Whisked Away

15. The Dancing Lawn and Aslan's How

Caspian's POV
The place that we had slept was also where our meeting was. We soon were joined by my tutor, Doctor Cornelius.
.................
Shifra's POV
The Narnian's all excepted Caspian readily enough and while we were talking at the Dancing Lawn, we had an unexpected visitor. Caspian's tutor, Doctor Cornelius, informed us of Miraz' coming to find us. He had apparently found tracks from the dwarfs mostly and also the return of Caspian's horse.

Cornelius suggested going to Aslan's How and to there we departed. On this moonlit march, Caspian and I spoke less of the Old Narnia and more of our plans. We made it to the How at dawn and soon everyone was settled in a room. Mine was just next to Caspian's and I did not spend much time there, but it was a nice room.

Trumpkin and the other dwarfs were settled in a large cavern with a forge so that they could work on making weapons. It was on this morning while I was exploring with Caspian that I realized exactly where we were. We had just reached the innermost chamber of the place when suddenly I felt a wave of such undeniable fear flood through me as my eyes lay on the Stone Table.

My breath came in ragged and forced as I struggled to calm myself. My hands covered my face as I backed into a wall and crumbled to the ground. Sobs shook my body as I tried to control myself. I felt two soft hands on my shoulders and heard a far off voice, but it was too far for me to hear what was being said. I just knew one emotion: fear. It was so great that I soon knew no more.
.........................
Caspian's POV
I was exploring Aslan's How with Shifra when we had finally gotten to where the Stone Table lay. At least that's what I assumed it was when I saw it, but from behind me I heard the sound of very ragged breathing. I turned around and saw Shifra. She was sliding down the wall covering her face with her hands as she began to sob.

Reaching to her shoulders, I tried to gently say her name, but she did not seem to hear me. I began to panic, so I called, "Shifra! Shifra!" Doctor Cornelius came in soon after and he saw what was happening instantly. Before he could do anything however, Shifra passed out. I turned to the doctor and asked, "What on earth happened?"

"Ah my king," he replied, "There was one story I never got a chance to tell you. When the white witch claimed the younger of the Sons of Adam's blood, in order to be appeased she was given the blood of Aslan and his Second in Command, General Shifra." I did not know what to say to that so I just let him go on. "Her feathers in her wings were all pulled out, her hair was all pulled or cut, and she was spat on, kicked, and even, if the stories are true, whipped within an inch of her life. Then the Witch dealt her a fatal blow and she was gone."

"She got it even worse than Aslan," I whispered.

"Aye, they were too afraid of him to do too much damage, but to them General Shifra was just a girl with wings and some party tricks." I swallowed painfully. I could not imagine the pain she had gone through. With the doctor's help, I carried her back to her room and laid her on her bed, being very careful of her wings, which made her much heavier than she looked. After we had done that, we left her to sleep and got some sleep ourselves.

That was the last night of peace we had, for three days afterwards Miraz had found where we were and brought his army. After that nearly all our time was spent fighting and we were always wet and cold. All the battles were going wrong, for Shifra had not woken up. She seemed to be in a suspended state of terror. Seeing the Stone Table had sent her into a sort of coma.

I was now sitting in council with Trufflehunter, Nikabrik, Trumpkin, and Doctor Cornelius to discuss two main things: how to win this, and how to wake Shifra, for it had now been more than a week that she had been in her coma-like state. We were discussing using the horn and we soon decided to do so and send a squirrel to Lantern Waste and Trumpkin to the river mouth where Cair Paravel used to lie, or still does.
..................
Shifra's POV
When I came to myself I was sitting in a room. It was the oddest room I had ever seen. There was a very large piece of paper hanging over the wall I was facing. Behind me there was a box-shaped white thing with something like the lense of a pair of glasses through which were strange circles. I stood up from the long row of chairs I had been seated at, but the chairs were very odd. The part you sat on flipped up when you were not sitting on it.

I made my way to the white box thing and saw a button on it. This I pressed. Light poured from the lense and I looked up at the piece of paper. I saw before me the creation of Narnia, most particularly, I saw everything that I saw that day. The film continued and look me through my entire life. I was in tears when it got to the Stone Table, but I did not see what I went through, it showed me Aslan and the two children.

We had all suffered greatly that day. I now knew what I needed to do. I wanted to speak with Lucy about it, for she would be one of the few that could understand.

With that thought in mind, I suddenly shot up in my bed at the How. I did not know when it was, but I was looking around for Caspian. I was told that he was inside the Stone Table room and while my heart rate did increase at the thought, I was not scared. When I entered I saw two dead bodies on the ground and I also saw Peter, Edmund, and Caspian who had yet to notice me.

"I haven't come to take your place you know, but to put you into it," I heard Peter say.

"Oh thank god this isn't working out like the movies, that was a nightmare," I exclaimed, rushed to pull both Edmund and Peter into a hug.

"Shifra!" Edmund exclaimed. I had always been the closest with him.

As Peter pulled away to speak with Trufflehunter, I hugged Edmund again, whispering, "Oh Ed, I have missed you." I then turned to Caspian and gave him a smile and a quick hug. Pulling away, I asked, "How long?"

Peter and Edmund looked rather confused as Caspian replied after a brief hesitation, "Over a week." I slapped my forehead with my hand and let out a sigh. "Speaking of which," he continued, lowering his voice so that the others could barely hear him, "Are you ok?"

At this I glanced at the Stone Table. My heart picked up a little, but when I looked back to Caspian all my fear melted away. "Yeah," I replied with a smile, "I'm ok. The past is in the past and I know that that will never happen to me again." Caspian nodded and pulled me into a hug. I heard Peter and Edmund leaving as Caspian continued to hold me in his arms. I buried my face in his chest and let out a sigh. His arms were wrapped securely around my waist and his chin rested on my head.

We remained like that for a few minuets and soon Caspian whispered, "We should go eat." I nodded, pulling away, but I could not help but wish I was still in his arms. After we had eaten, I learned that Lucy and Susan were with Aslan and that he wished us to do what we could in the meantime, so Peter turned to me and asked, "General, Caspian whichever of you knows, is the army strong enough to take on Miraz in battle."

"No," we both replied. I make eyes contact with him and we both looked away, a slight blush creeping on our faces. Edmund sent me a smirk as Caspian elaborated, "I'm afraid not, High King."

"Very well, then," Peter replied, then looking to me, "What do you suggest General?" I was very glad he still looked to me for my opinion like in the old days.

"I would say to challenge him in combat," I replied. Everyone seemed shocked at my idea, for no one had thought of it before.

"Please, could it not be me? I want to avenge my father." Caspian asked.

I opened my mouth to reply, but was cut off by Peter saying, "You're wounded. And anyway, wouldn't he just laugh at a challenge from you? I mean, we have seen that you are a king and a warrior, but he thinks of you as a kid."

I eleborated, saying, "You may be twenty as you are now, or seventy-five and he would most likely still see you as a child." Caspian nodded in understanding.

Peter began to dictate a challenge as I thought over who should deliver it. Ed obviously should and Glenstorm, but who for the third? When Peter asked me who I would choose, I replied, "Well Ed for one, Glenstorm for another, and..." I dropped off as I was thinking.

Caspian spoke up and suggested, "Maybe Shifra, High King, she is the oldest being in Narnia, no offense, and therefore has the most respect out of everyone in Narnia." I shrugged off his comment about my age and hoped Peter would agree with him.

"Her age does not always get her respect, especially when they don't believe in it, but she is certainly intimidating and clearly Narnian because of the wings," Peter pondered out loud. Finally he continued, "I agree with you, Caspian, General Shifra shall be the third." I was silently delighted, but aside from my smile, no one could have been able to tell.