Chapter 4: Susan's Ears and Peter's Problems

It was Queen Susan. She was riding on horseback, and was at first reluctant to get down into the thorny undergrowth. When she was at last there, she announced in her beautiful voice, "I'm sorry Lucy. I know you wanted to go alone, but I was worried. I thought I should make sure you were alright before heading back to Cair Paravel."

"Apparently Edmund thought so too," chuckled Lucy, who could always see the funny side of things.

"Dargrip, sir," said Susan, a little nervously for she was not fond of Wolves, "I must confess that I have been eavesdropping. If you'll excuse me for that, I'd like to tell you something. When I arrived in Narnia, I wasn't excited about Aslan. His name gave me a wonderful feeling, but I was scared of meeting a Lion and I tried to, sort of, tone him down to a level where I could understand him. Of course when I saw him I knew I could never completely understand him. And I didn't like a lot of what he said.

"I thought so much about going home and taking at a safe level," she continued. "And because of that, it can be difficult for me to hear Aslan. I'm the one plugging up my ears, and the sooner I realize that, the sooner I can get them unplugged."

"This is starting to make sense," Dargrip admitted, gruffly. "But what if my Pack doesn't like these new ideas? Why, we'd have to separate, and then I couldn't defend them. They'll get into trouble because I'm not there for them."

"Hmm, perhaps we can find some advice for you," Edmund mused.

Just then, there was another noise in the woods around the little group of Narnians. Lucy was not surprised when she saw her oldest brother the High King Peter enter the glade. Edmund had long since put away his sword, but Peter came into the glade with a grim face and a drawn blade. Everyone knew that Peter was the most protective and the most physical of the four Royalties; the brandished weapon did not alarm them.

"Who else is coming after me?" exclaimed Lucy. "Tumnus? Orius?"

"Excuse me," said Peter sternly, reaching down and taking Lucy by the arm, "I think it's time we were going back to Cair. The four Kings and Queens of Narnia simply don't speak with the Witch's rabble. Come on, Lu."

Lucy pulled herself away. She tried to tell Peter how rude he was, but her voice was drowned out by a fierce snarl from Dargrip. The hair on the Wolf's back stood on end and he pulled his lips back, baring his teeth. His tail was straight up in the air.

"You're the one who killed my Captain!" the Wolf barked.

"And I suppose you're one of the monsters who helped kill Aslan: my captain!" Peter retorted. As he spoke he swiped at the Wolf.

"For your information," growled Dargrip, dodging the death-blow, "I wasn't there for the slaying of Aslan. I was fully intent on leaving the White Witch when my captain was killed. But she made me summon her armies. When I found out her plan for Aslan, well—I thought they were going too far. I deserted."

"This is beside the point," said Edmund. "Aslan would have sacrificed himself with or without the presence or absence of any of us: and we ought to be glad of it! Now, Peter, how about laying down that weapon for a minute?"

"Then the Wolf has got to do it too," said Peter.

"I can't very well put down my teeth, can I?" grumbled Dargrip.

"I mean you must swear not to attack!"

The wolf raised its paw. "Alright, I promise."

"Dargrip was just telling us how worried he is about his pack," stated Edmund. "This goes back to what we were talking about earlier: you can trust Aslan to help your family, or you can try to handle everything yourself."

Peter scratched the back of his head, and smiled awkwardly. "Well…I guess we all struggle with that one—"

"You especially," put in Edmund.

"Ed! We're not at council so you don't get to speak for us," Peter laughed. "But you're right, as usual. Everybody tells me that I'm a natural leader and a responsible young man…I suppose that gets to my head. To be honest, I run into problems when I over-control and always claim to be right." (And Peter would have to relive this struggle during his next visit to Narnia.)

"Are you saying that I don't know what's best for my pack?" demanded Dargrip.

"We can't control other people," stated Peter. "All we can do is help them where possible and offer advice. But if we get too busy handling other people's responsibilities, we can't focus on getting ourselves straight. And what's more, your Pack would never learn to be responsible for their own lives."

Dargrip heaved a sigh. He understood, but this was a hard step for him. "So basically, humility should be the first thing I learn," he said.

"And it's quite a bitter root to swallow," added the High King sullenly.

"Well how do I start?" asked Dargrip, seeming a bit overwhelmed.

"Start with two small words: 'I'm sorry.' "

"Um, Peter," interjected Edmund; "there's more than one apology in order."

Then Peter, Susan, and Lucy knew what to do. They sat down to be at a level with Dargrip, and they told him how sorry they were for judging him. Dargirp then said he was sorry for pouncing on Lucy.

"I know you can learn to be a true leader, Dargrip," said Peter.

"If you keep listening," Susan remarked, "you'll come out alright."

"Nobody is too far gone for redemption," declared Edmund.

Lucy's contribution was, "Let's throw a party at Cair Paravel for the Wolves! You can bring your whole pack, Grip. We'll make known the true legacy of the Wolves: Family."

The end