The rest of the trip had been quiet. The Pevensies and the Browning girl followed Mr. Beaver through the woods. The children struggled to keep up as they climbed down a particularly steep cliff.
"Come on. We don't want to be caught out here after nightfall," Mr. Beaver commented wisely.
They continued traveling when they finally reached a bridge. That's when the children finally saw a small and cozy dam in the middle of a frozen pool. Smoke rose from the chimney indicating there was another creature habitating said dam.
"Ah, blimey! Looks like the old girl has got the kettle on. Nice cup o' Rosy Lee," Mr. Beaver said, satisfied.
"It's lovely," Lucy complimented Mr. Beaver.
"It's merely a trifle. Still plenty to do. Ain't quite finished it yet," Mr. Beaver said humbly, "It'll look the business when it is, though."
There was a female Beaver recollecting wood. She huffed when she heard her husband's voice.
"Beaver, is that you? I've been worried sick! If I find you've been out with Badger again I.. Oh!" Mrs. Beaver reprimanded.
Her small beady eyes widened when she noticed the presence of five humans.
"Well, those aren't badgers. Oh, I never thought I'd live to see this day, she exclaimed. Then turned to glare at her husband. "Look at my fur. You couldn't give me a ten minutes warning?"
Mr. Beaver chuckled good naturally.
"I'd have given a week if I thought it would've helped," He teased his wife.
Rory and Peter shared an amused glance at the sight of the marital playful spat.
"Oh, come inside, and see if we can't get you some food, and some civilized company.," Mrs. Beaver said motherly. She opened the door making her way to prepare a good meal for the kids. Peter helped Rory and his sisters step into the dam before following them. Mr. Beaver chuckles at his wife's comments as the children step in.
Edmund was the only one who stayed behind. He was still thinking about the Queen. He looked over at the two hills that Jadis had pointed out to him on their first meeting.
"Enjoyin' the scenery, are we?" Mr. Beaver asked.
Edmund shook off that comment, & entered the dam, joining the rest of his siblings and Rory. Mr. Beaver followed him and closed the dam's door.
Inside, Mr. Beaver offered them a warm cup of tea to each of them. Everyone accepted , except Edmund who was sitting close to the door. Rory, Peter, Susan, Lucy and Mr. Beaver were sitting around the small round table in the kitchen. Mrs. Beaver was busy in the kitchen preparing the best meal to offer to her guests.
Everyone was quietly drinking their tea. It was obvious that the urgency felt before in the woods had dissipated and exhaustion had settled. Rory took a sip of her cup of tea and winced. It was much too bitter for her taste. Peter noticed and poured a bit of milk and honey into her cup. Rory grinned gratefully as she took a sip.
"Isn't there anything we can do to help Tumnus?" Peter asked as he drank his tea still thinking about his youngest sister's sadness.
"They'll have taken him to the Witch's. You know what they say. There's few that
go through the gates that come out again." Mr. Beaver said stating a fact.
Mr. Beaver clearly hadn't been around children for long. His tactless words had disheartened Lucy. Mrs. Beavers dashed over and plunked a plate on the table trying to cheer up the little girl.
" Fish 'n' chips!" Mrs Beaver noticed Lucy hadn't lighten up a bit so she took her hand in her paws.
" But there is hope, dear. Lots of hope," Mrs. Beaver said consolingly.
Mr. Beaver, who was drinking his tea, nearly spat it out on the kids. Mrs. Beaver rolled her eyes. Rory silently chuckled at the Beavers' behavior.
" Oh, yeah, there's a right bit more than hope! Aslan is on the move!" He said excitedly as if sharing a sacred secret.
The children all look serene. Rory looked around. Was that name supposed to mean something? Although she couldn't deny the small sense of familiarity in that name. Ever since she had stepped into Narnia, Rory had been having this odd sense of deja vu. She clearly wasn't the only one confused as Edmund stepped up from his place and the stairs with a puzzled expression.
" Who's Aslan?" Edmund demanded.
Mr. Beaver bursted into laughter, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke.
"Who's Aslan?" Mr. Beaver guffawed as he clutched his belly, "You cheeky little blighter."
All of the children however shared confused looks. Mrs. Beaver noticed and elbowed her husband. He narrowed his eyes at his wife.
"What?" He asked, half confused , half annoyed.
Mrs. Beaver gestured at the children whose puzzled expression had not deterred in the least.
"You don't know, do you?" Mr. Beaver inquired.
"Not as long as you continue speaking in code," Rory commented lightly.
"Well, we haven't exactly been here very long," Peter said, trying to justify himself and the rest of the kids.
"Well, he's only the king of the whole wood," Mr. Beaver explained, "The top geezer. The real King of Narnia!"
All of the children looked impressed, except Edmund. His scowl deepened; they were probably trying to discredit the Queen. She had been very nice to him and promised him more Turkish delight and a place as prince of Narnia. Edmund walked back towards his original spot by the stairs and the door.
"He's been away for a long while," Mrs. Beaver said sadly.
"But he's just got back! And he's waitin' for you near the Stone Table!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed.
"He's waiting for us?" Lucy questioned with surprise.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Rory whispered to Peter. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it trying to reassure her but he was just as anxious as her. He didn't like were this conversation was leading to.
"You're blooming joking!" Mr. Beaver cried out outraged, "They don't even know about the prophecy!"
"Well, then..." His wife motioned him to continue explaining.
Mr. Beaver was good at many things but giving explanations was not part of his abilities. He explained very poorly the situation leaving the children more confused and some even offended.
" Look. Aslan's return, Tumnus' arrest, the secret police, it's all happening because of you!" Mr. Beaver said.
"You're blaming us?" Susan asked, very displeased.
" No! Not blaming. Thanking you!" Mrs. Beaver corrected her husband trying to calm the situation.
"There's a prophecy," Mr Beaver announced.
The children sitting at the table huddled closer, trying to listen and get some sort of explanation at whatever was going down. It's too bad they were too focused on their conversation or they would have noticed Edmund leaving the dam in a very irritated state. But then, if they had noticed, we wouldn't have a story, would we?
"When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne, the evil time will be over and done," Mr. Beaver recited.
"You know that doesn't really rhyme," Susan pointed out smartly.
"Yeah, I know it doesn't, but you're kinda missing the point," Mr. Beaver said irritatedly, "It has long been foretold that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia."
Wait a second four? Rory was terrible at math but she did know how to count. There were five of them! Was she really so irrelevant and useless as Mrs. Macready claimed?
"What am I? Chopped liver?" Rory murmured under her breath.
"And you think we are the one?" Peter asked in disbelief.
"Well you'd better be, 'cause Aslan's already fitted out your army," Mr. Beaver warned.
"Our army?" Lucy asked, alarmed.
" Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in a war," Susan reminded her older brother.
Peter pinched his nose. He was on the borderline of panic. He had one simple job: protect his family. It was a difficult and tiring job, but as the eldest it was his responsibility. Rory was a happy accident. Getting to know her and spending time with her made Peter start caring for the brunette so naturally his protectiveness grew. Peter might be rash and prone to act without thinking but even he knew that throwing the people he cared about to fight in a war in a magical land was NOT what a good protector would do.
"I think you've made a mistake. We're not heroes!" Peter said then he looked at Rory who had remained quiet after the prophecy was revealed, "Besides there are five of us not four."
"I don't know why there is a third daughter of Eve but Aslan must have his reason. I'm sure you are the ones the prophecy refers to," Mr. Beaver declared.
"I feel so loved," Rory commented sarcastically.
Susan had enough. She had never wanted to explore Narnia in the first place so this was the perfect opportunity to go back and this time Peter couldn't disagree. Susan stood up and grabbed her coat.
"Thank you for your hospitality. But we really have to go," Susan said as she tugged her older brother towards the door.
"No, you can't just leave," Mr. Beaver begged.
"He's right. We have to help Mr. Tumnus," Lucy pleaded.
"It's out of our hands. I'm sorry, but it's time the five of us were getting home," Peter declared, putting on his coat and getting ready to leave. Rory quickly followed the eldest Pevensie's but as adjusted her coat she noticed there was no sign of the youngest male Pevensie.
"There are only four of us," Rory commented grimly as she tugged Peter's sleeve.
"What?" Peter asked confused, "Ed? Ed?"
Peter looked around the room and finally realized that his little brother was nowhere in sight. His jaw clenched and his features hardened into a deep scowl.
" I'm gonna kill him," Peter snarled.
"You may not have to," Mr. Beaver said calmly, "Has Edmund ever been to Narnia before?"
The Pevensie's all shared concerned looks. Rory, who hadn't been part of the discussion, was quickly putting the pieces together. Peter had called him a liar so that meant... Rory shook her head. Even for Edmund, that was a little low.
"Don't tell me he.." Rory trailed off.
"He did," Peter said, rushing towards the door. The girls and Mr. Beaver ran after him
Sooo.. Rory is not part of the prophecy for obvious reasons. She has her own story to fullfill. I know it might seem weird that the Beavers don't recognize someone from their royalty but remember it has been 100 years since Stephan and Dorea were on the throne. I doubt Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were alive back then.
As usual I want to thank you for taking your time and read it. Have a great weekend guys!
PD: Might update once more before I leave for my vacations, but once I'm back I'll start updating more often :)