It had been a hundred years almost exactly since the last summer in Narnia. There had never been a time remembered so fondly by the people, even if it had been passed down the generations. A legend of sun and warmth.
Ever since the Pevensie's arrived, the snow was slowly melting. Finally, the grass was green, and the waters weren't frozen. Everything was as it should have been.
The day had been quiet at first, as most days were. The air was warm, and a breeze fluttered through the camp. Tents of every colour under the sun had come together to create their temporary home. There was nothing like this anywhere else.
As the three siblings walked through and into the camp, the horn blew, warning everyone. It was yet another confirmation that Aramis knew them better than anyone else. He had felt them coming, and he had warned Aslan.
All eyes were on the children. Creatures of great and small, most of which they had never seen before, that they never would have known existed. Animals considered wild, roamed through the tents and the creatures, their eyes just as trained on the Pevensie's as the others.
They gathered behind as they walked forwards. They were nervous, and frightened by all of the attention. They weren't used to it.
"Why are they all staring at us?" Susan whispered to her sister, rhetorically.
"Maybe they think you look funny." Lucy smiled, chuckling at her own answer. She might have only been ten, but she was just as clever.
They stepped into the large clearing, and stopped. There was a large tent on a small mound, protected by the strongest centaur. It was scarlet and gold, with a star point holding it all together.
Peter removed his sword from the sheathe, uncertain of what to do with it. He held it up, trembling under the weight. He was sixteen years old, he shouldn't have had to deal with that sort of pressure.
"We have come to see Aslan."
The crowd gasped, and murmured. Never had such a thing be requested before, and it was unlikely to ever happen again. They were all aware of the people by, being brought up by it and the Narnian nursery rhymes.
Their eyes stayed trained upon the tent. And as it was like second nature, they all bowed.
A lion stepped out from the tent, the most majestic creature that had ever lived. The golden mane blew in the wind, like straw in a corn field. It was mystical, and wonderful, the air surround him was just so perfect and calm.
The Pevensie's fell to their knees.
Then, softly, he spoke.
"Welcome, Peter, Son of Adam. Welcome, Susan and Lucy, Daughters of Eve. And welcome to you, Beavers. You have my thanks." In turn, when their names were called, they looked up to gaze at the majesty of the lion. "But where is the fourth? Has he still not arrived?"
"That's why we're here, sir." Peter stood with a shallow breath. "We need your help."
Susan spoke, timidly. "We had a little trouble along the way."
"It is not my help you seek, Son of Adam." Aslan said, and for a moment, they were all confused.
Then a man walked from the tent, and it felt like time had stopped. He was slender, with broad shoulders, and hair as black as night. His skin was olive, and was complimented perfectly by the white silk robes he wore. They draped over his shoulders, cascading down behind him like a cape. It gave the impression that he was floating: and for all they knew, he might have been. There was one thing they could all agree on. He was beautiful.
Lucy looked up to Susan, and whispered. "He looks like an Angel."
He looked to Aslan, and bowed, deeply. Then, he turned to the Pevensie's and did the same. The man blinked slowly, revealing his dark eyes to them. They were mesmerising. Encapsulating.
"This is Aramis, your guide." Aslan informed. "He has kept me somewhat informed of your brothers state."
"He's been captured by the White Witch." Peter spoke, swiftly.
"Yes, I had been afraid of this happening." Aramis nodded, replying smoothly, calmly. "And to stop it would have effected the prophecy."
"You knew?"
He wasn't able to say much more. "It was written."
"He betrayed them," Beaver gulped. "Your Majesty."
Murmurs burst from the crowd. It was loud, uncomfortable. No one wanted to thing about it. One of their legends, coming true, but in the most catastrophic of ways.
The large centaur cried out, in name of his kings, queens and land. "Then he has betrayed us all!"
"Peace, Oreius." Aslan calmed, shushing the creature. "I'm sure there's an explaination."
"It's my fault, really." Peter stepped forwards, admitting it, solemnly. Aramis could feel his pain: stinging like a bee on his heart. "I was too hard on him."
Susan agreed. "We all were."
"Sir, he's our brother." Lucy pleaded, frightened by the prospect of losing her brother. She didn't know all that was going to happen, or what the betrayal entwined, but she knew it couldn't be good.
"I know, dear one." Aslan sighed, offering what condolences he could. "But that only makes the betrayal all the worse. This may be harder than you think. Aramis will offer his council, should it be needed."
When he was sure they understood, the man offered his sincerest goodbyes.
"Aslan." Aramis bowed towards the lion, and to the Pevensie's. "I must take my leave."
Aramis remembered a time before the everlasting winter. He remembered when the waters ran clear like crystal, flowing in its endless cycle. It had been his place of meditation. The place where he could be at one with himself.
Finally, the water was returned to its original state, and Aramis could feel the affinity he still held. Of course, it meant he could think through his course of action, if there even was one.
His smooth hands cupped the water and let it run over the contours of his face. The droplets stuck to his eyelashes and hair, it made him feel pretty, or as pretty as an eternal being could feel.
Aramis closed his eyes and he thought.
"He must be saved." He whispered with intensity. "And I must be the one to help, by Aslan, my job will never be complete."
The forest was deep, and dark. It was the most difficult of places to escape from, even if they had grown up there. But this was not the case for the youngest Pevensie boy. There was very little chance of him escaping without help any time soon.
He was tied to a tree with thick rope that cut into his his skin with any movement. His mouth was gagged with a cloth- it didn't seem to be clean.
There was a fear in his eyes, immeasurable to anything else he had felt before. This could have been his death, and there was nothing he could do to fight back. Even when he wasn't incapacitated, he was a useless shot with anything. Sports had never been his forte.
"Is our little Prince uncomfortable?" Ginarrbrik taunted him, axe grasped firmly in his hand. "Does he want his pillow fluffed? Special treatment for the special boy! Isn't that what you wanted?"
When he was finally left alone, Edmund felt his eyes water. His mouth was so dry, and his body ached from the lack of movement.
Everything was dark, and he was hidden. He could do nothing but sit, and watch. It was his only choice.
"Son of Adam." A voice appeared to Edmund before the body could. Aramis had phased so that he could see the soon-to-be-king once again.
He tried to say something, and found that he couldn't. The gag was far too much to cope with. Aramis realised this too, and crouched to his level.
"I trust you remember me." He nodded, vigorously. "That is good- you have to know that there are to be great trials ahead. You will struggle, but I will be there. Your siblings have already arrived at our camp, and soon, we will fight for you too."
The being hushed as he saw the Queen, Jadis, stride towards Edmund once again. The young boy said nothing, and he did nothing. Yet, that rendered enough disregard to be beaten.
Her staff struck his face. A bruise would appear soon, though his pale and freckles skin was already a bright red. Blood had been drawn, but he couldn't touch it. His hands were bound, but it stung him harder than nettles mixed with wasps.
When it happened, and Edmund was struck, he cried out in pain. But that wasn't all. Aramis began to flicker. His phasing was disappearing, and before he could say goodbye, he was gone.
Aramis cried out too. It was like he could feel what Edmund was feeling. Both mind and body were intertwined in some sort of catastrophe. It was like a wildfire, spreading through his veins.
How long he had been by the water, Aramis could have never known. Their time keeping was rather shoddy, even if they were a precise bunch. It had been a fault of theirs for quite some time.
Oreius had been the one to find him, curled over like a foetus. His body had reacted oddly to the phasing. It wasn't as if he had done it before, it was only the second time. Everything was new, still.
"Thank you, Oreius." Aramis breathed, brushing himself off. "But I am quite well."
"Whatever is the matter, my friend?" Aslan had asked, concerned.
"I phased, and I saw the Son of Adam again." It was known that this was possible, but he wasn't supposed to do it alone. The worst could have happened, and he was lucky that he didn't. "He is torn, and broken. If he is not found aoon, there will be very little of the boy to return to his family. My job shall never be complete if that is the case, Aslan. You know this."
"And it will all go to plan." The lion calmed, allowing Aramis the time to think. "Perhaps you should be introduced to them properly."
It was an odd sort of request. But he would comply for the now. It would hurt jo one.
"Because I am to help them?"
Aslan dipped his head, lowly, and blinked slowly. "Because you are to distract them."
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Disclaimer!!!!
I do not own these characters. I do not own the Narnia series. I do not own the actors, or the characters. The only thing I own is my adaptation of the story, and my original character.