"Trip to the mountains"
"Are you alright, Lu?" Peter stopped the horse and gave the orders to prepare the camp for the night. They were already at the bottom of the Northern Hills, the forest got more wild over there and the rocks all around were bigger and bigger. It seemed like they used to roll between the trees and later stood still and stayed there, reminding that it was the forest growing into the mountains, not the other way around. And the mountains didn't like it. Even the air seemed different. More chilly and nicely fresh, but also windy.
Lucy waved at Peter and pointed a nice, soft corner of the green field, perfect for building a tent. She very much liked this trip. The fresh air and different landscapes made her feel excited and full of energy, as if expecting a wonderful adventure coming up. The life in the castle was a little bit boring after all. She missed the wilderness and welcomed a few weeks without royal audiences, balls and all the "queen things", as she thought of them. She grinned at her brother.
"Perfect!"
One hour later they were sitting at the fire place, eating dinner. Bread and cheese with fruits also tasted much better after the entire day of travelling, under the open sky full of stars and the rising moon. Lucy checked her pockets and found a set of little daggers and the bottle with the healing potion she got during the war. Not taking anything out, Lucy lay down on the blanket and let her mind drift away. The stars seemed to shine brighter and brighter, the longer she stared at them. Almost falling asleep she felt something little and cold, but very soft, touching her right hand. The fire and torches around gave enough light to see quite clearly and, to her surprise, Lucy noticed one, big snow flake on her finger. It glowed like a little crystal and melted before she managed to show it to anybody.
"Pieter! You won't believe it! I saw a snow flake!" She burst. Her brother looked at her, astonished.
"What are you talking about? Here? Now? In this temperature?"
"I saw it! It landed on my hand. And melted."
Peter looked at her hand carefully. Then at the cloudless sky.
"And where on earth it was supposed to fall from?" He smiled. For a moment she felt like a little girl being scolded for making up stories. It was a strangely familiar and very annoying feeling.
"I know what I saw!" She insisted.
Peter searched through the grass and found a few blow-balls growing nearby. He took one to the hand and closed to her.
"It might have been one of them. They do look like snow flakes."
Lucy had to admit he had a point. Then she scratched her right hand and could swear for a moment she felt a drop of cold water. But she didn't say anything.
That night she saw the fox family again. They were dancing around another fox, a different one. The new fox was white, much more furry than the red ones, with a long, puffy tail, looking so soft that Lucy instantly wanted to hide her fingers in it.
"Come to the party, Queen Lucy!" They called her. "Come to us, it is not far away!"
And then she felt the snow flakes covering her face. They were falling slowly, gently, some of them stopped on her nose and on her eylashes. Everything around got bright and white and she could see very clearly their beautiful, crystal structures. Each of them was different, each was wonderful. She felt could study their shapes forever.
"You can come to the party, because you don't hate the snow." Said the white fox and looked at her with its piercing, blue eyes. Lucy woke up.
"A giant! Giant behind the hill!" She heard the screams and running all over the camp. Peter jumped up and reached his sword. She followed him out of the tent and saw their troops running chaotically around, trying to get together their belongings and weapons.
"Everybody, make the line!" Peter yelled and ran to his horse. A few minutes later they were rushing up through the woods, following the distant sound of falling trees and something that dangerously rumbled like the rocks being crushed against the ground.
"Careful, not too closely!" Lucy warned her brother. Pieter nodded, apparently he also realised that being on the lower level than the giant, in a place full of rocks, at night, in the middle of the woods, was a bad idea.
"We need to surround him."
"But first we need to see more over here." She pointed the East, where the sky was getting already brighter.
"King Peter!" A soldier joined them, carrying a letter. He handled it to Peter.
"This is a call for help from the village behind this hill. Apparently the giant wanted to make them his meal.
"But I thought there was a truce between giants and Narnia."
"So did I." Peter frowned. "Lucy. Could you check on the village, please. They might need healing. And we will follow the giant.
Lucy and her guards separated from them and soon the disturbing sounds of a stumping giant got more distant. Apparently the creature was heading back to the Eastern side of the Northern lands, while the village was right before her.
The first beams of sun lited the village, showing them the sad result of giant's activity. At least half of the houses were ruined and the villagers crowded on the edge of the forest. A few of them had already managed to bring some food and belongings, but they were still afraid of the second attack.
"Queen Lucy is here!" The rumour spread around instantly and in a few minutes Lucy and her guards were surrounded by those, who were less injured. She jumped off the horse and followed them, squeezing the healing potion in her hand. About hundred of men, women and children lay on the ground, some of them with broken arms and legs, some covered in blood.
"Thank you, Your Majesty", she heard from around, rushing from one person to another, not feeling tired until she was done. Then her legs shook and one of her guards neeeded to support her.
"Thank you, Fern", she smiled to the centaur.
"Your Majesty, how can we protect ourselves?" One of the older women approached her. She wore a simple, village clothing, now dirty and a little bit torn apart on the bottom. "We have no soldiers here. And we need to rebuild our homes. And..."
She gestured them to listen.
"My brother Peter and his troops have already followed the giant. I promise you, we will do everything that lies in our powers to bring back your safety!"
Cheers welcomed her little speech and she felt much better. It was wonderful to see that these people really had faith in her. She wanted to do more, to give them hope.
"I will also make sure you will get food and clothes supplies, and some tents to have a good rest at night."
More cheers were heard and many hands reached out to her, to touch their queen and take comfort in her support. Lucy ordered the part of her assistance to stay with them and help and rushed with the others back to the camp to get some of their own tents and blankets.
"I need to send message to others. We do need more people in here", she said to herself out loud.
"We could get more help from the Western village, but we need someone to pass them the message."
She looked at the centaur, musing. "You are right. Will you go?"
"With all due respect, Your Highness. I am afraid they may not listen to a centaur as much as they would listen to you. There is still some distrust between the people of Narnia." He added with the hint of sadness. Lucy frowned. Yes, she knew about it, indeed. It's been fifteen years after the war and when the first joy of the freedom, warmth and summer became everyday life, it appeared that old anticipations between the races were as deeply hidden in the land, as was the magic itself. It worried her. But there was no time for further discussions.
"Alright. I'll go, then. Please, make sure to get the people here as much help as they need.
She quickly packed herself some food and water for the day and jumped back on the horse. Fern looked after her with devotion, thinking, how wonderful and stunningly beautiful is their queen.
"Long live the Queen!" The citizens of Western Village were as enthusiastic to see her, as she hoped. The children surrounded her with flowers and the leader of the village welcomed her at his house and served a warm meal. Lucy was very grateful for that, the vegetable soup and corn bread were delicious. The village was proud of their huge corn fields and big gardens. Always beautiful weather made everything grow just perfectly. Plus, they didn't have to make supplies for the plants were blooming all over the year. Something of it was almost unnatural, a sudden thought appeared in her head. The trees and the plants around should have time to rest and regenerate. But at that moment she was glad everything went so smoothly and got to the point.
"Your neighbours from the eastern side of the hill need your help. They were attacked by a giant."
"Giants? Here? That low? How come?" The anxious voices surrounded the room and quickly the news was brought out to the streets. As she talked, she noticed how quickly the crowd behind the window was getting bigger. She was afraid how she would manage to control the panic. She went outside.
"You are not in any immediate danger!" She assured them. The villagers were looking at her unsurely. The joy and smiles of the children from an hour before got replaced by whispers and wave of distrust. She needed to do something about it, quickly. She told them how Peter followed the giant to the mountains and it took some effect, but one of the old men stepped forward and said firmly.
"The giants got more bold. They don't like the wild lands of the North anymore."
She blinked. The man was very old and lacked most of his teeth. But he seemed still strong, his eyes were big and he looked at her very intensely.
"People from the mountains say, the giants got hungry. The animals on the North are disappearing and they don't have enough food." He repeated with somewhat disturbing tone of voice. Even the crowd got silent and all listened to him.
"But how? And why? What happened?" She wondered. Was there a new danger they didn't know of? "What do you mean disappeared? Where?"
"Nobody knows", he said. "The white bears, foxes, even the white bunnies. They say more and more of them vanishes. So the giants head South to eat."
"I will find out." She said loudly.
"You can't find it out alone, Your Majesty."
"No, indeed, but I can at least start. However I do need your help. Please, deliver some of your food to the Eastern Village."
"And who will protect us if the giants come?"
"I will send a message to my brother this instant. More troops will come from Cair Paravel. You have my word."
For a few uncomfortable minutes the people were whispering among eachother but finally the leader spoke.
"Alright. We will send help. And we will trust that you keep your word. In the meantime, we will also put guards to watch the northern side day and night. Our people need to sleep safely."
Lucy felt, like an incredibly heavy stone fell off her chest.
"Thank you! So much! I will keep my word. Promise!"
The leader's wife packed her more food and water and she headed back to the camp.
