Engagements of Narnia...featuring Peter Pevensie

Chapter 2 - The Fight

That talk with Peter was a month ago. They had written back and forth and had a tentative plan. April and her mother had worked all summer to follow the instructions in the journal. Now, he, Edmund and Lucy would be here in two days. It was time to put this part of plan into action. It was a 'keeping potion' of sorts, made from herbs and a special solution of water and salt. April was to spread it around the outside of the grove and let it soak in. She would apply it again on the day they were to arrive. According to the journal it was supposed to keep whatever spirit or essence that was Narnian in the grove and not let it out into this world. She prayed that it would work.

She had been praying a lot this summer. She was still plagued by the dreams, but they had some of their intensity. She had been searching for and now felt very close to Aslan. She was hoping that he would indeed help with this fight. They were going to need it. She needed it now. She had never dreaded going to the grove before. She was shaking and had to concentrate not to drop the basket that held the bottles of the precious solution.

The woods seemed especially quiet and the sunlight fading in and out of clouds cast strange shadows on the trees that she had always thought of as companions. She reached the grove. She could not even look in. She must be very careful not to set even one foot inside the shimmering. Who knew what might happen?

The shimmering around the grove was a barrier only visible to those with a Narnian connection. Inside that special dome-like place time stopped, the trees moved when she danced to wake them, and anything inside was silent and invisible to the outside world. The grove also tended to amplify emotions, something she and Peter had found out the hard way when passion almost overtook them this past spring.

She very carefully started to pour the solution around the outside of the shimmering. Shaking like a leaf she worked hard at her task. When she got to the top of the circle she heard something. It was a humming noise, almost musical, a tune that was eerie and haunting. She finished up quickly and ran back to her home as fast as possible.

~~Section Break~~

It was the morning they were supposed to arrive. April had to steel herself to go back to the grove alone. She wished she could wait for them, but the 'keeping' solution needed to be placed before they got there. Her heart beating fast, she finished her work as quickly as possible. It was quiet, too quiet, she thought. As she was emptying the last bottle she tipped forward slightly and her hair entered the shimmering, she tried to steady herself but it was too late. She lost her balance and stepped into the grove. She looked up and around, all was quiet at first, she turned to leave and found she couldn't move. A voice came from inside her head...

"Ah, so you have come to me at last Daughter of Eve, not just any Daughter of Eve, but a very special one, that has a Narnian inside. You have what I need, just one drop of your blood will make me whole again."

April's thoughts raced! H er blood? She was the key?! She started to feel a sense of despair. It would be hours before the others got there and with it being timeless in the grove...

The voice continued, "You can give me what I want or I will take it from you and it won't be pleasant."

"No!" April shouted. She used all of her strength and was able to move some, she made it over to the edge of the grove against the trees then stopped. There was still frost on the ground and a strange thing was happening. A small sapling with thin wiry branches was spouting up from the ground between the birch trees. It was just like in her dream. She turned around and tried to run but the branches wrapped around her ankles and legs forcing her to sit on the ground. As she struggled, they pulled tighter and caught her wrists at her sides. The branches wound around her torso rendering her completely immobile. She was trapped! And, no one on the outside would be able to hear her screams. Tears started to run down her face.