"Impossible," Susan said breathlessly, looking around in awe.
Amelia spotted Edmund walking out from the wardrobe and before she could stop herself she proudly stated, "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just your imagination."
Edmund snapped his head towards her when he heard those words tumble out of her mouth. A small smirk rested comfortably on her lips as Edmund glared in spite. She had used his own words against him.
Peter nervously cleared his throat from the other side of the small clearing, "I don't suppose... saying we're sorry would quite cover it?"
"No... it wouldn't," Lucy said, shaking her head slightly in disapproval. Suddenly, before Amelia could even blink, Lucy threw the snowball that she had been hiding behind her back. It hit Peter right in the face, "But that might!"
Amelia laughed joyfully, along with Susan, Lucy and Peter. The two older siblings gathered their own small supplies of snow before the three of them started throwing snowballs at each other with no mercy. Amelia bent down, prepared to add her own skills to the fun, but the second the skin of her hand grazed the snow a sensation of searing pain raked throughout her body and she pulled her arm back in shock.
The other three continued, taking no notice of the girl. Amelia tried again, but once more she failed. The pain was like a bolt of electricity, sharp and quick but it could only be described in one word; excruciating. Amelia was then brought back to yesterday, the day Lucy had first discovered Narnia. Amelia was reminded of the cold she felt whilst standing outside the wardrobe, staring at it confused while the Pevensies argued around her. Amelia was scared, terrified even, but she simply told herself that she was being foolish. She refused to ruin this moment for the Pevensies. Their encounter with Narnia, Amelia felt it was much too important to destroy.
"Ow!" Edmund yelped, bringing Amelia out of her thoughts, "Stop it!" He held his arm - most likely in pain and irritation - but Amelia wanted to burst out laughing at the sight. It was just a snowball. Her extreme dislike for the boy only blossomed more. She found their relationship was like a weed. Never wanted, never needed, never beautiful.
"You little liar!" Peter sneered before stalking closer to him.
"You didn't believe her either!" Edmund accused, trying to get out of the predicament he had found himself in.
"Apologize to Lucy," Peter demanded, his face almost blank. Once the silence pursued his expression contorted into anger, "Say you're sorry!"
"Alright!" Edmund snapped, giving in to the pressure, "I'm sorry."
"That's all right," Lucy calmly replied, "Some little children just don't know when to stop pretending."
Lucy looked on smugly and Edmund frowned at her words. Once again the sounds wich had rolled off his own tongue had been thrown back at him.
"Very funny," He mumbled sarcastically.
"Maybe we should go back?" Susan suggested. Amelia noticed that she suddenly looked a bit nervous in the presence of the forest.
"Shouldn't we at least take a look around?" Edmund asked, gesturing slightly to the trees around them.
Peter glanced around at all of them, "I think Lucy should decide."
A smile adorned Lucy's features, excitement evident in her voice, "I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!"
"Then Mr. Tumnus it is!" Peter happily announced. Amelia then became aware of the cold air surrounding them and suddenly she was shivering from head to toe, her teeth clattering slightly. The adrenaline from their situation had quickly worn off, leaving them all vulnerable to the icy air surrounding them. Peter quietly disappeared in the direction they had come from.
"But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this!" Susan pointed out, seeming to have read Amelia's thoughts.
Peter then appeared, a few coats in his arms, "No, but I'm sure the professor won't mind us using these," He said before handing Amelia the snow white coat, "Besides, if you think about it logically, we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe."
Amelia grinned at the news. She couldn't wait for them to meet Mr. Tumnus! Peter held out the last coat to Edmund - a grey and black fluffy one - and he looked at it in disgust, "But that's a girl's coat!"
Peter shrugged nonchalantly, "I know."
The group then started on the small journey to Mr. Tumnus's house. Lucy led the way and not once did she stop talking about her previous visits. Amelia managed to block her out at some stage, she had heard the stories before, after all.She turned to her own thoughts for company. Why did the snow have such an effect on her? Why did it only affect her? Why was she experiencing all these crazy things whenever she came near Narnia? She couldn't remember feeling this when she was with Aslan, or the first time she came with Lucy. She thought to herself, But I never touched the snow when I was with Lucy, and Aslan was just a dream. Something was happening to her, and she was too afraid to find out what it was.
The group was nearing Mr. Tumnus's home when Lucy stopped abruptly in her tracks, bringing Amelia back to reality. The sight before her sent fear shuddering through her every nerve. The door to the fawn's house was broken and glass littered the entrance. A gasp escaped Lucy's mouth before she sprinted to the house.
"Lucy!" Peter's voice ran after her, his body not far behind.
The rest of the children ran after Lucy and into the house of the missing fawn. Amelia shuddered at the sight inside, her heart suddenly in her throat. Everything was torn apart, the house was a complete and utter mess of broken belongings. She frowned at the familiar teapot now shattered on the floor.
"Who would do something like this?" Lucy asked quietly as she stared on, heartbroken.
Amelia walked in but cringed at the sound of shattering glass under her feet. Her eyes landed on a piece of long parchment that had been nailed to the pillar in the centre of the room.
"What on earth?" She quietly asked herself before walking closer. Her eyes widened as she saw the message that was written on the parchment.
"Peter! Lucy!"
The children came closer, just in time to hear her read the notice out loud.
"The former occupant of these premises, the Faun Tumnus, is under arrest and awaiting his trial on a charge of High Treason against her Imperial Majesty, Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands, etc., also of comforting her said Majesty's enemies, harboring spies and fraternizing with humans.'
Signed MAUGRIM, Captain of the Secret Police, LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!"
A paw print signed off the notice of arrest, confusing Amelia as to who signed the document. Amelia sighed heavily as the news settled in.
Susan took the parchment from Amelia's grasp - the worry was engraved on her face.
"All right, now we really should go back."
"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked, desperately wanting her siblings to do something.
"If he was arrested for just being with a human, I don't think there's much we can do," Susan replied.
"You don't understand do you?" She asked as guilt started to seep into Amelia's bones, "We're the humans, me and Amelia. She must've found out he helped us."
"Who found out?" Amelia asked, confused.
"The White Witch!" Lucy replied exasperatedly
"Maybe we could call the police?" Peter hopefully suggested.
"These are the police," Susan shot him down.
"Don't worry Lu," Peter tried to assure her, "We'll think of something."
Amelia looked up as a bird fluttered past the window before it landed on a branch a let out a loud chirp. Amelia's eyes widened as she heard a distinct 'Pssst'.
She glanced around, confused. The other Pevensies did the same, none of them knowing if what they heard was real.
"Did that bird just 'psst' us?" Susan asked, unsure and nervous at the sudden turn of events.
"Well..." Amelia started, "There's only one way to find out.
Peter took the lead and slowly walked outside to the front of the house. The bird continued to chirp around as they exited but it seemed to be acting normal. Amelia walked around the clearing, wondering what could've made that noise. The bird fluttered away silently and Amelia made her way back towards the group. Amelia stopped in her tracks as a loud SNAP of a twig echoed throughout the clearing. She rushed back to the siblings, pulling Lucy behind her while she remained behind Peter. Edmund stood next to her, his breathing low with anxiety.
Without thinking, Amelia grasped his arm and held on to it, not showing any signs of letting go. She noticed Edmund's confused glance towards her, but she was relieved when he did not pull away. The five children stayed silent, watching the woods around them. Amelia felt like laughing when she saw their great beast; a beaver. The beaver scurried out of the snow, relieving the Pevensies and Amelia of their fear. Amelia let go of Edmund's arm but she spared him no glance for she felt the heat rise to her cheeks, embarrassed. Of all the things I could've held onto, it had to be Edmund's arm. She mentally criticised herself. Surely she was not so scared that she wanted Edmund to comfort her?
"It's a beaver," Lucy said, uncertain as she studied the creature before them.
The beaver moved closer to Peter and Peter held out his hand while he clicked his tongue, "Here boy, here boy."
Peter crouched down a bit more, but the beaver had stopped moving towards him. The beaver stared at the outstretched hand before he looked up to Peter, unamused, "Well I ain't gonna smell it if that's what you want."
Amelia jumped, shocked as the words tumbled out of the beaver's mouth. She was reminded of her meeting with Aslan the previous night, the talking lion. Amelia was well aware of the fact that animals could talk in Narnia, however, she had never experienced it herself. Seeing it in person was far crazier than the stories Lucy had told her.
"Oh," Peter said, shocked, "Sorry."
"Lucy Pevensie?" The beaver asked, looking at the small girl hidden behind her protectors; namely Amelia and Peter.
"Y-yes?" She replied, stepping closer to the beaver. The beaver brought out a white handkerchief, he held it out to Lucy who took it timidly, "Hey, that's the hankie I gave to Mr-"
"Tumnus," the beaver finished, looking solemn, "He gave it to me before they took him."
Amelia's heart pounded with worry, "Is he alright?"
The beaver glanced around nervously before he gestured to the forest behind him, "Further in."
Peter, Amelia and Lucy moved to follow him, but they were brought to a standstill by Susan.
"What are you doing?" She asked in utter disbelief.
"He said he knows the faun," Peter said nonchalantly.
"He's a beaver," Susan exasperated, "He shouldn't be saying anything!"
"Everything alright?" The beaver asked as he popped his head out of the bushes.
"Yes, we were just talking, "Peter explained.
The beaver looked around nervously before he directed his attention back to the children, "That's better left for safer quarters."
Amelia glanced up as the wind rustled the leaves of the trees, "He mean's the trees," she explained.
The Pevensies all followed the beaver- who introduced himself, simply, as Mr. Beaver- although Susan and Edmund were a bit more reluctant.
Amelia stared at the sights all around with curiosity, before she was once again brought back to the icy cold that seemed to be eating her away.