Chapter three

Chapter three

It had been for a reason that she had not taken Philip or any of the other horses that could speak. She needed no one to reason with her as she rode through the final gate of Cair Paravel, leaving stunned guards behind her. Philip would probably reason with her, trying to talk her back into the ballroom where she would be crowned Queen.
She didn't want reason, she realised as she rode down the path covered with red, brown and yellow leaves. She only wanted to talk to the Faun who had left the palace that night, before any of them could have missed him.

It was autumn and she remembered that she had left her easel in the garden. She had not had the time to take it inside and for a moment she worried that the painting would perish in the rain.
But if she turned around now she would not get another chance to leave and the painting seemed unimportant, although she had almost finished it.
The mare with the chestnut coat listened to her perfectly, finding her way through the trees an across the slippery path so well that Lucy guessed that it had been one of Edmund's mares. Philip had shouted after her to be careful with her, but now the young mare was nothing than something that would get her to Tumnus.
The mare left the print of her hooves on the path, Lucy realised. It wouldn't take Oreius or one of the Satyrs long to find her if she continued to ride down the path and she didn't wished to be found. Not yet.
She slowed the mare, looking down the path while she tried to remember where she was.
Occasionally Oreius would take her and Susan for a ride, but they would never go far from Cair Paravel. Edmund had taken her with him once or twice, but she could not remember where they had went. They had been too busy talking, laughing, with mr. Tumnus in their wake as they had galloped across the plains surrounding Cair Paravel, with Philip and one of his sons. She hadn't cared for where they had went, and now she regretted that she hadn't paid attention to their surroundings.
It was her guess that the path would not lead her directly to the lamppost, that it would actually lead her away from it. The lamppost was her assurance that she was heading in the right way.
It nearly made her growl in frustration that she wasn't sure, that she had too guess. Life in Cair Paravel had been so easy, with Susan looking after her, Edmund always watching over her safety, Peter always ready with advice and kind words.
She had not realised how cocooned her life had been at the grand castle. While she had always thought that she was the wildest of the four, she had actually been the one who had been most shielded from the outside world.
And in a way, that wasn't a bad thing. She loved her siblings, and they loved her. They had wanted only the best for her, but now she saw what their upbringing had done to her; she didn't even know the way in her own Kingdom, in Narnia, while she had lived there for years.
The mare halted as she sensed her rider's confusion and doubt, not sure herself of where to go. Lucy signed, rubbed her temples. She needed to think, not about the past, or what she hadn't learned. She had to use logic, common sense, just like her older sister. She had to get away from Cair Paravel, she was still too close to the castle. Oreius would find her in no time at all if she didn't kept on riding. That was a priority, so she urged the mare on, and the mare gladly obeyed. Her hooves pounding on the dirt road as Lucy steered her down the path; calling on all her common sense as she tried to form a plan in her head. Like Susan would've done.
The first thing she needed to do was find the lamppost, she would remember the landscape then, it would lead her to mister Tumnus' cave.
the lamppost was quite on the other side of Narnia, but she remembered the road leading to the lamppost, and she vaguely remembered how to get to Tumnus's cave from there. It was logical to start from there, or so she reasoned with herself. If she just kept on riding, she would find something she recognised, and go from there.

Luckily for Lucy she quickly found out where she was, in which direction she had steered her horse, although it had been sheer luck. It wasn't until she went down the path that she actually remembered where she was. It was no wonder for she had no been on the path for years. The trees had grown bigger, the grass higher, but she still remembered it as Aslans' camp. It brought some pleasant memories, from Aslan whom she had not seen in years of thought of in months, to Oreius and his guard trying to teach her and her siblings all they needed to know to protect themselves from the White Witch.

Her hand went to the elegant leather belt she worn over her pale green dress. The small dagger with the golden lion's head welcomed her touch. The flask was no longer full of the elixir Father Christmas had given her that faithful day, but the flask still hang from the belt if only to remember her what had happened the day of the battle.
Memories, they were treacherous. They brought her to mister Tumnus again, frozen like stone in the yard of the Witch. How her heart had felt like it had been torn apart as she saw the look on his stone face. It had hurt her beyond believe.
Like it had hurt her to find that he had gone away, without even a word of goodbye.
Lucy picked up the reigns of the mare, gently pushing her heels in the side of the horse as it needed no more coaxing to break into a gallop, feeling her riders determination, although she had no idea where her rider would take her.

When they had travelled from the house of the Beavers they had been on foot and it had taken them perhaps a day or two. On horseback it had to be possible to reach the lamppost in even half a day. Lucy glanced at the sky, grey rain clouds were gathering. Perhaps she would be in time to reach mr. Tumnus house before it would begin raining as well.
She tried to be optimistic, hoped the sun would continue to shine, because she wasn't wearing the appropriate clothing for nasty weather conditions. In fact, the only function the dress had she was wearing now, was to be pretty, nothing more. It couldn't withstand the rain, or warm her when a cold wind blew.
So she silently hoped it would stay dry, knowing that her hopes were in vain as she saw the grey clouds gathering.
The rain had started to fall softly at first, dampening her cloak and dress as Lucy rode past the once Frozen Lake. It made riding uncomfortable as the dampened dress constricted her legs, making the saddle slippery against her bare legs. She hadn't had the time to find any more suitable clothing when she left the castle and now she regretted that she had not taken that chance. Her knees hurt as they scoured past the leather of the saddle. She had lost her shoes, and the iron stirrups hurt her bare feet but bounced against her shins as she took her feet out. She had crossed them before the saddle, but it did not make things more comfortable for her knees.
She had promised herself that she would take a rest when she reached the western woods, or perhaps Rock Bridge. As soon as she would be in the woods itself she would let the mare go and let her find her own way. It was probably already to obvious that she had taken this route, the only route she knew that led towards the lamppost.
But she had not yet heard the sound of hooves that could meant that Oreius was on his way, or Edmund and Philip. She hadn't heard anything yet, save the rustle of leaves and birds.
As she pondered why she had not be found yet, the rain began to pour, not listening to the startled cry of the future queen as her dress soaked in no time at all, goose bumps covering her arms as the rain was cold, making the dress clammy.

She urged the mare into a gallop again, hoping she would reach the forest soon, hoping that the trees had just enough leaves yet to shield her from the pouring rain.
She had left the mare in a clearing, releasing her of her reigns and saddle. Lucy had taken all she needed from the saddle, leaving it in the clearing itself. She had taken some biscuits and bread from the kitchen, not knowing how long she would be on her way.
The mare had looked at her in a pondering way, as if she did not know Lucy would leave her there.
"Go one now," Lucy had said, pushing the mare away. "Go back if you will, or stay here. I don't care." The mare had looked at her in dismay. "I can't take you with me," Lucy had tried to explain. "Go on, I won't be gone forever. Tell Philip I'll be back soon enough."
The name of the talking horse had caught the mare's attention and she hummed as only mares could. She turned around on her hind legs, spurting away before Lucy could take a step back.
The mare was gone so soon that Lucy wondered what the relationship between the mare and Philip was, perhaps father and daughter. It would've explained Philip's warning.
If she was the daughter of Philip, she would return to Cair Paravel soon enough and tell her father where she had left Lucy.
Lucy smiled, she wasn't going to let them get her so easily. She bound the little package of bread and biscuits to her belt and started walking on her bare feet through the icy mud.

She thought she remembered the way now, she would find the lamppost just after that turn…
But there was no lamppost after the turn, just more trees.
Lucy glanced back, seeing the exact same road behind her. She had thought that she had known where she was, but now that everything looked the same she was not so very sure.

She wasn't even so sure whether she was in the Western Woods. For a moment she regretted letting the mare go, but she reasoned that the mare probably didn't know the way either.
She didn't feel like returning to Cair Paravel with shoulders hanging while she had to explain why she bolted off. She rather wanted to be turned into stone than to explain that she had ran after mister Tumnus, and why she had run after mister Tumnus. It wasn't an option, so she kept on walking.
She was in the woods, which was quite something considering she didn't know the way. The Woods weren't endless so she had to find something she recognised soon enough. She tried t picture mister Tumnus' face if he saw her standing on her doorstep. It brought a smile to her face and she found to courage to keep walking, hoping that she would reach mister Tumnus' cave soon enough.

Her feet hurt, but she wasn't sure whether her feet were hurting. They were icy cold as she kept on walking through the stream, cleaning them of the mud and leaves she had picked up during the walk. The underside of her dress was practically ruined and she could already hear mrs. Beaver mourning over the loss of the dress. Lucy didn't care, she would care for a nice warm bath or a nice warmed bed where she could sleep. Her feet were aching as the ice-cold water from the mountains washed over her feet. The water was still reasonable high so it was Lucy's guess that the beaver dam had hold even though the Beavers no longer lived near the dam.
If she could reach the Beaver house, she would know where she was. She had crossed the stream three times already while the rain kept pouring down. Her muscles were aching all over, protesting as she grabbed hold of a branch, pulling herself out of the stream.
But fate played a cruel trick on her as the branch was slippery and her hands were wet. She let out a scream as she lost her grip, falling backwards in the water before the stream swallowed her up completely.
The water had felt cold to her feet, but now as it surrounded her completely it felt as if her breath was knocked out of her lungs, as if she was being stabbed by a thousand knives.
She fought against the water, forcing her head above the water to take a breath and scream. She swallowed water before she could make a sound, as the undercurrent pulled her under.
It was the moment that she thought that she didn't have the strength anymore to poke her head out of the water for the last time her body bumped in on something.
It was a wall of wood and the pressure of the water pushed her against it. She tried to find her grip, forcing, climbing her way up until she breathed fresh air again. Even in the pouring rain she could recognise the dam instantly. She had not know she had been so close already. The Beavers dam.

When she would return to Cair Paravel she would tell the Beavers how they had accidentally saved her life, but for now she could only laugh a shaky laugh as the dam kept her where she was.
With all the strength she had in her frozen arms she began to pull herself out of the water, ripping the green dress as it got stuck in the dam. She didn't feel sorry for it as it made it easier for her to climb out of the water.
She could not believe her luck as she shakily got to her feet. The house of the Beavers had collapsed long ago under the weight of the wolves and the Beaver family had never tried to repair it. They had been content at the Cair Paravel and swimming in the pond. It would be no use to her, but at least she knew where she was. She reasoned that she would be at the lamppost perhaps in an hour, or an hour and a half. She could manage that, even the rain felt warm in comparison to the water.
She began walking down the slippery damn, now and then crouching down as she almost lost her balance. The thought of mister Tumnus' tea and fire kept her up, as she hoped that he would have some tea. Hopefully he would. She could no longer felt the weight of the bread at her belt and reasoned that she had lost it. But it didn't matter, she wasn't hungry and she would be at the home of TUmnus soon enough. She could hold on for so long.

She could not have imagined that the Lamppost would bring so many memories back to live. It had been colder the moment she had first seen it, the lamppost. It had been surrounded by white snow, but she couldn't recall whether she had felt any colder than she did now.
It was where she had seen mister Tumnus for the first time. She had been surprised at first, scared perhaps because of his funny legs and his weird ears. She had never seen anyone like him before. But he had seemed as scared of her as she of him, she couldn't feel any fear after he had started mumbling about how sorry he was. She had picked up some packages and he had invited her to his home.
It had been the beginning of everything, their meeting.

The beginning of her brothers reign as king, and her sister's reign as queen. Her reign of queen, even though unofficially. It had been the beginning of the end for the White Witch, the end of the Winter.
So much had happened after she had seen the lamppost for the first time, she could not even recall everything. It was still burning, softly while the rain clashed against the glass of the lamp itself. She knew where to go now, and a quick laugh escaped her lips.
She would think again before leaving Cair Paravel so quickly, without looking at the sky what weather it would be. But it was just who she was, doing without thinking to help others or seek others out. Just like during the battle while she had walked among enemy and friends to heal all that had perished.
Lucy dropped her cloak near the lamppost, finding that it's weight had more become a nuisance than a help in it's soaked state.
She began stumbling in the direction where she knew she would find mister Tumnus' cave, although there was no more snow. She instantly recognised the trees surrounding the path, the road down to mister Tumnus' door, even the silhouette of the little stone mountains that formed mister Tumnus' home. She smiled brightly, despite her numb face and the rain pouring down her hair and eyes. She broke into a small run as the wooden door got closer. He had repaired it, or made a new one perhaps. It even had a little iron lion as a doorknob.
"Mister Tumnus!" She knocked on the wood and was shocked at her own lack of strength. Her hand formed a first and she tried again, pounding on the wood with all her mind while her frozen body tried to comply. For a split moment she feared he was not at home, but she continued knocking, forcing the fingers of her left hand to grab the doorknob to see whether the door was open.
She heard steps, hooves on stone in a hurried pace and she did a step back. The thought that perhaps the cave was now occupied by someone else crossed her mind and for a moment she began to wonder what other places mister Tumnus could have gone too, but the door swung open and a familiar face stared down at her. She couldn't help but laugh a little as she saw his stunned face, his gasping mouth as he probably couldn't believe as it was her standing on his doorstep.

"Lucy!" he gasped, pushing the door further open before he looked at her again. "Lucy, what are you doing here?"
She couldn't help it as she stumbled forward, practically throwing her wet form in his embrace.
"You were gone without saying goodbye," She said through clattering teeth. "I've come to get you back!"
"In this weather?!" He felt nice and warm and dry and she closed her eyes for a moment, she hadn't realised that she was that tired. "You're soaked, you're frozen, Lucy!?" She enjoyed his warm embrace for a moment before she thought that everything was all right now. She already looked forward to his warm tea, perhaps he had a blanket or two. She didn't know whether he had a dry and warm dress somewhere?