My Narnian Tale

Chapter 7

I listened to Elizabeth talk about Harry Potter for hours. It was a pretty amazing tale. I couldn't believe she actually liked me back. I wanted to take things slow with her. I just hope that that is alright with her, considering dating is different in her time.

"Elizabeth?" I asked, breaking the comfortable silence that was between us.

She turned on her side and looked at me, "yeah?"

I took a deep breath before speaking, "I know that dating is different in your time, but would it be alright if we take things slow? I just have never had a girlfriend before and I don't want to mess it up. You deserve to be treated like a princess."

"Of course that's alright Peter. I wouldn't have it any other way." She smiled brightly at me. With her pink dress, her hair in a braid, and the scenery, she looked like a dream. There was a slight rosiness to her cheeks and her green eyes sparkled in the setting sunlight. Even though she was from a different century, she looked and acted like a girl from the 40s. Her mannerisms were I guess what she would call "old fashioned". Her laugh was light and she had the most beautiful smile. As I was entranced in her beauty, Oreius came galloping up to our picnic spot. I stood up and helped Elizabeth up. Once Oreius arrived, he spoke.

"Pardon me sire, but a visitor has arrived and wishes to have an audience with you. It is urgent."

"Alright, we'll be there shortly." I said to Oreius then turned to Elizabeth. "I am very sorry Elizabeth but we must go back to Cair Paravel. Once we get there, please head to your chambers. I will stop by later." I explained to her. We both got on our horses and sped off as quick as we could. Upon our arrival at the castle, I dismounted, helped Elizabeth do the same, then ran to the court, where my siblings, the knights, and our guest would be waiting. I saw to it that a servant would escort Elizabeth back to her chambers. I entered the court and saw my siblings speaking with our guest. The guest was a young female faun and she was crying. Lucy and Susan were consoling her and Edmund was trying to find out what had happened. I approached them and put my hand on the faun's shoulder.

"Hello, I'm Peter. What's your name?" I asked the young one in a quiet voice, so as not to scare her. She looked up at me as I knelt down to her height.

"I'm Gaia, your majesty." She responded.

"Well hello Gaia. Could you possibly tell me what happened?" She gave a slow nod before speaking.

"I live in a village in the Shuddering Wood. Last night, my village was attacked by some creature. It had the head of a snake and the body of a cheetah. Everyone in my village was killed. My mummy and daddy hid me in a basket full of tea leaves. The creature was not able to smell me. As quickly as the creature appeared, it was gone. Once dawn broke, I emerged from the basket and found everyone dead. I made my way here, in the hopes that you could do something." Gaia finished and burst into tears. Susan and Lucy rubbed their hands on the young faun.

"of course I will do something Gaia. Mr. Tumnus, why don't you take Gaia and introduce her to the other fauns that are here in Cair Paravel? I expect seeing creatures of her own kind will help her."

"Of course, sire." Mr. Tumnus responded.

"Gaia, Mr. Tumnus and the other fauns will take good care of you. I promise I will do something about this beast." I assured her. After Mr. Tumnus led her out of the court, I turned to my siblings and Oreius. "Alright. Does anyone have any idea what this beast could be?"

"I have never heard of a creature such as this in my lifetime. I will check the historical annals for any reference to it." Oreius said and left the room.

"Well until he finds a reference to it, there isn't much we can do. In other news, how was your day with Elizabeth?" Lucy asked excitedly. I chuckled at her excitement.

"It was wonderful. I actually asked her out and she said yes. We're going to take things slow." I explained. Lucy and Susan squealed in excitement and Edmund rolled his eyes at the girls' silliness. I excused myself from the room and decided to go talk to Elizabeth and tell her what was going on. Once at her room, I knocked on the door and waited. The door opened to a smiling Elizabeth, holding a book of Narnian folklore.

"Hello Peter. Please, come in. How was your guest at court?" she asked politely.

"It was a young faun. Her village was attacked by some creature none of us have ever heard of. Everyone in her village died." I said. This was hard for me. Whenever any of my subjects died, I felt as if I had failed them as their ruler. Elizabeth must have picked up on my mood because she led me to sit on the sofa in front of the fireplace. She held my hands in hers and smiled kindly at me.

"Peter, this is not your fault. You had no idea about this. You can't protect everyone. Even if you are Peter the Magnificent." She added, teasing me a little. "Did the faun say what the creature looked like?"

"Yes. She said it had the head of a serpent and the body of a cheetah. I have never heard of a creature like that." Elizabeth's face went pale and her eyes widened. "Elizabeth? Have you heard of such a creature before?"

"Yes. It was in a show that I used to watch. The show was called Merlin and it was based on Arthurian legend. There was an episode that this creature was in. It is called the Questing Beast. It's born of magic and can only be killed by magic. It's bite is lethal."