wis·dom
/ˈwizdəm/
noun
the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
Narnia had always been a free country, until she came along. Jadis was the devil in disguise, and she brought to the kingdom an eternal...
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"We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King Jr
Narnia, 1000
Peter knew he would kill his brother once he got Edmund back. The eldest and Olivia led Edmund's path toward the witch's castle. It was dark at night, and the woods seemed scarier than before. Narnia was a stunning place in the morning but terrifying in the dark.
" Hurry! " Peter would call, all of them running and tugging at their coats so they wouldn't trip. They came to a halt in a frozen lake. On the other side stood an enormous white and blue castle resembling the winter and the snow. Its architecture seemed purposely made for the top towers to look like ice stacks. The whole image of the building was for one who liked the cold.
The small party arrived just in time to see Edmund walk and open the massive doors of the castle.
" Edmund! " Lucy screamed from the top of her lungs.
" Shh! They'll hear you! " The beaver shushed the youngest. Peter signed and fed the anger inside him, and started to run. Mr Beaver jumped on top of him as he squirmed.
" Get off me! " Peter exclaimed, finally getting the beaver out of his way.
" You're playing into her hands. " Mr Beaver explained with a sign.
" We can't just let him go! " Susan retorted.
" He's their brother! " Olivia added.
" He's the bait! The witch wants all five of you! " The beaver gestured in panic. It seemed like the four humans didn't understand the severity of the situation. They were the saviours of the land; their presence was everything!
" Why? " Peter asked.
" To stop the prophecies from coming true. To kill you! " Mr Beaver yelled, losing his temper.
Peter looked at his sisters desperately and then back at the castle. His mind seemed to be thriving in a battle with itself. Should he try to retrieve his brother or stay back and protect his sisters and Olivia? The eldest watched as the doors closed behind Edmund, and he walked right into the trap.
" This is all your fault. " Susan started, walking forward. Olivia gulped, stepping back as she sensed a sibling fight forming.
" My fault? "
" None of this would have happened if you had listened to me in the first place! " Susan yelled at her brother.
Olivia grabbed the book in her bag, the one she had brought with her, and searched inside the pages for an answer to this feud. There was no advice on a sibling feud in Sun Tzu's the art of War. Worth a try, though.
" Oh, so you knew this would happen. "
" I didn't know what would happen, which is why we should have left while we still could! "
" Stop it! This isn't going to help Edmund. " Lucy intervened.
" She's right. Only Aslan can help your brother now. " Mr Beaver told them.
" Then take us to him. " Peter said solemnly.
He thought of his brother, all alone in that filthy castle. He was going to save him. He needed to save his brother. And those thoughts filled Peter with determination.
━ ◦ ❖ ◦━
The wolves, Beaver remembered. They were walking back to the dam when they heard howling and the sounds of steps. It was not good to hear from them, for all wolves were faithful to the white witch. They hurried back to the home, and Beaver barged in first.
" Hurry, mama! They're after us! "
" Oh, right then. " Mrs Beaver quickly hurried to do her task.
" What's she doing? " Peter asked, and Beaver signed as if it were obvious.
" Oh, you'll be thanking me later. It's a long journey, and Beaver gets cranky when hungry. "
" I'm cranky now! " He replied. Susan hurried to help her pack.
" Do you think we'll need jam? "
" Only if the witch serves toast! " Peter replied to his sister.
Outside, they heard the sound of barking and growling very near. Looking out the window, it was visible that the wolves had arrived at the dam. They started trying to dig and get in, and they all panicked.
In the meantime, with the wolves exploring, they all managed to hurry to the hidden underground tunnels. When they barged in, the place was empty. Peter was holding up a torch, walking right after Beaver.
" Badger and I dug this. Comes out right near his place. " Mr Beaver explained as they ran.
" You told me it led to your mum's! " Mrs Beaver said.
Lucy stumbled and fell to the ground, and they stopped in their tracks. Without the sound of their feet rumbling, the voices of the wolves were in their ear's reach and were becoming closer and louder.
" They're in the tunnel. " Lucy whispered.
" Quick! This way. " Mr Beaver promptly directed them into the tunnels.
Now and then, one would yell a 'hurry!' or 'run!' or 'quick!', trying to fasten the speed. They managed to reach what seemed a dead end, but instead, Mr Beaver climbed up, meaning the way out was upwards.
When everyone in the ground had left the tunnels, Mr Beaver and Peter grabbed a nearby barrel and used it to close the hole.
Lucy walked backwards and tripped once again. This time, instead of stumbling on her own feet, she stumbled on something cold. It was various animals, petrified, looking as scared as ever. Mr Beaver's face fell as he looked at Badger, his friend, frozen with his paws facing the sky and his mouth open in fright.
" I'm so sorry, dear. " Mrs Beaver told her husband.
" He was my best mate. " Beaver signed. Amongst those animals were also dogs, pigs, ducks, and others. Olivia looked to the side, where she saw an iced table stuffed with frozen food and drinks. She brushed her fingers on the wood, and the snow stuck to her hand.
The girl shivered and opened her notepad, and grabbed her quill. She took notes of her seeing, of how the animals seemed hard as stone. But it wasn't as if they had been turned into solid ice, but they seemed stuck in motion, and their colouring was grey. She brushed her ear against the chest of an animal and detected a breath, meaning they weren't dead, just in some kind of coma.
" What happened here? " Peter asked, looking around.
" This is what becomes of those who cross the witch. " A fox spoke as he emerged from the shadows. Mr Beaver was quick to react and step in front of the group.
" You take one more step, traitor, and I'll chew you to splinters! "
" Relax! I'm one of the good guys. "
Olivia drew out her dagger and took a defensive position as Beaver retorted: " Yeah? Well, you look an awful lot like one of the bad ones. "
" An unfortunate family resemblance. But we can argue about breeding later. Right now, we've got to move. " The fox responded as they heard the sound of the wolves approaching.
