✲⋅*♚ ,∴°

𝕭𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐈: 𝖂𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝖂𝐀𝐑

𝕮𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝕾𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧: howls in the night

SHE TRIED TO WALK AS SILENTLY as possible through the snow, knowing that even the littlest of sounds could send the Witch's spies running to her with news. Her eyes were focused on the ground in front of her, a frustrated sigh leaving her lips each time the clouds darkened the light of the moon. Luckily no other Narnian had ventured out of their home and so Edmund's footprints were the only ones leaving marks in the snow. She had set out with the Pevensies and Mr. Beaver a little while ago, hoping to catch up with their little brother but from the moment she'd seen his footsteps were heading north, she'd feared the worst.

For their own safety she refused to bring the Pevensies all the way to the Witch's doorstep but if it really came down to it, she couldn't force them not to go either. It'd give a bad impression for her to fight them on the very first day of meeting them.

'Can't you make some more of that light?' Lucy asked, stumbling over her own feet as they hurried after their brother in the dark.

'I can't risk it,' Ashara replied, 'We may be spotted if I do.' She lifted her gaze from the ground and came to halt. They were nearing the edge of the forest, meaning there'd be no more cover to shield them from unfriendly eyes.

'Are we nearly there?' Peter questioned, coming to a stop beside her.

'We can't go any further than this,' Ashara said, turning her gaze to the Son of Adam.

'Why?' He asked, his eyes seemed to be burning with determination and she felt her heart break at the sight of it. Though the prophecy stated they were meant to defeat the Witch, she knew they were far from ready and if she let them face her now, she feared for their lives. 'Why?' He pressed when she remained quiet.

She took a deep breath, feeling herself grow small beneath his burning glare. 'The Witch's castle is near. I cannot let you just walk in there.'

For a moment he just stood there, frozen, watching her in disbelief but then he turned and started to run towards the forest edge. Ashara, however, had anticipated his move and was fast enough to reach out and take a firm hold of his arm. 'Don't,' she warned.

'Get off me!' Peter said, his eyes never straying from the path before him.

'We can't just let him go!' Susan added, panic heavy in her voice.

'He's our brother,' Lucy begged.

'She'll kill you,' Ashara said, trying her hardest not to raise her voice. 'Don't you get it? She wants to stop the prophecy from coming true!'

Finally Peter stopped struggling, his eyes searching for her face. The ocean blue color seemed to tremble with fear but, she realised after a moment, not for his own life. He was terrified for the life of his brother.

Her voice was soft when she looked him straight in the eye and said: 'She won't kill him immediately. She needs him to draw you to her. He's safe for now.'

A shiver seemed to go through him at the thought of leaving his brother behind but slowly he seemed to realise there really wasn't another option at this moment. Silence settled over the group as Peter seemed to accept their defeat. The weight of the decision to leave his little brother behind was visible on his shoulders. He almost seemed to shrink beneath the pale moonlight and suddenly he seemed so much like a simple boy far out of his depth. For the smallest of seconds Ashara wished she could spare them the future that awaited them, but the thought of her homeland was enough to drown out her pity. The Narnians needed them and she refused to be the one whose pity would hold the Pevensies back.

'This is all your fault,' Susan broke the silence, her eyes spitting fire as she started at her brother.

'My fault?' Peter questioned, disbelief written all over his face.

'None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!' She shouted, taking a step towards him.

Peter scoffed. 'Oh, so you knew this would happen?'

'I didn't know what would happen,' Susan said, 'which is why we should have left while we still could!'

'Stop it!' Lucy shouted, silencing both her siblings with her young voice filled with fire. 'This isn't going to help Edmund.'

'She's right,' Mr. Beaver added. 'Only Aslan can help your brother now.'

For a moment Peter simply stared at the beaver, before finally nodding resolutely. 'Then take us to him'

Mr. Beaver looked at Ashara, a small smile on his face and Ashara felt it mirrored on her own face. 'Alright,' she said, looking at the Pevensies, 'but we have to leave quickly. The Witch will know of our location soon enough.'

Defeated, the party quickly started making their way back. Ashara could feel the tension between the oldest two siblings lingering still, making the air heavy. If Lucy noticed it as well, she didn't give it much attention. Instead her eyes were casted to the ground, a sad gleam in her eyes. Ashara quickened her pace and walked up besides the youngest sibling.

'Everything's going to be alright,' she promised, smiling.

A heavy sigh left her lips before she lifted her gaze and met Ashara's eyes. 'Can Aslan really help my brother and Mr. Tumnus?'

Ashara nodded confidently. 'If anyone can, it's him.'

Lucy bit her lip before finally taking a deep breath, determination flaring alive inside her eyes. 'Then we have to go to him.'

'We will,' Ashara promised, smiling at the huge amount of bravery residing in the little girl's heart. Her smile faltered however when far in the distance the sharp howl of a wolf echoed through the night sky. Despite the sound being far away, her hand went to her sword immediately, a motion that didn't go unnoticed.

'What's going on?' Susan asked, eyes wide.

Ashara's eyes searched the darkness as she answered: 'That's Maugrim and his secret police. We have to go, now!'

They broke out into a run. Ashara let Mr. Beaver lead and closed the line herself, constantly looking over her shoulder. Maugrim and his pack were fast, maybe even the fastest wolves in all of Narnia. If they were to escape, they needed a miracle. The howling grew closer and closer as they ran through the darkness, making Ashara shiver. Her knuckles turned white from the tight grip on the hilt of her sword.

She breathed out in relief when the beaver's dam became visible between the trees and the five of them hurried inside. 'Hurry, they're after us!' Mr. Beaver called out as soon as he opened the door.

'Oh, right then,' Mrs. Beaver said, quickly starting to grab food from the shelves.

'What's she doing?' Peter asked.

Mr. Beaver shrugged as he watched her throw the food together in a knapsack.

'You'll be thanking me later,' Mrs. Beaver said while Susan hurried to help her. 'It's a long journey and Mr. Beaver gets pretty cranky when he's hungry.'

'I'm cranky now!' Mr. Beaver shouted.

'Do you think we'll need jam?' Susan questioned.

'Only if the Witch serves toast,' Peter said.

She would've laughed if it weren't for the sound of growling and barking coming from outside. 'They're here!' She called. Her eyes fell on the bookcase next to the door and she gestured to Peter. 'Help me,' she said. He seemed to understand immediately what she meant and together they pushed the wooden bookcase in front of the door.

A frustrated growl came from the other side of the door and she could hear one of them jumping on the roof. Wood broke as the wolves tried to dig their way through the wall. Ashara grabbed the hilt of her sword and pulled it out the sheath, breathing heavily as her eyes flickered around the hut for any possible escape route. She could hear them walking on the roof, trying to enter the house from all sides. They were hopelessly trapped. She wanted to hit herself for being so unbelievably stupid as to going after their brother even though she knew where he'd been heading all along. But her father's voice echoed through the depths of her mind, calming her panicked thoughts. You must always stay calm during a fight, or else your opponent has already won.

There was a tug on her cloak and she looked down, watching as Mr. Beaver gestured to a piece of the wall. She frowned and watched as he silently tried to tell her something. She shook her head in confusion making the beaver sigh. He walked over to the wall and ran his paw along a seemingly invisible line and suddenly a hidden door opened.

Her eyes widened and without a second thought she gestured for the Pevensies to enter. Mr. Beaver went first, followed by Susan, Mrs. Beaver, Lucy, Peter and finally Ashara. She made sure to close the hidden door perfectly. It wouldn't take long for the wolves to pick up their scent but the confusion might give them a head start.

Mr. Beaver handed Peter a torch to light their path through the tunnel. As silently as possibly they ran along the dark corridors, her heart pounding in her chest all the while. She had to bend awkwardly, unable to stand up straight beneath the low roof but she refused to let it slow her down. With every step she took the need to run even faster grew stronger.

'Badger and me dug this,' Mr. Beaver explained. 'Comes out right near his place.'

'You told me it led to your mum's!' Mrs. Beavers said, faking her anger to try and lighten the mood.

But the attempt was cut short when Lucy's foot caught on a tree root, making her stumble and fall. Susan was at her side immediately, helping her stand back up. In the silence that followed the barks of their persecutors could be heard echoing through the tunnel.

'They're in the tunnel,' Lucy muttered, eyes wide.

'Go!' Ashara urged.

She didn't have to say it twice. They picked up the pace again, following Mr. Beaver through the darkness. She couldn't help but look over her shoulder every few seconds, grateful every time that the wolves hadn't caught up to them.

They came to a sudden halt and Ashara felt her heart nervously ache in her chest. 'What's going on?' She whispered, looking around Susan's shoulder. Her eyes widened at the dead end in front of them. They were trapped once again.

'You should have brought a map!' Mrs. Beaver shouted, her anger real this time.

'There wasn't room next to the jam!' Mr. Beaver replied before hurrying to dig a way out.

While he worked Ashara stood facing the tunnel, sword ready in her hand, waiting for the moment she'd have to use it. Luckily the moment was postponed for a little while when the night sky became visible through the hole Mr. Beaver had dug. He extended his paw out to Lucy, helping her climb outside. Susan followed, then Mrs. Beaver.

Peter turned to look at her but she shook her head, gesturing for him to make his way out first. He did, though not without clenching his jaw at her stubbornness. As soon as he was out, Ashara put her sword back in its sheath so she'd have both hands free to climb. She placed her feet on a tree root to lift herself up and finally made her way above ground again, her eyes taking in the night sky gratefully.

Mr. Beaver took a barrel and put it in front of the hole. It probably wouldn't do much but the thought of leaving it uncovered was even worse.

A startled yelp came from behind her, making Ashara spin around quickly, every nerve in her body ready to fight, only for her eyes to land on a dozen stone statues scattered around the small town they'd entered. Lucy had stumbled over one and was seated in the snow, her eyes wide as she stared at the strange statues. Not statues, Narnians...

Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn't help but look at Mr. Beaver as realisation slowly settled in. Slowly he walked over towards where Badger stood, frozen in place and placed his paw on the cold stone.

'I'm so sorry dear,' Mrs. Beaver said softly, a comforting hand on her husband's arm.

'He was my best mate,' Mr. Beaver spoke, his voice breaking.

The poor creatures were everywhere, the longer she looked, the more she saw. The entire town had been turned to stone and the very sight of it broke Ashara's heart.

Peter shifted beside her as he looked around the clearing. 'What happened here?'

'This is what becomes of those who cross the Witch,' a new voice joined the conversation from behind them.

As she turned, she freed her sword, standing in front of the King and Queens as a fox appeared in the clearing, standing on the roof of a wooden hut, looking out over them. Ashara narrowed at him, knowing fully well who he was. Terzis, son of one of the foxes who'd convinced his people they were better off fighting for the Witch. His father died long ago but people remained weary of foxes all the same. Ashara hadn't ever met the fox, but she'd known his father, having had many discussions with him about the prophecy. The thought alone that she'd failed to convince him to fight for their Kings and Queens left a bad taste in her mouth. But she couldn't possibly save everyone...

'You take one more step, traitor and I'll chew up to splinters!' Mr. Beaver cried out, being held back by his wife before he'd make his words a reality.

Terzis simply smiled. 'Relax,' he said while jumping down from the roof. 'I'm one of the good guys.'

'Yeah?' Mr. Beaver scoffed. 'Well, you look an awful lot like one of the bad ones.'

'An unfortunate family resemblance,' the fox sighed. 'But we can argue breeding later, right now we've got to move.'

And as if his words were a prophecy, the bone-chilling howls of the wolves echoed through the sky. They were almost at the end of the tunnel, time was running out and she wasn't the only one who'd realised it.

'What did you have in mind?' Peter questioned, making Terzis smile slyly.

'The tree behind you, your majesty,' he said, nodding at it, 'you think you could climb it?'

'I think so,' Peter said, frowning.

'Then you better hurry and do so,' the fox said.

'What about you?' Ashara questioned while putting her sword back in its sheath.

'I'll distract them.'

For a moment no one moved but they all knew it was their only option. They couldn't possibly outrun the pack, which meant hiding was their only option.

'Alright,' Ashara finally said, turning to look at Peter. 'You three go first.'

He pressed his lips together tightly before nodding once, offering Lucy his hand while walking over to the tree. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver scaled the wood with ease, jumping from branch to branch as though they were made to do so. Susan went first, carefully placing her feet in the right places and though she seemed to be trembling, she managed to pull herself together and get as high up as possible. When she finally secured on a thick branch high up, she leaned down to help Lucy as Peter pushed her up. When the youngest Pevensie was seated beside her sister, Peter followed with Ashara right behind him.

Peter joined his sisters while Ashara stayed one branch lower, just in case it would come down to a fight anyway. She looked down, watching as Terzis used his tail to wipe their footprints from the snow and just when he was done, the barrel they'd placed in front of the hole was pushed aside and the wolf pack appeared in the clearing, barking and howling as they stalked their prey.

'Greetings, gents,' Terzis spoke as they encircled him. 'Lost something have we?'

'Don't patronise me,' Maugrim growled, his voice sending shivers down her spine. 'I know where your allegiance lies. We're looking for some humans.'

Terzis chuckled. 'Humans? Here in Narnia? That's a valuable bit of information don't you think?'

The wolves moved faster than she could blink, jumping towards the fox and biting down in his side, hard. A whimper left his mouth and Ashara clenched her fists in anger at the scene beneath her. Everything inside of her screamed for her to move, to help, to do something. But she couldn't, not without giving up their position.

'Your reward is your life,' Maugrim sneered, then laughed humorlessly, 'it's not much, but still, where are the fugitives?'

The silence lingered for an awfully long moment and Ashara swore her heart was beating so loudly the wolves would be able to hear it. But they never looked up, instead their cold eyes remained focused on Terzis, waiting for his answer.

'North,' the fox finally panted, 'they ran north.'

'Smell them out!' Maugrim ordered.

The wolf holding Terzis between his teeth, threw the fox aside and followed the pack as they disappeared into the darkness. A trembling breath left Ashara's lips as she watched the fox in the snow, lying so still he might as well have been one of the Witch's statues. Yet she remained seated in the tree, giving the others a warning look to do the same. They had to be sure the wolves were gone before they'd climb down.

And only when the echoing howls slowly became more and more distant, did her racing heart calm down.

✲⋅*♚ ,∴°

If cursing was a thing in Narnia I would've let Peter say to Ashara: "Fuck you and your prophecy." Oh well, guess we'll just have to live with that picture in our head. I really enjoyed writing this chapter! I really loved the addition of this scene in the movie because in the book it all just went a little bit too easy for me. But I do occasionally take a look in the book if I can find any interesting dialogue or scenes to add, so for those who've read it perhaps you'll notice something in the next few chapters ;)

Oh, and I decided to give the fox a name because calling every creature Mr or Mrs is so weird to me, like what if there are multiple foxes going around? How would you ever seperate them? Anyway, meet Terzis. Hope you all like that he has in fact a name now haha.

Also, I was listening to folklore and I couldn't stop thinking about Peter and Ashara when hearing the song Exile. And so I created the video you can see above! It's honestly one of the best things I've ever made, if I may say so haha. I'd love it if you guys could give it a watch and tell me your thoughts! Warning: prepare to have your heart broken.

Thank you all so much for your support on this story!

xx Nelly