Hellooo :) I've deviated from the original storyline somewhat here butin effect the plot won't be affected, I jut thought I should throw a spanner in the works :P

Hope you enjoy and please leave a review to tell me what you thought :)

Chapter 8

Polly was humming without knowing it as she and Digory walked along the eerie streets, she was getting more and more scared with every step they took. The sun seemed to be a malevolent eye, red with fury and watching every move they made and it made Polly uncomfortable to say the least.

Digory, on the other hand, was in his element. He looked eagerly at the ruins and shells of the city with exhilaration rather than fear and would look at Polly and grin every so often, saying something like, "Isn't this amazing?" or "I can't believe we're actually here!". It was to Polly's credit that she smiled in response and tried not to let on how uneasy she was but Digory was far from noticing such subtle nuances.

The only thing able to distract Digory from the wonders of this new world, the only possible thing that could draw his eyes away from it's dangerous beauty was Polly. His gaze was constantly drawn back to her and each time he looked he noticed something about her that he hadn't before – The flecks of red in her ebony hair, the light smattering of freckles across her porcelain cheekbones, the beautiful curve of her lower lip, the soft concave area at the base of her throat.

There was something in the air, in the silence that made him intensely aware of her – her breathing, the swish of her skirt, the soft rippling of her hair. Gradually it became impossible to look at anything but her, it was as if the world itself had intoxicated him on her very essence.

Eventually she became aware of him looking at her and stopped, patting her hair self-consciously.

"What?" She asked, biting her lip. Digory blinked and looked straight ahead, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Er...nothing." He said with an unconvincing shrug. Polly looked at him doubtfully and then ran to catch him up.

"Well it's not nothing." She pressed, darting in front of him and putting her hands on his shoulders to make him stop walking.

"It's the definition of nothing." Digory said, trying not to think about how close she was to him.

Polly frowned and let her hands drop to her side. "If you say so." She surrendered, falling into step with him.

Digory smiled guiltily, rubbing the back of his neck. "I do." To distract himself he looked around the corner they were approaching and gave a low whistle as he stopped in his tracks.

"What?" Polly ran up but she too stopped when she saw what was directly ahead of them.

Staring them in the face was a castle, a ruined castle but magnificent none the less. It's intact turrets loomed dark and imposing into the sky and seemed to stand vigil over the castle itself. It was huge and terrifying but beautiful and Polly and Digory couldn't tear their eyes away from it. Even more impressive (if that was possible) was the enormous courtyard that stretched out, all in stone, in front of the castle. Statues stood guard at each wall and there was a huge crack in the stone right down the middle of the courtyard itself. Polly and Digory found themselves at the gate, staring right into this amazing sight, they looked at each other and almost without thinking clutched hands.

"Shall we go inside?" Digory asked into the silence, awe clear on his face.

"Can we?" Polly asked, thankful for the comfort of having him by her side. Truth be told she was more than a little scared to approach the castle, something terrible had happened within those walls...she could sense it.

Digory's misgiving's were buried beneath his curiosity and there was no fear in his eyes as he looked at her. "Yes! We can't pass this up." He urged, taking her other hand and pulling her closer. Polly found herself thinking less about the castle and more about how nice he smelt – kind of earthy, she thought – and the lovely, soft color of his eyes.

"Okay." She said in a slightly dazed voice, not really knowing what she was saying.

Digory grinned and hugged her, picking her up and whirling her round as she squeaked with surprise.

"Thanks!" He said, putting her down but still holding her just as close and before they knew it what little space there was between them was gone and his lips were on hers in a fervent kiss.

Polly closed her eyes and leaned into him, draping her arms around his neck and letting herself be guided by him. It felt completely natural – she didn't even blush. The scarlet sun climbed higher in the sky as the two youths shared their first kiss, framed by the dramatic backdrop of a majestic castle. But the perfect moment had to end and it was Polly who broke the kiss first, though their lips weren't touching anymore they didn't move away from each other. Polly smiled, her lips slightly swollen from kissing, and Digory touched a gentle finger to her lip, tracing the curve he'd admired earlier.

Polly smiled, "Haven't we got a castle to explore?" She asked, laughing along with Digory as he took her hand and stepped up to the gate.

It was black with elaborate designs and patterns weaving around the bars and it needed both of them to open it. Polly winced at the screech it made but no irate king emerged from the castle like she half-expected. Then it was open and they were in, their footsteps on the stone echoed eerily around the courtyard and sent distorted sounds bouncing back at them that seemed to be coming from the statues. Digory glanced around uneasily and Polly held onto his hand tighter.
"C'mon." He muttered, walking faster. His words were thrown back at them along with their footsteps and soon they were running.

It seemed to them that the statues were watching them, their swords were raised and looked to be poised to strike. No matter how fast they ran they couldn't escape the glaring, stone eyes and the courtyard seemed to stretch on forever. Eventually Polly pulled Digory to a stop and whirled round, frantically trying to gain her bearings but it didn't look like they'd made any progress at all.

"How is this possible?" She said, breathing heavily and pushing her hair out of her face in irritation.

"I don't know some...witchcraft or..something's at work." Digory said in a quieter voice, suddenly feeling very ill at ease. The hairs on the back of his neck started to prick and he turned round slowly only to let out a yell and stagger backwards.

"What?" Polly squeaked, turning to face him quickly.

"That statue moved! It wasn't there before and then I turned round and -" Digory broke off, gulping for breath, his eyes wide with fear. Polly cast her fearful gaze on the statue in question and gave a little cry of terror – he was right, it had moved. They backed away slowly, no longer sure of where they were for although the castle had got no nearer the gate through which they entered the courtyard had disappeared entirely.

"It's like something's trying to warn us off." Polly muttered, darting quick, nervous glances all around her as they continued to retreat. "Like we're not supposed to be here."

Digory was still staring at the statue, unable to believe that all of this was really happening – he'd thought himself to be very sensible before this and had judged all 'magic' to be poppycock.

"Well there's no point going back now." He said heavily, "The gates disa– POLLY!"

Polly had taken one step back too far in her fear and fallen straight down the crack down the middle of the courtyard which was much bigger than it had first appeared. Digory's yell rebounded off the walls violently as he ran to crouch by the side of the crevice, panting – she had to be okay.

"Polly?" He called, looking urgently down the crack, it was then he saw a glint that had to be surely...her bracelet? It was too dark to really tell. Then it came, a short scuffle and a tremulous voice.

"Digory?" Polly was clinging to the rock face for dear life but she was by no means strong and was starting to feel herself slip away.

Digory's face turned ashen with relief as he laid himself flat on the stone and reached his hands down to her.

"Here, I don't know if you can see but I'm reaching for you!" He said, stretching as far as he could whilst bracing his feet.

"It's pitch black I – I can't see anything." Was her tearful response. "Digory I'm slipping!"

"Hold on! I can see your bracelet glinting, I'll grab you." Digory said urgently, "Trust me."

There was a pause, Polly squeezed her eyes shut in the darkness. "I do trust you." She said, a sob catching in her throat as her fingers slipped a little more off the jagged rock.

Digory took a deep breath – if he misjudged now Polly would be dead. Slowly so as not to cause a a shift in the rocks he lowered his arms until his hands were a mere hair's breadth away from her bracelet, then – just as slowly – he reached out and grabbed the area where he thought her wrist was. He was right! Polly could have cried with relief as she felt his hand engulf her wrist.

"Right, I've got you now swing your other arm to catch mine." He said slowly and steadily extending his other arm to the same place whilst bracing himself to support her.

He expected her to falter, to refuse even, but she did no such thing. Without giving herself time to think or fear Polly let go and grabbed his hand, now relying on nothing but him.

She was very light and Digory thanked god for her slight frame but it was still a challenge to maneuver the act of lifting her up safely and without the risk of Polly getting hurt. As for Polly herself, her heart was beating within an inch of it's life and if either of them had been able to see they would have said she was as pale as a ghost – indeed she rather felt like one, having seen her life pass before her eyes all too often that day.

"Almost there." Digory assured her as he pulled himself backwards and went up to kneeling so he was able to draw her completely out of the crevice. It was done, she was out. For a moment all she could do was shield her eyes from the light that seemed so glaring in contrast with the utter darkness she had so lately been absorbed in. Then, as she adjusted to the light her eyes found Digory's concerned face and she melted into tears, wrapping him in a tight embrace while he held her close and buried his face in her beautiful hair.

"Thank you! Thank god for you, Digory, thank you!" She sobbed, rocking slightly as she clutched him to her, tears still falling fast down her face. He just shook his head and kissed her shoulder lightly, horrified at how close he'd come to losing her.

It was as they pulled apart that Polly noticed and a gasp flew from her lips.
"The castle! It's – we're there!" She said, astounded, looking round herself in awe.

Digory blinked, yet another impossible feat had happened.

"Was that a test?" He said slowly, thinking aloud. Polly turned to him with wide eyes and then looked back at the castle, craning her neck to see it in it's entirety.

"I think we passed."