The Next Right Thing

23

"I did," Rilian said, causing the Green-Witch to gasp. "And these, my true friends and my aunt, have helped deliver me."

"We'd do it again, too," Jill and Cara stated in a low tone.

The Green-Witch laughed before saying, "And in this madness, who do you think you are?"

Rilian glanced at his aunt before looking back at the Green-Witch. "I am Prince Rilian." He began walking forward. "Only child of Caspian, Tenth of that name, King of Narnia,"

"Leave us," the Queen of the Underland ordered.

The guards left and the Green-Witch smiled as she walked up to Rilian. She spoke softly near his ear. "I had a purpose for you," she took his hand, "my Prince. Have we not planned together than you will advance at the head of my army?" She chuckled.

Rilian said in an almost blank tone, "And make myself King of some unfortunate nation that never did me wrong? Murdering their natural lords and holding their throne for you as a foreign and bloody tyrant." He pulled his hand away. "Now that I do know myself, I utterly renounce that plan as plain villainy. Now. Will you give us conduct out of your realm?"

The Green-Witch placed her hands on Rilian's cheeks, causing him to sigh. The Green-Witch pulled her hands away. Rilian turned and walked away.

"Hey!" the Green-Witch shouted as she lit a fire with her magic and the flames burned green. Instantly, Rilian drew his sword.

The Green-Witch put a hand to the top of Rilian's sword and lifted it as she walked closer to him. As she passed the others, Eustace and Puddleglum stared at her as if in a daze. She stared at Rilian as she pushed his sword down and he glanced at the ground, sheathing it.

"So," the Green-Witch said as Rilian looked back up at her with wide eyes and she rounded him. "You are Prince Rilian of Narnia. Narnia. I have sometimes heard your lordship say that name in your mad ravings in your Chair, dear Prince. You think now that you are well, but this is all part of your sickness and you are very sick. There is no land named Narnia." Rilian breathed heavily and she lifted his hand. "The woman is a figment of your imagination."

"Oh yes there is, ma'am," Puddleglum stated as the Green-Witch turned and walked towards him. "Cara is very real. I happen to have lived there all my lives. Cara lived there for most of hers."

"Indeed." She raised a hand and Cara could have sworn she heard a slither. "Tell me, I pray you, where that country is."

Puddleglum glanced up. "It's up there. I don't know exactly where."

The Green-Witch looked up and pressed her hands together. "Up there? Is there a country hidden in the roof?"

"No. It's where you here call the Overworld."

The slither sounded again and the Green-Witch moved from Puddleglum. "And what or where," she passed Jill and stood in front of Eustace, "pray is this... Overworld?"

"Don't be silly," Eustace retorted. "As if you didn't know." Cara smirked lightly at Eustace's words, but it quickly fell. "It's up above where you can see the sky and the stars and the sun." the Green-Witch looked around, then back at Eustace. "Why, you've been there yourself. We met you there."

The Green-Witch dramatically placed her hands just below her collarbone. "I met you." She chuckled and momentarily placed her hands under Eustace's chin for a short while. "We often meet our friends in strange places when we," the slither sounded once again and there was a green mist, "dream. But unless all dream alike, you must not ask the others to remember it."

Cara scoffed. "Or perhaps it was that we were not dreaming."

The Green-Witch laughed and moved closer to Rilian, touching his shoulder.

Rilian met her eyes as he said, "Madam, I've already told your grace that I am the son of the King of Narnia."

The Green-Witch moved so she was ever-so-slightly behind him. "And shalt be King of many imagined lands in thy fancies."

Cara narrowed her eyes. "Step away from my uncld."

"We've been there too," Jill said.

"Oh," the Green-Witch replied in a disgusted tone as she walked towards the girl. "And I suppose thou art Queen of Narnia, pretty one?"

"I'm nothing of the sort. Rilian already told you who the Queen of Narnia is. Nor is my friend. We come from another world."

"That other world is all a dream." Another slither sounded.

"All a dream."

"There never was such a world." Yet another slither sounded and a green mist covered Eustace's face.

"There never was such a world," Eustace repeated in a dazed tone.

"There never was any world," she touched Eustace's right cheek, "but mine."

"Never any world but yours."

The Green-Witch pulled her hand away and smiled before turning to Cara. "Narnia is a dream."

Cara grabbed the Green-Witch's wrist before she could be spelled. "You'll never hurt my family again."

"Madam," Puddleglum called, causing both Cara, to look at him, and the Green-Witch to stop where she stood. He walked slightly closer to the Green-Witch. "You can say what you like, and you still won't make me or Cara forget Narnia. We'll never see it again I shouldn't wonder and you may have blotted it out and made it dark like this for all I know, but Cara and I know we were there."

"How do you know you were there?" the Green-Witch asked. "How does she?"

"How?"

"Mmm."

"How?" He moved away from the Green-Witch. "How?" He faced her as he pointed at her. "Why, we've seen the sky full of stars." Rilian began walking forward. "And we've seen the sun rise up out of the sea of a morning and sink beyond the distant mountains at night. And we've seen him up in the midday sky when we couldn't look at him for the brightness."

The Green-Witch suddenly rushed towards Puddleglum and struck him twice with a yell.

Cara ran to stand in front of the Marsh-wiggle. "Don't harm him!" In turn, she was attacked and lifted her hands to shield her face as she was also struck.

The Green-Witch laughed as she stepped back. Puddleglum and Cara fell to the floor and Rilian ran up to them.

"The blessings of Aslan upon this brave Marsh-wiggle and the sister of the King," Rilian said, turning to face the others. "How could we have forgotten it?" He stood and darted towards a balled candle. "Of course we've all seen the sun!"

"Sun?" the Green-Witch repeated. "The sun... Is but a children's story."

"Yes," Jill agreed as she began walking forward. "I see now."

A green mist covered Jill's face as the Green-Witch said, "There is no sun."

"There is no sun."

"There never was," the green mist covered Eustace's face again, "a sun."

"There never was a sun," Eustace repeated in a dazed tone.

The Green-Witch chuckled.

"There's Aslan," Jill said.

"There's Aslan," the Green-Witch repeated, moving in front of Jill. "What a pretty name." Puddleglum and Cara stirred and lifted their heads. "Forget all these childish things." The Marsh-wiggle and Cara glanced to their left. "Face life here," she walked behind Jill towards Eustace, "in this real world." Puddleglum and Cara began crawling backwards. "Your life henceforth is to be here with me. You will do my work. Now." More green mist covered Jill and Eustace's faces. "To bed with you." Puddleglum and Cara were on either side of the fire. He reached out to touch it, silently telling Cara to let him do it alone. "To sleep." Puddleglum tried to touch the fire and flinched back from the heat as the Green-Witch guided the children away. "Sleep. Sleep."

Puddleglum placed a hand on the burning wood and screamed. Sparks flew in the air as the flames turned from green to orange.