Whisked Away

53. Setting out

Shifra's POV
We had made up our packages and handed out weapons to everyone before the day was up. Eustace had a sword from his room at the castle and also had with him Puddleglum's second-best bow. Jill had a long knife with her and Puddleglum had his own sword and his best bow. I, of course, was very well covered when it come to weapons.

When the other three had gone off to bed, I was to be found laying down on the grass, staring up at the stars. I heard a soft crunch of grass being stepped on behind me. "I thought you'd gone off to bed," I voiced.

Eustace sat down beside me. "Shifra," he started, "what happened to you? You've grown so solemn."

I let out a sigh, before replying, "I...I remember everything, Eustace." He looked perplexedly at me. "I remember now that Caspian was no mere friend of mine...He was to be my husband."

"Yes," he replied, looking down. "Are you...are you ok?"

"Yes," I replied, "I suppose I just remembered that I'm here to make sure things go as they should, not to live my life."

"You can still live and make sure all goes right," he countered, his voice softer than I think even he realized.

"No I can't," I replied, "I am here to be Narnia guardian, not it's destroyer." Miraz's voice filled my ears as I spoke those words, saying An enemy of Narnia. Before he could say anything, I continued, "You should head to bed. We have a long day ahead of us." He complied after a little more convincing, only heading to bed when I agreed to as well. We both soon drifted off to sleep, thinking of what lay before us.

The sun was still a few hours off when I rose from my slumber. I had come to the point where I had trained myself to wake whenever it was needed for me to. I left the wigwam silently, only taking time to situate my weapons before leaving. I checked over the packs and moved the build up a fire. I was soon joined by Puddleglum and we worked in silence together until a softly calling fire burned before us. Lowing myself to the ground, I stared deeply into the fire, watching as the flames curled and twisted into different shapes.

Puddleglum was still milling about, gathering some food for breakfast and filling the water skins. I watched as the flames curled around a log that stuck up above the majority of the flames. They simply crawled higher and higher until every particle of wood was encased in flame. In the firelight I checked over my blades and bow, but found nothing to fix.

When the sun had risen for a few hours, the children finally awoke. We ate a hasty meal and soon set off. We climbed up to the bank that marked the end of Narnia and the beginning of Ettinsmoore. We all looked back one last time before turning our back on the wooded slopes and rolling hills of Narnia. I began to softly sing under my breath...

Home is behind,
The world's ahead.
There are many paths to tread.
Through shadow
To the edge of night.
Til the stars are all aligned.

Mist and shadow
Cloud and shade
All shall fade
All shall fade.

The land before us was a long moore. A gorge ran to our right and before us was a steep hill. The children were light with adventure, but Puddleglum and I both held a reserved and cautious demeanor. "By the gorge or..." Jill asked.

"No," Puddleglum and I replied at once. Continuing, I informed her, "That gorge functions as a sort of street for them and they live all along it. Best go right ahead." She nodded and we all continued our walk. Using my wings, I flew up easily to the top, surveying the land as I flew up. Sweating, everyone else soon joined me at the top, all apart from Puddleglum looking slightly enviously at my long wings.

We continued on, treading our way through the lonely moore. "Hadn't we stop for a rest?" Jill asked, wiping sweat from her brow. I looked back at her, but my face held an unreadable expression and I continued on. We soon came upon a stream and here I did stop. "I think I'm liking adventures," Jill voiced naively.

Puddleglum and I shared and look, but only he replied, "We haven't had any yet." Then we set out once again. We journey well into the afternoon and did not stop until the sun was two hours from setting. Puddleglum Had us all sleep back to back, with two blankets on top, but the children shivered all the same. I had wrapped my wings around the majority of my body, so I was kept rather warmer than the others.

As it was the day before, Puddleglum and I woke long before the children. He set about making breakfast, but I simply made up the fire. When all four of us were seated by the fire waking for the birds Puddleglum had caught to cook, I asked, "What would you do is someone on this little crew of ours disappeared during this journey?"

"Go after them of course," Eustace replied without hesitation.

"What if it was me?"

Eustace shared a confused look with the marsh-wiggle and Puddleglum before replying, "We'd still go after you."

"Hm," I replied, staring deeply into the flames. "No, you wouldn't, because I'm making you promise right now that you will not go after me if I disappear. Whether it is because I leave suddenly, I'm taken, or any other circumstance. I cannot die and I will not allow others to die for me."

"You talk as if you anticipate this," Jill broke in.

Puddleglum was the next to speak, "Well, Pole, what with enemies and a witch you never know what's going to happen. Always good to be prepared, I say, and while I don't like it any more than you do, we got to respect her wishes." That was the end of that conversation. I did not know what had printed me to say it, but something about this journey...I had a bad feeling.

"Shall we set off then?" I asked, getting to my feet. The others merely nodded. Over the next week or so we journeyed our way through Ettinsmoore, but ten days into our journey we hit rougher land. While the moore had been all soft hills and streams, this was rugged mountains, dark valleys, and harsh, steep hills. Snow was seen on one of the mountains as Puddleglum did not fail to point out. On the slope just below us, there were cliffs and below these a harsh river.

When we had reached the edge of the cliffs, no one knew just how to get across. We were just deciding whether I should just carry them over one at a time when Eustace exclaimed, "What about that?" We all looked. It was a towering bridge, clearly giant's making. The others continued to bicker, but I raised my hand to silence them. Before I could get a word out, we all heard a thrashing of branches behind us.

I raised my finger to my lips and drew my bow. The thrashing only grew louder until the last people I expected came forth.