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"This was just a stop, on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this was my temporary home."
Temporary Home
Carrie Underwood
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Chapter VIII - A Bear and a Girl
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Narnia and England presented as the same at the core. The purest form came in trees, fields, and grass. That was what Polly helped me with first, to ease me into this world. Start from scratch and build our way up. Whenever this world became too overwhelming I returned to my roots.—camping out and hunting on several occasions.
Polly and I are working with each other. We had much to learn from one another. She was from a period in Narnia that was long before my lifetime. She had the purest insight of Old Narnian history, as was there when it was written. I had the new generation information. She loved hearing how far Narnia had advanced since she was there last.
One night I let my curiosity run freely, "Did you ever wish to go back?"
"Of course. Of course." She agreed, "But I am not blind to the fact that I am far safer here. I have always had the feeling that I was meant to perish in Narnia. I was just a babe when I first entered Narnia, only eleven years of age. I think I was meant to live in England, but die in Narnia. I narrowly escaped death then, I'm far too old to return now."
"What happens if I grow so old I shall not return?" I used a dull knife to cut through a piece of chicken breast. Polly was a decent cook and I was grateful for every meal, but my stomach missed the Kings and Queens dinners.
"Then you will learn to live in England."
"What if we are opposites?" I considered, pushing a lonely potato around. "What if I'm supposed to live in Narnia and die in England."
"We have no control over either."
After cleaning up from dinner and a brief chapter on England's history, Polly announced that it was time for bed. In the early stages of our friendship, we walked up the stairs separately. I would stay behind and keep myself occupied until some part of me was tired. Now we had created a different routine. We would both go to bed at the same time, Polly providing a sleeping tablet for me. Sometimes they worked and I was asleep within the next few minutes and other times I would stare at the ceiling or my curtains or the pillow next to me. Last night was a sleepless night so I truly hope uninterrupted sleep was in my near future. And that nothing from my past would haunt me tonight.
Polly wished me the best of sleep and promise that tomorrow would bring the opportunity of learning how to drive. I informed her that I was the reigning champion of the jousting tournament and how confident I was to learn this new form of transportation.
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Mr. Sunshine was truly embracing me with large open arms. It made sense if you considered that his wingspan was approximately three feet wide. But our day mission to find other Narnians had turned into three days and I was learning more about both my new company and sadly, closest friends at the moment. For example, I did discover that Mr. Sunshine may hate someone more than me. Simply, other humans.
When his face grew colder than usual, Budger questioned why. "What is it?"
"Human." He responded in one word.
"Him?" Trufflehunter pointed at me with his little long-nailed finger... paw- finger on his paw. This was all still so odd.
"No. Them." He answered, his little feet already hurrying right behind us. We took the queue and started running.
Miraz truly would seek no end to find me. No solider has ventured into the woods since before I was ten years of age, at least none that were public missions. Arrows stab trees and the ground around us. I would call myself lucky but I knew that luck was not on my side quite yet.
"Run!" The badger yelled at me, he wasn't generally implying that I ran, because I was already doing so, but he was ordering me to run faster. To leave them behind. "Now!"
Just as he yelled an arrow found his back, kicking the small animal off its feet. I paused, the worst part of me wondering if I should continue on like he was continually yelling at me to do so. Days ago I might have considered this animal a monster, an abomination. And now, he was someone I could not leave behind.
I backtracked to him, an arrow, skimming my ear, placing blood down the side of my head. When I got to the Narnian his selflessness was truly never-ending.
"Take it. Go! It's more important than I am." He begged as he held out the horn to me. The horn that had gotten us nowhere so far and yet he had started me on a journey I would not have the confidence to do alone. In war, in times like this, I would want him by my side, and many like him.
"Hold on," I told him, snapping the end of the arrow quickly in an attempt to minimize damage and as tenderly as possible holding him to my chest. I ran full force, knowing too well that if an arrow were to strike me at this speed I may fall forward, crushing the poor thing. Either we both got out of here, or neither of us did.
Screams came, not mine nor the badgers. And Mr. Sunshine was ahead of us, running as fast as he could. No visible arrow in him. Small targets have their perks.
Another scram came, followed by a notable flop. This time it was closer but surely behind me. I glance back, seeing a Telmarine shoulder fold in half. His body hadn't even stopped its final descent to the ground when a grass stream moved towards the next soldier, him falling next.
I stopped and watched. Heard the badger's pained breaths as he watched as well. Maybe this is one of the creatures that feared our stories so much. It moved fast and killed faster. There was no visible killer and no tracks left. The only sight that they had been there is the bodies left behind. It took full-grown men down in seconds before finding his brother in arms. He was just too away from me now as a soldier hacked at the ground around him with his sword. A second later he was gone too.
I held Trufflehunter in one arm, my sword in the other. I held my ground and prepared the swing at anything I saw. It came my way, ready to end me just like all the rest. It ran fast, catching me off guard when he jumped and kicked me with both feet in the chest. I dropped my sword in an effort to lessen the fall damage on Trufflehunter, he grunted in pain.
"Choose your last words carefully, Telmarine."
"You are a mouse."
The small thing rolled his eyes, keeping this toothpick-sized sword between my eyes. "I was hoping for something a little more original. Let go of my friend and pick up your sword."
"No, thanks." I shook my head.
He frowned, "Pick it up! I will not fight an unarmed man."
"Which is why I might live longer if I choose not to cross blades with you, noble mouse," I explained. Professor did not nearly explain enough about this world.
"I said I would not fight you. I didn't say I'd let you live!" He threatened, I don't know how he could kill me without a fight.
"Reepicheep!" Badger was able to speak, hissing in pain as he did so. "Stay your blade!"
"Trufflehunter?" The mouse recognized my little companion.
"I trust you have a very good reason for this untimely interruption." The mouse seemed like an old soul. Someone my professor might adore.
"He doesn't. Go ahead." Mr. Sunshine smiled for the first time since I had met him.
Trufflehunter frowned at him, holding his side. "He's the one who blew the horn."
"What?"
"Then let him bring it forward. This is the reason we have gathered." A voice that I did not recognize said from beyond my head. I peered up, seeing a large shirtless man alongside three others. My eye traced down to discover that this large man was only half man, the other half of him was a stallion.
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I dismounted onto the rocky beach, pulling the boat onto the shore as my siblings jumped out. Even Lucy failed to be talkative through the end of the boat ride. That was of course until she found the possibility for a new friend. She smiled delightfully at a large black bear about thirty meters away, walking towards him with a pep in her step.
Lucy is the definition of a social butterfly, she loved school for that reason and I had never hear of anyone disliking her there. It was something that I feared would grow out of her over the years. But even through wars in this dominion and ours, her wings never stopped flying.
"Hello, there. It's all right. We're friends. I'm Lucy." She introduced herself.
I continued tying our boat to a bounder, once the people's queen, always the peoples' queen.
"Don't move, Your Majesty." Trumpkin warned making me look up. I didn't see any Telamarines, and it took me another second to realize he was yelling at the bear. Lucy ran, tripping and falling over driftwood a few paces later.
Susan took her bow off her back, nocking one arrow, as the bear stood and growled. "Stay away from her!"
"Shoot, Susan! Shoot!" I screamed. Peter joined in, having no choice but to watch. The bear was too close to Lucy, running in with our swords would surely scare him and put her in greater danger. "Susan, now!"
An arrow shot, only it was not Susans. Trumpkin was the one to shoot the bear, his arrow coming from behind us. The bear collapsed, saving my little sister. We all ran over, weapons in hand in case one arrow didn't do the job.
"Why wouldn't he stop?" Lucy was shaking as I picked her up off the ground.
Trumpkin fell back into his dull tone, "I suspect he was hungry."
"He was wild." Susan was as confused as the rest of us. "I don't think he could talk at all."
"Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become." He sighed, taking his knife out. He gripped the handle, digging the blade into the bear's chest. If the arrow didn't kill him in the initial blow, the knife sure did. "Talking bears are especially unlikely, I think there's only one left and the Telmarines got him too."
"We have to help him," Peter said, noble and prepared to save the world, it was so easy for him to fall back into old patterns.
The dwarf shook his head, "It's no use, your majesty, he's probably already dead. He was caring for a slave last I was there. Bet my beard she's dead too. He kept giving her his rations of water. Telmarines barely give enough food and water for a regular human prisoner, never mind a full-grown bear."
"There are slaves? In Narnia?" Susan inquired, and if you listened hard enough you could hear the crack of her heart.
He nodded, "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember."
A bear and a girl. Narnia seemed to be a neverending reminder of everything they lost. Guilt struck my chest and never seemed to stop. I had been the one to propose their body should be put in the royal crypts. They should have been buried somewhere in the Western Woods together. A selfish part of him wanted to keep them close, and at the time, there was no safer place than the core of the castle. His error led to grave robbers stealing their bodies and all their processions. Ashton and Ben deserved a final resting place, away from castles and the politics. I could only pray Aslan protected them in a way I did not know. And protect the bear and the girl from two more unmarked graves. But Aslan had given up on him long ago and hasn't answered any prayers since.
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I'm going to try to write another chapter for tomorrow, we'll see how it goes.
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