I had a couple of people hint in reviews that they were not familiar with the story of The Last Battle. Please don't be too surprised if you get very confused until the end of the story when I let Peter in on what happens. If it makes you feel any better, you know as much as Peter does!
Apologies to any lawyers out there, but I had to kinda fudge on the law a bit as I couldn't understand what little information I found on property laws in England in the 1950s. Please don't think that my take on property law is at all correct and go digging in people's yards!
Oh, and just so you know, this chapter is kinda angsty!
Disclaimer: I am merely borrowing C. S. Lewis' charming characters and world, and will eventually return them. The only thing that is mine is the plot.
Disclaimer 2: If this story in any way resembles any other fanfiction it is by complete accident, as I go out of my way to avoid reading fanfictions that resemble mine until mine are completed. My apologies to any other great minds.
Author's note: This story is set pre-, during- and post- The Last Battle. I am a first time fanfiction writer and any reviews are appreciated.
Chapter twelve: Temptation
As the strange vision disappeared, there were cries from around the table of, "It's vanishing, it's fading away!" followed by a short period of rather stunned silence as the room returned to normal. Everyone looked at one another truly not knowing what to say.
Eustace turned to the Professor, a slight quivering in his voice as he said, "Good instincts, sir. I wonder if that still would have happened if we hadn't all been together?"
"I don't know, Eustace," the Professor replied, shaken. He may have had a feeling that something might happen, but he didn't truly think that it would, and not like this. "I don't think we will ever know."
"Well," said Jill. "Now what do we do? There is most definitely something going on in Narnia, and we are obviously needed."
"Maybe Aslan will summon one of us?" wondered Lucy. "He is the only way we ever got into Narnia."
Eustace piped up, "When Jill and I went into Narnia the last time, we had called to Aslan to help us and take us away. He said later that we would not have called to him if he hadn't been calling to us. Maybe we should try that."
Peter spoke up for the first time. "Has Aslan forbidden you to come back to Narnia, Jill, Eustace?"
"No," Jill replied. "He didn't say anything about whether we could come back or not."
"Then you two should try and call to him," Peter said, then, indicating the others, continued, "He has already told us that he would not be bringing us back to Narnia again. It would do no good for us older ones to try."
Edmund and Lucy looked ready to protest, but before they could Jill and Eustace grabbed another's hand, held their free hands out, palm up, closed their eyes and called, "Aslan! Aslan! Aslan!" Everyone waited with baited breath for something to happen.
The room stayed the same. Neither Jill nor Eustace so much as twitched. They started to feel rather silly. It was three minutes of silent waiting before Polly commented, "I don't think that is going to work. If Aslan wanted you in Narnia he would do something about it. Calling and wishing isn't going to help."
"Well, we have to do something!" Lucy cried. "We can't just sit here like bumps on a log! Narnia needs our help!"
"I'm just as worried as you are, Lucy, but the only way into Narnia is through Aslan," Peter said. "If He isn't going to bring one of us there Himself I don't know what we can do."
"There is another way." It was the Professor, and he spoke slowly and hesitantly. The room stilled. "The rings."
Polly looked at her old friend. "The ones we used to get into Narnia in the first place?" She was referring to two sets of magic rings that Digory's awful Uncle Andrew had made many years ago, and had then tricked her into wearing as an experiment. Putting on one ring would take you to the Wood Between the Worlds, a strange wood with many pools. Each pool was a portal to another world. It was by putting on the other ring and jumping into a pool that you could get into another world or back into your own.
The Professor nodded. "The only problem is that I don't have them anymore. I buried them in the garden of that old house in London, before it got sold."
"You mean to say that there is a way to get into Narnia without waiting for Aslan to call us?" Lucy asked slowly, hope building in her eyes.
Peter felt the same hope building in his heart. Oh, to be able to go back to Narnia, if only for a little while! To see the land, to stay in Cair Paravel again, it was almost more than he had ever hoped for. He knew from hearing the Professor and Polly tell their tale that anyone touching the person with the ring on would be able to follow. He could even take Leona with them. It was a way around Aslan's edict. He could almost smell the fresh air of home!
The others were talking excitedly about who would go, and whether the rings could be used to make visits to Narnia, since there were only two sets. Perhaps if they all held onto one another? Why hadn't they thought of this before?!?
Suddenly, Peter's hopeful thoughts came to a grinding halt. A way around Aslan's edict!? What was he thinking! He had been told that he was not to come to Narnia anymore. It had been a command, not a challenge to find a way to come without permission! Peter felt sick with shame. Life in England was his test of faith, and no sooner had a trial come up than he nearly failed. But the temptation was so strong! To see Narnia just one last time! To simply be home for even a moment. Surely it couldn't hurt to try? Perhaps Aslan wouldn't mind too terribly? Peter shook his head vigorously to try and shake the temptation to disobey Aslan out of his mind. His hands clenched as he fought his heart's desire into submission. Around him the increasingly hopeful conversations were continuing.
"Quiet!" Peter called, and the room stilled. Everyone looked to him. Peter took a deep breath.
"Jill and Eustace will go. They will take the rings, if we can get them, go back to Narnia and do whatever needs be done. The rest of us will stay here." Peter looked at Jill and Eustace in turn who nodded solemnly back at him.
"But, Peter," Lucy said quietly. "Don't you want to go back as much as any of the rest of us? We could go home."
Peter met his sister's eyes, and Lucy wished with all her heart that she could have taken back her last question. Peter's eyes were filled with a longing so deep that it nearly took her breath away. She knew that if he could, he would have taken the rings and have been back in Narnia faster than anything. She didn't understand why he would pass up this chance.
"We have been told that we are not to go back to Narnia," Peter responded slowly, and everyone could hear the bittersweet pain in his voice. "Shame on us for talking about disobeying the one being to whom we all owe so much! And what would be the point? Do you think that any machinations of ours could bring us one step closer to Narnia if Aslan did not wish it? Shame on us for thinking of defying him at all. No, Jill and Eustace will go."
Lucy was in tears now; Edmund was white to the lips. He had always been more sensitive to the idea of disobedience and treachery then the others. Peter hated causing his beloved siblings pain, but there was no other way. His own heart was bleeding and he understood more than ever how Susan felt when she called being locked away from Narnia a 'festering wound'. The temptation was so strong, the longing almost overpowering, but now that he had spoken out loud and given the commands, it was easier. He had passed his test. If only it didn't hurt so much to say, "No."
Digory cleared his throat. "Well, now that it is settled who will go to Narnia, we had better find a way of getting there. I buried the rings in a box in the garden of my uncle and aunt's old London house. That wouldn't be a problem except that the house has been sold, several times in fact, since then."
Jill spoke up. "Couldn't we just knock on the door, tell whoever lives there that you mistakenly left something buried in the garden when you moved out and see if they will let us in?"
"We could try," the Professor told her. "But if the rings were on the grounds when they bought the house, whoever owns the house would own the rings. That is the law. The only way I can see us getting the rings is buying them or. . ." He looked uncomfortable as he finished, "Stealing them."
"It wouldn't necessarily be stealing," Edmund put in. "If the rings were left by accident, the law gets more subject to interpretation. And if you buried them near the edge of the property it could be close enough to the street to count as public property. It would be easiest to just go in, get the rings and get out before anyone notices. If the idea that we are stealing bothers anyone, we could leave some money in the box and just take the rings."
"You would know, Ed," Peter said. "Looks like becoming a lawyer is a good plan for you." Edmund was in his freshman year of law school, and was hoping to become a lawyer and, eventually, a judge.
"I still think that we should ask whoever owns the house if they will let us get the rings," Lucy said. She hated the idea of stealing.
"They would want to know what was so important that we would come looking for it decades later," Edmund said. "They would assume that the rings are valuable and wouldn't want to give them up. And what if they took them to a jeweler, or tried them on themselves? The Professor buried them to keep them out of innocent people's hands. Even when you know how to use them they truly aren't very safe."
"I suppose that's true," Lucy agreed. "But that doesn't mean I like it."
"So all of us are agreed that we can't risk letting the house's owners know what we want or even that we are there," Peter said. No one gave any further protests, though Lucy still looked apprehensive.
"We don't want to go in the dark, someone will think we are out to rob the house," Peter said. "It would be best if we got in during the daytime, and looked like we were there to do something with the plumbing or something."
"I have a friend who is a workman," Edmund broke in. "I can get him to lend us some of his uniforms, but he'll be busy with the holidays and I don't think I'd be able to contact him until after Christmas."
"That shouldn't be a difficulty," Aunt Polly told him. "We can't just go haring off at any rate. Much as I hate to say it, I doubt that we will be able to get Jill and Eustace to Narnia until after New Years. This must be kept under wraps. There would be more questions than we would know what to do with if any of us just up and left the day before Christmas. Besides, Peter has Leona coming tomorrow. Narnia is important but so is she."
Peter nodded. "Aunt Polly's right. Narnia will have to fend for herself for a couple of days. We don't have any other choice. Now let's get this charted out. Eustace, you and Jill go back to school on January third, correct?"
"Unfortunately, yes," he replied, and then muttered under his breath. "Ruddy Experiment House, not even giving us a proper size Christmas holiday."
Peter looked at Polly and Digory. "You two were planning on leaving the 3rd as well, since there isn't much point in staying if we all are going to be splitting up anyway." They nodded.
"Alright," Peter said, thinking things through. "Here's what we'll do. Edmund and I will go up to the London house on the 2nd, and get the rings. We'll send a wire or we'll call to let you know we have them. Then we will meet Jill and Eustace at the connecting train station, and give them the rings. They will use them, do what needs to be done in Narnia, and let us all know as soon as you can what had happened. Aunt Polly, you and the Professor need to think back as hard as you can. You will need to be able to tell Jill and Eustace exactly which pool is Narnia. I don't want them to have to experiment to find the right one. Lucy, I'm sorry but there really isn't a part for you to play yet other than keeping Mum and Dad out of our hair. I'd invite you along with Ed and me, but it would just look odd for a girl to be with two workman."
Lucy made a face. "Much as I hate to say it, you're right. I'll ride with Jill and Eustace," she said. "We should stay together as long as possible and it would be horrid to sit at home all alone, not knowing what was going on."
"We will travel with you three as well," Digory said. "We would be taking the early train home at any rate, so we might as well stick together."
Peter gave a satisfied nod. "It's settled then. The only thing that we need to do is for Edmund to contact his friend and get the uniforms. Other than that, we need to enjoy the holidays and act as normal as possible. Or as normal as usual as the case may be!"
A spark of excitement ran around the table. The adventure was beginning.
TBC...
Author's notes for chapter: Sorry this is shortish, but there really wasn't any better place to stop. If it cheers you up, Leona is coming in the next chapter, which should be out in a week or so! Make sure to review and give me your opinion and theories. Letting me know what you think is going to happen or asking questions lets me know what to put in the story. I can't give answers if I don't know the questions! Even if your theory's are wrong, it lets me know what hints I may have dropped that have been misinterpreted, and what hints I need to drop in the future. It really helps me tie the story together. So hit that little review button and let me know were you think the story is going!