The Forgotten (Peter Pevensie x OC)

Chapter 20

"NO!" Peter lurched forward, heart in his throat, terror in his eyes. "EVELYN!" His breath came in harsh gasps as he faltered, dropping his hand slightly from where he had it raised in the sudden darkness. What happened?

Two seconds ago, he had been standing, helpless, as Evelyn sat rigidly in the icy throne, the witch's cronies yelling abuse and hate at her.

Now, all he could see was black.

Could he even see?

And where was the witch? Where was she keeping Evelyn? What did she mean when she said that Evelyn will bring about the death of Narnia? Surely the witch didn't want that. The witch wanted to rule, but she couldn't rule a country that was dead.

So why did she sound so pleased?

Brilliant light blinded Peter all of a sudden, his vision filled now with the glowing imprint of a light that reminded him of the cameras at school photos. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed a silhouette. It was sitting next to the source of light, which Peter could now recognize as a torch. The figure approached, coming closer and closer until Peter was able to make out the curly, frizzy hair on its head and chin. He recognised the twinkling eyes and kind smile, and, though this man was undoubtedly thinner, Peter was sure of who it was.

"Father Christmas." he greeted, matching the jolly man's smile.

"I'm afraid not, Peter." the now unknown man moved into the light, standing directly in front of Peter so that the light hit his face, making Peter both relieved and confused.

"Beautiful, isn't it..."

"Isn't what, Professor?"

"Narnia, of course! Isn't it wonderful?"

"You've been to Narnia?"

"My dear boy, I was there when it was made!" he laughs lightly. "Although it was very different then, I assume?"

"Probably, sir."

"Please, Peter," he smiled. "Call me Professor, or Diggory, I am no sir." Peter nodded.

"So...if you're here...then either you're in Narnia..., or I'm...not." these words brought nothing but a small smile from the professor.

"Professor Kirke, what happens if you die in Narnia?"

"I'm afraid it is not my place to tell you that." Peter sighed. "It is neither here, nor there, however. And in answer to your earlier question, it is neither."

"What is?"

"I am not in Narnia, nor are you here with me."

"I am afraid that I do not understand, sir."

"Professor." the professor corrected. "And I know that it is confusing, I barely understand it myself. But to give you the general idea, there is this place. It is the space between worlds. There is nothing there, and only an extremely strong spiritual connection can pull two people to meet there. There is nothing there, and it is extremely important that the flame does not die until the meeting is over. For when it dies, the two will be taken back. It is very rare to be able to come, so I am extremely grateful that Evelyn chose me to come talk to you."

"Evelyn?"

"Yes. She is more powerful than you know. Now, to continue the explanation. It is difficult to get here. One must face their darkest fears to get in. I assume that's why you look like you just came from a nightmare?"

"Yes..."

"I also assume that is why Lucy did not come with you."

"What? Why would she come with me?"

"Your younger sister, Peter, has more hope than anyone I've seen, even Evelyn. That girl has always believed that there is better out there. Lucy is the same, but that hope has not had the time to fade, like Evelyn's. She would've been the easiest to get here, but I'm pretty sure her positive energy is needed to keep Narnia together, so that would be why she isn't here."

"Keep Narnia together?"

"Oh, yes! Precisely what I was called here to talk to you about." he clapped his hands.

"When Evelyn was born, the sun shone down on Narnia for the last time, and never before had the sun shone so happily. There wasn't a negative emotion in Narnia that day. But anyway, the point is that Evelyn took so much power from the witch, that the witch's powers weakened, and Narnia had one last extra day of spring.

"But the witch took a ring, and gave it to Evelyn. That ring has a very rare gemstone in it. That gem trapped Evelyn's power inside of her. Without that force of hope and resistance, the witch was able to finally take Narnia under her full control. Evelyn has lived for fifteen years with that power trapped inside her. But that kind of power should never be contained.

"Power like that must be free. The older that Evelyn gets, the more that power grows. It has become to big to contain, and in a few days, it will burst out of her. A surge of power like that will undoubtedly kill her, and if it has a little help, could end Narnia as we know it. That is the witch's plan. On the day that Evelyn turns sixteen, that power will 'explode', for want of a better word. The witch just needs to give it a little push, just a tiny little nudge. That will cause Narnia to be overturned in fire and water, and all good will be washed away, effectively causing the death of Narnia. Sure, the land will still be here, but the soul, the spirit of Narnia, what makes it Narnia, will be gone. It won't be Narnia anymore."

"Does she really have enough power to do that, professor?" Peter was terrified. For his family. For his friends. For Aslan. For those that live free, or dream of doing so. For Narnia. "To bring Narnia from what it is now, to a world of darkness?"

"It is not hard, dear boy, to do so."

"What do you mean?"

"Narnia is divided, as we speak right now. Ever since the witch started to take control, it has been cracking, and splitting. Not in a material sense, but in a spiritual sense. And when Narnia dies, the other worlds will start to as well, for it is Narnia's hope that keeps the other worlds together. The witch has been robbing us of hope for over a hundred years. The only thing holding it together is hope, hope that the prophecies bring. And so all Evelyn needs to do, is destroy that hope. All hope of the prophecy. Which she can do, with just one action."

"What is that, sir?"

"She would die."

"Which is exactly why I need to know what it is."

"No, that is it. If she dies, that hope is severed."

"That can't happen."

"Which is exactly why I am here." The professor's face was grave. "But the flame is nearly gone."

It was, indeed, only embers now. In the near darkness, Peter could see the professor getting paler, shrinking away.

"You know what to do." The professor's voice echoed.

But the thing was, he didn't.