Chapter Five
When a Wolf Attacks
Word Count: 2.2k
They were back outside in the cold. It was still lightly snowing, but not enough to bring a new layer to what they've walked on.
Mr. Beaver explained to them that, right before him and Edmund had entered the house, he caught him staring up at the Witch's castle. He suspected Edmund is working with her, a feat that is dangerous for both him and the rest of them.
"Where are you taking us?" Susan was walking right behind Mr. Beaver. Melody was beside her, and Peter was walking with Lucy behind them.
"You'll see soon enough." Mr. Beaver didn't look back as he spoke.
The snow they were walking through seemed to be deeper than the snow they walked through before. Melody was short for her age, making the fur coat too long and dragging across the ground behind her.
She tried picking up the bottom of the coat, hoping to be able to walk a little more steady that way. Once she had it off the ground, the wet ends brushed against her bare legs. This sent a strong tingling sensation throughout her whole body. She squealed out surprised and lost control of her legs, ultimately falling backward.
She shut her eyes tightly, ready the impact of the cold ground, but that's not what she felt. Instead, she felt two arms catch her, wrapping themselves around her waist.
Slowly opening her eyes, she looked back to see Peter face centimeters from hers.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concern lacing his voice.
She nodded a little, a bright red blush spreading along her cheeks. "Y-Yeah, thank you..." She says quietly.
He helped her stand up properly, removing his hands from around her waist. "There you go." He flashed her a small smile.
She smiled back, brushing her hair out of her face. "Thanks, again."
He nodded. It looked as if he was opening his mouth to say something, but Mr. Beaver had called out to them. "You three hurry up! We're almost there!"
The last few steps were a quick rush up a hill, freezing when they saw a giant castle standing off in the distance. It was made completely out of ice, and somehow parts appeared to be glowing. While no one said it, they all could probably agree it was a beautifully dangerous building. One they, in no way, really wanted to go to.
Lucy took a deep breath. "Edmund!" She screamed, seeing if he was approximately around and if he would hear her and come back.
Mr. Beaver turned and frantically shushed her. "They'll hear ya!" He whisper-yelled, looking back at the forlorn castle.
Peter gritted his teeth and began running to it. Beaver wouldn't let him, lunging and grabbing onto his coat, with a loud, "NO!"
"What are you doing? Get off me!" He swung at the beaver lightly until he let go.
Beaver took a few steps back, looking up at the foolish boy. "You're playing into her hands!"
"We can't just let him go." Susan looked at the creature.
Lucy was quick to jump in. "He's our brother!"
"He's the bait!" Beaver was desperately trying to get through to the siblings. "The Witch wants all four of you, and maybe even the fifth one too!"
"But why?" Melody stepped up next to Peter. She might not have known them for long, but she felt like she had to help them.
"To stop the prophecy from coming true." Beaver sounded as if that should be the most obvious thing in the world. "To kill ya!" He looked between all the girls and boy.
Their eyes all went back to the castle and for a brief moment, they saw a small figure enter the castle as the doors closed behind it.
Susan stepped up to get closer to her brother. "This is all you're fault."
Peter turned to her. "My fault?"
The two of them got into a little fight, throwing blame and reasons back and forth.
Melody looked to Lucy. She had a look in her eyes that told the younger girl she was the only one who could break up her siblings. Understanding the look, Lucy looked from her to Susan and Peter. "Stop it!" She said loudly, cutting off whatever her sister was saying and gaining their attention. "This isn't going to help Edmund."
"She's right." Beaver looked up to all of them. "Only Aslan can help your brother now."
"Then take us to him." Peter looked almost defeated. He really just wanted to get his brother and leave. He didn't want to be, couldn't be, a hero.
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The walk back to the Beaver's home was a silent one. No one wanted to talk about the fact that they might not be able to just get Edmund and go. Once they meet Aslan, things might get set in stone.
They were just outside the house when they heard distant snarls and growls getting louder and closer.
"Wolves!" Melody realized with wide eyes, looking between the older siblings.
That was the only thing they needed to hear as they rushed inside the den.
"Hurry Mama!" Beaver exclaimed as he made it inside. "They're after us!"
"Oo, right then!" Mrs. Beaver said with a nod, before grabbing a whole bunch of things. To them, it seemed like a waste of precious time.
"What's she doing?" Peter asked, looking to Beaver for an answer.
Beaver gave a semi-dramatic shrug of his shoulders as his wife spoke up. "You'll be thanking me later. It's a long journey, and Beaver gets pretty cranky when he's hungry." She looked like she was grabbing food and supplies like that.
Melody and Susan seemed to share a look, before both rushing over to help with whatever Mrs. Beaver needed. They figured four hands and two paws were better than just two paws.
"Do you think we'll need jam?" Melody asked, handing some to Susan who wrapped it with some other things.
Peter just stood with Lucy and watched them. "Only if the Witch serves toast." He said sarcastically, earning a tiny glare from Susan.
Suddenly, the snarling and growling of the wolves were right outside. They were surrounded by the sounds of it, and the wolves were starting to break in.
"Hurry!" Beaver said quietly, ushering everyone over to where he stood.
As they all came over, he opened a secret door, revealing a tunnel. Beaver was the first in, everyone filing in right after him as quickly as they could. They were just in time, as they heard the wolves breaking windows and their paws scratching against the flooring.
They all ran through the tunnel, blindly following Beaver and his words.
"Badger and me dug this. Comes out right near his place." He explained as he scurried on all fours. Peter was behind him, carrying a torch.
This was news to all of them, especially Mrs. Beaver. "You told me this led to your mum's!" She was behind Peter, scurrying just like her husband.
Melody was behind her, and then Lucy and Susan. Lucy, not watching where she was going, tripped over a little root sticking out of the ground.
Everyone turned to the small girl. Both Melody and Susan quietly called out, "Lucy!" as they went to help her up.
She was fine, silent as she had gotten to stand up. "They're in the tunnels." She whispered as howling could be heard again.
"Quick! This way!" Mr. Beaver scurried off with Mrs. Beaver by his side. They all picked up their speed significantly.
After running for about a minute, they came to a dead-end of all places.
"You should have brought a map!" Mrs. Beaver complained.
"There wasn't room next to the jam." Mr. Beaver answered before jumping and grabbing onto the wall, climbing it. Mrs. Beaver climbed up after him, followed by Susan. She helped pull Lucy up, while Peter gave Melody a boost. Susan and Melody both helped pull Peter up.
Beaver and Peter quickly grabbed a barrel and covered the tunnel exit. Once covered, they look over as they hear a small squeal - Lucy had fallen again. But this time, she fell into something. Into a pile of animals that were turned to stone.
One particular one, a badger, Beaver walked up to, Mrs. Beaver right behind him with her hands on his back to comfort him. "I'm so sorry, dear..."
He shook his head. "He was my best mate..."
Melody looked at the stone, shaking her head. She didn't know the animals, but her heart broke for them and the Beavers. "What happened here?" She asked, placing her hand on the head of what looked to be a dog. She could feel herself start to tear up. She didn't want to. She felt useless that way. If she was going to cry about someone or something she's never met before, how will she fair if this war really does happen?
But just then out of nowhere, a fox comes into view, standing tall on a rock and answering her questions the Beavers were too slow for. "This is what becomes of those who cross the Witch."
Mrs. Beaver gasped and hid behind Mr. Beaver, who held his arms out to the side to protect her. "You take one more step, traitor," He stormed forward, anger in his voice. "And I'll chew you to splinters." She pulled him back, trying to keep him away from the fox.
The fox laughs and jumps off the rock. "Relax. I'm one of the good guys."
The small conversation between the Beaver and the Fox was cut short by barking, a sound they were all learning to fear.
Peter looked at the fox, knowing there was nothing they could do without his help. "What did you have in mind?"
The idea, in Melody's mind, was really risking. They were dealing with wolves, not people. The plan was to use Fox as a way to misguide the wolves while the rest of them hid in trees. Trees.
She was clinging to a branch not too far from the three Pevensies. Her heart was beating so fast she thought that the wolves would surely be able to hear it once they arrived.
They came over fast, circling the poor Fox. She could barely hear what the wolves and fox were saying, a ringing in her ears blocking out any other noise. A growl every now and then broke through, but that was it.
Fox cowered before the wolves, and without warning, one lunged and grabbed him with his teeth. Peter covered Lucy's mouth to prevent her from making noise and Melody did the same to herself. She looked over at him, fear and sadness in her eyes. His look told her that everything was going to be alright, even if it wasn't going to be.
Eventually, the wolves dropped Fox and ran off North.
The Beavers were the first to climb down since they were small and had an easy time doing it with their claws. Susan went down after them, her and Peter helping Lucy down.
"Your turn," Peter said, looking at Melody, who was still clinging to her branch. "It's alright, I'll help you."
She shook her head. "N-No, you can you first." To her, getting up was the easy part, and getting down was too dangerous. She felt weak and stupid for being too afraid to climb out of a tree.
He nodded lightly, giving her a soft look. "Okay. I'll help you get down once I'm there, alright?"
She slowly nodded her head, intently watching as he climbed down with ease. When his feet touched the snow, he gestured for her to come down.
Melody took a deep breath, slowly starting to climb down from the tree. She started off good, but before she knew it, her foot slipped and she was falling. Again. She let out a similar squeal to when they were making their way over to see the Witch's castle, and just like then, she didn't feel the impact of the cold snow. She felt the impact of a warm person.
Peter left out a little huff, as she had fallen right on top of him. He cushioned her fall. "You alright?" He said, groaning a little.
"Oh my god, Peter, I'm so so sorry." She instantly got off of him, helping him stand back up.
He shook his head, wiping some snow off his coat. "I told you I was going to help you. That just happened to be sort of catching you, in a way."
She giggled a little. "Yeah, sort of catching me." She smiled at him, which he returned before going over to help Mr. Beaver make a fire.
A blush coated her face as she watched him walk off. She grabbed strands of her hair with both hands, tugging at it a little. "What is wrong with you, Melody?" She whispered to herself.
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This one was really a long one!
I cut down some of the conversations and scenes because this chapter is well over 2k words!
(It might have been shorter if I didn't add in a few cute little Peter and Melody scenes, but that's what you're here to read about right?)
But all in good time, since the next chapter is the big one for me! And that's when Melody is going to get the spotlight she deserves; my quiet, clumsy, small girl.
Also, I hit 30 reads! Thank you guys, that's actually a lot more than I expected. I know there isn't really a Narnia hype right now, so I thought I was barely gonna get 10. So, in honor of that, I'm gonna post two chapters again today, and two again Friday!
But anyway, thank you for reading! The next chapter will be posted now.