The Revelation

The farewell feast for Zia and Breejit was almost ready. Delicious aromas of chicken and garlic drifted tantalizingly throughout the castle, mixed with the faint but discernible scent of earth. The cooks had enlisted the assistance of a small group of Nymphs who lived close by to prepare a meal suitable for Cair Paravel's Dryad guest. Servants bustled around the dining hall, polishing the silverware and lighting candles according to Susan's instructions. The occasion may not have been overly special, but the Gentle Queen was determined to at least make it appear so.

Alexandra preferred to escape from the busy preparations by hiding away in the library. The book she had found that morning lay open on her lap and her glasses were perched on her nose. She'd been vague when explaining her desire to research antidotes to Zia; truthfully, she had a very good reason. Another nightmare had plagued her the previous night. There had been no time to tell Edmund about it – her conscience wouldn't rest until she'd done something to prepare for what was coming.

The sound of the dinner bell made her rise unwillingly from her comfortable chair by the fire. No sooner was she on her feet than a rush of nausea barrelled into her and she bent double. Her arms automatically crossed over her abdomen. Darkness danced at the edge of her vision. She stumbled backwards and thudded down onto the chair behind her. She barely heard the knock at the door over the ringing in her ears. Suddenly Lucy was beside her, gripping her arm and calling her name.

"Alex? Alex, are you alright?"

She barely managed to shake her head before lurching forward, coughing and gasping for breath. Lucy caught and steadied her, rubbing gentle circles over her back until the chokes subsided. "Would you like me to fetch my cordial?" the young Queen asked when Alex was able to breathe again.

As soon as the question left Lucy's mouth, the dizziness seemed to retreat and Alex's rolling stomach settled down again. She eased her eyes open and stared at Lucy, whose expression mirrored her own confusion.

"What happened?" asked Lucy.

"I don't know, it was strange," Alex murmured. "It was like I'd suddenly caught the flu. I thought I was going to vomit and then pass out, but I feel fine now."

"Are you sure?"

"Perfectly sure," Alex smiled, hiding the fact that her brain was now working overtime, searching for an explanation. "Come on, I expect the others are already waiting for us." She looped her arm through Lucy's and the two girls headed for the dining hall.

Upon their arrival, they discovered that only two of the chairs around the dining table were occupied. Peter sat at the far end with Susan on his left, both looking slightly annoyed at everyone else's poor timekeeping. "Well it's about time!" Peter exclaimed as soon as his sister and friend entered the room. "Where are the others?"

"We thought they'd already be here," Alexandra replied in confusion. "Have you not seen them?"

"Ed and I were training earlier this afternoon," said the High King. "We retired to prepare for the feast and Ed seemed extremely worked up about something. His eyes were sparkling like jewels. He said something about an important thing he had to do and off he went."

"I was with Zia not half an hour ago," Lucy added. "But when I went back to her chambers to retrieve her, she wasn't there." The door burst open. Edmund strode in, a frantic light in his eyes. Before reaching the table, he stopped short and stared around at the four of them, blinking as though to clear his vision. Alexandra went immediately to his side.

"Ed? What's going on? Where's Zia?"

He looked down into her hazel-brown as though seeing her for the first time. "I thought she'd be here," he whispered finally. The others barely caught the words.

Alexandra glanced from Peter to Susan and back again. The same solemn expression was present on both their faces.

From the look on her best friend's face, Edmund had reached the same conclusion as his siblings. He thudded heavily down into a chair, his clenched fist unfurling. Something heavy clattered onto the table.

It took the combined efforts of Susan, Lucy and Alexandra to get Edmund to a small side chamber away from the concern of any passing servants. They lowered him into an armchair. His pale face remained blank, his eyes far away.

"I don't believe this," Alex groaned, glancing at the immobile figure from the doorway. "She told me she wouldn't do this again!"

Susan was quick to place a comforting hand on the Court Physician's shoulder. "How do we know she ran away again? There could be another explanation."

"I don't see…" Alex started, but was interrupted by the arrival of Peter. The four of them sent a collective glance at the dark-haired King. If the firelight wasn't casting a glow across his moving chest, he might have been dead. They watched him breathe for a while before Peter spoke up.

"This is the last thing we need," he murmured. His voice was annoyed and weary. "Those beasts haven't yet been taken care of. I don't think we can afford to send out a search party for Zia. If an enemy were to attack without warning, we'd need every soldier we can get." He ran a hand through his blonde hair and sighed.

Edmund jerked at the mention of the girl's name. He lifted his head to gaze at the group gathered in the doorway. Something fierce burned deep within his eyes. He pushed himself up from the chair, wobbling a little. Lucy rushed to his side but he waved her away. "Peter." He spoke quietly, struggling to force the words up his dry throat. "I don't believe she would run away again. Not after…" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "No, she just wouldn't."

"Then how do you explain her disappearing act?" Alex was struggling to hold back her frustration.

Edmund shook his head. "Alex, I know you're tired of going around in circles but things are different this time. There has to be some other reason."

"Like what? Are you saying she went for a casual stroll in the dark? Fell off the balcony? Got abducted by… oh." Alex's eyes fluttered as the vision came back to her. She clutched at Peter for support as she swayed dangerously.

"Alex, what's the matter?"

"Are you alright?"

Alex ignored the concern of the others and stared at Edmund. "Ed, the beasts… they've kidnapped her!"

The Pevensies stared at Alex as though she'd grown another head. The fire crackled. The clock on the mantelpiece chimed. Finally, Peter gave one forceful shake of his head. "No, that's not possible. The guards would have spotted any intruders."

"It's almost completely dark out there," Susan pointed out. "If they were far enough away from the castle the guards wouldn't have been able to see anything."

"How can we be sure?" Peter asked, his voice pitch rising. "We can't just go gallivanting off at Alex's word. What if she's wrong?"

"She's not wrong." This was from Edmund; clear, decisive and absolutely certain. "Alex, tell me what you saw. Tell me everything."

"I told you they'd come for her as soon as she left the castle alone. They'll take her to their General. I saw her in a cell. There was someone else with her…" Her voice dropped. "Ed, I think they're going to kill her."

"Well then we can't just stand around and do nothing!" Edmund barked, heading for the door. "Peter, round up the guards and…"

The High King braced his arm on the door frame, preventing his brother from passing. "Wait, Ed."

"Peter, we haven't got much time!"

"I'm not going to let you do this," Peter said calmly. "As soon as Cair Paravel is unguarded, the enemy will attack. We can't risk everyone's lives for the sake of one. As much as it pains me to stand back and let an innocent Narnian die, by doing so we can save hundreds of people."

"This is Zia we're talking about!" Edmund protested.

Peter glanced at the girls. Each of them shifted their eyes from one King to the other, trying not to make it obvious whose side they were all on. The High King requested to have a moment to talk with his brother in private. The three of them nodded hastily and exited the library, closing the doors behind them.

The older boy walked over to the small fireplace built into the far wall. Resting his elbow on the polished wooden mantelpiece, he rubbed at the side of his head. The dark shadows under his eyes stood stark against the orange light cast on his face by the fire. Being High King was taking its toll on him.

Edmund began to pace up and down, pausing to gaze out of the small window each time he reached the far wall. He wasn't sure what he hoped to see out there, he just longed to be taking action instead of civilly discussing the situation.

"Look, Ed," Peter started tiredly. "You're not thinking rationally at the moment. If it were any other time, with any other life at stake, you would understand my reasoning and agree with it."

"This isn't any other time. This isn't any other life," Edmund replied curtly, not breaking his stride.

"What's so special about her, Ed?" Peter cried. "I feel like I don't understand you at all. Why risk everything for her after what she did to you?"

"If you were in my position you'd understand."

"I would understand if one of the girls had been kidnapped." He turned to watch his brother's restless strides cover the stone floor. "I wouldn't hesitate if you were the one that had been taken."

Edmund stopped. His back was to his brother so Peter wouldn't see the pain in his eyes. "That's precisely it, Pete. We wouldn't be doing this if it was someone you cared about."

"This isn't just about Zia. I could never forgive myself if I lost you."

"I could never forgive myself if I let her die without doing a single thing to stop it." He turned to look his older brother straight in the eyes. "Please Peter, we have to try."

"No."

Edmund's jaw clenched. "Fine." He stalked towards the door. "I'll go by myself."

Peter let out another long sigh and rubbed his jaw. "I didn't want to have to do this to you, Ed. Alex?"

The Court Physician peeked round the door, looking sheepish. "Yes, Pete?"

The High King gave a nod. Alex inclined her head and produced a small cloth bag tied with string from her sleeve. Edmund tried to bolt for the door but Peter grabbed his arms and yanked them behind his back. Edmund knew his older brother was stronger than he was, but that didn't stop him from struggling for all he was worth.

Alex strode up to Edmund with a look of pain painted across her face. "Sorry Ed, but you didn't really give us any choice."

He kicked his legs and yelled threats at Peter as Alex held the bag of herbs close to his face, careful to stay out of range of his flailing limbs. Edmund thrashed his head from side to side as Peter grimly hung on. Alex grabbed a fistful of his hair and shoved the bag against his nose. As he inhaled the fumes, Edmund slowly went limp.

"It's for your own good," Peter murmured as his brother slumped in his arms.

"No, don't… Peter…" the younger boy muttered as fog clouded his mind. "Zia…"

"I'm sorry, Ed."

Her eyes flickered under their lids. Something heavy held her down - a large blanket of some kind. It pressed her into the rough stone floor. Why couldn't she push it off? Why couldn't she move? Was she dead?

Edmund…

Her brain was disconnected from her body; she could feel nothing. She tried to lift her head, twitch her foot, anything. Nothing responded. Were her eyes open? No – everything was dark.

Where am I?

Forcing her eyelids to move was an effort in itself. She might as well have kept them shut; everything drowned in shadows so thick that she could have been floating. A faint stinging pain flared in her jaw as it scraped along the unforgiving floor. She clung to that pain, tried to draw it closer. Death couldn't be painful.

Where are you, Ed?

A scuffling noise came from somewhere to her right. She tried to tense but her muscles were as flimsy as soggy leaves. The sound came again, muffled as though coming from far away. "Is anyone there?"

She knew that voice – it was from her childhood. There was another awkward shuffle, like something bulky being dragged across the floor. Something touched her bare shoulder. Instinct jerked her away but her body only twitched feebly.

"You know his name," the voice, cracked and broken, murmured. The speaker's mouth was right next to her ear now. "Who are you?"

What's going on?

"You're in a cell," the voice answered. Had she been speaking aloud all this time? "They captured you. Why do they want you?"

A bang echoed through the stillness, followed by several aggressive thumps. The owner of the familiar voice retreated, seemingly crawling back to their hiding place. Another bang, and then a bright light appeared. The shadows retreated around where the torch hovered. Zia stared at the flame, not noticing the burning behind her eyes. A sharp gasp came from several feet away.

"Well, I'm impressed that you're already awake," announced the bearer of the torch. "You're a little fighter, aren't you?"

Zia followed the length of the torch with her eyes. The wood transformed into a furry arm, which became a thickly-muscled shoulder, a sturdy neck, then a wide head. Another Minotaur. This one was shorter and narrower than the last one she had encountered. Nonetheless, it seemed to fill what little space there was.

"Don't be frightened," the Minotaur crooned. "You'll be going back to sleep soon."

He crouched in front of her, holding some sort of oddly-shaped container whilst keeping the torch aloft over her head. Every cell in her body screamed at her to move away, to run whilst she had even the smallest sliver of a chance, but she just couldn't move.

"You, come and hold this," the Minotaur gruffly addressed a shadow.

Amazingly, the shadow did as he commanded. It rippled and scuffled across the floor before entering the circle of firelight. Zia barely recognised the figure, but recognise it she did. Her clothes were torn so they barely covered her skin. Her hair had grown, but hung limp, matted and filthy down her back. Her eyes were like ghosts of themselves - dull and devoid of emotion – but the shadows couldn't disguise their once vibrant violet colour.

Zia felt herself swallow – she hadn't even been aware that the Minotaur had been pouring the contents of the bottle down her throat. Her eyes stayed locked on Pelerine's as the fog she had only recently repressed crept back to engulf her once more.