Helena Pevensie (Caspian Love Story)

7. The Cliff

The moment they had stepped through the door, all sound from England was cut off as suddenly as the radio when it has been switched off. The air was fresh and there was a strange silence all about them. Helena couldn't help but feel as though they were on a mountain. Still holding hands, the three moved forward, looking around at the wonder of the place around them.

Suddenly, Eustace jerked them both back and cried, "Look out!" They had come very close to a giant cliff edge and Eustace had turned very white.

"Just as if I was a kid," Jill muttered irritably, pulling her hand from Helena's. In a show of childish show-offiness, she stood by near the edge indeed and then, she looked down. Helena had not seen down the cliff, but to understand what followed, some explanation must be given.

To fully understand the magnitude of this cliff, I must ask you to picture yourself standing at the very top of the highest cliff you know. Imagine yourself looking down to the very bottom. And then imagine that the precipice goes on below that, as far again, ten times as far, even twenty times as far. And when you've looked down all that distance, imagine little white things you might mistake for sheep but then you realize that they're clouds - not the little wreaths of mist but the enormous white, puffy clouds that are themselves as big as most mountains. And at last, between those clouds, you get your first glance of the real bottom, too far away to see if it is field or wood or land or water: further below those clouds than you are above them.

That was what Jill saw when she stared down the cliff at that great distance. Helena took a tentative step forward and got one look before she stumbled back again. "What are you doing, Pole?" Eustace cried. "Get back here you blithering idiot!" He reached for her but Jill seemed completely out of control of her own body. Helena moved forward, attempting to get them both away from the edge before she turned to try and push both children away.

Then two things happened at once. Just as Helena had turned, her foot had caught on a faulty piece of dirt and she had begun falling back. Under normal circumstances, she would have been able to recover herself, but at the same time Jill, who was so terrified she could not control herself, had pushed out of both Eustace and Helena's clutches and both fell toppling into the depths. They fell apart and soon Helena could feel the rushing pressure of the air, so strong that her hair, which had been perfectly curled into tight coils, was flying straight as pincers above her.

Eustace let out a terrified scream, one that often came back to Helena in her dreams later. Then suddenly, Helena saw a large, golden figure rush toward the cliff edge and, quicker than she could realize that, she seemed to be caught up on some kind of draft of wind, strong enough to carry her. Helena let out a relieved breath, glancing over at Eustace who was soon beside her.

"Bloody-" Helena began, letting out a shuttering breath. They did not feel much inclination to talk so neither did. They simply lay back, waiting to see where they would end up.

.

Helena could never afterwards remember how long it was until she and Eustace were back on their feet, both rather shaky. Helena instantly sat down. Her black dress pants, which had been the loose, flowy sort, were by now so covered in mud from the climb back in England that she did not care in the slightest if they got worst. Her white dress shirt too was covered in dirt at this point and her hair had only retained its natural curl.

It took her a few moments to steady herself enough to notice what was going on around them. Getting back on her feet, she saw that before them was a large crowd of people dressed in bright, vibrant colours. It seemed to her to be some kind of a departure for at the front of the crowd stood an old man with a circlet of gold on his head. A king, she supposed. And the crowd was sombre and some were crying.

"Scrubb!" a voice behind them cried in a desperate hiss. Turning, they both saw Jill. "Scrubb, Madam Pevensie, quick! Do you see anyone you know?"

"So you've turned up again, have you?" Eustace replied sourly. "Well, keep quiet, can't you? I want to listen."

"Don't be a fool," Jill pleaded. "There isn't a moment to lose. Don't you see some old friend here? Because you've both got to go and speak to him at once."

"What are you talking about?" Helena asked with a frown on her scarlet lips.

"It's Aslan the Lion, says you've got to," she exclaimed. "I've seen him."

"Oh you have, have you," Eustace replied bitterly. "What did he say?"

"He said the very first person you saw in Narnia would be an old friend and you've got to speak to him at once," Jill said desperately.

"Well there's nobody here I've seen in my life before," Eustace replied. "And I don't know if this is Narnia."

"I thought you said you've been here before," Jill said in surprise.

"Well you thought wrong then," Eustace said irritably.

"Well, I like that! You told me-" Jill began.

"For heaven's sake dry up and let's hear what they're saying," Eustace snapped.