Whisked Away

68. Seeing "Aslan"

Shifra's POV
After the creatures had left, we were left in the dark woods. Neither of us had the heart to speak, so we waited silently as the time slowly passed. Finally a red light shone a little father away. The red light turned into a bonfire in front of the stable. The beasts had gathered once more and soon out of the stable a form appeared. It was on four legs, but moved so stiffly that I found it highly unlikely that it was the great, graceful lion I had seen so many times.

My eyes were narrowed and distrust filled my expression. A loud wailing or howling broke out from the creatures, so loud in fact that we could hear it. "Aslan! Aslan! Aslan! Speak to us! Comfort us! Be angry with us no more!"  Soon whatever it was stiffly moved back into the stable and the fire was put out.

Our only light was now the stars, so I could only seen the outline of Tirian, but nothing else of him. "Has any king or queen before us been so unfortunate?" Tirian's voice asked.

"Every one of the famous kings had their struggles," I replied, "Rilian was kept underground for a decade, Caspian had to start a civil war of sorts to get his throne. Even Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy had their struggles, but not like this."

"Tell me about the children," he requested, reminding me of a small child asking for their favorite story. "The ones that came from another world."

"Well," I started, "There was Peter. He was kind and grave, yet his siblings could always make him laugh, especially Lucy. He always had a soft spot for her, but to be honest everyone did. She was sweet and kind. Edmund was my best friend. I taught him the history of Narnia and we spent many hours training and reading together. He was the only person before you that fully understood my love for books and training."

"Susan," I continued, "was smart and brave, but something about her always seemed off. If something happened to Narnia, she didn't seem to care quite as much as the others after she came the second time. Eustace started out as a bit of a whiny brat, but he turned out alright. A bit of a deal with a dragon. Jill is smart, but can be a bit of a whiner."

"Which ones did you know best?" Tirian asked.

"Edmund, Peter, and Lucy," I replied. "Like I said before Edmund was my best friend and I spent many hours with Peter and Lucy planning battles and just spending time together." After a pause, I remembered, "Oh and there was Digory and Polly. Digory was a sweet boy. He came here to try and save his mother's life. Polly was sweet too, and she helped Digory through everything."

A long silence continued until I was almost asleep, but then suddenly Tirian's voice called out, "Aslan! Aslan! Aslan! Come and help us now! Let me be killed! I ask nothing for myself, but come and save all Narnia!" Silence was all that greeted his words, but I was suddenly flung into a vivid dream.
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Edmund's POV (Heck yeah he's back gals, pals, and non-binary pals)
"What do you miss most about Narnia?" Jill asked me. We had all gathered together apart from Susan to talk about Narnia.

Smiling, I replied, "I miss Shifra. She was my best friend and I haven't seen her in a long while."

"Oh yeah," Eustace broke in, "I forgot to tell you she has white hair now."

"What?" Lucy exclaimed. "I can't even imagine Shifra with white hair."

"Me neither," Digory admitted.

"Are her eyes still golden?" Peter asked. Eustace nodded. "Those were always the most curious eyes I had ever seen. Whatever happened between her and Caspian?"

A sad look crossed Lucy and I's faces at the memory, but Eustace replied before we could, "Well they were engaged, but Aslan wiped their memories so they didn't remember. Although when we were there last and he passed away he seemed to remember, but not until after he was dead."

"Wait you talked to a dead Caspian?" I clarified.

"Well, I mean yeah," Jill replied, "We were on this mountain and he was there, but a lot younger." I felt a big smile come onto my face thinking and talking about Narnia again. Life had been getting a little too boring lately.

"I just wish I could go back," Peter admitted.

"Me too," Lucy replied, a sad smile crossing her face. "Our last adventure didn't last long enough. Although it was fun."

"Oh you mean when we fought the sea serpent?" I countered with a smile.

"Or I turned into a dragon?" Eustace added. We all laughed cheerfully, but all of the sudden I began to notice something odd. Before us as if through a window, stood a man and woman tied to two trees. They were dressed in Narnian clothing, and both looked rather young.

"Shifra?" Jill asked in disbelief. Looking carefully, I realized that she was right, but her hair was much shorter than when I had seen it last, ending about halfway down her back and was white.

We all had varied reactions. Peter's jaw had clenched, Eustace, Jill, and Lucy had jumped to their feet, Aunt Polly drew in a sharp breath, and I paled. Peter was the first to speak. "Speak, if you are not a phantom or a dream. You have a Narnian look about you and we are the Seven Friends of Narnia."

The man's mouth moved, but no sound came through. "Shadow or spirit or whatever you are," Peter continued, "If you are from Narnia, I charge you in the name of Aslan, speak to me. I am Peter the High King." Then Shifra tried to speak, but from behind her I saw a man with an arrow. Suddenly before any of us could warn her, that arrow was stabbed into her shoulder and she passed out.

"Shifra!" I cried.

"It's vanishing," Jill exclaimed, worry filling her eyes from Shifra.

Everyone sat back down and I clenched my fist. "We need to get someone there," I said after the silence. "We need to make sure she's ok."

"Ed," Peter started, "We can't just wish to get there. A-and besides, she can't die."

"No," Eustace replied slowly, "but she can through insufferable pain. During our trip to get Caspian's son..."

"Eustace," Jill interrupted.

"She went through something, something painful. She may not have died, but she was in a lot of pain," Eustace continued.

"Ok, well either way we need to help them both," Lucy replied, "How have we gotten to Narnia before?"

"A door."

"A painting."

"A train station."

"A wardrobe."

"Rings," Digory and Polly said at the same time. "The rings," the professor continued excitedly. If we can get those rings, you can go and help."

"Who's to go," I asked.

Peter's eyes filled with longing, but he shook his head and replied, "It has to be Jill and Eustace. You and Lucy were told you could never come back and I the same. And I doubt either of you wish to partake in a war or battle."

"Then let's figure this out," I conclude. For hours we plan how to get the rings and get them to the children. With a perfect plan in place, we get ready to execute.