Once a Queen

To Aslan's Camp

The rest of their journey had been filled with smiles and laughter, the sudden change in weather also brightening their moods. Even Susan had seemed to lighten, her soft smile shining in the sun as they ambled further down the rolling green hills. Just ahead, they could see red tents and golden flags, signifying Aslan's camp. They had arrived. Elise grinned widely and turned to where Lucy had been wandering at her side, only to find no one there. Briefly, she panicked, before realizing with a laugh that Lucy had been distracted by a lovely pink Dryad that had stopped to wave hello. Lucy shyly waved back.

"Lu," Elise called, not wanting to linger too far behind the rest of the group.

Lucy jumped with a start and turned, waking faster to catch up with the others. They both laughed at the memory of them doing the same thing back in Professor Kirke's house, back when they had first arrived. Now having caught up, they continued their leisurely pace to the camp, passing scattered tents as they began to make their way through. The closer they got to the center, the more Narnians they could see.

Animals that Elise had only seen in zoos and books, and creatures that she had only read about in fairytales had all seemed to gather here, for one purpose. She felt intimidated at the thought of being a part of that purpose. Just as much as she was curious about the Narnians, they seemed just as curious about them. Every Narnian that they passed stopped what they were doing in favor of watching the humans walk by.

"Why are they all staring at us?" Susan asked curiously, though slightly uncomfortable.

Lucy grinned slyly. "Maybe they think you look funny," she teased.

Elise laughed, knowing that was probably true. She remembered Lucy telling her that Tumnus had thought she was a beardless dwarf when he had first met her. They didn't get their fair share of humans through here, apparently.

They continued down the main path, the Narnians parting around them, until they reached a large red and gold tent that looked rather official. A centaur stood guard, eyeing the Pevensies as they stepped forward. Peter, thinking he needed an official show of authority, drew his sword and wielded it upright in front of him.

"We have come to see Aslan," he addressed the centaur strongly.

Just then, a slight breeze seemed to pick up, the tent flaps blowing gently in the wind. The centaur on guard bent at the waist in a bow, and Elise watched as all the other Narnians knelt down as well. She felt odd still standing.

She watched as a paw came into view from inside the tent, and she held her breath. This was it. This was Aslan. Chills ran down her spine as the Great Lion himself emerged from the tent. He was just as beautiful and majestic as she had imagined. Her legs felt weak as she dropped into a kneel alongside her siblings, almost overcome with the power of his presence alone. She kept her head down and her eyes closed as he approached them, afraid to look in his eyes.

"Welcome Peter, Son of Adam." His voice was thick and strong, carrying across the camp even as he spoke softly to them. "Welcome Elise, Susan and Lucy, Daughters of Eve. And welcome to you, Beavers. You have my thanks. But where is the fifth?" he asked them. Somehow, Elise believed he already knew.

Peter lifted his head and stood, the rest of them following suit, though Elise kept her eyes cast downwards. "That's why we're here, sir. We need your help," Peter said. 

Susan spoke up now, seeming to find her strong voice again. "We had a little trouble along the way."

That was a way to put it, though a rather gross understatement. They had run for their lives almost four times, crossing frozen lakes and not-so-frozen rivers, escaping wolves, the Witch, Father Christmas (accidentally), and they had lost their brother along the way. None of what had happened so far was anything like what Elise had wanted her family to go through.

"Our brother was captured by the White Witch," Peter summarized.

Everyone seemed to recoil. "Captured?" Aslan clarified. "How could this happen?"

Before Elise even had a chance to speak up, Mr. Beaver broke in.

"He betrayed them, Your Majesty," he admitted none too easily.

Angrily, the centaur that stood guard drew his broadsword. "Then he has betrayed us all!" he declared aggressively.

Elise could feel the tears welling up in her eyes at the fact finally being spoken aloud. She still refused to believe that Edmund would knowingly do this to his family. She lifted her head, finally looking upon the Great Lion before her. He met her eyes, and seemed to know what she was thinking. He blinked slowly at her, his eyes filled with similar grief as she, and lifted his head to his general.

"Peace, Oreius," he softly growled. "I'm sure there's an explanation," he called, looking back at the oldest Pevensie girl. Her body seemed to fill with shame: not for what her brother had done, but for herself. She had let this happen. She knew Edmund wasn't being himself. She had noticed. She had let him wander. She had done nothing. And now he was suffering alone. A tear slid down her cheek, splashing down to the ground below with not a sound.

If Aslan had noticed, he didn't say anything as Peter stepped up.

"It was my fault, really," he said, taking the blame upon his shoulders. "I was too hard on him." The blame was not his alone to take, and Susan knew that.

"We all were," she said, placing her hand on Peter's shoulder in a show of support. Elise stepped up beside them, on Peter's other side, joining in the unified stand of sharing the blame.

"Sir, he's our brother," Lucy said, worried that Aslan and the Narnians wouldn't help them.

Aslan's shoulders fell only a little, and he nodded solemnly at the girl. "I know, dear one. But that only makes the betrayal all the worse. This may be harder than you think."

Elise almost wasn't surprised. Everything so far had been the same, but she would do anything and everything to get her little brother back. She would wage war on the so-called Queen of Narnia.