Chapter Four~
The next morning Jessie woke and dressed quickly as she could, hoping to leave as quickly as she could also today. She wanted nothing more to do with magical lands in wardrobes or the Pevensie children—besides Lucy—since they had shown her nothing but rudeness after the events that had happened. So when she and Lucy went downstairs for breakfast it was Mrs. Macready who greeted them with a letter apparently from Jessie's great aunt.
"This is for you, it's from your great aunt explaining that since the best and closets road to your home has been literally washed away it will be another day or two to return you home." Mrs. Macready explained as she was setting the table so that Jessie groaned reading the letter and in her annoyance tore it to pieces.
"Well, that means you can still stay with us." Lucy said happily but Jessie shook her head, knowing her other siblings would not be too pleased with the news. And she was right, when Mrs. Macready told the other Pevensie children they all seemed to glare at her so that she glared right on back. Since today was a nicer day outside Mrs. Macready all but forced them outside after breakfast to, in her words 'keep them away from disturbing the Professor'. It was Peter's idea to play cricket but he only asked to play because he felt bad Jessie was sitting alone with his youngest sibling.
"No thanks Peter, but thanks for the kind offer." Jessie told him, making a note to glance at the other two Pevensies when she said 'kind offer' before going to sit near Lucy who was reading a book under a tree. It was a while that Jessie noticed Edmund was not really paying attention to the game but rather kept looking at the manor and when he got hit in the side of the leg snapped,
"Ow!"
"Wake up dolly daydream!" Peter called so that Edmund said rather cheeky like,
"Why can't we play hide and seek?" making Lucy frown and look away while Jessie narrowed her eyes at him as his elder brother told him,
"I thought you said it was a child's game."
"And besides, we could all use the fresh air." Susan added trying to make up a reason to stay outdoors but Edmund only snapped back,
"It's not like there isn't air inside." so that Jessie shared a glance with Peter who called,
"Are you ready?" before pitching the ball and in slow motion Jessie watched as it went soaring—into a window causing the glass to shatter and something inside the room to crash! Everyone went wide eyed as they raced indoors to the Professors office to see a suit of armor knocked over and when Peter complained to Edmund and Edmund complained right on back they heard footsteps as Jessie cried,
"The Macready! Run!" so that the group raced to find someplace to hide, Jessie keeping a pace near Lucy so that they seemed to go in every which direction before finding themselves winding up in the spare room with the wardrobe. Yet to Jessie's surprise it was Edmund who raced headlong towards it saying,
"Come on!" so that Susan raised an eyebrow yet when the following footsteps of Mrs. Macready was heard behind them they all somehow managed to fit inside and pushing and shoving later, Peter and Susan fell on their rear ends into snow. As they slowly stood up and looked around in wonder at the winter wonderland forest beyond them, Jessie smiled out of sheer joy to be back as Susan muttered out,
"Impossible."
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's just your imagination." Lucy said grinning ear to ear brightly as Peter and Susan turned to her and Jessie with a look of astounding wonder on their faces. It was Peter who spoke up first saying to them,
"I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quiet cover it?" Jessie grinned as she shook her head and said,
"No," and looking down at Lucy sharing a thought, both had taken up snowballs into their hands as Lucy said tossing her snowball,
"But this might!" and so she threw hers at Susan while Jessie tossed hers at Peter making the other two grab a handful of snow and begin to play before someone threw a snowball at the silent and still Edmund.
"You little liar!" Peter suddenly realized hotly before Edmund snapped back in the same tone,
"You didn't believe either of them!" so that Peter turns to Lucy and Jessie before saying to them each,
"I apologize to Lucy, and Jessica." then turning back to his younger brother said taking a step towards him,
"Say you're sorry!" so that Lucy stopped it by saying in a cheery but sophisticated tone,
"That's alright, some little children just don't know when to stop pretending." then logical Susan turned back towards the opening and said waving her arm towards it,
"Maybe we should go back." yet to everyone's surprise it was again Edmund who jumped up and said strangely,
"But don't you want to at least look around first?" that made Jessie and Peter share a look with one another as Peter said being the deciding factor,
"I think Lucy should decide." so that instantly she turned upwards to Jessie saying,
"I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!" making Jessie laugh and nod in agreement as Susan mentioned they couldn't hike in the woods dressed in daytime clothes. So then ever smart Peter gets out five coats, saying how logically they wouldn't technically be taking them out of the wardrobe. As they walk past the lamppost, Edmund muttering in his girl's coat, Lucy walked ahead then Jessie and Peter, Susan and lastly Edmund. By the time they all reached the home of Mr. Tumnus it was Lucy who noticed the broken down door and froze causing Jessie to notice it also.
"Lu?" Peter called so that Lucy ran for the door followed by the others as she stepped carefully inside along with the others. As they entered the cave home looking around at everything destroyed and torn apart, it was Jessie who asked,
"Who would do such a horrid thing?" as Peter noticed a piece of parchment on the column and began reading it,
"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. Signed, Maurgrim, Captain of the Secret Police, Long Live the Queen." by the time he was finished Jessie knew it must be the White Witch who had Mr. Tumnus as Susan stated,
"Now we really should go back." same as Lucy asked softly,
"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Jessie nods as Susan gives the girl a look while saying to her youngest sibling,
"If he was arrested just for being with a human, I don't think there is much we can do." only now Jessie shook her head and finally spoke up saying,
"But you guys don't get it do you—we're the humans! She must have found out that he helped us!" Peter turned to her and blinked in surprised as he said,
"Maybe we could called the police."
"These are the police!" Susan battled back while Peter knelt towards Lucy saying to her that everything would be alright but suddenly Edmund cried causing everyone to look at him in amazement,
"Why, I mean—he's a criminal!" then to everyone's amazement they spotted a bird and they heard it 'Psst' so that they followed it outside as it flew off. Only when they heard crunching snow that they began to stand together for protection, Peter before the girls including Jessie while Edmund stood off on his own. Then a funny sight appeared, a beaver!
"It's, a beaver?" Jessie wondered as Peter went over towards it but it began talking saying to them,
"Lucy Pevensie? Jessica Ryan?" when the two stepped forward he held out the same handkerchief that Lucy had given Mr. Tumnus.
"Is he ok?" Jessie asked the beaver who looked around the trees and forest saying,
"Further in." as Jessie and Lucy, followed by Peter were going to follow the beaver Susan stops them with,
"What are you doing?!" making them turn to see her and Edmund as Peter shrugs saying easily,
"He says he knows the faun." but Susan stayed logical as the beaver appeared again asking if everything was alright. Jessie turned around telling him,
"Yes, everything's just fine sir. We were just talking." the beaver glanced around again before saying,
"That's best left for safer quarters." so that Lucy tells the others,
"He means the trees." so now Peter follows Lucy holding her hand as Jessie goes ahead with the beaver leading them. Susan and Edmund begrudgingly follow until they find themselves being led to a beaver's damn where they hear another voice calling,
"Beaver, is that you? I've been worried sick! If I find you've been out with Badger again I'll—" but when they round the bend to see another beaver standing same as the first on the back paws with front to their mouth she says,
"Oh! Well I never thought I live to see this day!" and so the next thing the five knew they were sitting around a small table talking to two beavers about the faun Mr. Tumnus.
"They'll have taken him to the Witch's. You know what they say, there's few that go through those gates who come out again." seeing Lucy's crestfallen face, Mrs. Beaver comes over telling them,
"But there's hope dear, plenty of hope." causing Mr. Beaver to nod and say in a more than surprised voice,
"Aslan is on the move." yet when Edmund, sitting alone by the stairs stands up asking,
"Who's Aslan?" he causes Mr. Beaver to laugh long and loud before Mrs. Beaver smacks him seeing that the children really didn't know. When he explains that he's the real King of Narnia, Jessie notices how Edmund makes a face and walks away so that she turns back around when she hears Mrs. Beaver saying that Aslan is waiting for them at the Stone Table.
"Wait for us?" she asks so that Mr. Beaver says that everything that's happened was because of them, causing Susan to ask incredulously,
"You're blaming us?" only Mrs. Beaver confused them by saying that they weren't, they were thanking them! Now utterly confused, Mr. Beaver explained,
"There's a prophecy, 'When Adams Flesh and Adams Bone, sits at Cair Paravel in Throne, the Evil Time will be over and Done'." then Mrs. Beaver added,
"It has long been foretold that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve, will defeat the White Witch, and restore peace to Narnia!" feeling totally left out now, Jessie was about to speak up when as if knowing so Mrs. Beaver added,
"Queen of Narnia fated to Die, by Aslan's Breath shall be Revived, oh Bravehearted Queen will bring back Spring, and fight to sit beside the High King."