Return to Narnia

Chapter 10

The morning after the ball Lucy immediately told her siblings and Caspian about her dream. If it were anybody else, they probably would not have believed Lucy that the dream was message from a magical Lion. But the thing was; Lucy had always had a special connection to Aslan, and in Narnia, anything was possible. The Monarchs immediately decided to request help from the Griffins once again. On top of it all, the way Antonio Manchez was behaving made them all slightly worried. He had never spoken to them about the fact they had lied to him, but they knew he was offended to say the least. He ignored all of them as much as possible, and the news they received from Reepicheep only ensured their worries; he was planning something.

After a week of quietness in the country, the monarchs finally received a message from the Griffins one early morning.

'I'm sorry... could you repeat that.' Peter mumbled with utter disbelief. To his sides, Caspian looked shocked, while Edmund looked utterly horrified.

'We saw a group of ships, your majesty, about a week's sailing away from our shores, still. On the front most ship stood a woman, pale and clad in white. She was not the white which, of that I am sure, but she is close in resemblance. Around her neck she wore a necklace of a large jagged crystal, it seemed to glow and give her strength...'

Edmund felt shivers go up and down his spine. He had tried to put it behind him, but the Witch still frightened him to the core. His nightmares were infrequent, but terrifying none the less. This woman might not be her, but he feared that in her soul, she would be the same evil.

Peter looked at Caspian. 'Is it possible the staff your professor found is missing a piece of its crystal?'

Caspian nodded. 'I am afraid it will be so. We should confer with him immediately.'

Peter nodded. 'We should also plan a counter attack.'

'We should find Aslan...' Lucy whispered. 'We can do all we want, but in the end, I worry we cannot win without him, Peter.'

Peter nodded solemnly, not wanting to admit he could not help the country on his own, but knowing Lucy might very well be right. He turned to Susan. 'Will you go with Lucy to find him?'

Susan nodded. 'We do not know where to go however. I doubt that riding through the forest will work as it did last time...'

'Cair Paravel...' Edmund uttered. 'He is the true ruler of Narnia, but he trusts us to rule in his place. Cair Paravel is the embodiment of that trust, both from him and the Narnians, that we can help them. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe it would worth a shot.'

Peter nodded again, this time in approval. 'I agree.'

'We'll go right away, then. And the three of you should start planning a defence strategy...'

Edmund nodded. 'We'll get on it, right away!'

'After we talk to the professor.' Caspian stated.

About an hour and a half later Peter, Edmund and Caspian arrived in Peter's study. They gathered around the large table in the back, near the windows, upon which a large map of the Eastern Narnian shore lay.

'A piece of the staff went missing the day the witch was almost summoned at the how, and somehow Manchez got a hold of it.' Peter muttered.

'It does not matter how.' Edmund said quickly, an obvious irritation in his voice. 'All that matters is how we can beat them, with as little death as possible.'