The Chronicles Of Narnia : The High Queen

Chapter 1

She had lost it.
She had completely lost it.

A winter wonderland instantly through a random door in the middle of London?

The girl looked around in wonder, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.
She doubted if she was not dreaming all of it. How the sunlight reflected off icicles that hung from trees and how her feet sank into soft snow as she made her way through the snow covered forest.
They were all real.

For a moment,she hesitated, looking back to where she had come from.
Somehow, this place would have to be better than where she had originally come from.
Running around the streets of London looking for any scraps of food or exploring this new - almost magical- place?
She had also heard a voice. He had known her name.
Deciding to choose the latter as her best option, she set off in a random direction.

It was eerily quiet, almost as if everything around her were holding their breaths, not daring to alert their presence. It was quite unnerving for the girl as she took soft steps at a time.

Accompanied with sudden twig snaps, Aria made her way through the forest. A rustling in the bushes caught her attention as a rabbit scurried away and her eyes then diverted to a bird watching her closely.
Taking slow steps towards the bird, Aria almost believed the bird was trying to communicate with her.
Almost.

"I've never kept eye contact with a bird before", she said to herself as she stared back at the bird with awe.

"Well it's really not that challenging to do it", a gruff voice called out from behind her. Aria gasped as she pushed herself against a tree, looking around for the man that had spoken.
But finding none, she was spooked.

"Um... who is it?". Aria gulped, her eyes shifting to every corner of the forest before finally resting on a rustling bush.

"Why, I thought you could recognize a fox when you see one".
The young girl let out a scream as she ran for cover behind a tree, tossing snow on the fox that had appeared before her.

"You can talk? Why can you talk? Foxes can't talk. Animals can't talk. Are you a fox?".
Aria fumbled backwards as the fox walked towards her with a soft smile that Aria could never imagine she would ever see on a fox.

"Why wouldn't I talk? And you're safe with me,dear one. I don't work for the white witch", the said fox spoke softly and Aria found herself stopping in her tracks.

"The white witch? Who's that?". Aria scrambled to her feet, eyeing the animal with curiosity.

"Oh dear. You haven't been here for long, have You? Are you a daughter of eve?". The fox whispered the last words, looking around the woods as if he expected someone to be listening.

"Well I don't really know my mother's name. See, I'm an orphan and I was walking along the streets of London when I came upon this door which brought me here. I walked in only a while ago and-"

"I'm sorry dear one. But it's best if we move somewhere safe. The trees...they are listening", the fox interrupted her, already walking away as he glared at the trees.

Aria watched the fox with confusion as he urged her to follow him. She looked to the trees suspiciously but nothing seemed unusual about them.

Without a second thought, the girl followed the fox, deciding against her own rules to trust a stranger in this strange land with talking foxes.

•••○•••

"I'm sorry Mr. Fox, but what is this place?". Aria stared at the fox as the two settled down in a cave that presumably would protect them from any prying eyes.

"This is Narnia. Home to millions of Narnians that lived peacefully with Aslan as king", the fox frowned. "Well, until the witch, Jadis, came, bringing this eternal winter along with her".

"So she's the bad guy?", Aria mumbled.
The fox nodded sadly. "The worst of them all. If you ever see her, her wolves or any other minion of hers, run away. You should keep yourself safe".
Aria bit her lip nervously.
Was England better than here after all?

The girl listened intently as the fox continued to talk about Narnia.
If she wasn't mistaken, Narnia was a safe haven before Jadis decided to crash in. Hearing more about what Jadis had done to Narnians and how tortured everyone was, Aria couldn't help but think that it was a bad idea she was here.

The fox noticing how pale her face had gotten, chuckled softly.
"But you don't have to worry. Aslan is back and I'm on my way to gather more men for his army".
"He told me I would meet you. A daughter of eve. Your name is Aria,yes?"

The said girl gasped, her eyes widening as she watched the fox smile.
"Aslan knows who I am? Was he the one who called for me? Does that mean I'm meant to be here? I'm sorry but I don't know what to do. This is all so overwhelming".
Aria looked around uneasily finding it all hard to believe.

The fox smiled walking closer to the girl.
"Asian will answer all your questions in due time. For now, we just need to get you to Aslan's camp".

Aria nodded her head slowly but one question continued to nag her.
"Um.. Mr. Fox, the prophecy you mentioned of. I'm not a part of that, am I ?". She asked slowly, already dreading the answer.

"I believed you were but that was before I met a son of Adam and 2 daughters of eve a few days ago. It seems that they were the ones mentioned in the prophecy. So I believe you are not a part of it".

Aria let out a sigh she did not know she was holding. Knowing that she didn't have the responsibility of saving a whole country in her hands, Aria calmed down immediately, a relieved smile gracing her lips.

"But Aslan mentioned that a time will come where you will have a role in protecting Narnia".
Aria lost the smile she had on her face.
Protect Narnia?
She couldn't even keep herself safe in London.
And now in a world filled with a snow-obsessed witch and a mighty lion as king, how on earth was she supposed to keep it safe?