"it has been a pleasure, my queen" He spoke to Lucy shocking the Pevensies at how he addressed her as queen "and an honour, but time is short and Aslan himself asked me to gather more troops"
"you've seen Aslan?" Mr Beaver asked in Awe.
"what was he like?" Mrs Beaver questioned in excitement.
"like everything we've ever heard. You'll be glad to have him by your side in the battle against the witch" The fox told them softly.
"But we're not planning on fighting any witch," Susan told him.
"But surely, King Peter, the prophecy!" The fox spoke his attention turning to the eldest Pevensie.
"We can't go to war without you." Mr Beaver tried to convince them.
"We just want our brother back," Peter told them sadly.
———✰———
At the witch's castle, Edmund was shackled by his ankles and freezing in a dungeon as he chewed a stale piece of bread, but chocked on it making his reach for the cup of water which was frozen. He threw both the bread and the cup onto the tray.
"if-if you're not going to eat that..." Someone spoke in the cell over making Edmund look and crawl over to the faun who did the same as Edmund handed him the stale bread "I'd get up, but-but my legs" he pointed to the shackled goat's legs.
"Mr Tumnus?" Edmund guessed.
"what's left of him." Mr Tumnus said smiling slightly before he looked at Edmund in realisation "you're Lucy Pevensies brother"
"I'm Edmund," said boy introduced himself.
"yes. Yes, you have the same nose." Mr Tumnus pointed put making Edmund touch his nose before the faun asked about the little girl he'd grown fond of "is your sister all right? Is she safe?"
"I don't know," Edmund said as he looked up hearing the wolfs growls.
The witch entered slamming the dungeon gates open causing Mr Tumnus to slide back to the corner of his cell he was in earlier.
"my police tore that dam apart. Your little family are nowhere to be found" The queen spoke before she grabbed the boy by his collar and lifted him off the ground "where did they go?"
"I don't know!" Edmund stuttered.
"then you're no further use to me," The witch said as she threw him to the ground and raised her wand.
"wait! The beaver said something about Aslan!" Edmund said in his defence making the witch falter.
"Aslan? Where?" the witch commanded sounding slightly more panicked than she had seconds before.
"i-" Edmund stuttered not able to say anything in his defence.
"he's a stranger here, your majesty. He can't be expected to know anything." Mr Tumnus spoke up for the boy but Ginarrbrik only hit him with his staff to shut him up as the witch barely glanced his way.
"I said where is Aslan?" The witch asked Edmund again her voice low and threatening.
Edmund didn't know and only looked to Mr Tumnus as if for help, but the faun didn't know what to say Edmund spoke nervously "I don't know. I left before they said anything" the witch glanced at Mr Tumnus sharply as if asking the faun if he knew anything, but Mr Tumnus only flinched making the boy quickly say, "I wanted to see you!"
"Guard!" the witch called and a large man who looked slightly ugly and made Edmund think he could be some sort of ogre or giant, entered the room greeting her with gruff "your majesty"
"release the faun." The witch ordered making the guard break the fauns shackles and dropped him in front of the queen making Mr Tumnus cry out in pain.
"do you know why you're here, faun?" the witch questioned sounding like a strict teacher as she had her wand over her shoulders.
"because I believe in a free Narnia" Mr Tumnus spoke bravely and looked up at the witch from where he was kneeling.
The witch pulled a displeased face before she said, "you're here" and pointed her wand at Edmund before she carried on "because he turned you in for sweeties"
Edmund looked away in guilt as Mr Tumnus looked at the boy in almost understanding as he realised the boy probably didn't know she was the bad guy when they met.
"take him upstairs. And ready my sleigh. Edmund misses his family" The witch spoke looking pointedly at the boy as she said the last sentence before she turned and left, her cape-like coat following behind. Leaving Edmund to curl up in a ball as he was left alone in his dungeon cell.
———✰———
The three Pevensies and the beavers were standing on a stone bridge that was covered in the snow looking out at the horizon where it was now daylight.
"now, Aslan's camp is near the stone table just across the frozen river." Mr Beaver explained to the siblings.
"river?" Peter questioned with wide eyes.
"oh, the rivers been frozen solid for a hundred years." Mrs Beaver reassured the boy.
"it's so far!" Peter complained.
"it's the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small?" Mrs Beaver told him.
"smaller" Susan commented looking pointedly at Peter.
———✰———
Back at the witches castle, Ginarrbrik lead Edmund through the courtyard but Edmund stopped short when he saw that Mr Tumnus had joined the collection making him breath out in fear "when you're ready, son of Adam" the witch spoke before she, Edmund and Ginarrbrik got into the sleigh. Ginarrbrik drove it out of the castle as the witch sat upright wrapped in her fur coat as Edmund sat in a huddled ball on the floor.
