The Youngest Pevensie

Chapter 18: Aslan!

     "I don't remember this way." Susan said as the six of us walked through the woods. Peter was in front, and then my sisters and I, with Edmund and Trumpkin last. "That's the problem with girls. You can't carry a map in your heads." Peter said, glancing back at my sisters and I. "That's because our heads have something in them." Lucy said and I couldn't help but break out into a smile as I snorted in laughter. "I wish he'd just listen to the D.L.F. in the first place." Susan said and Lucy and I both nodded. "D.L.F?" Edmund questioned and my sisters and I looked after him. "Dear Little Friend." I answered, my sisters and I smiling. We followed Peter until we came to boulders which stopped us from going any further. "I'm not lost." Peter said to himself. "No. You're just going the wrong way." Trumpkin told him. "You last saw Caspian at the Shuddering Woods, and the quickest way there is to cross at the river Rush." Peter responded. "But unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing in these parts." Trumpkin said. I didn't know what to think. I knew Peter would know where we're going, but we've also been gone for over a thousand years, the geography had probably changed. "That explains it, then. You're mistaken." Peter said, matter-of-factly, before we headed off to another path past the boulders.

     We came out of the woods to a cliff. We looked down at the river which was a long fall down from where we were. "You see, over time, water erodes the earth's soil, carving deeper. . ." Susan got cut off by Peter. "Oh, shut up." Peter interrupted. "Is there a way down?" Edmund asked Trumpkin. "Yeah, falling." Trumpkin answered as we all turned around to face him. "Well, we weren't lost." Peter said. He hated being wrong. "There's a ford near Beruna. How do you feel about swimming?" Trumpkin asked. "I'd rather that than walking." Susan grumbled as Lucy and I glanced over across river to the cliff on the other side. There we saw Aslan. "Aslan?" I whispered. "It's Aslan!" Lucy and I exclaimed at the same time. "It's Aslan over there!" Lucy exclaimed to our siblings. "Don't you see? He's right. . ." She paused as we looked back and saw that he was gone. ". . . there." She finished her thought, all the excitement gone. "Do you see him now?" Trumpkin questioned us. "We're not crazy. We both saw him. He was there. He wanted us to follow him." Lucy explained to them and I nodded in agreement. "I'm sure there are any number of lions in this wood.  Just like that bear." Peter tried to reason with us. "I think we know Aslan when we see him." I responded, my voice defensive. "Look, I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist." Trumpkin said and I flexed my jaw, trying to stop myself from getting angry. He does exist. "The last time I didn't believe Lucy or Katerina, I ended up looking pretty stupid." Edmund stood up for us and I shot him a thankful look. Peter looked back at where we saw Aslan. "Why wouldn't I have seen him?" Peter asked us. "Maybe you weren't looking." Lucy answered. "I'm sorry, Lu, Kat." Peter said before he and Susan and Trumpkin started walking away. Lucy and I looked back towards where we had seen him. It was empty still. We looked back at Edmund who nodded his head towards where Peter, Susan, and Trumpkin had gone. Lucy went ahead and I sighed before I started to walk. Edmund walked by my side and put his arm around my shoulders, comfortingly. "Thanks for trying." I said quietly to him, referring to when he spoke up for us. He didn't respond with words, just kissed the top of my head. Then we continued following our other siblings.

     Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, Trumpkin, and I hid behind a fallen tree as we watched what was happening on the ground next to the water. There were hundreds of men there, building machines for war and more importantly, a bridge. A horse neighed near us and we all flattened ourselves on the ground, trying not to be seen. "Perhaps this wasn't the best way to come after all." Susan whispered to Peter. The Telmarines we're preparing for war and I was sure we were going have to fight them, being on opposite sides. Peter headed back into the woods and the rest of us followed him.

     We were standing on the cliff again. "So where exactly do you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asked Lucy and I. I turned and glared at him. "I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grown-ups. We don't think we saw him, we did see him." I spoke, an edge to my voice. "I am a grown up." Trumpkin muttered but I ignored him. Lucy and I walked over. "It was right over..." Suddenly Lucy fell, but she had grabbed my arm before she did out of instinct, so she took me with her. We both screamed. "Lucy!" Susan shouted as Peter shouted. "Kat!" We has only fallen around three feet to a ledge that was right below the earth we had fallen through. "...here." Lucy finished what she was saying. The ledge led to a path that we could take down to the river.

     Lucy was in front with Trumpkin as we crossed the river. She misstepped and lost her balance, but Trumpkin caught onto her and stabilized her. She sent him a thankful smile before she continued walking. Edmund stopped walking and crouched down. I jumped onto his back and he straightened out, using his arms as support to keep me propped up on his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck loosely, as not to choke him. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before snuggling my cheek into the back of his shoulder as he walked. I was so glad we were back in Narnia. It felt more like home than England ever did.