After a few minutes of walking, the beaver spoke again, breaking Fallon out of her dark chain of thoughts.
"Come on, we don't want to get caught out here after nightfall," he said, turning around for a moment to make sure everyone was still behind him.
The group walked between the rocky mountains, all of them being careful not to slip, though Lucy nearly did a few times, and she'd grabbed onto her brother as if he were her lifeline.
A little while went by before they all emerged out of the narrow pathway and in front of a valley, a small, wooden house showing in the distance.
"Ah, blimey!" The beaver said. "Looks like the old girl has got the kettle on. Nice cup of Rosy Lee."
"It's lovely," Lucy commented.
"It's merely a trifle. Still plenty to do. Ain't quite finished yet. It'll look the business when it is, though."
Fallon stared over the small hut, the wood barely visible under the layers of snow.
"Beaver? Is that you?" A voice called, and all five kids looked up to see another brown figure walking out of the house.
"I've been worried sick! If I find you've been out with Badger again, I–"
Her words were cut short as her gaze landed upon the new arrivals.
"Oh," she said after a few seconds, "well, those aren't badgers..."
She slowly padded closer to the group, Fallon taking a step back and standing behind Edmund.
"Oh, I never thought I'd live to see this day," the new beaver spoke, looking at the Pevensies in adoration.
She then turned to Beaver, giving him an annoyed look.
"Look at my fur. You couldn't give me ten minutes warning?"
"I'd have given you a week if I thought it would've helped," Beaver replied, and Fallon held in a laugh while the others didn't, still hoping to go unseen until they were inside.
But her hopes went down the drain when Mrs. Beaver's gaze fell upon her, and she found herself wishing nothing other than to disappear when she noticed the shock expression on the animal's face.
The beaver turned to her husband before lowering her voice.
"Is that–?"
"Inside, dear," Mr. Beaver cut off. "We'll talk inside. I don't quite think she knows."
"Right, of course. Oh, come inside, and we'll see if we can get you some food... and some civilized company."
Mr. Beaver chuckled and waved the group forward, walking towards the small house, but Fallon stayed behind, unsure of what to think of Mrs. Beaver's reaction upon seeing her.
"Fall?"
The girl's head turned towards the voice, and she was slightly surprise to see Peter standing by the door, waiting for her.
"You alright?"
Fallon shook her head, offering him a small smile before saying,
"Yeah. Fine."
And then she went on inside the house, following the blonde boy before he shut the door behind them.
Mrs. Beaver took all their coats, placing them somewhere in a corner before telling them to take a seat, insisting that they make themselves comfortable. Not being enough chairs, though, Fallon and Edmund sat scattered around, with the girl being under the window, on a blanket, and the boy sitting on the steps.
After a minute or two, Peter, as usual, was the first to speak.
"Isn't there anything we can do to help Tumnus?"
Mr. Beaver didn't hesitate before replying.
"They'll have taken him to the Witch's house," he explained. "You know what they say. There's few that go through them gates that come out again."
He looked at Fallon then, but only for a moment, before his gaze shifted to Lucy.
"Fish and chips," Mrs. Beaver cut in, placing plated in front of everyone, not looking at Fallon as she was handed hers.
"But," she said, "there is hope, dear. Lots of hope."
Mr. Beaver spat out into his cup, as if he'd forgotten an important detail while telling a story.
"Oh, yeah! There's right a bit more than hope!"
He looked around then, leaning towards Lucy as if he didn't want anyone else to hear.
Fallon felt like shrinking in a corner. She couldn't help feeling like she shouldn't be here. Maybe not unwelcomed, but definitely out of place.
"Aslan is on the move," Beaver whispered, and searched the Pevensies and the Hunter girl for any reaction, only receiving plain and confused looks.
Fallon felt her head spin lightly again, something in the back of her mind telling her she'd heard that name before, and not just in the professor's stories.
"Who's Aslan?" Edmund asked, making his presence in the room known.
Fallon didn't know what she'd been expecting, but it definitely wasn't laughter.
"Who's Aslan?" Beaver said through the laughs. "Why, you cheeky little blighter."
The animal kept chuckling, but Mrs. Beaver noticed no traits of amusement on the kids's faces, so she tapped her husband on the arm and he looked at her with a questioning look.
"W– what?" Beaver asked, still laughing lightly.
Fallon got up then, going to stand next to Edmund.
Beaver gave them an incredulous look.
"You don't know, do you?"
"Well, we haven't exactly been here very long," Peter commented.
"Well," Beaver said, choosing to explain, "he's only the king of the whole wood."
When there were still no reactions, he tried again.
"The top geezer."
Still nothing, so Beaver took a breath and decided to just put it flat out.
"The real King of Narnia."
"He'd been away for a long while," Mrs. Beaver interjected.
"But he's just got back!" Mr. Beaver finished for her, clear joy in his eyes. "And he's waiting for you near the Stone Table!"
"He's waiting for us?" Lucy asked.
"You're blooming joking!" Mr. Beaver turned towards his wife. "They don't even know about the prophecy!"
Fallon's ears perked up at this, and she was suddenly a whole lot more interested in the conversation.
"Well, then..." Mrs. Beaver trailed off, signalling for Beaver to explain.
"Look," Beaver said, sounding almost exasperated. "Aslan's return, Tumnus' arrest, the secret police, it's all happening because of you!"
"You're blaming us?" Susan said, sounding offended.
"No!" Mrs. Beaver said hastily. "Not blaming you. Thanking you."
Fallon noticed how much Beaver was referring to the lot of them, except for her.
"I think..." she said, receiving everyone's attention. "I think I'm going to get some air."
As she was getting up, though, she felt a hand on her wrist, and she looked to see Peter had caught her arm before she could reach for the handle.
"Wait," he said. "Mr. Beaver said we shouldn't be out there after nightfall."
Fallon was about to tell him she would be fine when Mr. Beaver spoke before her.
"He's right, you know," he said. "As much as you might be used to it, Huntress, it's quite dangerous. Besides, I think you might want to hear this–"
"Huntress?" Fallon asked, catching the beaver in his mistake. "I'm sorry, did you just say Huntress? And you think I'm used to being outside, in the snow, at night?" She wasn't even angry right then, just completely and utterly confused.
"Sit down, darling," Mrs. Beaver said, the skeptical look she'd given her at their arrival gone, replaced with sympathy and concern.
Fallon hesitantly did as she was told, taking a seat back on the chair that Mrs. Beaver had gotten up from.
"There's a prophecy," Mr. Beaver started again.
"When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone,
Sits at Cair Paravel in throne,
The evil time will be over and done."
"You know, that doesn't really rhyme," Susan said, and Fallon wanted to applaud her sarcastically for pointing out the one, obvious detail.
"I know it don't, but you're kinda missing the point!"
Mrs. Beaver placed a hand on Mr. Beaver's back, speaking with a much calmer tone.
"It has long been foretold that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia."
Fallon watched, still unsure as to why Beaver had told her to stay. She didn't really have much to do with this. If anything, she felt even more excluded from everything than before.
"And you think we're the ones?" Peter asked, a subtly bewilderment in his voice.
"You'd better be," Beaver said, "cause Aslan's already fitted out your army!"
"Our army?" Lucy asked, eyes wide.
"An army that, as old words say, can only be guided by what is said to be a..." he trailed off for a second before clearing his throat, seemingly reciting lines.
"The reign in such war,
An army to lead,
By a Cold Blooded Fighter,
With the orbs of Him
Who shows the way."
Fallon stared, completely confused as to what the Beaver was saying.
"That still doesn't rhyme," she said, quoting Susan.
Mr. Beaver was opening his mouth to scold the girl, but Susan's words cut him off.
"Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in a war," Susan said to Peter, her blue eyes pleading him to let them leave.
"I think you've made a mistake," the boy said slowly, turning to the Beavers. "We're not heroes."
"We're from Finchley," Susan excused.
Fallon looked at her for a moment.
"Is that supposed to mean that no one from Finchley has that sort of value or–?"
"Not what I meant, Fallon," the girl said, rolling her eyes.
Fallon shrugged before speaking again.
"I agree, though," she said, standing up from her place under the window.
"There's no way I could end up leading an army."
"Aha! But you understood it was you, didn't you?" Mr. Beaver said, catching Fallon in her words. "It's an instinct! Just like in the woods, when you said I didn't smell like a–"
"That was a mistake," the brunette snapped, going to stand behind Susan. "I don't know what I was saying."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Susan said, standing up. "But we really have to go."
"No! You can't just leave," Mr. Beaver said in a desperate attempt to get them to stay.
"He's right," Lucy said, gathering everyone's attention. "We have to help Mr. Tumnus."
"It's out of our hands," Peter said, trying to get Lucy to understand. "I'm sorry, but it's time the five of us were getting home. Ed?"
Peter turned around, only to be faced with an empty spot on the stairs.
"Ed?" He called again, as if it would somehow make him appear.
"I'm gonna kill him," he said finally.
"You may not have to," Mr. Beaver said, worry lacing him tone. "Has Edmund ever been to Narnia before?"
There was an exchange of looks around the room, everyone thinking the same thing as they rushed out the door, Fallon being the only one to not grab her coat.
"Hurry!" Peter said, trying his best to be quick in the snow.
Fallon, though, was quicker.
She didn't understand why the Pevensies were being so slow. Maybe it was the weight of their coats, or maybe she was simply walking on a thinner layer of the snow, but she was ahead of the group in no time, running up to the top of a hill, freezing in her spot when she saw what lied ahead of her.
A castle, made completely of ice, loomed before her, its faint light sending rays of cold into the air.
Fallon felt the rest of the lot join her atop the hill, and Lucy was the first to take action.
"Edmund!" She yelled, but her scream was cut at the last moment by Mr. Beaver going to cover her mouth.
"Shh! They'll hear you!"
Peter didn't miss a beat in stepping forward, seemingly going for the castle, when Mr. Beaver jumped, grabbing onto his coat exclaiming a "no!"
"Get off me!" Peter said, desperately needing to make sure his brother was alright.
"You're playing into her hands!" Mr. Beaver said, explaining the situation.
"We can't just let him go," Susan said.
"He's our brother!" Lucy yelled.
"He's the bait."
All eyes turned to Fallon, the girl immediately regretting saying anything.
"Exactly!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed, glad that at least one of the five wasn't blinded by family love to not notice the obvious. "The Witch wants all four of you!"
"Why?" Peter asked.
"To stop the prophecy from coming true! To kill you!"
"Well, you said four this time," Fallon said, immediately going for the castle. "Doesn't seem like she wants to kill me."
"Stop!" Mr. Beaver grabbed onto Fallon's leg, pulling her back. "Are you crazy?"
Fallon looked at him for a moment.
"I walked into a wardrobe and ended up in a forest, started looking for a goat man that was apparently taken by wolf-police that works for an evil fairy, and I'm currently having an argument with a talking beaver. I wouldn't be very surprised if I found I actually have lost my sanity."
Everyone stared at Fallon.
"Witch."
Fallon rolled her eyes at the beaver's correction, shaking him off her leg, but not making another attempt at going for the castle.
Mr. Beaver looked at Fallon and Peter, shaking his head.
"You two sure seem to have the wanting to play hero."
"According to you, he," Fallon pointed to Peter, "is a hero."
"That's not the point!" Mr. Beaver said, completely exhausted from having to continuously go against the Huntress.
"This is all your fault," Susan said, taking a step towards Peter, who looked at her as if she'd just called him something outrageous.
"My fault?"
"None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!"
"Oh, so you knew this would happen?" Peter defended.
"I didn't know what would happen, which is why we should have left while we still could!"
"Stop it!" Lucy yelled, and both older Pevensies shut their mouths, Fallon's chest filling with a little pride for the girl.
"This isn't going to help Edmund."
"She's right," Mr. Beaver said. "Only Aslan can help your brother now."
Peter looked down at the beaver, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Then take us to him," he said, and Fallon looked at him, surprised at the authority in his voice.
The four took a second to look at the castle one more time, as if Edmund would miraculously walk out of the doors and they could all go home, before turning and heading back towards the house.
After a few minutes of walking, though, howls made their way into the night air, an Fallon felt her head snap around, her eyes completely wide, before a hand grabbed hers, and she started running.
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we still need otp moments, i know, i know, but just you waitttt
aight so that's the chapter lmao bai