Chapter 2

Yay! I got 5 reviews! I had decided in my head to update when I got 5 reviews. Thanks for giving them t me! I'm so selfish. But I do enjoy hearing you guys critique my work. =]

Oh, and just to let y'all know, this is so far my favorite chapter that I've written. It's also longer than the last one. =]

Oh, and everyone gets OOC in this chapter at some point or another. I'm going to apologize for that now. Review and let me know who needs work and who doesn't? =D

Narnia and the Pevensies do not belong to me.

"Okay, Ed. Spill. Why were you away for so long and why did you look so panicked?" Peter said the minute Susan sat down next to him; she had just finished making them all tea. Edmund was next to Lucy on a couch that was adjacent to the one Peter and Susan were sitting in.

Edmund took a long gulp of his tea, nodded at Susan in thanks, and placed it down on the small table in front of him.

"I don't think panicked is the right word," Edmund said slowly. "It was more of an unexpected occurrence, really."

"Well whatever it was, it sure did startle you," Susan said concernedly. "You really are awfully pale."

Lucy clasped Edmund's hand in her own tightly and nodded. Edmund squeezed her hand back and gazed at Peter, who was simply staring, waiting for an explanation.

"Well, it certainly was a surprise, both for me and for Phillip," Edmund said, looking away from his brother's smoldering eyes. He wasn't sure if Peter was angry at him or at the whole situation.

"What happened, Ed?" Peter asked quietly.

Edmund sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and putting his head in his hands. He rubbed at his face with almost a renewed ferocity, as though to prepare himself for the coming topic, and sighed again. He lifted his face from his hands and leaned back against the chair and looked at Peter – Peter was simply looking at him, waiting for what he hoped to be a good explanation as to why he had scared them so. Edmund hoped his tale would not scare them even more than his late arrival had.

"Okay, so here's where it starts. I told Lucy I was going out to ride for a bit - I wasn't lying, by the way," he added, noting the disbelieving look Peter gave him.

"We know you weren't, Ed," Susan said, who glanced over at Peter, her expression reprimanding. Peter crossed his arms over his chest but said nothing.

"Anyway. Phillip trotted for a bit until we found one of my favorite clearings, and once we got there we planned on relaxing for a bit to watch the sunset. That was until I saw something at the edge of the forest. It made both Phillip and I nervous, so we waited to see what it was-"

"You didn't approach it or anything?" Susan interrupted. Edmund frowned.

"Are you going to let me tell it or not?" he asked, irritated. Susan shut her mouth. Noting her submissive response, Ed rubbed his eyes.

"Didn't mean to snap. Sorry, Su" He added quietly. Susan smiled and nodded in reply.

"As I was saying…"

The creature edged towards the center of the clearing, and as it got closer, Edmund's stomach jolted slightly when he realized what it was – a wolf. Its fur was white, with the exception of a light grey stripe that traveled down its spine and went all the way down it's tail. It's ears were also tipped with grey. It prowled towards Edmund but stopped ten feet shy of him. Phillip whinnied lightly in warning, but the wolf simply sat, staring at Edmund. Edmund stared right back.

They remained like this for another minute, until Edmund relented.

"What is your business here?" He asked, not unkindly. The wolf smiled a wolfish smile and stood. Phillip glared at the beast, daring it to get closer. Wolves are formidable, but so are angry Horses.

"Peace, Just King. I do not come with ill intent," the wolf, male by voice, said calmly. The voice was unexpected for Edmund; he expected it to be gruff or harsh but it was instead rather light.

"So you're a Wolf," Edmund said; the wolf nodded, understanding the statement.

"What do you want, Wolf?" Phillip asked bluntly, keeping his tone both flat and dangerous, as if daring the Animal to do the King any harm.

"Peace, Phillip," Edmund said quietly to his friend. "There is no point in irritating him."

The Wolf made a deep rumbling sound in the back of its throat, and it was at first alarming to Edmund. Upon further contemplation, however, the young king realized that the wolf was indeed chuckling.

"Quite right, King. I will say again: I do not come with ill intent. I beg you to hear my words."

"You have audience, Wolf. May I ask your name?" Edmund asked, keeping to formalities. True, he was wary of the Wolf, seeing he didn't have very good experiences with them when Jadis was ruling over them, but that would not make him make unjustified accusations about the entire species; he was Edmund the Just, after all. If he refused to hear the Wolf out, it would be against his entire title and morals, in a sense. At least, those were his feelings. He doubted Phillip was thinking the same things he was.

"Wow, Ed! That was a really brave thing to do!" Lucy interrupted, beaming. Edmund looked at her in surprise, but his eyes glittered in happiness.

"You think so?"

"I agree with Lu. I'm proud of you, Ed," Peter said, smiling. The anger and worry had left his face for the moment, and all that was left, Edmund happily noted, was pride. Edmund blushed and nodded in thanks. Susan was nodding quickly and reached over and rubbed Edmund's knee, smiling her gentle smile. Edmund rubbed the back of his neck, slightly uncomfortable with so much praise, and continued.

"My name is Juryn," The Wolf said. Edmund nodded.

"Well met, Juryn. Now what is it you would ask of me?" Edmund asked. Juryn tilted his neck and pointed his nose at the ground, which Edmund took to be a Wolfish bow.

"I, along with my brothers, plea for help from the Narnian Kings and Queens. Our – excuse me – your forests are slowly being killed. We have tried to save our homes, but I am afraid that our attempts are futile; all that has become of our efforts thus far is death in our ranks. We know what is doing this, and I say to you it is no Narnian."

"I am truly saddened by your words, Juryn. I must inquire, though – do you indeed consider yourself to be a Narnian? The last Wolf I met was loyal only to the false Queen Jadis," Edmund stated, truly curious. He was also striving to make a point - his wariness was not without cause.

Juryn gave Edmund that same growl-chuckle, but this time it seemed almost sad. He flicked his tail from right to left once, the rich fur landing lightly on the grass.

"You are correct, King. My brothers and I of the western packs are Narnians – we follow you and your siblings and we only believe in the true King, Aslan." Juryn gave Edmund another small bow before continuing. "Most wolves, however, still remain loyal to the deceased false Queen. All of the Northern packs, some of the Southern, and some of the Eastern as well. As far as I know, all of the Western packs remain loyal to Aslan, however," Juryn said. Edmund noted that there was almost a hint of pride in the Wolf's tone. Edmund suddenly trusted the Animal a lot more.

"That is encouraging to hear," Edmund said. "The bit about the western packs, I mean," he corrected. He then flushed slightly, realizing that, in his comfort, he had lost a bit of his formality. Juryn chuckled once more but did not comment. Phillip remained tense, flicking his tail every minute or so in agitation; clearly he did not trust Juryn nearly as much as Edmund did.

"And now I must inquire as to what exactly is happening to the western wood?" Edmund briefly glowed with pride, realizing that these loyal Wolves came from his western wood, but immediately shunned these thoughts – it would be best if all Wolves were loyal to Aslan.

"As I stated. It is slowly dying. We know not how these foes are doing all of it, but much of it is done by the cruel killings of the wildlife – Talking or no." Edmund shuddered with anger at this.

"Can you tell me what is doing this?" He could not quite conceal his rage.

Juryn looked down at the ground, and Edmund was shocked to see shame shining it his eyes.

"I am sad to say it is Wolves."

"What?!" Peter exclaimed suddenly, his fists clenched. Edmund looked up at him, his own eyes sad. Susan and Lucy had similar expressions. "How could those beasts be destroying our forests?"

"Peace, brother," Susan said, though she looked just as troubled. She rested her hand upon her older brother's arm and he seemed to calm somewhat. His eyes still simmered with anger, however.

"They're not all beasts, Peter," Edmund said. "Juryn was a surprisingly kind Wolf."

"I think you gave him too much leeway," Peter scowled, folding his arms over his chest. Lucy frowned at him.

"You're acting like a child, Peter," she said simply. Peter opened his mouth, eyes wide with shock, but Susan interrupted.

"Let Edmund finish explaining. Calling them beasts is a tad too cruel. Remember, they're Wolves. Calling them beasts is like saying they can't talk. If they can talk then that means we'll be able to work with them, right?"She said, her tone soothing. Peter scowled, but sat back against the couch, waiting for Edmund to begin talking again. Edmund sat for a few more seconds, eyebrows raised, as though waiting for any more interruptions. When he received none, he continued.

Edmund's mouth opened in shock and he paled slightly, clearly not expecting such an answer. When Juryn continue to stare at the ground, Edmund glanced over to Phillip, where he himself has a similar expression adorning his face. Edmund opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly Juryn's head shot up and stared to his right, ears angled so as to hear better. Edmund was about to ask what was wrong, but Juryn stood swiftly and walked over to Edmund quickly, his body pinned close to the ground. Phillip made a noise of objection, but the Wolf ignored it.

"We are not alone," he whispered quickly. He seemed nervous. "It's a Wolf of the North. You must hurry. Meet me here again tomorrow." The last bit was barely audible.

There was a deep growl, and suddenly a humongous black wolf, about four inches taller than Juryn, stalked out of the wood.

"What is a Northern Wolf doing in King Edmund's territory?" Juryn growled, his tail in the air in defiance. Edmund's heart leaped when he heard Juryn's words – they sounded both honest and proud.

"Is it any business of yours?" The black male ground out, smirking and eerie smirk; his voice was much deeper than Juryn's. "What could a wolf of your caliber do about it anyway?" Juryn's expression did not falter, though it was hard to see in the darkness; Edmund's eyes had adjusted somewhat, but it was still challenging to pick out details.

"I will ask you to leave, but force is certainly not beyond me," Juryn replied, his tone dark.

The black Wolf simply rumbled in his amusement. "Maybe I'll kill your King," he said, glancing in Edmund's direction. Edmund glared back at the Wolf, but it would be a lie if he were to say he wasn't frightened. Phillip snorted and stomped his hoof, his eyes narrowed.

"I'd like to see you try, mongrel," He rang out.

The Wolf simply smirked wickedly and snapped his teeth threateningly in Edmund's direction.

Juryn snarled and stood to his full height, glaring in defiance and rage at the other Wolf. He glanced behind him, where Edmund was rooted to the spot. The larger of the two Wolves crouched, teeth bared and hackles raised.

"You must leave here, now, King." And without another word, Juryn lunged at the other Wolf, who attacked just as readily; all Edmund saw was a flash of Juryn's fur and both of their teeth, snapping at the other. Though he felt terribly about it, he immediately turned away and quickly reprimanded himself. The saddle! He glanced hurriedly over to it, where it lay dejectedly in the grass behind the two fighting Wolves. Edmund decided haste was best and dived for Phillip's bare back; Phillip turned his head and practically lifted Edmund off of his feet while helping him get onto his bare back. Once he knew Edmund was on his back, Phillip galloped out of the clearing, and Edmund's heart skipped a beat as he heard a snarl, then a whimper and more snarls. He turned his neck briefly to see where the fight was headed and was at least a little relieved when he didn't see any laying figured in the grass, and though it was hard to see between the trees and in the dark, he knew the battle was well-matched at least.

Phillip ran, intent on getting his King safe home, and Edmund rode, wanting to share the news. Half of him, however, wanted to turn and return to Juryn's side.

Phillip ran for a good ten minutes, making Edmund sore to the bone – he hadn't ridden that fast bareback in a long time - until they cleared the trees and saw the glowing windows of the Cair ahead. Sighing, Edmund relaxed on the horse's back, and Phillip slowed to a jog, panting.

Edmund was extremely relieved to see three small blacks dots coming steadily closer to him from Cair Paravel, the one in front holding a bright lantern.

"Here comes my King," Edmund said, his voice sounding exhausted to his own ears.

"They're going to kill us," Phillip said between gasps. Edmund did not reply, but slid out of the saddle and shot into the welcoming arms of his older brother. His body succumbing to the emotional exhaustion for his worry for Juryn and his wood, he relaxed into the kind embrace of his brother and prepared to tell them of the dangers they faced.

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Review? =D

Yes, I've thrown an original character in here. But don't fret, this is NOT going to be anything close to a MarySue. I hate reading and writing those.