the second occasion

[deepest_magic]

House. Wardrobe. Coats.

Comments

[neverbeatme]

"Yeah, I'm getting to that part. First I went and sat under a tree for a while to get a time comparison - and while I was there, this really tall scary-looking woman pulled up on a sled to ask me who I was and what I was doing there, and if I was human or not. With the heavy implication that she wasn't. And when I said yes, she smiled the creepiest smile of all time and invited me to come sit with her on her sled and have a hot drink. Which I didn't want to do, but I didn't like my chances if I tried to run away, so I went with it. And she asked me a bunch more questions - and the first time I tried to lie to her after the drink she gave me, when she asked if I'd seen anyone else there, instead of 'no' I ended up saying 'a faun'."

[deepest_magic]

"That's really creepy."

[neverbeatme]

"No kidding. I got through the rest of the conversation without giving away anything else I didn't mean to, but it was hard. I don't even know if I still have the spell on - I could try lying to you or something, but I don't know the parameters, it could only prevent lying to her or only if I really mean to deceive somebody or only work in Narnia or something like that. Anyway, the next part's even creepier - she asked me if I had any human friends my age, and when I said I knew some other kids, she said I should make up some reason to get them all to follow me into the wardrobe and lead them all to her castle without telling them anything about her first, and when we got there she'd throw a big party and make me a princess and all my friends dukes and duchesses."

[deepest_magic]

"Um."

[neverbeatme]

"I know, right? So obviously that's the last thing in the world I'm going to do - but combining that with something Tumnus said, about the White Witch ruling until the thrones at Cair Paravel are filled - I think human children are a threat to her somehow. And I would really like to be a threat to her. I would like that a lot."

[deepest_magic]

"It doesn't sound particularly safe to be a threat to her," Bella points out.

[neverbeatme]

"Of course not. But - I feel responsible for Tumnus. He was going on about all the horrible things that would happen to him if the Queen found out he'd had me and let me go, and I got the sense he was the type to catastrophize but I'm not sure he was exaggerating that much. Whatever's going to happen to him has probably already happened by now, but I still want to go back and see if I can do something about the eternal winter and the creepy witch queen. And out of all the human children I know, you're the only one that I really think could handle going with me."

[deepest_magic]

"I guess we probably want to - pack some things and leave notes for Charlie and Chris, though."

[neverbeatme]

"Yeah. When I was just going in for a test, I told Chris where I was going and left a note outside the wardrobe, but this is going to take a little more planning."

[deepest_magic]

"Yeah. But maybe we want to hurry, since time seems to go faster in there and it would be sad if they had to have a very much longer time of only winter. They'll start starving in there."

[neverbeatme]

She nods. "If they've already had hundreds of years, I think they must've found some way to feed themselves, but it's not necessarily a very good one. Let's figure out everything we want to bring, figure out what we're saying to our respective grown-ups and how, and then pack up and go."

[deepest_magic]

"I guess as long as they know we're going to that one house they can come find more complete explanations that we leave there. But how will we get there? I don't have a bike and if I did I couldn't really ride it."

[neverbeatme]

"I bet I can get a ride out of Chris, actually."

[deepest_magic]

"Are you going to tell her? Would she believe you if you went and showed her the snow before it melts?"

[neverbeatme]

"I'm pretty sure she would. But it might decrease our chances of getting a ride if I tried to sell her on 'please take me and Bella to the abandoned house so we can rescue the magical land of Narnia from an evil witch queen', snow or no snow, instead of 'please take me and Bella to the abandoned house so I can indulge my morbid imagination with her for a couple hours'."

[deepest_magic]

"Charlie wouldn't believe us. He'd think you got a - a snow-cone machine or something." Pause. "If you got a snow-cone machine or something this isn't funny at all."

[neverbeatme]

"Real actual snow from a real actual magic forest, I swear."

[deepest_magic]

"I would think people would notice if the back of their wardrobe led to a magic forest. Are you sure it always works?"

[neverbeatme]

"The two times I've walked through it, it was a magic door, and the one time I just stuck my arm in it wasn't one. Maybe it only works if you climb in and most people don't climb into their wardrobes to check if there's a magic door in the back."

[deepest_magic]

"That could do it I guess."

[neverbeatme]

"Okay. So if all we're doing about the grown-ups is getting a ride from Chris, the remaining question is... what do we pack? It might be a bad idea to bring anything that's too big to hide away in a backpack, in case Chris asks questions, but if we think of something really useful I'd risk it."

[deepest_magic]

"Notebooks for me. Food - enough to last a while if we're careful, especially since if we meet people who are hungry because of the winter we might want to share or trade with them. Maybe - flashlights? We can take coats from the wardrobe which is good because I don't have anything warmer than a raincoat."

[neverbeatme]

"Yeah. And food that keeps, as much as we can, and doesn't need cooking or anything. Flashlights... yes, but the kind you shake or wind, if we can get them, not the kind that needs batteries. Batteries run out and I don't think Narnia has electricity."

[deepest_magic]

"Granola bars, um, nuts, raisins, candy maybe, candy keeps... I have a flashlight you squeeze to charge."

[neverbeatme]

"That works. Okay. Wanna scour your house for non-perishable snacks and then meet me at mine?"