Great Woods

Aslan's How

The entrance of Aslan's How led directly to a large circular room with a padded dirt floor. Roughly-hewn stone tunnels with high ceilings branched off of the main room, which was dimly-lit with only scattered torches and small fires to illuminate the large collection of Narnians, who were crouched by the fires. Many of them were sooty from the fires, and all looked grim-faced as they made weapons or sharpened them. It was a bleak sight.

Caspian seemed to realize this, because as they all looked around, he commented, "It may not be what you are used to, but it is defensible."

The Pevensies didn't seem to mind the crudeness as they strode through the middle of the room and towards a set of shallow steps leading to a tunnel on the opposite side. Tempestra, however, pursed her lips as she gazed around at the Narnians, many of whom looked up as they passed by. Though many looked awed at the sight of their long-ago kings and queens, they looked too weary to be able to pose much of a threat to their enemies.

"They're inspired by our presence."

Turning, Tempestra saw Peter standing behind her, his hands clasped behind his back with a somber look. He had noticed her doubtful look.

"They're inspired by your presence," she replied. "You're the one who's the Magnificent, remember?" She hesitated, then added, "They'll need more than inspiration to get through this."

The high king furrowed his brow.

"Summoning us here is a start. I'm working on the rest."

From the tunnel came Queen Susan's voice, which was tinged with a hint of anticipation and excitement.

"Peter, you may want to see this."

As the youth went over to join his sister, Tempestra took one more glance around the room before following him. The narrow tunnel was even darker than the main room, with fewer torches. The sparse flickering light barely illuminated a series of pictures painted on one of the long tunnel walls. When Tempestra stepped forward to join the Pevensies and Caspian in gazing at the paintings, she saw that they resembled cave drawings, though with more faded colors. The first drawing depicted two Narnian girls riding on the back of a large lion.

"It's us," Susan breathed, staring at the image. They all glanced down the wall and saw the rest of the paintings, one of which showed four crowned children, dressed grandly and standing in front of thrones.

"What is this place?" Lucy asked. Her eyes, which had been riveted on a drawing of a faun and an old-fashioned lamppost, came to rest on the Telmarine prince with puzzlement.

Caspian looked surprised at their bewilderment.

"You don't know?"

Picking up one of the torches hanging on the wall, the Telmarine prince led the group down the dark tunnel. Tempestra made to follow, but stopped at a tap on her shoulder. Resisting the instinctual urge to slap away the hand, she turned to see Peter standing beside her again. The high king inclined his head at the wall next to them.

"Look."

Tempestra stepped closer to the wall. There, a scene had been painted of a small army of Narnians, weapons drawn and pointed at an army of roughly-dressed men who could be none other than Telmarines. At the head of the Narnian army were two bold figures on horses: a young blond man in full battle armor; and a young woman in black leather armor, violet cloth, and chain mail.

There was no mistaking High King Peter and the Lady Lightning. The artist had included the smallest of details, including the rearing red lion on Peter's tunic, and the brilliant lightning bursting from Julia's brandished sword.

"My God," Tempestra whispered. Reaching out, she touched the painting with trembling fingers. "It's us."

Peter nodded.

"The first time we fought alongside each other." He pointed to another picture to the right, which showed High King Peter seated on his throne, and the Lightning Lady standing to his side behind him. Almost unnoticeably, her hand was resting on his shoulder. "This probably represents my reign, and your time as advisor." The youth stared at the painting, obviously reminiscing. "As a pair, we were invincible. We could do no wrong."

Tempestra looked at him, raising her eyebrows.

"Right," she said. "Until you disappeared, I forgot everything, and the Telmarines took over."

Peter's face hardened.

"But now that we've returned, we'll take Narnia back."

The young woman did not like his expression. It was one of determination, driving ambition, even anger. But before she could say anything, a bright flare of light caught their attention; it came from deeper inside the tunnel. By the time they made it down the steps and into the large stone room at the end of the tunnel, they saw that Caspian had lit a fiery trench that circled the perimeter of the room, revealing solid pillars, blocks of fallen stone, and smooth carvings on the walls. At the center was a stone slab, which was cracked down the middle, and a stone archway. Carved into the wall and framed by the archway was a picture of a majestic lion. It stared down at them, its expression both intimidating and reassuring.

"Aslan?" Tempestra murmured. During her time spent with the Narnians, they had told her stories and legends that were crucial to the culture of Narnia. Aslan had been the leading figure, starting from the beginning. It had been he who had created the land of Narnia, and given voices to the animals. The Narnians regarded him as a mixture between a god and a king.

Lucy slowly walked forward towards the Stone Table, her eyes on the carving of Aslan. Stopping, she turned back to look at them.

"He must know what he's doing," she told them, her eyes pleading.

Looking around at everyone else's expressions – and seeing uncertainty on many – Tempestra turned her gaze lastly on the high king. Peter was staring at Aslan's carving as well, though his face was one of mulishness. Looking at his face, Tempestra realized that the young man had lost hope in Aslan. His bitterness in returning to England and being reduced to a child had combined with his anger at the Telmarines. He was rebellious now, and stubborn.

Peter swallowed almost imperceptibly, then looked at the others.

"I think it's up to us now," he announced. Without another word, they all looked back at Aslan's carving.

"Julia? Or do you prefer Lady Lightning?"

Tempestra turned around to see Queen Lucy sitting on the edge of the Stone Table, watching her. The little girl's voice had been teasing, but the young woman noticed the formal underlying tone; it was unsettling to hear it coming from a twelve-year-old with a British accent. It wasn't right for a little girl her age to be so proper.

"Tempestra's fine." She didn't bother with the titles anymore. The Pevensies – especially Peter – had made it clear that they were old friends and titles were not to be used among friends. Caspian had followed their lead, and all of them had dropped the formalities. At her request, they were all calling her Tempestra, but the Pevensies often slipped and used her real name, to her discomfort.

Lucy cocked her head to the side, child-like once more. Tempestra imagined her relearning all of the little movements and habits of children again, just to placate adults and convince them that she was truly acting her age.

"Do you think Aslan exists?"

Tempestra was speechless. After a faun lookout reported that a Telmarine soldier had spotted the How and ridden back to report the Narnians' whereabouts, High King Peter had summoned a full war conference. He, Caspian, Susan, and Edmund had left to gather the leaders of the Narnian group, leaving Tempestra and Lucy to wait in the room with the Stone Table. Somehow, despite her effort to settle into a comfortable silence, the young woman found herself being asked a loaded question by the youngest sibling of the royal family. Lucy had told her siblings that she had wanted to stay in the room with Tempestra; now she knew why.

"Well…" Tempestra looked up at the stone carving of the lion. "I don't know." The little red-headed girl was gazing at her, her eyes thoughtful but sharp. "I know some Narnians think he does," she continued carefully. "And I know they put their faith in him."

"But what about you?" Lucy persisted, leaning forward.

Tempestra folded her arms, wishing that the others would return soon. This wasn't exactly the kind of conversation that she wanted to have with a twelve-year-old stranger who chatted her up like they were best friends.

"I've never seen Aslan, and nobody else has for thousands of years," the young woman replied simply. "I need proof of something's existence in order to believe in it. Otherwise, I don't see it existing as much as living in the minds of many."

A small frown furrowed Lucy's smooth brow.

"So to you, seeing is believing?" she asked.

Tempestra nodded, glancing back at the carving of Aslan on the stone wall.

"I don't like to put all my faith and hope into just an idea," she remarked quietly. "I've seen people using symbols as excuses to do terrible things. It's not really…practical."

The young woman looked back at Lucy to see the girl still watching her intently, and in a flash she saw it again: that wisdom and knowledge that came from years of growing up and maturing, not to mention ruling over a kingdom. It was disconcerting to see it in the eyes of a twelve-year-old. Then again, she reminded herself, Lucy was not just a twelve-year-old. In truth, she was a twenty-seven-year-old in a twelve-year-old's body. In Narnia, the girl had grown up to the age of twenty-six, returned to England as eleven, then spent a year there and returned to become twelve.

It wasn't right, Tempestra thought, feeling troubled. It wasn't natural. How could Lucy and the other Pevensies grow up to become adults, only to become young again and be treated as children? No wonder Peter had been so frustrated. He and his siblings had had their lives snatched away from them when they were in their prime.

Despite Tempestra's assertion about Aslan, Lucy was still smiling.

"Aslan and Narnia aren't about practicality," she remarked. "They're about belief. You say that Aslan is just a symbol and idea for people to believe in, but what else do people have besides their beliefs? Everyone needs something to believe in – something to inspire them." The little girl's tone became serious. "You've never seen Aslan, but that doesn't mean he isn't here. Perhaps believing is seeing."

Only a half hour later, the rest of the Pevensies, Caspian, and the Narnian leaders were back in the Stone Table Room. High King Peter stood in the center of the room, the Narnians ranged in a circle around him. Their numbers included Glenstorm and several of his sons, Reepicheep and a few of his mice, Trufflehunter, Trumpkin, Nikabrik, another dwarf, the squirrel Pattertwig, Asterius (now a general) and two other minotaurs, Ferrah, a few fauns, a bear, and a tiger. Caspian stood a few feet away, Lucy still sat on the edge of the Stone Table, and Susan and Edmund were situated on opposite sides of the room, sitting on blocks of stone. Tempestra leaned inconspicuously against a half-crumbled pillar, her arms folded as she thoughtfully watched the room and its occupants.

"It's only a matter of time," Peter declared. "Miraz's men and war machines are on their way." The young man turned, looking around at them all. If he noticed Caspian's guarded look, he didn't let on. "That means those same men aren't protecting his castle."

Reepicheep, standing on one of the stone blocks, spoke up.

"What do you propose we do, Your Majesty?" he asked.

"We need running water-" Caspian began.

"We need to get ready for-" Peter said at the same time.

There was a moment of tension as the high king turned to look irritably at the Telmarine prince. Backing down, Caspian nodded resentfully and fell silent. Peter turned back to look around the room once again.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us."

Caspian looked incredulous.

"But that's crazy! No one has ever taken that castle."

Peter gave a light shrug.

"There's always a first time," he replied contemptuously.

Meanwhile, Trumpkin was nodding resolutely.

"We'll have the element of surprise," he reminded them.

"But we have the advantage here," Caspian protested. To Tempestra's surprise, Susan got to her feet and went to stand behind the Telmarine prince.

"If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely," she suggested, looking from Caspian to Peter. Her brother shot her a displeased look, but the young woman just lifted her chin stubbornly.

"I, for one, feel safer underground," Trufflehunter remarked firmly. But Peter was already taking a step towards Caspian.

"Look," he said reassuringly, "I appreciate what you've done here, but this isn't a fortress – it's a tomb."

Edmund was already warming up to his brother's plan.

"Yes," he agreed, "and if they're smart, the Telmarines will just wait and starve us out."

"We could collect nuts!" Pattertwig declared excitedly.

Reepicheep, who was standing next to him, looked disgusted.

"Yes, and throw them at the Telmarines!" he commented sarcastically, throwing up his hands. Shooting a scornful look at the squirrel, he added scathingly, "Shut up." The mouse turned back at Peter. "I think you know where I stand on this, Sire."

There was a moment of uncertainty as the mouse's words sank in. In confirming where he stood on the matter, Reepicheep had forced them to all realize that they had to take sides: Caspian's or Peter's. Trufflehunter, Susan, and Pattertwig had already shown to be on Caspian's side; but Peter had Trumpkin, Reepicheep, and Edmund supporting him. Those three had more weight than Caspian's group. Still, there were a few loose ends – important players who had yet to throw in their lot with one of the young men.

"From my experience, I can tell you that staying here's just prolonging your defeat," Tempestra remarked casually. Everyone looked over at the young woman, who shrugged casually. "Where I come from, we have this saying: the best defense is a good offense." She looked over to meet Peter's gaze and held it steadily. The high king looked both relieved and triumphant. Prince Caspian's expression, on the other hand, was one of both annoyance and frustration. Ignoring him, Peter turned to Glenstorm, the last piece waiting to fall into place.

"If I can get your troops in, can you handle the guards?"

The centaur general glanced at Caspian, who was looking at him almost desperately. The prince knew that his chances of winning were growing slimmer by the second. If Glenstorm didn't support him…

"Or die trying, my liege." The centaur bowed his head, avoiding Caspian's gaze. They all knew that the balance of power had changed. The Telmarine prince was no longer the leader of the Narnians – Peter was. Caspian's fear had come true.

"That's what I'm worried about."

Everyone turned to Lucy, who had spoken up. Peter furrowed his brow.

"Sorry?"

Lucy looked from Peter to Caspian, her expression dismayed.

"Well, you're all acting like there are only two options: dying here, or dying there."

Peter shifted impatiently.

"I'm not sure you've really been listening, Lu."

"No, you're not listening," the girl countered with a frown. "Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter?"

For a brief moment Tempestra stared at Lucy uncomprehendingly before her question sank in. It was Aslan who had killed the White Witch, she finally realized, remembering the Narnian story. Aslan had recued Peter when he was about to be killed by Jadis. But that Peter was very different than the one who stood before them now; he had been sixteen at the time, uncertain and fighting his first battle. Now, he was a high king with fifteen years of rule under his belt and no Aslan in sight.

He won't back down, Tempestra thought, watching the young man. He's dead set on proving that he can save Narnia himself this time.

She was right. Peter met his sister's gaze scornfully, his jaw set.

"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough," he retorted. Turning on his heel, he strode out of the room with a finality that ended the discussion.

A/N: Another edited chapter. I only tweaked this chapter a little because most of it draws from the movie script, and the new scenes are basically the same. I changed the dialogue between Julia and Lucy a little because I wanted their conversation to reflect their personalities more (especially Julia's, which will connect to later stories).