Chapter 2: The Deplorable Word
The crashing of the roof was the first sound that Dione had heard in longer than anyone remembered. The second was the voice of a child.
"There! I hope you're satisfied now," a young, girlish voice said, obviously angered by something. Dione turned in the chair she was sat in to look for the speaker.
"Well it's all over, anyway," a second voice responded. This voice was still childish, but more like a young boy. Dione spotted the two children, a boy and a girl, near a pillar about halfway down the hall, but before she could rise from her chair, another began to move. Her sister, Jadis, rose to her full height and moved towards the children.
"Who has awaked me?" Her long swift strides carried her to the children in seconds. "Who has broken the spell?"
Jadis towered over the children, who reminded her of Dione with their sweet faces and small statures. The youngest princess was always smaller and weaker than the rest of the family, and her magic was only good for growing plants.
"Sister?" Dione rose, startling the two children, who briefly wondered if all of the people were going to wake up and interrogate them, Jadis only spun to see her sister rise from the chair. "What is going on?" The smaller of the reanimated women moved forward to join the trio around the pillar.
"It seems I've broken a spell." The boy answered, gaining the attention of the two women.
"You!" exclaimed Jadis, gripping the boy's shoulder with her pale hand. "You? But you are only a child, a common child. Anyone can see at a glance that you have no drop of royal or noble blood in your veins. How did such as you dare enter this house?"
"We've come from another world; by Magic," Polly explained, trying to make the taller woman realize that she was there too, but her black eyes never moved from Digory, though the green eyes of the smaller woman shifted to her. Her gaze was soft and kind and made Polly feel like she was a part of the conversation.
"Is this true?" Dione asked, her gaze moving between the two oddly dressed children. Though perhaps, she thought, not so strange for their world.
"Yes, it is," Digory answered.
Jadis lifted the boy's head to look at his face better. He tried to maintain eye contact, but he had to look away. She studied his face for a minute more before letting go, not finding what she was looking for.
"You are no magician. The Mark of it is not on you. You must be the servant of a magician. It is on another's Magic that you have traveled here."
"It was my Uncle Andrew," Digory provided.
After Digory spoke, the building began to creak and groan. Then came the sound of falling masonry, causing the floor to shake.
"There is great peril here. The whole palace is breaking up. If we are not out of it in a few minutes we shall be buried under the ruin," she spoke calmly, as though this was a normal occurrence. "Come," she added as she held out a hand to both children, and looking over her shoulder to her sister.
Polly did not want to hold her hand, for she disliked the Queen very much, but soon found her hand stuck in a grip much larger and stronger than her own. The young girl was sure that, had she tried to escape the grip, the Queen could have broken her arm with a single twist. It didn't help that the Queen had grabbed her left hand either. Now she was unable to grab her yellow ring out of her left pocket, and she could only hope that Digory didn't say anything about the rings.
The four soon began to move through a maze of hallways, stairs, and courtyards. They frequently heard parts of the palace collapsing.
Dione was shocked at the state of her home. There was no life anywhere. No people, no animals, no plants. Everywhere was empty and it saddened her. Had all their people died? But then where were the animals? The plants? What had happened to her world?
Jadis moved forward, quickly and confidently. She knew how to escape the palace, after all, she had grown up here. She knew the fastest way out. As they walked, she pointed out her favorite places, such as the dungeons, the principle torture chamber, and the hall where her great-grandfather killed seven hundred nobles with rebellious thoughts.
Dione also spoke about her favorite places as they passed them. A garden had been just there and it had had the best places to hide, or that was the fountain that a servant boy had fallen into when he saw her grow a flower with magic, or this courtyard was used for the spring festival and there was always a wonderful feast.
The children listened as they walked and found that they much preferred to her the places that the Princess talked about. They seemed much happier than the places that the Queen spoke about.
Eventually, they ended up at a hall that was larger and loftier than any that they had passed through. From the size of the doors at the end, Digory guessed, and guessed correctly, that they had come to the main entrance.
The doors were black, either ebony or some black metal, with great bars across them. The bars looked too heavy to lift and some were out of reach, so the children wondered how they would open the doors.
Jadis let go of the children's hands, raised an arm, drew herself up to her full height and stood rigid in front of the doors. She said words that the children could not understand, but that Dione recognized as a command to open (though the words were horrible sounding, and there were plenty of nice ways to open the doors). The doors trembled for a second after Jadis made a motion like she was throwing something, before falling away into dust on the threshold.
Digory whistled, impressed with the display.
"Has your master magician, your uncle, power like mine?" Jadis asked taking his hand again. "But I shall know later. In the meantime, remember what you have seen. This is what happens to things, and to people, who stand in my way."
The words chilled Dione, who wondered what her sister had done, and if she had something to do with the strange silence and stillness that seemed to have engulfed their world.
Light poured through the empty doorway, more light than the children had seen. The Queen lead them through the open door, having grabbed the children's arms once more; the Princess following behind, a look of confused horror on her face.
In the open air, Dione saw the large, ancient red sun that hung in the sky. But it was the landscape that held her attention. There was nothing living as far as she could see. The temples, markets, bridges, gardens, and streets were devoid of life. Even the great river that had flowed through the city was dry and gone.
"Look well on that which no eyes will ever see again," the Queen spoke, pride lased her voice for the dead city. "Such was Charn, that great city, the city of the King of Kings, the wonder of the world, perhaps of all the worlds." The Queen paused, looking down at the boy. "Does your uncle rule any city as great as this, boy?"
"No," answered Digory. He was going to say that his Uncle didn't rule any cities. That he mostly stayed in the attic, while his Aunt Letty was in charge of the house. But the Queen cut him off.
"It is silent now. But I have stood here, with my sister, when the whole air was full of the noises of Charn; the trampling of feet, the creaking of wheels, the cracking of whips and the groaning of slaves, the thunder of chariots, and the sacrificial drums beating in the temples." The Queen seemed lost in her memories, while the Princess was still staring out at the still and silent city. The Queen then continued with her memories. "I have stood here (but that was near the end and without my dear sister) when the roar of battle went up from every street and the river of Charn ran red." She paused again before adding, "All in one moment one woman blotted it out forever."
"Who?" Digory inquired faintly, though he had put the pieces together in his mind.
Dione had, for the most part, not listened to the conversation. She had walked to the edge of the terrace and gripped the rail, hoping, praying, for some noise from the city, but the last sentence her sister had uttered dashed all hope and broke her out of her trance.
"Sister!" She cried, whirling around, rushing at the Queen. "You didn't! Please tell me you didn't!"
"I," she answered the boy. "I, Jadis, the last Queen, but the last Queen of the World."
The children were silent, shivering in the cold wind, and Dione gave out a mournful cry, sinking to her knees. Her arms wrapped themselves around her, as if to hold her together.
"It was my sister, Jora's, fault," Jadis explained. "She drove me to it. May the curse of all the Powers rest upon her forever! At any moment I was ready to make peace – yes and to spare her life too, if only she would yield me the throne. But she would not. Her pride destroyed the whole world, and nearly killed sweet Dione. Even after the war had begun, there was a solemn promise that neither side would use Magic. But when she broke her promise, what could I do? Fool! As if she did not know that I had more Magic than she! She even knew that I had the secret of the Deplorable Word. Did he think – she was always a weakling – that I would not use it?"
"But you did not have to!" Dione spat. "Why do you think that the preservation of life is so weak? Yes, you have the throne now, but what are you Queen of, sister? Ash and dust." Jadis merely looked at the weeping girl, offering no comfort beyond her next words.
"Calm sister. We shall soon have a new world, full of people and life, and they shall be protected." Jadis whispered, but Dione's silent sobs continued.
"What was it?" Digory drew attention back to himself with his question.
"That was the secret of secrets," answered Queen Jadis. "It had long been known to great Kings of our race that there was a word which, if spoken with the proper ceremonies, would destroy all living things except the one who spoke it. But the ancient Kings were weak and softhearted and bound themselves and all who should come after them with great oaths never even to seek after the knowledge of that word. But I learned it, I did not use it until she forced me to it. I fought to overcome her by every other means. I poured out the blood of my armies like water –"
"Beast!" Polly muttered, her free arm wrapped the shoulders of the sobbing Princess, in an attempt to comfort the woman.
"The last great battle," Jadis continued on, "raged for three days here in Charn itself. For three days I looked down upon it from this very spot. I did not use my power till the last of my soldiers had fallen, and the accursed woman, my sister, at the head of her rebels was halfway up the great stairs that lead up from the city to the terrace. Then I waited till we were so close that we could see one another's faces. She flashed her horrible, wicked eyes upon me and said 'Victory.' 'Yes', said I, 'Victory, but not yours.' Then I spoke the Deplorable Word. A moment later I was the only living thing beneath the sun. Dione was spared by an enchantment. She was frozen in time in the Hall of Images."
"But what of the people?" gasped Digory.
"What people, boy?" Jadis inquired.
"All of the ordinary people," answered Polly, "who'd never done you any harm. And the women, and the children, and the animals."
"Don't you understand?" Jadis said, still addressing Digory. "I was the Queen. They were all my people. What else were they there for but to do my will?"
"They were there for you to protect," Dione whispered loud enough for Polly to hear. The Princess knew she had to pull herself together. Her sister had changed, and Dione needed to get the children away. She could mourn her world later.f
"It was rather hard luck on them all the same," Digory said, not understanding why a whole planet of people had to die.
"I had forgotten you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? Or that you, sister, were never taught what it would be like to rule. You must learn that what would be wrong for you or any of the common people is not wrong for a great Queen such as I. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny."
Digory's Uncle Andrew had said the same thing about destiny; though he thought it sounded much grander coming from Jadis, probably because she was so tall and dazzlingly beautiful.
"And what did you do then?" Digory wondered how she'd gotten to the hall where they'd met.
"I had already cast strong spells on the hall where the images of my ancestors sit to preserve Dione. And the force of those spells was that I should sleep among them, like an image myself, and need neither food nor fire, though it were a thousand years, till one came and struck the bell and awoke my sister and me." Jadis had set the spells just in case and she'd always intended to save Dione, should the need arise to use the Word. She'd simply added a healing spell to the room so that her sister would awake good as new.
"Was is the Deplorable Word that made the sun like that?" asked Digory.
"Like what?" Jadis didn't understand, there was no change in the way that the sun looked.
"So big, so red, and so cold."
"It has always been so," answered Jadis. "At least, for hundreds of thousands of years. Have you a different sort of sun in your world?"
"Yes, it's smaller and yellower. And it gives a good deal more heat."
Jadis gave a long drawn "A – a – ah!" And the look that appeared across her face was the same hungry and greedy look which his Uncle Andrew had had recently. "So," she said, "yours is a younger world."
She paused and looked out over the empty city. If she felt any remorse or guilt for what she'd done it did not show on her face. Then she said:
"Now, let us be going. It is cold here at the end of all ages."
"Going where?" both the children and Dione asked.
"Where?" repeated Jadis, surprised that they asked such a question. "To your world of course."
Polly and Digory looked at each other, aghast. Polly hadn't like the Queen at all; and Digory, after listening to the story, felt that he'd seen enough of the woman. She was certainly not someone they wanted to take home. The Princess seemed nice enough, they both like her quite a bit. But they were not even sure if they could bring anyone back with them. They wanted to get away, but Polly couldn't get at her ring, and Digory couldn't leave without her. He went red in the face and stammered.
Oh – oh – our world. I d-didn't know you wanted to go there."
"What else were you sent here for if not to fetch us?" inquired Jadis.
"I'm sure you wouldn't like our world at all," Digory tried to dissuade the woman. "It's not her sort of place, is it Polly?"
"It will soon be worth seeing when I rule it," Jadis stated, determined to go to this new world.
"Oh, but you can't," said Digory. "It's not like that. They wouldn't let you, you know."
"Sister, there might be many Magicians in their world. Enough to stop even you." Dione pleaded with her sister. Half of her wanting to leave this dead world, but the other half not wanting to curse another world to her sister's cruel ways, for, if she left, she could never leave her sister behind, no matter how she'd changed.
Jadis smiled contemptuously. "Many great Kings," she said, "thought that they could stand against the House of Charn. But they all fell, and their very names are forgotten. Foolish boy! Foolish sister! Do you think that I, with my beauty and my Magic, will not have the world at my feet before a year has passed? Prepare your incantations and take us there at once."
"This is perfectly frightful", Digory said to Polly.
"Perhaps you fear for this Uncle of yours," noted the Queen. "But if he honors me duly, he shall keep his life and his throne. I am not coming to fight against him. He must be a great Magician, if he found how to send you here. Is he King of your whole world, or only part of?"
"He isn't King of anywhere," Digory said honestly.
Dione was shocked to hear that the man had the power to send two children to another world, and yet he wasn't the King of anything. Perhaps there was another more powerful Magician that Digory's Uncle in their world who was King.
"You are lying," Jadis accused, not taking this news well at all. "Does not Magic always go with royal blood? Who ever heard of common people being Magicians? I can see the truth whether you speak it or not. Your Uncle is the great King and great Enchanter of your world. And by his art he has seen the shadow of my face, in some magic mirror or some enchanted pool; and for the love of my beauty he has made a potent spell which shook your world to its foundations and sent you across the vast gulf between world and world to ask for my favor and to bring me to him. Answer me: is that not how it was?"
"Well, not exactly," Digory answered hesitantly, fearing the woman's wrath. Polly, on the other hand, had no such qualms.
"Not exactly," she shouted. "Why, it's absolute bosh from beginning to end." Dione giggled at the girl's bravery, her tears had stopped falling when the children were trying to keep her sister from their world. She'd prepared herself to defend them from her sister, should the need arise. She knew all too well what her sister's temper was like.
"Minions!" screamed the Queen, turning on Polly in a rage and grabbing her hair at the top, where it hurts the most. But this caused her to release both the children's hands.
"Now!" shouted Digory at the same time Polly shouted "Quick!" Dione reached for the girl's blue dress, hoping to pull her away from her enraged sister.
When the children's fingers touched the rings, the dreary world around them vanished and they rushed upward, where a warm green light grew ever nearer.
On Charn, silence fell when the children disappeared. The only noise that would ever echo across the desolate planet ever again was the sound of crumbling ruins.