❝ 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅,
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅. ❞
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Rosaleen and Alexander Summers have been send to their grandfather's mansion at the countryside to stay safe from t...
𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄, 𝐂𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋 looked the same as always at first glance. The citadel overlooked the forest and beach like a silent watcher from its spot on the cliffside of the peninsula, but a heavy tension seemed to linger in the air. The darkness of the night hugged the light-coloured stones of the castle tighter than usual and the waves of the ocean didn't dare to crash on the shore with too much of a noise. Nothing wanted to disturb the creatures that now lived inside the citadel of the four thrones, but another form of an awakening lurked around the corner.
Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, Alexander and Rosaleen ran through the shadows of the towering cliff at their left and the sand grains beyond the shadows had an off-white colour in the pale moonlight. The small group sprinted towards the secret and natural-looking chiselled staircase against the precipice and their chests heaved up and down as the loose sand made running ten times harder.
They paused a few moments at the foot of the staircase to catch their breath and then Peter unsheathed his sword as quietly as he could before nodding at the others to do the same already as well. Since the Rosaleen Reflection had entered Cair Paravel this way too, the chance of the entrance being unguarded was almost nil and the sound of unsheathing weapons at the head of the staircase would alert the creatures if they stood guard.
Peter was the first to ascend the stairs, quickly followed by the rest and they often had to seek support by the rough stones of the cliff with one of their hands to keep their balance as the steps lay apart with a big and high distance; descending the stairs was much easier than climbing it.
Once they reached the top of the staircase, Peter let his left hand slide over the smooth stones of the courtyard's eastern wall until he found the small creek that was just wide enough for him to put his hand in. His fingers touched upon the small lever and with an inaudible click, he pulled it down, but the sound of shifting stones followed immediately after it. The heavy, stone door opened and it swung outwards, towards the courtyard as the illusion of the perfectly merged wall and secret door fell apart.
With their weapons at the ready and one by one, the group shot through the opening like a trickling river. They expected to be met with the opposition any second but as they huddled together with their backs turned to each other, observing the courtyard from standing in a perfect circle, they realised the courtyard was empty.
Rosaleen's eyes shot upwards towards the outer castle wall with its watchtower that the Kings and Queens of Narnia would never let unpatrolled, but even those were empty.
'Where are they?' Rosaleen asked in a whisper and Alexander shrugged.
'I have a bad feeling about this,' Lucy added just as quietly.
