The Secret Fifth

9: Surprise

Edmund and Annelise woke from the frozen ground with a start. The gate to the dungeon had been flung open, and the Witch stood there, fuming. Edmund sat up from Annelise's lap quickly, and she placed herself in front of the boy as much as she could.

"Last night, my police tore that dam apart. Your little family are nowhere to be found." Annelise closed her eyes with a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. The Witch kicked her to the side aggressively and picked Edmund up by his collar. He held back his whimper and tried to look back at the girl on the ground. "Where did they go?" The Witch asked.

"I don't know!" He said. The Witch threw him back to the floor and pointed her wand to him.

"Then you are of no use to me." She raised the stick, and Annelise and Edmund both called out. Annelise threw herself in front of the boy, her side aching, hoping to block him from the blow. The Witch sneered at her.

"Wait! The beaver said something about Aslan!" Edmund said, hoping to spare his life. Tumnus shot up from his corner and Annelise looked to Edmund wtih pleading eyes. Stop talking, Ed, Her eyes begged.

"Aslan?" The Witch lowered her wand. "Where?"

"I.." Annelise and Tumnus intervened.

"He's a stranger here, Your Majesty. He's been here for limited time!" Tumnus said.

"He can't be expected to know anything." Annelise finished. A dwarf knocked Tumnus with his staff and he crumpled to the ground. A cyclops approached Annelise and grabbed her hair roughly, pulling her to a silence. Both of their eyes continued to beg Edmund to stay quiet.

"I said.. Where is Aslan?" The Witch smirked at the terrfied expression that the boy held.

"I... I don't know. I left before they said anything." Edmund stuttered. The witch looked to Tumnus and Annelise sharply. "I wanted to see you!" Edmund said, hoping to remove the woman's attention from the Narnians.

"Guard, release the girl and the faun." The Witch ordered. The cyclops that held Anne bent down and ripped the chains from her ankles, surely leaving scratches and bruises. He then made his way to Tumnus's cell, still dragging Annelise by the hair, and beat the chains off of Tumnus's ankles as well. They both cried out in pan.

"Do you know why you're here, faun?" She asked. Mr. Tumnus glanced at Edmund and then Annelise.

"Because I believe in a free Narnia." He choked out. The Witch rolled her eyes.

"You are here, because he.." She pointed a lean finger at Edmund. "turned you in. For sweeties." The news was not a surpirse from Tumnus, and he just continued to glare at her. Annelise pulled on the grip that the gaurd had on her.

"You tricked him! He's but a boy, and you promise him a life no one could refuse. You're a witch." Anne spit at the Witch's shoes. The Witch gasped and smacked the girl with her wand, leaving a dark bruise under her eye and a cut on her eyebrow. Edmund flinched and reached for her insitinctively. Annelise noticed this and shook her head softly, closing her eyes and smiling as best as she could.

"Take them upstairs. And ready my sleigh." The witch turned to look at the cowering boy on her floor. "Edmund misses his family."

It was not yet ten minutes later before the dwarf returned and freed Edmund of his chains, leading him upstairs and towards the awaiting sleigh. Edmund stopped by two new statues that were in the witches couryard.

Tumnus, his blood red scarf now gray and frozen, was suspended in the air as it looked as though the faun had attempted escape. Edmund stared at him in shock. Then, with the small push of the dwarf, Edmund saw her. Annelise was but a foot from Tumnus, and although her eyes were now a solid gray stone, anyone could see the pain in them. A fat teardrop sat on her cheek, forever suspended there. Her arm was outstrecthed, and her fingers were out wide towards Tumnus. Edmund intertwined his fingers with hers slowly as tears rolled down his own cheeks. Her mouth was twisted and open, and it gave him the answer of who's bloodcurling scream he had heard earlier. His own sister, the one he had met only hours ago, and yet understood him better than any, was gone. And it was his fault. He choked on a sob as the evil white woman spoke from her sleigh with a smirk.

"When you're ready, Son of Adam."

____________________

"Come on, humans! While we're still young." The male beaver called out to the three children for what felt like the hundreth time. Peter groaned.

"If he tells us to hurry one more time," He bent down, allowing Lucy to climb on his back. "I'm gonna turn him into a big, fluffy hat." Lucy giggled in his ear.

"Hurry up! Come on!" The beavers' voices sounded a bit more frantic this time, but Peter and Susan just rolled their eyes as Lucy agreed.

"He is getting a bit bossy." She sighed. The group had taken a couple more steps before the beavers cried out.

"No! Behind you! It's her!" It was then that the sound of bells reached Peter's ear, and he quickly slid Lucy off of his back.

"Run!" Peter shouted, barely glancing back at the approaching sleigh and taking his little sister's hand. Susan ran quickly beside them, her curls bouncing as her shouders shook. The group fled across the frozen lake and into the woods as the sleigh gained on them. Peter pushed himself as hard as he could, only focusing on getting his sisters to safety. "Hurry!" He urged them on. The beavers ran ahead, spotting a small ditch that was almost invisble from the lake.

"Inside, hurry!" The Pevensies followed the beaver's instructions quickly, diving into the small cave and huddling together. The bells stopped shortly after they settled and a large shadow fell over the snow in front of them. They breathed heavily, but silently, as they watched the shadow retreat.

"Maybe.. she's gone?" Lucy said. Peter sure hoped so, or else the Witch definitely would have heard Lucy's voice. He began to push himself away from his sisters.

"I suppose I'll go look." He said. Beaver shot forward and gripped his coat, tugging him back as best as a beaver could.

"No! You're worth nothing to Narnia dead." He began to exit the hole himself, but he was stopped by his wife.

"Well, neither are you, Beaver." She said. He smiled and patted her hand that held his arm.

"Thanks, sweetheart." He scurried out of the cave, stumbling up the hill to the side and disappearing above them. After a frightfully long minute, Peter's chest began to tighten. If there was danger above, he had no idea how he was going to get his siblings out of there safely. Before he could begin to stir up a plan, Beaver's head poked back in abruptly. Susan and Lucy shrieked.

"Come out! Come out! I hope you've all been good 'cause there's someone here to see ya!" The beaver shouted. What?