I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies. But I am back. I missed you all.
"So what are we going to do?" Lucy asked bewilderedly as they stepped into the hallway. It was just too much information all at once – she kept running things over in her head, and all she could figure out was that the only way to stop her sister from being married to a despotic king was to somehow either commandeer a gargantuan, magic-operated flying vessel named after a small bird, fly it unaided to a city she'd never visited and somehow break into a strange castle, or attempt to make it through a wood that had never been traversed before, probably teeming with untamed and magical wilderness and again break into a strange castle. It wasn't terrifically promising.
"Well we can either commandeer a gargan-"
"-We know that," Edmund cut in crankily. "She didn't ask what we could do, she asked what we're going to do."
"I haven't decided yet," Peter said delicately.
They left the building, stepping again into brilliant sunlight, trailed by the eyes of the magician's secretary, who still wouldn't stop ogling Peter (Edmund shot her a glare on the way out). The square was still crowded, though much of it was bathed in the shadow of the Wren that still hovered at its dock.
"Why don't we try and see if they'll sell us tickets?" Lucy suggested.
"Sir Suspenders already told us the king will only let wedding guests buy them," Edmund said sourly.
"It can't hurt to try," said Peter, turning to face the towering structure. His face broke into a teasing smile. "Maybe they'll think because I'm rich, you're demanding and Lu's pretty, we must be aristocracy and thus invited."
Lucy burst out laughing. Edmund glared, but followed when she and Peter made their way over to the base of the Wren bay, where a little wooden door was reinforced with ornate iron patterns and a fancy handle. Lucy reached for it, considered knocking, and looked to Peter for guidance. He shrugged. She chose to simply open it, and the three of them stepped into another office, though this one was much neater, and was well-lit with oil lamps placed at intervals on the walls. The secretary's desk was organized, papers sitting in orderly piles and a quill pen placed at a perfectly perpendicular angle to everything else. Behind it sat a middle-aged woman in a crisp, starched uniform, her graying hair tied in a tight knot upon her head and her watery blue eyes watching them carefully.
"Good day," she said. "How may I be of service?"
"We were looking to purchase tickets, m'am," said Peter respectfully. "For the next Wren flight."
" Names, please," she replied, reaching for her quill and a list that lay on top of one of piles of paper.
"Pevensie," Peter said. "Peter, Edmund and Lucy."
She arched one plucked eyebrow and ran the tip of her quill down the list, flipping it over once and continuing the process until she raised her head and fixed them with a look.
"I'm sorry," she said, not sounding very sorry. "You don't seem to be on the guest list, and as you know, the next Wren flight is reserved only for His Highness's wedding guests. You'll have to wait until after the ceremony."
"Could you check again?" Edmund asked meaningfully, slipping a few gold coins onto the table. Peter shot him a truly fearsome look, eyes opening wide with shock and anger, teeth clenching. Lucy froze. The secretary's businesslike air disappeared in an instant, replaced by pure, frightening frostiness. She stared at Edmund with steely eyes.
"I'm quite sure I've checked thoroughly," she said, cold disdain dripping from every word. "If you leave immediately, I shall be kind enough not to report you to the city guard for bribery."
They left in a hurry. Lucy made a point of not standing between her brothers. Just as she'd expected, as soon as they were outside, Peter rounded on Edmund, blue eyes alight with anger.
"Just what was that all about?" he demanded, fists clenching. Ed glared back up at him defiantly.
"We weren't going to get anywhere doing anything else!" he retorted. "It might have worked, and then would you have been angry with me?"
"Yes!" Peter said emphatically. "You are a king, Edmund! You have a sense of decency! Bribery is not acceptable!"
"And what was your brilliant plan? Going to be so infuriatingly polite, she couldn't resist giving you tickets? Going to be so chivalrous, she'd lose her eyesight and decide we were invited? The world doesn't work like that, Peter!"
"Well it was no reason to…"
"…there you all are!" a new voice cut in. The brothers spun away from each other, and Lucy looked up from where she'd been hovering between them, afraid of intervening. To her surprise, the man they'd met between worlds came running up to them, no longer in the somber black of the world he'd come from but in a pleasant blue, and looking delighted to see them.
"Hello!" she called, happy for a diversion. He smiled and gave her a wave.
"I've been searching for you all morning," he said. "I've been remembering more and more of what's happened, and why I was where I was and such."
Edmund raised an eyebrow.
"And I'm so terribly sorry for what I did to…say, you look much better than you did yesterday," the man said, confused. Lucy giggled, remembering her trick. Peter and Edmund looked sulky.
"Some rest and a bath can do wonders," Lucy said pleasantly.
"Quite true. But as I was saying, I was remembering more and more of my past, and I think…I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I think that other world is a prison of some sort. I don't think I was born or raised there. Before the dark and the cold, I remember green hills, and great forests – and a war. I think I was forced into that world."
"That's possible," said Lucy. "Perhaps you were killed in the war, but it wasn't supposed to happen, so you fell through into that world. That's what's happened to our sister, only she's in this world."
"Really?" the man said. "I suppose our stories are similar, then, but…well, I was wondering…"
He seemed unwilling to go on, so Lucy prompted him.
"Yes?"
"Well, there were others where I came from, weren't there?"
"Yes, there were. Why do you ask?"
"It…it doesn't seem fair to leave them there, does it?"
"Of course not."
"Then we must rescue them!" the man burst out passionately, his green eyes lighting with determination. Lucy and her brothers shared a look.
"What would you…what would you have us do?" Lucy asked uncertainly. They couldn't afford any delays; they had less than a week as it was, and that seemed nowhere near enough time to rescue their sister.
"Use your magic," the man begged. "Put on the rings and take us all back to the dark world. I can convince them, I know I can. We can liberate them, save them from the fate I had to suffer, please, it would take so little effort…"
"It's not effort," Lucy said slowly, looking back at her brothers for reassurance. "It's…well, it's time. We have to rescue our sister first. She's going to be forced to marry the king of this kingdom in a few days' time."
"But…" the man began.
"I'm sorry," Peter interrupted. "We can't. But we promise you – as soon as we have our sister back, we will help your comrades."
The man sagged, but straightened his shoulders after a moment and looked over all three of them carefully. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence (well, not true silence, since the market made an amazing racket behind them), he spoke again.
"I suppose one asking favors can't be resentful if they're not granted," he said. "At least…at least allow me to accompany you on your quest. I will help you save your sister, just as you have promised to help me rescue my people."
Edmund started to say something, but Lucy was already shaking the man's hand and thanking him for his help. Peter looked thoughtful, but after a moment he, too, welcomed the newcomer to their party. Only Edmund remained to the side, watching him with suspicion.
"I must introduce myself," the man said. "My name is Timothy, as I remembered only late last night. And you are?"
Lucy made the introductions, and the four of them set off to find lunch.