The Legacy's Return (#2)

Evil's Return

"Are you sure you want to come?" Trumpkin asked me as I started walking back to my room. He had been following ever since I sneaked out of the Throne room.

"I'm coming whether you like it or not."

He couldn't believe that I had finally snapped. I was taking charge of my life. "I'll go prepare the horses."

"I'll meet you there." I started climbing up the stairs while Trumpkin left the castle through the front gate.

I quickly changed into some normal clothes, grabbed my bow and quiver of arrows and sword from my wardrobe and sneaked to the stables. I hoped nobody would stop me because I wasn't going to be stopped because of a ceremony that was only going to prove what I already knew and started to believe.

I knew it was wrong to leave everyone waiting in the hall, but it was way more important than a ceremony that would just make everyone else accept that I was the Heir of Narnia.

A boy was missing. He was only a teenager. The woman was hurt while all of us were enjoying inside the castle. I could feel the woman's starvation in the dream. I could feel her desperation for a better life and the love for her son.

"Let's go." I said, climbing on my horse.

"Are you sure you want to come?" Trumpkin asked me after he got on. I gave him the look. "Shouldn't have said that. Let's go."

We rode in silence till we reached the woods. "The woman said that she came from there." He pointed to his left.

"Oh God." It was the same place where Caspian had tried to kill me in the dream. I recognised the tree nearby. The way I could see it crystal clear in front of my eyes made me shiver.

"What?"

"Nothing." I shook my head. "Let's go."

We went on and on and on. The forest never seemed to end. At one point, we had to stop and allow our horses to drink water from a flowing river. "Why did you stop the ceremony?" He asked me as we sat down to rest.

I looked at him and thought about how I should explain myself. "I don't know how to phrase it. All I could think about was helping that woman."

"You were thinking about something. It didn't look like it was just the intention for helping."

I thought about what he said, rewinding to that moment. "You're right. It wasn't just that." I looked at the ground as the truth was pointed out to me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He was sitting on a higher rock and offered me his flask of water.

"Maybe." I said, taking it from him. "I don't know. When that woman was talking, all I could think about was my parents. I know, it must sound weird." A small smile spread across my face. "I couldn't help but wonder what if that had been my parents' condition?"

"You couldn't possibly know, Adams."

"But what if it was? They sent me away to another world. Which must have happened with someone's help. What if that was their condition?" I asked. "What if they had to plead someone just so I could live a life?"

Trumpkin didn't know what to do. So, he just clamped his hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, Sophie."

"I don't even know how they looked."

"Well, combine your faces on two separate people." Trumpkin said. "Maybe add some beard on the man's face."

I laughed. "Thank you, Trumpkin."

"Anytime, Princess." He said. Suddenly, it started getting cold. Goosebumps spread my arms and I looked at Trumpkin. "I feel it too."

I stood up and walked towards the edge of the tree cover till I saw what the end of the river looked like. "No way!" I exclaimed. "Trumpkin." I whispered to him after I came back, knowing that the trees could hear us now.

"Why are you whispering?" He asked in a normal tone.

"Shh!" I said. "The end of the river is frozen."

"What?" He looked at me with a confused expression.

"We need to go forward on foot."

"All right." He washed his hands and took his weapons from the saddle, arming himself for any possible situation and I did the same.

As we tried to walk as slowly as possible till we reached the frozen part of the river, I had a feeling why it could be frozen. But I couldn't confirm it. Not yet.

There was a bridge that led to the other side but it was torn down. "Beards and bed-steads!"

I nodded at him. "Exactly."

There was a loud clanking from a little further. I looked at Trumpkin and he understood what I meant. We started walking forwards even further into the forest until we reached a clearing. He used sign language to tell me to hide behind one of the thickets. I did as he asked and we looked over from the fallen tree, trying to see what was going on.

There were all kinds of creatures in the clearing - sprites, spectres, hags, minotaurs, Jinns, bears, wolves and dwarfs. Everyone was working on something. There was a camp set up that we had no knowledge about.

As I breathed out, I could see the air leaving my mouth. I showed Trumpkin that and he put a finger to his lips, asking me to stay even more quiet. Right then, an icy voice broke the peace in the forest. "Guard!"

My eyes were wide open. It was the same voice I had heard in my dreams. The cold whispers in my nightmares, the frozen river, the woman.....everything was connected.

A tall woman, who was very beautiful, exited one of the tents. Her skin was as white as paper and she was wearing a gown that looked like it was made out of snow. She had a glowing staff in her hand, which resembled the broken one but was different in many ways.

"Oh no." I knew exactly who it was.

I looked at Trumpkin, who had his eyes wide open as well. Both of us knew who it was and we were left astound. I beckoned my head to the left and he nodded. It was time to leave. We had seen more than enough to know what was happening.

My suspicions were right. All the things were connected. Glenstorm's prediction made perfect sense now. I thought that he had meant a war between the countries in Narnia. It wasn't.

It was a war against the White Witch.