Chapter 8

But Perry and Fam had very little chance, if any, to even try to get to their feet. While no one was actually looking at them all of the guards and soldiers were too close to make moving without being noticed very difficult. "A ring of invisibility would come in very handy about now," thought Fam.

There was another commotion, as another of the Tisroc's messengers arrived. "O Great Tisroc (may-you-live-forever)" he exclaimed, even as he was throwing himself onto the ground. "A mighty army approaches on the north!"

Fam noticed that the Lady seemed to be managing to move away without attracting the attention of any of the guards. He wondered how she was doing that. Apparently she did not wish to stay by the Tisroc as he faced the failure of all his plans.

xxxxxxx

Jadis quietly extricated herself from the midst of the Tisroc's army. There was only one explanation for all of this calamity: that Lion was interfering. She dared not face him now, not with the Tree still in place, not without reliable allies.

These Calormenes were worthless. She'd make her way north, back to her own stronghold. It would be a long journey, for she had to avoid getting too close to that Tree—but she knew she could do it.

Let the Tisroc face his fate alone.

xxxxxxx

With their arrival near the coast, word had come to the ships of what had been transpiring. King Gale had learned of the failed attempt on the Tree, and he had also learned of the capture of the two hobbits.

Morwen, Merry, and Pippin were horrified to learn that their friends were in the hands of the enemy.

"We've got to do something," said Merry. "We are supposed to help bring our friends back!"

Polly nodded. "That's part of the task Aslan gave us—not just to warn the King, but to get everyone safely back home."

"But," said Morwen, "how are we to do that, when we are on board a ship, and they are over there somewhere in the middle of an army?"

"I wish we had a friendly Eagle," said Pippin. "That doesn't seem too unlikely in a place like this."

Digory looked puzzled, but said "There very likely are Talking Eagles in Narnia; but I never met any, and we haven't seen any since we've been here."

Morwen looked at the others. "We keep our eyes open, and we look for opportunity to present itself. That is how we do it."

The first part of that opportunity presented itself a few moments later, when King Gale invited them to come with him in the longboat that was being sent ashore to parley.

xxxxxxx

Everything was ruined! Ardeeb Tisroc needed to find some way to salvage something out of this chaos! It was all HER fault; with her talk of how easy Narnia would be to conquer.

A little (very profitable) increase in the slave trade in the Bight of Calormene, bringing slaves through the Lone Islands ever more overtly, was bound to draw the attention of the Narnian King. That land had long held an unreasonable prejudice against slavery. That some should be the slaves of others was the natural order of things! But the Narnians did not agree, and so their King had sailed off and left the Queen alone to manage the country by herself.

His campaign should have taken far longer, especially with a dragon to subdue; he should still be at sea, ignorant of what went on in his absence!

And the futile hunt for the Tree that Jadis wanted destroyed! It had wasted time and wasted men.

Now the King of Narnia wanted to parley; but the Tisroc would not do so without an advantage. His eyes fell upon his small prisoners; the larger one looked defiant, the smaller one, amused. But prisoners they remained, and they were his advantage.

xxxxxxx

It was a large party in the longboat: King Gale, Master Bespian, SeaRover(who was the King's Standard Bearer, and bore the flag of truce in his mouth), Lord Dor of Archenland (for a single troop of Archenlanders had joined the Narnians on campaign as a symbol of their traditional alliance) and the five children.

By agreement, they beached the longboat on the southern side of the inlet. The cliffs above marked the border between Narnia and Archenland.

The Tisroc's party met them there: Ardeeb Tisroc himself, Azkash Tarkaan, and a few other Calormene officers. They too bore a flag of parley.

King Gale gazed at those the Tisroc had brought. His eyes narrowed. "Where," he asked, "are those whom you took captive?"

The Tisroc smiled. He raised his right arm straight up. "Look above," he said.

There were three figures on the cliff top above them, one larger, two smaller ones.

"These two are my surety, King Gale. I want free passage for myself and my ships out of this trap and into the Bight. We will take ourselves home—but free of pursuit. If my navy returns to Calormen intact, we shall send back your small friends through Archenland. If you do not agree, well, that cliff is very tall, and its edges very unstable…"

"You have no right to hostages!" said the King. "That is far beyond the bounds of diplomacy!"

Morwen watched them argue, and gazed up at the top of the cliff. The ridge sloped down to the beach here. Silently, she tapped Merry and Pippin on the shoulders, and gestured. Opportunity beckoned.

xxxxxxx

Fam and Perry had been carried away to the top of the cliff by the two guards and the Ambassador's servant Roshta while the King of Narnia and his party had been in the longboat.

Fam wasn't the least bit surprised. It was clear that the Tisroc was used to having things his own way, and did not mind using other people to get it. The trek up the side of the cliff had been uncomfortable. For the guards to use both hands for climbing, they had drawn the hobbits' tied arms over their necks. Fam recalled the description of his father's and Uncle Merry's capture by Orcs. This must have been much like the way they were carried across Rohan.

At least their captors were not Orcs, even if they behaved that way. And it didn't seem likely they'd have a three-day trek.

He'd give anything though, to have the notion that Uncle Strider was following along behind.

When they reached the spot where they could be seen from below, the two guards ducked down, and Roshta stood with the captives to display them to the watchers below.

Then the two of them were put down on the ground. One of the guards sat beside them. The other guard and Roshta lay upon their bellies to watch the beach below.

xxxxxxx

Merry and Pippin were gathering stones as they scrambled up the ridge. Morwen grinned as she saw one or the other of them dart briefly aside to pick one up, heft it in the hand, and then stow it in a pocket.

It was a long hot climb, but before long they were nearing the top, and needed to take more care to stay hidden. There were no convenient trees, but there were large rocks, a few bushes, and the grass was quite tall.

When they were within a rod of their quarry, Merry whispered to Morwen: "Pip and I will separate. If one of us can knock out the guard who's watching Fam and Perry, can you sneak close enough to untie them and get them out of sight before the other two notice?"

Morwen was not at all certain that she could, but it was the only way. She lay down and wriggled as close as she dared. Merry made a signal to his brother; Pippin scooted another ten feet away. Then the brothers gave one another a look, and both of them let fly with one of their stones.

And both found the target. The guard slipped over sideways, unconscious.

Fam and Perry had seen and heard the stones hit. But they were still surprised when Morwen darted over to them. She had her finger to her lips, but they knew better than to make a sound. It had taken a moment to untie Perry's hands. He gestured to the fallen guard—she grabbed his knife from the sheath. They had almost cut Fam free when Roshta must have heard something, for he turned and gave a shout. Pippin flung another stone and laid him out, while Merry's second stone did for the other guard. As quickly as they could, they began to hurry back down the ridge. The guards should be out for a while, but there was no taking chances.

Fam and Perry had been tied up long enough to make them stiff. The others had to help them at first, but by the time they neared the bottom of the ridge, the two were much improved.

As they came down, Morwen gave a wave of her hand, and a grin.

Polly and Digory saw.

"And how do I know that your emissaries will safely deliver these children to Archenland?" King Gale was saying.

"Why, Your Majesty," the Tisroc replied, "you may take your choice of my officers to hostage if you do not trust my word!"

"Your Majesty," said Digory.

The King looked somewhat cross. "What is it, Sir Digory?"

Digory gestured to where the other children were coming around the edge of the ridge. "Your Majesty, I don't think the Tisroc has anything to bargain with now."

Fam and Perry looked at all the strangers in alarm. "Are we safe now?" Perry asked, looking at Morwen, Merry and Pippin.

"Yes, we are among friends, now," said Morwen.

Suddenly the Tisroc turned white, and fell flat upon his face, gibbering. So did those he brought with him to parley.

"Well done, my children!" There was Aslan. He was even larger than he had appeared at the guesthouse.

It was Fam's first sight of Aslan, yet he wasn't frightened. The Lion's voice sounded familiar… Perry squeezed his hand.

"ARDEEB TISROC!" The Lion's voice reverberated throughout the inlet, and echoed back.

King Gale went over and pulled the blubbering Tisroc to his knees.

"Oh, great Demon Lion!" moaned the Tisroc, "What would you have of me? I will sacrifice my favorite wife to you! I will burn a hundred slaves in your honour! Please spare me!"

"FOOLISH MAN! What makes you think that I would delight in such sacrifice? It is no sacrifice to you, for you do not care about your wives or your slaves. Nor do most of your people! Worse than dumb beasts have you behaved, in your selfishness and pride! Therefore I shall improve your lot in life; you shall become better than you are, for you shall become dumb beasts! And each beast shall be as your own nature!"

As the Narnians stared in astonishment, the Calormenes began to change. The Tisroc found himself shrinking, feathers began to sprout, a huge tail fanned out behind him, and there was a look of horror in his eyes for only an instant, and then the intelligence faded from them. There he was, a peacock. The Ambassador was a viper; it slithered away as soon as the transformation was complete. On the opposite shore of the inlet there was a cacophony of hooting, barking, growling, and other noises. Only a tiny handful of Calormenes, most of them slaves, had been spared the transformation.

King Gale stared in astonishment. He turned and knelt to Aslan. "Aslan, I must thank you! You have spared Narnia the grief of a choice between a bloody war and the disgrace of capitulation to an enemy. I did not see how I would have been able to get the hostages out of the Tisroc's hands without giving in to him."

"Even giving in to him would not have saved them, my son, for he had already determined in his mind to keep them in Calormen as slaves and oddities. He would never have returned them."

"Then even more am I glad of your help, Aslan!"

"Rise, Gale, King of Narnia. I am pleased with your reign and that of your Queen Imogene. Good and faithful servants you have been."

"Children!" said Aslan, "you have carried out your tasks faithfully. Now it is time to return to Cair Paravel and celebrate!"

Fam and Perry looked at one another, and then Fam said, "I beg your pardon, Sir. I ought to know your voice, but I think that Uncle Frodo is going to be dreadfully worried. Shouldn't we try to get back soon?"

The Lion laughed, a warm sound and a fair one. "Fear not, Faramir Took. Your Uncle Frodo and Gandalf have both been made aware of where you are. They will soon welcome you home. In the meantime, be reunited with your friends and make some new ones!"

And so the entire Army of Narnia made its way back to Cair Paravel, without a single battle fought save the Skirmish of the Tree, in which Lord Elemir of Ithilien was, to his great embarrassment, hailed as the chief hero!

Another feast was held, this time with no evil Ambassador to drug the drink, and all made merry for three days running.

xxxxxxx

On the dawn of the third day, Elliniel, Morwen and Polly all wakened at once. The girls had been sharing a room, and had become fast friends. But when they woke that morning, they knew it was time. They dressed, not in the Narnian garments they had been wearing for a few days, but in their own clothes, in which they had arrived. They quietly left the room, and found Elemir and the hobbits waiting for them.

They went down the stairs without speaking, and found the King and Queen waiting for them. They had a Royal escort out into the courtyard, gathering more and more of their new friends as they went. By the great Gate Aslan waited for them.

He breathed on them as they passed Him by, and they walked through the Gate one by one, vanishing form Narnia as they went.

Polly was the first to find herself in the Wood, and then Elemir, Digory, Merry, Pippin, Fam, Perry and Elliniel.

"It's time to say good-bye," said Polly. She hugged everyone, while Digory shook their hands.

"We'll never forget you," said Digory. "Tell Master Frodo and Gandalf good-bye for us."

The others nodded. Polly and Digory walked over to the pond with the marked edge. Polly leaned over and gave the guinea pig a pat. Then the two of them joined hands and jumped into the pond. They did not reappear.

Perry gave a deep sigh. Fam said "But what do we do now? Does anyone know which pond is Middle-earth?"

Merry shook his head, but Pippin laughed. "Look!"

There was the Gate, still open, right in the middle of the Wood. They could see the Citadel garden through it, and the Keys still hung from the lock.

xxxxxxx

When Aragorn and the others had come to the sitting room to speak to the children, it had been Éowyn who had seen Morwen's note upon the table. They had rushed into the garden to see what had happened, only to find the older ones, who should have been watching, embroiled in an argument over who would fetch the ball down from the roof.

The younger children were nowhere in sight. But the King led the way; they had come to the back wall only to see Merry and Morwen pulling Digory through and vanishing before their eyes.

The King had called "Stop!" but it was too late.

Now they stood there, wondering what to do next. They could see naught through the Gate save the view of the sky above and the Sixth Circle below. Frodo was wondering if he should offer to go in after the children himself when...

out tumbled Perry...
and Fam...
and Morwen...
and Elliniel...
and Merry-lad...
and Pippin-lad...
and finally Elemir!

Only Gandalf stood back as the children were engulfed by their parents; only he saw the Gate slowly shrink until only the keyhole was left. Then the keys fell from the keyhole as it too disappeared.

He made note of where they fell.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTES: My justification for involving Arda in the affairs of Narnia is found in the problems of the way time works between Narnia and the Primary World from which the various children who travel to Narnia come. Time moved much more quickly in Narnia.

The events I drew from were found in the Narnian Timeline (which you can Google if you are curious about Narnian history):

"The Calormenes in Telmar behave very wickedly and Aslan turns them into dumb beasts. The country lies waste. King Gale delivers the Lone Islands from a dragon and is made Emperor by the islands' grateful inhabitants." (Narnian Year 302)

In the Narnia year 302, Polly and Digory were already getting old, and Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole were being born! By having young Polly and Digory go first to Arda, they were able to travel back in time to Narnian Year 302. And of course, they also needed the help of their friends from Middle-earth.

You will notice I downplayed the dragon. I chose instead to focus on the children's adventures, and so had them arrive after King Gale had slain the dragon and liberated the Lone Isles. I wanted instead to concentrate on what the children accomplished.

Some have wondered about Gandalf and Frodo instantly recognizing Who Aslan truly was. Of course they would have known Him as Eru-yet they knew Him immediately in the Aslan form. Gandalf was a Maia, acknowledged by Tolkien as an angelic being. A mere physical form would not have confused Gandalf. As for Frodo, my own notion of his character has to do with my ideas of his growth as a person spiritually from his experiences as Ringbearer. I believe that by the time he finished the Quest, he had been transformed into what they called in Middle-earth "the Wise" (among whom were Elrond, Galadriel, Gandalf, Celeborn and Cirdan). I think that this was a grace granted him as a reward for his endurance and persistence and mercy. So as one who was spiritually "awake", he too would have recognized the true identity of Aslan.

Why were these particular children chosen to go to Narnia with Polly and Digory? Well, of course, story-external it was that I wanted that "next generation" connection to the main characters of LotR. But story-internally it was because of certain qualities each child had: the hobbit children all had that special hobbit resilience and endurance and, let's face it, stubborness that allowed Fam and Perry to not be beguiled by the Witch; Elliniel was a Princess, and had the knowledge and training to be able to speak with Queen Imogene and convince her of their story; Elemir had his training as a warrior and an archer and his lineage of courage through his parents; Morwen also was brave and resourceful like her parents, and the Gamgee lads, being hobbits had the throwing skills needed to accomplish their mission to bring everyone home safely.

I realize that I have Jadis escape from any consequences in this story; however, she will be needed in the future so that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe can happen. Rest assured, Aslan took note of her actions.

You may have noticed several little tributes to Tolkien in the Narnian sections of the story-mostly to do with names: there was the Raven Carc, a name from The Hobbit (an ancestor of Roarc, the Raven who spoke to the Dwarves), the Talking Horse Wingfoot, named for one of Aragorn's many names from LotR; SeaRover from Roverandom and "Ooeen" was a phonetic spelling of Uin the whale, also from Roverandom.

Of course, all of this is tied in with my "Eucatastrophe" universe! I could never have come up with the story without the presence of Frodo and Gandalf in the Fourth Age!