Lost In The Dark

Prologue: Aslan Must Know

It was one icy cold afternoon, as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were on their way home. They've been having tea with their friend, Tumnus the faun.

"Poor Tumnus. Losing your father like that. I can't even imagine – ", Mrs. Beaver rambled on, her voice filled with sympathy for her friend.

Her husband, Mr. Beaver, decided to speak up before she'd get carried away. "Now, now. What's done is done. There's nothing we can do but letting Mr. Tumnus know we're here"

"I know, I know. I just wish he didn't have to go through it at all"

"I know, honey. But-" Mr. Beaver stopped dead in his tracks when what sounded like a baby's cry was heard not too far away.

"Could it be a cub? Maybe a fox?", Mrs. Beaver wondered out loud.

"Hm, perhaps", Mr. Beaver replied, as he automatically walked towards the sound. Though it wasn't really him. It was like a stronger force was pulling him.

In his hypnotized-like state, the cries grew louder as he got closer.

"Mr. Beaver! You're almost out of the forest!", his wife whisper-shouted as she walked behind him.

But Mr. Beaver didn't listen. "Look", he whispered, as he pointed at what had led them there.

Not one meter away, right there in the snow, something small, wrapped in pink, was crying for help. Once again, Mr. Beaver seemed to go into autopilot mode, as he was forced towards the small being.

Once he got close, the crying stopped, almost immediately. As if the creature could sense his presence was harmless. Mr. Beaver carefully reached to fix the pink blanket, only to come face to face with another face of curiosity.

He turned back to Mrs. Beaver. "It's a human baby! A girl"

"What?", Mrs. Beaver whispered in shock. "As in, a daughter of Eve?"

Mr. Beaver nodded and turned his attention back to the infant.

"But how do you suppose she got in here?", he heard his wife ask from next to him.

"I don't know. But Aslan must know there's a reason" He was silent for a second before a light bulb was lit.

"That's it! Aslan! The prophecy!"

He looked to his wife, who caught on immediately.

"She's a daughter of Eve! Do you suppose she's one of the four?"

"Well, what other explanation could there be?"

Mr. Beaver turned his attention back to the young girl. 'What other explanation could there be '

"Well, we can't leave her out here, can we?", Mrs. Beaver said before taking the young girl into her arms. She was sure to do it carefully to not scare the poor child. But strangely enough, the infant remained calm as could be.

"We'll take care of her. Until the rest comes along", she said as she started to walk off.

Mr. Beaver stood still a moment before running after her.

"Yes, but who knows when that'll be? Even if they arrived tomorrow, this one's still far too young to fight. It will be years before she's ready. We'd have to look after her, train her, while also making sure to keep her hidden so the witch-"

"I know, dear", Mrs. Beaver interrupted. "But we have to do it. For her, and all of Narnia. Besides, we've always talked about having a child of our own"

Mr. Beaver let out a sigh. "You're right. It would be nice to have a little one to look after. As long as we're careful". The beaver smiled warmly as he saw his new daughter soundly asleep in his wife's arms.

"So, what should we name her, then?"

His wife looked down at the young one who had her tiny hand wrapped around her pink blanket. Mrs. Beaver smiled as the perfect name came to mind.

"Linnea"