As Caspian led them through and around the maze of dilapidated or blocked passageways tears began to leak from Lucy’s eyes.
“It’s just,” she bit her lip as her siblings gathered around her, “well, I mean, the Telmarine invasion wasn’t to long after we left so I just thought, well, what if we know–” She shuddered, “That is to say, what if it’s our dearest friends who are down there?” She sobbed again, “Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers—”
“Then we’ll bury our friends with the honor due to them.” Susan answered simply, her eyes misting over too as she folded her arms around her sister.
“Susan’s right.” Edmund wrapped both girls in his arms, “It won’t do any good to linger on how they met their end. It’s done and they’re waiting for us in Aslan’s Country now, regardless of their last moments here.”
“I-I think it will be alright either way.” Peter embraced all three, his voice cracking a little, “I mean, just finding our old ship has been a joy, not a sad thing. So, maybe, if-if we have bury our old friends too, well maybe, He means to give us closure. I know I’ve always wondered what became of them.” He gave them a tiny smile, “And to know that our dearest friends were leading the Beasts against invaders who didn’t want anything to do with Aslan and were bent on doing Narnia harm…well, I’d be proud to know that before we leave here.”
“There is one other thing,” Caspian’s voice called their attention, “I probably should’ve mentioned it before. I’m sorry, but well,…I-I found a man among the Beasts. He-he was sort of young, I think. Maybe middle age. Certainly, not a boy.” He shrugged helplessly.
“There were men in Narnia during our days.” Peter assured him, “We spent a lot of our early years tracking down the descendants of those who fled the Witch’s rule. Many came home to their ancestral lands and lived happily and peacefully among the Beasts, as Aslan intended them too.”
“Perhaps it’s dear Peridan…” Susan murmured, “He was a lord in our court and commander in our army.”
“That’d make sense.” Edmund agreed, “I don’t doubt for a moment that Lord Periden would have taken up arms, no matter the odds, to defend Narnia.”
“I suppose it’s a question of timing then…” Lucy murmured, “You said he looked about middle age, Caspian? As I recall, dear Peridan was starting to get a little grey in his beard when I last saw him the morning he saddled my horse on that last day.”
“That’s true, Lu…” Peter mused, shrugging, “Well, I suppose it could be anyone, really. Aging affects everyone differently.”
“The bodies are in the crew’s cabins…the First and Second Mate’s and the Boatswain’s.” Caspian’s hand on the First Mate’s rotting door, “Ar-are you ready, your majesties?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be.” the High King swallowed a little harder than normal. He clasped the new King’s shoulders, “If you wouldn’t mind…we’d like to look over things alone first…?”
“Of course.” Caspian stood back.
“We’ll call you when we’re ready.”
“I understand.”
The Pevensies went forward with their hearts pounding in their ears; the magnitude of their errand finally hitting them full in the gut.
Floating near the top of the cabin, they were both heartened and pained to find the bodies perfectly preserved in the cold water. There were dwarves, squirrels, foxes, satyrs, moles, fauns, jackrabbits, and one little donkey.
Peter descended first, slowly and with his jaw firmly set, but Lucy quickly followed.
“The poor dears…” she murmured, biting her lip as she looked into each face, “They look like they’re just asleep. I’m so glad.”
“You okay, Su?” Edmund offered his hand to his older sister, “We’ve got a job to do now.”
“You’d think that would make it easier for me; I’m at my best when something needs doing, right?.” she took a deep breath, “But being here now just…”
When we first got back,” she began explaining, “and discovered how much time had passed it really hurt, but that first night I got to pretending that Narnia was still the same and we were still kings and queens at Cair Pavarvel. Then we met Trumpkin and we had a job to do so that helped soothe away the fact that I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t the same.”
“Then once everything was set right,” she continued, “and Caspian was crowned king, I started to slide back into just pretending I was a queen in peacetime again. Then Aslan told Peter and I that we wouldn’t be coming back anymore and I had to steel myself for that so I did that instead of pretending to be a queen.” She shrugged, “We did it before so I figured I could do it again.”
“Then this new adventure came along and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sailing again.” she bit her lip, “Finding Corin’s old bracelet has been the greatest blessing…I’m truly thankful.”
“But now…” she gestured at the bodies below, “It just hurts again—and I don’t feel any comfort.”
“I know.” he simply took her hand and led them down, knowing it was the only thing he could do; in a moment the four were swimming side by side.
“I don’t see Mr. Tumnus or the Beavers…” Lucy sounded slightly relieved as they finished their search of the room.
“No big Beasts either…” Susan mused.
“They probably just killed them.” Edmund muttered darkly, as they opened the back door to go into the Second Mate’s cabin, “No man could force a Centaur onboard a ship to be drowned at sea. Same for the Horses, Cats, and Birds.”
“Well, I don’t doubt,” Peter wrapped an arm around Lucy’s shoulders, “that Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers would have given their lives for Narnia long before the Telmarines thought it necessary to try and squash a rebellion with blatant mass murder.”
“So true.” Susan sighed, a fleeting smile touching her cherry red lips as they floated over the peaceful-looking scene of little Beasts, “I’m glad they all just look like they’re sleeping. It makes me feel better.”
“Indeed.” Edmund agreed, “It reminds me of where they are now too.”
“I supposed the man Caspian saw is in the Boatswain’s cabin.” Peter said, as they finished their cursory tour. He pressed against the rotten wood and the door gave way, “Shall we?”
Lucy entered first and instantly gave a sharp cry, sounding surprised, joyful, and despairing all at the same time as she hastily stroked towards the bodies, “Mr. Tumnus! Oh, he is here! He is here!”
“Well done, old friend…” the High King kissed the Faun’s forehead as the others crowded around, “Thank you.”
“Dear Mr. Tumnus…” Lucy sank down and gathered his fuzzy head in her lap as her tears began to flow, “I-I knew you’d be here. I just knew it! Oh, but you’ve gotten a little grey since I last saw you.”
“Look, look,” Edmund shouted, “Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are here too!”
“So they are…” Peter kissed their foreheads as the girls came to gripped their paws. Then suddenly a sharp gasp from Susan brought everyone’s attention to the corner of the room.
There, laying behind the rotten wooden bed frame, with his hard chiseled arms and legs still shackled to the wall, was a golden-haired man.
“It-it’s Corin!,” her voice was strangled with sobs, “I-I-I’d know his face anywhere!” She gripped her old bracelet fiercely then reached out to stroked his breaded face, “How-how did he get here? Archenland?”
“They are our friends.” Edmund reminded her.
“Yes…but…” Peter agreed, “I would certainly like to know…” He cleared his throat then hastily stroked back the way they’d come, “W-we need to get topside right away. We’ve got a job to do here…and then…it seems, we’ll be going back to Anvard too.”
Lucy was wiping tears as she swam behind him but she couldn’t resist cracking a smile, “What an adventure Aslan has given us!”