✲⋅*♚ ,∴°

𝕭𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐈: 𝖂𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝖂𝐀𝐑

𝕮𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝕱𝐨𝐮𝐫: storm clouds

ASHARA STOOD IN THE HALLWAY OF the castle, breathing heavily. The pain of the Deep Magic had slowly faded but the shock of feeling the first daughter of Eve enter their world still lingered. It wasn't until Mrs. Badger came walking out of the kitchen and into hallway to see why Ashara hadn't arrived for dinner yet, that she felt broke out of her frozen state. Without a word to the badger she walked into the dinner hall, grabbed a bag and started filling it up with food. It was a long journey to the Western Woods but if she left now and travelled light, she might be able to catch up with the Kings and Queens. 

'Is everything all right, dear?' Mrs. Badger questioned carefully.

Ashara turned around to face her, a small smile forming on her face. 'Everything is better than all right. Could you call Tasmus in here for me please?'

Mrs. Badger nodded and after one last worried look at the Watcher, she hurried out of the dinner hall. It had been a few days since Tasmus first came barging into the palace with the news that Aslan was on his way to Narnia. Ashara now realised that the Lion must have known the Kings and Queens would be arriving shortly. Their salvation was getting closer, she could almost taste the freedom their reign would bring. Of course, there were a lot of things that needed to happen first. She had to reach the Kings and Queens before the Witch would find out they had arrived.

Just as she finished packing food for the journey, Tasmus and Mrs. Badger came walking back into the dinner hall, both wearing curious expressions. Ashara turned to face them, unable to keep the smile from her face. 'The Deep Magic has shown me that one of the Daughters of Eve has arrived in Narnia.' - both creatures gasped in excitement, their eyes suddenly shining with hope - 'I have to reach her before the Witch finds out. It's a long journey but I have to try. I need you two to tell the Narnians that Aslan is coming. If they know he's on his way, they'll have hope again.' And be less likely to turn the Kings and Queens over to the Witch out of fear, though Ashara thought it best to keep that concern to herself.

Tasmus beamed at the order of finally being able to tell the Narnians the news of the Great Lion arriving after the winter of hundred years. Mrs. Badger seemed just as happy that she could help in defeating the White Witch, smiling wider than Ashara had seen her do in years. But then Tasmus frowned. 'My lady, you won't be travelling alone, will you? The Witch has spies everywhere and she still wants you dead.'

She took a step forward and placed a reassuring hand on the Faun's shoulder. 'I won't be alone.' Then she hurried to her room to prepare for her journey. First she took off her dress and put on a simple red tunic with a leather corset, complete with her brown travelling pants. Then she wrapped her grey cloak around her shoulders and then she put on her knee-high boots. She left her hair in a simple braid and then walked to her closet to gather her weapons. Five small knives, hidden in her boots and cloak and lastly she took her family sword and attached it to her belt. Then she shouldered her bag and headed outside.

Her two friends had finished preparations as well and together they left the castle. Dark grey clouds gathered in the sky above them but even the coming snow storm could not smolder the spark of hope inside of Ashara's chest. The three of them crossed the courtyard in a hurry and walked through the gates, not bothering to close them. 

'Be careful, child,' Mrs. Badger said, looking up at the Watcher.

She kneeled down and pulled the badger into an embrace. 'I will,' Ashara spoke softly before letting go. She waved goodbye at Tasmus before turning around and disappearing into the woods that surrounded them. She walked as fast as she could through the thick layer of snow. By foot the journey to the Western Woods would take about a week, which was time she simply didn't have. And so she headed to the mountains on her right where Erebus the Griffin lived with his family. There was a chance he was out recruiting Narnians for Aslan's cause but his family would likely be home and she could use a ride. 

While she tracked through the uneven terrain, the clouds had opened up and released their white, stone cold fury down to the earth. Snow was falling down, clinging to her hair and clothes. She wrapped her cloak even tighter around her and kept on walking. Determination was glowing like a sun inside of her. So much so that the cold barely bothered her. This was the moment she had been waiting for. The past few hundred years had all been leading to. Every vein beneath her skin was glowing with the willpower of making it to the Daughter of Eve before the White Witch could. It was almost ironic how the White Witch was so powerful but would never be able to even come close to the power of the Deep Magic. It was the very law this world and so many others were written upon. Even the Golden Watchers could not completely control its power. Ashara had often wondered if even Aslan was bound to its laws but a part of her knew the Great Lion could not be bound by anything, no matter how powerful.

As she made her way through the forest towards the mountains her thoughts went back to her vision from now almost a month ago. The strange square she had seen and the huge black carriage that the Kings and Queens had taken. She had only been able to see one of them, a son of Adam with eyes as blue as the Eastern Ocean. She had kept on thinking about the Kings and Queens and this strange world they came from. The prophecy the Deep Magic had given her had never talked about another world. She never thought about the possibility that they were coming to them from another place and it made her wonder if they even knew about the destiny that was waiting for them.

The thought that their Kings and Queens had no idea that Narnia was depending on them scared Ashara to her core. And so she banned the thought to the corners of her mind while she started her climb to the Griffin's home on top of the Blue Mountain. The mountain had been given this name because of the way the sun colored the rocks blue in the summer. Now, many Narnians had mockingly given the mountain the nickname: "the White Mountain". The snow was too thick to even see the rocks beneath, which made it hard for Ashara to climb. Up here the cold winter wind blew even wilder. It cut in her skin like a knife and left her feeling numb but she clenched her jaw and kept on climbing. 

Ashara lost track of time as she climbed the mountain and when she finally reached the top, the snow had stopped falling. The dark grey clouds still hung like doom above her head, but at least the sky was clear of snow for now. She stumbled through the snow towards the entrance of the Griffin family cave. Immediately she could feel the warmth of the torches attached to the walls reaching out to her, touching her skin and making her sigh in relief. She followed the tunnel until it ended in a round, black door. She raised her hand and knocked.

The door was opened almost immediately, revealing Erebus the Griffin. 'Ashara,' he spoke with his deep voice, sounding surprised. 'What brings you here?'

She opened her mouth to respond but a sudden chill down her spine prevented her from saying anything. It wasn't so much a chill of the cold, more like a feeling of sudden terror that had frozen her body into place. A small frown appeared on her face when music started playing, seemingly out of nowhere. It sounded almost like an echo in her mind, filling her from the inside out. She turned her head, looking around but failed to find the source of the tones. Far in the distance she could hear Erebus calling out her name but the music was overwhelming her. Terror spread like storm clouds through her chest, making her feel colder than even the snow storm had. The tones picked up and as they did, so did the pain.

A whimper left her lips as the runes on her arm started burning like fire on her skin. It wasn't the normal reassuring pain of the Deep Magic. This was a poisonous pain, burning through her skin like venom. Panic flared up inside of her as realisation finally settled in. The Daughter of Eve was in danger. But there was nothing she could do. The pain of the song was blinding and forced her to close her eyes. She could see a Faun sitting by the fire, playing on his flute and recognized him as Mr Tumnus. Then he disappeared and flaming Fauns and Dryads made out of fire danced behind her eyes until finally the overwhelming sound of Aslan's roar pulled her deep into unconsciousness.

Ashara felt as though she was swimming through a sea of blackness. She was stretching out her fingers towards the light, but it kept disappearing before she could reach it everytime. A loud roar sounded in the distance, as if a lion was shouting for her to wake from her slumber. She turned to look over her shoulder. Ocean blue eyes flashed at her, she gasped and was suddenly surrounded by light.

She opened her eyes, frowning in confusion when she appeared to be laying on a blanket in the corner of a cave. It took a moment before her memories returned. She had been standing before Erebus' home, then collapsed when the feeling of dark magic had started pulling at her. Carefully she tried to sit up, the movement taking the attention of the Griffin family. Erebus and his wife Cynthia came walking towards her, both of them wearing concerned frowns.

'What happened?' Ashara questioned, noticing her throat felt dry and her voice sounded hoarse. How long had she been unconscious for?

'You fainted,' Cynthia explained. 'You've been unconscious for three days.'

Ashara felt at loss for words and took the glass of water Erebus handed her in silence. She swallowed the water all in one go She felt deflated, empty. She wasn't even strong enough to fight off the effects of dark magic. How was she ever supposed to protect the Kings and Queens? 'I'm sorry,' she finally mumbled once her glass was empty.

'You have nothing to be sorry for,' Cynthia spoke, her voice soft and calming. 'Can you tell us what happened?'

The Watcher nodded and took a deep breath. 'I heard this song, almost like a lullaby but nothing like I ever heard before. It felt like -' she paused, not wanting to speak the next few words but feeling like she had no other choice, 'dark magic.' She stared at the glass in her hands, feeling suddenly so utterly lost that she wanted to cry. Long before she was born her ancestors used what they called the Narnian Lullaby to put the Giants in the north to sleep to prevent them from attacking the villages of the Narnians. It was her father who forbade the use of the lullaby. But when the Witch returned she put out an order to use the lullaby to capture the Kings and Queens when they arrived. 

She never wanted to think about any of the Narnians obeying this command but then again, there had been many Narnians who betrayed them and joined the Witch, which she once also never believed possible. Fear did strange things to the mind. Her heart ached when the image of Mr. Tumnus by the fire resurfaced. He was one of the kindest Fauns she had ever met and she simply refused to believe he would ever do anyone harm.

'But,' Cynthia finally spoke up, 'does this mean that the Kings and Queens have arrived?'

Erebus moved his wings in excitement. 'But of course! Aslan never does anything without a purpose. I should have known he had a reason for arriving now, after all this time.'

'I don't know what it means,' Ashara whispered. She desperately tried to reach out to the Deep Magic to try and feel the presence of the Daughter of Eve, but all she felt was emptiness. 'The Deep Magic showed me a Daughter of Eve entering the Western Woods but now I cannot feel her presence anymore.'

For a moment silence hung like a storm cloud in the cave and it was Erebus who spoke first. 'Well, then let us not waste any more time. If we hurry we can reach the Western Woods in two days.'

'Darling, Ashara is in no condition to travel,' Cynthia spoke up but Ashara proved her wrong by standing up on her feet, though she was forced to use the wall as support.

'I have been sleeping for three days,' she said, 'I can rest after we find the Kings and Queens.'

Cynthia stared at her, seeming to have more to say but finally she sighed and nodded. 'As you wish.' She nodded to the corner of the cave. 'Your bag and weapons and over there.'

Ashara nodded gratefully at her and walked over to the corner to grab her gear. While behind her husband and wife said goodbye to each other, Ashara shouldered her bag and armed herself. Her thoughts kept going back to the lullaby and more importantly, who had used it. She could only hope Tumnus hadn't given the Queen over the White Witch because if that was the case, they were all already lost. 

At the thought of losing against the woman who murdered her family and took over her land, Ashara felt a new determination grow within her. She refused to go down without a fight. She would find the Kings and Queens and bring them to Aslan. With a burning fire within her heart, she walked to the entrance of the cave where Erebus was already waiting for her.

'Thank you, Cynthia,' she spoke to the female Griffin.

She nodded. 'Find them.'

Ashara turned away from her with a nod, then climbed unto Erebus' back. The Griffin took off from the ground, leaving the mountain behind. They soared through the sky and Ashara reached for the hood of her cloak, pulling it closely around her face to avoid the cold wind cutting her skin. She held on tightly to the feathers of the Griffin, her eyes focused on the horizon and her heart burning with determination.

✲⋅*♚ ,∴°