The High Queen of Narnia

Chapter 2

The hike up to the ruins was short but still long enough that Elodie, Peter and Lucy had enough time to mostly dry off, parts of Elodie's hair and skirt still wet as they walked barefoot through the forest and up to the ruins. She ran a hand along the moss-covered stone, trying to figure out why this place felt so familiar as Lucy looked out at the sea that was now below them. The answer was so close too. On the tip of her tongue close as the moss ticked the nerves on her palm.

"Wonder who lived here," Lucy said as she bit into an apple they'd picked on the way and Susan's next words shocked Elodie to the core.

"I think we did," she had said as she picked up the small statue of a golden centaur knight, and Elodie's eyes widened. It all made sense now why everything felt so familiar. They were standing on the ruins of Cair Paravel.

But that then begged a question she didn't know if she wanted answered. How long had they truly been away from Narnia? How long had they left their kingdom to their own devices that their castle fell?

Because by the looks of the ruins, it seemed as if they were gone at least a few hundred years for it to get to the state it was. The once polished stone now dull and cracked. The once gleaming stairs now chipped and covered in grass. This beautiful castle that was once her home was gone.

"Hey, that's mine. From my chess set," Edmund exclaimed as he saw the statue Susan was holding and came running over.

"Which chess set?" Peter questioned, both of their clothes dishevelled and haphazard as Edmund slung his leather satchel over his body.

"I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?" Edmund replied sarcastically as he took the statue from Susan.

Lucy then tugged Elodie's hand as she saw something in the distance and the older girl's jaw dropped. "It can't be," Lucy gasped as the two girls went running towards it, jogging up some stone steps as their siblings followed them.

"What is it?" Peter asked worriedly.

"Don't you see?!" Lucy exclaimed as she grabbed her brother's hands and positioned him as Elodie made her way to a slab of stone that sort of resembled a seat, however, it was held up by three legs instead of four and those remaining three were not in good condition. It was all that was left of her once grand throne.

She didn't care about the throne. She didn't care about her title. She cared about the fact that this was her home, and someone had destroyed it.

"Cair Paravel," Peter gaped as he realised what his youngest sibling was trying to say.

"This was our home," she said as she stood and turned to join them, all of them standing where their thrones once did.

"Who could've done this?" Susan wondered aloud. "The White Witch?"

Elodie saw Edmund flinch at the sound of her name, and she was quick to put her little brother at ease. "No. If she'd found a way to come back, everything would be covered in ice. It's too hot for anything to freeze. It can't be her," she reasoned, meeting Edmund's eyes as he gave her a thankful nod. "But I think whoever did this is the reason why we're here."

"You think someone did this?" Peter questioned.

"What if we were just gone a long time?" Susan proposed.

"Our chests!" Lucy exclaimed as she shook Peter's arm, and he looked down at his sister before addressing the rest of his siblings.

"We'll figure out what happened here after we acquire the right attire. Let's see if the door to the underground chamber is still intact and we can get to our reserves," Peter suggested as they all began to follow Edmund through the woods before he knelt down near a rock, running his hands over it.

"Catapults," he deduced as he looked at the rock he touched and the damage to the stone wall in front of him.

"What?" Peter asked.

"You were right," he said to Elodie. "This didn't just happen. Something did this. Cair Paravel was attacked."

While the girls shared glances and contemplated the information Edmund just discovered, the two boys got to work pushing the stone wall out of the way to reveal a locked wooden door so old that it was easy enough to break through. Peter had then taken the small penknife he always carried with him and began to cut a small piece of his shirt off as he looped it around a stick he picked up.

"Don't suppose you have any matches, do you?" he asked his brother who reached into his satchel.

"No, but...would this help?" Edmund asked as he produced a torch and his brother's arms went slack at his sides with disbelief.

"You might have mentioned that a bit sooner," Peter sighed as he gestured to his torn shirt with a smile that all of his siblings copied.

Edmund was first down the stone steps as the girls followed after with Peter bringing up the rear.

The chamber was slightly destroyed but still standing as they made their way down a spiral staircase with Peter and Elodie pushing open the metal gate that led to the large chests that were positioned in front of statues. Statues of themselves, the older versions of themselves that had once ruled these gorgeous lands.

"I can't believe it," Peter admitted. "It's all still here."

"Believe it, big brother," Elodie grinned as she and her sisters went jogging over to their chests, their clothes and weapons still inside. "Oh, I've missed you," she exhaled as her hand closed around her battle axe that was still as shiny as the day she got it and spun it through her hands, striking at the air.

"I was so tall," Lucy exclaimed as she found one of her old dresses and held it against her small frame.

"Well, you were older then," Susan pointed out with a grin.

"As opposed to hundreds of years later," Edmund piped up as he rooted through his chest, his helm on his head. "When you're younger."

Peter then moved away from the dusty disc of Aslan he'd found as he approached his chest, staring intently at the statue of his older self. Seeing his inner turmoil, Elodie sought to comfort her brother with a hand on his shoulder as he turned to her, giving her a small smile as he covered her hand with his.

"What is it?" Lucy asked Susan.

"My horn," she answered, her bow and quiver in her hands. "I must've left it on my saddle the day we went back," she realised.

Peter then took that as his sign to open his chest as he reached for his sword and drew the golden weapon from its sheath. Much like his sister's, the blade was still in perfect condition as he gazed down at it.

"When Aslan bares his teeth, winter meets its death," he recited, the words imprinted on the sword blade.

"When he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again," Elodie finished.

"Everyone we knew..." Lucy piped up, her eyes threatening to line with tears. "Mr Tumnus and the Beavers, they're all gone.

"I think it's time we find out what's going on here," Peter declared and Elodie moved over to hug her youngest sister.

"Let's get you dressed."