A/N: To everyone who is reading this fanfic, I thank you for all your love and support-I never imagined so much reading this lol...
As you all know, Christmas is just around the corner, and it's a time for us to be with our families this year.
Which may mean I might not be able to post weekly in the months December to January next year. I hope you understand! I'll pick up once I get the chance, though!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!
At first, the Pevensies and the Dwarves managed to get through the forest at a crisp pace, even thinking a few times that they had struck on a path. If you know anything about woods, as Peter, Trumpkin and Gimli did, the paths you usually find aren't paths at all. This is why people get lost so often in the woods, sometimes even to their deaths.
After plodding on for what felt like three hours, Trumpkin froze and demanded the other with a sharp whisper to stop.
They all did.
"There's someone-something following us."
Susan notched an arrow to her bow as soon as Trumpkin spoke, looking around her to the dark woods. Gimli lifted up his axe on the alert, already seeing what Trumpkin was speaking of, and instinctively stood in front of Lucy. Whatever happened, he didn't want her to get hurt.
At Peter's nod, they all continued on.
As much as possible they tried to keep away from the woods, sticking to the open woodland to their right to keep away from whatever it was that was following them. Eventually though they had to press to a dense part of the forest, but everyone kept a look-out, and it appeared as if their alarm was unfounded.
Then something dark leaped out of the shadows at Lucy, already upon her before Gimli could even react. Soon though, the Dwarf swirled around and cracked whatever it was on its skull, blood spurting everywhere. Two arrows ensured the creature's death, respectively from Susan and Trumpkin. Peter rushed to Lucy, pushed the corpse off of her and sighed in relief once he saw that she was okay.
"By Jove, that was too close!"
Gimli inspected the animal, which turned out to be a gray bear. Turning, he saw Trumpkin saying something to Susan, who was still pale until now.
"...left your bow too late."
"I thought it might be... you know... a Talking Bear."
"That's the problem with it," Peter said, helping Lucy up onto her feet. "We don't know anymore. It seems as if there are more dumb beasts than those who do have minds here in Narnia."
"You cannot risk it anymore," Gimli said. "If anything like that happens again, then we might not be too fortunate. But, my lady, are you all right?"
Lucy flushed a deep red and nodded. "Yes, thank you, Gimli."
"Everyone must be more wary, okay?" Peter said. "Let's move on."
Trumpkin hastily spoke. "Wait, Your Highness, I know you're hoping for a grand breakfast at Caspian's camp, but meat's precious scarce there."
Both of them turned to see Gimli stiffen at the mention of 'precious', as if he was deeply troubled.
"...and there's good eating on a bear. I say we stay-only for a while, of course-and take a bit of its meat. Master Dwarf and High King, I grant you know how to skin a bear?"
The two girls paled and excused themselves, making the others smile fondly at them as they went off.
"Let's get started, then," Peter said.
Edmund and Legolas finally reached a clearing in the woods leading to, they hoped, Aslan's How.
Before they could take another step creatures leaped out of nowhere, fauns and satyrs and dwarves, quickly surrounding them and making sure they saw their weapons drawn. Other persons, men this time, led them-one with his head covered with a heavy hood and the other with a strong stance and armor. Legolas noticed firsthand how this guy had his hair game on straight, then the familiarity of this other person, despite the covering on his face.
They met each other's gaze, then the man started, as if disbelieving. He held out a hand to stop the others from attacking, then drew back his hood. "Legolas...?" he said, haltingly, his voice trembling.
Edmund looked at Legolas' face marked with the same expression, the elf's hand flying to his face. "Aragorn?"
Indeed, it was Aragorn, and the man with him he introduced as Prince Caspian. "I thought I would never see you again, old friend," Aragorn said, patting Legolas' shoulder. "Come, it will not do to talk here-come with us to Aslan's How, where we can catch up on each other's adventures."
While they walked, Edmund introduced himself to Aragorn and Caspian as King Edmund the Just. For a very long while, Caspian was tongue-tied, unable to speak apart from a clumsy greeting.
"So, Caspian, Aragorn's your...?"
"Teacher-at least in the terms of fighting and practicality. My academic teacher is Doctor Cornelius."
"Where's he?"
"...He's not with us."
Edmund flinched. "He's dead?"
"No!" Caspian said, doing some flinching himself. "I meant we were unable to take him here when I escaped from the castle. We were able to take along my other tutor, however, which I will introduce to you later. He's an intelligent old man, and I think you'll find him interesting."
"Huh."
"By any chance, is the High King and the Queens with you, or are you the only one sent by Aslan?"
"Not at all, they should be coming here soon. We'd gotten separated, so Legolas and I don't know where they are right now."
Caspian nodded and dwelled on this at first, then hit on an idea. "Should I send a search party to find them?"
"Well, there's sentries in the woods too, the last time we looked. Might be a good idea not to send anyone."
At this Aragorn started and looked behind him, frowning and looking troubled. "That is strange," he said. "The Telmarines are afraid of the woods, and the sea. What could drive them there?"
"Us," Caspian said. "They're looking for us."
"And they ambushed us," Edmund said. "There's definitely something afoot here."
They arrived at Aslan's How in record time, the fauns guarding the cave door bowing respectfully. Edmund and Legolas, who was seeing this for the first time, was duly amazed at the form of the cave, which seemed to have a mountain on top of it. Rocks large and small were arranged above it to form the 'mountain', and when they stepped inside their wonder multiplied tenfold.
As they passed by the walls, Edmund and Legolas noticed the carved inscriptions and stories on them, of kings and queens and a lion. Legolas ran his hand over one and asked what it was.
"Why, it's the lantern. The one that stands at Lantern Waste," Caspian said.
"This does not look like any normal lantern, to be placed upon a metal beam..."
Aragorn led them through, the people and creatures greeting Edmund with grateful smiles and showing him what they made in their smithy; swords and arrows and spears of Narnian make, beautiful and magical under the dancing light of the fires. Another person bent over to gaze at them, giving the weapons an approving tap with his twisted staff.
Legolas was quite prepared to collapse now-or believe that he was hallucinating.
"A long time has gone by since our last meeting, Legolas, son of Thranduil."
A long beard, pointy hat, long, white garments and wrinkled skin. Who could not have recognized him!
"Oh, why the surprised face? Did you think I was dead again?" Gandalf said, clutching his staff in his hand and smiling.
Edmund looked up at Gandalf and raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his face as he eyed him up and down. "We used to have wizards like you in our courts," he said. "At least, those who weren't even half your height."
"My tutor was also a magician," Caspian said. "Doctor Cornelius."
At the term 'magician' Gandalf huffed a little, but he didn't make too much of a fuss about it and gestured for Legolas and Edmund to follow him along with Caspian and Aragorn. Through winding cave hallways bathed in warm orange light they went, deeper and deeper inside, with inscriptions and figures gazing down at them. Edmund took a sharp suck of his breath in as he spotted a carving of him and his brother and sisters in front of their thrones. There were more, of them riding to catch the White Stag, Peter killing Fenris Ulf and Lucy and Susan riding on Aslan. There was even one of him shattering the White Witch's wand, and a rush of pride surged through him.
The hallway they were in opened out into a more spacious room of sorts, large etchings taller than them looming down, lit by a continuous line of fire under them. The first thing Legolas noticed was the visage of a Lion, gentle and warm and yet stern and solemn.
In the middle of the cave there was a large slab of stone with writings carved on its borders. It was split in two.
"The Stone Table," Gandalf said. "The altar on which Aslan's innocent blood was shed for Narnia."
No one thought of even sitting on it, so they sat near the large inscriptions instead.
"Now, tell us," Aragorn said. "When have you come here?"
TBC...