CHAPTER 2
EDITED 1/20/22
"Catapults."
"What?"
Edmund examined the broken debris of cement on the ground. It looked like it was a pillar before it was shattered into pieces by what he claimed were catapults. An odd feeling settled inside of him as this registered in his mind — something wasn't right.
"This didn't just happen."
"So you think this place, your home — Cair Paravel— was intentionally attacked?" Mary asked with a frown.
"Exactly."
Mary hummed thoughtfully. "It's possible. I don't know how long you've been gone from Narnia, but castles don't just disintegrate that fast."
"A year in our world could be hundreds here," Susan explained. "But, you're right. Cair Paravel must have been attacked."
Peter and Edmund set to leading the way as they explored their former home. For the first few minutes of their search, all they could find were just more broken pieces of their castle as well as plants growing out from wherever they could. Eventually, they spotted a wall-like door hidden behind a tangle of branches and vines. The two boys made their way to it, removing the dust and cobwebs that formed on the surface and hid it from sight. They slid open the door and revealed a second one, this time made of stone rather than wood. They swung open that one as well, and before any of them could take a step inside, Peter ripped a piece of his white polo from his school uniform and wrapped it around a stick he picked up from the ground.
While the others watched him curiously, he asked, "Don't suppose you have any matches, do you?"
"No," said Edmund, searching through his satchel. "But would this help?" He fished out his brand new electric torch and showed it to Peter. The older boy sighed, a mixture of frustration and amusement clear as day on his face.
"You might have mentioned that a bit sooner!"
Edmund chuckled and switched on the torch, stepping through the doorway first. Peter motioned for the girls to go next, and then he entered last.
It was dark and eerie inside, causing a shiver to go up Mary's spine. They descended a spiral staircase that led to a metal gate that, fortunately for them, was left unlocked. It brought them to a circular underground room. The Pevensies seemed to be familiar with it and spread out, approaching one chest each with Lucy being the first to excitedly rush to hers. It was then that Mary noticed that there were four chests located at the base of each pillar still left intact, which she assumed was one for each sibling.
Mary felt a little lost, unsure of what she was supposed to do now to either kill time or to be of any help. But then, she noticed that there was one more chest in sight. It was more more plain than the others, not as fancy-looking nor as worn-down. Because nobody else paid it any mind, she approached curiously. It was in the center of the room, and when she opened it, it was just full of weapons.
"I can't believe it," Peter was saying in shock. "This place's still here."
All siblings had also opened their respective chests and were fumbling through their belongings. Lucy pulled out a long dress and placed it in front of her, measuring it. It reached way past her ankles and down to the floor.
"I was so tall," she remarked.
"You were older then," Susan reminded her. Although it had been explained to Mary that time went by extremely quickly here in Narnia while a minute hadn't even passed in their world, it still left her in awe that the Pevensies actually grew up to become adults in this land.
"As opposed to hundreds of years later, when you're younger," Edmund joked.
"My horn," Susan said sadly, catching the attention of the others. "I must've left it on my saddle the day we went back."
"If you don't mind me asking," Mary began. "What's the horn for?"
"We use it when someone needs help."
"So it couldn't be inside here?" she tried, pointing at the chest she opened.
"No. That's just for special weaponry," Peter said reminiscently, walking over to where Mary stood. "We better get some before we leave, just in case."
The eldest Pevensie searched through the piles of dangerous objects: bows and arrows and swords and daggers of different sizes and lengths.
"You should learn to use some of those, Mary," Susan suggested. "While we're here, you're gonna need to learn how to fight."
"You should teach her how to use a bow and arrow," Lucy told her sister.
"No," Edmund interrupted. "Not a bow and arrow. She should use a sword."
"Why a sword?"
"Well, Mary mentioned before that she used to do a few sports. Fencing was one of them," Edmund told them simply.
"I didn't play for long, though," Mary quickly said, a bit hesitant at the thought of learning how to fight. "I don't think I'd be good at it. I only took fencing for a few summers because there weren't many girls I could go against."
"It would probably be the easiest for you to learn that, though," Peter agreed. "Novices actually tend to be better at using swords than other weapons — in the beginning, at least, but it will do for now."
"And Edmund is an excellent sword fighter," Susan added. "If you choose to learn that, you'd be in good hands."
Mary looked at Edmund for confirmation who smiled smugly, saying, "I was the best of my time."
Mary scoffed and said, "You need to deflate that big head of yours."
Peter, assuming that Mary had decided to choose a sword as her weapon, chose one that he knew was right for her stature and handed it to her along with a sheath. She took it with mild reluctance mixed with anticipation, all while Peter continued pushing through the other weapons to search more thoroughly. However, he paused when he felt that the bottom of the chest wasn't just filled with more weapons. The other four watched as he frowned and felt his hand touch a case. He pulled it out with a bit of difficulty among the weapons, but after Edmund helped remove some of the swords that blocked him, Peter revealed a medium-sized, mahogany box.
"What's that?" Mary asked, assuming they knew everything in their previous home.
"Uh, we don't know," Edmund said slowly. "Open it, Pete."
Peter set the case on top of the swords. There was no lock and key, so he simply unlatched the hooks and lifted the lid, revealing stacks of papers.
"It's just files, I suppose," Susan said.
"No," said Peter, lifting two papers and glancing between the two of them. "It's... a prophecy."
Edmund grabbed one of the papers and read it quickly. "It's not the one about us, though."
Intrigued, the three girls each took a paper out as well. Every single piece inside the case had the exact same prophecy written on it, just with different handwritings, side notes, and drawings, almost as if whoever wrote them was desperately trying to figure it out.
Whereas everybody read it in silence, Mary decided to read it out loud:
"A young maiden will soon arrive with the old,
to bring peace to the two lands known.
With hair as rich as the earth and eyes likewise,
she will assist the children of Adam in their throne.
If destiny shall permit it,
love will prevail,
but a wage of destruction in between,
only likely to succeed or fail."
"Well," Edmund broke the silence. "That was much longer than ours."
"And it rhymed," Lucy giggled.
"Reread the prophecy," Susan ordered.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
The other four obeyed her and reread the text over and over again.
"Hold on," Lucy said slowly. "It's pretty simple, actually. 'A young maiden will soon arrive with the old.' Mary came with us here, right? I don't know what the two lands are and what happened while we were gone, but surely one of them was Narnia because Cair Paravel is in ruins."
"'Hair as rich as the earth and eyes likewise'," Edmund read aloud, seemingly following what Lucy was getting at. "That has to be you."
Mary's eyes widened when she realized Edmund was looking at her. She shook her head profusely.
"That prophecy could be about anyone," she insisted. "I have common features. Anybody can have brown hair and brown eyes."
"But it specifically says it would be as rich as the earth," Lucy backed her brother up. "Your hair looks different from mine and Susan's, and we've got brown hair, too."
"Nobody else came here with us, either," Susan said thoughtfully.
"'She will assist the children of Adam in their throne'," Edmund continued. "Well, obviously we're the children of Adam."
"If destiny shall permit it, love will prevail, but a wage of destruction in between, only likely to succeed or fail," Susan ended with a sigh. "Okay, this part is a bit vague. What struck me, though, was 'a wage of destruction in between.' What could that mean?"
"War?" Edmund tried. "Is Narnia at war with another country?"
"I hope not," Peter said.
"So is Mary going to help us defeat the enemy?" Lucy piped in excitedly. Mary's eyes widened once more, clearly overwhelmed.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. I can't defeat anyone. I was just on the way to school and appeared here because I was with you four."
"You don't land in Narnia for nothing."
"But I can't possibly be the one in the prophecy. It's not unlikely that another girl is here right now with that same description. We can't jump to conclusions."
"She's right," Peter agreed. "As fitting as the prophecy is, we need some real explanations, first."
"What do you suggest we do, then?" Edmund asked.
"I reckon it's time we find out what's going on."
✧ ✧ ✧
Mary fidgeted uncomfortably in the clothes she had changed into. It's not that the dress Lucy had lent her was ill-fitting, but she just felt off. From wearing her normal school uniform to this medieval dress, the switch was just so strange to her. Not to mention the fact that her mind was reeling from the prophecy and how most of the Pevensies assumed it was about her. Just over an hour ago, Narnia never even existed, and now people were telling her she was part of a prophecy about the salvation of this magical land. If it was truly about her, what could she even do? She was nothing special. And if it wasn't, what was her purpose of being there with the Pevensies, anyway?
"Are you okay?"
Mary looked up from the ground and found that Edmund had stopped walking to stare at her in concern. The others didn't notice as they went on their way down the hill and back into the beach.
"Yeah," Mary replied nonchalantly. "Why do you ask?"
"You're not being blunt and sarcastic right now even when I just complained that my leather shoes are soaked. You're too quiet."
Mary chuckled at his observation, also sending him an apologetic smile since she was not paying attention to him earlier.
"I'm just thinking," she admitted, taking a few long strides to stand beside him.
"About what?"
"For one, I'm currently in a magical world where my friends are kings and queens."
Edmund smiled in amusement. "You should call me Your Highness, then." When Mary didn't reply sarcastically like she normally would, he frowned. "What are you really thinking about?"
"Well, it's the prophecy that you all claim is about me. Its frightening to think that it's supposed to be about me when just this morning, I was worrying about the History test we were supposed to have. What am I even supposed to do if it is? I have no idea how Narnia works, and I might be expected to now."
"You're here with us. You must have a reason for being here," Edmund reassured. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll do it well."
"Or I could be here just because I so happened to be standing next to you in the station."
Edmund sighed and took a step closer, putting both his hands on her shoulders.
"You don't enter Narnia for no reason, okay?" he emphasized. "I'm sorry if we put too much pressure on you with that prophecy. But don't worry about it, okay?"
Mary nodded and forced a smile, but she still wasn't full convinced.
"A prophecy isn't a fortune teller. It doesn't define you. I would know."
This piqued her interest. Although Edmund had fallen quiet, she couldn't help but want to know more about what he was implying.
"Did something happen to you?" she asked.
"I... I betrayed my siblings once," Edmund said, a distant look in his eyes. "I can't justify my actions, but I eventually realized I had made a huge mistake — and that was enough. Peter, Susan, and Lucy went all the way to save me even if I did something wrong and could've hurt them. Thanks to them, we managed to save Narnia, too. The Witch didn't get what she wanted."
Mary couldn't believe that Edmund would betray his brother and sisters for some Witch she didn't know anything about, but from the tone of voice alone, she was sure that she was a horrible being. It just wasn't like Edmund, though, and she truly couldn't imagine what had driven him to do that. She wondered what consequences were and who were affected. But the boy standing before her looked extremely guilty by the time he finished his story, so she knew best than to ask him to relieve such a dark memory.
"Thanks, Edmund — you know, for sharing that with me," was all she said instead, nudging him playfully to lighten the mood.
He managed to grin and dropped his hands from her shoulders.
"No frowning allowed while you're here in Narnia," he ordered. "This place is beyond beautiful, and we're gonna have to take you around to see it all."
"I'd like —"
"Oi!" Peter shouted from where he stood, already going down the hill. "You better not start snogging and get here quick!"
Both Mary and Edmund froze and blushed profusely. While Edmund was able to play it off with that grumpy face he always held, Mary pretended to sigh in annoyance as if what Peter said was the most ridiculous thing in the world.
"Hurry!"
"Let's go," Edmund finally said upon hearing the urgency in his brother's voice.
Mary and Edmund sprinted down the hill and towards where the rest of the Pevensies were. By the time they had arrived at the beachfront, they found Susan with her bow loaded with an arrow, pointing at something — someone — in the water. There were three men on a boat with two of them clad in armor, holding the remaining man bound in ropes over the edge as if they were about to throw him. As a warning, Susan shot her bow and let it land right next to them.
"Drop him!" she commanded.
Mary winced and said, "That might not be the right —"
Following Susan's command quite literally, the two armed men drop the tied-up man into the water. Peter and Edmund instantly sped over to save him. Peter dove to save the drowning man while Edmund worked on pulling the boat back to the shore. Meanwhile, Susan took care of the attackers. She shot another arrow and hit one square in the chest, whereas the other jumped into the water to prevent being struck as well.
When they were sure that the armored men were gone, the three girls made their way to Peter and Edmund by the edge of the water. They successfully saved the man — a dwarf, Mary realized, now that she was closer — and Lucy dropped down to the ground to cut the ropes that bound him using her dagger. After coughing out the water that had entered his system, he stood up and glared harshly at Susan, taking them all aback.
"'Drop him'?" he exclaimed. "That's the best you can come up with?"
"It wasn't the best choice of words, but she only wanted to help you," Mary reminded him irritatedly. Shouldn't this man be grateful? Though she agreed that Susan telling the men to drop him wasn't the right way to put it, she and her siblings had just saved his life.
"A simple thank you would suffice," Lucy added.
"They were doing fine drowning me without your help!"
"Well, then maybe we should have let them," Peter said coldly.
"Why were they trying to kill you, anyway?" Mary asked suspiciously.
"They're Telmarines," he said as if it was obvious. "It's what they do."
"What are —"
"Telmarines?" Edmund said in disbelief. "In Narnia?"
"Where have you been in the last few hundred years?"
Lucy grimaced. "It's a long story."
Suddenly, a flash of realization came over the dwarf's face.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he groaned. "You're it? You're the Kings and Queens of old?"
The Pevensies shared a knowing look with one another.
"High King Peter the Magnificent," Peter introduced, extending a hand.
"You could've left out that last bit," said Susan, slightly abashed.
The dwarf laughed disdainfully. "Probably."
When it was clear that he wasn't going to shake his hand, Peter retracted it. He stood up straighter and drew his sword out of its sheath.
"You might be surprised."
"Oh, you don't want to do that," said the dwarf.
"Why?" Mary asked.
As if only noticing her presence only then, the dwarf faced Mary with an unamused expression.
"And who are you?" he sneered. "I don't remember another queen."
"A dear friend of the Kings and Queens of Narnia," Edmund replied for her, stepping forward. "You do not have the right to speak that way to someone like her. She could cut your throat in seconds."
Mary's jaw dropped for the hundredth time that day. She sent a pleading look to Edmund, trying to tell him to stop because she certainly could not do what he said even if he was just threatening the man.
"Okay, then," Peter went on. "I won't be doing anything to you. She will."
"What?" Mary hissed at Peter. "Me?"
"Uh, Pete, what are you doing?" Edmund muttered to his older brother, his confidence from seconds earlier dropping as he was now regretting his choice of words to the dwarf.
"Just trust me," said Peter. "I think this will tell us if the prophecy was really about her."
"Are you sure you're not trying to kill her?"
"You said she took fencing, right?"
"Yeah," Mary interrupted the conversation about her. "For only two years. I didn't grow up learning how to actually sword fight!"
"Relax," Peter said, though now he seemed reluctant. "You can do this."
Mary badly wanted to attack Peter instead of the dwarf at that precise moment. How could he even think that pushing her to get into a sword fight with this hot-tempered man — when she had never done anything remotely close to this before and when they didn't know what her opponent was capable of — was a good idea at all?
Edmund pulled Mary back and murmured a few things into her ear.
"Aim from above because you've got that advantage," he advised quickly. "Defend from below because he'll easily be able to hit you from there. Use techniques you already know but remember that an actual sword his heavier, so take that into account."
"H-How do I end the fight?"
"Disarm him."
Mary could only nod wordlessly as anxiety filled her up. She could practically hear her heart beat at an all too fast rate and the blood pump in her veins. She unsheathed her sword and thankfully, Edmund motioned for her to stand the proper way.
Noting that she was ready — well, as ready as Mary could ever be — Peter handed his own sword to the dwarf. A glimmer of hope bubbled up inside Mary when he dropped it, seemingly too heavy for him. But he caught her by surprise seconds later when he suddenly swung the sword, signaling the start of their battle. Mary instinctively brought her own sword down before her, managing to shield herself from the blow. She gasped in shock at her own self, allowing the dwarf to hit her in the face with his elbow while she was distracted.
Two hits in one day, Mary thought bitterly. That's gonna bruise for sure.
"Mary!" Lucy exclaimed. Both Edmund and Susan wanted took a step forward, but Peter put an arm out to stop them from intervening.
"Aw, are you hurt?" the dwarf asked in fake pity. Annoyed at his patronizing tone, Mary swung harder and faster, getting more pumped up. She had no idea if what she was doing was correct in an actual sword fight, but she was just following what her body told her to — a mixture of what she learned from fencing and her adrenaline, mostly.
Swing, hit, block, dodge, duck, hit again. This happened for quite a while, only adding to the nervousness the Pevensies could feel. They didn't know how long this would last and who would win. The dwarf seemed to be advancing with his offensive attacks, though, and Mary was only getting by because she defended herself easily.
Mary was beginning to question what she was supposed to do now. She was doing fine, but she wasn't winning just yet. There must have been some technique in sword fighting that would help her win, but she didn't know. She could only remember what Edmund told her and aimed from above. The dwarf shielded himself by bringing his sword up above his head to block her hit. Edmund's eyes widened when he realized what she could do to finally win.
"Swing it away, Mary! Now!" He ordered.
Mary did as he told and twisted her sword around the dwarf's, bringing her own under his and ultimately swinging it from out of his hands. The dwarf's sword landed with a soft thud on the sand a few feet away, that being the only sound heard together with the waves as everyone processed what had just happened. It was only when the dwarf dropped down to his knees in surrender that Mary realized it: she had won. It took a lot of luck, guessing, and the directions from Edmund at that last second, but she did it anyway and couldn't believe it.
"I apologize for underestimating you," the dwarf said carefully.
Mary lowered her sword and stared him down, waiting to see if he would make another move. He seemed sincere, though, so she backed away to stand in line with the others, her heartbeat returning back to its normal rate and her breathing slowing down now that the fight had ended.
"If you really are the kings and queens of old, then you must be..." the dwarf trailed off. "Maybe that horn worked, after all."
Susan raised her eyebrows at the man's words.
"What horn?"