Further Up & Further In

The Blood of the Lamb

Peter, Edmund, and Lucy got baptized several months after their return from their eastward voyage. It had taken them a while to find Aslan's other name, and then a little bit longer to learn what was expected of them under their faith in England. The pastor had informed them they'd been baptized as infants, and Edmund replied, "Well, we didn't exactly know what we were doing back then."

So, the church travelled to a little lake outside the city, and there they performed baptisms. More than just the three Pevensies had decided to participate, but as the youngest, the Pevensies went first.

Eustace and his parents were invited, and the former was thrilled to go. He had recently returned from his second trip to Narnia, and was more excited than ever to learn more about Aslan, and who he was in this world.

As he watched his cousins make their way down to the water - Lucy first, Peter last, - he felt something bubbling inside of him. It was like a well, he thought. There was a well bubbling up inside his veins, and where he'd once felt fire, he felt cool water instead. Hold on, he thought to himself, I've witnessed this before. Then; no, not witnessed. I've done this before.

Lucy was charged to make a confession; casting off her old burdens, clothing herself in Christ, or something similar that Eustace only just caught the words of. He was too busy thinking of another encounter - though he noticed when Lucy went down. He watched her go under the water, and held his breath for a few seconds, and then, finally, she came back up, a shining grin lighting up her face. Eustace got chills.

He remembered it, now. The memory he was searching for, and another one, too. First, the encounter between a dragon and a lion. No, a dragon and The Lion. And he had been that dragon, enchanted and cursed, and unable to tear off his flesh prison. He felt the thoughts piling at his feet, like the dragon skin itself - layer after layer, rough after rough. Then, finally, "You will have to let me undress you," said the Lion. There was a great pain - Eustace supposed there had to be, to tear away a part of oneself - but it was a good pain, too. And then, finally. Eustace stood: a boy once again. After that, he went down into the water. After that he was allowed to bathe.

Edmund made his way deeper into the water now, as Lucy struggled up to shore. Her mother wrapped her in a towel, and she stood for a moment, taking everything in. Then she caught sight of Eustace, and smiled brightly at him. Eustace smiled back.

Edmund made another confession, guided by the pastor. Then he went down - then under - then up, and though he didn't smile as widely as his sister, Eustace could recognize the noble joy on his cousin's face.

Now, the other encounter came back to him. Caspian lay under the water, old and grey and dead, and Eustace remembered weeping for him. Then came a drop of blood - Aslan's blood - and Caspian was old and grey and dead no longer. He was young, and bursting with life, and Eustace had rejoiced at the sight of him. The image of Caspian changing under the water stayed with him more than almost anything.

And finally, Peter entered the water. Eustace mourned, for a moment, that he had never known him as High King, but in the next moment the disappointment vanished, because he realized the Magnificent King was standing in front of him. Peter gave his confession boldly and clear, like a king's proclamation, and his face shone with noble pride. This didn't change when he was immersed in the water, yet Eustace also saw the hint of a childish smile when Peter came back up.

"So," came a voice beside him, and Eustace startled. He turned his head to see Edmund, hair dripping water, with a towel wrapped around his shoulders. "What do you think? Do you want to be washed in the blood of the lamb?"

"What's that?" Eustace asked.

"Well, it's a hymn. 'Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?'"

"Yes, I meant, what does it mean?"

"Oh. Well, the lamb is Jesus - he's the Lion and the Lamb, you understand. Remember that little lamb at the end of the world? I think this is why Aslan appeared to us that way. The sacrificial lamb, who died, so that we may live." Edmund shivered a little as he said the last words.

Eustace considered this answer for a moment, trying to reconnect his thoughts. Then he said, "Aslan bled over Caspian in His Country. Did I tell you that?"

"No. I don't believe you did."

"Do you think it's the same? His blood washing Caspian, and making him young again?"

Edmund paused. "Yes, I reckon it is. Though maybe you should ask Peter. He knows better about that sort of thing."

After a moment of silence between the two of them, the pastor called for the congregation to sing a hymn together. "Speak of the devil, eh?" Edmund whispered to Eustace.

"Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?" The people began singing the very song they'd been discussing, but Eustace didn't find it coincidental. At the very least, it was expected, thematically related to the baptisms that were occurring. At the most, Eustace thought, it may very well have been Aslan's own doing. Eustace listened carefully to the words, and the last verse rather gave him chills. "Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin, and be washed in the blood of the Lamb. There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean, O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!"

In a moment, Eustace understood why the Lion had had to undress him. He had to cast off the old to make way for the new life Aslan was giving him - the old clothes for the new - the dragon skin for his own, soft flesh.

"Edmund?" Eustace whispered to his cousin.

"Hm?" Edmund responded.

"Do I need to do it again? Be baptized, I mean." At his cousin's puzzled look, he continued. "You remember that story I told you, about what happened to me on that mountain? When I was undragoned, I mean."

Edmund turned to look at his cousin thoughtfully, and after a moment a grin came to his lips. "No, not unless you want to. What happened between you and Aslan was personal, and I think it happened for this same reason. Now that you know that, I don't see why you should have to do it again. Just tell me; if you knew then what you know now, would you choose it?"

Eustace considered. Would he choose to cast off the tough dragon skin and return to his small, child's body? And, what's more, would he do it with the intention of following the Lion faithfully? But even now, he couldn't imagine making a different choice. "Yes. In a heartbeat, yes."

He was washed in the blood of the lamb.

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 A/N: Sorry I've been so inactive lately! I can't promise I'm gonna be writing a lot more in the near future, but I promise I'm not giving up on this entirely. I just suck at being motivated, haha. I recently moved and started a new job, and I'm still getting used to everything. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this little fic I wrote in honour of my friend who got baptized a couple weeks ago! And I hope I'll be back to writing often soon.