I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies. But hey, the last bajillion chapters haven't even contained Narnia, so why is that still in there.
Author's Note: This will be the last update before I leave for two and a half weeks - terribly sorry, you'll have to wait until I get back for more. You can use the time you would've spent reading this for something productive, like...watching Narnia. Or eating chocolate. Or wondering why the cheesecake Capegio is incapable of writing decent OCs.
"Excuse me, have you seen a young woman, about this tall, dark hair, probably very…"
Lucy trailed off as the woman she'd been attempting to speak to swept past her without a second glance. Peter looked sympathetic, Edmund had his eyes shut and was breathing deeply, almost asleep on his feet.
"I don't really think this is a good way to go about it, Lu," said Peter gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We need to ask someone who really sees everyone, or at least think about where Su would go."
"She's very practical," Lucy thought aloud. "Perhaps she would have gone to some sort of magician, to try and find a way back."
"Good thinking," said Peter. "Why don't we ask if this world has something like a freelance magic trade?"
Lucy nodded and the two of them moved forward, Peter reaching back to jab Edmund in the chink of his traveler's armor (the younger king jumped and yelped, hurrying after them with quite a bit of angry muttering). The next person she tried to speak to, an elderly gentleman with a kind twinkle in his eyes, stopped when she called out to him, and bent down with a hand cupped around his ear.
"What's that, sweetheart?" he asked.
"Sorry to bother you, sir," she said. "We were wondering if this city has any sort of magician for hire, an enchantress perhaps?"
"Oh, all the magic in Caelan is controlled by King Valin," the man said, straightening out. "The only office in Tamitha is in Central Square, right between City Hall and the Wren bay."
Lucy blinked.
"Right, thank you, sir," said Peter, equally confused, but polite nonetheless. The gentleman bobbed his head genially and went on his way, disappearing into the crowd.
"To Central Square, then?" Lucy asked. Peter nodded and set out with a determined stride. Lucy followed with a bit less surety, and Edmund didn't follow at all; he stood and stared at his brother with dulled, pain-hazed eyes, still managing to look vaguely smug despite this. When his brother and sister turned back to look at him, he arched one eyebrow and remarked,
"I wouldn't follow someone who has no clue where he's going, Lu."
Peter flushed.
"I would assume Central Square is in the center of the city!" he said hotly.
"And do you have any idea where the edge of it is, much less the center?" Edmund countered before muttering, "Boys. They never ask directions."
"Um," said Lucy. She left it at that.
Central Square was indeed at the center of the city, though Peter had been heading in the wrong direction (unless, as he claimed, he was simply taking a more scenic route). It took them more than half an hour to reach it, though it probably would have taken more if there hadn't been such crowds. There were so many people in the streets that Lucy began to suspect the buildings were entirely empty during the day. The Square itself was packed full of people, many of them dressed in long, important-looking robes and hurrying in and out of a tall stone building that she guessed was City Hall. Next to it was a small, dingy building with a curtain for a doorway, and on the other side – the three of them stopped in wonderment.
Lucy thought distantly that it had to be what the man had called the Wren bay. It was staggering in size (if they hadn't been so intent on finding their way, they would have seen it long before reaching the square), a tower that stretched towards the sky, swaying dangerously in even the light wind. Magic probably held it up, and it certainly supported the enormous wooden creation that dangled in mid-air beside the tower. A Wren, decided Lucy – it looked something like a shallow ship with massive, ungainly wooden wings protruding from its sides. It was quite high up, but she guessed that it was probably thirty feet tall, fifty wide and eighty long not counting the wings. It was obviously a transport of some sort.
"Incredible," said Peter under his breath, shading his eyes against the sun. Lucy murmured in agreement.
"Let's go," said Edmund crankily.
"Yes, Mr. Sunshine," Lucy teased, leading the way towards the rather run-down building between the two more impressive ones, assuming it had to be the government magic office. It took them a few minutes to cross the square. When they reached their destination, she pushed the threadbare blue curtain aside and stepped inside, blinking as her eyes had to adjust from brilliant sunshine to the dim light that made it through the doorway. Inside, aside from the notable amount of dust, there was a desk behind which sat a young woman with lank blonde hair, idly twisting her hair around her finger and giving Peter the eye. Beyond her, there was a long hallway with several doors.
"Hello," said Lucy amiably. The girl tore her eyes away from Peter and looked at her boredly.
"What are you looking to buy?" she asked, the words falling off her tongue without interest.
"Oh, we're not here to er…purchase anything, we were just wondering, have you seen…"
"No," said the girl. "This is my first day on the job, and you're the first people to wander in here."
"Well, is there anyone we could speak to who would be more useful?" Edmund cut in. She eyed him with a bit of interest, but returned her eyes to Peter after a moment. Lucy frowned.
"Second door on the right," the blonde said finally.
"Thank you," said Lucy politely. Edmund, who was closest to the edge of the desk, headed around it and down the hallway, stopping two doors down and rapping smartly on the wood.
"You don't need to knock!" the girl called. "He won't hear you."
Peter thanked her politely, at which Lucy noticed she smiled flirtatiously. Edmund opened the door and the three of them stepped into a room that was positively littered with all sorts of little wooden and metal gadgets, some occasionally making odd noises and twitching. Lucy lifted her foot to avoid having it run over by what appeared to be an overambitious, miniature wooden puppy.
"Hello?" she called into the room. There was a long purple curtain in front of them, separating them from the rest of the room, and now it opened, a weedy-looking man in leather suspenders looking out at them.
"Oh, hello there," he said. "Lost something?"
"Yes, thank you," said Lucy. "We're looking for our sister, see. We're almost certain she's somewhere in this world, but we haven't the slightest idea where to begin looking."
"Understood," the man replied, wiping his hands on his trousers and stepping away from the curtain, into their side of the room.
"Can you help us?" Lucy asked, when he simply stood there.
"Not magically – to use any sort of magic, you need written permission from the king, and I'll eat my niece if that ever happens. He rarely grants permission for anything but the Wren flights. But I do know that a young lady mysteriously appeared recently, actually. The news was all over. Rumor has it she dropped right into the middle of the king's jousting tournament in armor, and made a good job of the first three palace guards that tried to apprehend her."
"That's our Su," said Peter, beaming.
"Oh, please, sir," breathed Lucy excitedly. "Couldn't you tell us where she is?"
"Of course," he said with a smile. "She'd be in Tamas. That's Tamitha's twin city, on the other side of the Void. You'll need to catch a Wren to get there; no one's ever crossed the Void and lived."
"How do you know she's there?" questioned Edmund.
"Because she's at the king's court. He plans to marry her in less than a week."
"What?"
The magician threw up his hands defensively, no doubt terrified by the matching expressions of incredulity, shock and anger on the Pevensies' faces.
"I'm only passing on what I know!" he said hurriedly. The three exchanged dark looks.
"When does the next…er…Wren leave?" Peter asked.
"The king is only accepting one more flight before his wedding, and only guests who were specifically invited are allowed on it."
"This is awful!" Lucy cried. "We have to stop them, somehow."
"Sorry, just what is the Void?" asked Peter, as if he had just thought of something. The magician looked at him curiously.
"The country Caelan has two major cities, young man," he said. "Tamitha and Tamas. They're separated by fifty miles of uncharted wilderness called the Void. No one knows for sure what lives in it, but no one has ever successfully crossed it without flying over. That's why the Wrens were developed. Unfortunately, when Valin ascended the throne, he put strict limits on when they could fly, and who could buy tickets."
Peter looked around at his siblings before turning back to the man, who was now fiddling with one of the gadgets on the floor.
"Thank you for your time," he said, sounding rather overwhelmed. The three siblings shared another look, then headed for the door.