund grinned and picked at the moss beside him. "We came to break the spell, at least that's what the prophecy said. And believe me, I wasn't really working according to the prophecy at that time. It's a good thing, though, that I was rescued."
"From whom, and who saved you?"
Edmund looked at Legolas.
"The White Witch. She told me I could be her King-more like her puppet-but when she had no more use for me she would have very gladly slit my throat right then and there. Good thing Aslan sent a rescue party to, well, rescue me."
Aslan.
The trees around them trembled at the mere mention of the name, and Legolas felt queer, as if someone or something had breathed on him. The air smelled sweet and enticing, and a shot of joy tingled through him and wrapped around him like a blanket.
"This feeling, I have felt it before," Legolas murmured, then it hit him.
Aman.
He felt this way when he first heard of Aman and Erú Ilúvatar.
Sitting beside him Edmund gazed into Legolas' face, amused at the surprise and shock he saw there. "Why, have you heard of Aslan before? What's happened to you?" Edmund waved a hand in front of the elf's face and Legolas looked up.
"Please forgive me. I was in deep thought."
"He has that effect," Edmund said. "I don't suppose we'd be able to see him right away, though. After all, he isn't a tame lion."
"What is a lion?"
"It's like a cat, but bigger and he has a mane of gold hair."
"An-an animal, then?"
"Yes?" Edmund grinned, but this time a little confused.
"A talking animal?"
"The King of all other Talking Animals, actually."
"There's more?!"
Whenever Edmund thought of this in the days ahead, he would, without hesitation, pay a hefty amount only to see Legolas' horrified face as he said this. He had gone about 5 shades paler, frowning and lips sealed shut.
Hastily getting up, Legolas walked a few paces off. "I think we've had enough of a breather, haven't we? We must be going."
While they trod through the forest, Edmund chuckled to himself as Legolas started at the birds cawing to each other and at the quiet shuffling of the grass. They scrambled over rocks and weaved through trees, peering at the sunlight and pushing away more branches and stepping on twigs.
Edmund was thinking about the wonderful breakfast they'd have at Caspian's place when he stumbled into Legolas, who had halted all of a sudden. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked. "We're going on the right path, trust me."
"There is someone tracking us-listen! Don't you hear their footfalls?" Legolas hissed.
Instead of snapping back, Edmund fell silent and strained to hear whatever Legolas had sensed. Based on a book he'd read (something with towers in the title) elves had a keener sense than humans did, though Edmund thought that it was what they called a third eye. All nonsense, at least until now.
They continued on, all senses on high alert. Every movement and every scuffle sent shivers up their bodies.
"They are getting closer," Legolas said, and Edmund saw the glint of armor in the bushes.
"Better get an arrow on your bow, then."
Legolas obliged, and they went even slower and more cautious.
"Shouldn't we pretend we don't know they're there?" Edmund asked.
A whizz and something slim and swift flew by Edmund, nearly hitting him. More of the thin things flew through the air, hitting the trees. It was only then that Edmund realized what they were-
"Arrows! Telmarine arrows!" Edmund cried out, drawing his sword. The Telmarines, who had probably seen them while they were taking a breather, now came upon them, a volley of arrows raining down on them. Beside Edmund, Legolas was already shooting arrows as fast as he could. He hit a soldier to his right, then another with his sword raised above him. Whoever Legolas wasn't able to take down Edmund attacked with his own sword.
From the first soldier he killed Edmund took a sword, then used both his swords to cut sown soldiers left and right, blood flying everywhere. For a moment he felt a surge of adrenaline, reminding him of his battles from long long ago, at Beruna.
The small duel was doing the same to Legolas, and he seemed to see the likeness of an orc in the faces and movements of the soldiers. He fought well, taking down two to three at a time. Out of habit he shouted, "Fourteen!"
"What?" Edmund shouted back. "What do you mean fourteen?" he added, slicing down the neck of a Telmarine about to stab him.
"Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen!" Legolas continued as he kept on shooting.
"Oh, I see," Edmund said, then slashed down a soldier. "That's probably about eleven-twelve-thirteen-well, by Jove! This is some fun!"
After a few more minutes they had finally killed all the soldiers, Edmund standing over the corpses and wiping the blood and sweat off his face. "Well, that's done," he said, peering up at the sky.
Behind him a soldier scrambled to his feet, sword ready to stab Edmund.
"Ed-!" Legolas shouted, reaching behind him for an arrow-
His hand grazed the empty quiver.
Fortunately for him, Edmund whirled around and easily cut down the soldier, then smiled at Legolas. "Now it's done."
They paused in silence for a while, then Edmund looked around again, an expression of confusion and worry on his face as he walked around for a while in circles. "Umm..." he said. "Um."
"What's wrong?"
"I-I think we're lost."
"What do you mean?" Legolas said, his stomach sinking.
"I don't know."
They stood there in dejected realization. "Those blasted Telmarines led us away from the path," Edmund said. "That's it. I'm sorry Legolas, but I don't know how far we've gone."
"Let us try to find our path again," Legolas said, voice shaking.
Edmund nodded. "Actually, I think we just might be able to find our way-at least to Aslan's How-if we find the River Rush."
And on they went.
Meanwhile, the others had arrived to Glasswater relatively safely, and they set up camp and a fire, then nodded off to sleep. At least, everyone else except Lucy.
"I'd rather wait for Edmund and Legolas," she said. "They might be coming soon."
"Gimli can do that, Lu," Peter said. "Go to sleep, you're tired. You too Susan. You're probably tired from all that rowing earlier."
"Tired is an understatement..." Susan said, lying down near Lucy. Within a few minutesshe was asleep, and so was Trumpkin and Peter. Only Gimli was awake, sitting against a tree and and looking out into the night, Lucy going over to him.
"Aren't you going to rest?" Gimli asked. "Shouldn't you obey your older brother, lassie?"
"I'm not tired," Lucy said. "Is it okay if I watch for them with you?"
Gimli nodded and moved over to let Lucy sit beside him. They talked about their own respective worlds, Gimli narrating the War of the Ring (admittedly biased to dwarves) and Lucy teaching him the constellations in the Narnian sky and their rule in the Golden Age. For hours they went like this.
"And that's-yawn-Leopard," Lucy said, squinting up at the sky at pointing at the constellation.
"You've been awake long enough," Gimli said. "Go ahead and sleep now, I'll wake you up if Legolas and Edmund have arrived."
"I'm worried about them, especially Edmund. I feel as if something bad happened to them."
"Nay, I'm sure they're on their way. Walking is slower than taking a boat, anyway. Don't worry about it."
Reassured, Lucy went over to the campfire on Gimli's goading, then laid down on the grass.
The night rolled on quietly.
TBC...