Disclaimer: Thought it was about time for another of these... I DON'T OWN NARNIA! I NEVER WILL! x( GOT IT? ;P
A/N: Sorry for not updating in so long, but I had a bit of a hard time deciding some things about this chapter; things that might affect the rest of the story. Plus, I was a bit out of motivation... but I got through it! Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!
Queen Su: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the ending. :D
King of Kings' Daughter: *giggles* Yup. Me and being bored don't always mix well! XD Ooohh... You have a touch of writer's block? :( That's no fun, but I'm sure you'll be over it in no time! I can't wait for the next chapter in your story! :D
justplaincrazy8: Yeah, sometimes I get really into fanfics from different movies and totally forget about Narnia ones! But when I get back to them, I remember how much I love reading them! Hehe, I'm happy to hear you liked the Shakespeare part. ;)
Queen Lani Kaulitz the Hyper: Oh yeah, clumsiness can be a real pain, especially if you are running from an evil witch! :P I don't really know why the '20 Questions' thing came to mind, but I'm glad you thought it was cute!
A friendly-looking old man with a very long, gray beard was leaning over me, a concerned expression on his round face.
He doesn't look like a witch to me... but maybe it's her in disguise!
"Are you alright?" He asked me again, and I decided that the White Witch most likely wouldn't ask me if I was okay; She would probably be preoccupied interrogating me and turning me into stone.
"Yes, I think so." I told the man, and I took his hand and got gingerly to my feet, hoping I hadn't hurt myself again. Yay! Nothing hurts! I thought as I examined myself and found neither scratch nor bruise.
I looked at the old man with confusion. If he wasn't one of the Witch's cohorts, then who was he?
He was wearing a burgundy coat that was lined with fur, and a russet shirt and matching pants.
"Who are you?" I asked him curiously. He laughed whole-heartedly, and I suddenly got the odd impression that I had seen him before.
An image popped into my head, and I would have laughed it off if I hadn't noticed how much the man in front of me resembled it.
"Y-you're ...?" I began to ask, but was too worried that I had gone insane to finish my question. My eyes grew wide as he nodded.
"Yes, I am Father Christmas. But I believe I am known in your world by many other names." He replied in a merry voice, finishing my question for me, and I blinked. NO WAY! He's... real? I can't believe it!
"Yes, in my world you are known by many names! St. Nicholas, Pere Noel, Sinter Klaas, Gwiazdor, Pai Natal, Shengdan Laoren, Julenissen, and many others." I listed them off, counting on my fingers. I'm slightly obsessed with Christmas, aren't I? "I thought you were just a story though!" I exclaimed, still in shock that I was conversing with Santa.
Then I remembered, "But wait, I have to go get the others! They'll want to meet you, too."
I ran down to the small cave and poked my head in. Peter, Susan, Lucy, Mrs. Beaver, and Mr. Beaver were all huddled together and when they saw me I was met with several ear piercing screams. I cringed and rolled my eyes.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you guys! You all can come out now though. You won't believe who's here!" I told them excitedly, running back up to Father Christmas before they could say anything else and waiting for them a bit impatiently. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver came out first, and they smiled brightly when they caught sight of St. Nick. They nodded towards him and he smiled back.
Then Lucy came out, followed by Peter, and then Susan. Lucy looked up at Father Christmas in awe and broke out into a huge smile. Peter appeared to be momentarily surprised, but soon started smiling too. Even Susan smiled a bit after she got over the shock of seeing St. Nick standing before her!
Lucy walked forwards, clasping her hands in front of her. "Merry Christmas, sir." She told him gaily. He smiled down at her.
"It certainly is, Lucy, now that you are here!" He replied, and Peter stepped a bit closer.
"We thought you were the Witch." He explained, and I nodded quickly in agreement.
"Yeah, I was expecting to be killed." I exclaimed, thankful that it wasn't the White Witch who had been chasing us after all.
"Yes, yes." Father Christmas nodded and laughed, "I'm sorry about that, but in my defense, I have been driving one of these longer than the Witch."
"But I thought there wasn't any Christmas in Narnia." Susan stated, but it came out more like a question. Father Christmas shook his head.
"No, not for a long time." He said sadly, "But the hope that you have brought, Your Majesties, is finally starting to weaken the Witch's power. Still, I dare say you could do with these." He went over to his sleigh and pulled out a large, red velvet sack. He has PRESENTS?
"Presents now?" I questioned incredulously, and his jolly laughter rang out again. He loves to laugh, loud and long and clear; He loves to laugh, it's getting worse every year! I sang in my head.
"When your as old as I am, child, now is all the time you've got." He declared, smiling widely at me. Funny... That phrase seems somehow familiar.
Father Christmas motioned to Lucy and she ran forward eagerly. He searched in his bag, finding something and holding it out to her. I stepped a little closer to see what it was.
It was a small vial of reddish liquid, and Lucy took it, holding it carefully. Not quite the kind of present I was expecting, I thought, but was intrigued and wondered what it was.
St. Nick unknowingly answered my question for me. "This is the juice of the fire-flower. One drop will cure any injury, no matter how grave. And..." He reached into the sack again, and this time pulled out a small dagger. He handed it to Lucy. "Though I dearly hope you never have to use it."
She looked up at him, gratitude filling her blue eyes. "Thank you, sir. I think I could be brave enough."
He nodded, smiling grimly. "I'm sure you could, but battles are ugly affairs, and even uglier when things are so desperate as to have women fight in them." He turned to Susan, and she stepped forward uncertainly.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a beautiful bow and a quiver of arrows. He handed them to Susan who took them hesitantly.
"Susan, trust in this bow, and it will not easily miss." He told her reassuringly. But she looked a little uncertain.
"What about 'battles are ugly affairs'?" She asked, and he patted her on the shoulder and reached into his bag once more.
"Though I would not wish for you to have to fight, the time may come when you are needed to. But I believe that this may help." He pulled out an ivory horn and gave it to her, "Blow on it and wherever you are, help will come."
She nodded appreciatively, and Father Christmas turned to Peter who walked forward.
"Peter." He said seriously, handing him him a long sword in its scabbard and a shining shield with a red lion emblem on it. "The time to use these may be near at hand."
Peter drew his sword and held it up to examine it in the sunshine. "Thank you, sir." He said fervently, and Father Christmas turned to me. My heart pounded in my chest and I wondered if he would give me a present too.
"Eden." A shiver went up my spine (a good one). He reached into his velvet sack once more and pulled out something small and shimmering. I held my hand out, and he dropped it into my palm.
I peered down at it and my eyes grew wide. It was ethereal; a deep red, star-shaped jewel on a exquisite gold pendant that was attached to a slim golden chain. The jewel looked almost as if it held a fire within, and when I held it up, it glittered brilliantly in the light.
"This gem came from an island near the end of the world; there is no other jewel like it. If you ever need to arrive somewhere swiftly, then grasp the pendant in the palm of your hand while thinking of where you wish to be, and you will appear there." Father Christmas told me, and my mouth fell open in astonishment. He continued, "But be careful in your use of it. Though the gem will retain its abilities for many years, using it too often will make it lose its power quickly."
I blinked, feeling sure that he had made some mistake. This is much too great a gift to be given to someone like me. He must think I am one of the Pevensies. This gift must have been meant for Edmund! I guess I'll have to tell him...
"I'm not one of-" I began, but he cut me off with a motion of his hand.
"I know exactly who you are, child. The gift is and always was meant for you." He said to me gently, and I felt my heart swell with happiness and an good sort of pride.
I nodded still astounded by the amazing gift I had been given. "Thank you so, so much. I will be careful with it, I promise. Will you help me put it on?" I asked him, and he smiled, his eyes twinkling.
"I would be honored, dear girl." He replied, and I turned around. He lowered the necklace over my head and fastened the clasp securely.
I smiled, and a strange kind of excitement took hold of me. I was actually looking forward to seeing what would happen during the rest of the day!
Father Christmas walked back to his sleigh. "These are tools, not toys. Bear them well and wisely." He grabbed his bag of presents and climbed up into his sleigh. "And Beaver!" He called out to Mr. Beaver. "When you get home, you will find that your dam has been finished; complete to the last detail." Mr. Beaver looked very happy and and thanked Father Christmas profusely.
"Now, I must be off. Winter is almost over, and things do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years! Long live Aslan!" He picked up the reigns.
"Merry Christmas!" He yelled back to us as he rode away. I waved and called out:
"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"
"Merry Christmas!" "Merry Christmas, sir!" "Goodbye, sir!" "See you next year!" "Goodbye!" The Pevensies and the Beavers called after him.
Mrs. Beaver chuckled happily, and Lucy turned to Susan and Peter with something akin to a smirk on her face (But not a mean one; Lucy could never be truly mean).
"See? I told you he was real." She said, and I grinned, Peter shook his head laughing, and Susan rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
"Well, we 'ad better get goin' again." said Mr. Beaver, and we all started walking in the same direction as before.
"But wait... Father Christmas said winter was almost over, right?" I asked Mr. Beaver, a troubling thought popping into my head. A glance at Peter confirmed he was thinking the same thing.
"Yeah, what's yer point?" The beaver asked me as a reply. That the river might be melting, and we'll never make it in time to get across! I was about to say, but Peter got to it first.
"If winter is over, then that means... no more ice!" Peter exclaimed, and he was exactly right. No, duh!
"And no more ice means..." I prodded, trying to get them to understand. Susan caught on quickly.
"The river!" She cried, and a look of distress passed over Mr. Beaver's face.
"Come on, we've gotta hurry!" He shouted, and ran off into the woods. Again with the running? It seems like that's all we ever do!I thought, but this time I was a bit better prepared.
We followed closely after him, and in half an hour (Although in all likelihood it was shorter than that... I was still having a bit of trouble keeping up, and the minutes of running seemed to drag on and on) we reached the small cliff over looking the river.
I felt my heart skip a beat. The ice was already beginning to crack and crumble, and was quickly being pulled away by the water. It wasn't looking like we had much time.
"We need to cross it now!" I yelled impulsively, and started making my way down to the river. It was overshadowed by a frozen waterfall, and I wasn't quite sure if what I was doing was a good idea.
"But don't beavers make dams?" I heard Lucy ask from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the others had begun to follow me.
"I'm not that fast, dear!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed as I jumped down onto the river bank. I was soon joined by Peter, Lucy, and Mr. Beaver. Susan and Mrs. Beaver weren't far behind.
"Let's go, come on!" I said, and stepped quickly onto the ice. It shifted and water shot out of a small crack that I had failed to notice. I immediately stepped back and glanced nervously at Mr. Beaver. He looked back up at me.
"Maybe I'd better go first." He suggested, just as Mrs. Beaver and Susan joined us. Susan looked very worried, and I'm sure I didn't look much happier.
"Wait, why don't we just think about this for a moment?" She protested, and I would've agreed with her, except that we didn't have much time.
"We don't have a moment, Susan! The ice is breaking away! We need to go now." I urged her, and Peter nodded.
"Eden's right! It'll be ok, Su. I promise." Peter said hurriedly, but gently. Susan shook her head like she knew we had to do it, but still thought it was crazy nonetheless.
"It's just... if Mum knew..." Susan shook her head again, but Mr. Beaver had already gone out onto the frozen river, tapping the ice with his tail to see if it was safe or not.
The ice cracked and water sprayed up, but it remained intact. Mrs. Beaver looked suspiciously towards Mr. Beaver.
"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?" She accused him, but somehow she didn't really sound very angry.
He shrugged and continued to carefully work his way across the river. "You never know which meal's gonna be your last." He said, then mumbled under his breath, "Especially with your cooking."
"I heard that!" Mrs. Beaver called to him indignantly, but she couldn't help but smile when he flashed a sheepish grin her way.
"I think it's safe, go ahead and start comin' over." Mr. Beaver said, and I stepped lightly onto the ice. I took another wary step, and then started walking as carefully as I could across the river.
I peeked behind me to see how far I had gotten, but in doing so, I noticed something else instead:
The Witch's wolves were right behind us, getting closer and closer with every second!
"THE WOLVES!" I screamed, but in my shock it came out more like "YA WOLBSES!". Everyone's heads snapped around to see what in Narnia I was yelling about, but as soon as they did, they started running. I tripped and slid across the ice as fast as I could, and I heard the Pevensies and Mrs. Beaver shouting at me, "Hurry up! Run!"
Suddenly, just when we were only a few feet away from the opposite bank, some of the wolves jumped down in front of us, cutting us off!
I turned around, only to see the grim truth: we were faced on both sides by wolves. I cowered behind Mr. Beaver as he bared his long teeth and growled at the huge dogs.
As an answer, one of them jumped on top of him, roughly pinning him to the ground. "No!" Mrs. Beaver cried in a terrified voice, as I jumped back, away from the wolves and closer to the others.
"Your sword! Get your sword!" I whispered frantically to Peter, who was standing beside me. He wasted no time and immediately drew his sword and held it in both hands, trying to look dangerous and sure of himself, but instead looking panicked and terrified to the core.
I put my hand to my head, feeling a major panic attack coming on. Oh, please, please, PLEASE don't let us get killed, Lord Jesus! I prayed silently.
"Put that sword down, boy. Someone might get hurt." The lead wolf said mockingly.
"Don't worry about me! Run him through!" Mr. Beaver yelled, and the lead wolf snarled loudly at him and looked up at Susan. He really needs a name; calling him 'lead wolf' is getting really boring. How about... Elmo! Yeah! I always disliked that show anyway...
"If you leave now, your brother will go with you." Elmo said to her, but I knew it had to be a lie. Why would the Witch give Edmund back to them and lose all hope of winning the war? But even though it sounded pretty ridiculous to me, Susan looked as if she was beginning to believe it.
"M-maybe we should listen to him." She said to Peter, but he shook his head. Elmo smiled eerily and gave a harsh chuckle.
"Smart girl. I'm sure we can work out an arrangement if your brother will put his sword away." He tried to persuade her, but Mr. Beaver interrupted him before he could go any further.
"Don't listen to 'em! Kill him, kill him now! He's nothin' but a traitorous dog!" Mr. Beaver shouted angrily. I looked over at the water, watching another piece of ice break off.
"Hurry up and do something... I don't think we have much time!" I whispered to Peter, my voice squeaking nervously, but he barely glanced at me.
"Come on! This isn't your war. All my queen wants is for you to take your family and go!" Elmo tried to reason, and for some strange reason that sentence made my blood boil with anger.
"LIAR!" I yelled at him, and his yellow eyes flashed towards me venomously, as if daring me to go on so he would have another reason to rip me to pieces.
I took the dare. "Your only mission is to kill us, and if Peter didn't have his sword stuck dangerously in your face, then we would be dead already." I told him, my voice sharp as a cat's claw. He snarled and started forward.
"Get back!" Peter shouted at Elmo, and the wolf stopped in his tracks. Lucy's eyes shone with fear and Susan looked white as an albino tarsier.
"Look, just put the sword down and we can figure this out." Elmo suggested in a far too casual voice. Mr. Beaver narrowed his eyes.
"No, Peter! Narnia needs ya! Gut 'em while ya still have the chance!" He yelled and the wolf holding him down growled at him viciously.
"What's it gonna be, Son of Adam? Are you going to come with us and get your brother back, or are you going to be stubborn and sow the consequences? I won't wait forever, and neither will the river." Elmo stated coldly, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lucy glance up at the frozen waterfall and scream.
"Peter!" She cried, and everyone turned to look. Chunks of ice were breaking off and falling to the ground, water starting to seep through the widening cracks.
Peter's eyes grew wide and he grasped his sword tightly. "HOLD ON TO ME!" He shouted, and forcefully stabbed his sword deep into the ice.
Even though we were in a rather desperate situation, and were pretty much about to die, my ridiculous mind couldn't help but think: Hold on to Peter Pevensie? ACK! How awkward!
But no sooner had I thought that then I felt water dripping down onto me from above, and immediately lunged towards the object nearest to me, grasping it in a death grip and squeezing my eyes shut.
Funny, this doesn't feel like a coat... I thought, but I didn't have time to think anymore about it.
Behind me, I heard what sounded like a million glass windows shattering at once, and then a huge roar...
LOL, I love cliffhangers!
Pretty please review, I love hearing what you guys think about my story! :D