A Prison of Ice and Fear || Peter Pevensie x OC || Narnia

Chapter 6

It's near dark when I hear a tap on the window. Ephe shoots her head up while I turn mine slowly. Usually, at this time, I'd be returning to the palace, but I'd had no hint of freedom since the encounter with Edmund. The witch insisted I stay until the humans were apprehended.

The little bird on the sill taps again. Pushing open the pane, the bird hovers a moment before settling on the icy window edge. Gently I loosen the note tied to its thin foot. With a whistle, the bird flies off again.

Four are in the wood. The beavers aid. The traitor has snuck away.

I throw my eyes up from the note, and there, right at the line of the horizon, I can just make out a silhouetted figure.

"Foolish, foolish boy." I mutter.

"What is it?" Ephe demands, rushing to the window.

"I have to leave Ephe." I breathe.

"What?" The dryad hisses.

"Ephe, I have to go; this is my only chance."

"The witch," she catches herself and clears her throat, "the queen will have you killed."

"I have to help these children, they're our only hope. Don't you want to see summer again?" I whisper quickly.

Ephemei looks around the room and then back out the window. I can see the conflict in her heart.

"Don't you want to see your family again, Ephemei?" I push.

She snaps her eyes to mine, her green irises shining.

Finally, she nods, "Quickly, you'll have to take the servants' tunnel."

Within moments my cloak is fastened tightly around my shoulders and my good boots laced tight. Locking the main door and the servants' door, I slip the key back into the room; I won't ever need it again.

I hug Ephe tightly, "You never saw me leaving is that understood? She'll kill you if she finds out you helped."

The dryad pulls back, "Go, help the humans; it's time for winter's end."

I run from the dryad, through the near-silent servants' corridors, sticking to shadows as best I can. The twists and turns stretch on forever, but I know the main corridor eventually leads to a door on the edge of the grounds, so no one important would have to witness the servants moving about.

Before I reach the final door, I come to a grinding halt and duck quickly into an alcove. A minotaur stands at the door, looking relatively distracted but in my way nonetheless. I feel around on the floor for anything I can use, and my fingers connect with a small pebble.

Without considering my options for too long, I toss the pebble back down the hall I came from, hoping the guard heard the sound from around the corner. I don't have to wait long before his hulking steps move past me, and I press myself further into the dark until he passes.

I poke my head out to see the guard with his back to me. Silently I slink out of the alcove and straight to the door. Unbolting it, I slip out into the frigid air and close the door softly behind me.

I don't want to risk being caught and break into a sprint as fast as my legs can carry me. As I look back towards the castle, I can see the boy Edmund nearing the mighty iron gates.

He's alone, but in simply returning to Jadis he has betrayed his family. She now has power over them. As I crest the hill at the edge of the grounds where the snow-covered terrain meets the thick forest, I careen straight into something warm and solid. I stumble back a few steps before righting myself.

"By the ancestors." I breathe.

Before me is a boy, perhaps my age, with golden hair. His blue eyes stare back at me in shock. A strange warm feeling skitters across my skin as those eyes lock with mine. Behind him stand two girls, both younger than I, and a beaver.

"Oi, who are you?" The beaver asks in a gruff voice.

"I am Lady Cressida," I announce, pulling myself up to my full height and trying with all my might to sound regal.

I turn to the boy, "I know your brother."

"How?" He asks, "Where is he?"

I turn pointing to the castle as Edmund walks tentatively through the gates.

"Edmund!" The youngest girl, the one I saw by the lamppost, yells.

"Shh! They'll hear ya!" The beaver implores, reaching up and grabbing the girl's hand.

"The beaver is right, and we have to leave. Now." I command.

The boy makes a break to run towards the castle, and I strike out with my hand to grab the edge of his coat.

"Get off me!" He shouts, attempting to shrug me off.

"You're playing into her hands." The beaver insists.

The human girls protest letting Edmund go, their volume growing increasingly alarming.

"He's the bait." The beaver hisses. "The witch wants all four of ya!"

"Why?" The golden-haired boy demands.

"To stop the prophecy from coming true," I explain, keeping my voice hushed. "she intends to kill you."

The eldest girl's mouth pops open in shock, the younger one tucking herself closer to her sister. The boy's eyes widen in shock and I realise I'm still holding the cuff of his coat.

I pull my hand back, and the two eldest siblings begin to argue with each other.

The argument begins to heat before the younger one cuts in, "Stop it! This isn't going to help Edmund!"

"That is why we have to go. She will not harm your brother too greatly while you are all at large, but should she catch you, she will not hesitate." I implore them.

The beaver turns to me then, eyes narrowing, "And who are you, to give order to us? Where'd you even come from? How do you know so much about them?"

"I come from the palace." I start, but the beaver cuts me off.

"Hang on, you're the girl the witch keeps, her little pet aren't you?" he snarls. "She sent you here to lure the humans, didn't she?"

"No, please, I am here to help. You have to trust me."

"Us trust you? When you say, you come from the palace." The beaver spits at me.

"I am the witch's prisoner. If you think I harbour any allegiance to her, you are sorely mistaken; I have put my life and the lives of people I care about at risk to be here." I argue.

The humans flick their eyes between me and the beaver as the stand-off continues.

"I have spies in the woods who can vouch for me, but please, I beg you, we must leave."

The beaver turns from me to face the boy, his expression growing grim, "Only Aslan can save your brother now."

I mask the shock in my expression. Aslan. So he does exist.

"Then take us to him."