Helena Pevensie (Caspian Love Story)

14. Harfang

Helena slept very badly that night. Not only had the chill turned icy but frost began appearing everywhere. When at last they all rose the following morning, Helena did so coughing heavily and with a runny nose as her head ached terribly. Ignoring all these symptoms, Helena went about the business of breaking camp after breakfast without a complaint.

It was a rough walk and soon everyone had very sore and very tired feet but it was far too cold to stop. Helena began to notice something off with her balance and she seemed to feel too cold even for the icy temperatures around them. Still, she went on. About ten o'clock the first snowflakes began to fall and ten minutes after that the snow was coming down quicker and by the end of a half-hour, they could all see the signs of a snowstorm that seemed far from letting up.

It was almost eleven in the morning when the four travellers encountered a ledge that stood about four feet high. Puddleglum got up easily but the children, neither of them as tall as the marsh-wiggle, struggled considerably. Helena fell on her first attempt as she felt an eerie weakness in her limbs. But after some help from Puddleglum, they had all reached the top.

They had only gone about a hundred yards when they encountered another one. Helena began to really feel her failing strength as they got up the fourth ledge. The moment they reached it, they were hit by the full fury of the wind and Helena would have stumbled back and down the ledge if Eustace, who had climbed up after her, had not steadied her.

They walked on. Then suddenly Jill skidded, falling down about five feet before coming to a stop. She had fallen into some kind of trench. The other three instantly rushed to the edge. "Are you hurt, Pole?" Eustace called over the wind.

"Both legs broken, I shouldn't wonder," Puddleglum said.

Getting to her feet, Jill said, "I'm all right but you'll have to help me out!"

"What is it you've fallen into?" Helena called weakly.

"It's a kind of trench!" Jill called back. "Or it might be a kind of sunken lane or something. It runs quite straight." They spent about ten minutes at the trench as Eustace climbed down to see if it was some kind of sheltered passage they could make use of as they headed toward Harfang, but they soon discovered that it led to dead ends. At long last, the children got out and they continued on again.

Over the wind, Puddleglum called, "You still sure of those signs, Pole? Which one we ought to be after now?" The signs had not been mentioned since meeting the lady, nor had they spoken of the prince.

"Oh come on," Jill snapped. "Bother the signs. Something about someone mentioning Aslan's name I think, but I'm jolly well not going to give a recitation here." Jill had not, as Aslan had ordered her, been reciting the signs every night. It was for that reason she got the order wrong.

"Oh, that's what's next, is it?" said Puddleglum. "Got them mixed, I shouldn't wonder. It seems to me, this hill, this flat place we're on is worth stopping to have a look at. Have you noticed-"

"Oh, Lor!" cried Eustace wearily. "Is this a time for stopping to admire the view? For goodness sake let's get on."

"Oh, look, look, look!" Jill cried, pointing. A line of lights had appeared.

"Harfang!" Jill and Eustace cried excitedly.

"That's all very well, but what I was saying was-" Puddleglum began.

"Oh, shut up," interrupted Jill. "We haven't a moment to lose! Don't you remember what the lady said about their locking up so easily? We must get there in time. We must, we must. We'll die if we're shut out on a night like this."

"Well, it isn't exactly a night, not yet," began Puddleglum but the two children interrupted him and urged him along. As she followed behind, Helena began to cough. They were the deep, throaty coughs that make one fear they might see blood, no matter who tells them they're being foolish. Her muscles ached and she could not tell if this was from soreness from their hard journey or from sickness. A terrible chill had taken up inside of her and each breath felt like she was taking in painfully icy air. Her coughing worsened so much that the others began to notice.

When they were about a hundred yards from Harfang, Helena collapsed and Puddleglum had to help her the rest of the way. When at last they had reached the gate and crossed inside toward the door, Puddleglum, still supporting Helena called, "Ho! Porter! Guests who seek lodging!"

The door opened and through it, they could see the warm glow of a fire. Helena, however, felt so miserable she could not even bring herself to look at it. The giant was about the height of an apple tree and when he had finally seen who had called to him, he stooped down and asked, "What sort of creature do you call yourself?"

Before Puddleglum could decide if he wanted to answer or not, Jill stepped forward and called, "The Lady of the Green Kirtle salutes the king of the gentle giants and has sent us two southern children, this woman, and this marsh-wiggle, his name's Puddleglum, to your Autum Feast. If it's quite convenient, of course."

"O-ho!" the porter cried. "That's quite a different story. Come in, little people, come in. You'd best come into the lodge while I'm sending word to his magesty." Puddleglum set Helena as close to the giant fire as she seemed able to handle and it seemed to do her a lot of good.

While the porter was gone off elsewhere, she suddenly turned to the other three and said, "Eustace, Jill, you cannot tell them who I am."

"Why ever not?" asked Jill.

"I'm a queen of Narnia," Helena said in a whisper. "If they are Narnia's enemies, they cannot know about me. If any giant asks for my name, tell them it is Helen." It took some convincing for them to agree to this, but at long last they had agreed. And just in time too for soon after, the porter reentered.

"You're to go to the throne room at once," he said.

At the same time, Puddleglum was thinking over what the porter had said, calling them all little people. To himself, he was muttering, "Marsh-wiggle. Marsh-wiggle. Very respectable marsh-wiggle. Respectowiggle." They crossed the courtyard into a towering throne room and Helena, still weak, was being supported along by Puddleglum. At the end of the throne room were two huge shapes that they all took to be the king and queen.