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

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

I awoke one morning to the joyful sound of bugles and the shouts and cries of the Narnians. I quickly yanked on my boots and ducked under my tent flap, stepping out into the bright mid-morning sunshine. Everyone was crowding to the middle of camp, and had formed a wide aisle up to Aslan's scarlet and gold striped tent. I had yet to see Aslan in the flesh, but felt it couldn't be long before I did.

When I reached the crowd, I asked a Tiger what the fuss was about.

"Haven't you heard?" he responded, his striped tail switching back forth with excitement. "The true king and queens of Narnia have arrived at last!"

My heart leaped with excitement as I pushed to the front row. I peered down to the edge of camp and saw five figures making their way down to us. There were three taller figures, which I assumed were the children and two small figures that I assumed were the Animals who had escorted them here. As they got closer, I saw they were Beavers, one of which was trying desperately to get her sleek brown fur to lay flat, while her husband told her, "Please, dear, stop your fussing. You look lovely."

I squinted and leaned forward to study the humans more closely.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the boy was the oldest. He had hair close to the same color as my own, but with more brown, and he was tall and very good looking. The second oldest was a girl with long, silky brown hair that reached almost to her waist, and pale skin without the blemishes of freckles. She was so beautiful and graceful and I couldn't help but feel very small and ugly in comparison. The third was a small girl who looked to be several years younger than me. She had shorter, curly hair and a round face. She looked very friendly and cute, and was smiling broadly and looking around at everything around her in wonder. But the other boy was missing.

The three children and the Beavers reached Aslan's tent and stood, looking back and forth at each other, unsure of what to do now. A Centaur called Oreius came to stand in front of the tent. He had long black hair and a black coat and deeply tanned skin. The boy withdrew his sword and held it out, addressing him.

"We have come to see Aslan," he said, holding the sword aloft.

Oreius looked to the tent, where the flaps began to flutter. The others followed his gaze. Then a rustling came from the red and gold tent, and our entire company knelt as Aslan stepped forward. A collective gasp rose from the children.

Before us stood the largest, most magnificent Lion I had ever seen. His mane was long and looked as if it were spun gold. He radiated power and hope, and his presence sent fear, awe, love, and hope into my heart all at once.

The children dropped to their knees at once like the rest of us. The boy unsheathed his sword and knelt with his forehead resting on hands that he had clasped over the hilt before the Great Lion.

 Aslan spoke. "Welcome Peter, son of Adam." Peter raised his head. "Welcome Susan and Lucy, daughters of Eve." They each looked up respectively.

"And welcome to you, Beavers. You have my thanks," he said to the two, and they smiled shyly and shuffled their webbed feet.

Aslan looked up. "But where is the fourth?" he asked of them.

Peter stood. "That's why we're here, sir." As he sheathed his sword again, the rest of us stood with him. "We need your help."

The older girl, Susan agreed. "We had a little trouble along the way."

"Our brother's been captured by the White Witch," Peter said.

The rest of the Narnians and I gasped. Captured? But the Prophecy couldn't be fulfilled if the fourth human was dead!

"Captured? How could this happen?" Aslan asked, his tone sad.

Peter, Susan, and Lucy looked at the ground, while one of the Beavers spoke up. "He betrayed them, Your Majesty," he said.

Angry and shocked murmurs rippled through the crowd, and Oreius said fiercely, "Then he has betrayed us all!"

"Peace, Oreius! I'm sure there is an explanation," Aslan said, looking to Peter.

He looked downcast. "It's my fault. I was too hard on him." He looked miserable, and I felt sorry for him. Susan put a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder.

"We all were," she said.

Aslan looked sad. Little Lucy said pleadingly, "Sir, he's our brother."

"I know, dear one. But that only makes the betrayal all the worse," Aslan said sorrowfully. "This may be harder than you think."

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I started slowly walking back to my tent, thinking about the children, but mostly about their absent brother. I wondered what he was like, and why he had abandoned his siblings and run to the Witch? It was still a puzzle to me, how anyone could do that to their own family. I also worried about what Aslan ad meant when he said it may be harder than they thought to get him back.

When I got to my tent, I was shocked to find that it was gone and a much larger, grander tent had replaced it. I cautiously pulled aside the flap and peered inside. There were three beds, a rug, and other furnishings. But what caught my eye were the two girls sitting on one of the beds. They were talking in quiet voices, and the little one had a worried look on her face. I stood in the door of the tent, unsure of what to do until Susan noticed me standing there and stood.

"Oh, you must be Rose. The...fauns told us you would be sharing this tent with us. I guess yours was here first," she said with a beautiful smile.

I smiled back and nodded a bit. Then I realized that they were queens and dropped to my knees, bowing my head. "Yes, I am Rose," I said quietly, peeking up at them through the thick hair in my face.

Then the little one, Lucy, laughed and said in a friendly voice, "Oh, Rose, you don't have to bow for us! Now, I'm Lucy, and this is Susan." She stuck out her hand.

I slowly rose to my feet and shook it, still feeling as if I shouldn't be here. Smiling, Susan also shook my hand. Then, pointing to the bed on the right side of the huge tent, she said, "I think those are your things over there. Is that a good spot for you?"

Nodding, I answered, "Yes, that will be just fine." I ran my hands over the bed, relishing the feel of the soft fabric of the sheets. It would be the first one I had slept in a long time. Then I flopped back on my back and spread my hands out. "Aahh...It feels sooo nice."

Susan and Lucy laughed and jumped on their beds too. "Yes, it does feel nice after sleeping on the ground the past few nights," Lucy agreed.

I closed my eyes and sighed. So far, my new queens seemed quite pleasant.

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Author's Note: If you have been reading this story, I would really love to get some feedback! Tell me what you think, and I apologize for the slow beginning.