Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Dark Angel

08 | Aslan's How

Raven on the other hand, was battling to gain back control of herself and turn forward, but the voices were relentless. They were screaming in her mind, pounding on her skull as she drowned in his stare. Raven was sure that she wasn’t breathing, but her chest rose and fell steadily, and the sweet aroma of nature continued to waft into her nose. She knew him, she knew of the love she shared with him as Crystalline. Yet it felt foreign, as if she watched him and herself fall for each other rather than feeling it. Raven knew the siblings, but did not feel for them as she once did. She wondered if she would ever feel anything for that matter.

As that disturbing thought wormed into her mind, she finally managed to tear her gaze away from Peter, feeling the screaming voices in her mind subside into a buzzing murmur as it was before. Raven’s steps fastened, forcing the company behind her to stop their conversation and focus on reaching the How on time. After two more strenuous hours of trudging through the Shuddering Woods, Raven finally broke through the forest-line, her eyes training on the familiar sight of Aslan’s How. Without stopping to let the Pevensies admire the tomb built for Aslan, Raven strode through the glade and straight towards the small structure that used to house her as a statue.

It stood a significant number of meters away from the entrance of the How, the roof torn off and the marble rock scattered along the ground. Raven paused for a moment when she stepped onto the marble floor of her old prison, eyeing the broken carving of her wings in the carnage of the fallen stone. Raven remembered the day a dwarf attempted to awaken her from stone, only succeeding in stripping her of the honor of an angel. It wasn’t such an impact for Raven, it was only a public display of what she lost to blind rage and disobedience.

The sight of the centaurs riding out of the entrance of the How shook Raven from her long daze, and before the Pevensies could catch up to her, she rushed inside the How just as some Narnians rushed out to greet them. Raven was pleased to see the burley Narnians put the Telmarine weapons to work, creating furnaces and stations where the blacksmiths further improved the dull blades and other forms of weapons. She meandered around, finding a makeshift arsenal further in the How where they placed the furnished weaponry and armor.

When she stepped out, she looked to her left where there was an ominous hall that Raven knew would lead to the Stone Table, remembering the sight of the Narnians built it behind her stone-self. Raven took a torch from the wall, stepping forward to go down the eerie path. As she walked on, the sounds of the bustling Narnians faded into muted echoes, and the voices in her mind were drowned out by the silencing air of Aslan’s How. She felt almost at peace, like she did when Aslan sent the voices to rest the day before. Her mind was light once more, and Raven was free to pick at the itch of her curiosity without the constant nagging in her thoughts.

As Raven moved her torch, she saw a flicker of color on the wall. She quickly brought it back, her eyes widening in wonder at the sight of a painting of a red-scarfed faun next to a lamp post. Mr. Tumnus, she mused to herself morosely as she ventured slower this time, her eyes trailing all along the painting until she came across one of her own. Raven was stunned to see her painted wearing a white dress and dancing among a group of Narnians. It was the celebration in the camp of Beruna, where she danced endlessly throughout the night with great company. She recollected the lively music and the enchanting buzzing sensation that came with the catchy tune.

A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips when the distant memory of her dancing with Peter on the hilltop came to mind, giving Raven a bittersweet churn in her stomach when she realized that she couldn’t feel herself in the memories as others could. Raven’s mind was filled with memories that she felt wasn’t hers. It was Crystalline’s. Crystalline was the one who danced among her people, and engaged in war with them. Crystalline sacrificed her life for Peter, and her safety for Lucy. Crystalline was their counsel, their friend, not Raven.