More Than It Seems

Chapter 7

We had been travelling since our leave with the fox, and night turned into an early morning as the darkness turned into a deep blue. I had sighed in relief in realizing morning was near. Not being used to walking for so long, and the fact that none of us were properly dressed for trekking in the snow, the night was full of stumbling and tripping over things. Ankles had gotten sore, and toes were numb, but as morning approached seeing what was in front of us other than shadows was becoming easier. Lucy had dropped around a mile back, leading Peter to hoist her up and carry her. The trip after that didn't last long, we all needed to rest.

     "Alright humans, we can spare a moment to sit." Mr. Beaver has suggested, and at his offer we had all plopped down onto the snow where we stood.

     "I'll go and see if there's any berries around." Mrs. Beaver said, walking a bit further into the wood.

     "I can't feel my legs." Susan sighed, leaning back onto a fallen trunk that was behind her. Leaning against a boulder, I nodded in agreement, feeling the sting from walking for so long, but also the numbness from the cold. Shivering a little, I tried to warm my legs up by running my hands swiftly to make some friction.

     "I could just fall asleep right here..." Lucy mumbled as she leaned her head on Peter's side, he had an arm around her and had her tucked beside him to keep her warm. I watched the interaction with a small smile.

     "Are you doing alright, Lizzie?" I looked up to Peter's voice and locked eyes with him. I nodded and tucked my knees closer to my chest. "I'm a bit sore, but I'm managing."

     "Enjoy these few moments, we'll need to get back up and moving soon." Mr. Beaver stated, seated down himself. Shuffling back towards us, Mrs. Beaver held a bundle of berries within her arms, she moved around to all of us, handing over a few berries. I smiled to her in thanks when she reached me. Dreadingly, we got back up and continued our journey.

It was around noon by the time we reached the end of the forest. Although the brightness of the sun glowed above us from the trees, as we approached open land, I saw the sun glowing from right above us, turning the white snow into a sheet made for blinding people. I struggled to see anything for a moment as I shielded my eyes.

     "Now, Aslan's camp is near the Stone Table, just across the frozen river." Mr. Beaver said, my eyes adjusted so I could see clearly, we were on a cliff's edge, and looking beyond I saw nothing but white snow with forests patching the ground.

     "River?" Peter had asked next to me.

     "Oh, the river's been frozen solid for a hundred years." Mrs. Beaver explained. Looking a bit closer, I did notice a splash of light blue down there.

     "It's so far." Susan complained.

     "It's the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small?"

     "Smaller."

Continuing on, we found a trail that led down the cliff. With the Beaver's leading, the Pevensies and I had to hold onto each other in aid to make it down safely. Susan had almost slipped once, as she had one leg dangling, I reached to grab her. The extra weight made me stumble a bit, losing my balance. Peter who was behind me quickly grasped onto my arm with one hand and my hip on the other, keeping me steady. I hoisted her safely back on the ledge. The three of us breathing heavy, I turned my head behind me to look at Peter and gasped a little at how close he really was.