Disclaimer: We don't own Narnia! Darn it! Sad day... C.S. Lewis, we envy you.
Chloe and Aidan are mine. Icis, Ellamae, Fritz (the blond kid who finds Ellamae), and Einar are Sibella's.
Chapter 3: The Snow Princess in all her Fury
The next morning, the Pevensies were playing cricket outside. Chloe stood off to the side, her back to a tree, looking extremely irritable. Edmund had denied being in Narnia last night, making her and Lucy out to be liars. And Peter and Susan stupidly believed him.
So disgusted, Chloe couldn't stand to be around the three of them. Sighing deeply, she set back for the mansion in a swift trot.
Meanwhile, in the attic, the wardrobe experienced periodical bumps and shaking as Icis and Aidan kept stumbling and bumping into the walls, trying to find a way out. Finally the wardrobe doorknob rattled furiously.
"I need air!" hissed Icis. "We must—have—AIR!" The door swung open with a loud bang and coats and hats spilled out onto the floor. Next, out burst Icis and Aidan, gasping for air. "Finally!" panted Icis with a hoarse voice. "I knew we'd get out sooner or later! Ha!" She then finally sighed and collapsed, lying flat on her stomach in a coat. "We made it," she panted, but now a little slower, "but…Ellamae…we haven't found…her anywhere yet. She couldn't have just disappeared into nothing!"
Thinking of nothing else worthwhile to do, Chloe trudged to the wardrobe room with a heavy heart. She wanted to try and get in Narnia again. Instead, she came into the room to see the wardrobe door open, Icis sprawled on the floor, and—a Wolf.
Chloe screamed.
Icis shot up, her heart pounding, and jumped with a yelp, hugging Aidan. She then looked Chloe over and recognized her.
"D-Daughter of Eve!" shouted Icis, trying to compete with Chloe's screaming. "We're—we're not gonna hurt you! Just settle down! Settle down! ...UGH! This is not working!" Icis got up, lunged at Chloe, and slapped a hand over her mouth to silence the screaming child. "Aidan! Quick! Shut that door!"
Aidan went for the door, but Chloe wrenched away from Icis and beat him to it, running out and screaming, "PETER!!!!"
As Chloe pulled away, Icis stumbled forward and tripped, plunging into Aidan on the floor. They both slid into the door, slamming it shut with a loud thud.
"OW! That little—did-did you see that?!? She GOT AWAY!" burst Icis.
"Really? I thought she just ran out the door screaming," teased Aidan.
Icis whipped around and shot a nasty, glaring look at Aidan. She then ripped the door open. "If you make any more jokes like that," she shouted through gritted teeth, "I'll kill you! Come on!" With that, she tore out the door.
Aidan snickered to himself and bounded after her. He supposed he really should stop with the jokes, not because he feared for his life but because Icis was tormented enough already.
When Icis and Aidan plunged through the doorway into the wardrobe, Ellamae clung to Icis' hair with one hand and tried to keep her bumpy seat on Icis' shoulder with the other when suddenly a whirlwind of golden light was swirling around her, ripping her away from her friend.
As Ellamae flapped her wings furiously, she was pulled upward into more light, and saw sparks like stars come together until they formed the head of a roaring Lion. Ellamae gasped and covered her face—then the light disappeared and she was in free-fall. The little Fairy uncovered her face and screamed, trying to flap her wings for balance and reaching out in front of her, trying to grasp the air, but a cold, dark wind kept pulling her downward.
Ellamae looked below her to see a dim light, and when she reached it, the darkness completely cleared, plunging onto a cold, crunchy ground. Frosted grass!
When all was quiet, Ellamae opened her eyes and sat up with a cold gust of wind to greet her.
Am I back in Narnia? she thought. She looked all around, but neither the wardrobe nor anyone she knew were anywhere to be seen. She was sitting beside a frosty dirt road, behind her was a wooden fence stretching from left to right as far as the eye could see, and in the distance was a hill with an old barn.
Ellamae hugged her knees together and shivered, her wings fluttering and her teeth chattering. She buried her face and tried to warm herself with her breath, but it wasn't much use; her arms twitched and tingled as she felt her antennae droop down over them.
Suddenly, her antennae perked up again when she heard a noise like cracking just down the road that sounded like it was coming closer. Ellamae lifted her head, her antennae up and twitching excitedly and her eyes darting everywhere for any sign of movement until way down the road she saw something gliding around a hill, cracking and chugging, but it was dark and she couldn't tell yet what it was.
As she got up to dust herself off, she looked behind her to see a rock, and she quickly flitted around it to hide. When she rounded the corner of it, she yelped and skidded to a halt, seeing another rock, but it had a much smoother-looking surface with threads crossing over it.
The cracking object was finally close and loud enough, and suddenly the noise stopped. Ellamae threw herself against the rock in front of her, but her antennae were almost immediately tangled into the crisscross net of threads. As she tried to untangle herself, she heard something sharp scratch against metal, a hard thud on the crunchy, frostbitten grass, a sniffing nose…and a bark.
A Wolf! Ellamae's antennae shot straight and her wings perked up and fluttered insanely. The footsteps of the Dog bounded around the corner of the rock and Ellamae swiveled her head around, looking into a great pair of jaws.
"Einar!" called a deep but young-sounding voice.
Ellamae gasped, her heart pounding, as she was finally able to untangle her antennae from the threads but her skirt was now caught.
The Dog's snarling, curled lip relaxed and his face softened as he began excitedly sniffing the Fairy, its breath tickling her wings and face and her long hair swishing around.
"Einar!" called the voice again, but it was now right above her. Ellamae looked up into two round, dark holes pointed at her, and above them was a large, pale face with clear blue eyes and a black helmet.
Another Son of Adam!
Unlike the pajamas, slippers, and fur coats that Edmund, Lucy, and Chloe were wearing, this boy was wearing a mostly black uniform, black gloves, black boots, and on the sides of his arms were what liked like emblems of one sign—the outline of a black key with a black bolt of lightning running horizontally through the key. He also looked to be around Icis' age, and perhaps had the same height as well. Then he said something in a language Ellamae had never heard before as he pulled his Dog named Einar away from her. He lowered his strange, slender weapon and started at the little Fairy in utmost amazement.
Ellamae didn't know what to do in this very awkward moment of silence; only a few moments ago, she was with Icis and Aidan about to go through the wardrobe doorway out of Narnia, and all of a sudden she is spirited away to another land covered in frost, staring up into the face of another Son of Adam who didn't seem to speak her language and had a Dog companion that didn't seem to speak at all. Feeling at her wit's end, her wings and antennae drooped and fell limp as she was getting dizzy. As the boy knelt down and reached for her, she fainted.
Icis darted out of the attic room with Aidan not too far behind, finding herself in a long hallway full of closed doorways, framed paintings on the walls, and a few suits of armor. Just down the end of the hall she had her back to, Icis heard Chloe's voice still screaming the name "Peter"…
…whoever that is, she thought, another Son of Adam? She snorted. She's probably going to bring her big brother back to try and beat me up. This'll be interesting.
She was about to follow Chloe when she turned around to make sure Aidan was still with her.
"C'mon, Aidan," she said, smirking a little, "sounds like she's going to try and sick her big brother on us."
With that, she and Aidan continued down the hall, listening out for Chloe's voice.
Aidan walked with Icis, but had to ask curiously, "Um…and why exactly do we need to find her anyway?"
"Well, to have her tell us about this world, of course!" replied Icis. "Besides, I want her to know that we're not going to hurt her or her siblings…unless they want to cause trouble for us. And she's one of the first three children of Men we saw! She's got a little significance, don't you think?"
"Maybe a little…I still don't think she was related to the other two, I'm telling you, no similar features whatsoever. Do any of the other ones have green eyes like hers?" Aidan insisted.
Icis rolled her eyes at Aidan when hearing more of his ramblings on possible details about the Humans that were probably insignificant, be they true or not. "Who cares?!" she blurted finally. "Will you stop with these annoying little details that relate nothing to us? They're just a litter of Humans! Now, come on, before we lose her!" With that, she turned away from Aidan and ran down to the end of the hall again.
Chloe was outside by this point and ran straight for Peter, who in fact wasn't her big brother but he was the oldest and she felt the safest with him.
"Peter!" she yelled. "Me and Lucy, we weren't crazy or making it up after all! It's there!"
Peter watched Chloe with a little annoyance. "Not that again—" he started to say but was interrupted by Chloe seizing his arm so tightly he wouldn't be surprised if she was cutting off his circulation.
"There was a wolf and a snow princess-looking girl and everything! Come on, I'll show you!" she nearly screeched.
By now, Icis and Aidan reached a flight of stairs, came down, and found a doorway leading to the backyard, where they had a perfect view of Chloe, Lucy, and Edmund, with two other children who looked a great deal older.
Icis caught Lucy's gaze, and Lucy's eyes widened.
"Look! Look!" cried Lucy, tugging on Peter's sleeve and pointing. "Chloe's right! There they are! They're coming out to us!"
Everyone looked at Lucy and into the doorway. At seeing Icis and Aidan, all their mouths fell open, amazed. Icis stiffened, her own eyes widening in awkward silence.
Aidan just grinned at the children as if it was a casual introduction. "Hello there, Sons of Adam," he greeted cheerfully.
Chloe shrieked. "It talks, too!"
"Well, thanks for the narration, sweetheart, but we can all see that," Aidan snickered.
Peter blinked a couple times before hitting Edmund. He then glanced at Lucy and Chloe and at Icis and Aidan. After staring at Icis a few moments more, he cleared his throat. "And—who-who are you?" he stammered.
Icis stifled a chuckle. Is this Peter, the big brother who's supposed to protect the little ones from me? she thought, smirking. They've got to be joking; he looks scared to death of me!
"I am Icis, Princess of Charn," she answered. "You're Peter, I presume?"
She then strode out the door into the backyard towards the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve.
Peter nodded to Icis. "Yes…that would be me…" He glared at Edmund as if to say, "You're a dead man."
Susan's eyes widened with an expression mixed with surprise and a little disbelief. "You're a Princess?" she asked Icis.
"I most certainly am," replied Icis, raising her eyebrows snobbishly at Susan. "I am the daughter of my cursed aunt Queen Jadis' late older sister, Ara, and one of the finest nobles of the late House of Charn, but ever since my aunt had Narnia conquered, I have been a Princess there as well…or prisoner, rather, up until now. But anyway, Aidan"--she gestured to the Wolf beside her—"and I have escaped Narnia for a new life in the World of Men." Halting in front of Peter and Susan, with Lucy, Edmund, and Chloe huddling behind them, she added with a sly smile, "And before long, with your help, my Wolf friend and I will know all about it."
Peter stared at Icis, not really knowing what to think of this tall girl who couldn't be much older than himself. What kind of things did she and the Wolf want to know about the "World of Men," anyway?
He took a deep breath. "Look, Princess…whatever you called yourself…now isn't really a good time to talk. Edmund just hit a ball through that window"--he pointed at the window in case she wanted proof—"and we better get inside and out of the way before the Macready notices anything. And I wouldn't want her to see you and your Wolf friend, either, if I were you. She can be quite nasty, so why don't you join us?"
Icis' brows raised. Is he retarded? she thought. "Well, I don't care what'll happen to you, and my name is Icis, not 'Princess-whatever-I-called-myself,' and I assure you, I can be a lot nastier than this…Macready or whatever she is. Is she some sort of witch or something?" As she started to have a little more fun, she continued. "And since I'm not 'Princess-whatever-I-call-myself' and my name is Icis, you can address me as you would properly address royalty under kings and queens. So you can call me something much more fitting, such as 'Your Highness'…or, if I strike lucky here in the World of Men, you could call me 'Your Majesty,' once I am queen."
Though the younger children all smirked at the suggestion that the Macready was a witch, they were shushed by Peter and Susan, who listened to Icis with cold silence until she was finished.
Peter, with his arms folded, now watched her with a scowl. "Right. Icis. Thanks for letting me know that you don't have our best interests at heart. Now I can say with no guilt whatsoever that we have no intention of telling you anything about our world—not a thing. You want to try and conquer our world, fine. You'll be doing it without our help, and there will be no 'Your Highness' nonsense except on the small chance you prove yourself worthy of it." He attempted to nod politely as he stepped toward the manor, expecting the others to follow suit. "Good luck with that."
"Oooh," Aidan muttered, wincing at the severity of Peter's words. He waited to see how Icis would respond before he said or did anything more, and he had a feeling this wasn't going to be pleasant.
Icis' eyes flashed and then turned into slits, her face and neck growing hot as her anger rose. Once Peter had finished, her hand went for her wand at her belt. "You insufferable, rotten, filthy dog! How dare you talk to me like that! Do you have any clue what I can do to you right now, Son of Adam?"
When the children heard that, Susan was one of the first to turn around when she saw Icis pulling her dagger-like wand from her belt. She gasped and pulled on Peter's arm. "Peter, let's go, quick!"
Icis started storming towards the children, brandishing her wand and pointing it at Peter's back, leaving Aidan behind on the lawn. "You'll learn respect the hard way!" she barked at Peter.
Peter whirled to face Icis as the girls screamed and Edmund's eyes widened with horror, glad that he already knew to respect Narnian royalty.
But before Icis could strike, Aidan lunged at her with a fierce growl and seized her wand in his mouth, careful not to touch the tip lest he be turned to stone.
"Sorry, Princess, can't let you do that," he said through gritted teeth, keeping a firm hold on the wand as he then addressed the children, "Run!"
No sooner had he said this, and the children had run, did the worst possible scenario occur: Mrs. Macready came out of the house, scowling at the passing children and demanding, "What in heaven's name is going on out here?" Just then, she stopped in her tracks, having seen Icis and Aidan.
"Oh, now isn't this a fortunate turn of events?" the Wolf mumbled sarcastically, hoping the Macready woman wouldn't hear him speak.
Icis lunged at Aidan, knocking him down and the wand flinging from his mouth into the grass. She then grabbed a handful of Aidan's hide with one hand and his snout with the other and brought his face up to hers so they were eye-to-eye.
"And I was just starting to like you, Aidan," she snarled, and she threw him down and retrieved her wand.
Mrs. Macready strode out onto the lawn towards Icis, furious. "Excuse me, young lady," she called, "what are you doing here? And what do you think you're supposed to be with that knife?"
Icis whirled towards Mrs. Macready, pointing her wand at the old woman. "Keep your distance, witch!" she barked, and Mrs. Macready stopped in her tracks. "I can be a lot worse than you see me yet!" With that, she turned to follow Chloe and the Pevensies.
"No kidding!" Aidan couldn't resist saying out loud before he ran ahead of Icis to find the children and defend them again, if necessary—and it probably was.
Mrs. Macready cut herself off from saying anything else once she heard the Wolf speak and she walked away, muttering something about needing to wash her face and call animal control afterwards.
Icis glanced at Aidan with a glare and smiled wickedly after Mrs. Macready. That's right, she thought, keep walking and don't look back. With that, she started towards Aidan and the human children.
"Hey, I'm not finished with any of you!" called Icis, storming into the house to look for the children.
As she entered the house, she was just in time to see Aidan following the human children up the stairs she came down from the wardrobe room. She gasped, but continued to follow them in her fury, as far as she could.
The children ran straight into the wardrobe room and shut the door as soon as Aidan was in with them, groaning as soon as he realized their intentions to stop there.
"Try hiding in the wardrobe. She won't follow you in there. Trust me," he told them, causing all of them to look at him at once.
"Not that ridiculous wardrobe again—" Susan scoffed.
Aidan snickered at her. "That wardrobe isn't so ridiculous if I'm here, is it? What do you think me and the snow witch are, a hallucination that all of you just happen to be seeing? It's simple logic, sweetheart."
Peter shrugged and opened the door to the wardrobe. "Well. Can't argue with a talking Wolf," he smirked. "Come on."
("He shouldn't even be saying anything!" Susan protested, but at this point she was ignored.)
As some of the other servants in the house were starting to hear all the commotion, Icis raced back up the staircase, skipping steps as she ran along, and keeping her wand brandished and pointed out in front of her for anyone else in her way.
As she made it to the landing, she was once again in the hallway where the room with the wardrobe was, and saw the tip of Aidan's tail round the corner of the door before it slammed. Icis recognized it as the wardrobe room and froze.
At the other end of the hallway, Icis saw a thin old man staring at her, looking astonished and a little horrified at her wand; she could even hear him gasp, and he looked at her as if trying to study her face.
Finally the old man asked, "Don't I know you?" At first Icis did nothing but stare at him as if he were insane. Then, suddenly, she absentmindedly closed her eyes and saw her aunt, the White Witch—Jadis—in her mind, as she was in Charn.
She remembered when she was frozen in sleep for a thousand years in the ruins of their old palace, until being reawakened by the Bell and the Hammer...a Son of Adam and a Daughter of Eve were there, too...
I followed them out of the palace, thought Icis, staring at the man, and that's when I was taken...prisoner in Narnia...
With that, she backed away from the door to the wardrobe room and ran back down the stairs. As a few other maids in the house were coming out to meet the professor, Icis tore out the door and ran out into the forest.