queen of narnia

[charning]

Jadis is enraged. Aslan, back! Confirmed by the deputy of her own Maugrim, who died on the sword of the very child she thought she'd caught! Maugrim, dead. She paces. She comes too close to Winter for her liking on one of her passes through her throne room and rather than turn an instant before she means to she backhands him out of her way into the nearest wall. She paces and fumes and roars.

Finally she spins on her toe to face Winter, who may still be on the floor in his careless way but has surely recovered from the blow by now. "You," she says, "must go to the lion, and tell him that I desire safe conduct to treat with him on a matter of as much importance to him as to me. Go peacefully, I do not mind if you alarm the pitiful creatures who side with him but do not harm them while I seek parley. Do you understand, my Winter?" She bends to crook her first two fingers under his chin to turn his head up for frigid eye contact, inspecting him, thinking furious thoughts to which he's only an accessory. "I think the lion may be unnerved to see you. We will see."

Comments

[deepest_magic]

"Oh, it's teaching you, too? Nice."

[neverbeatme]

"Yeah," she agrees. "It's a pretty great present."

[charning]

And then the Queen arrives.

She approaches Aslan quite steadily. (There is a chill in the air at her approach, though the wand is gone.)

"You have," she declares, "a traitor there, Aslan."

[jackfrostbite]

(Does he? That's interesting.)

[neverbeatme]

(Does he? Who?)

[deepest_magic]

(Huh?)

[alicornucopia]

"It is a tenuous accusation," says Aslan. "And her offense was not against you."

[charning]

"Have you forgotten the Deep Magic?" asks the Witch.

[alicornucopia]

"Let us say that I have forgotten it," suggests Aslan, grave. "Tell us of this Deep Magic."

[charning]

"Tell you!" cries the Witch. "Tell you what is written on that very Table of Stone which stands beside us? Tell you what is written in letters deep as a spear is long on the fire-stones on the Secret Hill? Tell you what is engraved on the very scepter of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea? You at least know the magic which the Emperor put into Narnia at the very beginning. You know that every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to a kill."

[alicornucopia]

Mr. Beaver pipes up, quite audaciously: "Oh, is that how you fancy yourself a queen, because you were the Emperor's hangman! I see."

"Peace, Beaver," growls Aslan softly.

[neverbeatme]

Well, that's... interesting.

[charning]

The witch is quite suddenly pointing directly at James.

"And so that human creature is mine. Her life is forfeit to me. Her blood is my property."

[deepest_magic]

"What," says Bella.

[neverbeatme]

"What!" says James, very nearly at the same time. She is about to go on, but visibly cuts herself off and settles for an indignant stare.

[charning]

"Come try and take her!" suggests the bull with the man's head, menacingly.

"Fool!" snarls the witch, "do you really think your master can rob me of my rights by mere force? He knows the Deep Magic better than that. He knows that unless I have blood as the Law says all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water."

[alicornucopia]

"It is very true. I do not deny it."

[deepest_magic]

"Aslan! What is she even talking about? James isn't a traitor! Even if she was - couldn't you fix the magic somehow -"

[alicornucopia]

"Work against the Emperor's magic?" says Aslan, distant, forbidding.

[charning]

"The Faun," says the Witch viciously.

[neverbeatme]

"The—you used magic on me!" she fairly shouts. "You cast a spell to make me say exactly what I didn't want to! And I still got away clean except for that one thing, I got you to let me go without lying once and without promising anything awful, I think you just don't want to admit you got played by an eleven-year-old!"

She turns to Aslan. "If it's really the world or the country at stake, if it's really going to destroy everything - then I'll go. I will. But there has to be something. It's not fair."

[jackfrostbite]

(It's a very good thing that Winter is standing behind his Queen, because he can't help a quick flash of a smile at James's outburst.)

[alicornucopia]

"It is," repeats Aslan, "a tenuous accusation."

There is a heavy silence.

"Fall back, all of you," he says, "and I will talk to the Witch alone."

[deepest_magic]

Bella clings to her scepter with one hand and the cordial in her pocket with the other, and backs away, sticking quite close to James.

"This is the most stupid nonsense - if Aslan doesn't find a way to fix it -" she mutters.

[neverbeatme]

"I know," James murmurs back, "I know - but if there really isn't anything he can do - better me than a whole country, or a whole world."