The Last Time

Her necklace glowed a little bit as she sat in the yard of her home, but her attention was elsewhere. She lived alone in a large mansion with no parents or relatives, only servants and occasionally her “friends”. None of them had been to Narnia and it killed her. She wanted so desperately to know others whom have been to Narnia. True, she had heard of the previous kings and queens of Narnia and even of Jill Pole and Eustance Scrubb.

Her mind wandered as to what they looked like and how their personalities were. Peter, the High King of Narnia; Susan, the Gentle; Edmund, the Just; and Lucy, the Valiant. All of them seemed like great people.

But her mind now wandered at this particular time to the boys she saw at the store from a week previously. There was something about the boy she ran into, though. His eyes....they were cold then, but before on the train, they were full of intrigue and interest. His brother, however, had pure shock in his eyes.

She thought about the nightmare she had about Narnia; her body being suspended in midair, her attacking someone she “knew”, but didn't. Someone crying over her body as another held her in their arms, and finally, the two people whom were crying. What did all of that mean?

Aslan's words filled her mind once again.

”Protect the necklace at all costs. The future of Narnia depends on you.”

“Protect it at all costs”, she repeated, clutching the necklace as she looked down at it as it glowed brighter, surprising her.

“W-what?” she asked in shock as the light as bright as the sun enveloped her.

She disappeared in a bright, flashing light.

…

Edmund woke with a start, salt water filling his mouth as he lifted his head feeling sand stuck to the left side of his face. He groaned as he slowly got up, his body feeling as though he got hit with a ton of bricks.

His eyes soon adjusted to the bright sunlight pouring on his face and soon realized that he was on the shore of the beach near the ruins of Cair Paravel from the Golden Age were.

“Wha-what is going on? How did I end up here?” he asked.

He soon heard groans from all around him, realizing he wasn't alone.

“Well, that was a bloody fantastic way to get back here”, Eustance said with sarcasm.

“Oh, come off it, Eustance. At least we're back”, Peter got out as he, too stood, wiping the sand off of his face as well.

All three boys stood, peering upward as they realized there was an entirely new castle where their Cair Paravel once stood. Eustance remembered it quite clearly, running up the passage of clear grass that lead up to the castle.

He was soon stopped by a centaur he didn't recognize.

“Who are you? State your name!” he called.

His brown mane and hair glistened in the sunlight as did the bright, silver armor and helmet he wore.

“M-my name is-”, Eustance began, but Peter cut across him.

“Please don't hurt us. We're friends of Narnia”, he began. The centaur stared at the three skeptically.

“Really. I'm King Edmund. He's the Peter, the High King, and that's our cousin, Eustance-”, Ed began, but the centaur cut across him.

“-Scrubb”, he finished.

The boys stared in disbelief. Even Eustance had been remembered as a friend of Narnia.

“We have been waiting for your return, my liege. Forgive me for my behavior. Narnia has been in a little disarray. My name is Rowan, leader of the centaur army”, Rowan said with a bow.

The boys stared at one another in confusion.

“Waiting our return? What do you mean?” Edmund asked.

“Our King, Tirian has been captured by the enemy-the Calormens, Sire. He disappeared just last night and we received a letter from them saying they want his friend in exchange for his life”, Rowan explained.

“Has Aslan shown up at all?” Peter asked without a hint of nervousness in his tone.

“Yes, your Highness. He came to King Tirian a week ago with this warning. When there's no one at Cair Paravel's throne, the Great Seven Kings and Queens of old will return, then a light to the right path be shown”, Rowan answered.

“Seven kings and queens of old? What does that mean?” Eustance asked.

“It means....there's another king or queen that we don't know about”, Edmund answered, staring at the group.

“Do you mind escorting us to Cair Paravel?” Peter asked, allowing their words to sink in.

“Not at all, my liege”, Rowan answered, bowing low as he turned, leading them to Cair Paravel.

…

Once the three had changed into much more, suitable, Narnian clothing, they ate quickly and decided to formulate a plan to find Susan and the others.

“We should check somewhere nearby. They can't be too far from here”, Eustance suggested.

Everyone in the search party agreed. It included, but wasn't limited to badgers, mice (like Reepicheep), a couple of centaurs, including Rowan, and a few owls.

“Right. Let's go, then”, Peter concluded and they ran towards the forests each person in charge of their own party (Peter, Edmund, and Eustance).

…

Lucy groaned as a bright, hot light shone on her face as she turned, feeling grass underneath her while someone was shaking her body from above.

“Lucy. Lu, wake up”, Susan whispered, her tone startling her.

Lucy groaned again as she sat up, taking in her sister, and their surroundings. They were in a forest, a clear, yet thick forest. The grass was soft, but the sunlight was extremely hot.

“Wh-where's Jill?” Lucy asked frantically.

“I-I don't know, Lu, but you must calm down. I'm sure we'll find her around here somewhere”, Susan answered, looking around, herself.

“We're in Narnia, but I don't know where exactly”, Lucy said after a while as they stood in the forest, not moving an inch from their whereabouts.

“Neither do I. Come on”, Susan beckoned, walking to their right, realizing they were on a path.

The two squinted their eyes, seeing a grey, large mountain-like thing in the distance. They soon realized it was Cair Paravel. Suddenly, they heard the sound of hooves and yelling a short distance from them. Slowly, they turned around, seeing a large, black carriage being pulled by two black horses heading towards them.

“Quick, over here!” a voice said from somewhere nearby.

“Wh-?” Susan got out before she felt herself and Lucy getting pulled into a nearby group of bushes about a minute before the carriage reached where they just stood.

Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but it was shielded by the person who'd just saved them. They couldn't see the figure, for the person was wearing a long, black and red cloak, obscuring their face. The person didn't make a sound until the carriage continued towards Cair Paravel before speaking.

“Are you mad? Didn't you hear me the first time I called you?” the voice said. The girls soon recognized it belonged to another female.

“Yes, but we're not particularly kind to strangers-”, Susan began, but Lucy cut across her.

“We're sorry. We didn't know if we could trust you or not. We are in Narnia, right?” she asked.

“Of course you are! Where else would you be?” the girl asked with a quick laugh, but soon changed her expression to a serious one.

Lucy and Susan had wondered why until they heard the carriage coming back for its return towards them, the sound of the hooves drawing nearer.

“No”, the girl whispered more to herself than the other two. “You'd best get away from here. Follow the straight path, but make sure you're not seen. There's a group of thick bushes and trees from here to the castle which should keep you hidden from them”, she said quickly that it took them a minute for the words to sink in.

“Wait, you're not coming with us?” Susan asked.

“No, of course not! They can't get the other girl, too”, the girl answered.

“What other girl?” Lucy asked in fear as she could almost feel the ground beneath them shake from the carriage.

“The girl near Cair Paravel. She obviously wasn't from Narnia and neither are the two of you”, the girl replied coolly.

“She must be talking about Jill!” Susan said in a hushed whisper to Lucy. The girl was listening for the carriage, completely oblivious to Susan's words.

“You two have about a few minutes' time after I make my distraction to run-run as fast as you can on the path I've told you and make haste. Don't look back and don't try to stop me. You've no idea what those beasts will do to you if they capture you”, the girl said in a hushed whisper.

“B-but what about you?” Lucy asked with sympathy as she went pale thinking of whomever these “beasts” were.

The girl looked at Lucy and Susan, taking her hood off of her face for the first time for the girls to see her clearly. The girl had a round, smooth face. She had caramel colored skin which slightly glistened in the few beams of sunlight that poured from the bushes. Her button nose fit her nicely, but her dark brown eyes were stern to them. She had straight, dark brown hair that was down to her shoulder blades, pursing her lips at Lucy's question before she answered.

A small smile was on her lips.

“Don't worry about me, Dear One. Of course things never happen the same way twice”, she said with a wink.

Those words surprised Lucy so much as she thought of she and her sibling’s second trip to Narnia. Her mind went to Aslan, but why would this girl say the exact same thing as her beloved? With no time to spare, the girl nodded once to them before running in the opposite direction of their path without looking back. Susan took that as their cue to follow the path as instructed, but Lucy sat still, watching the girl run in the opposite direction as the carriage followed her.

“Come on, Lucy”, Susan said after a few seconds when her sister still wouldn't budge.

“B-but-”, Lucy began, but Susan cut across her.

“She must know what she's doing if she did this to save us. Come on. We can't let her sacrifice be in vain”, she said softly, grabbing Lucy's hand.

As much as Lucy wanted to go back to her unknown savior, she knew Susan was right. Closing her eyes tightly, she stood as she heard the carriage follow the girl before she and Susan took off, following the girl's instructions without so much as a backwards glance.