Quiet a stir...

"Just think about it," Alicia finally finishes. "Older brothers and younger sisters can be very trying at times, but still in the long run they are family . . . and family . . . ."

And with that, things are pretty much quiet as the group worms it's way past stray patrols from Jadis' army. By now Edmund, while still very much conflicted about recent events, resolves to at least try to get along better with his brother and sister. Too much of what this strange bearwoman (who is dressed like some kind of American Indian, for goodness sake!) talked with him about made too much . . .sense.

It was almost like he was an open book to them. Like his story had been printed somewhere . . .

His efforts to find out more about them had been less than successful. Oh, they'd said that they weren't from Narnia (and Edmund kind of felt a bit silly for having somehow mistaken them for such). Obviously they were strangers (especially the adult humans). Being a recent victim of what usually happens to human being captured by the "White Queen" (that witch who'd tempted him . . .so very badly and fooled him so . . .)

All human beings, by order by the witch, were to be turned over to her. His sister had warned him that those human beings had been turned to stone

....

At least he had the right to say that he hadn't betrayed Aslan and his kin! Oh, in his heart he had been tempted but things had fallen apart (and fallen on his head) before he'd decided, you see. Decided to "sell out" that lion in order for the Queen to make him a prince (and him being able to give a comeuppance to his older brother for calling him "a beast").

Seems rather. . . .silly and petty now, that he looks back on it. Even being tempted.

Well, after what had happened to him, his eyes were now jolly well open, eh? At least now he knew better...

He shivers a little bit, remembering that somewhere he'd heard that when the witch got defeated, those statues should be restored to living flesh and blood. Jolly good that such a thing hadn't happened before his rescuers found him, else....

Premature burial is so distasteful....

Shivering, he looks at the bright side. He was alive and he HAD not betrayed his brother, the lion and his forces and jolly well now wasn't ever, eh? Learned that leason the hard way, but he'd jolly well had learned! Thank goodness.

With that in mind, he's in somewhat higher spirits having resolved that within his heart . . . only to have the rug pulled out from under him when he gets back into friendly territory with his new friends!

That's when he and his friends get rushed to see somebody named "Winifred", along with his distraught kin. His sister was still red eyed from crying and his brother looked . . . upset. Everyone was upset and when he saw . . .

"What in Heaven's name is wrong with Aslan?!" he gasps, pointing and gaping.

When he find out, it's like a stone has formed in his stomach.

What in Heaven's name was going on here? And why to Aslan? Why?

As luck would have it, his brother Peter is rather wound up about this and almost explodes in anger and frustration when Edmund admits he'd been "mucking about" in places he shouldn't have been (and got captured).

Astra, seeing it coming, clamps down on the elder brother's shoulder.

"Now is not the time," she says softly. "He knows that it was wrong. After today, I rather bloody doubt he'll EVER do something as stupid like that again and IF you get into a screaming match you're going to upset your little sister further. Grow up!"

The last part was almost a slap in Peter's face. Almost.

"Later," Edmund promised his brother. "If you feel the need you can curse me to the high Heavens. I deserve it, right. But right now let us put it aside and figure out what the, what the...what's going on here and if we can do something to put things to right! One thing at a time, please, Peter. You were right and I'm wrong. Happy? I'll listen from now on, but let's not carry on right now!"

"Yes," the one known as Winifred. "Let's just do that. First let's get your story about what you learned. What's this about the witch being missing? And watch where you point that wand! So help me, if you point that thing at me again I'll..."

Folks, remember that magic wands can shoot out deadly things. Winifred's rather rightly nervous at having one pointed at her (even if accidently when Alicia was trying to figure out why it was clicking so loudly after it had been accidently left on). She'd expected the source to be somewhere beyond this room . . . As it was, she was still trying to figure out just why she felt so . . . sisterly to that male elf who looked like she had looked as a man (if you discount the inky black eyes, small size, and pointed ears).

Nevermind, it's time for a bit of story telling and introduction, eh?

And, being that they had little choice (couldn't just snatch Winifred and run, with all the guards about), they did not do just that. Winifred, they felt, would NOT just go blindly with them, not with Aslan's army in such disarray... So they couched their story in vague, mystical terms. Truthful, but they failed to mention things like the Dark Tower. Things like the Rules and Agents. Stating instead that they'd been assigned something of a holy Quest and Winifred was the object of that Quest. She was needed, in order to defeat the machinations of the forces of the Underworld. Took a bit of doing (more so than what will be put down here, to not bore you), but they convince Winifred (appealing to her warrior pride, if nothing else). But as it stood, what had been said by these strangers (as well as what Aslan's healers had told her), something radical had to take place. What wasn't known, but something! The Lion was fading by the minute. She herself had gone over the prophecies (what with the land of Narnia's winter only ending with humans sitting on this land's throwns . . .which amounted to the death of thw White Queen, all told). Nothing was certain, now with all she'd seen. The prophecies had been caste askew, and Aslan had somehow suffered for it. Some kind of link was there between the witch who'd gone missing and Aslan's condition.

Some kind of closure was needed and she thought (prayed!) that IF the Witch was found and killed then (was the hope) that Aslan would recover with the link being broken. Frankly all the folks in this strange army she'd talke with about such things just got a . . . scared look in their eyes, unable to put their minds around it. Instinct driven, they had elected her as a leader with Aslan down (and not the newcomer children), following her blindly in a rash hope that she (alone) could fix things. Trying to talk with them on things "outside the box" with this prophecy was an exercise in frustration. She alone was going to be the one to fix things (or have things fail). IT was too late to back out now.

This army of good, in anger and frustration, might well lose it if she tried to back out of her role of leader now. She was stuck and she was their Leader, until Aslan recovered!! And God help anyone who tried to tell them differently (or take her from them).

Astra and the others could smell something in the air . . . That is, the other adults (children had been sent outside whilst the adults discussed things).

"I cannot go with you now," she says softly. "I . . . must strike the enemy while they are still confused and weak, but . . ."

She goes on to say that while her forces just couldn't handle this part of the plan she'd been cooking up. She wanted somebody to go out and find the witch before her cronies could and . . .silence her. Things would be helped for that group by something of a diversion attack to throw the enemy off balance and divert resources away from their search while her group of "fixers" would slip in and do their business. That small group, she was asking, would be Jarlath's group (so she was asking, anyway). She added that it wasn't like this wouldn't be justice. All had agreed that the witch must die. It might even be needful if Aslan was to recover.

"But know this," Winifred said softly but firmly (coldly). "I shan't be going one second before the witch's death back here in Narnia. Aslan's life might depend on it and his army won't let you just take me, even if I was to go with you willingly before that."

"That's almost blackmail," Fertal says, almost growling.

This had kind of taken their brother/sister analog relationship into the estranged area. The elf still loved her like a sister, but this apparent betrayal of a sort was all the harder to handle for him, alas.

1. "But that's just the way it must be," was Winnifred's reply, final answer.

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