Chapter 7: Maraidia's First Test
It would be a long journey to get everyone from the Glasswater village to the cliffs of Beruna. But Maraidia had no doubt in her mind that it was where they were meant to go. She was not able to convince everyone. Some simply were content with their lives in the village, others like Emblyn had lost their faith in Aslan. Even some of Maraidia's own family refused to leave. So they were left behind. Everyone else packed up their families, belongings, animals, and everything else they had and set out with Maraidia, Darius and the other Moltenores on foot and horseback. Darius estimated that it would take three days to get to where Orieus said Aslan's encampment would be. They would have to move quickly and silently north with extreme caution. Where they would be traveling was possibly crawling with spies for the White Witch. They could not risk being caught. Darius led the Army of Aslan at the front, but stuck Maraidia towards the middle, surrounded by secret archers to protect her from any would-be danger. She wore a simple dark purple dress and covered her face and head with a cloak. Darius had her sword with him, as he was afraid that the shining metal and brilliant sapphire hilt might attract the wolves of the Secret Police.
They had set out early at dawn as the sun was just rising. It was a bittersweet moment for Maraidia to leave the village behind. It was the only home she could remember. Some of the young children from the village couldn't understand why they were leaving and possibly never coming back. They cried from the cold and long journey. Their parents tried their best to explain to them to shush or they would all be found out. Maraidia offered to give some of them rides on Phobos while she walked beside them. The pegasus, while he was barren from flying, could flutter about a foot off the ground and glide for a few more. The children enjoyed this and thankfully quieted down enough to make the journey easier. They would not stop until nightfall to eat as the smoke from the fires would be harder to see then.
This first day's journey finally came to a close. They stopped at a clearing that was just large enough to fit everyone but surrounded by enough trees where they could be safely hidden. Everyone spread blankets on the snow to settle for the night. Kriti butchered a cow with the help of Maraidia's uncles Kephas and Jaqumin. Together with Maraidia they made enough stew to feed the entire Army. Dulcinea had taught Maraidia how to cook from a very young age. "Even queens need to learn to take care of themselves, my little rosebud," she always said. They were all settling from their dinner quite comfortably when suddenly Maraidia was bombarded by another group of children. Many of them were her relatives, small cousins. Others were children of those she was not related to.
"Please sing to us, Maraidia!" her little cousin Lysander begged.
"Lys!" his twin sister, Lydia scolded. "We're supposed to call her 'Lady Queen', remember?"
"Right," Lysander said sheepishly. "Sorry, Lady Queen…"
"Don't apologize, Lysander," Maradia assured. "I don't have a crown on my head yet."
"What will you do first when you do?" a girl named Sairey asked, wide eyed with wonder.
"Sit down, of course!" joked an older boy named Ihon. The other children laughed at his quip.
"She's going to make me a knight!" exclaimed Lysander, jumping up and placing himself in a triumphant stance. "Aren't you, cousin Maraidia?" He put emphasis on the word 'cousin'.
"No, she's going to make me a Lady!" chirped Lydia. Suddenly, all of the children began talking at once.
"Alright, alright, calm down everyone!" Maraidia urged. When they did she smiled at them. "When I'm Queen make every single one of you knights and ladies, I promise." All the children cheered. "Now what's this I hear about singing?"
"Yes, please sing to us! Please!" the twenty children begged. She couldn't blame them. Most everyone in the village Army agreed that Maraidia had a stunning voice. Darius told her if she ever struggled with getting her court to listen to any decrees she were to make she could just sing instead, and render the whole room to her attention.
"Oh, I don't know…" she jested. "I'm quite tired." she stretched her arms and elicited a fake yawn. The children voiced their protest. "Well…" she paused for a dramatic effect. "Alright." the children cheered again in excitement. When they settled down, Maraidia opened her mouth and began to sing.
Hush now, my dear ones
Close your eyes and sleep
Waltzing the waves
Diving in the deep
Stars are shining bright
The wind is on the rise
Whispering words
Of long lost lullabies
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold
And in the morning sun
We'll be sailing
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea
I had a dream last night
And heard the sweetest sound
I saw a great white light
And dancers in the round
Castles in the sand
Cradles in the trees
Don't cry, I'll see you by and by
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold
And in the morning sun
We'll be sailing
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea
She sang a few more songs for them and when she finished, the children were staring at her with dreamy eyes and contended smiles. "Now I believe you all must be going to sleep." The children yawned in protest. "No protests! We have another long journey tomorrow. Aslan is waiting for us."
"Maraidia? Er- Your Majesty," spoke a tiny five year old girl named Tillote. "My mummy and daddy say that Aslan isn't real. They said that they only came to see you look stupid. But…is Aslan real?" Her question captured the attention of all the other children. They were all waiting for her to respond. Maraidia crouched down to Tillote's level.
"Do you believe he's real?" she asked simply.
"I want to," replied the little girl.
"Then that's all you need. But you and your mummy and daddy will see for yourselves when we get to Beruna. You see, Aslan reserves his most amazing grace and love for the people who don't believe but then choose to, instead of those like me who already do."
"Alright. Goodnight, Your Majesty." Tillote flung her arms around Maraidia then rushed off to where her parents were sleeping.
"Goodnight, darlings." She bade goodnight to all the children and began to make her way towards her family to turn in for the night. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there came a sharp, deep roar. The entire camp became still, shocked by the sound. After a few seconds, it came again. Maraidia turned around just in time to see a monstrous creature swoop down towards the camp and snatch up the twins Lydia and Lysander. Their screams were out of earshot in a matter of seconds. The entire encampment began to panic, especially the children's parents, Mariaida's first cousin Ricon and his wife Aphrah. Ricon was the son of Darius's sister Netetiln. Maraidia rushed over to her father, whose face was blank, unreadable. "Father, what do we do?!" she shrieked.
"You," Darius replied. "Are not going to do anything, so don't even think about it."
"But what was that creature?" Maraidia asked, barely hearing him.
"A manticore. They're extremely dangerous, which you know."
"But we have to do something!" Maraidia protested. "They'll be killed!" Darius held his hand up to silence her.
"No," he said firmly. "Manticores never kill their prey after catching it. They hunt at night and always wait until morning to eat. They also never stray too far from their cave to do so. The children are safe for now. Which means you, young lady, are going to sleep while I form a search and rescue party that will set out in the morning.
"Father-!"
"No, Maraidia, it's too dangerous. To sleep with you." Maraidia knew that it was no use arguing with her father. But she did have a plan. She rolled herself up in several blankets and faced away from the small fire that was slowly dying. Darius walked around the camp gathering volunteers to rescue Lydia and Lysander. After about an hour of that, Maraidia heard Darius roll himself into his sleeping rug on the snow. She waited until she could hear his quite loud snores. Cautiously, she sat up and looked around the camp. Everyone appeared to be asleep, except the few that were on lookout. As silently as she could, Maraidia wiggled herself out of her roll of blankets and crept over to one of her fathers trunks. It was marked with a golden "M" on the lid. It was full of things that Darius had forbidden her to touch until she was older. But she knew exactly one object that was in it; heavy armor. As much as Maraidia loved to wear dresses and more feminine light armor when she practiced her fighting, this situation called for something more protective. As quickly as she could she changed into the set which consisted of a blue tunic, silver metal breastplate and shoulder pads, a short chainmail skirt, black trousers, silver metal boots and a sweeping blue cape.
When she had everything assembled, Maraidia tiptoed over to where her father lay. Her sword was laying right next to him. She reached over slowly, took it by the sheath and gingerly plucked it off the ground. Darius stirred for just a moment. Maraidia froze, daring not to make a sound. But her father slept on, unaware of her presence above him. She tucked her sword into its hilt on her belt and snuck out of the camp, the snow lightly crunching underneath her feet as she walked. She had to step over those who were sleeping and had to avoid accidentally hitting a poor animal with her sword. But she eventually did it. It took a bit of convincing for one of the lookouts to let her by but all she had to say was that she was going about twenty yards away to practice her sword movements. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath and ventured into the forest. She could scarcely see a thing. A few times she ran into trees and tripped over shrubs. But nothing could deter her. Her cousins needed her.
It was an hour, maybe even two or three I'm not sure, of Maraidia wandering the forest. She was no closer to finding the manticore's cave than when she first began. She was beginning to grow more worried the more time passed. And the more she worried, the more stressed and restless she became. "Alright, Maraidia," she said to herself. "You can do this. Or rather you better do this because those children need you. Now, you have a brain. Use it. How do you find a cave in the dark?" She pondered for a minute and could think of only one thing. So she knelt in the snow and prayed. "Aslan, if you can hear me, please guide my path. Show me where to go." She got up and started walking again. She wandered, ears alert for any growls of the manticore that she might hear, or anything else that would help her. Unaware that the moon was slowly peeking out from behind the cloud to help light her way, she heard a faint noise from somewhere near. It was a high-pitched cry. Maraidia paused and listened again. There came another. She climbed up onto a small outcropping that she found and strained her eyes to see. There she saw a patch of moonlight that did not shine flat on the ground. Rather it appeared higher than the snow. This was it. She had found the mouth of the cave.
Maraidia got a running start and slid in the narrow opening. It opened to a wide cavern that was twice her height. There was minimal light here so she would have to feel along the rock wall. Just through the darkness however she could make out a small tunnel. This would be where the beast was keeping the children. She drew her sword just in case and held it at the ready. She was nervous, the sapphire and diamond hilt of her sword slipping slightly in her hand. The more she walked through this tunnel, the sounds of something sleeping became louder. Maraidia knew that she would have to work fast and nimbly. She dared to whisper. "Lydia! Lysander! Are you here?"
"Maraidia?" she heard Lysander say. "Is that you?"
"You came for us!" Lydia added.
"Yes, darlings, it's me." Maraidia replied. She sighed with relief at hearing both of their voices. "We have to be quiet now. Where are you?"
"Here along this back wall," Lydia said. "But be careful. The manticore might wake up!" Maraidia felt her way along the rock and knelt to feel the children sitting. But then she felt something under her foot. And it was not rock. She heard a bone rattling growl from the manticore. She had stepped on its tail. It was now very awake and very angry. She could see its piercing yellow eyes in the darkness. It breathed fire at her, which she tucked into a roll and barely dodged. She could make out the figures of Lydia and Lysander for just a moment. But she also saw something else on the ground: chips of ice and snow. Some had managed to get in this far. Ice was one of the manticore's weaknesses as she remembered from studying it. Maraidia raised her sword and deflected a swipe from the beast's mighty claws.
"Get behind me!" she shouted to the twins. She felt them grab her cape and shake in fear. As it was about to strike again, Maraidia grabbed a handful of the snow and ice and flung it in the manticore's face. Some got in its eyes and it roared in pain. "Run, both of you!" she commanded the twins. They obeyed immediately and took off down the small tunnel. For a moment she heard Lysander yell in pain, but in a few seconds their footsteps faded down the tunnel. Now she just had to handle the manticore. She ducked under another swipe from its mighty claws and raised her sword to slash at it. She cut a small slice in one of its wings. For this act she was repaid with another blast of fire. Maraidia raised her sword in front of her face, expecting to be burnt to a crisp, but there was no scorching heat on her skin. She opened her eyes and saw that her sword was completely alight in fire. This was when she remembered something else about the manticore; they feared fire as well. She held her sword out in front of it. It whimpered and shied away, Maraidia walked backwards slowly towards the tunnel, waving her now flaming sword back and forth. The manticore did not move, it stared at her in fear. She walked backwards down the small tunnel into the cavernous opening of the cave. When she was far enough away she plunged her sword into a pile of snow to put the flame out then replaced it in its hilt. She turned to face the children, who were standing frozen.
"Are you both alright?" she asked, kneeling down to give them a once over look.
"Lysander fell and broke his arm…"said Lydia in her small voice. "I'm unharmed though." Maraidia turned to the boy, who was holding his right arm, grimacing in pain.
"Here, hold it at an angle," she instructed. "You'll be fine until we return to camp. Now let's get out of here." She took both of the twins' hands in hers and began to walk with them out of the tunnel. When suddenly she was pulled down onto the ground by her cape.
"Maraidia!" they shrieked in unison. She twisted her head just slightly enough to see the manticore trying to drag her back into its lair.
"Get outside and wait for me! Now!" she commanded. The children scrambled up the rock slope and out onto the snow. They turned to watch her with fearful eyes. Maraidia swiftly kicked up her leg and kneed the manticore right in the jaw. It bought her just enough time to get to her feet and once again draw her sword. When it lunged for her, she ducked under its paw, twisted her sword backwards and struck it in the side of its head with the hilt. This caused it to stumble to the ground. She landed two blows with the flat of her blade and swirled it around, ready to kill the manticore. When she stopped.
The mighty manticore was hunching on the ground, wings folded and tail between its legs. It looked at her with the same amount of fright that Lydia and Lysander held in their eyes looking at it. Maraidia could not bring herself to move her weapon forward. After all, it was just trying to survive in this winter the same way the Narnians were. She sheathed her sword and crouched down so as to be level with the creature. It looked at her with uncertainty, as if it was still expecting its demise. Maraidia slowly reached out her hand and held it out to the manticore. It growled at her softly, but she did not move. When it saw that she was not going to harm it further it moved forward just enough to place its snout in her hand. Slowly, it crawled its way back down the tunnel and into its lair.
When it was a safe distance away, Maraidia stood up and climbed out of the cave. As soon as her boots touched the snow, Lydia and Lysander wrapped their arms around her middle and squeezed. Maraidia held them in return and relief. "You're alright!" Lydia exclaimed.
"That was so amazing the way you lit your sword on fire!" Lysander added. He mocked her fight with the manticore as well as he could with his one good arm.
"Why did you let it go?" Lydia asked with genuine curiosity. Maraidia ruffled her hair.
"Because talking beasts and dumb beasts alike are Aslan's creatures, just as we are. They all deserve a second chance to live." she replied.
"Can we go back to camp now?" Lysander asked, rubbing his tired eyes and letting slip a yawn.
"No," Maraidia said. "It's too dark to find our way back now. If we try we'll perhaps get even more lost. We'll spend the rest of the night out here and head back when it's light. Come now." She found a tree surrounded by a few shrubs for them to sleep under. She took off her cape and using her sword, slashed a piece of the fabric. She then took Lysander's arm and fashioned it into a makeshift sling for his arm. Then she placed the rest of her cape on the snow for the twins to lay upon. It was shredded from the claws of the manticore but it would do for the time being. She settled herself as best as she could on the snow. Lydia and Lysander fell asleep rather quickly. As soon as they were far in dreamland, Maraidia silently praised Aslan for her victory over the manticore. It was not long after that before she too fell asleep on the snow.
She was awoken in the morning by someone shaking her. She stirred and opened her eyes to meet the cloaked head of a man. He smiled at her. Maraidia reached over and awoke the twins, who smiled at the man, too. "My lord!" he then exclaimed. "I found them! They're alive, praise Aslan!" A few moments later, the worried face of Darius and several others from the search party he assembled came into view. He melted into relief upon seeing the three of them.
"Maraidia! Lydia, Lysander! Glory be to Aslan, you're alive!" Maraidia stood up, her armor feeling heavier than it had the night before, but such was the thing with armor left out in the snow. She rushed to embrace her father, who held her tightly. He pulled back to look in her eyes, firmly grasping her shoulders. "Do you know how worried I've been?!" he seethed. "Gone just like that, waltzing into danger! What were you thinking, taking on a fully grown manticore by yourself?! You could've been seriously hurt! Or worse!"
"She saved us, great-uncle Darius…" Lysander murmured.
"And what happened to you, Lysander?" Darius asked, turning on the young boy. Several men were now placing blankets around the twins' and Maraidia's shoulders and giving them hot drinks.
"I-I broke my arm tripping over a rock," the boy replied. "But I'm fine now! Look!" he gestured to his bright blue sling. "Maraidia made a sling for me! Out of a piece of her own cape!" Darius looked at his daughter with an unreadable expression.
"Yes, well, let's all be getting back to the camp," he said. "Your parents will be thrilled to see you both. And we have another long day's journey ahead of us." They all began to walk back to the encampment. Maraidia sped up and placed herself in front of Darius, stopping him.
"Father, I know you're angry," she began. "But Aslan delivered victory into my hands. I didn't even have to kill the manticore!"
"You were reckless," Darius replied. "You acted on an impulse like always and could've put yourself and the twins in even bigger danger!" He paused and took a deep breath. "But aside from Lysander's broken arm, you're all unharmed. Which means you fought well, with courage, as queens are supposed to do. And they also defend those weaker than them."
"So you're not angry?" Maraidia asked, confused. She became even more so when Darius pulled her into an embrace.
"Of course, I'm angry," he said. But just as Maraidia was about to protest, he then said, "but I'm also very proud of you." She smiled and hugged her father tighter. After a few more moments he released her and smiled. A real, warm, fatherly sort of smile. This was a rare thing, Darius always remained stoic and hard-faced. He then took Maraidia's arm on his own. "Now, let's be off," he said. "Aslan is waiting for you." Maraidia kissed Darius's cheek and together they made their way back to the encampment. Upon seeing that she was alright, several cheers of "Aslan save the Queen!" arose from all 250 people. Maraidia smiled in triumph, ready to lead her people to the Great Lion and to freedom.