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𝑩𝑹𝑶𝑲𝑬𝑵 𝑻𝑹𝑼𝑺𝑻
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𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒❜ 𝐃𝐀𝐌 as the Pevensies and Summers tried to wrap their heads around the prophecy. The only thing that could be heard was the howling wind from outside, whirling around the wooden structure with an increasing and decreasing strength and causing the dam to let out squeaking creaks and cracks.

Susan was the first to break the silence. 'Why does everything rhyme but the last part?'

Mr Beaver waved it away with his paw. 'Never mind the rhyming, that's beside the point.'

'It has long been foretold,' Mrs Beaver continued, 'that three daughters of Eve and three sons of Adam will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia.'

The beavers exchanged some hopeful and proud looks with each other but the group of teenagers glanced at each other rather questionably.

'And you think we're the ones?' Peter asked, his voice slightly going up.

'Well, you better be!' Mr Beaver exclaimed. 'Aslan has already fitted out your army.'

'Our army?' Lucy repeated in shock while Susan's eyes grew wide. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and she quickly turned to Peter. Her eldest brother had to be on her side with this.

'Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in war,' she said, trying to reason with him and to her relief Peter nodded slightly.

'I think you've made a mistake,' he said to the beavers. 'We're not heroes.'

'We're from Finchley,' Susan added, but that only resulted in some frowns on the beavers' faces. They had never heard of such a country.

'Besides,' Peter continued, remembering some very specific but odd part of the prophecy. 'Our forefathers haven't been here, it would be impossible to follow their plight.'

'Oh no, High King Peter,' Mrs Beaver said, 'the prophecy doesn't speak of your ancestors.'

'It speaks of theirs,' Mr Beaver said darkly, nodding sharply at the Summers siblings.

Lucy, Peter and Susan all turned to look at Rosaleen and Alexander who shifted uncomfortably under all the gazes.

Susan suddenly gasped for air, something clicking in her mind. 'The professor.' She understood now why he had so easily believed Lucy's claim to have found a magical land in the wardrobe.

Lucy, though, felt hurt by the realisation and she focussed on Rosaleen. 'You had heard of Narnia before, but you still didn't believe me?'

Rosaleen frantically shook her head, her blonde waves dancing around her lower back. She reached for Lucy's hand over the table but the younger girl retreated her hand with a hurtful expression. 'No, Lucy, that's not true. I believed you. I was ready to jump in that wardrobe with you, but when there was nothing there, I thought perhaps you had read it somewhere in the mansion as well.'

'It was a fairy tale,' Alexander defended himself and his sister, and he crossed his arms. 'A bedtime story, nothing more. How could it have been real?'

'But I told you it was real,' Lucy whispered, tears stinging in her blue eyes but she wiped them angrily away, her fingers shaking.

'I'm so sorry, Lucy,' Rosaleen said softly as she dropped her gaze. 'If I could do it all over in a different way, I would.'

'Just like that Diggory, I bet,' Mr Beaver spat, and Mrs Beaver patted his paw.

'Now, now, dear. Aslan forgave him, so should we.'

'No,' the beaver growled. 'It was the boy's fault that the evil of the witch has been looming over Narnia since the beginning of time. His foolishness flows in their veins as well, I'm sure of it. They have already hurt Queen Lucy. I do not care what the prophecy says, we don't need their help. They will only make things worse.'

Rosaleen shrunk under the accusation, but Alexander's eyes sparkled dangerously. 'Now, hold a minute─,' he began but he was cut short by Susan jumping up from the table. Panic bubbled in her chest as she noticed Peter and Lucy starting to believe this so-called prophecy more and more.

'No,' Susan shrieked, raising herself to her full length and the top of her head almost bumped against the low ceiling of the dam. 'Everyone stop this nonsense. This is beyond ridiculous. Prophecy or not, you need trained soldiers to fight a war. We're only teenagers, this has to be a mistake.' She glared at Peter, almost challenging him to go against her, but Peter saw the truth in her words and he slowly rose up from his seat as well.

'My sister is right,' he said. 'This is out of our hands. It's time all of us went home.'

Alexander swallowed back the words he had wanted to say to the beaver. A naive part of him wanted to stay, to prove Mr Beaver wrong, but thanks to Susan he also understood how silly that plan was. The only foolishness flowing through his veins would be if he actually tried fighting a war. He stood up and gestured for Rosaleen to follow his example.

'But what about Mr Tumnus?' Lucy tried one last time, pleading her brother to reconsider.

'I feel for the faun, truly, but there's nothing we can do. We're going home. Ed?' Peter called out, but it stayed quiet and everyone realised how long it had been since they had heard one of his sarcastic comments and scoffs. Peter spun around his axis, but his younger brother was nowhere to be found in the dam. Peter sped outside, quickly followed by the others, but everywhere he looked, he still couldn't spot Edmund.

Mr Beaver cleared his throat, catching Peter's attention and the beaver pointed at a line of footsteps in the snow. The tracks led from the dam across the frozen river towards the opposite treeline of the direction they had come from.

'What has gotten into him?' Peter wondered, raising his voice to be audible above the howling wind. The first loose layer of snow whirled over the landscape due to the wind and the temperature seemed to drop even further as a dark cloud shifted in front of the moon.

'When did he leave?' Mr Beaver asked, but none of the teenagers could say for sure.

'It's vital we try and remember what he heard,' the beaver encouraged them but in a grim tone.

'What? Why?' Peter asked.

Mr Beaver pointed at two dark hills, towering above the trees in which Edmund had disappeared. 'Because he has gone to her. The White Witch.'

Peter clenched his jaw as he stared up at the two hills, but then he made a decision. 'I'm going after him,' he said before storming back inside to retrieve his coat.

Mr Beaver snarled in anger. 'Don't be a fool,' he said, waddling quickly after Peter while Mrs Beaver ushered the others back inside. She glanced with worried eyes at their surroundings before gently pushing Lucy farther inside.

Rosaleen, though, sprinted to her black fur coat as well, quickly throwing it around her shoulders. She just pulled her hair out of the opening of her collar when she saw Peter giving her a curious look and she smiled.

'You're not going alone.'

Alexander wiped a hand over his face before giving in as well. His sister was right, they couldn't let Peter go alone. He swung his coat over his shoulders, and Susan and Lucy followed suit.

'Stop it, all of you,' Mr Beaver bellowed, practically clawing at Peter's coat in an attempt to keep him from hurrying back outside. 'You're playing right in her hands, this is exactly what she wants: she wants you to rush after him.'

'I can still catch him,' Peter argued, pulling his coat out of the beaver's grasp with a jolt. 'He hasn't been gone too long, we could still see his footprints in the snow.'

'And he wears no coat, the cold would slow him down greatly,' Rosaleen added, stepping around the beaver before sprinting towards the small stairs but her path was blocked when Mrs Beaver jumped in front of the steps.

'I'm sorry, dear, but I cannot let you go,' the beaver muttered while her paws fiddled with her apron. 'There's no point in this. Edmund has sided with the witch and it will not be long until the secret police comes this way.'

Rosaleen probably could have easily pushed Mrs Beaver out of her way, but the blonde hadn't had the heart to do so. She couldn't hurt the beaver that had shown them already so much kindness and hospitality in the little time they had known her.

'Face it,' Mr Beaver addressed them all. 'You have lost Edmund to the White Witch, but he is the mere bait; she wants all six of you to stop the prophecy from coming true. She means to kill you.'

Susan fumed as she turned to her brother, her anger burning away the tears that threatened to escape her eyes, and she roughly shoved his arm.

Peter stumbled a few paces back by the unexpected push until he bumped against the hat stand and the grey hairs of Edmund's coat pricked in his bare neck.

'This is all your fault,' Susan spat.

'My fault?' Peter repeated, perplexed.

'None of this would've happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!'

'Oh, so you knew this would happen?' Peter retorted, pushing himself away from the hat stand and shoving the grey fur coat behind him.

'I didn't know what would happen. Which is why we should've left while we still could!'

'Stop it,' Lucy yelled, cutting off the argument between her remaining siblings before it could escalate more. 'This isn't helping Edmund.'

Peter and Susan glared at each other, but didn't say anything else whereas Rosaleen focussed her attention back upon Mrs Beaver. 'What can we do to help Edmund?' she asked.

'Nothing,' the beaver answered softly. 'Only Aslan can save him now.'

A silence descended upon the living room, and Rosaleen turned around to look at Peter. Somehow, it felt as if he had to decide; not she, not her own brother, not Susan nor Lucy, but he. The small hairs in the back of her neck, though, rose up when the wind carried the faint howling of wolves towards the beaver's dam; the sound breaking the silence in an eerily manner.

'Maugrim,' Mrs Beaver whispered, her voice trembling with fear.

Peter decided, although it didn't feel as if he had much choice; they couldn't just go home and leave Edmund. 'Take us to Aslan,' he said, and Mr Beaver breathed out in relief while his wife scurried towards the kitchen.

'What is she doing?' Alexander wondered but redirected his question at Mrs Beaver when her husband simply threw his paws in the air and rolled his eyes ─ as if he couldn't believe his wife's actions at the moment.

'It is a long journey,' Mrs Beaver elaborated, stuffing some provisions in a made-shift knapsack. 'And beaver gets cranky when he's hungry.'

'I'm cranky now!' Mr Beaver shouted while Susan and Rosaleen joined the other beaver's side to help pack as quickly as they could.

Susan weighed a jar of jam and marmalade in both of her hands, trying to decide which one to pack. 'Do you think we'll need jam?' she asked out loud.

'Only if the witch has toast,' Peter answered sarcastically, but Susan almost dropped both jars when Rosaleen came up from behind her and took both out of her hands, placing them in the squared fabric of the knapsack. She took over the package of biscuits handed to her by Mrs Beaver, but everyone froze in their movements when another howl cracked through the air. The after-effect of the sound echoed between their ears, this one had been louder than the previous ones.

'We need to go, now,' Alexander ordered and Rosaleen quickly folded the fabric around the provisions, tying the corners together with a knot and she swung it over her shoulder.

'Ready,' she said with a nod, ignoring Mrs Beaver protests that she should be the one carrying it.

Another howl split the air and Rosaleen thought she could hear the patted sound of the pack running over the frozen river.

'They'll see us if we leave through the front door,' Lucy squeaked, but she curiously stared at Mr Beaver when he shuffled towards a cabinet near the fireplace. The dark wood creaked as the beaver pushed open the cupboard and to the teenagers' surprise, a secret passageway revealed itself. A sturdy, thick rope hung at the ceiling, leading all the way down through a hole in the floor and towards the dark tunnel laying several feet underneath it.

'We go this way,' Mr Beaver said and they all made their way over to him.

Alexander clasped his hand around the rope and gave it a few good tugs, but it seemed to be holding. He swung his leg around the rope as well before quickly descending into the tunnel. Rosaleen dropped the knapsack in the hole when her brother's faint voice could be heard, telling her he was ready for it. She couldn't believe she was actually going to do this voluntarily, but then she carefully lowered herself in the tunnel, holding her breath in an instinct when the darkness surrounded her as she climbed down. It took a few good seconds before her eyes were used to the suffocating shadows and then she felt Alexander's hands around her waist, helping her down the last part.

One by one, the others descended into the tunnel as well, and Mr Beaver tried to get the flame of a torch going when the dim light source above them got cut off; Peter had closed the cupboard door again before climbing down as last ─ and, so it would seem, blindly. Then, with a sizzling sound, the torch came to life and an orange glow spread through the dugout tunnel.

'This way,' Mr Beaver said, pointing at one tunnel in particular as they stood in the middle of a crossroad. He handed the torch to Peter who had reached the bottom, and in a line, following closely behind each other, the group sped through the tunnels. All but Lucy and the beavers had to run slightly hunchbacked to not hit their head against the earthly ceiling, and Rosaleen tried not to think of the several yards of soil above her, hundreds of feet next to her, and countless of kilometers below her. If the tunnel were to collapse, they would be buried like the pharaohs of old and suffocated to death.

'How much farther?' she asked in a whimper when they had to duck down even more. She felt too trapped to be comfortable between the soiled walls as there was nowhere an exit in sight. Her question got overruled, though, when Lucy tripped over a protruding root and fell with a grunt on the ground.

'Lucy!' Susan exclaimed, quickly helping her back on her feet. 'Are you alright?'

However, Lucy hushed her older sister when a muffled sound, almost impossible to distinguish because of the echoes, reached their ears. The sound bounced off against the earthly walls once more, louder, and the echoes merged into a horrifying howling and gnarling.

'They're in the tunnel,' Lucy whispered and her eyes grew wide in fear.

'Quickly and quietly, now,' Mr Beaver ushered the others with a quiet voice. He broke in a sprint and Rosaleen took a deep breath before following him farther in the suffocating darkness. Her heart hammered against her chest and she feared it would burst out of her ribcage when they rounded a corner and were met with a dead end. This could not be happening. . . They really were trapped. She sought support with her hand against the side of the tunnel, her whole body trembling while Mrs Beaver scolded her husband for not bringing a map.

'Peter, come here, shed a closer light,' Mr Beaver ordered and Peter quickly shuffled towards the front of the group.

'Ah, there it is,' Mr Beaver said when the dancing light of Peter's torch fell upon a hidden trapdoor in the ceiling. The beaver clawed up against the wall and pushed it open before disappearing into the hole.

Above the trapdoor lay a last, short tunnel and the bright star- and moonlight lit up a part of it; falling right through the opening that represented the exit. Everyone hurried through it and Rosaleen finally felt her lungs accepting the oxygen once there was nothing but a clear night sky above her. Her blonde hair looked almost white in the illuminating moonlight and she laid a hand on her stomach, to ground herself and calm her breathing.

Peter and Mr Beaver rolled a barrel in front of the opening, although it probably wouldn't hold back the wolves for very long.

'I'm alright,' Rosaleen managed to say, still out of breath, when she caught sight of her brother's concerned look. 'I just hope we never have to do that again.'

'Something's wrong,' Mrs Beaver said as her husband and Peter turned away from the barrel. The tunnel was supposed to lead to a tiny village of talking animals, but the entire town stood disconcertingly silent in the pale starlight. Not one animal moved while they were scattered all over the enclave.

Mr Beaver's gaze fell upon a badger standing nearby; baring his fierce claws as he snarled at an invisible opponent. All the animals had lost their distinctive colours as their fur coat had faded to a dull grey one and everyone realised in a flash that the entire village had been turned into stone.

Susan's gaze fell upon a group of squirrels, their eyes and fur as cold and lifeless. 'What happened to them?' she asked, though a part of her feared the answer.

'This is what happens to all who dare to oppose the White Witch,' an unknown voice spoke from behind them, and everyone whirled around to see a red fox ─ though in the moonlight his fur coat appeared rose-golden ─ standing atop a snowed-over roof of one of the small houses.

Mr Beaver balled his own front paws to fist and took a few menacing steps towards the fox. 'Hold it right there, traitor, or I'll chew you to splinters.'

Lucy gasped by hearing the harsh words but the fox simply chuckled. 'Relax,' he said as he jumped down from the roof ─ his paws barely making any sound at all as he did so. 'I'm one of the good guys.'

'Well, you look an awful lot like the bad ones,' Mr Beaver growled and he actually would have attacked the fox if Mrs Beaver hadn't held him back.

The fox, though, didn't seem rattled in the slightest. 'An unfortunate family resemblance, but we can talk about breeding later. Right now, you have to hide.'

At that moment, a faint howl sounded from behind the barrel, indicating that the pack of wolves were closing in on them.

'What do you suggest?' Peter asked and the fox' grin grew even wider as he nodded towards a high tree standing not too far away from them.

'You want us to hide up there?' Peter asked to clarify.

'Won't they see right through it?' Susan added with a doubtful voice.

Another howl sounded out of the tunnel and Rosaleen grabbed Lucy's hand, pulling her with her towards the tree.

'We don't really have much of a choice,' Rosaleen said as she lifted Lucy up, helping the younger girl to reach the first branch. It would be impossible to keep outrunning the wolves.

The others hurried towards the trunk of the tree as well, and just when Alexander was about to offer one of the beavers to carry them on his back, Mr Beaver planted the sharp nails of his front paws in the bark and climbed swiftly upwards. For a moment, Alexander stared at the beavers in awe before jumping up to grab the lowest branch and pulling himself up.

The group of humans and beavers climbed higher and higher, but everyone froze on their current branch when far below them, the barrel got launched away from the exit and the pack of wolves emerged from the secret passageway like a waterfall. The canines' eyes immediately fell upon the red fox who had stayed behind and the wolves encircled the fox while uttering low growls and baring their sharp fangs.

'Evening, gents,' the fox said, his body staying low by the ground as he kept a close eye on the wolves circling around him. 'Lost something, have we?'

One of the wolves snapped at the fox, missing his hind legs by mere inches. 'Don't patronise me,' he said, 'I know where your allegiance lies. We're looking for some humans.'

The fox cackled shortly. 'Humans? Here in Narnia? Now, that is some valuable information, don't you think, Maugrim?'

Maugrim sharply nodded at one of the other wolves and he jumped forwards, burying his fangs in the fox' back. The fox squeaked in pain when the wolf strengthened his grip and lifted him off the ground. Even from this distance, the ones hiding in the tree could see the fox' fur turning a shade darker around the wolf's jaw.

'Your reward will be your life,' Maugrim said, grinning evilly and baring his yellow-coloured fangs. 'It's not much, but still. . . Where are the fugitives?'

The red fox glanced upwards towards the tree and then he dropped his head, his four paws dangling helplessly in the air. 'North,' the fox said, defeated. 'They went north.'

'Smell them out,' the chief of the secret police ordered as the other wolf flung the fox away who smacked harshly against the trunk of the tree. The fox tried to stand up but he collapsed almost immediately, his eyes fluttering shut.

The pack of wolves broke in a sprint, heading north, and when the last tail was out of sight, the group dared to climb down the tree again.

'Is he still alive?' Lucy asked with a trembling voice while Rosaleen kneeled by the fox' side and carefully placed a hand on his snout. She could see his flank faintly going up and down, and she averted her eyes towards those of the fox when she felt his snout moving under her touch.

The fox grinned smugly. 'Wolves are so easily fooled.' With a lot of effort and trembling paws, he stood up and Rosaleen retreated her hand, laying them both folded in her lap.

'Thank you for helping us,' she said and the fox' eyes shyly flickered between the blonde and their surroundings.

'It was my honour, my lady,' he finally answered, 'but I'm afraid this is all the time I have for now.'

'You're leaving?' Lucy asked. 'But your wounds, they need treatment.'

The fox bowed for the youngest Pevensie, his snout almost touching the snow as he sunk a bit through his front paws. 'They're nothing serious, and Aslan's words give me strength. He has asked me to gather more troops and so I shall.'

Mrs Beaver clapped her paws together in excitement, waddling closer towards the fox. 'You have seen Aslan? What's he like?'

The fox hummed, his eyes glazing over as he remembered seeing Aslan for the first time. 'Like everything we have ever heard, and more.' His eyes fell upon Peter when he helped Rosaleen back on her feet, and he met the fox' gaze curiously.

'He'll be a great help in defeating the White Witch,' the fox added, causing Peter to frown.

'We're not planning on fighting any witches,' Susan said.

The red fox seemed perplexed. 'But surely, High King Peter,' he tried before being at a loss for words, and Mr Beaver added: 'We can't go to war without you.'

Peter wasn't sure what to answer; a part of him wanted to prove his worth, but he also remembered his promise he made to his mother, that he would keep his siblings safe and he couldn't do that if they were going to battle a witch.

'Look,' he said to the beavers and the fox, 'all I want is to get our brother back and then we are returning home.'

The fox sighed. 'I understand, but for all of our sakes, I do hope you reconsider.' And with that, he took off while the group stayed in the animal's village to spend the rest of the night; hoping that the pack of wolves wouldn't go looking for them at the place they had just been.

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𝐴𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒:

𝐼𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠' 𝑒𝑟𝑎 𝑥 𝑁𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑖𝑐, 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑢𝑝𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒! 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 22𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑟, 2021.

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