"It's been [two years]. How long does [she] expect us to wait?"
Whelp, after college tried to eat me, I'm finally back to this story! YAY! I spend most of my time on this site writing as my alter-ego (Rapier Thirteen), and one of my stories over there (Simple) takes most of my attention. :) But I love this one to death and it is very, very special to me, so here you guys go! Enjoy! :D
Chapter 13: Covered Tracks
I didn't see Edmund again until well into the afternoon. Whatever he had discussed with Aslan had clearly had some sort of affect on him, and I would not come to know the fullness of it until many years later. Though I barely knew the boy, I could tell he had changed somewhat; the burden that nearly suffocated him when he had awoken had all but melted away, taken by the warmth in the Lion's eyes, the steadiness in his voice, the forgiveness that whispered from his every breath like a fresh spring wind between two hills. Even the light in his eyes had changed, and those eyes, I was certain, would never look back. Under the cloak of Aslan's protection, Edmund knew he was safe.
He was quiet, I found. Far quieter than any of his siblings, though the trouble he had been through may have silenced him for the time being. I sincerely hoped that the Witch had not done anything too terrible to him. I wanted the full story from him. I wanted it desperately, though something strongly told my young heart to wait. That now was certainly not the time.
That there might never be a time.
I hadn't grasped it yet, but some things are only meant for Aslan's ears only. I forced the question out of my mind.
Seeing the four of them finally together was a relief. Peter and Lucy and Susan wasted no time in recounting their adventures, of how the Wolves had nearly run them down at Beaversdam, of how far they'd travelled, of how they had come across their peculiar gifts and of how they finally found our camp. It was all quite a bit for Edmund to take in.
"Seems like I missed quite the adventure," he said, the smile on his face tainted with regret. Lucy put a reassuring hand on his arm.
"It's all behind us now, Ed," she reminded. "Don't forget that."
Edmund nodded, opening himself up again to the refreshment of that truth like salve on a burn. The guilt in his eyes softened; the starts of a smile tugged at his cracked lips as we - Edmund and his siblings, my brothers, and I - rounded the corner, where a small table and cushions had been laid out for us. Edmund's face lit up.
"Food," I heard him whisper, and I couldn't help but grin. Lucy laughed.
Soon we'd all piled in around the table, passing back and forth fruits and toast and cheese. Edmund was clearly glad to see it all, and I was glad for him. I had at least an inkling of what he'd been through threaded together in my mind from my own experience, and I was relieved it was all over.
My brothers and I told them everything about Narnia that we could. Their curiosity and excitement was contagious. Soon we all felt it, even those of us doing the explaining.
"...and the Dryads are the ones who live in the trees," I found myself gushing. "They sing. The whole forest sings!"
Rhydian chuckled. "None of us had ever seen them before the springtime."
Lucy's brow furrowed. "This would be your first one, wouldn't it?"
Geraint nodded. "It's good to know the world's more colors that white. Though I must say, this warm air has been something to get used to."
"It won't stay forever," Susan put in. "Though it will get hotter before it gets colder again."
Lucy suddenly gasped. "And when it's cold again, you'll have your first Christmas!"
Geraint and I exchanged glanced.
"Our..." I started. "Our first what?"
Lucy looked honestly heartbroken. "You don't know what Christmas is?"
We all shook our heads.
"I suppose the Witch wouldn't have told any of you who hadn't had one before. How terribly sad," Lucy thought out loud. "It's... well, it's a lot to explain. You eat a big meal and give each other presents - which is my favorite part - and you... you celebrate. People back home celebrate lots of things."
I started to smile. "That sounds wonderful."
Lucy giggled. "I'm not doing it justice at all, I'm afraid. But it is! It truly is."
"Now that Aslan is here, we can see for ourselves when the time comes." I grinned widely. "Perhaps that's what we Narnians will use it for. To celebrate his coming, and how he and you have saved us all."
"They've not done it just yet, Renn," Rhydian said.
"But they will, brother. It is so close I can taste it!"
Rhydian laughed and ruffled my hair. "At long last."
From where he was standing, Peter shifted a bit uncomfortably. I wondered if I was the only one who noticed.
"It's been so long, it's almost as if I thought these days would never come. Yet here they are." I caught Peter's golden sword hilt glinting in the sunlight. "And her's are numbered."
"Finally," Geraint added. "It has been such a long road."
Susan's brow furrowed. "Where do you three come from, then?"
All three of us froze, and none of us knew how to answer. If to answer.
"You can't be from our world," she went on. "Something's not quite right. If you don't mind my asking... what are you?"
Every alarm inside my head screamed at once. I looked to Rhydian as he fumbled for an answer.
"Our people came from another country, a very long time ago," he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. "That world is dead, along with most of those of our race. We... we are the only ones left. Save... save one."
The question in Susan's eyes - in all of their faces - egged Rhydian on.
"Sorcerers and sorceresses, they mostly were. Of both good and evil... but mostly of the latter, I'm afraid. None of us-"
he waved between himself, our brother and I "-are any good with the Deep Magic, though Renn's by far the most inclined out of the three of us and our father drew on it quite a bit."
"Like the Witch," Edmund said blankly.
I swallowed hard.
They did not need to know. Eventually, of course they had to. But not now, when we'd all just met and started to become friends!
Geraint nodded solemnly. "I suppose so."
"Though the Deep Magic is not all bad, not at all," I barged in, feeling like I had to defend myself. "It bends to Aslan's wishes far faster than to the Witch's, both the good and the bad of it. Though the Witch can only use the bad." My jaw set. "Which is why she'll fall."
Edmund raised his eyes back to us, and the words that came out of his mouth froze me over with fear:
"You look like her."
He looked back and forth between us, his dark eyes growing a bit.
"You all do."
"Funny coincidence," I blurted quickly, my legs shooting out in front of me as I prepared to jump to my feet. A terrible way to hold one's own in an argument, but I knew no better at the time. "Come on, Geraint, didn't you say you wanted to-"
"All of our people look very much like us," Geraint cut me off, coolly covering our tracks once again like brambles filling in snow-prints as he gently grabbed my wrist and tugged me back down. "Regrettably ours have served both good and evil, and the Witch happens to... well, that much is obvious."
"Though the same can't be said for you all, of course," Edmund came in slowly. He still sounded unsure, though it was better than nothing. "Aslan would not have you here otherwise."
"No," Lucy agreed almost instantly. "He wouldn't."
In her mind - in all of their minds, it seemed - the matter was settled. Edmund remained leery for a few more drastically long seconds before snatching up a piece of toast, quickly followed by another. It seemed his appetite was really beginning to catch up with him. Lucy smiled.
"Narnia's not going to run out of toast, Ed," she giggled. A smile of his own eased across his face, and upon seeing it I began to relax again.
Peter shifted against the rock he'd been standing against. "I'm sure they'll pack something up for the journey back," he said, the stiffness in his voice announcing that his next words might not be well-recieved. All three of his siblings recoiled. I felt my heart drop a bit.
My hope hadn't been misplaced... had it?
"We're going home?" Susan pushed back.
"You are," Peter replied, looking at the ground and shuffling his feet a bit as he came towards them. As he sat, he raised his chin and tried to put more authority in his voice. "I promised Mum I'd keep you three safe." His eyes shifted to Rhydian, who had protest written all over his confused face. "But that doesn't mean that I can't stay behind and help."
"They need us," Lucy insisted, mirroring my thoughts exactly. I was finding we thought quite similarly. "All four of us!"
"Lucy, it's too dangerous." Peter almost reminded me of Father in that moment, reprimanding my brothers and I for wanting to help him once we found what he had been doing. "You almost drowned. Edmund was almost killed-"
"Which is why we have to stay."
To say that Peter - that all of us - were taken aback when Edmund spoke would be an understatement.
"I've seen what the White Witch can do," he went on, quietly, resolutely defending his case. "And I've helped her do it."
He looked at each of his siblings, pausing a bit longer on Peter than the rest of them before his words caught up with the calm, stubborn fire in his eyes.
"And we can't leave these people behind to suffer for it."
No sooner did the sentence leave his mouth did the atmosphere change. The scowl that had begun to set into Peter's features lifted into the starts of a smile. Geraint and Susan exchanged glances. Proudly, Lucy took her brother's hand. I grinned.
He certainly was brave, almost recklessly brave to suggest such a thing. He caught my eye and my heart rammed hard in my chest. That strange... sickness from earlier was coming back. I felt my cheeks flush and prayed to the Lion neither of my brothers noticed.
I'd heard Geraint say something about having that talk with me. I didn't know what it was, or why the notion of it made me uncomfortable, but it did.
"Well I suppose that's just it, then," Susan said, standing and firmly walking across the grass.
"Where are you going?" Peter asked.
Susan turned over her shoulder and smiled at him, stooping and picking up her ivory quiver. "To get in some practice." She took several steps forward; she nearly cleared the hilltop before she turned on her heel and looked back expectantly, past both of her brothers and me.
"Aren't you coming, Geraint?"
My brother stared at her for a few seconds before the fullness of her request sank in. "Oh!" he exclaimed, a grin shooting across his face. I swore he was blushing a little. "Y-yes, of course."
He scrambled to his feet and nearly jogged to her side. Rhydian burst out laughing. Peter and Edmund exchanged amused glances.
"You might want to go with him, Renn," Rhydian caught his breath. "Just to make sure he doesn't trip over his own feet."
I looked at him, perplexed. "Why would he... it's just Susa-oh."
Rhydian cocked an eyebrow at me. I scrambled to my feet, trying to bite back a laugh of my own as I hurried after them.
"Wait for me!" Lucy cried, catching up to my comparably long strides on her little legs. I could hear Rhydian and Peter both laughing as we scurried off. Once I reached the top of the hill, I looked back over my shoulder at them. Peter was picking up his sword, and even from that distance I could see the excitement and anxiousness in his eyes as he wrapped his fingers around the leather sheath. Rhydian handed Edmund one that I realized he'd been keeping just for that occasion, and he stepped back as Edmund drew it and stared at it for the first time.
Again I found I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. Sword still in his hand, he caught my gaze and offered a reserved smile, and I felt one of my own slip across my face. That was the first time I ever saw him do that - neither of us have ever forgotten this - and it certainly would not be the last.
"Renn!" Lucy called.
Shaken from my stupor, I waved a quick goodbye before catching up with Lucy, and together we headed for the archery range.
Geraint again proved to be an excellent teacher, and Susan was an apt pupil. After he'd shown her how to notch the shaft and draw the bow back, he helped her find her aim and stepped back. He hadn't stopped grinning.
Taking the whole thing in careful stride, Susan held her position for a while as she stared down the target. With a thwack she let the arrow fly, and it plunged deep into the canvas not terribly far from the bullseye. Lucy gasped. Geraint grinned.
"Good shot!" he exclaimed, clearly surprised. "My first was nowhere near that good," he added with a chuckle. "Draw back another; let's see if we can get even closer-"
Metal sang through the air, and the next second Lucy's dagger had plunged into the heart of the bullseye. The sisters exchanged glances and giggled. Geraint's jaw dropped, and he and I looked at each other, chuckling astonishedly. Lucy shrugged, an "I-meant-to-do-that" gleam sparkling in her eyes.
A horse's whinny pealed across the camp, followed by the thunder of galloping hooves, and we all looked up. Massive smiles stretched across both their faces, Peter and Edmund charged over the top of the hill. A lot of me wondered if either of them had ever ridden before now. Their mounts - a chestnut Horse that I had seen around camp a few times and a white Unicorn - slowed to almost a stop as the two began to practice a bit of sparring.
"Come on, Ed!" Peter teased. "Keep your sword tip up, like Oreius showed us!"
They both went on, and to my eyes it looked like both of them - but especially Edmund - had been born with swords in their hands. I truly didn't know what to make of it, and to this day Edmund and I both laugh at how I gawked like a fish out of water watching them. Watching him, to be more precise.
But our happiness would be short-lived.
"Peter!" I heard a voice call. "Edmund!"
The Horse Edmund was on started and reared, but Edmund sat it out quite well. Soon the voice's owner - one of the Beavers that had brought Peter and Lucy and Susan to us - sped into view. His eyes were wide; he panted as if he'd run miles. Had he not had such thick brown fur across his face, I was sure it would have been flushed.
"The Witch has demanded a meeting with Aslan. She's on her way here!"