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Chapter 2

It's funny how close you can get to a person in one day. Especially when you have no idea where you are, and you happen to be captives of the most evil, dastardly person in wherever the heck you happen to be.

Because that's the thing: my new best friend Edmund doesn't know how he got here either. Hopefully, we'll figure it out together. And soon.

In the mean time, though, we're busy getting to know each other. After that smelly dwarf dude left, no one's paid any attention to us, so, as long as we whisper, we're safe. Edmund just finished telling me how he got into this place called Narnia, and what's happened since he's been here. "I'm pretty awful, aren't I?" he says, when he finishes his tale, starting with a wardrobe in a spare room and ending with his betrayal.

Edmund's dark eyes stare at the ground, tears pooling at the edges of them, but his wrongdoings just aren't mine to forgive or to judge. "Well... everyone makes mistakes, you know. After all, nobody's perfect, Edmund."

He smiles just slightly. "Thank you, Zaylie." But his voice says he's not at all comforted.

I'm working out another nice thing to say, when he interrupts my thoughts: "So how'd you get into Narnia?"

"Well," I tell him, glad for the change of subject, "I was reading a book in my room when this wild wind started up. It whirled around and around my room like a tornado, and then it picked up my iPod and-"

"iPod? What's an iPod?"

I frown at him. "What do you mean, 'what's an iPod?' Doesn't everybody know what an iPod is?"

"Well I don't," he snaps, turning away from me to glare at the ground.

"Sorry." I wince. "I didn't mean to sound all know-it-all like that. An iPod is... well, it's a little device... thingy that plays music." Never thought it'd be so hard to explain.

"Plays music?" Edmund frowns, but not like he's still upset. More like he's thinking. "Like a record player?"

"A record player?" Now I'm frowning and thinking. I look at his clothes again, and something clicks in my head. "What time are you from, Edmund?"

"Time?" he asks, and his mouth dips down again in surprise. "Same as you, I suppose. 1940."

I can only gape at him. "1940?"

He nods again. "Yes. Aren't you?"

"No." I shake my head, grinning from ear to ear. This couldn't get cooler! Well, I guess it could, if I wasn't a prisoner and tied to a tree and scared half to death when I remember to be. "I'm from the year 2013!" I say to Edmund. "That's more than seventy years in the future!"

He stares at me, mouth wide open. "You're not serious."

But of course I am, and it's not long before he can tell that I am, too. "Wow."

"Wow is right. How old are you anyway?"

"Twelve."

"Well, I'm thirteen. But technically you're older than me. You'd be," I grimace, doing the math in my head. "More than eighty in my time."

He wrinkles his nose, too, but then it softens out and a sadder look steals over his face. "If I ever get back to my time."

I'm about to reassure him that of course he will, but I already promised I'd get him out of here, and I still don't know how the heck I'm gonna do that.

"What time period do you think it is here?" I ask instead, since he's been in Narnia longer than I have.

But Edmund only shrugs, then winces as the tree bark scrapes against his back. "I have no idea. But I think it's... well it's someplace else. A different realm maybe. Everyone calls it Narnia, and I've never heard of one in our world. You are from Earth, right?" he asks, and when I nod, he adds, "Good."

"Zaylie?" he says after a few moments of quiet.

"Yeah?"

"I know you said we'd get out of here, but... how exactly?"

"Um..." I sigh. "Honestly, Edmund, I'm not sure. Maybe your siblings and that lion guy will come along and get us out."

But Edmund's shaking his head before I even finish. "Why would they? After I betrayed them all for Turkish delight? And besides that, do you really think that one lion would be able to come in here and defeat the Witch's whole army?"

"No ordinary lion could," a voice behind us says, and I jump - well, jerk is more like it since I'm tied up and all. Craning my neck and squinting in the dark, I can just make out a human face peeking from behind the tree. Even with all I've seen in the White Witch's camp, I still have to do a doubletake when I notice the stubby horns sticking out from the mop of curly hair.

But compared to what I've seen running around the Witch's camp, I don't think I've got any reason to complain.

"As I said," the guy behind the tree continues. "No ordinary lion could, but Aslan most certainly can." At that very moment, a ginormous racket erupts from all around us, and I look away from the dude behind the tree to see that we're being attacked! Centaurs and satyrs and toddler-sized badgers rush into the camp, sweeping through the Witch's defenses and destroying everyone in their path.

Holy crap! It's like a freaking battle! Somehow, this kind of thing seemed way less scary when I was reading about it in the safety of my book nook.

I turn away from the morbid scene in front of me and highly consider throwing up, but then I feel the rope around my wrists loosen up. A jerk, and I'm free!

I jump up and spin around, stumbling as the blood rushes down to my toes and my legs get all pin and needle-y. All thoughts of barfing forgotten, I hold on to the tree and stare at the guy who rescued us. Mr. Rescuer has a very long dagger in his hand, is grinning like a maniac, and, with his furry goat legs and horns, must be a faun! After giving him the once-over, I look back at his face and grin like a maniac, too. "Hi! I've always wanted to meet a faun!"

Seriously. It's like a dream of mine.

He keeps smiling right back, though he seems a bit surprised. "Hello to you, too. I've always wanted to meet a human."

"Really?" What's so interesting about humans, anyway? Maybe there's a shortage of them around here. Come to think of it, I haven't actually met any but the Witch and Edmund.

"Yes." The faun nods. "You were to be the ones who would realize our prophecy. Although," He looks from me to Edmund, who's also free and also struggling to keep his balance on unstable legs. "There seems to be an extra one of you."

"That would probably be me," Edmund whispers, lowering his head.

"Don't be silly," I reply, pulling away from the tree and taking a few steps in place to test my footing. "I'm always the third, fifth, seventh, or even the ninth wheel. You're definitely the one they're expecting."

Before Edmund can say anything back, a very big centaur gallops up to us, sword in hand. "What in Narnia are you standing around for, Tarrodour?"

"Well, General, " Mr. Rescuer - who I guess is really called Tarrodour - gestures to me and Edmund. "There are two of them."

The General's dark hair seems to wave in the air as he rolls his eyes and lets out a horse-like nicker. "It doesn't matter if there are twenty of them. We're to take them all." I smile. I think I like this guy. "Now come on!" The General turns and yells to the rest of the army. "He has been found! Fall back!"

Two normal horses ride up to us. At least, I think they're normal, until one opens his mouth and talks. "Are we to carry them, General?"

The General nods shortly. "Yes. That would be good."

While the bay horse goes around to Edmund, the palomino one comes to me and nudges my leg with her nose. "Get on."

I swallow, but this whole escaping thing is pretty darn important, so I don't want to hold up the plan. Taking a deep breath, I throw myself up and on like a clumsy beginner. Which makes sense, since I've only ridden a horse like five times in my whole life.

It takes a few minutes before I'm firmly situated on the horse's back, but when I am, she whispers, "Hold on." And then were off at a rocket-fast pace.

All I can do is grit my teeth and hang on.

Belated Merry Christmas to everyone! Thanks for reading and please review!