Chapter Seventeen
Ice Castles and Wolf Armies
The castle was basically the same temperature as it was outside. Instead of seeming like a nice cozy castle, it turned out to be dark and cold.
Edmund walked through the castle with his hands pulling his arms close trying to warm himself. Inside, the castle seemed to be snowing. The ground was covered in snow and it was falling all around him. However, the snow and cold were not what really caught Edmund's attention, it was the statues. The castle was covered in them. Big ones, small ones, weird ones, cool ones, the castle had them all. From birds to tigers, to fauns and giants, the statues almost appeared to be trophies. All of the statues either contained a terrified, angry, or sad face as if something terrible was happening.
There were no warm and fuzzy feelings upon entering the castle. Instead, Edmund felt uncomfortable and even nervous at what was laid out before him. The castle was terrifying, even uninviting according to Edmund. There was a tree even growing within the castle! He wasn't feeling all at home like the Queen made the castle seem when he first met her. If he didn't know any better, he would think this was a courtyard instead of the castle itself.
Although the statues were intimidating they were also interesting. Edmund almost even thought they were cool looking, with all the various types of statues. As he walked through the room, he stepped on a pile of sticks that were burnt. It must have been a small fire before and now just a little stubbles with charred coal on them. When he looked up, there was a statue of a lioness bearing her teeth in a roar. Edmund picked up one of the sticks and brushed off the snow from the lioness head and face. He then drew two circles around her eyes and a mustache across her nose. Smiling, he looked at his masterpiece with amusement. Then, he continued on throughout the room coming upon a black gothic gate. On his way towards the gate, there was a step with a statue of a wolf that appeared to be sleeping. Edmund stepped over the wolf and didn't seem to notice its face turn into a scowl as he did so.
What he thought had been a statue turned out to be a real life wolf that jumped up with a bark and pinned Edmund to the ground as it growled at him.
"Be still stranger or you'll never move again." It growled at him, bearing its fangs. "Who are you?"
"I'm Edmund!" Edmund cried out at the wolf. The creature had taken him completely by surprise and was now on top of him, leaving him helpless and trapped. "I met the Queen in the woods! She told me to come back here!" He continued to try and convince the wolf as he sneered and made a funny face hearing Edmund's excuse that the Queen actually told him to come.
"I'm a Son of Adam!" Edmund yelled and the wolf's eyes grew big for a split second.
"Hmm. My apologies, a fortunate favor of the Queen." The wolf said as he stepped off of Edmund and snickered at him. "Or else, not so fortunate."
Edmund just stared at the wolf as he sat up and the wolf begins to walk towards the gate opening it. Edmund then stood up and began to follow the wolf, sensing it was taking him to the Queen. The wolf lead him into a vast room through the gate and up a large steep ice staircase. "Right this way," The wolf said with a scratchy voice as it turned the corner. It then leads Edmund up another flight of ice stairs next to the other one and at the top was a big double door like the one outside the castle.
The door was already cracked open and inside was a vast room. The main floor was lower than the section surrounding it. Small flights of stairs covered the room with pillars of what appeared to be either rocks or ice around it. At the end of the hallway, there was a big ice throne, the main attraction of the room. The throne caught Edmund's eye immediately.
"Wait here," the wolf said in an authoritative tone before heading up one of the stairs and out of the room, leaving Edmund alone.
His attention quickly returned to the throne. On top, the seat was the Queen's big fur coat that she had been wearing the other day when Edmund had met her. He couldn't help but think about how warm and inviting the throne and the coat was to him with the cold chilly air all around him. Carefully, he turned from side to side making sure that no one else was in the room. Not seeing anyone, he climbed up the stairs and slowly sat upon the ice throne. He was right, the coat was cozy and inviting. As he smiled from his seat he looked around the large room in wonder. This place was unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Due to his current lack of awareness, Jadis and the dwarf, Ginarrbrik, waltzed into the room and saw Edmund sitting square on the throne not paying any attention to them. Jadis walked up to her throne next to Edmund watching him the entire time. Then placing one hand on the throne, the other gripped her wand tighter. "Like it?" She asked in a soft simple voice.
Edmund jumped at the sound of her voice, he thought he was completely alone. "Uh...Yes, Your Majesty," he stuttered out with a little look of shock and slight fear.
"I thought you might," she said staring down at him and walking to her throne.
"Tell me, Edmund," she started before looking at her seat and sitting down. She then set her staff or wand on the ground facing up so it made a loud clank when it hit the ground, echoing throughout the room. "Are your sisters deaf?" She asked squinting with her eyes and with a confused tone.
"No," Edmund said with a slight smile thinking the Queen was a little crazy for asking. What made her think his sisters were deaf? He never mentioned anything before that he could think of that would imply they were.
"And your brother," she continued. "Is he...unintelligent?" She asked with a slight twinkle in her eyes and a tilt of her head, her eyes seeming to grow darker to Edmund.
What was the Queen getting at? Edmund wasn't quite understanding. "Well, I think so. But mum says—" But the Queen was quick to cut him off.
"Then how dare you come alone?" Jadis screamed at him as she jumped out of her seat, causing Edmund to stumble backward down the steps out of fright.
"I tried!" He begged her with big eyes. The Queen had never acted like this before, what was going on?
"Edmund I asked so little of you," Jadis said in a condescending tone as she slit her eyes, they were now black as coal and quite terrifying.
"They just don't listen to me!" Edmund continued to try and explain as the Queen started walking closer towards him and him continuing to back further away.
"You couldn't even do that," she said with such disapproval on her face.
"I did bring them halfway," Edmund begged. "They're at the little house at the dam with the Beavers," he quickly stated. Ginarrbrik's eyes widened at this remark and Jadis paused wearing the same expression as earlier.
Her lips parted as she stared down at Edmund thinking and tapping her finger on her leg. Edmund squirmed beneath her biting his lower lip worried of what she was going to say.
"Well. I suppose you're not a total loss then, are you?" She practically spat out with her still condescending tone towards him before turning around and walking away from Edmund.
Edmund stood still for a few moments before he couldn't contain it anymore. He came all this way just to be yelled at and not even get what he came for in the first place. "Well, I was wondering," Edmund started, getting a little braver and stepping up one of the stairs towards the Queen. "Could I maybe have some more Turkish delight now?"
The Queen stared him down before her eyes had a slight glisten to the previous blue shade Edmund remembered instead of the dark terrifying hue. Ginarrbrik gave a slight coy smile as the Queen turned to him. "Our guest is hungry," she said before sitting back on her throne.
Ginarrbrik gave a nasty smile as he turned to Edmund and walked over to him. Edmund got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, he didn't think the dwarf liked him that much. "This way—" The dwarf motioned with his hand towards a hallway. "—for your num-nums," he spat as he ripped a knife from his belt and placed it on Edmund's back leading him towards the hallway, Edmund forced to follow.
"Maugrim," Jadis hollered, her voice shaking the castle walls as it echoed throughout the halls. Edmund paused in his stride to see what the Queen was doing.
Maugrim, stalked out of the shadows, up to the Queen's throne standing beside her and looking up to her for his directions. "You know what to do," Jadis noted and with a snarl, Maugrim pranced on his feet a few times before throwing his head back and letting out a piercing howl that paused throughout the castle. Upon his cry, wolfs came to his command to the room and stood side-by-side ready for their orders and preparing themselves for the ambush. The wolves all began to growl as the then followed Maugrim down the hallway and out of the room.
Edmund's eyes widened in horror upon realizing what was about to unfold. He knew exactly where the wolves were headed, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to be a warm welcome for his siblings.
~
The Pevensie's all shuffled into the beaver dam right after Beaver who busted through the door and fell on the ground he was in such a hurry. "Hurry Mother! They're after us!" He yelled at Mrs. Beaver. The sounds of the wolves' howls could be heard as they were making it back to the house which meant they would be here soon.
"Oh, right then," Mrs. Beaver exclaimed with a calm but hurried tone as she then hurried around the room grabbing random things as she did so.
"What's she doing?" Peter asked with big eyes knowing the rush they were in.
"Oh, you'll be thanking me later," Mrs. Beaver stated as she continued to rush around the room while everyone else watched her in shock. Beaver and Lucy shook their heads at her. "It's a long journey and Beaver gets pretty cranky when he's hungry," she explained as she grabbed loads of food from the pantry. Susan rushed over to help while Beaver looked as if he was about to explode.
"I'm cranky now!" He yelled throwing his arms in the air wishing she would hurry up so they could get a move on. Otherwise, there would be no point in trying to escape their fate from the wolves.
The room was in full hustle as the girls grabbed loads of food to prepare for the journey that lied ahead. "Do you think we'll need jam?" Susan asked.
Peter looked towards her in shock that he would even ask such a question. "Only if the Witch serves toast," he retorted to which he received an icy glare from his sister.
Before she could say anything back, the barks of the wolves were heard from outside. The wolves had made it to the dam. Maugrim circled the dam a few times seeing the lights still on the inside and let off an evil grin before turning to his soldiers. "Take them," he ordered.
The soldiers took off at their command and snarled as they came up to it. Collectively, all the wolves began to dig into the dam, hoping to tear it apart to get inside. As they were tearing twigs off and trying to get their paws or head inside, Maugrim watched their effort impatiently. "Hurry," he urged them with a bark as they continued to break in.
One wolf was successful in getting his paw inside and then nuzzling his nose and the rest of his head into the warm dam. After that, the twigs and dirt just fell underneath him and he was able to make it all the way into the dam, clearing a path for the wolves behind him. Maugrim was quick to follow and once inside the wolves begin a thorough search for the children. But to their confusion, there was no sign of them.
Maugrim was growing more frustrated by the second. He was not going to lose another Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve to the Queen again. After his last loss, it had taken the Queen years to trust him again. He could not—would not fail her again.
Another wolf sniffed something curious and found himself in front of a funny looking wall. With a few scratches and pushes the wall was pushed away and moved out to reveal a hidden tunnel beneath the hut. Once look, and the wolves knew that was exactly where they went.
The Pevensie's and the beavers ran through the tunnels hoping to get as far away from the wolves and the hut as they possibly could. It was a long tunnel and somehow surprisingly big enough that the children didn't have to duck all that much inside. The tunnel was also very dark and Peter had to light a torch while Susan carried a lantern so that everyone would be able to see while inside.
"Badger and I dug this. Comes right out near his place," Beaver boasted as they scurried through the tunnel.
"You told me it led to your mum's!" Mrs. Beaver cried out in shock and she hurried after her husband. While they were hurrying through, Lucy's foot caught on a twig in the ground causing her to lose her footing and fall to the ground.
"Lucy," Susan exclaimed as she helped her little sister off the ground.
As Lucy stood up and brushed the dirt she had just collected from the ground off her, everyone was quick to pause at an unusual sound coming from the tunnel. It was a slight scuffling sound off padded feet clambering through the tunnel and the sound of panting breathes in the hurry. Lucy turned towards the other with a look of fright. "They're in the tunnel," she whispered and then there was the sound of faraway barking confirming her former accusation.
"Quick!" Beaver shouted, not caring about the noise he was making. If the wolves already knew they were down here there was no point in hiding it. "This way
The Pevensie's hurried after the beavers, their steps more rushed after knowing the wolves had actually made it inside putting a more urgent rush in their steps. "Run!" Peter shouted at his sisters in an effort to get them to move faster.
"Quick! Quick! Quick!" Mrs. Beaver said in rushed tones as they scurried through the tunnel. It was a wonder Peter was able to run as fast as he was with a flaming torch in his hand. Actually, it was a wonder all of them were running as fast as they were with their big fur coats from the wardrobe the children all had on.
Through the rush, no one realized the tunnel cut off and they were left in front of a wall. The Pevensies looked in horror at what lied in front of them. "You should have brought a map!" Mrs. Beaver cried out in frustration with her husband and fear of the wolves coming for to them.
"There wasn't room next to the jam," Beaver exclaimed before turning to the next path in the tunnel that leads upwards and hurrying up that one. No one decided to argue and instead just followed in hot pursuit of Beaver. Peter let his sisters go in front of him before following behind. If the wolves were coming after them, it was better he received the wolves than his two younger sisters.
At the top of this tunnel, it let out into the snow forest underneath the roots of a tree. After everyone had safely climbed out, Beaver and Peter grabbed a nearby barrel next to the tree and then shoved it into the hole they came out of. Hopefully, that would be able to block the wolves for a little bit and save them some time.
Lucy was backing up watching the two block the tunnel until she found herself tripping over something and falling onto the ground. Susan and Peter looked over to their little sister on the ground and saw she had fallen on tiny statues of creatures. Statues of squirrels, bunnies, and chipmunks were laid out around where Lucy had fallen, some tipped over from when she tripped on them.
Beaver, however, was occupied with another statue further away from the tunnel. It was a statue of a badger reaching out from itself and its mouth hanging open as if it was crying out at some unknown threat to protect itself. Beaver stood next to the statue stroking its arm in disbelief.
Mrs. Beaver walked over to her husband placing a hand on his shoulder in sympathy. "I'm so sorry dear," she said in a grave tone as she looked from the statue to Beaver.
Beaver still stood in shock at what he saw before him. "He was my best mate," he said in a soft quiet voice.
Peter took Lucy's hand as they walked through the snow looking at all the statues around them. The beaver and tiny creatures were certainly not the only ones. There was also a dog, warthog, another badger, as well as others all scattered around this one spot. It was quite terrible to look at. Something devastating must have happened here, these didn't look like your ordinary statues in the garden.
"What happened here?" Peter asked in confusion and shock at what was laid out before them.
Instead of getting a response from the beavers, however, a voice from behind them called out from the darkness towards them. Upon turning around in fear, a male fox stood above them, staring down at them with a dreadful look on his face.
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A/N:
It's a fox!!! And who HAVEN'T we seen in forever!!!
My sweet lil favorite character in this entire book :)
Like honestly yes, he's my favorite. And if he's not yours don't tell me
Comment your thoughts and be sure to vote if you enjoyed this chapter :)