Note: I will be including Oreius in this chapter, despite him being a movie-original character. I can't help it: the guy has like three lines the entire film, and I think he's the most interesting character there. Sorry to dump on the movies, but as a massive Narnia fan I guess I set my standards a little too high.
Year 1 of New Spring1
"Your Majesties, if I may have a moment?"
Four pairs of eyes turned toward the doorway of the ballroom, and the dance instructor – a kindly but stern Faun – excused himself. No one was under any delusions about the severity of the request. Even Peter and Edmund, who were all too glad to get out of dance lessons, were worried why they were being interrupted by the General.
"What is the matter, Oreius?" Peter asked.
"The guards have taken four Talking Wolves into custody, and it is important that you see to them expediently," the Centaur replied.
"Usually you just wait until the regular court time," Edmund said. He eyed Oreius, but the General gave away no tells. "What makes these Wolves an exception?"
"The eldest identified herself as the mate of Maugrim, along with three of their get."2
That made Edmund's blood run cold. He might have only seen the savage Wolf for a short time over a month ago, but the fear of who he was and what he almost accomplished still lingered in his nightmares. From the dangerously pale faces of his siblings, the king guessed they still felt the fear as well – and he knew for a fact that Susan had woken in tears from a nightmare about the Wolf barely five days ago.
"Why would they choose to attack now?" Peter asked, his hands grasping at the empty air where his sword should have been hanging.
Oreius shook his head, an almost perplexed look touching his features. "They did not. They presented themselves to the guards and accepted detainment without protest. The only thing is that they appealed directly to Your Majesties to present their supplication and receive judgment."
Peter took in a deep breath. "Right, you three..."
"Don't even finish that sentence, you prat," Edmund growled. "You're not doing this alone. Besides, we have to go with you. That sort of appeal requires all four of us to be present, right?" He directed his question at the Centaur, who nodded in agreement. All Four would need to hear the supplication and pass judgment, or it would be a violation of the law and the rights of citizens of Narnia – criminal or not.
The Four took a short detour on their way to the throne room in order to grab the boys' swords and Lucy's dagger and cordial; Susan opted to not bring her Christmas gifts on account of their impracticality in this situation, though she did tuck a knife up her sleeve.3 Oreius kept close the whole time, one hand on his sword.
In the throne room were the Wolves. All four had had their front paws shackled together, and had either one or two guards standing very close. The eldest Wolf, a buff female covered in scars and missing patches of fur, had also received a chain around her neck as an extra precaution.
The herald announced the Four Kings and Queens into the room, and Peter wasted no time taking charge of the situation – despite having little color in his face. "Speak, Wolf. What would you have of Us?"
The eldest dropped to her belly, tail tucked in close, and ears down; the three others followed her into the submissive position only a second later. "O Kings and Queens, blessed of Aslan, I am Vel of the Grim Pack,4 sometime mate of Maugrim and the Alpha Female until such time as my pup takes a mate for himself. I ask that you look kindly on us and show mercy in the wake of our great loss: first our Alpha Male and his Mistress, and second all but nine of our Pack, five of which are little more than pups who did not serve the False Queen."
"So you four served the White Witch?" Peter asked.
"No!" One of the three younger Wolves surged up to his paws, only to freeze with the blade of a spear coming to rest on his throat.
"Au," Vel growled. The Wolf whimpered, and sat, but did not move farther down from there.
"Your Majesties, please, if you must punish those who directly served the Witch then kill me, but please do not harm my litter-mate or younger brothers. Pil and Tar are too young, they were not accepted into the Witch's service before she died, and Nae… she is crippled, the Battle of Beruna took the use of her back legs, she doesn't deserve anymore punishment than that. My dam5 doesn't deserve anymore either. She has sent two of her litters into the Witch's service, and I and Nae are the only survivors out of seven. Of her third litter only Pil and Tar have reached their first year. Please, have mercy on my Pack; as the new Alpha Male I offer myself in their stead."
"Augrim!" Vel snapped, earning her a warning jerk of the chain. "Think you the Pack will survive without an Alpha? Who is left to take your place? Lay down and be silent until you can speak sensibly."
Au whimpered and returned to his submissive position on his belly. His whole body was trembling, as were the two younger wolves.
Vel returned her attention to the Four, who were appearing less and less fearful, and more and more thoughtful. "You asked what we would have of you, High King. This is my plea: that you take and do unto me any punishment you wish upon my Pack, pardoning Au to lead it as Alpha under yourselves; then take my two youngest, Pil and Tar, into your service as you see fit."
"Are you so arrogant to request the return of your sacred position which you forfeited?" one of the guards, a burly Tiger, growled.
Vel all but flattened herself to the floor. "I would never seek to rise above my station in such a manner. Even a simple servant is too high a position for one such as myself, but my pups have not committed the sins I have, so they might be worthy of servitude."
"Forgive my ignorance," Edmund said, speaking slowly as he carefully recalled his lessons in courtly language and etiquette, "I am unaware of this 'sacred position' you speak of. Would you care to enlighten me?"
The court chronicler, who was also their history teacher and an adviser, shuffled forward. As an elderly Badger he suffered from stiff joints and had to move slower than most, but his voice was still strong and it carried across the room. "In the days before the White Witch invaded Narnia, when those of the line of King Frank, First of that Name, still sat upon the throne, Wolves were looked on with respect and reverence. For out of all the Beasts to be personal guards of the royal family, the Wolves were always counted among their number. And out of the many Wolf Packs, it was the Grim Pack that always had at least one of their number as a personal guard to either the king or queen or heir. Although there was no written pact between the Grim Pack and the royal family, it came to be known throughout Narnia that a Grim Wolf was as good as the highest knight and should be accorded such respect."
"Thank you, Professor Earthenden," Edmund said. "If I understand correctly, the Wolves switched their allegiance to the White Witch when she came, choosing the False Queen over the rightful kings and queens."
"Correct," Vel said, "It is the highest shame of the Wolf Packs, the one sin we could never atone for."
There were a few beats of silence in the Great Hall as everyone waited to see if there would be anymore input to the situation. When no one stepped forward to add their opinion, Peter turned to Edmund. Normally, the Four would excuse themselves to a separate chamber to discuss the supplication and their response – since most Narnians had sharp ears and would hear even the softest whisper from the thrones. However, Edmund felt that this case was already decided, and it looked like Peter thought so as well.
The eldest Pevensie raised a hand to block his lips from the spectators and mouthed, 'Pardon?'
Edmund nodded and mouthed back, 'Full pardon.'
Peter turned to the girls, presumably to ask the same, and Edmund saw them also nod; although Lucy looked more like she was bouncing than nodding, and tiny giggles were escaping every few seconds.
Rising from his throne, Peter cleared his throat. With everyone's attention on him the High King stood tall, and Edmund could see the glimmer of the great king he would become. He hesitated for a moment, probably to gather his thoughts into the flowery language of the court and said, "This is Our judgment! We Four do hereby grant full pardon to the Grim Wolf Pack on the condition that every member swears loyalty first to the Lion Aslan, and second to the kings and Queens of Narnia. Velgrim is hereby charged with the task that upon taking the oath of loyalty she return to her Pack and raise her children and grandchildren in the ways of Aslan until her death. Augrim is hereby recognized as Alpha Male of the Grim Pack under Us and under Aslan, and is charged to lead his Pack in the ways of Aslan until his death."
Peter then paused. Murmurs at the unorthodox judgment were filling the room. The Wolves, and their guards, were stunned speechless – though one of the youngest was wagging his tail a tiny bit. Though obviously hesitant, the guards dutifully removed the chains binding the Wolves.
"As for Pilgrim and Targrim..." Peter began slowly, and Edmund understood his hesitance. They were still unsure of all the nuances of castle life and servitude. What exactly were they to do with two yearling pups who had been offered to them? Would it be rude to decline the offer?
"I will take them as my guard." The room froze, and as one all eyes turned to the eldest queen as she stood from her throne.
"Susan!" Peter said, breaking out of 'king mode' and straight into 'worried older brother mode'.
But the raven-haired girl simply ignored everyone as she glided down the dais to stand before the four Wolves. The Wolves were squeezing themselves into the floor, and the two youngest actually gave in to their instincts to roll over and bare their stomachs in total submission.
"Pilgrim and Targrim, the sins of your forefathers have been pardoned, first by the Lion and now by Us. They are forgotten, and will no longer be accounted to you. We accept you as Our personal guard if you will have Us," Susan said, her knack court language evident in the beautiful speech. Edmund felt himself tearing up and he dashed at his eyes. It reminded him so much of the two most important conversations he had with Aslan: the one when he was rescued from the Witch, and the one right after the Battle of Beruna when he had broken down from the guilt and relief of the Lion's death and resurrection respectively.6
"Yeah! I mean..." one of the pups sat up and shifted from paw to paw. "I, Tar of the Grim Pack, swear myself to be loyal to the Lion Aslan and to the Four Kings and Queens, and accept the offer of Queen Susan to be her personal guard."
"Me too," the other pup said, also getting up. "I, Pil of the Grim Pack, swear myself to be loyal to the Lion Aslan and to the Four Kings and Queens, and accept the offer of Queen Susan to be her personal guard."
Susan nodded, looking every inch the queen she was, and turned to their General. Oreius was managing to almost look gobsmacked despite being a Centaur. "General Oreius, We entrust the training of Pilgrim and Targrim to you; raise them to be knights as you see fit, and return them to Us when they are ready."
"I hear and obey, My Queen," the Centaur said with a bow. Whatever else could be said about their General, he was unwavering in his loyalty, no matter what his personal feelings towards the matter.
"You can't be serious, Su!" Peter said. He had completely abandoned appearances as a king now, and had moved to stand next to her, arms flailing a little. "They're the sons of Maugrim! You still get nightmares of him."
Susan crossed her arms, her queenly aura leaving to show a twelve year old arguing with her fourteen year old brother. "So they should be punished for something their father did?"
"Of course not!" Peter threw his hands in the air. "But personal guards? You don't need to force yourself to constantly be around them. There's plenty of other places they could go. Places where you don't have to be within arm's reach day in and day out."
Then Edmund saw it. It was a tiny glance in his direction. Barely noticeable. But in that moment, he understood exactly what he sister was thinking. "Then you shouldn't be forced to have me as a king either," he said.
His voice, and words, snapped his siblings out of their fight, and brought everyone's attention on himself. "What?" Peter asked, bewildered.
"Aslan pardoned my treason, so I won't be punished for it," Edmund said. "But… that doesn't mean I'm fit to be a king. You guys, and all of Narnia, don't have to put up with me as king, being a constant reminder that Aslan died because of my treachery. Just say the word and I'll step down; 'there's plenty of other places I could go.'"
"What? No! Ed, that's not..." Peter trailed off. His eyes closed and his head bowed. Whatever internal battle he was having showed itself as he clenched the hilt of his sword, then all the tension eased away. Peter smiled, but it was filled with sorrow and defeat. "Alright, I get it. I apologize for my behavior. If Susan accepts Pil and Tar as her guards then I accept it as well."
In a way, it was understandable that the entire court erupted into cheers.
"It took a little less than a year for them to reach the point where Oreius allowed them to actually serve as Susan's guards, and by that time her nightmares had all but stopped. They went on to be the two most acclaimed guards in the castle, who everyone looked up to and aspired to be like. They had to retire due to old age about twenty years later, but two of their nephews stepped up to take their places," Edmund said, finishing the first story.
"That's..." Caspian breathed. "Incredible."
Edmund laughed. "If you think that's incredible, you'll be blown away by Peter's story."
"Please tell me," the prince asked.
"Very well..."
Ending Notes:
1: I like to think that the Narnians reset their calendar year once the White Witch was defeated. Not only would this parallel our calendars (Anno Domini = the Year of our Lord; references Jesus), but it would allow them to have a clean slate, to start fresh after a century of bondage.
2: "Get" is an outdated term referring to an animal's offspring. It likely originated from the word "beget" which refers to a human bringing a child into existence via reproduction. I used this term because I thought it fit with the flowery/old English used by the people of the court in Narnia and Archenland.
3: It will become more obvious as this series goes on, but I don't consider "Gentle" to equal "weak", nor do I think Susan was a kickbutt warrior (like the movies portray). It is possible to be a strong woman and still be gentle. The books said she had a distaste for battle, meaning - to me - that she only went to war when it was absolutely necessary, and that she likely used her gifts as Father Christmas intended: self-defense. This does not make her weak or a pushover, it makes her tenderhearted; when she must step forward to defend herself and her people, I imagine she does so completely and admirably.
4: I decided to do something interesting with the names. Since it seems random whether a Talking Beast will have a surname or not, I decided to have the Pack and Herd animals share a distinctive suffix that would act in place of a surname. Those that live a bit more spread out (or even in colonies with separate family units) will have separate surnames - and whether they prefer to be called by personal name or surname is individual.
5: "Dam" refers to the mother of an animal, usually a domesticated animal, but I figured it worked here. The counterpart is "Sire" referring to the father of an animal.
6: It's never confirmed whether the boys (or any other Narnians) knew about Aslan's death prior to the battle or not. Either way, I can't see it staying a secret - especially with the Stone Table cracked in half - and I definitely can't see Edmund just accepting what happened without a long talk with Aslan. Imagine: your personal hero, who saved you from a dark path, suddenly reveals that in order to do so they had to be humiliated, beaten, and brutally murdered. Talk about feeling guilty! Thankfully, Edmund and Aslan work through all of Ed's issues together.