~By the Lion's Mane~ >A Narnian Fanfiction<

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I had been out hunting and gathering wood for our fire the night that everything changed. My ears and cheeks were chapped from the cold and I was eager to get back to the warmth of the fire. I reached the towering cliff where our cave was and started walking faster, my energy renewed by the prospect of a hot soup. But when it came into view, my blood ran cold, and I stopped as abruptly as if I had hit a wall. The snow was tossed around, as if a fight had been put up, and there were drag marks leading away from the doorway and crimson spots of blood stained the white of the snow.

I exhaled raggedly and took several hesitant steps forward, my head reeling, the ground shifting under my feet. How could it happen? Why would they do it? I fell to my knees when I got to the doorway. The door had been ripped off its hinges and thrown a few feet away, across the snow. Inside, everything was a mess. Paintings ripped down the middle, papers strewn everywhere, everything trashed. A dry sob tore through my throat.

A notice was pinned to one of the walls, signed by the Secret Police with a bloody paw print. It read:

WARRANT OF ARREST

BY ORDER OF HER MAJESTY

The faun BAUCHAN

Is hereby charged with

HIGH TREASON

Against Her Majesty

JADIS, QUEEN OF NARNIA,

For consorting with her enemies and

Fraternizing with a human.

Signed,

MAUGRIM

Captain of the Secret Police

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN

Bauchan was taken for interacting with a human, and that human was me. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I began to sob. I knew that they had killed him. They had made that only too obvious.

I had been out longer than usual because I hadn't found any game. They must have come then. I knew that they were probably looking for me, and so I needed to get out of the area as soon as possible.

Wiping the tears from my face, I forced myself to stand and began rifling through my room, looking for what I would need for the journey. I packed everything into my little oilskin bag, and then went and fetched my quiver of arrows and my bow. Still sniffling and wiping tears from my eyes, I turned and looked at the little cave that had been my home for the past year. How warm and cozy it had been just that morning, and now it was destroyed, and served as a warning to others of what happened to traitors. I took one last look around the room and then turned and jogged off into the cold, foreboding forest.

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The snow was deep and freshly fallen, so it was slow going. I sank into it with every step and soon my legs were wet to the skin. I shivered uncontrollably and the occasional tear would still slip down my cheek, the cold stinging my skin where it left a wet track. The Witch had taken everything that had finally made me happy again, just like that. Now I was stumbling in the direction I thought was correct, but I wasn't even entirely sure where Aslan was supposed to be.

Since the initial visit from Grimwar and Bauchan's friend, many others had stopped by our cave on their way to Aslan's camp. News had reached our part of Narnia that the Great Lion had established a war camp somewhere far east, across the Great River and the Fords of Beruna. These Narnians were going there to train for the impending battle against the Witch.

That was where I too was heading. I was going to help the Narnians defeat the White Witch. I wanted to train as a warrior. The grief I felt for Bauchan earlier had turned to white hot anger and the only way I was going to be able to overcome it was to avenge him. Maybe I would get to see Aslan himself, or the children.

But the only things I had to guide me there were a map of the country I had torn out of a book in Bauchan's study and the stars at night. I struck out southeast towards Beaversdam.

I traveled through the woods-- up hills, down into a valley, and then finally the land flattened out. There were still trees, but not as thick. It was exhausting physically and mentally because of the terrain, and because all the while I was imagining I heard the howls of wolves behind me.

I finally stopped to rest at midday on a boulder. I flopped down on the wet rock, relieved to rest and eat a bit of the dried meat I had packed. As I did so, I looked around and listened. Narnia was so much more beautiful than my world. There was no pollution, no big, loud cities. Peaceful. I was admiring a nearby dogwood tree when I suddenly noticed something strange. Even though it was still frozen and most of the branches were encased in a thin layer of ice, there were pale pink flowers beginning to bloom along its branches. I gasped with delight as they grew bigger and bigger, right before my eyes. This must be proof that Aslan has come to save us all.

I picked up my journey again, my energy and enthusiasm renewed by the awakening earth around me. The snow continued to melt and bright green shoots of grass began to carpet the ground. Flowers sprang up out of the earth, giving the landscape bright splashes of color. A warm breeze blew through my hair, the ends of it tickling my cheeks as we walked. The air was warm and sweet with the smell of the spring flowers and warm, wet earth. Within a matter of hours the cold, icy winter landscape had completely changed into spring and the trees were fully covered with soft green leaves. It was magical.