"You want me to do what?"
Lucy was kind of surprised at the possibility of having to shed some blood.
"For the enchantment to be released it needs royal blood. As we our High King is somewhat incapacitated, you are of his line, therefore your blood is royal. Hopefully it suffices."
"Only hopefully?" Lucy shook her head. She may have to spill her own blood and now there was no guarantee it would work. Apparently she and Aslan would be lowered into the volcano, try and get close enough to Mirsan, and then recite an enchantment to break her free that might not work. A rather large gamble by Lucy's account.
The small rescue team edged closer to the dormant volcano. According to Narnian history it had not erupted since about the time the Living Ones disappeared. At least that was what Aslan was able to put together from ancient text written on just as ancient paper. Hence why they were sealed in glass in the Great Library. Lucy had seen them. They were so old even breathing on them would disintegrate them.
Edmund rode up to Lucy and held her hand briefly. She was grateful. She was most definitely nervous and a whole lot terrified. But she knew that both Peter, and this Mirsan lady, depended on this, so they could live. She'd do anything for her family. Lucy rubbed her hands together as she watched the party prepare ropes for the climb leading up to the opening.
"Are you ready Lucy?" Aslan asked her finally. She could only nod.
The party began the climb up the steep slope.
Back in the camp, Peter woke. He felt groggy, like a bad night out on Narnian ale and pipe weed. Susan noticed him come around and was fussing. He tried to drink the water she offered, but he wasn't interested. He felt Mirsan slipping away. He needed to get to her. And now. He tried to sit up.
"No Peter, you must not try. You're terribly weakened."
"Where is Aslan? And the others?" he asked quietly. Susan didn't say anything. "Well?"
He asked again.
"Um" she started, fidgeting, "they've gone to the mountain Peter."
Peter tried to sit up again. He tried to fight against Susan.
"Peter stop!" she exclaimed.
"I need to be there."
"You can't!"
Peter was distressed. He didn't know how or why, but for this to work he needed to be there. Mirsan had shown him the way in. He didn't get a chance before to tell Aslan. They would be risking their lives when an entrance, albeit a secret one, already existed. He needed to distract Susan so he could get away. She had her back to him and was fussing amongst some fur covers folded up there. Peter could see his sword at the end of the bedding. He used his foot to kick it over. A couple of tries and it worked. It fell into the side of the pavilion and poked outside. They obviously hadn't had time to pin the sides of the pavilion down properly.
He counted to three, and rolled off the bedding and outside, and without wasting a second picked up his sword. It took all his strength to stand and run for his horse. He climbed on, almost fell off, and then rode on toward the mountain. He tuned out the sound of Susan hollering after him, calling him back. He looked back. An infuriated Susan was running off to equip her own horse.
Peter rode hard, clinging to his saddle with all that was left of him. His focus was off. He had tunnel vision and most of it was blurry. He pulled off the path and went through the cover of some of the forest there. He wanted to avoid the guard Aslan had set up. When he felt he had cleared them enough he came out and approached the base of the volcano. He fell to one knee. That thumping rhythm had returned inside his head. Getting louder in his mind, so close now.
He felt along the vertical wall in front of him. There hidden under eons of growth and dirt, a small rock, loose in its cradle. He pushed it in and the wall in front of him opened up. A space just big enough to walk through.
Lucy looked inside. Hot air greeted her and she pulled back. How on earth did they expect to go in there and not get burnt to a crisp? She looked back inside. She could see the plateau in the middle of the chamber and the enchanted ice slab resting there. She could see inside it though. It was a cloudy ice structure and the bright reds and oranges from inside the volcano reflected off it.
"Aslan!" she screeched when she saw it. Aslan peered inside and looked at what she was pointing at.
A small opening across from the plateau in the wall of the volcano. It had appeared suddenly. A figure in a grey shirt stepped forward, attention fixed solely on the ice structure ahead. It was Peter.
"Oh no, Peter!" Lucy exclaimed. What was he doing here?
Aslan called to the Centaur and his men and told them to ride around and find the way in that Peter had entered. They disappeared. They watched him feel the wall. A loud crunching sound was heard. Lucy looked around. Some of the ceiling began to cave in. she watched the smaller rocks be dissolved and swallowed by the churning molten pool. Suddenly a larger chunk, large enough to bridge the gap from the side to the plateau, fell away from the ceiling, and landed with a great splash. Peter shielded himself as it did. Fire burning bright sprung up momentarily as the rock collided in the pool below.
Peter steadied himself, and took his first steps across the makeshift bridge. The ice slab was not far now. She was so near.
Aslan looked to the opening. The others had not arrived there. Peter did not have all the necessary tools to break the enchantment. He had to take a gamble.
"Lucy, Peter needs these."
Aslan nudged the small bag tied to her little belt. It contained the ice shards from the apples. Lucy knew what he meant. But she was scared. She watched Peter stumble and fall, and pick himself up again. She made up her mind. She climbed onto the makeshift harness. Aslan used all his lion's strength to hold her steady and begin her descent. Lucy kept her eyes tight at first. The heat was so overwhelming, she thought she'd pass out and fall. She looked down, and her heart caught in her throat. All that fire and hot lava. Then she saw Peter and how he had collapsed by the ice slab. He didn't appear to be moving.