“You are sure it was the Witch who took him then?” the talking Beaver asked. “They say Aslan is on the move as well, and he doesn’t take kindly to traitors.”
Even though the children had never heard of Aslan before, they all got the strangest feeling at hearing his name. Peter felt fierce and disquieted all at once, bloodthirsty and merciless like a warrior on the battlefield, but one that felt the looming threat of a force more violent and dominating still. Susan felt like she was both the hunter and the hunted; she was the kestrel flying high and the mouse pinned under its gaze, the hungry tigress and the cowering deer. Lucy got that feeling you sometimes get when you step on an ant- like a giant, big and strong and invincible, yet she also imaged she was the ant; her life at the mercy of a power beyond her comprehension. Edmund just felt a bone chilling terror.
“There was a note,” Peter said finally, after he had recovered somewhat from that queer feeling, “signed by the Captain of the Secret Police of Queen Jadis.”
The Beaver shushed him, gesturing that he should be more quiet, and then said lowly: “You would have known if it had been The Hunt who took him anyhow, there would have been-… there would have been signs.”
He looked awfully afraid as he said it, and strangely queasy as well, and the children knew he had meant to say something else entirely, but had thought the better of it. Peter and Susan exchanged a glance- maybe it was better if they didn’t know.
“Best to get inside now,” the Beaver said, “even the Trees have ears and eyes, you know.”
Feeling small and afraid, the four children followed the talking Beaver into his home.
He's not a tame Lion
Even though the children had never heard of Aslan before, they all got the strangest feeling at hearing his name. Peter felt fierce and disquieted all at once, bloodthirsty and merciless like a warrior on the battlefield, but one that felt the looming threat of a force more violent and dominating still. Susan felt like she was both the hunter and the hunted; she was the kestrel flying high and the mouse pinned under its gaze, the hungry tigress and the cowering deer. Lucy got that feeling you sometimes get when you step on an ant- like a giant, big and strong and invincible, yet she also imaged she was the ant; her life at the mercy of a power beyond her comprehension. Edmund just felt a bone chilling terror.
“There was a note,” Peter said finally, after he had recovered somewhat from that queer feeling, “signed by the Captain of the Secret Police of Queen Jadis.”
The Beaver shushed him, gesturing that he should be more quiet, and then said lowly: “You would have known if it had been The Hunt who took him anyhow, there would have been-… there would have been signs.”
He looked awfully afraid as he said it, and strangely queasy as well, and the children knew he had meant to say something else entirely, but had thought the better of it. Peter and Susan exchanged a glance- maybe it was better if they didn’t know.
“Best to get inside now,” the Beaver said, “even the Trees have ears and eyes, you know.”
Feeling small and afraid, the four children followed the talking Beaver into his home.
In the distance, a Lion roared.