Chapter 8

Fate twisted from its course.

Whether Aslan planned this all along, it can't be known, though nothing happens in Narnia but by the will of the Lion. Regardless, Peter's frustration, his anger at his situation, his anger at his brother being a self-righteous nuisance, bubbled up and the High King of Narnia, acting very much like a petulant child, pulled his grasping hand away from Edmund.

~*~

Letting the distance between him and his brother grow, Peter stood on the platform and watched in anxious anticipation as the train station pulled apart around him. Hope welled in his heart as he felt the magic pulling him. He let it wash over him like the current of the sea, desperately wishing that it would bring him home.

Then the train and the station were gone, and Peter had to blink away the brightness of the sun that hit his eyes. Almost afraid the beach that now lay before him would disappear, he tentatively walked forward, barely acknowledging Susan who walked beside him. Peter let a smile, a true smile, break across his face, knowing in his heart that they were back. They were in Narnia once more.

The High King, returned to his land, looked over at his sisters. Lucy grinned at Susan before the two girls took off down the beach, shouting and shedding their shoes and heavy outer garments. Peter matched Lucy's grin with one of his own as he turned to his other side, expecting to see Edmund smiling back.

His grin faltered. The only thing to his right was sand and sea. Peter turned around in a circle, panic welling in his gut as he couldn't see his brother anywhere.

"Peter, Ed, come on! The water's lovely!"

Peter turned with wide, frantic eyes to his sisters, who were splashing in the surf. "I can't find Edmund!"

The girls instantly quieted their fun, staring at their eldest brother in disbelief. The two quickly left the ocean and their care-free attitudes, and made their way to Peter who had run back into the cave where they had entered Narnia from the train station. He shook his head as he came out again. No Edmund. Susan's eyes were wide as she asked, "How can you not find him?"

Peter tried to keep his voice steady, but worry made it harsh. "Just what I said: one minute, he was standing next to me in the station, the next he was gone."

"But you were holding his hand!" Susan's wide eyes narrowed as she saw the guilty look on her brother's face. "Peter…"

The older boy swallowed back his guilt, replacing it with blame and anger. "It's not my fault! He didn't want to hold my hand! Anyway, he's got to be here somewhere; he was being pulled by the same magic we were."

Susan was having none of it. "And you didn't just grab him? Peter, we have no idea what kind of magic brought us here or how! Edmund could be anywhere, with anyone; don't you remember who he met the first time he came to Narnia alone?"

Peter felt the blood leave his face. The first time in Narnia, Edmund had run into the White Witch. The only reason he hadn't been killed on the spot was because he had agreed to betray his siblings to her. Now, though, Peter knew, and feared, that Edmund would die rather than bring harm to his family or his people. He gathered his composure and said, "Look, we can't do much ourselves like this, unarmed and unprotected. We'll make our way to Cair Paravel and send out search parties for Edmund from there."

Though Susan clearly was not happy, with Peter or the situation, she agreed it was the best plan. "How do we find the Cair?"

"Easy, we figure out where we are and then follow the coast either north or south." After all, Cair Paravel was by the Sea and Peter was always very good with maps. The look on Lucy's face stopped him short, though. "What is it, Lu?"

Lucy bit her bottom lip, a trait she shared with Edmund. "It's just…are you sure this is Narnia?"

Peter frowned. It certainly felt like Narnia to him. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well…I don't remember any ruins on the coast. And I should know, it was my realm."

Susan and Peter followed Lucy's gaze. On the cliffs above them stood a majestic ruin. Peter felt a chill run up his spine. "I…we should check it out."

"But what about Edmund?" demanded Susan.

Peter gave her a frustrated glare. "To find Edmund we need our people's help, and the best place for that is Cair Paravel. That ruin is our best clue to where we are, as I don't recognize this stretch of coast." Turning, he stormed away to find the best route up to the ruins. Susan and Lucy exchanged a look behind Peter's back before hurrying to catch up with him.

~*~

Peter surveyed the expanse of the ruin from one of the crumbling stairs. It bothered him that he did not recognize it, despite the feeling of familiarity it exuded. As he walked back down, he heard Lucy ask, "I wonder who lived here?"

His chest tightened when he heard Susan's shocked answer. "I think we did."

Walking over to Susan, the three stared down at the object she held. Peter was the one who voiced what they all were thinking. "That's…that's from Edmund's chess-set." Taking the chessman from Susan, Peter half expected to hear Edmund made some sarcastic comment at his obvious statement, and he sucked in a breath at the silence he heard instead.

It was Lucy's soft, "It can't be," that pulled Peter out of his reverie as he followed his littlest sister to a fractured, overgrown marble platform. Peter and Susan let Lucy guide them to stand as she urged them to "imagine walls. And columns, there. And a glass roof."

A cold shudder washed over Peter as his mind reconstructed the ruins that lay before him, now so familiarly positioned. "Cair Paravel," he practically whispered." It's…gone."

At Susan's strangled gasp, Peter turned to look at her. She stared back with bleak eyes. "No search parties."

Peter looked back at his ruined home, devoid of not just frame but of the inhabitants that had been their friends, their family. They were gone and, with them, hope of finding Edmund quickly. "No search parties."

~*~

Their first priority, Peter determined, was to arm themselves somehow. With no knowledge of how Narnia had changed in the, what seemed to be centuries since they had left, they had no idea what kind of danger dwelt in the surrounding area. So the three quickly made their way to the location of the hidden treasure chamber. Susan helped Peter move the wall back to reveal the wooden door. Age had rotted the wood and it was fairly easy to break it down, revealing a dark stairway. Peter frowned. He considered making a torch out of his shirt, but he knew he didn't have any matches, and he doubted the girls had any on them. Edmund might have; Peter vaguely recalled that the younger boy had been carrying his bag when they were whisked away.

Lucy must have been thinking the same thing, as she commented: "This is when we need Edmund. His electric torch would be useful right now."

Peter frowned. "Electric torch?" He didn't recall Edmund having one.

Susan gave him a dark look. "Yes, the torch that Mum gave him for his birthday. Remember? That would be the birthday you forgot and didn't even apologize for not getting Edmund a present."

The older boy shifted uncomfortably, averting his eyes from Susan's accusing gaze and quickly bringing the conversation back to the original problem. "I suppose we'll just have to step carefully. I'll go first."

The three descended the stairs slowly, following the wall with their hands. Then they saw a light before them, and Peter realized that part of the ceiling must have caved in, letting in sunlight. Opening the gate, they stared, eyes wide. The treasure-room had been untouched by the years, still the same except for layers of dust and a few fallen stones and rotting timbers. "I can't believe it. It's all still here."

Susan and Lucy darted over to their respective chests, exclaiming over their old clothes which were still preserved through the centuries. Peter picked up a gold plate, engraved with a Lion's head. His hands tightened on it, anger bubbling in him as he thought of the ruin above them. Setting the plate down before he could throw it across the room, Peter stepped up to his own chest. A statue of himself as he had been, as he should be, stared down at Peter as he lifted the lid. As he drew out Rhindon, his gift from Father Christmas, Peter read the inscription that had once given him such hope, but now left a bitter taste in his mouth: "When Aslan bears his teeth, winter meets its death."

Peter turned his head as Lucy finished his words. "When he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." She paused and Peter saw the heartbreaking realization steal into her eyes. "Everyone we knew, Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers," Lucy bit her lip again, "they're all gone."

Peter's face tightened. He hated seeing that despairing look in his beloved sister's expression. "I think it's time we found out what's going on."

"And find Edmund," reminded Susan pointedly. "He might have no idea that everything's changed."

Lucy placed a hand on Susan's arm. "We'll find him. Aslan won't let anything happen to him."

Peter said nothing, only removing his shield from his chest.

Susan took a breath and composed herself. "We'll need better clothes and shoes to go walking across Narnia. Lucy, do you have your cordial and dagger?" Lucy nodded in affirmation and the three set about finding and changing into proper, Narnian clothes.

After tightening his sword-belt, Peter turned to lead the way back upstairs only to find Lucy walking over the Edmund's chest. "Lu?"

She didn't reply as she opened the chest, sadly glancing at Edmund's statue. Reaching into the box, she removed the sword that Edmund had carried at the Battle of Beruna. It was still sheathed and hanging by a belt, which Lucy proceeded to wrap around her waist. The sword settled just behind her dagger. Susan frowned. "Lucy, what are you doing?"

Lucy looked up at them, her eyes filled with determination. "When we find Edmund, he'll want his sword."

Peter did not like it. "Don't you think it's a bit heavy for you, Lucy? Let me take it."

He stepped towards her, but stopped at her glare. "You already have Rhindon, and Susan has her bow and quiver. And, if you remember, I carried a sword myself from time to time."

Of course Peter remembered, but still did not have to approve. Unfortunately, instead of backing him up, Susan walked over to the chest as well. "He'll want his Narnians clothes, too," she commented and Peter knew the argument was lost. So he waited for the girls to collect Edmund's things before they headed back to the surface. They would head west and search for Edmund, or any friendly Narnians who might still inhabit the area.