Chapter Nine: Narnia
Edmund looked out the door, then closed it softly.
"Is she in sight?" Peter asked.
"No," Edmund came over, "We'd better start while she's not around."
Then, like two hounds, they attacked the suit of amour and started to dismantle it.
"Here are the grieves," Edmund said, "Where shall I put them?"
"Just stick them on the floor, under the piano," Peter said, "where we won't tread on them."
Suits of amour. Gleaming, old and mysterious. Peter caught himself thinking about riding to joust in one and Edmund brought to mind how fat Henry the eighth was and how when he wore his suit of amour he had to be lifted on his horse with a crane.
"Poor horse," Edmund murmured.
"What?" Peter asked absently.
The armour was very old and so exquisitely decorated and scrolled over with images of jousts and fox hunts and parties and battles that they were both quite certain that whoever had owned it wore it only to parades.
"What's that?" Peter asked, looking up.
"Someone's in a hurry," Edmund noted.
Suddenly the door burst open and Susan, Lucy and Eustace galloped through.
"It's Mrs. Macready and a tour!" Susan gasped, "Oh, Peter! Not the suit of amour! Not now!"
"Golly," Peter said standing up, "let's get to our rooms quick!"
They stampeded out of the green room and down the hallway, but they heard footsteps.
"Back!" Peter hissed, "Back to the green room!"
They hurried back and went through the door at the other end just as the knob on the first door started to turn, letting in the tour.
They stood in the hallway with their ears to the door.
"She's coming this way!" Susan said, "Come on!"
They ran to the end of the hallway and trotted down the stairs.
"I say," Lucy said looking longingly at the door at the end of that hall, "Let's hide in the room with the wardrobe, nobody will go in there!"
"No," said Susan, but they heard footsteps on the top step of the stair and Peter hustled them into the spare room.
"Well," Susan said, "they will be gone soon and we can get out."
Eustace noticed the dead bluebottle on the windowsill for the first time and went over to look at it.
"Calliphora vomitoria," He murmured.
They all stood, eyeing the wardrobe with warily. The wood gleamed in the grey light steaming through the window and the carvings had never looked more beautiful.
"It is such a lovely thing," Susan said softly. She stepped forward and touched the polished wood. She gasped.
"What?" Peter asked.
"It shocked me."
"Wood can't shock people."
Edmund caught Lucy's eyes and Eustace was going decidedly green.
"I think the rain is letting up," Eustace said faintly. They all looked to the windows. The rain was coming ever harder.
There was a softly sound behind them and Peter glanced back. The doors of the wardrobe were swinging open quietly and a breath of cold wind ruffled the coats.
"It's so cold in here," Susan said, staring miserably out the window, "I suppose the Macready is gone by now."
Peter walked forward slowly. He could see faint blue light, snow, branches. Lucy glanced around and caught his stricken eyes. She smiled. Slowly, he stepped into the wardrobe and walked forward.
"Peter," Susan said, "What are you doing…oh my goodness…don't go in there! Peter!"
She ran forward, intending to pull him out. He stepped into the snow and she stumbled after him and fell to her knees.
"This can't be happening!" Susan cried, pulling her hands out of the snow.
"Told you it was there," Lucy's voice came from behind them, jolting them back to reality.
They turned around to see Lucy standing in the wardrobe with Edmund standing behind her, flashing one of his rare grins. Eustace was behind looking half scared, half longing.
"So you did get in, Eustace!" Peter said, "And you made out they were telling lies! You little beast!"
Eustace just stared at him wide eyed and Peter turned away, too disgusted for words, he knew there was nothing he could say, Eustace would never listen. He turned to Lucy and Edmund.
"Can you forgive me for not believing you?" he asked, "I'm most awfully sorry."
"Of course!" said Lucy, "the only thing that matters is that you believe us now!"
"Shake?" Peter asked.
He shook hands with Edmund, but hugged Lucy and swung her around.
"We can't really blame you anyway," Edmund said, grinning. "It is rather impossible."
"Completely impossible," Peter said, laughing, "Where shall we go first?"
"We aren't' going anywhere until we put on some of those coats in the wardrobe," Susan said, pulling some down.
"I say," Lucy said, "I never thought of that!"
"And it isn't as if we are even taking them out of the wardrobe," Edmund reasoned.
"Logic." Peter said, grinning.
Once everyone had put on a coat Peter turned to Lucy and Edmund, "So, where shall we go first?"
"I think Lucy should decide that," Edmund said, looking at her.
"Let's go visit Mr. Tumnus!" Lucy cried.
"Mr. Tumnus it is," Peter said, "He's that satyr you were talking about?"
"Yes," Lucy said, "Right this way!"
She plunged bravely through the snow, like a great galleon at the head of its fleet. She reached the lamppost and looked around, waiting for Susan to react.
"I wonder why there is a lamppost in the middle of a wood?" Susan asked as they looked up at it, "It just isn't practical."
"Not only is it unpractical, its impossible," Peter said, looking up at it, "It's a gas lamppost and who finds gas lines in the middle of a wood?"
"Maybe there are new technologies here," Edmund suggested. "But why would the witch be riding about in a sleigh if she could have some sort of electric snow-mobile?"
They all digested this carefully.
"See," Lucy said, and suddenly had the undivided attention of everyone, "Over there is where I first saw Mr. Tumnus's footsteps."
They continued on after Lucy, admiring the wood which was obviously very old. Soon they reached the little clearing where Mr. Tumnus's cave was and Lucy trotted happily down to the door…and stopped with a little cry.
"What is it, Lu?" Peter called. And the others hurried to catch up.
Then they saw for themselves.
The door of Tumnus's cave was broken and hung on one hinge. Shattered glass littered the snow in front of the door and the snow was trampled with large paw prints.
"What happened?" asked Susan.
Lucy was already tugging the door open. Edmund helped. It came aside and they walked inside with the others following. It was very dark. It was chaos. The leather chairs in front of the fire were slashed. Pictures were shattered on the floor; books had their pages torn off.
Edmund picked up one and read the title, Is Man A Myth?
"Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy called, her voice echoing strangely.
"I'm afraid he's not here anymore, Lu," Peter said, "I'm sorry."
"Something dreadful's happened," Susan said, looking around. "Be careful not to tread on the glass."
"What-what could have happened?" Lucy asked, her voice quavering.
"Secret police?" Edmund suggest, "Look here, Lucy, don't cry."
Peter reached up and tore a piece of paper from where it had been nailed to a beam.
"There's writing on it," he said. "It's too dark to read it in here, let's go outside."
They filed out and stood in the snow while Peter read the paper.
"The former occupants of these premises, the Faun Tumnus, is under arrest and awaiting his trial on a charge of High Treason against her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands, etc., also of comforting her said Majesty's enemies, harboring spies and fraternizing with humans. Singed, Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police, long live the queen!"
"That's Mr. Tumnus!" said Lucy in a hushed tone, "they've got Mr. Tumnus, they'll turn him to stone!"
"Who's Maugrim?" Peter asked, handing the paper to Edmund.
"The Captain of the Secret Police of course," Edmund said.
Peter grinned, "No, I mean what is he? He can't be a man."
"Well," Edmund said, "His brother is a wolf, so I would assume that he is a wolf as well."
"You know his brother?" Lucy said.
"Not exactly," Edmund said, "remember the white wolf I ran into on the way here last time?"
"Rather," Lucy said.
"Well that was Shard," Edmund said, "Mr. Tumnus said that he was Maugrim's brother."
"Well," Lucy said, "We have to go save Mr. Tumnus."
Peter looked at Susan then at Lucy, "That's just the point Lu," He said gently, "It's too dangerous, we wouldn't have a chance. Not if humans are hunted like convicts by packs of wolves. We wouldn't last two minutes."
"But we have to save him!" Lucy said and tears started to run down her cheeks, "He saved my life!"
"But it's too dangerous Lu," Peter said, "Tell you what, I'll go and see what I can do for the old chap and the rest of you go back though the wardrobe."
"No," said Susan, "we are all going back, this is a very bad place."
"Want a piggy back ride, Lu?" Peter asked, quite agreeing with her.
Wordlessly Lucy agreed, and all the way back to the wardrobe she cried until Peter had an uncomfortable wet patch on the back of his neck. They passed the lamppost without even looking at it and they reached the wardrobe. What they saw thrilled them though with complete horror.
The wardrobe stood, calm and still, but there was a back on it.
Peter put Lucy down in the snow and walked over to it.
"Maybe we can break it down," Edmund suggested, but the wood was as yielding as iron.
"How about the other side?" Peter exclaimed. Peter and Edmund fought their way through the branches of the trees until they were on the other side of the wardrobe. The doors were closed and locked. Peter pounded on it with his fists,
"Beast!" he exclaimed, "beast!"
"Come on Peter!" Edmund said, and dragged him around to the front of the wardrobe.
"It will be all right," Peter said uncertainly, "we could…we could…"
"We could," Susan said firmly, "go right back to 's cave and light a fire."
Lucy started to cry in earnest now.
"It will be fine Lucy," Susan said, "I promise."
A/n: Well, there they are. Stuck in Narnia. There is no going back. What do you think?
Constructive criticism please. No flames.
Coming up: Chapter Ten...
In which the children eat supper with beavers, have a lesson in prophecy and meet the cutest robin ever.
~Rose
To previous review: Yes, very true. Sticking someone in a bathtub and running cold water on his feet is a rather nasty thing to do! and most likely neither the book verse Peter nor the Edmund would have done it. My Edmund and Peter are creatures of the English boarding schools and many English boarding schools in the late 1800's and early 1900's were horrible places to grow up. They started going at around seven and were faced with years of meaningless thrashings, abuse by the older boys and early morning baths in ice cold water. Peter and Edmund would have looked on what they did as a prank, not anything really cruel. They are not perfect, and I think they improve considerably later in the story, especially their view of Eustace.
It was rather silly and I did write it when I was 13. (just barely 13)
Anyway, thanks for the review:)
~Psyche