Chronicles Of Narnia : The Lost Queen

Chapter 7 : Their Bark Was Worse Than Their Bite

Chapter 7 : Their Bark Was Worse Than Their Bite

Not even minutes after we get back to the Beaver's Dam the endless growling and scratching starts.

"Hurry Mum, they are after us!" Mr. Beaver yells at Mrs. Beaver before he starts hurrying to pack things away.

"Right then..." Mrs. Beaver says to herself, packing food away.

"What is she doing?" Susan asks looking back and forth between the food and Mrs. Beaver.

"Don't worry, you'll thank you me later. It's a long journey and a beaver gets cranky when he's hungry." Mrs. Beaver says, and Susan goes to help.

"I'M CRANKY NOW!" Mr. Beaver shouts, as I hear a clatter of things smashing. I start throwing books and maps into a satchel, as well as ink and a quill.

"Do you think we should bring jam?" Susan wonders, holding it up. Peter looks at her like she's got a screw loose.

"Only if the Witch has toast." He replies sarcastically and Susan flares at him before packing it anyway.

Once everything is packed up and ready, the growling and scratching louder, we drop down into a tunnel, me and Mr. Beaver up front.

"This should lead to Aslan's" Mr. Beaver explains, pointing forwards, and Mrs. Beaver gasps.

"I thought it lead to your mums!" She says and Mr. Beaver opens his mouth to reply before Lucy falls over.

"They're in the tunnel!" She squeaks and we begin to run, soon we come to a dead end.

"You should have brought a map!" Mrs. Beaver sighs, and I fumble with the satchel.

"There was no room next to the jam!" He growls. I open the satchel and bring out a handful of maps.

"I brought them." I say, thrusting them into his hands. He glances at one two from the top of the pile before digging out the ceiling, it collapses, revealing a hole in the roof. We scamper out quickly, the wolves biting at our heals.

I trip over a rock and fall forwards, something stabbing into my abdomen. I cry out and Peter helps me up, pulling me off of what ever I landed on. I press a hand on my abdomen once I'm upright, and, once I remove my hand, I see it dripping with blood.
I look down and see I landed on sharp, broken stone sculpture. Beside me Mr. Beaver puts his hand on a solidified stone badger.

"He was my best mate!" He whispers, running his hands over the muzzle.

"What happened to them?" Lucy asks as I keep pressure on my stab wound, making sure no one notices in injured.

"This is what happens to the enemies of the White Witch." A voice says and I reel around to see a fox. Peter pushes me behind him and my hand slips, letting a few drops of blood fall to the ground.

"Stand still there traitor." Mr. Beaver says and he stands in front of all of us, his face hard and angry.

"Relax, I'm one of the good guys." The fox says and I hold my hand out studying the blood.

"Well you look mighty like one of the bad guys." Mr. Beaver points out and I press my hand to the wound firmly once more.

"An unfortunate family resemblance, but we can discuss family breeding later right now we need to move." The fox explains and Peter looks at him.

"What do you suggest?" He asks and the fox looks up to a tree branch,

*

The fox stays on the ground while me, The Pevensies and The Beavers are perched up high in a tree. We watch as the wolves break through the tree barrier, the fox standing out in the open.

"Evening gents, Did we lose something?" The fox asks, light teasing in his tone.

"Don't patronise me, I know where your allegiance lies. We are looking for
some humans." The wolf growls and the fox smirks at them. That is, if a fox can smirk.

"Humans in Narnia, now that's some valuable information." The fox says, it's tail twitching.

"Where are they?!" The wolf says, biting into the fox and throwing him into a tree.
Lucy lets out a whimper and I clamp a hand to my mouth. The fox looks around hopelessly, and then hangs his head in shame.

"They... they were heading North." The fox lies after he is once again bit into.

"Quickly, smell them out." The wolf growls to the other wolves that surround him. They cast aside the fox , where he lays whimpering on the ground and sprint away.

*

Mrs. Beaver patches the fox up, as we sit around a fire, warming ourselves.

"Are you all right?" I ask, and he looks towards me, glancing down at my hand.

"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite." The fox chuckles, wincing in pain as he does so.

"Stop squirming! You're worse than beaver on bath day." Mrs. Beaver scolds and Mr. Beaver shudders.

"Worst day of the year." He comments and I laugh a little before wincing myself.

"Well I am afraid that is all the healing I have time for." The fox says and he stands up, wincing and stumbling on his paws.

"You're leaving?" I ask quietly and the fox bows to me.

"It has been a pleasure my Queen. I have been asked by Aslan himself to gather more troops." The fox explains, Mr. And Mrs. Beaver gasp.

"You've seen Aslan!" Mr. Beaver exclaims.

"What is h like?" Mrs. Beaver asks eagerly, leaning towards the fox.

"Like everything we have ever heard. He'll be a good help fighting the White Witch." The fox explains and I draw back a little, wincing as I press harder on my wound.

"We are not planning fighting any witch." I say quietly.

"But surely..." The fox trails off and I let my head fall, a tear slipping down my cheek.

"We just want to get Edmund back." I whisper and the fox looks at us apologetically before scampering off.