James and Michael Kay were exploring in the attic. It was always an exciting thing to do, especially on rainy summer days like this. There seemed to be no end to the piles of boxes. Each one had its own secret delights, and the boys never grew tired of playing with them.
Today, however, they choose a very old-looking brass-trimmed chest. A rather imposing lock appeared to seal it, but when James tried to lift the lid, it opened easily, and smoothly. Eagerly, they elbowed each other to see what could be in this curious chest. The result was disappointing. There was hardly anything in the chest, certainly less than the boys had expected. A few photographs and a small sack were the only apparent contents.
“It’s just a few old photographs,” Michael, the younger, complained. “Let’s choose another box!”
“Wait a minute!” James protested. He reached down and chose the largest picture, showing four children about their own age. “These look like princes and princesses! Surely they have some grand story?”
Michael pushed a couple photographs out of the way, and found a drawing of a faun and a little toy lion. His eyes lit up. “And here are their loyal servants!”
“Yes, yes!” James said excitedly, “I’ll be the older boy in the picture, and you can be the younger! We can imagine the girls.”
“We were sailing in a great ship,” Michael began, grabbing a sheet off of one of the boxes and throwing it across his shoulders like a cloak. James followed his example.
“The sea was calm, and a light breeze was all that our good ship needed,” James continued.
“Our good ship—Morning Walker!”
James deflated for a moment, aghast at his brother’s poor name. “Morning Walker? Where did you come up with that?”
Michael shrugged. “It was just an idea. I kind of like it.”
“It needs better words. It can have the same meaning. Maybe… Dawn Treader?”
Michael quickly resumed the spirit of the story. “Our good ship, Dawn Treader!”
“We were sailing in search of adventure and mystery!”
“The edge of the world! People always said that if you came to the edge of the world, you would simply fall off.”
“But the crew of the Dawn Treader was braver than any ordinary people! They were determined to find the edge of the world, and meet its dangers with a laugh and a glint in the eye!”
“And astounding sword skills!” Michael ducked to a corner of the attic and pulled out a couple wooden swords they had found in their previous rummages. He handed one to James, and they both struck heroic postures, sticking the sword through their belts and looking off into the distance.
“How far from land do you think we are now, Lord Argonaz?” John asked with a sweeping gesture.
“Doubtless, hundreds of miles, Lord Caspiar!” replied Lord Argonaz. “And hundreds more before we reach the edge of the world!”
“What of the ladies? How do they fare, this fine day?”
“Let me ask the faun.” Lord Argonaz mounted to the poop deck, where the faun carefully steered the Dawn Treader. “Sir Thomas the Faun! How are our sisters this morning?”
“The ladies are feeling quite well, your lordship,” Thomas answered, “And Alan the Lion is keeping watch in the prow. He’s seen nothing all week.”
At that moment, a fearsome roar shook the air. “Land! Land!” Alan the Lion came bounding up the steep steps, followed shortly by Lord Caspiar. “There is a small island straight ahead.”
“Perhaps the natives have a great difficulty that calls for our noble aid?” Lord Caspiar suggested.
“In any case,” Lord Argonaz decided, “We should put in to replenish our stores. My Lord Caspiar, how much treasure do we have left? We may need to use some to buy food and water.”
The two lords entered the cabin, and Lord Caspiar opened the small sack. It was full of little gold and yellow rings. “A score of rings, my Lord Argonaz!” he exclaimed excitedly. At once, the two lords thrust their hands into the sack, each grabbing a handful of the rings.
***
“Hello, Susan!” David Kay entered the old house, pausing in the doorway to shake the rain off his umbrella. “What’s for dinner?”
Susan came out of the kitchen and gave her husband a quick kiss. “Roast chicken and a nice spring salad. It’ll just take a little longer. I’ll go tell the boys to get washed up. They’ve been playing in the attic all day.”
David laughed as he hung up his coat and hat. It was good to be home. Working in the insurance company office was no fun. His real interest was history. That was why he had persuaded Susan to buy this old house out in the country. Sure, it meant a long drive for David, but he didn’t mind. At least he wouldn’t be living in one of those dreadful modern houses. Those things had no character. But this place was altogether different! Susan had seemed a little reluctant when they first looked at it, but David slowly convinced her to buy it. And it seemed she was happy here. The boys certainly enjoyed it, and all the land that came with it. It was good for them. It was good for all of them.
“David?”
David turned abruptly, alarmed at the odd tone in his wife’s voice. His alarm grew when he saw how pale her face was. She held a small sack.
“Are you alright, Susan?”
“They found the rings.”
Evidently, whatever happened had caused Susan great shock. But David had no idea what she meant by “the rings.” “I’m sorry, what’s wrong? What happened?”
A tear slowly trickled down Susan’s cheek. “James and Michael found the rings in my chest. They found the magical rings. And… I saw Aslan.”
Suddenly, David remembered. All those stories she had told about her childhood, when he’d asked her about that chest himself. He’d completely forgotten.
“But I thought you said you were just playing make-believe! How about we sit down for a bit, you’ll feel better. It’s just the memories. Sit down with me for a bit.” David began to put an arm around his wife’s shoulders, but she pushed it away.
“No! David, they weren’t in the attic! They weren’t in the attic, and these rings were on the floor! And there was a little toy lion, and it was Aslan. So small, but for a moment, he was all I could see. And he spoke to me – ‘my child’.”
David was at a loss for words. Susan was usually quiet and kept her feelings to herself. Even when she did tell him what was on her mind, it never got so emotional as all this. “Su, please, calm down.”
“Why did you call me that?” Susan demanded.
“Call you what? Su?”
“Peter called me that. And Ed, and Lu, and now they’re dead! James, Michael, gone!” Susan suddenly collapsed to the ground, sobbing. David crouched next to her, frantically searching for the right words.
“We go after them, yes?”
“What?” Susan sniffed.
“These rings, if I remember correctly, are a portal of sorts, right? We can take them and go after them. We’ll find them soon, and then we’ll come home, and all will be right again.”
“Yes,” Susan said quietly, her voice still shaking. “Yes—” stronger now, “—yes, that’s exactly what we’ll do!”
***
Two small boys splashed out of the pool, and scrambled onto the bank. But as they looked around them, a certain peace, or serenity, seeped into them, and they relaxed. Their fists unclenched. Rings clattered to the ground. The boys looked at the trees, then at each other.
“Is this it, my Lord Caspiar?” the smaller one asked. “Is this the edge of the world?”
“Or is it the beginning?” wondered the older. “And who’s Lord Caspiar? My name is James.”
“Why, you’re Lord Caspiar, of course! And I’m the Lord Argonaz!”
“Nonsense! I’m James, and you’re my little brother Michael. And we were playing in the attic.”
Lord Argonaz was puzzled. “Attic? But Alan the Lion had only just sighted land. We were all gathered on the poop deck. But it was… so long ago. And a little fuzzy.”
“Yes, I feel the same about the attic,” James agreed. “I thought that was home. But perhaps I was wrong. This feels a little more like home.”
“No,” Lord Argonaz shook his head. “Not home. It just makes you feel welcome. And sleepy.”
“But I couldn’t possibly sleep, Michael!” James started walking further into the wood. “There’s so much to see!”
“My Lord Caspiar, wait!” Lord Argonaz picked up the rings. “I think we came from this pool. We should mark it, to make sure we can find it again, if we want to go back.”
James stopped, then came back. He looked at the pool, then pointed at the other side. “No need! There’s some grass stripped away, and the dirt is very noticeable there!”
Lord Argonaz went around, and took a closer look at it. “But there might be identical strips near the other pools,” he protested. “Here!” Taking two rings, one of each color, he pressed them lightly into the dirt. “Now we’ll know which one is home. And we’ll be able to return to the Dawn Treader and tell our companions. It is a pity they couldn’t come with us.” He paused for a moment. “They must be worried.”
“Come on, Michael!” James urged. “Let’s go explore now!” He drew his sword and strode into the wood.
The boys wandered for a long time in the odd wood. There were pools all around them, identical to the one they had come from, with one exception: only theirs had a strip of dirt torn away. Lord Argonaz thought certain they were walking in a circle, but didn’t say anything. He looked off to the side for a moment, and a shine caught his eye. “My Lord Caspiar!” He tugged on James’ sleeve, urging him to look. James’ face brightened. “Something different!” he shouted, and ran toward the glitter, Lord Argonaz following a little more cautiously.
The source was yet another pool, but the water was different, somehow. Whereas the other pools were still, and slightly muddy, this one was clear, and bubbled like a spring. The green light of the wood fragmented on the surface of the pool, and the colors of the rainbow danced on the boys’ faces as they looked at it.
“It’s beautiful,” Lord Argonaz marveled.
“Michael,” James began, “We came here through a pool, yes?”
“Yes, when we touched the rings. These rings.” Lord Argonaz held out his hand.
“What if the pools led to other worlds? I mean, real worlds, not just pretend, like we do all the time?”
“We have real adventures!” Lord Argonaz protested.
James hesitated. “Yes, but… But what if we jumped in this pool, and it led to a world even more beautiful than the pool!”
“Here,” Lord Argonaz said. “We need the rings, I think.”
“Yes, that would make sense. Which color?”
Lord Argonaz closed his eyes and randomly chose a ring. “Green.”
They each put on a green ring, and Lord Argonaz began to put the others in his pocket.
“Wait a minute,” James said. “We don’t need all those rings. Here, we’ll just take a yellow one each, and you can leave the others here.”
“Why do you think we need a yellow?” Lord Argonaz asked.
James shrugged. “It would make sense. Maybe green rings send you places, and yellow rings bring you here.”
Lord Argonaz shrugged as well but left the other rings at the foot of the closest tree. Returning to the bank of the sparkling pool, he nodded at James.
“I’m ready, my Lord Caspiar.”
“Alright, then, Michael. One, two, three!”
***
Susan remembered that when old Professor Kirk had told her his own story, he had experienced a slight confusion shortly after he came out of the pool. But Susan was so incredibly focused on finding her sons, that as she pulled herself into the Wood Between the Worlds, she only felt slightly dizzy, and even that soon passed. She helped David out, and sighed. Apparently, he hadn’t been quite so focused.
David looked around with a simple look on his face. Susan waited until he realized someone else was there. “Do we know each other?” he asked innocently.
“Yes, David, and it’s so good to see you again. But now we’ve got to get looking.” Susan grabbed his hand and started dragging him through the wood.
“Was it high school? Or university?” David continued.
“Marriage, David!” Susan replied, eager to wake him up as soon as possible. “It was marriage, and we are here to find our sons!” She slowed her pace as she realized just how similar everything looked.
“Oh!” David exclaimed. Susan could tell that he remembered now. “It was real!”
“It is real,” Susan corrected. “It is real, and Peter and Edmund and Lucy all knew it, and I forgot. I was a silly girl, and I forgot.”
“Over here!” David pointed. “The grass is so tall in this place, it’s easy to see. It looks like they went this way!”
Eagerly, David and Susan followed the trail. It twisted and curved, but they never lost it. It ended as Susan feared: at the edge of a glittering pool. David walked all around, and came back shaking his head. “They didn’t go through it to the other side,” he said. “There aren’t any tracks leading away. They must’ve gone in. But I can see right to the bottom of this pool, and it’s not deep at all. Less than a foot, even.”
“They went in,” Susan said with a certainty. “Put on a green ring.”
David reached into his pocket, then looked ashamed. “I didn’t bring a green ring. I forgot about that.”
“I rushed you,” Susan said. “I’m sorry. But the Professor said that if you were just touching someone with a ring, you could go through. Here,” she offered her hand.
“Willingly, my love,” David smiled.
They jumped in the pool.
***
James and his brother found themselves in another forest, but a very different one. There were no pools, and the trees appeared younger, and more vibrant. They stood in a large clearing, with a lamppost in the center.
“There must be somebody living close by,” James said, pointing to the lamppost. “That lamppost can’t burn on its own.”
“Can’t it?” Lord Argonaz asked. “We came here through a pool, wearing seemingly insignificant rings. I should almost expect to find a lamppost burning on its own.”
“Anyway, let’s find some adventures!” James, again, strode boldly into the forest.
“I think we may have found the greatest adventure of all,” Lord Argonaz muttered.
James was slightly worried by the way Michael was acting. Not only did he cling to the names Argonaz and Caspiar rather than James and Michael, but he spoke and acted in a way that only grown-ups in story-books did. And yet, perhaps what surprised James more, James hadn’t seemed very surprised at all when Michael did. Certainly not when they were playing in the attic; that was how they always played. Not in the strange pool-filled wood; it seemed like one of those places where you spoke properly anyway. And not now, in the new forest, either; this place, James realized, felt like he was inside a storybook. And when he thought that thought, he knew why Michael and he so loved to read. The fairy-tales were more real than the day-to-day world, and certainly more exciting.
After walking for some way, they came upon a clearly defined path. The forest continued, but the trees began thinning out. The songs of birds of all kinds were all around them, little animals ran in the underbrush all around them, and the very sun seemed to dance around them with its rays. Just walking here, Lord Argonaz thought, is a wonderful adventure.
Suddenly, James grabbed his brother by the shoulder, and they saw a very odd sight: a mouse and a beaver, both abnormally large, were walking on their hind legs, and seemingly talking with each other. Their front paws moved and gestured in the air just as a human’s hands would. Lord Argonaz drew his wooden sword.
“The mouse has the look of a fighter,” he said, “It would be well for us to be on our guard.”
“Calm down, Michael,” James replied, “Who ever heard of a fighting mouse? There are other adventures.” Though even as he said this, he saw the mouse catch sight of them, and place a paw on the hilt of a short rapier.
“No, there is only one Adventure,” Lord Argonaz replied, “And it would be a pleasure to fight this mouse!”
As they spoke to each other, the mouse ceased talking to the beaver, and walked up to them. “Hallo!” he called. “A pleasant day for a walk, is it not?” The mouse bowed in a courtly fashion, and said: “I am Sir Reepicheep, Knight of the Order of the Lion. My companion is Mr. Beaver, a creature of most pleasant company. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?”
“I am Lord Argonaz, and this is James,” Lord Argonaz stated simply.
“I am glad to meet you,” Reepicheep replied, “And I am sorry I am not familiar with your name. From which noble house do you come from?”
“My sword will make you quite familiar with me,” Lord Argonaz declared, “If that is what you want.”
“I have no quarrel with you, my young lord,” Reepicheep said softly, “But I would be happy for the exercise.”
“Wait!” cried James, “Please, excuse my brother! We are new here, only just arrived!”
“Your brother has not offended me in the least, Lord James,” Reepicheep said, still calm. “He has a fighting spirit, and it would be dishonorable for me to turn down a duel, now that he has challenged me.”
“Leave them alone, Lord James,” Mr. Beaver said, placing a friendly paw on his arm. “Reepicheep will only harm your brother’s pride, not his body. And that is quite often a good thing.”
“Stop calling me a lord!” James said, beginning to be annoyed at how everyone was acting. He usually had control over his adventures, but he had never imagined one where others stole the show. “And how do you expect me to just sit back and watch my brother get almost killed?”
Mr. Beaver laughed. “Don’t worry about death, Son of Adam,” he said. “Just watch.”
So James did. He clenched his teeth, and hoped that the beaver was right, that death was nothing to worry about. The boy and the mouse stood still, swords outstretch, measuring each other. A sharp clack! Then frozen again, their places exchanged. Metal on wood! But the mouse was simply playing, for the moment. Then the duel began in earnest, and it was clear who was the master. Lord Argonaz defended himself skillfully, and James fancied he caught a glint of admiration in the mouse’s eyes. Lord Argonaz swung at Reepicheep’s head; Reepicheep ducked, but not quite in time. His cap lay in the dust. The mouse tumbled through the air, lifted the cap with the point of his rapier, and landed, with cap at the same jaunty angle it had at duel’s beginning.
“Leave the boy, Reepicheep!” a clear laugh commanded. “I daresay you’ve shown him enough!”
James turned, and saw that during the duel, three people had come up the path. Two kings and a queen looked on with joyful faces. At first, James thought they reminded him of his mother. But he knew them to be three of the people in the photograph.
“My Lords and Lady!” Reepicheep bowed. “I will do as you wish, though to be sure, this duel yet has no clear winner. I’m loathe to leave it as such.”
The younger king laughed again. “Nonsense, Reepicheep! We all know that there’s only one winner, when you’re one of the duelists.”
“Your highness flatters me.”
“But come,” the queen said, “Who are these boys? They seem to me familiar.”
“And you to me, my lady,” Lord Argonaz said, kneeling. “I am the Lord Argonaz, and this is my brother, who prefers the name James.”
“I am Queen Lucy,” the lady said, “And these are my brothers, the King Edmund, and the High King Peter.”
“Tell me, my Lord Argonaz,” High King Peter requested, “Are you Narnian? For if you are, I am sorry I do not know your name, and have only met you now.”
“No, your majesty,” Lord Argonaz replied, “If my memory serves right, I am American. But in truth, if this is Narnia, there is no place I’d rather be.”
“You have a Narnian air about you,” King Edmund pointed out. “How long have you been here?”
“Not long,” James responded. “No more than a couple hours. We arrived by rings.”
At this, the two kings exchanged a glance. “Can we see a green ring?” High King Peter asked.
“Yes,” James answered, handing his over, “But how did you know one would be green?”
“Come with us,” High King Peter said, “And you will know.”
***
“Extraordinary.”
David gazed at the lamppost as though its very presence was a miracle. “How can a lamppost shine in the middle of a forest, with no other signs of civilization in sight?”
Susan gazed at the lamppost as well, but she saw the past, not the present. “It’s the same, but different.”
“Have you seen this lamppost before?”
“I seem to remember so; but perhaps all I saw was the shadow of the lamppost, and this is what cast the shadow.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” David said. He began looking at the ground, searching for the footprints that had led them this far already. “It looks like they went over this way. I’m glad they’re staying together. As it is, I’m afraid of what they could find in this forest.”
“There is no reason to be afraid, Son of Adam, Daughter of Eve.”
Susan’s heart stopped at the sound of the warm voice, a voice she once thought was simply the product of her imagination. But then she turned and saw the Source; and knew that if anyone was the product of anyone’s imagination, she was the product of His, and not vice versa.
“Aslan!”
The Lion smiled. “I have waited long for this day, my child. Do you see?”
“My wife’s not blind, if that’s what you’re asking, sir!” David said, a bit shocked at the Lion’s sudden appearance. “And what have you done with James and Michael?”
“I would say that that is their story,” Aslan said, “But it is, in a sense, your story as well. So I will tell you what I told you before: Be not afraid. They are safe, with family.”
“We’re the family!” David shouted. But Susan ran over and embraced the Lion, running her hands through the Lion’s golden mane.
“Aslan, Aslan!” she cried. “I am sorry! I was so forgetful! I thought when you said I couldn’t return, that there were other things than Narnia for me. I have never been more wrong!”
“Peace, my child,” Aslan said. “Peace. You know me again, and you will not forget me. Not in Narnia, nor in America.” He looked at David. “Come, Son of Adam. Join your wife.”
David approached slowly, his anger turned to fear.
“Why are you afraid? I will not eat you.”
David fancied he could see the Lion smile a little.
“I am only smiling because my child has come home. And I would that you both know where your home is, now.”
David was only slightly reassured by this, but when he touched the Lion’s mane, new strength flowed into him.
“Come, my children,” Aslan said, “Your family is at Beaversdam.”
***
Lucy sat, drinking Mrs. Beaver’s tea and listening to Edmund and Peter tell James and Lord Argonaz of all their adventures, and of the rings, as well. When, looking out the window for a moment, she saw a much longed-for sight.
“Susan!” Lucy leaped from the table, spilling her tea and, after a hurried apology to Mrs. Beaver, she dashed out of the house, followed by her brothers. James and Lord Argonaz hurried out as well as Mrs. Beaver threw her paws in the air and shook her head.
“They’ll bring this dam down if they keep rushing about like that!” But even as she said that, a tear of joy trickled down her cheek. She brushed it away with a corner of her apron. “Bless them,” she added.
“Oh, Susan!” Lucy cried again, giving her sister a huge hug. “It’s wonderful to see you again! I prayed you would remember! Thank you, Aslan, thank you!”
“I’m sorry, Lucy. I almost wish I had brought something back from Narnia, to help me remember it better,” Susan replied.
“Then that is what you shall do,” Aslan said. “Lord Argonaz, come forth!”
Lord Argonaz walked forward slowly, fear and joy churning his heart. Finally, he could come no closer. He fell to his knees, offering his wooden sword to Aslan. “I have loved and feared many kings, but I love and fear you even more, now that I see you. Please, let me fight for you!”
“What is your name?” Aslan demanded.
“Argonaz, Sire.”
Aslan shook his mane gently. “What is your name, my son?”
Argonaz hesitated. “Michael, Sire.”
“You love this world, and rightly so; for your mother ruled it wisely with her brothers and sister years ago, and brought happiness and peace to a frightened people. But it is not your world. I will accept your offer of fealty, however. For the time is coming when I shall have need of warriors in your world.” Aslan placed a heavy paw on Michael’s head and breathed gently. “Rise, Sir Michael Argonaz Kay.”
“I protest!” David shouted, his uncertainty creeping back in.
“Silence, Son of Adam,” Aslan said sternly, though not without a smile. “This is not a republic, like in your world. I am King, and my Word is law; but my Word is good.”
“Yes, and that’s all fine, but you see, Michael’s given middle name is Christopher, after my father! And it takes a little more than that to change a name.”
“Do you not think I know all these things? I am not taking a name from your son, but I am giving him a new one. Walk with me.”
Aslan separated David from the others. At first, David tried to resist, but Susan smiled at him, and David went with the Lion.
“I would that you were not so stubborn,” Aslan began. “Why deny the miracle that you live?”
“I apologize for the stupid things I’ve said,” David admitted. “I just wish you would take things more slowly. At first, please. It would make things much easier.”
“There are many easier lives for you, David,” Aslan said. “None of them are better than the one I wish for you.”
“And why do you always talk in riddles like that? Why can’t you just say, ‘Suck it up, David, stop being such a whiner?’”
“Very well. Suck it up, David, stop being such a whiner.”
David’s temper flared. “Are you mocking me, sir?”
“No, I am merely doing as you requested. What would it take for you to trust me?”
David hung his head. “My heart tells me that you are God. But my mind does not wish to accept this, and tells me this is but a dream. Settle this debate.”
Aslan looked David in the eye. “I am.” Then he turned back to the others. “When you return to your world, look for me, and you will find me. Listen to your wife.”
David said no more.
“Come, my children!” Aslan called. “It is time for you to take leave of each other once more. But if you wish, you will meet when the time comes.”
“You mean,” Edmund began, “You aren’t dead, Susan?”
Susan just looked at her brother.
“The rings, Ed! They got here by the rings!” Peter hissed.
“Forgive me!” Edmund cried. “But all of us here have passed through death. I wasn’t expecting anyone to come here who hasn’t. But, Aslan, must they leave again so soon?”
“Yes, my son, but do not fear. You will see them again, in the fullness of time.”
“I promise,” said Susan, “I’ll never forget this. Not again. My life has felt a little empty since I went to America, but now it is full again. I will come back, just as Aslan says.”
Susan said goodbye to her siblings. Peter and Edmund shook David’s hand firmly. “I look forward to seeing you again,” Peter said.
“And if you’re afraid of Aslan, I can understand that,” Edmund added. “But trust in him, and you’ll grow to love him more than you fear him.”
Then Aslan breathed on two trees; they twisted to form a doorway. Susan, David, James, and Michael Argonaz walked through the doorway, and returned to their world. But they did not forget Narnia again.