Well, here you go with chapter seven. It's the continuing of last chapter, so the first paragraph is from the last chapter, just for you to remember what is going on.

I've also had to change some of the happenings a bit to make it fit better in the story.

This time I have no clip from next chapter, simply because I have no inspiration to write it... yet.

Okay, enjoy!

CH. 7 Meeting With a Talking Beaver

For a while we just walked and took in all the impressions. There was something that was really bothering me, and finally I found the courage to ask Peter about it.

"Peter, I'm thinking about what I said to you yesterday..." The silence between us became heavier. "I guess it's not enough to say I'm sorry about it, I just want you to know that I am sorry for what I said, and because I know you're mad at me, I want to know... why do you carry me? If it was me, I would've let Susan and Lucy help instead."

"Would you like me to that?" he asked in a low voice, and I knew he didn't want the rest to hear our little conversation.

"No!" I exclaimed. "I mean... I'm really glad that you don't treat me like thin air, but still!"

He sighed. "Sometimes I'm wondering too, why I can't be mad at you over longer time. It's like-" He didn't finish his sentence, because we came to a hill and he slid half the way down where we ended up on out backs, meaning I was laying over Peter. The others laughed, and I had to smile too, though it still hurt in the side.

"You already look better", Susan commented when she reached us. Her eyes were twinkling. "Hey Peter, are you sure you don't use any magic on her?"

I and Peter saw confused at each other.

"Something called 'love'?" Susan asked in a sweet tone.

"Very funny", I groaned. "Can you please help me up?" She grinned and reached me a hand to get me up. It took some seconds before I found my balance, but then I took the back of her coat and blouse, and put a handful snow inside. She gasped and jumped away from me while she tried to get the snow out of her blouse.

I gave Peter a helping hand and he grinned to me. "I would've done the same."

Our trip continued, but now I was walking too, with Peter right behind me to support me if I would fall.

Meanwhile Lucy was talking about Mr. Tumnus' home, changing subject from time to time, and often in the same sentence. "He have a picture of his father there, and you know, he went to the war too, just like Dad! I'm also sure Mr. Tumnus will play something for you on his flute. It's so beautiful, and the food taste very well. He have lots and lots of..."

In front of us a high wall appeared. It wasn't a wall like those you find in a normal house, but a mountain-wall, and in front of us we saw a small, grey and open door.

It would've been a nice sight, if it hadn't been for the snow which was laying inside the small house we could see.

"Lu?" Peter asked, now the worried and protective older brother who had to look after his siblings. Lucy had froze when she saw the door, but when he spoke she started to run toward it. "Lucy!" We followed, and I forced myself to run, just like the rest of them.

It was a terrible sight that met us when we entered something that once could've been a really nice and warm house. It was dark, the furniture was either broken or laying somewhere it shouldn't be. Pictures were laying at the floor, mixed with pages from a billion books.

I leaned against the wall when I in a flashback remembered the last nightmare I had.

I ran through a snow-covered forest. It was dark and the branches around me made scars on my arms when I tried to protect my face from getting filled with a dozen scars.

I had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen. I ran, and suddenly a high mountain-wall appeared in front of me. I hurried to a door and knocked. In some seconds I thought it was too late, that something terrible – I had no idea what – already had happened. Then the door opened and the warm light fell over me.

A faun was standing in the door. He had curly, brown hair with small horns, and in his hand he had a white piece of fabric.

I was breathing heavy. "You... have to... get away!" I gasped. He saw at me with confusion.

"May I ask... who are you, and what are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter who I am, but you have to save yourself! Something terrible is going to happen!" Just as I said it I heard them. The wolves who were going to destroy the fauns life.

The faun took my arm and dragged me inside. Then he shut the door and pushed me into a smaller room.

"Stay here", he commanded before he closed the door to the small room. In some heartbreaking seconds it sounded as if someone was trying to rip up the door, but then it swung up and a river of wolves ran inside. In fact it wasn't a river, but right then it looked like.

They chased the faun until they caught him, and then one of the wolves hanged something on the wall before he left. I was safe, and the faun would die. It was my fault. I shouldn't have left him alone to face the wolves. I should have fought towards them.

Shaking with sobs I fell to the hard floor and felt small glass bites sinking into my knees and palms. It hurt. It hurt so much that I wanted to scream.

"Catty! Catty, are you okay? What happened?" Susan was kneeling in front of me. I was sitting on the floor with my back against the cold wall.

"It's my fault!" I sobbed. "It's my fault they've taken him!"

While Susan was trying to comfort me, the rest of them obviously weren't paying attention.

"Who would do something like this?" Lucy whispered, looking around at the ruined house. I saw at her with compassion and understood her loss.

Then Peter took a piece of paper which had been nailed to the wall. With a sting in my chest I realized what kind of paper it was.

"The faun Tumnus is hereby charged with high treason against Her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting her enemies and fraternizing with humans", Peter read. "Signed Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long live the Queen."

Susan helped me up before she hurried over to Peter, took the paper out of his hands and read for herself.

"Alright", she said with a worried look at me. "Now really should go back!"

"But what about Mr. Tumnus?!" Lucy exclaimed, looking at us with huge eyes.

"If he's arrested just for being with a human, I don't think there is much we can do", said Susan. "Besides, Catty is hurt and she is still alive! We don't know how it is with Mr. Tumnus. For all we know, he can be dead already!"

"You don't understand, do you?" Lucy cried. "I'm the human! She must have found out he helped me!" Her eyes watered.

"Maybe we could call the police?" Peter suggested.

"These are the police!" Susan said, holding out the paper with the arresting-order.

"Don't worry, Lu", Peter said, turning to his youngest sister, refusing to loose the hope. I had no idea if he wanted it or not, but his eyes met mine. "There must be something-"

"Then what do you suggest?" I asked while I carefully got to my feet. "Run the whole way to her castle shouting 'release Mr. Tumnus, or we'll kill you'?" I didn't mean it, but my voice got filled with sarcasm. Peters eyes filled with anger.

"No." His voice was cold and hard. "I had an idea, but you made me forget it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to make you forget it!" I replied. My voice was at least four tones too high, if not more.

If a look could kill, I would probably been dead just about then, because the look Peter gave me was as far from friendly you could come without calling it evil.

"Well, then maybe you can come up with something, miss I-know-more-than-you!" he shouted.

"Stop it!" Susan said and came between us. Peter ignored her.

"Come on", he told me, "or have your tongue got stuck in your throat?"

"No, it hasn't, and for your information, it's the first time I'm here, and I have no idea about what we can do to help Mr. Tumnus", I yelled at him. "And you can forget asking me about help, 'cause you would get more help in hell!"

He turned pale and all of them stared at me.

"Why should we help this faun?" Edmund asked tentatively after a while. "He's a criminal." I opened my mouth to say something really bad to him, but Susan interrupted me.

"Catharina Isabella Taylor, just forget it. No more shouting right now, at any of you!" She eyed every one of us with burning eyes.

"Pssst!" we suddenly heard. We all turned, and the only living we saw was a bird sitting in a tree outside the fauns house.

"Did that bird just psst us?" Susan asked and frowned at it.

We went outside the small house with Peter first. It was then we heard it. Someone was coming toward us. Susan and Lucy walked closer to Peter, holding his left arm, while I hid on his right side.

The sound got higher and higher. My heart was beating fast and I felt the panic rise inside. What kind of creature was this? It sounded like something really huge, maybe a bear.

I thought about how short my life had been, about the fight I just had with Peter, and wondered in a few seconds if he was sorry for what he said. At least I wasn't. My anger had disappeared and given space for fear.

From behind a snow-covered bush a brown, small animal appeared. Suddenly I felt really stupid. I had been afraid of a beaver! How could that be possible? A beaver?!

I could feel the relief which went through the five of us, and I could only wonder what they had thought it was.

"It's... a beaver", Lucy said and sounded first confused, then like she was about to burst into laugh. I nearly felt the same way.

The animal had stopped a few feet away from us and Peter reached out a hand to it. "Here boy", he said and the beaver saw first at the open hand, then on Peters face.

"I ain't gonna smell if that's what you want", he said and I was sure Peter jumped a few inches. Lucy started to giggle and I felt like too.

"Oh... sorry", Peter muttered as he headed back to us so fast he nearly fell over me for a second time in twelve hours.

"Lucy Pevensie?" the beaver asked, looking at the small girl.

"Yes?" She had stopped giggling, and her face became serious, at least as serious as you could expect a nine years old girl to be.

From his fur the beaver found a piece of some fabric, and I recognized it as the one the faun in my dream held. In one of the corners it was written 'LP'.

"Hey, that's the hankie I gave to Mr.-" She didn't even get to finish.

"Tumnus", the beaver finished for her. "I found it in the forest after they had taken him."

"Is he okay?" Lucy asked with those hug, brown eyes fixed at the beaver.

He glanced around at the woods, then he nodded toward the path he had made. "Further in", he whispered and started to walk.

Peter was about to follow when Susan stopped him.

"What are you dong?" she hissed and I saw at her. I didn't really like the idea that both of us were arguing with Peter with just a few minutes between.

"She's right", Edmund said, supporting his oldest sister. "How do we know we can trust him?"

"He said he knows the faun", Peter reminded us.

"Besides, He said 'trust the beavers'", I said fast and took a step toward Peter. It was really strange how my mind changed, nearly like the weather. Peter saw at me with a look that said 'I'll deal with you later'.

"He's a beaver!" Susan exclaimed in a tone that clearly told us she thought Peter had gone mad. "He shouldn't be saying anything!"

Suddenly the beaver appeared again, asking: "Is everything all right?"

We saw at him and I realized I had nearly forgotten he was there.

"Yes, we were just talking", Peter answered quickly.

"That's better left for safe quarters", the beaver whispered before he disappeared again.

"He mean the trees", Lucy muttered and I stared at the trees. If they could understand what we said – something I didn't doubt, could they also read minds? The idea was kind of funny, and I had to hid a smile. Non except Peter saw it. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I only shook my head.

We hurried after the beaver, following the small path he had made in the snow. Peter was walking first with Lucy, holding her hand, and I was following right behind them. Each time I saw at Lucy who was holding her brothers hand, I felt jealous. I didn't understand why, but there was nothing I could to about it.

We followed the wall a while, then we came to a crack big enough for us to get through. When I saw up, I could see the sky many meters above us. I swallowed and had to concentrate to not get panic.

Finally we got out of it, and we could see down at a frozen lake and a small house.

Now, please tell me what you think about it, and I would be very happy if you could give me any ideas for more arguing between Peter and Catty. I have no idea about making them realize their feelings for each other yet... *evil laugh*

Okay, but before I get any more ideas I'm not going to write any more. Right now my head feels totally empty for any inspiration.