The ground was covered in a blanket of snow – almost as if the Earth had pulled it on like a coat. Amelia's smile gleamed in the white forest; what a marvellous place it was.
She sat in the snow as many creatures passed by her; some even having the courage to look for affection; deer, beavers, squirrels, mice.
A voice sounded in the midst of the forest behind her. It rolled over her shoulder like the voice of a crowd roaring behind her back.
"Amelia Cromwell," as smooth as silk, it said, "Turn around."
She froze, fear suddenly swallowing her. Who could be wondering around the woods? Other than someone with bad intentions, that is. She faced this fork in the road, wondering what she had gotten herself into. Why had she come to the woods alone? A question that remained unanswered. She did as she was told, despite the anxiety bubbling in the pit of her stomach.
What she faced was definitely not what she expected.
A lion stood before her. His mane was lusciously gold and his coat seemed so antagonistic to its surroundings – he stood out like a drop of blood on a blank sheet of paper, but the light reflecting behind him and off his gold coat made him seem holy... godly even.
Amelia took a shaky breath but calmed herself soon after. There was no chance of the lion speaking to her, right?
"Come forward," he spoke.
She obeyed immediately, feeling like a child adhering to her angry parents. Still, she could not believe the sight in front of her. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going mad, but she could not stomach that odd feeling of recognition; she thought of her strange 'visions' that she saw... a lion roaring.
"W-w-who are you?" Amelia stuttered, the words floating away with her frosty breath.
"I am Aslan," he spoke again, "King of Narnia."
Her eyes widened to the size of saucepans. She scrambled to her knees, not sure what to do with herself.
He chuckled, "I hardly think you should bow to me, Amelia Cromwell."
Amelia glanced at him curiously, "What do you mean?" She could not believe she was talking to a lion – a lion king nonetheless. Although, she had never heard of a place called Narnia before.
"All in due time, dear one, all in due time," he spoke, "I'm afraid we cannot speak for long, but I had to enlighten you. There is something very important that you must know." He paused, Amelia hanging on the thread of his words, before continuing, "Magic is inside everyone, but some are better at finding it and using it. Look inside yourself, channel it, call it – it obeys you."
"Amelia?" she heard the voice of Lucy echoing in her head. The image of Aslan started fading.
"What do you mean? No, wait! Please!" Amelia helplessly yelled.
"Just look within, Amelia..." Aslan drawled once again.
Amelia was startled awake by Lucy's hushed voice.
"Amelia," she quietly called, "Amelia, wake up."
Amelia groaned. The sound was muffled by the plump bedding. "Is it breakfast time already?"
Lucy sighed, clearly frustrated. Amelia opened one eye and bluntly stared at the little girl standing at the foot of her bed. She was in her nightgown and pyjamas but wore a heavy pair of winter boots. The natural light from the candle in Lucy's hand gave off a rather adventurous feeling in the room. Amelia and Lucy and grown considerably closer since the little girl's episode the previous afternoon. Their tea session had turned into a bonding session and the two felt quiet at peace with one another.
"Why are on Earth are you awake at such an ungodly hour, Lucy?" Amelia asked, annoyed that she had been unnecessarily roused from her slumber.
"Just get up!" Lucy said, "I have to show you something."
Knowing better than to decline Lucy's invitation of what Amelia assumed was a trip for a midnight snack, Amelia got out of her bed and pulled on her pale blue puffy nightgown along with her own winter boots.
She was dragged down various corridors, however, she wasn't really paying attention to where they were going. Her mind was still back in her room with her dream.
A snowy wood.
Magic.
A lion.
A TALKING lion.
A TALKING KING lion.
It hurt to think about it.
Lucy quietly opened a door, shuffling inside with the candle and the older girl. Amelia looked around, noticing that they hadn't made their way into the kitchen like Amelia had thought they would.
"Lucy, what is this about?" Amelia could see nothing except for the little girl in front of her.
Lucy sighed, "Remember yesterday, when you told me that I had to either admit the land in the wardrobe was imaginary or prove that it was real?"
Amelia scratched her head, trying to recall the moment. Her brain was still foggy from her rough awakening, "Yes, and what of it?"
Amelia could sense Lucy rolling her eyes at her incompetence, "Well, this is me proving it."
Lucy turned and around with the candle and the light in the room shifted. Amelia felt like screaming when she saw the unmistakable shape of a wardrobe at the back of the room. Not this again...
"Lucy... can't we do this tomorrow? I really w-"
"No," The little girl cut her off, "I have to show you."
Amelia quieted herself, deciding it was better to obey Lucy's wishes. What harm could a few minutes do? They walked over to the wardrobe, the candle still alight in Lucy's hand. Slowly, as if worried she would disturb the intricate carvings in the wood, Lucy opened the door.
A distinct cold wind blew out from the dark wardrobe, taking out the light of the candle. Lucy's smile was so wide, Amelia could feel it radiating across the room. She didn't even have to look at the youngest Pevensie to know about the excited grin resting on her face.
Amelia's breath hitched in her throat. It couldn't be possible, could it? A land in the wardrobe? Suddenly, the events of the previous afternoon passed through her mind. She remembered how cold she felt at the slightest movement in the air. How the wardrobe gave off this eerie yet familiar cold. If she went in, could she find out why?
Lucy grinned that famous smile of hers and led the way inside. Despite every cell in her brain warning her against entry, Amelia followed.
What she met on the other side was a familiar sight.
The wood surrounded her and the Earth had not yet pulled off that snowy jumper. The trees reached high into the sky. Amelia couldn't contain a cry of surprise and joy. It looked just like the wood where she met Aslan only moments ago. The soft white stuffing beneath her feet gave Amelia a familiar feeling, yet at the same time, she disliked it. She didn't dare to lay a hand on the snow, its aura was just too... dark. The cold air seemed to nip at her skin, littering it with goose bump wounds. It was cold, very cold. Amelia had never been a fan of winter, but this was a whole other level of freezing. Odd, she thought to herself, Lucy seems fine. Amelia was in shock. Her mind struggled to process the reality of the situation. This land in the wardrobe was real!
"Oh, Lucy," Amelia covered her mouth with her freezing cold hands, "It's beautiful! Oh, if only the others could see it!"
Lucy giggled, "C'mon, I want you to meet Mr Tumnus!"
Lucy didn't waste a second, she grabbed Amelia's hand and started leading her through the wood – passing a lamppost with a brilliant yellow glow – while relaying every detail about Narnia that she knew.
"... and there's this evil witch! She calls herself the Queen of Narnia, but that's a lie, she just waltzed in and took over. Mr. Tumnus says she's after humans-"
"Wait, what!"
"Oh don't worry," Lucy soothed, "She doesn't really come to these parts anyway, and Mr. Tumnus said he won't say a word... well, he almost handed me in the first time I came here..."
And so she carried on, telling the story of the lonely faun who ended up getting her back to wardrobe safely, without notifying the White Witch and how he called her a daughter of Eve... even though her mum's name is Helen.
They arrived at a rock face after a long trek up a hill, a door was obviously placed in its manifestation. It got warmer the closer they got and Amelia welcomed the comfort. She simply decided that if he didn't kill Lucy and had a warm home with good food, she liked him.
Lucy knocked the door and it echoed throughout the clearing under the rock face. The door opened, revealing the faun.
He was just like Lucy described. Goat legs in place of human ones, small horns protruding from his curly hair and a friendly face christened with a slight beard.
He quickly ushered the girls inside, trying to keep in the warm air, "Hurry on now girls, it's quite cold out."
Amelia was all for the idea, however, she was shocked to find a look of dread on his face.
"You should not have come back, Lucy. What if the Witch had seen you?" Tumnus deadpanned.
Amelia revelled at the chance for a question, "What, exactly, would've happened if she saw us?"
Tumnus jumped, shocked at the sudden presence of another human, another Daughter of Eve. "Why, Lucy, who is this?"
Lucy smiled, "Mr. Tumnus, I would like you to meet Amelia Cromwell. She's staying at the same house as us." She explained.
Amelia stuck out her right hand, "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tumnus."
Tumnus glanced at Lucy and at Amelia's right hand before quietly chuckling to himself, "A pleasure to meet you as well," he spoke before taking her hand by the fingers and shaking it up and down fast, causing Amelia's arm to yank. She giggled, not surprised that the Faun didn't know their standard way of greeting.
Tumnus was quick to fetch tea from the kitchen and the girls took their seats by the fireplace. They chatted and drank tea, Amelia's question about the Witch long forgotten.
"So, Mr. Tumnus, I take it that you like music?" Amelia questioned.
"Why yes," The faun replied, "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just that all the books that I've read about fauns say they are quite the music and party lovers."
Tumnus laughed, although slightly nervous, "I'm afraid it's very true. You should see the fauns during summer, it's absolutely joyful. Celebrations every night, music every day. Oh, such a delightful time of the year summer is!"
"And what of centaurs, are they truly as terrifying as the books make them out to be?"
Tumnus shook his head while biting his lip nervously, "In battle they are very fierce. They fight for Narnia, thank goodness. Aslan knows what we would've done without them."
There it was. Thos two words: Narnia and Aslan.
"Aslan? Narnia?" Amelia questioned.
Tumnus seemed to jump at the sound of her voice, "Why yes. Everything around you from the lamppost up until the sea is Narnia, and Aslan is our king."
"But, I thought you were ruled by the White Witch?" Tumnus' eyes widened at Amelia's question and Amelia thought she had perhaps over-stepped her boundaries by mentioning the Witch that Lucy had told her about.
Tumnus leaned forward and spoke in a hushed whisper, "Do not speak that name here. The trees could be listening." Amelia nodded at his reprimand before he continued, "Aslan is the true King. He guides and protects us all. Now we wait for his return so that he can banish the Witch."
Amelia avoided all Narnian related questions and allowed Lucy to carry the rest of the conversation. Tumnus seemed to get jumpier as they continued with their chat. He would flinch at the slightest noise from outside. He seemed panicked to Amelia, though she did not know why. She knew tha he was worried about the trees having heard Amelia speak of the Witch, but surely they can't hear them when the three are inside?
"Lucy," he spoke, nervousness laced his voice, "I think it'd be best if you two were to set off. You can't stay too long I'm afraid, the trees may have already spread the word."
Amelia and Lucy nodded submissively. The Cromwell girl was quite shocked about how truly magical this land was – even the tress could talk. She finally understood Lucy's persistence in the matter of this mysterious land. It was real, very real.
Tumnus hastily ushered them out, followed with a quick, "Be safe, girls, remember the trees!"
Though, she could not say that she and Lucy were too worried. They gradually trekked down the hill at their own pace, coming to the path soon enough.
Only they found something they did not quite expect.
"Edmund?" Lucy inquired once she spotted the boy in the striped pyjamas.
Amelia scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, how in the world would Edmund have gotten inside the wardrobe? He was the worst non-believer out of all Pevensies, even beating the logical Susan. Amelia watched him suspiciously,
Lucy happily smiled, "Oh Edmund! You got in too! Isn't it wonderful?" She hugged her brother, excited that she now had 2 witnesses to her discovery.
Edmund pried his little sister off before looking at the two girls in confusion, "Where have you been?"
"Mr. Tumnus," Lucy explained, "He's fine! The White Witch hasn't found out anything about him meeting me."
Amelia happily sighed before walking over to the two siblings, mumbling slight curses under her breath at the cold.
"The White Witch?" Edmund questioned.
Lucy glanced around nervously, probably recalling Tumnus's warning about the trees. She lowered her voice, "She calls herself the Queen of Narnia, but she really isn't."
Edmund went as white as the snow at his feet. Strange, Amelia thought, maybe it's the cold?
"Are you alright?" Lucy asked, "You're looking quite pale."
"Well, what do you expect? I mean, it's freezing," Edmund defended.
Believe me, I know, Amelia thought to herself.
"How do we get out of here?" He inquired.
"Come on, this way," Lucy replied before taking hold of her brother's hand and leading the three of them out of the wintery land.
Soon they were stumbling through the various coats and items in the wardrobe before finding their feet on the wooden floor of the spare room.
As Amelia's mind wandered back into the wardrobe – back to Mr. Tumnus's house – she recalled what Lucy had called the land, what Aslan had called it.
Narnia, she thought, I like it.