The Queen's Tales

Chapter 6: Aslan's Camp

She was right. Chloe could feel the temperature increasing as they'd arrived to the frozen waterfall. Well...it wasn't completely frozen by the time they'd arrived. The lake was slowly breaking the ice as it thawed out.

"We need to cross, now!" Peter urged.

Lucy looked at the beavers nervously, "Don't beavers make dams?"

"I'm not that fast dear," Beaver shook his head.

Chloe huffed, "Come on! I can slow it down as much as I can but we have to move!" She urged.

"Wait! Can we just think about this for a minute?" Susan asked.

"We don't have a minute!" Peter snapped.

She frowned, "I'm just trying to be realistic," she defended.

"No, you're trying to be smart! As usual!" He retorted.

In the distance Chloe could hear the howling of the Witch's guard and she knew they were running low on time, "Come on! I kind of have to figure out of to keep some this lake frozen!" She reminded them as they started their climb down to the melting lake.

She studied the lake a moment putting her staff lightly on the ice, a small crack formed before she felt a chill run through her veins, and the crack disappeared, but the rest of the lake remained unchanged, she realized she wouldn't be strong enough to stop it completely, "We're gonna have to run for it."

"I'll go first," Beaver told them, slowly stepping onto the ice, patting it with his tail. As he moved further in, the ice cracked, Chloe quickly extended her hand, feeling the chill once more as she fixed the crack.

"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?" Mrs. Beaver accused.

He turned back with a shrug, "Well you never know which meal's gonna be your last," cautiously he took a few more steps forward, "Specially with your cookin'."

Finally Chloe stepped forward, refreezing any cracks in the ice with the others behind her. For every crack that she froze, another three appeared. She snapped her head behind her when she heard Lucy scream, but it was only because she'd caused another crack, "You're okay Lu," she consoled as she did her best to keep them on the ice.

"If Mum knew what we were doing-" Susan started.

"Mum's not here!" Peter barked, doing his best not to make any of the cracks worse.

To their left, Chloe noticed icicles falling from the waterfall. Initially she thought it was because it was melting, but Lucy yelled, "Oh no!" and glancing up, she realized it was because some of the Witch's wolves were running across, hoping to cut off their escape.

"Run!" Peter yelled, and so they started sprinting across as fast as they could.

But the wolves cut them off, and sandwiched them. They were growling on either end of the lake. Thinking fast, Chloe raised her staff and slammed it into the ice, in a burst of purple mist, the end of the lake that they'd come from broke off, the water flowing downstream. At least it would keep those wolves from getting to them on that side.

Beaver hissed and swiped at the others, trying to be intimidating, but one of the wolves lunged, biting down onto his midsection like they'd done to the fox, "No!" Mrs. Beaver screamed.

"Peter!"Lucy cried, clutching her big brother as the biggest wolf slowly approached them.

Peter unsheathed his sword, brandishing it nervously, "Put that down, boy," the wolf spoke, his voice rough, "Someone could get hurt."

"Back up!" Chloe threatened, moving her staff to her other hand and bringing her free hand up, she eyed the ice water from the lake, pulling it up, feeling as though it was an extension of her own body, and poised the tentacle-like arm over the wolves threateningly.