The Faded Portrait of a Bygone Era

Gifts Long Overdue

The four children exchanged glances at Mr. Beaver's question. Hesitantly, Lucy spoke up.

"Once before... He followed me in. But I didn't find him til after..."

"He was with the White Witch."

Everyone looked at Maggie, their faces full of questions. She looked down at the floor under the weight of their gazes. Silence lingered until Peter finally asked the question on all their minds.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"You were with Mister Tumnus and I the whole time," Lucy said, confused.

"I... I had a dream about it," Maggie hesitantly explained. "She pretended to be nice, she manipulated him... But he was supposed to bring all of us to her, I don't know what she'll do to him when he shows up alone."

"A dream?" Susan asked, her tone rather disbelieving.

"I didn't think anything about it til Lucy and I came back from meeting Mister Tumnus the second time. When I saw Edmund, I recognized him from my dream, and he avoided saying what he'd been doing. I knew it had to be real."

"Whatever the case, we've got to go and get him!" Peter said.

"He's going to the Witch's castle, between the two hills," Maggie told him quickly.

"There might still be time to catch him before she takes him," Mr. Beaver said.

"Come on, then!"

Peter ducked out of the little house, taking off in a sprint, the others all close behind. Edmund's tracks were fairly visible, but in the waning daylight, they became increasingly hard to follow.

"Hurry!" Peter called to the others as he ran ahead.

When the castle came into view, all of them froze in their tracks. It stood out in the vast, open space, jutting up from the ground like a collection of icy stalagmites. Off in the distance, Edmund's tiny silhouette traipsed in through the gates.

"EDMUND!" Lucy shouted out with all her might.

"Shh!" Beaver hissed. "They'll hear ya!"

Peter suddenly moved forward, running towards the lair of the White Witch. Mr. Beaver grabbed his pant leg.

"No!" he cried.

"Get off me!" Peter said, trying desperately to get to his brother.

Maggie darted out in front of him, grabbing his arm.

"Peter, stop it!" she said. "You don't stand a chance!"

"You're playing into her hands!" Mr. Beaver said.

"We can't just let him go!" Susan argued.

"He's our brother!" Lucy added.

"He's the bait! The Witch wants all five of ya!"

"Why?" Peter demanded.

"To stop the prophecy from coming true," Beaver said urgently. "To kill ya!"

Silently, the four children watched as the great, icy gates closed firmly behind Edmund.

"What will she do to him, then?" Peter murmured.

"Peter," Maggie said, drawing his attention, "You can't help him. If you go after him, you will die."

She spoke with such certainty, and the look in her eyes held such pain that Peter was quite inclined to believe her.