The Unlikely Guide

The lake was coming nearer and I found myself really wondering where I was. Suddenly, I heard something. A rustling in the forest behind me, perhaps? I turned immediately, and about one hundred meters away, peeking out from behind a tree, was a large, bright golden lion. I gasped, stepping backward, and felt myself fall to the grass with a thud. The lion had big, green eyes, and they seemed to look straight in mine. I shut my eyes again tightly, my breathing becoming very heavy. When I opened them again, the lion was gone. I took a deep breath and scanned the small forest, finding nothing. It's strange; I had never seen a creature disappear like that.

"Hello, ma'am!" I heard in a high pitched tone from behind me. With a yelp, I scrambled to my feet and looked behind me. It was a beaver; A small, black beaver with blue eyes. Impossible. I looked around again to see who spoke. "Was wondering how long you were going to sit on your bottom like tha- wait a minute. You're a daughter of Eve! The fifth one this month! Oh, thank Aslan there are more coming. Narnia's peace is assured for a very long time, now, isn't it?" I shook my head quickly before looking back at the beaver. It was... smiling? And looking straight at me! I bent down and examined the thing before it came a step closer. "You alright, ma'am?" It asked. It squeaked rather then talked.

"What... are you?" Came from my mouth before I could stop it.

"You not from around here? A beaver, of course!" I could easily tell that this thing was going to get on my nerves. Its voice was a major part of it. "Name's Nibble. Yours?" She said with a grin.

"Anna. Anna Lumbridge" I said hesitantly as she crept closer. "Do you think you could tell me where I am?" I said feeling a tad foolish for talking to a beaver. I was utterly confused.

"Really not from around here, are you?"

"Not really." I said rather impatiently. I wanted to know where I was.

"Narnia."

"What?"

"Narnia. Never heard of Narnia?"

"Can't say that I have." I mumbled. Now I was really lost.

"Oh. Can't enjoy the scenery if you don't know where you are, am I right?" This thing was already getting irritating. It isn't making any sense! "You alright, ma'am?"

"Stop calling me that." I said angrily. It reminded me of cotillion lessons.

"Well then, Anna. Where you headed?" As if it was her business. Well, maybe she would help? Who am I kidding? It's a beaver!

"I- I'm not sure, actually." I said rather ashamed. I looked to my feet.

"Tid bit lost, are we?" Tid bit? Wow.

"I need to go home." I said quickly, turning around.

"Don't know where home is, though. Do you?" What she said stopped me immediately. She was right. What did she want from me?

"What do you want from me?" I snapped, turning back around.

"Seems to me that you need to get to Cair Paraval." She said with a sly grin.

"To where?" I asked with a raised brow. Her smile widened and she spoke a little slower.

"Cair Paraval."

"Look, I just want to know where I am and how to get home."

"Good luck. Kings and Queens of Cair Paraval are sons of Adam and daughters of Eve also. Probably be able to answer your questions. Now that the prophecy is complete, it's perfectly safe to travel there." I made a grunt of frustration. I had no clue what she was talking about, and her voice made it all the worse.

"What prophecy?" I asked uninterested, sitting back down in the grass and sighing. She then let out a loud, hollow laugh. I looked at her with a blank stare. I still couldn't believe I was talking to an animal.

"Wha- serious, aren't you?" I nodded slowly and made a confused face. "For the past hundred years, Narnia was a frozen winter land, but then two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve came and destroyed the White Witch; making everything sunny and green again." She finished, dancing around. I can't exactly explain what it looked like; a black beaver skipping around in the flowers while wailing her arms.

"Right. And who's the White Witch?" I asked, trying not to laugh. The whole thing was stilly really. She rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Never mind that. Come on, come on! I'll take you to Cair Paraval!" She squealed, running toward the river. I stood up slowly and followed her. She stopped on a rock a few inches from the shore and sniffed the air.

"Well?" I asked. She looked at me in silence. "How am I to get across?" She scratched her head for a moment and smiled.

"Sit tight, ma'am. Have a dam built here in no time!" She said, looking around.

"How long is... 'no time' exactly?" I asked nervously.

"Oh, only a couple of days! Be worth it once you're at the palace!"

"A couple of days? I don't have that kind of time!" I shouted.

"In a hurry? What for?" She asked, raising a brow.

"Well... well nothing, really." I admitted.

"Aren't going to get across any faster unless you swim!" She said with a laugh. I raised an eyebrow at her before jumping into the freezing cold water. At least, I thought it would be freezing cold. It was rather warm and relaxing. I came to the surface to see Nibble staring at me wide-eyed. "Why- Never knew a daughter of Eve could swi-"

"Daughter of Eve?" I asked with utter confusion. What was that supposed to mean?

"Human, ma'am. You really that naive?" I scoffed and began making my way to the other side of the river.

"Stop calling me that!" I demanded again. She said nothing and jumped in herself. It was a thin portion of the river where we were, but the water flow made it only a little bit difficult to cross. When I reached the other side of the river, I realized I had nothing to tie my long brown hair back in, so it hung in wet ropes around my head. Not to mention my light purple nightgown was clinging to my body. I felt hopeless. Perhaps swimming wasn't the best idea. I stood with my arms crossed. I needed a bra; even though no one was around to care. I was rather angry after Nibble kept irritating me and the grass was tickling my bare legs. "Which way?" I asked, looking ahead to the mountain forms ahead.

"Straight ahead, ma'am" I gave her a side look as we started walking. "Anna." She corrected herself quickly.

"How far is it?" I asked anxiously.

"Ask a lot of questions, you know."