Prompt #7: "Throw me to the wolves, and I will return leading the pack."
Sometimes I wish I could claim Narnia, but as Old Man Lewis says, if a person is free from the bias of his own favor "he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor's talents—or in a sunrise, an elephant, or a waterfall" —so I suppose I can enjoy Narnia just the same, whether it is my own invention or not. :) That guy was pretty smart.
Peter followed his sister into the faun's house, afraid of what her reaction might be. He knew -the moment he saw the splintered door- that Lucy's new friend was in trouble. And judging by the and the stale snow that covered the threshold, they were much too late to be any proper help.
Watching his youngest sister stoop at the hearth with a shredded picture in her hand, Peter thought about saying something. But then he spotted a notice pinned to the carpet– a notice signed by the Narnian Wolf Captain.
"Lu," Peter said, but there was nothing to say.
—
"You little beast!" The words came out softly but with unintentional venom; Peter was still sore. "It's a robin - in the stories, they're the good birds!"
Edmund scowled but he kept his voice low too. "When it comes to it, how do we even know which side is the good one? Suppose the Queen–"
"The faun saved Lucy."
"You aren't listening!" Edmund glanced toward his sisters, lowering his tone again. "We know nothing about anything. Not which side is right. Not even who's leading us."
"I'm following a robin. Are you?" With that, Peter went to walk with the girls.
—
"We must make haste." Mr. Beaver announced, standing abruptly. "There's no saying how long the Boy's been gone."
Peter agreed. He regretted having been so harsh earlier. "We ought to split into search parties. Maybe he–"
Mr. Beaver's eyes darkened. "It's no good searching, Son of Adam. We already know where your brother's gone off to."
"Where?" Susan asked, rising to her feet.
"He betrayed you; he'll be going to the White Witch's castle." Mr. Beaver stated, looking each of the children full in the face. "We must make for the Stone Table– before she sends her Wolves for you."
—
"Peter," Susan said, between bites of sandwich. The two of them were sitting in the middle of Aslan's Camp eating leftover bits of Christmas bread. "What do we do? Once Edmund's back? Everyone seems to expect more of us, but we need to go home."
"By Jove! I forgot!" Peter exclaimed, and it was true. When they first got into Narnia, he'd kept England in mind. With everything happening now, returning home had been pushed from his thoughts entirely.
"We'll see," he said, avoiding Susan's eye. Frankly, there was a part of him that didn't want to leave just yet.
—
A sound rang through the air, like a bugle, but richer. Peter knew the sound without ever having heard it– Susan's horn. On Aslan's orders, he drew his sword and sped away. Peter was on his own now.
Terror and adreninline guided his weapon. The Wolf Captain ducked, paused, and let out a terrible howl. Peter jabbed. Just as soon as the battle had begun, it was over.
"Well done," came the voice of Aslan. Turning to face Him, Peter smiled. He should have known the Lion would follow him in battle. Peter cleaned his sword and knelt.
"Rise, Wolf's-Bane."
—
"Ready?" Edmund asked as he fumbled with his armour.
"Do I have to be?" Peter challenged. He finished buckling Rihndon to his side and turned to face Edmund; it was good to have his brother back. "Remember the plan: you'll lead the archers–"
Edmund laughed. "And then I'll join you at the front line to make sure you don't forget all sense of strategy!"
"Ed–"
"Pete." Edmund's arm plate hung awkwardly off his shoulder as he tried to catch Peter's eye. "Have faith. We're on Aslan's side."
Peter smiled. Then motioned his brother forward. "Let me help with those clasps."
—
"Don't you understand boy!" she cried. "Your precious Cat is dead! Dead!" The Wich danced around Peter striking viciously with her knife. He didn't have the breath to reply as he parried her attacks, but Peter didn't believe a word of it. He'd been fighting since before sunrise, the Beasts were nearly halved in number, and Ed was–
Peter couldn't think about it. He had to keep fighting.
"Aslan's with me," he managed, "always."
Then, for the first time all day, they heard the unmistakable sound of a Roar.
The Witch whipped around, face slack with fear. "Impossible," she breathed.
—
Narnia's Kings were just coming back from a ride around the grounds when a grey figure caught their eye. The Wolf came forward with his tail between his legs and Peter didn't know what to think. He knew a fight when he saw one; he had chased off what remained of the Witch's army, including the rest of the Wolf Pack, less than a fortnight ago. He was familiar with Loyalty and Leadership– he was even familiar with Wolves. But Peter didn't know what to make of this. Frankly, the High King of Narnia knew next to nothing about Justice.
—
"Your Majesties," he said with a bow. "I'd like to apologize for, well– everything; but I simply couldn't leave Narnia."
Peter looked toward Edmund for support. "We could charge you with treason," he warned.
The Wolf sagged. "I know."
Edmund stepped in. "Tell us your name."
"Zion."
"Zion, we, King Edmund of Narnia, hold you guiltless. You will be watched as part of the Kings' Regiment. For now, your home is Narina."
Zion looked up uncomprehendingly.
"You fight for us now," Peter simplified. He smiled as the Wolf bounded through the grounds. Maybe Justice and Leadership were related after all.
—
As a Great Eagle circled down from the sky, Peter looked out on the marshlands before him. Then to Oreius and Zion at his sides. Somewhere beyond the thick cloud of morning fog lay the encroaching Giant Army.
"Sire," the Bird reported on landing, "the Marshwiggles are halfway across the bog. They will join us as we march on the Enemy's camp."
"Good," the King replied, as Oreius signaled for the march to continue. By this time tomorrow, there would be war. Peter didn't know how it would turn out but, by Aslan's will, he would be leading the charge.
Done. I had a lot of fun with this one and have been looking forward to writing it for a bit; probably 80% of the reason why I was so ready to skip over the previous one. Anyhow, let me know what you thought!
I didn't use the quote in my writing, but I hope Peter's journey from "thrown to the wolves" when he enters the world of Narnia to "leading the pack" as High King comes across clearly enough. I used a series of ten 100 word drabbles to tell the story and, as it turns out, constantly checking my word count is surprisingly tedious- but like I said, I've been looking forward to the concept. I liked how it turned out, particularly the middle bits, and I think I might try the drabble thing again sometime. For now I think I'm good.
