The Faun had been minding his own business that day. He watched as old customers and friends scuffled away from the door, afraid to see his face. They didn't want to socialise with him, an outsider, a communicator with monsters. Not even the statue of the Great Lion was able to draw them in.

Ronsom didn't blame them. He hated who he'd become, who he'd been told to be and what to do.

But business had been low lately.

Ronsom turned on his heel, heading back towards his empty kitchen to mope. A clinking sound of bells had startled him, causing him to whip around.

It's her! Get her! Kill her! Before she gets to Guith first!

The vision of a tall, billowing Dryad floated into the room, accompanied by two humans.

Two humans?

Ronsom wasn't stupid. He could hear the Hags' cackling command already.

Kill them all! Do it…

Could he? It wasn't in the faun's blood to do so…

Calmly, Ronsom made his way to them, welcoming them in his most unpleasantly cheery voice. He started to guide them to a seat, but the young humans had asked to be seated closer to the Lion.

Holding back a lump of bile, the faun had obeyed.

Once they'd all been seated, he had returned to the kitchen. In there, he found himself face-to-face to a certain Dwarf.

"Darla!" he cried, startled. "What are you doing?"

"Checkin' in on my new students," she grumbled, as she peeked her little face through the doorway.

Ronsom shuffled his feet uncomfortable. "Students? You mean the Dryad?"

"I mean the kids, see those ones there?" she pointed at the Pevensies. "Promised to come and join us today."

Ronsom shook his head. "Darla, you do realise…"

"They are very well determined and independent for their age? Too polite? Like they had planned everything?"

"Darla, you do realise…"

The Dwarf sighed, shaking her head. "I know what you mean, lad. I know who they are. I've already seen them twice, except for the first time they wore jewels and crowns and not Archendlandish peasant attire."

The Faun nodded.

Darla looked at him. "They haven't fallen into my trap yet, and they may not for a while. I must go tell the Hags at once. So you do it."

"D-do what?" the Faun stammered.

"Kill them."

….ACHOO…this is a PAGE break …

The knife shook in Ronsom's hands.

He wasn't good at doing this. In fact, he didn't exactly know how to do this.

How does one kill when one doesn't know what they're killing for?

All he knew was of Ronsom's brother, Guith, and how the Black Dwarfs and their allies didn't like him. They called him a "usurper worshipper" who believed in lions that could do the impossible.

So he stood, shakily, behind the Dryad's quivering back, knife-point pointing forwards.

Could a Dryad even die from a blade? He didn't know, he just needed to get it done, before he was dead.

But stupidly, the Faun had forgotten the childish figures that now stood in defense for their friend.

"Drop your knife, faun." The boy said calmly. "Let us try to settle this the easy way."

The faun continued to shake. "N-no!" he croaked. "I-I have too…"

There was silence for a moment as they both stared at each other. The knife in the faun's hands shook slightly at the uneasily intense gaze of the boy. As if a knife pierced the air, the boy replied in a voice much softer than before.

"No, you don't." the boy-king replied, stepping closer to the faun.

The faun shook his head. "I was told…"

"By whom were you told?" Edmund's voice changed dynamically once again. It resonated confidently off the scarlet walls, and hit the faun squarely in the eardrums. "Master Faun, I do not believe that you have to follow such dishonourable commands. What position did these people have over you to force you into this predicament?"

He was killing time for them both, Edmund knew that much. While saving himself from killing an innocent man, Edmund was also able to save said innocent man from becoming a charged criminal who killed a defenceless Dryad and two-fourths (or a half, if you want to lower your fraction…) of a monarchy. He felt angered that someone believed they could force people to do things they didn't want to do. He understood the feeling of being in the faun's situation, so he silently sympathised him.

It was a complicated situation, really.

While the faun tried to think on a witty response, his eyes fell to the floor, filling quietly with tears. He felt something tugging at his arm. Looking up, he found himself staring into two round chocolate pools.

"Drop it," Lucy whispered, thinking back on her friend Tummus. "Just drop it and step away."

Swiftly, Edmund had grabbed a hold of Josiah's hand and helped her to her feet. He blocked her protectively as he stepped towards his sister and Ronsom.

The knife still shook. It pointed itself towards Josiah again and back to Edmund, but then fell towards Lucy. His heart broke.

He couldn't do this.

The knife splattered to the floor.

Slowly, a smile crept up Edmund's face as he patted the faun's still-shaking arm. "Thank you, I know how difficult that must have been for you."

The faun remained silent.

"Well now," Lucy said, patting Ronsom on the back. "I think it's time Ed and I took off. We have somewhere to be. Josiah, you can join us if you like. Master Ronsom, perhaps we could see you tonight?"

Ronsom nodded.

The trio headed to the door, Josiah sandwiching herself between her new friends.

"And Ronsom?"

The faun still stood in his place, his hand still raised to where the knife had drop. "Hmm?"

"Tell them we disappeared before you came back."

.ANOTHER. PAGE. BREAK.

The loudness of the camp did not help Minorés's escape plan. He hoped that other Beasts and Monsters would be too busy with their nightly activities to hear the children scuffle off. But, something had the Hags' hair in a twist, making them decide to post guards outside the Prisoners' Tent.

When Minorés saw the guards take their positions as the party become, he swore foully under his breath. He still stood beside Griz and Nelson. How could he get out without being noticed? It wasn't possible unless he came up with an excuse. But Minorés was a bad liar.

"How do I know you ain't going to hurt us, Minotaur?"

"I haven't hurted ya yet, did I?" Minorés replied. "I risked my life and position here to see you and all your little friends. Might as well do somethin' good."

So Minorés reached down and untied Nelson from his spot against the canvas wall.

"You're the only one small enough to get outta here, squirrely."

He pointed to a crack on the back wall of the tent. "Go through there. The party's towardsthe front. Stay on this side and head north. You should find someone that'll take you in."

Nelson looked uncertainly down at his Grizzly friend. "What about Griz? And all the others?"

"I'll find a way to get them outta here safely on one condition."

"Which is…?"

"Promise me I won't die a foe, but a hero."

So I'm just waiting…and waiting...and waiting…for my fictionpress accound to load. I might upload something there. It's a whole lot better than a fanfic, and I'll admit, I spend more time fixing it up. So if you're interested in reading it when it's up, just give me a shout and I'll post the link in my next update! And DON'T WORRY, I'm not makin' Ed fall for Josiah…that's a little crazy…she's sposed to be older anyways. Okay, goodnight! (PS. Sorry for the randomness in page breaks. I've been writing a drama assignment all weekend and I needed some randomness in my life…)