Thanks to those who reviewed! :) I'm changing the way i'm writing it, though. I want to try writing this entirely from Zooey's point of view. LET ME KNOW WHICH WAY YOU PREFER

I glanced over at Susan, waiting for some remark from her on the cryptic nature of Beaver's statement. When Susan said nothing, I returned my attention to the creature in front of me. Above all things, I definitely am not a patient person and I was especially anxious now to hear everything the beaver knew about my future here in Narnia. I wondered how long I would be here, I wondered if I would be forced to leave, I wondered if maybe leaving was the best idea - you know, for my sake and the sake of the others. Mostly, though, I wondered about my Mom: I knew that she must be freaking out right now. I hoped that she was alright - I mean, it wasn't the best of circumstances, but I was okay. I wasn't hurt or anything like that - I just wished that there was some way for me to tell her that so she might not be so worried about me.

"A fifth of flesh and bone created once was lost and evil waited for the day she would return and Adam's flesh be overturned."

I didn't miss how quietly Beaver spoke as he recited the lyric - as if saying it was some horrible sin that would doom them all to a terrible fate. A fate that I was supposed to bring. I went over the rhyme over and over again in my mind, trying to figure it out. 'And Adam's flesh be overturned' - Peter and Edmund were, supposedly, the sons of Adam in the other prophecy. So, assuming, of course, that both of these prophecies turned out to be true...I glanced over at Peter, whose brow was furrowed as he, too, considered the meaning of this prophecy. Susan was watching me carefully, having already come to the same conclusion that I had. I was the one who could ruin their chances of saving Narnia. The White Witch would use me to help her defeat the Pevensie's and this Aslan character and continue her reign of terror...I could beat this, I realised. I knew I could never hurt anyone - well, anyone decent at least - certainly not the four people who had been so kind to me. Even when the Narnian's themselves had told them to leave me behind, they hadn't. As long as I avoided the Witch's clutches, everything would be fine...it was a small spark of hope.

But I was still damn scared. The rhyme was vague - maybe it really didn't matter if I was with the Witch or not. Maybe I was a danger to the Pevensie's no matter what. Now my mind filled with more questions as I fought the growing panic: Should I go off alone and try to find my way home? What if I couldn't - what if the witch found me? The very idea of being alone in this strange, unknown world terrified me. Selfishly, I wanted to stay with the group. I could control myself, couldn't I? And, somehow, I highly doubted that I would suddenly get a random urge to go on a Pevensie Killing Spree. And even if I did, I was pretty sure at least Peter would be able to take me down. I'd never been much of a fighter - little Lucy could probably kick my ass. And Edmund - he's quiet. It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for...

I peered around, trying to spot Ed. He wasn't just being quiet - he was gone. "Where's your brother?"

Peter and Susan both stood up while Lucy ran to the front door of the dam to peer outside, trying to spot him. Once they realised that Edmund was no where in sight, Peter looked around at the others, obviously furious. "I'm going to kill him."

I gulped, rising slowly and glancing back at Beaver when he spoke.

"You might not have to." He stated - I thought that was a little insensitive. Their brother has just gone missing in a frozen, unfamiliar place. Cut them some slack! "Has Edmund been to Narnia before?"

I looked to the others - I knew that Lucy had already been here from out conversation on the way to Tumnus' home. Edmund and I hadn't had a chance to talk much so I really had no idea if maybe he, too, had been to Narnia before.

Lucy nodded her head, "Yes, once. I don't know where he went, though..." I watched as her eyes widened, "You don't think she's got him do you - the White Witch?!"

"Not yet, she hasn't." Beaver jumped off his chair, leading us out of the dam. "But it's only a matter of time!"

I noticed one of the coats slung over a chair by the front door - the coat Edmund had been wearing. I walked over quickly, holding it up for the others to see. "We'd better find him quick."

As soon as we'd stepped outside, we began to run through the forest. Susan and Lucy called out desperately for their youngest brother while Peter followed the Beaver - who seemed to have a fairly good idea where he was going - through the trees. I was glad that I'd worn sneakers: while Susan and Lucy brought up the rear, I was doing fairly well at keeping up with Beaver and Peter, although they were both quicker than I was. Especially in the thick forest (I didn't trust myself not to trip...). We finally reached the edge of the woods and ran into the clearing atop a cliff that overlooked what appeared to be a fortress of pure ice and, looking down, we could see Edmund walking toward the front gate of said fortress.

"Edmund!" Lucy shouted before Beaver waved in her direction.

"Sh! They'll hear ya!"

I was frozen where I stood. Being this close to the home of this White Witch made me very anxious. I stood back, as close to the trees as I could get without being among them, while Peter darted forward, intending to go after his brother. I opened my mouth to say something, but the Beaver beat me to it, leaping forward and snatching up a handful of Peter's fur coat.

"No!"

"Get off me!" Peter snarled, trying to shake the animal off.

"Don't you get it?!" The Beaver hissed as Peter calmed down a little. I stepped forward ever so slightly to listen in. "He's the bait!" He looked back at Lucy and Susan - avoiding my eyes completely, "She wants all four of you - to kill you!"

"Holy shit..." I breathed, my eyes darting up to look at the fortress. At that very moment, everything that the Beaver had told us at the dam became real. The Pevensie's weren't safe here - Edmund had unwittingly walked in to the Witch's trap. At least, I hoped Edmund wasn't aware of the Witch's intentions - otherwise, he was just willing to deliver his family to this awful woman to be killed. I refused to believe he was that bad of a person, even though I didn't know him at all. I gulped, "We should go..." I muttered, tugging Susan's sleeve slightly.

She shook me off, her glare trained on her older brother, "This is all your fault! None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!"

Peter turned to her, "Oh, so you knew this would happen?!"

"I didn't know what would happen! Which was why we should have left when we had the chance!"

I looked to Lucy knowing that it wasn't my place to interfere with their argument - I'd only known them for a few hours.

"Stop it!" Lucy hollered, not needing any cue from me, "This isn't going to help Edmund!"

"She's right." Beaver nodded his head in agreement as Peter glanced back at the Ice Fortress. "Only Aslan can save your brother now."

"Then take us to him."

We let Beaver lead the way back through the trees. I was sure that none of us had really been paying attention to how we ended up at the Witch's Fortress, so there was absolutely no way that any of us would have been able to find our way back. The walk was silent and Lucy held Peter's hand as they walked - although, strangely, it look more to me as if she were trying to comfort him with the contact rather than the other way around. I was quickly learning the Lucy was unlike any of the children I'd met back home - she was brave and mature beyond her years. I stopped, hearing a howl coming from behind us.

"It's them! Run!" Beaver called back.

"Who?!" I asked as Susan ran ahead. Peter grabbed my hand and yanked me forward when I didn't move from where I stood. I glanced back over my shoulder as more howls came from behind us - they were getting closer. Remembering the paw print on the letter and Tumnus' house, I turned back to the others, "Are they the police - the ones who took Tumnus?" I called.

Beaver looked over his shoulder at me, frustrated, "Yes! Hurry up! We can't let them see you!"

"Me?"

We burst into the dam and Peter quickly closed the door behind us - the wolves weren't far behind now. They were much faster than we were.

"Hurry, mum! They're after us!" Beaver yelled to his wife.

"Oh, right then!" She piped as she starting putting together bundles of food.

"What is she doing?! We have to go!"

"Why, specifically, can't we let them see me?" I shouted, following the beaver, ignoring the chaos in the room.

"Because we can't let her know that you're with us. We need to keep you hidden - if we can get you to Aslan, he might be able to help you before she finds you." I gulped, nodding my head and not pressing the issue any further. I watched as Beaver shoved furniture aside to reveal a tunnel. He crawled inside first, Susan and Mrs. Beaver followed before Peter, Lucy and I climbed in behind them. It was a small tunnel - obviously built for smaller creatures - and Peter, Susan, and I had very little space to move around. I could hear the wolves in the tunnel behind us, and something inside me snapped. Maybe it was the situation itself - or maybe I'd always been claustrophobic and just hadn't realised it until now - but I suddenly found it difficult to breathe. I was panicking.

eh.

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