[Fic] Past Their Woodland Days
Title: Past Their Woodland Days
Summary: Further up and further in, a King and brother finds solace in a silent forest with nothing but trees and mysterious pools of water for company.
Spoilers: The Last Battle
Notes: Originally posted at nffr_party for their weekly fic challenge prompt #11, "Wood Between the Worlds".
Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there…
-"The Mummers' Dance", Loreena McKennitt
***
"There you are, my lord."
The voice startled him from his reverie. He automatically reached for his sword before his thoughts caught up with him and he remembered he had not brought it with him. It was a force of habit he had yet to break-there was no need for a weapon here, not anymore. He looked up and caught a glimpse of a man weaving in and out of the trees that surrounded the clearing where he sat. Slowly, the man approached and it was only when he drew near that he could see who it was. He relaxed and with a smile, greeted the newcomer. "Hullo, Edmund."
The man carefully advanced towards him, his route marked by wide curves to avoid stepping into the many pools that covered the ground. Edmund stopped just short of the tree where he currently rested and looked around. "So, this is it then?" He slowly turned in a circle, taking note of everything around them. "It's rather... unremarkable."
"I suppose it is," he replied, glancing up towards the thick and endless canopy of foliage above them. "It's not quite how I'd imagined it would be but in some way, it does. Do you know what I mean?"
"I think so," Edmund said. "Well, it certainly matches the description the Professor and Miss Plummer gave us all those years ago." He tilted his head and with one hand shielding his eyes, squinted at the pinpricks of light that poked through the leaves and branches. "The trees are so thick you can barely see the sky through all that but strangely," he placed the palm of his hand against the trunk of the tree beside them, "it doesn't feel cool in here at all. There is very little sunlight but it's rather bright and the air is warm."
"I don't think you can apply science and logic to this place, Edmund."
The other man snorted. "Nor can we do so to any other place in this world-or worlds, if you wish to be accurate-but it cannot hurt to try." With a thoughtful look, he added, "We should bring Eustace up here and see what he makes of it."
He frowned, easily deducing the man's train of thought. "Edmund."
Undaunted, Edmund flashed a grin at him. "Before Aslan intervened, Eustace was to come here with Jill anyway-need I remind you whose royal command that was, my liege? And given all we've heard about this place, it is no great surprise that any of us would want to come and see what it's really like."
"Is that why you're here then?"
"Actually, no." Edmund looked down at him. "I was looking for you and the Professor told me where you had gone."
"Oh?" He sat up. "Is anything amiss?"
Edmund waved his hand indifferently. "No, and it was nothing important. I'm more interested in why you're here, Peter."
"Curiosity, among other things," he replied. At Edmund's bemused face, he patted the ground beside him, inviting his brother to sit. With an arch of his brow, the other man complied and seated himself comfortably on the ground. He imitated his brother's position, stretching his legs out on the warm, dry grass and resting his back against the trunk of the tree that grew behind them.
"So," Edmund began, turning to look directly at him, "Curiosity, you say?"
He nodded. "You were partly right, Ed. After the Professor and Miss Plummer learned of its existence here, I wanted to come and see this place for myself. Just like Camelot and Atlantis, this has always been a place shrouded in mystery. Having the chance to come here is no different than being able to finally visit the Islands you and Lucy traveled to when you sailed with Caspian to the end of the world all those years ago."
"Yes," Edmund said, understanding what he meant. "For me, it would probably be the opportunity to explore the caverns and sea beneath the northern marshes. That was where Jill and Eustace emerged with Prince Rilian when they escaped from the witch," he explained. "Caspian was telling me about his first trip down there and how he searched for an entrance into Bism."
Peter smiled, remembering what Eustace had told him about their escape from the Lady of the Green Kirtle and the underground city. "Has he found it yet?"
"Not yet; perhaps next time. He is determined to find an opening to that land." Edmund laughed. "Hundreds of years have passed since the voyage on the Dawn Treader and he's still ever the adventurer and explorer."
"It would appear so." He did not know Caspian as well as his younger siblings did. His impressions of the other king were formed mainly from their first meeting nearly a decade ago, when Caspian was a Telmarine prince on the run from his uncle. Even then, Peter had seen in him some signs that he would do well leading both Narnians and Telmarines but he wasn't given the chance to watch that young man grow and mature into his kingship. The rest of his opinion came from the stories told by Edmund, Lucy and Eustace when they returned to England after their own adventures with Caspian had ended. "Perhaps I should go with him when he revisits the Underlands. Having traveled across most of Narnia above ground, it will be a nice change of pace to explore what lies below."
"But not before you tell me why you're here, Peter. You said it was partly due to curiosity, but what's the other reason?"
To his brother's query, he responded with a question of his own. "Do you remember the old stories the Professor told us about this place?"
Edmund nodded. "He referred to it as an in-between place, an area where nothing happened within its boundaries but it was a gateway to other lands. Miss Plummer called it the Wood between the Worlds."
"The Wood between the Worlds," Peter repeated. "A fitting name for a forest with nothing but trees and endless pools that lead to different worlds."
Together, they looked across the clearing at the many pools that dotted the clearing. Each pool was elliptical in shape, their edges flush with the low grass that grew around them. From a certain angle, they appeared to be mirrors set into the ground, their smooth and still surfaces reflecting the foliage above.
"Do you suppose-" Edmund began, his eyes widening as he realized the significance of his brother's words. "Is it even possible-?"
Peter shook his head. "Yes and no. Some of these pools are portals but they do not work in the same way as in that other world, when the Professor and Miss Plummer found their way into Charn and Narnia. Instead of gateways to other worlds, they lead you to other countries in this world. That one over there," he pointed to a pool several yards away in another clearing, "will take you to Calormen-somewhere near the Tisroc's palace. Next to it is a pool that goes to the Cair Paravel of our time and the one behind that-beneath the tree with the pale bark-will take you to England, where Mum and Father are."
Edmund let out a low whistle. "Well, that's awfully convenient. And they work without the use of rings?"
He nodded. "No rings."
"But how do you know this?" his brother asked.
"If you look into a pool, you can see the destination point in its reflection. The Professor said that was one big difference between the Wood in this world and the other one. He told me it might have saved them from ever meeting Jadis had they been able to see the desolation of Charn so clearly before he and Miss Plummer jumped in."
"If that did happen, they may never have gotten into Narnia and then where would we all be today?" Edmund smiled faintly at him but there was no laughter in his eyes. "I for one am glad he hadn't known where he'd end up when he and Miss Plummer decided to go adventuring."
"So am I," Peter said, understanding the meaning behind the unspoken words and thoughts of his brother. "And I told him as much."
"Good." There was a pause before Edmund spoke again. "Have you tried any of the pools?"
"Just that one," he said, pointing to the pool that would bring him back to their home in Narnia. "And you're right: it is awfully convenient when one doesn't want to travel through the worlds within worlds or climbing up and down the mountains to get from one country to the next. The only drawback is that the pools are one-way portals-it is far easier to leave here than it is to return."
"You said some of the pools could take us to different countries. What about the others?"
Peter sighed. "That's the other reason why I'm here." With his eyes fixed on a pool further away, he took a deep breath and arranged his thoughts into some order that would make it easier to explain to Edmund. Without looking at him, he knew his brother would wait with an infinite amount of patience until he was ready to speak. He envied Edmund that ability-though time ran differently here than it did in the old Narnia and England, he did not have the gift of being able to wait for an answer even when they literally had all the time in the world. He and Lucy were alike in that aspect but Edmund learned to be extremely patient during the course of their reign and that skill remained with him after they fell out of the Wardrobe.
After several minutes, he finally turned to look at his brother. Edmund appeared calm but when their eyes met, Peter knew his brother was carefully scrutinizing every detail in his face; if he had not known his brother so well, he might have flinched beneath the intensity of the younger man's gaze. "I'm fine, Ed," he said, hoping to alleviate some of his brother's concern.
"Would you rather not say?" Edmund asked, breaking his stare and looking away from him.
"No, I want you to know." And he did. Peter thought his brother would be most understanding of them all. "It's just-" he paused once more and then decided to be direct. "The pools that do not send you away from here will allow you to look into other worlds."
"Do you mean one of the other Narnias or Calormens that exist in Aslan's Country?"
"No, more like other worlds that we cannot get to from this one. Places like Charn or Atlantis, maybe; I've looked into some of the pools and did not recognize any of the surroundings or people that I could see."
"The Professor might know," Edmund said, sitting up and looking at the pools with more interest.
"He might," Peter agreed, "and I'll probably ask him about it one day. In my last visit here, I had examined all the pools and discovered in one a land that I was very familiar with." At his brother's questioning glance, he gestured to the pool nearest to them. "Have a look, Ed."
Intrigued, Edmund crawled to the pool and peered into its depths. "It looks like-" he suddenly jerked back and turned to look at Peter. "It's not, is it?"
Peter nodded solemnly. "It is."
"The Shadowlands," whispered the younger king.
"Or Spare Oom as we used to call it in Narnia," Peter said. "Look closely and tell me where you think it is that you see. Just don't touch the water or you'll dispel the scene."
Edmund turned back and lowered his head toward the pool, resting his chin upon his hands. "I think-" he paused, studying the ever-shifting pictures in the reflection. After several minutes, he sat up but did not turn around. From his perspective, Peter could tell Edmund's back was fully perpendicular to the ground and his shoulders were tense and rigid.
Knowing what his brother saw in the pool and the ramifications of it, Peter shoved his growing impatience aside and waited. Eventually, Edmund turned around and Peter saw he looked faintly disturbed. At last, he spoke. "It's England."
"Yes." He could see there was more his brother wanted to say and waited.
"I saw-" Edmund hesitated for a moment, "Susan."
"Yes," Peter repeated. In his mind, he conjured up the image of the dark-haired woman the pool revealed to him shortly before Edmund's arrival. She looked a little older than when he last saw her but not as old as she was when she ruled as a Queen of Narnia. "Susan."
Edmund quickly looked up at him, surprised. He was surprised himself: he had not spoken her name aloud in a very long time-not since King Tirian had first asked about their sister.
"How long have you known about this?" Edmund asked.
"Since my last visit here," he said.
"Does the Professor-"
Peter shook his head. "I don't think so. Professor Kirke has seen parts of Spare Oom in the pool but not her." After his last visit to the Wood, Peter had asked his mentor some careful questions about the visions in the pool but omitted the details of what he saw. "Or if he did, he never let on to me about it. When he looked into it, he said he saw some of the places his Father had visited in India, as well as old friends and his colleagues at the University."
"So it shows different things to different people," Edmund mused.
"I think it shows us what we want to see."
"Peter." He looked up and saw the concern in his brother's eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"What?"
Edmund tilted his head toward the pool. "What you saw in there. Whom you saw." When he didn't respond, his brother continued. "In front of Tirian and the others, you said-"
"I know what I said," he snapped. He immediately regretted the words and his tone, knowing his brother was not to blame. "Sorry, Edmund. It's just-" He sighed. "I should not have said those words to Tirian."
"Maybe. Maybe not." Edmund shrugged. "Even if you hadn't, I think one of the others might have. You saw how they reacted once you finished speaking."
"Yes, but they don't know Susan as well as we do. Not even Eustace. Despite the differences we've had over the years, she's still our sister and I should have defended her or at least not have been so blunt in my answer as to her whereabouts."
Edmund looked ruefully at him. "You're not entirely to blame, Peter. Perhaps Lucy and I should have said something instead of remaining silent. But you did change the topic awfully fast after that."
"I wanted to put an end to the discussion. Their remarks were rather disparaging and it was not fair to Susan when she could not defend herself in person. It was the least I could I do."
"You are the High King, my liege. And even if it wasn't intentional, to my ears it sounded like a royal command. In any case, nothing more was said about her." Edmund reached towards the pool, his hand hovering above the water as if he meant to touch it. "Would you take the words back if you could?"
"Yes," Peter replied without hesitation, "but there's no point in thinking about that. The past cannot be changed."
For a few moments, the words hung loudly in the air between them. In the silence and stillness of the Wood, he could still hear them echoing in his head as if he had shouted from atop a mountain. He looked at his brother and wished he knew what the other man was thinking. He wondered if Edmund was judging him. Not that it mattered much: words once spoken could not be taken back.
Edmund withdrew his hand from the pool and turned his attention back to him. "Someone once said, 'There is no need to talk about what is past.' In this case, I think we must."
Peter looked away, turning his face toward the grass. He was suddenly reminded of several trials that occurred while he was King of Narnia. In those times, his role had been that of a Royal observer; the unpleasant duty of determining guilt usually fell to his brother. Peter remembered taking careful note of the reactions of the accused as King Edmund passed judgment on behalf of the kings and queens: sometimes he saw guilt on their faces, other times they looked angry, weary or resigned. As he waited for Edmund to continue, Peter wondered if his current countenance bore a resemblance to any of those expressions.
"Peter," Edmund's voice was gentle, "why did you say that Susan was no longer a friend of Narnia?"
He had asked himself that very question many times before. "I-" he began but broke off, unsure how he should respond. Because it's true, he wanted to say but he knew that wasn't the real reason.
"Peter."
He looked up and found his brother-Edmund Pevensie, not King Edmund-staring at him. There was neither accusation nor judgment on his face, only concern.
"I was mad at Susan," he finally admitted. "The day before we-" Even now, he couldn't bring himself to say they died because it never felt that way to him. "The day before we were to meet the others at the train station, Su and I had a row."
"What?!" Edmund exclaimed. Peter wasn't surprised; it was the first time he ever spoke of it to anyone. "You never mentioned it before. When was this?"
"That evening. I was returning home when I bumped into her not too far from the flat."
"What happened?"
"Well, it was all very civil at first. We talked about inconsequential things such as work and the weather. And then she asked after you and Lucy."
"Oh?" Edmund asked, looking very interested at this revelation. "And what did you say to her, Peter?"
He raked his fingers through his hair as he thought back to that evening; it seemed so very long ago-perhaps it was. "I told her you and Lu were both well, and that I would see you both the next day. She smiled then and told me to give you and Lucy her love. I should have left it at that but I didn't."
Edmund's face grew serious. "Dare I ask what you did next?"
"I told her about Tirian and what we planned to do."
His brother sucked in a sharp breath. "You mentioned Narnia to her and she didn't believe you, did she? Or," he broke out suddenly into a humorless laugh, "did she prove Eustace right and called it a child's game?"
"She did neither."
Edmund started and made a noise of surprise. "She believed you?"
Peter nodded, remembering the look on his sister's face when he told her how King Tirian appeared to them at Miss Plummer's house. For all that Susan claimed that Narnia wasn't real, he saw the mask slip from her face for the first time in years. In that moment, he saw her true self-he saw Queen Susan of Narnia.
"Then why didn't she come with us the following day? If she truly believed what you said, then she would have-" Edmund trailed off, falling into silence.
He didn't need Edmund to finish his sentence; he already knew what the missing words were: If Susan believed, then she would have been here with the rest of her family in Aslan's Country. But he alone knew why his eldest sister was not with them that day.
"If there's anyone to blame for Susan's absence, you need to look no further than within this Wood."
Edmund looked up sharply at his admission. "What do you mean, Peter? You can't possibly blame-"
"I haven't told you what the row was about, Edmund."
"Well, it's rather obvious, isn't it? She didn't want to help Narnia."
Peter shook his head. "But she did. Deep down, she is still a Queen and she was all for sending aid to our kingdom."
Edmund looked utterly baffled. "I don't understand then. What did the two of you disagree about?"
"The rings, Ed. The rings that would take Eustace and Jill here, to the Wood between the Worlds." He waved his hand and gestured at the forest around them, vaguely noting the irony of the setting where he chose to tell his brother the truth.
"Why would-"
"The others may think Susan is disloyal to Narnia but she's not. She might be more loyal to the Lion than the rest of us." He knew it was a bold thing to say of their sister, given her behavior in recent years. Before Edmund could protest or interrupt him, he plowed on with his explanation. "Susan argued against using the rings to return to Narnia. She said Aslan had expressly forbidden anyone to ever use them again when he sent the Professor and Miss Plummer back to London. She could not believe that as High King, I would approve of this method and going against the Lion's command."
Edmund shook his head in disbelief. "Since I helped you to retrieve the rings, I suppose she placed some of the blame on me as well."
"Not exactly. She was certainly disappointed to hear of your involvement but she believed the fault lay mostly on the eldest of us," he said wryly. He waited a few seconds before he spoke again. "She's right, you know. I remember the old stories as well as she does. That was the first-" and only, he silently added, "-time I've ever directly disobeyed Aslan."
Edmund's face darkened; Peter had not seen his brother look so grave in a long time. "Peter, you must not think about it like that."
"Perhaps, but you can't deny the truth in Susan's words. And in the end, it was all for naught: Jill and Eustace never had a chance to use the rings." He sighed deeply. "I do regret how things ended with Su. She and I held onto our beliefs and neither of us would yield to the other. That's why she did not come to the train station with us-it was her protest to our decision."
"So what you said to Tirian-"
"It was my anger with Susan and my pride that spoke to him that day. I think…" he looked up guiltily at his brother, "I think if I had known then that we'd never-well, not never-" He shook his head as he amended his words. "Had I known our separation from her would be infinitely longer than I'd imagine, then my words to Tirian would have been chosen with better care.
"I miss her, Ed."
Edmund reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We all do, Peter. But one day, she'll return to us."
"Is it wrong of me to wish that she'd come sooner rather than later?"
Edmund gave him a small smile and shook his head. "She'll come soon enough. You know how time flows between worlds. One day, when you're not looking for or thinking of it, she'll be here." He turned away and looked thoughtfully at the pool. "How much time do you think has passed over there?"
To this, Peter had a confident answer. "A few years. At least three."
"Oh?"
"Once, I caught a glimpse of Susan reading the newspaper and the images in the pool magnified when the thought came to me to look at the headlines and dates printed there. From what I read, it seems that rationing is still in effect. And Princess Elizabeth is now Queen Elizabeth."
"God save the Queen," Edmund murmured. "What else have you seen of Susan?"
"Lots of things: Driving an automobile down country lanes... walking along a beach... practicing her archery." At that last statement, Edmund raised a brow. "She didn't miss any of her marks, for what it's worth. And you, Ed? What did you see?"
"There was a suitcase in her hand and I think she was preparing to board an aeroplane. I wonder where she's heading to?"
Peter shrugged. "It could be anywhere." When they ruled in Narnia, Susan had been an avid traveler, sailing up and down the coast and to the Eastern islands as an ambassador. Her wanderlust did not abate when they returned to England and the voyage to America only increased her desire to visit new lands. "I only hope that she'll be happy wherever she goes."
"I hope so too. She's living her life and having adventures of her own, Peter. All we can do is wait for her to share her stories with us when Aslan calls her home."
"I dislike waiting," he muttered his breath.
Hearing his words, Edmund laughed as he stood up. The sound of his laughter was a welcome antidote to the solemn conversation that was now ending. "I think Su will be delighted to learn she kept you waiting even here, in Aslan's Country."
He glared up at his brother. "Don't you dare tell her, Edmund."
"Is that a command, my liege?" With a grin on his face, Edmund dodged the hand that reached out for him and took a few steps back, careful to avoid stepping into the pools. He moved far enough away that a wall of trees separated him from his brother. "I think your request sounded more like a brotherly threat than a royal order. You may be High King to the rest of Narnia but to us-to me, Susan and Lucy-you're just Peter. "
Peter slowly rose from his seat. "Edmund-" He allowed a hint of his displeasure to seep into his tone.
"Well, would you look at the time? I'm supposed to meet Lu in the courtyard for a bit of swordplay," Edmund said as he continued his retreat, increasing the distance between himself and Peter. "It would be unseemly for a Knight and a King to keep a Queen waiting. I'd best get going."
"Edmund Pevensie, I'm going to-" Before he could finish, Edmund reached the pool that led to Cair Paravel. Smiling widely and without saying a word, he offered Peter a jaunty salute and jumped in.
Smiling to himself, Peter shook his head as he made his way to the spot where his brother stood a few seconds before. He stood at the edge of the pool and leaning over, looked down and saw the gleaming turrets of their castle in the water. He began to step forward but suddenly paused, his right foot dangling briefly in the air as he took one last glance at the pool where he saw his sister.
"We're waiting, Susan," he said, knowing she could not hear him. "No matter how long it takes, we will be here waiting until you finally come home." Peter turned away and without another look at the forest, stepped into the water.
And the Wood was empty once more.
End.
This entry was originally posted at https://autumnia.dreamwidth.org/26792.html. Please comment there.
Summary: Further up and further in, a King and brother finds solace in a silent forest with nothing but trees and mysterious pools of water for company.
Spoilers: The Last Battle
Notes: Originally posted at nffr_party for their weekly fic challenge prompt #11, "Wood Between the Worlds".
Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there…
-"The Mummers' Dance", Loreena McKennitt
***
"There you are, my lord."
The voice startled him from his reverie. He automatically reached for his sword before his thoughts caught up with him and he remembered he had not brought it with him. It was a force of habit he had yet to break-there was no need for a weapon here, not anymore. He looked up and caught a glimpse of a man weaving in and out of the trees that surrounded the clearing where he sat. Slowly, the man approached and it was only when he drew near that he could see who it was. He relaxed and with a smile, greeted the newcomer. "Hullo, Edmund."
The man carefully advanced towards him, his route marked by wide curves to avoid stepping into the many pools that covered the ground. Edmund stopped just short of the tree where he currently rested and looked around. "So, this is it then?" He slowly turned in a circle, taking note of everything around them. "It's rather... unremarkable."
"I suppose it is," he replied, glancing up towards the thick and endless canopy of foliage above them. "It's not quite how I'd imagined it would be but in some way, it does. Do you know what I mean?"
"I think so," Edmund said. "Well, it certainly matches the description the Professor and Miss Plummer gave us all those years ago." He tilted his head and with one hand shielding his eyes, squinted at the pinpricks of light that poked through the leaves and branches. "The trees are so thick you can barely see the sky through all that but strangely," he placed the palm of his hand against the trunk of the tree beside them, "it doesn't feel cool in here at all. There is very little sunlight but it's rather bright and the air is warm."
"I don't think you can apply science and logic to this place, Edmund."
The other man snorted. "Nor can we do so to any other place in this world-or worlds, if you wish to be accurate-but it cannot hurt to try." With a thoughtful look, he added, "We should bring Eustace up here and see what he makes of it."
He frowned, easily deducing the man's train of thought. "Edmund."
Undaunted, Edmund flashed a grin at him. "Before Aslan intervened, Eustace was to come here with Jill anyway-need I remind you whose royal command that was, my liege? And given all we've heard about this place, it is no great surprise that any of us would want to come and see what it's really like."
"Is that why you're here then?"
"Actually, no." Edmund looked down at him. "I was looking for you and the Professor told me where you had gone."
"Oh?" He sat up. "Is anything amiss?"
Edmund waved his hand indifferently. "No, and it was nothing important. I'm more interested in why you're here, Peter."
"Curiosity, among other things," he replied. At Edmund's bemused face, he patted the ground beside him, inviting his brother to sit. With an arch of his brow, the other man complied and seated himself comfortably on the ground. He imitated his brother's position, stretching his legs out on the warm, dry grass and resting his back against the trunk of the tree that grew behind them.
"So," Edmund began, turning to look directly at him, "Curiosity, you say?"
He nodded. "You were partly right, Ed. After the Professor and Miss Plummer learned of its existence here, I wanted to come and see this place for myself. Just like Camelot and Atlantis, this has always been a place shrouded in mystery. Having the chance to come here is no different than being able to finally visit the Islands you and Lucy traveled to when you sailed with Caspian to the end of the world all those years ago."
"Yes," Edmund said, understanding what he meant. "For me, it would probably be the opportunity to explore the caverns and sea beneath the northern marshes. That was where Jill and Eustace emerged with Prince Rilian when they escaped from the witch," he explained. "Caspian was telling me about his first trip down there and how he searched for an entrance into Bism."
Peter smiled, remembering what Eustace had told him about their escape from the Lady of the Green Kirtle and the underground city. "Has he found it yet?"
"Not yet; perhaps next time. He is determined to find an opening to that land." Edmund laughed. "Hundreds of years have passed since the voyage on the Dawn Treader and he's still ever the adventurer and explorer."
"It would appear so." He did not know Caspian as well as his younger siblings did. His impressions of the other king were formed mainly from their first meeting nearly a decade ago, when Caspian was a Telmarine prince on the run from his uncle. Even then, Peter had seen in him some signs that he would do well leading both Narnians and Telmarines but he wasn't given the chance to watch that young man grow and mature into his kingship. The rest of his opinion came from the stories told by Edmund, Lucy and Eustace when they returned to England after their own adventures with Caspian had ended. "Perhaps I should go with him when he revisits the Underlands. Having traveled across most of Narnia above ground, it will be a nice change of pace to explore what lies below."
"But not before you tell me why you're here, Peter. You said it was partly due to curiosity, but what's the other reason?"
To his brother's query, he responded with a question of his own. "Do you remember the old stories the Professor told us about this place?"
Edmund nodded. "He referred to it as an in-between place, an area where nothing happened within its boundaries but it was a gateway to other lands. Miss Plummer called it the Wood between the Worlds."
"The Wood between the Worlds," Peter repeated. "A fitting name for a forest with nothing but trees and endless pools that lead to different worlds."
Together, they looked across the clearing at the many pools that dotted the clearing. Each pool was elliptical in shape, their edges flush with the low grass that grew around them. From a certain angle, they appeared to be mirrors set into the ground, their smooth and still surfaces reflecting the foliage above.
"Do you suppose-" Edmund began, his eyes widening as he realized the significance of his brother's words. "Is it even possible-?"
Peter shook his head. "Yes and no. Some of these pools are portals but they do not work in the same way as in that other world, when the Professor and Miss Plummer found their way into Charn and Narnia. Instead of gateways to other worlds, they lead you to other countries in this world. That one over there," he pointed to a pool several yards away in another clearing, "will take you to Calormen-somewhere near the Tisroc's palace. Next to it is a pool that goes to the Cair Paravel of our time and the one behind that-beneath the tree with the pale bark-will take you to England, where Mum and Father are."
Edmund let out a low whistle. "Well, that's awfully convenient. And they work without the use of rings?"
He nodded. "No rings."
"But how do you know this?" his brother asked.
"If you look into a pool, you can see the destination point in its reflection. The Professor said that was one big difference between the Wood in this world and the other one. He told me it might have saved them from ever meeting Jadis had they been able to see the desolation of Charn so clearly before he and Miss Plummer jumped in."
"If that did happen, they may never have gotten into Narnia and then where would we all be today?" Edmund smiled faintly at him but there was no laughter in his eyes. "I for one am glad he hadn't known where he'd end up when he and Miss Plummer decided to go adventuring."
"So am I," Peter said, understanding the meaning behind the unspoken words and thoughts of his brother. "And I told him as much."
"Good." There was a pause before Edmund spoke again. "Have you tried any of the pools?"
"Just that one," he said, pointing to the pool that would bring him back to their home in Narnia. "And you're right: it is awfully convenient when one doesn't want to travel through the worlds within worlds or climbing up and down the mountains to get from one country to the next. The only drawback is that the pools are one-way portals-it is far easier to leave here than it is to return."
"You said some of the pools could take us to different countries. What about the others?"
Peter sighed. "That's the other reason why I'm here." With his eyes fixed on a pool further away, he took a deep breath and arranged his thoughts into some order that would make it easier to explain to Edmund. Without looking at him, he knew his brother would wait with an infinite amount of patience until he was ready to speak. He envied Edmund that ability-though time ran differently here than it did in the old Narnia and England, he did not have the gift of being able to wait for an answer even when they literally had all the time in the world. He and Lucy were alike in that aspect but Edmund learned to be extremely patient during the course of their reign and that skill remained with him after they fell out of the Wardrobe.
After several minutes, he finally turned to look at his brother. Edmund appeared calm but when their eyes met, Peter knew his brother was carefully scrutinizing every detail in his face; if he had not known his brother so well, he might have flinched beneath the intensity of the younger man's gaze. "I'm fine, Ed," he said, hoping to alleviate some of his brother's concern.
"Would you rather not say?" Edmund asked, breaking his stare and looking away from him.
"No, I want you to know." And he did. Peter thought his brother would be most understanding of them all. "It's just-" he paused once more and then decided to be direct. "The pools that do not send you away from here will allow you to look into other worlds."
"Do you mean one of the other Narnias or Calormens that exist in Aslan's Country?"
"No, more like other worlds that we cannot get to from this one. Places like Charn or Atlantis, maybe; I've looked into some of the pools and did not recognize any of the surroundings or people that I could see."
"The Professor might know," Edmund said, sitting up and looking at the pools with more interest.
"He might," Peter agreed, "and I'll probably ask him about it one day. In my last visit here, I had examined all the pools and discovered in one a land that I was very familiar with." At his brother's questioning glance, he gestured to the pool nearest to them. "Have a look, Ed."
Intrigued, Edmund crawled to the pool and peered into its depths. "It looks like-" he suddenly jerked back and turned to look at Peter. "It's not, is it?"
Peter nodded solemnly. "It is."
"The Shadowlands," whispered the younger king.
"Or Spare Oom as we used to call it in Narnia," Peter said. "Look closely and tell me where you think it is that you see. Just don't touch the water or you'll dispel the scene."
Edmund turned back and lowered his head toward the pool, resting his chin upon his hands. "I think-" he paused, studying the ever-shifting pictures in the reflection. After several minutes, he sat up but did not turn around. From his perspective, Peter could tell Edmund's back was fully perpendicular to the ground and his shoulders were tense and rigid.
Knowing what his brother saw in the pool and the ramifications of it, Peter shoved his growing impatience aside and waited. Eventually, Edmund turned around and Peter saw he looked faintly disturbed. At last, he spoke. "It's England."
"Yes." He could see there was more his brother wanted to say and waited.
"I saw-" Edmund hesitated for a moment, "Susan."
"Yes," Peter repeated. In his mind, he conjured up the image of the dark-haired woman the pool revealed to him shortly before Edmund's arrival. She looked a little older than when he last saw her but not as old as she was when she ruled as a Queen of Narnia. "Susan."
Edmund quickly looked up at him, surprised. He was surprised himself: he had not spoken her name aloud in a very long time-not since King Tirian had first asked about their sister.
"How long have you known about this?" Edmund asked.
"Since my last visit here," he said.
"Does the Professor-"
Peter shook his head. "I don't think so. Professor Kirke has seen parts of Spare Oom in the pool but not her." After his last visit to the Wood, Peter had asked his mentor some careful questions about the visions in the pool but omitted the details of what he saw. "Or if he did, he never let on to me about it. When he looked into it, he said he saw some of the places his Father had visited in India, as well as old friends and his colleagues at the University."
"So it shows different things to different people," Edmund mused.
"I think it shows us what we want to see."
"Peter." He looked up and saw the concern in his brother's eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"What?"
Edmund tilted his head toward the pool. "What you saw in there. Whom you saw." When he didn't respond, his brother continued. "In front of Tirian and the others, you said-"
"I know what I said," he snapped. He immediately regretted the words and his tone, knowing his brother was not to blame. "Sorry, Edmund. It's just-" He sighed. "I should not have said those words to Tirian."
"Maybe. Maybe not." Edmund shrugged. "Even if you hadn't, I think one of the others might have. You saw how they reacted once you finished speaking."
"Yes, but they don't know Susan as well as we do. Not even Eustace. Despite the differences we've had over the years, she's still our sister and I should have defended her or at least not have been so blunt in my answer as to her whereabouts."
Edmund looked ruefully at him. "You're not entirely to blame, Peter. Perhaps Lucy and I should have said something instead of remaining silent. But you did change the topic awfully fast after that."
"I wanted to put an end to the discussion. Their remarks were rather disparaging and it was not fair to Susan when she could not defend herself in person. It was the least I could I do."
"You are the High King, my liege. And even if it wasn't intentional, to my ears it sounded like a royal command. In any case, nothing more was said about her." Edmund reached towards the pool, his hand hovering above the water as if he meant to touch it. "Would you take the words back if you could?"
"Yes," Peter replied without hesitation, "but there's no point in thinking about that. The past cannot be changed."
For a few moments, the words hung loudly in the air between them. In the silence and stillness of the Wood, he could still hear them echoing in his head as if he had shouted from atop a mountain. He looked at his brother and wished he knew what the other man was thinking. He wondered if Edmund was judging him. Not that it mattered much: words once spoken could not be taken back.
Edmund withdrew his hand from the pool and turned his attention back to him. "Someone once said, 'There is no need to talk about what is past.' In this case, I think we must."
Peter looked away, turning his face toward the grass. He was suddenly reminded of several trials that occurred while he was King of Narnia. In those times, his role had been that of a Royal observer; the unpleasant duty of determining guilt usually fell to his brother. Peter remembered taking careful note of the reactions of the accused as King Edmund passed judgment on behalf of the kings and queens: sometimes he saw guilt on their faces, other times they looked angry, weary or resigned. As he waited for Edmund to continue, Peter wondered if his current countenance bore a resemblance to any of those expressions.
"Peter," Edmund's voice was gentle, "why did you say that Susan was no longer a friend of Narnia?"
He had asked himself that very question many times before. "I-" he began but broke off, unsure how he should respond. Because it's true, he wanted to say but he knew that wasn't the real reason.
"Peter."
He looked up and found his brother-Edmund Pevensie, not King Edmund-staring at him. There was neither accusation nor judgment on his face, only concern.
"I was mad at Susan," he finally admitted. "The day before we-" Even now, he couldn't bring himself to say they died because it never felt that way to him. "The day before we were to meet the others at the train station, Su and I had a row."
"What?!" Edmund exclaimed. Peter wasn't surprised; it was the first time he ever spoke of it to anyone. "You never mentioned it before. When was this?"
"That evening. I was returning home when I bumped into her not too far from the flat."
"What happened?"
"Well, it was all very civil at first. We talked about inconsequential things such as work and the weather. And then she asked after you and Lucy."
"Oh?" Edmund asked, looking very interested at this revelation. "And what did you say to her, Peter?"
He raked his fingers through his hair as he thought back to that evening; it seemed so very long ago-perhaps it was. "I told her you and Lu were both well, and that I would see you both the next day. She smiled then and told me to give you and Lucy her love. I should have left it at that but I didn't."
Edmund's face grew serious. "Dare I ask what you did next?"
"I told her about Tirian and what we planned to do."
His brother sucked in a sharp breath. "You mentioned Narnia to her and she didn't believe you, did she? Or," he broke out suddenly into a humorless laugh, "did she prove Eustace right and called it a child's game?"
"She did neither."
Edmund started and made a noise of surprise. "She believed you?"
Peter nodded, remembering the look on his sister's face when he told her how King Tirian appeared to them at Miss Plummer's house. For all that Susan claimed that Narnia wasn't real, he saw the mask slip from her face for the first time in years. In that moment, he saw her true self-he saw Queen Susan of Narnia.
"Then why didn't she come with us the following day? If she truly believed what you said, then she would have-" Edmund trailed off, falling into silence.
He didn't need Edmund to finish his sentence; he already knew what the missing words were: If Susan believed, then she would have been here with the rest of her family in Aslan's Country. But he alone knew why his eldest sister was not with them that day.
"If there's anyone to blame for Susan's absence, you need to look no further than within this Wood."
Edmund looked up sharply at his admission. "What do you mean, Peter? You can't possibly blame-"
"I haven't told you what the row was about, Edmund."
"Well, it's rather obvious, isn't it? She didn't want to help Narnia."
Peter shook his head. "But she did. Deep down, she is still a Queen and she was all for sending aid to our kingdom."
Edmund looked utterly baffled. "I don't understand then. What did the two of you disagree about?"
"The rings, Ed. The rings that would take Eustace and Jill here, to the Wood between the Worlds." He waved his hand and gestured at the forest around them, vaguely noting the irony of the setting where he chose to tell his brother the truth.
"Why would-"
"The others may think Susan is disloyal to Narnia but she's not. She might be more loyal to the Lion than the rest of us." He knew it was a bold thing to say of their sister, given her behavior in recent years. Before Edmund could protest or interrupt him, he plowed on with his explanation. "Susan argued against using the rings to return to Narnia. She said Aslan had expressly forbidden anyone to ever use them again when he sent the Professor and Miss Plummer back to London. She could not believe that as High King, I would approve of this method and going against the Lion's command."
Edmund shook his head in disbelief. "Since I helped you to retrieve the rings, I suppose she placed some of the blame on me as well."
"Not exactly. She was certainly disappointed to hear of your involvement but she believed the fault lay mostly on the eldest of us," he said wryly. He waited a few seconds before he spoke again. "She's right, you know. I remember the old stories as well as she does. That was the first-" and only, he silently added, "-time I've ever directly disobeyed Aslan."
Edmund's face darkened; Peter had not seen his brother look so grave in a long time. "Peter, you must not think about it like that."
"Perhaps, but you can't deny the truth in Susan's words. And in the end, it was all for naught: Jill and Eustace never had a chance to use the rings." He sighed deeply. "I do regret how things ended with Su. She and I held onto our beliefs and neither of us would yield to the other. That's why she did not come to the train station with us-it was her protest to our decision."
"So what you said to Tirian-"
"It was my anger with Susan and my pride that spoke to him that day. I think…" he looked up guiltily at his brother, "I think if I had known then that we'd never-well, not never-" He shook his head as he amended his words. "Had I known our separation from her would be infinitely longer than I'd imagine, then my words to Tirian would have been chosen with better care.
"I miss her, Ed."
Edmund reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We all do, Peter. But one day, she'll return to us."
"Is it wrong of me to wish that she'd come sooner rather than later?"
Edmund gave him a small smile and shook his head. "She'll come soon enough. You know how time flows between worlds. One day, when you're not looking for or thinking of it, she'll be here." He turned away and looked thoughtfully at the pool. "How much time do you think has passed over there?"
To this, Peter had a confident answer. "A few years. At least three."
"Oh?"
"Once, I caught a glimpse of Susan reading the newspaper and the images in the pool magnified when the thought came to me to look at the headlines and dates printed there. From what I read, it seems that rationing is still in effect. And Princess Elizabeth is now Queen Elizabeth."
"God save the Queen," Edmund murmured. "What else have you seen of Susan?"
"Lots of things: Driving an automobile down country lanes... walking along a beach... practicing her archery." At that last statement, Edmund raised a brow. "She didn't miss any of her marks, for what it's worth. And you, Ed? What did you see?"
"There was a suitcase in her hand and I think she was preparing to board an aeroplane. I wonder where she's heading to?"
Peter shrugged. "It could be anywhere." When they ruled in Narnia, Susan had been an avid traveler, sailing up and down the coast and to the Eastern islands as an ambassador. Her wanderlust did not abate when they returned to England and the voyage to America only increased her desire to visit new lands. "I only hope that she'll be happy wherever she goes."
"I hope so too. She's living her life and having adventures of her own, Peter. All we can do is wait for her to share her stories with us when Aslan calls her home."
"I dislike waiting," he muttered his breath.
Hearing his words, Edmund laughed as he stood up. The sound of his laughter was a welcome antidote to the solemn conversation that was now ending. "I think Su will be delighted to learn she kept you waiting even here, in Aslan's Country."
He glared up at his brother. "Don't you dare tell her, Edmund."
"Is that a command, my liege?" With a grin on his face, Edmund dodged the hand that reached out for him and took a few steps back, careful to avoid stepping into the pools. He moved far enough away that a wall of trees separated him from his brother. "I think your request sounded more like a brotherly threat than a royal order. You may be High King to the rest of Narnia but to us-to me, Susan and Lucy-you're just Peter. "
Peter slowly rose from his seat. "Edmund-" He allowed a hint of his displeasure to seep into his tone.
"Well, would you look at the time? I'm supposed to meet Lu in the courtyard for a bit of swordplay," Edmund said as he continued his retreat, increasing the distance between himself and Peter. "It would be unseemly for a Knight and a King to keep a Queen waiting. I'd best get going."
"Edmund Pevensie, I'm going to-" Before he could finish, Edmund reached the pool that led to Cair Paravel. Smiling widely and without saying a word, he offered Peter a jaunty salute and jumped in.
Smiling to himself, Peter shook his head as he made his way to the spot where his brother stood a few seconds before. He stood at the edge of the pool and leaning over, looked down and saw the gleaming turrets of their castle in the water. He began to step forward but suddenly paused, his right foot dangling briefly in the air as he took one last glance at the pool where he saw his sister.
"We're waiting, Susan," he said, knowing she could not hear him. "No matter how long it takes, we will be here waiting until you finally come home." Peter turned away and without another look at the forest, stepped into the water.
And the Wood was empty once more.
End.
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