𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 ✯ 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑥 ℎ𝑜𝑔𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 ✓

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 galloping hooves carried far over the winter landscape. As the sun slowly peaked above the horizon, the eastern sky turned a few shades lighter and the sparkling glow of the stars diminished till a faint light. The branches of the forest moved gently in the wind and the hot breath of humans and horses created small clouds, though they only existed for a few moments before they dissolved into the frisk air.

After the raging snowstorm, no one had expected to ride this swiftly back to Cair Paravel, but the sturdy horses had no trouble with traveling through this slight layer of snow. However, the realization that the storm had been created to keep them trapped, made everyone anxious for what could be laying ahead of them.

The company shot out of the pine forest onto the main road and as the dense canopy of pine needles made way for the clear winter sky, the towers of Cair Paravel rose up in the distance. The first rays of sunshine fell right around the light-coloured stones, but the castle sparkled in an unusual manner as it bounced off the sunlight in every direction.

'It's frozen over,' Lucy realized with a cracked voice, and everyone gasped involuntarily for air when the castle gate and outer wall beyond it, came into sight.

Caspian forced Destrier to a halt, ordering the others to stop as well, and the last echo of the galloping horses got carried far away with the chilly wind. Caspian's heart beat irregularly in his chest and a numbness washed over his body, causing him not even to notice the moving reins in his hands as Destrier nervously nibbled on the bit.

The iron gates in front of them hung crooked in their hinges, forcefully blasted open by something, and pieces of the castle's walls lay scattered on the courtyard. Hundreds of icicles stuck out between the rubble and the pointed ends glinted dangerously in the rising sun while their distorted shadows stretched far over the grey stones. A layer of ice swirled over the courtyard in patterns yet there shot a noticeable line through it, as if the ice flowers had sprouted from some sort of a path.

The silence between them broke when Elodie dismounted her horse, the creaking of the leather saddle shot through the air and the ice crackled under her boots as she landed on the ground.

'What are you doing?' Ella whispered, her concern causing her voice to sound higher-pitched than usual, but the last words died on her lips when she noticed where Elodie sprinted to.

Everyone had been occupied with taking in the destroyed castle, but not far from the gate in the shadow of the guard tower lay a figure on the ground.

Elodie kneeled down by the body, taking off her gloves and pressing two fingers under the man's chin while the others quietly dismounted their horses as well and walked onto the frozen courtyard.