Categories > Cartoons > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles > The Lion, the Cat and the Turtles
Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolves?
0 reviewsIn this chapter: Leonardo VS. werevolves. 'Nuff said.
0Unrated
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE LION, THE CAT AND THE TURTLES
Chapter Three:
Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolves?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riding a centaur was not something that most people, even in Narnia, ever got to experience.
The fact that many Narnians used the saying "as impossible as putting a saddle on a centaur" when talking about things that absolutely couldn't be done should really say the most of it -- centaurs were proud, free creatures and not, as they themselves would indignantly say, pack-horses. Only occasionally, and only when no other solutions would be practical, might some of the more free-minded centaurs allow someone to ride them. This was considered a great honor and privilege.
If Leonardo had known all this, he might have appreciated his ride a little more. As it was, the main thing he appreciated was the fact that he'd been trained in keeping his balance from an early age. It was much harder and more uncomfortable to ride a centaur than it was to ride those horses he'd gotten to ride back in his own world; not only was there a lack of a saddle, but Moorwin also clearly wasn't used to having passengers and took little care for him as she galloped forward through the woods.
"How far is it to Cair Paravel?" Leo shouted above the wind in his ears.
"About one hour, if I could gallop the whole time," Moorwin answered back. "But I can't do that, especially not with a passenger! I will have to slow down soon! How fast would you say your invisible creatures were moving?"
"Nowhere near as fast as your galloping!"
"Good! With a bit of luck, we've overtaken them by now!"
Soon after, Moorwin did slow down to a trot -- which was both better and worse for her passenger, as the pace grew more comfortable, but the amount of bouncing up and down grew worse. If they hadn't been in such a hurry, Leo thought as he tried remembering the meager riding lessons he'd had (was it something about rising up and down in rhythm with the horse to avoid being jolted?), he would rather have walked.
"You did not by any chance happen to see, or feel, if we were passing the invisible creatures?" said Moorwin, sounding slightly out of breath.
"No, but I wasn't really in an ideal position for feeling anything..." aid Leo apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to travelling in this way."
"Then we shall be of good spirits as of yet," Moorwin announced. "Onward to Cair Paravel!"
And for a while, that was all any of them said to each other -- while Moorwin didn't strike Leo as particularly unfriendly, she very clearly didn't have Portly's incredible talkativeness. She hadn't asked him where he came from, or who he was, nor had she launched into any speeches about herself, or the land of Narnia and its history.
On the whole, this suited Leo fine. Less talking meant more time for thinking, especially now that he felt that he was starting to get the hang of this riding, and with everything that had happened in such rapid succession since he'd somehow entered this land of Narnia, he hadn't had much chance for doing that before now.
His situation was not, on the whole, a perfect one. He was stuck in a completely different world with no clue as to how he'd gotten there and no clue how, or even if, he would ever get back to his family again. This would normally not have been so much of a problem: he'd been in similar situations before, both with and without his brothers, and he'd always managed to get back home somehow. But if what Portly had said about time was true, then it was worse. How could he know that he'd return to New York in the same time period he'd left?
There was no point in thinking about it right now, he decided, pushing the uncomfortable thought away for the moment. There was absolutely nothing to be done about it at the very moment, and he'd probably be better advised focusing on his current situation and what he could do. You didn't become the group leader for people like Raph, Mike, or even Don, by wasting your time obsessing over things you couldn't do anything about; you needed to focus on the things you could do something about, while you could still do something about them.
It was sometimes difficult knowing the difference between what you could do something about and what you couldn't, but you had to make the choice and act on it -- and desperately hope that your choice had been the right one.
And right now, it seemed to Leo like the only thing he could do something about was these invisible creatures that were on their way to the Royal castle -- whatever they may turn out to be. If the benevolent king of this land (and Leo had no reason to assume that this king Rilian was anything but benevolent) was threatened, and Leonardo was in a position to do something about it, then... well, not doing anything would just be dishonorable.
He was sure that his family would have agreed with him there.
Luckily, the Narnians seemed friendly enough, and it was always a relief to meet people who didn't question his strange appearance... but there was something, well, odd about them. Oh, he didn't think they were evil or anything, but... there was just something about this place and its people that struck Leo as... different. And it wasn't just the fact that they seemed to consist mostly of centaurs and dwarfs and talking animals and other strange creatures either.
It's more like the land itself, he realized. Something about the air... and the plants and trees... and even the ground and rocks. They seem slightly more... well, I'm not sure what, but there's definitely more of whatever it is. It must be the same thing that affects the people here, gives them that undefinable quality...
But I don't think the effect is negative.
A thought struck him. Supposing the "invisible creatures" I thought I felt were just the effects of the land, and I just wasn't familiar enough with it to correctly identify it?
If that was the case, he'd roused the alarm of the Narnians without cause, and was on his way to warn the king against something that the king didn't even need to be warned against.
But Moorwin didn't think that this would be a problem. "It is better to risk a false warning than to ignore a potential danger," she said. "And of course, we Narnians are all very protective of our king nowadays."
"I can plainly see that," said Leo. "He must be a very good king."
"He is, but also, we nearly lost him once before." Maybe Moorwin sensed that Leo had no idea what she meant, because she immediately continued: "While the old king, Caspian, still lived, then-prince Rilian disappeared without a trace shortly after the death of his mother. We all thought he was dead, but he had in reality been kept prisoner by a powerful enchantress. Ten years ago, though, two children came from another world and broke the enchantment and freed the prince. That's why he's now called 'Rilian the Disenchanted.' I was only a foal back then, but I remember seeing the children briefly after they'd rescued the prince. My father was one of the centaurs that carried them back to Cair Paravel, in fact, along the same path we're going now."
"Hmmm," said Leo, because this new information had given him another thought."What happened to the children afterwards?"
"They went back to their own world, I reckon. Isn't that what they all do in the end?"
"Moorwin," said Leo, "am I right when I say that on all the occasions when someone came from other worlds to Narnia, it was to either put a king on the throne, or to remove a king or queen that was ruling without the right to do so, or to help out a king in a time of great need?"
"I haven't heard it put quite like that before," said Moorwin after a brief pause. "Mostly, it's agreed that they come when Narnia is in need of aid. But then again -- the fate, and well-being, of a king is often closely linked with that of his country -- and even moreso for Narnia than for most other countries."
In other words, Leo thought, unless this is an exception to the rule, it might seem like the reason I was brought here was to help the king as well. I wish my brothers were here, though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The journey went on. Moorwin went as she had said -- short periods of intense gallop, longer periods of brisk trot. Leo didn't know if the air and the land was having some unexpected effect on him, or if he was just discovering that he really did have a natural talent for horseback riding and just never had the chance to properly develop before, but he found that the ride was becoming easier as time passed.
The landscape was changing as well; the lush and dense forest began thinning out until it was replaced completely by a grassy plain, a well-travelled dirt road stretching across it and towards the horizon. And then, in the distance, on a hill and overlooking what seemed to be a small village, a castle.
Even from such a long way off, Leo could see how huge, how impressive, it was. Built in stone and looking as if it could stand up to almost any siege, it was a castle that any king would have been proud to call his own.
"Cair Paravel," said Moorwin, quite unnecessarily. "We are almost there! Let us gallop the last bit!"
"Wait!" Leo suddenly shouted, as another sensation overcame him, a feeling of displacement, of something wrong...
"What is it?" Moorwin came to a halt.
Leonardo briefly closed his eyes, focusing and concentrating intensely on the sensation. Something was there. Something unseen, unheard... He opened his eyes again. "They're here. Just behind us, but closing in fast."
"The invisible creatures?" said Moorwin.
"That's them," said Leo, drawing his swords. "Get ready to run. I'm not used to horseback, or centaurback fighting, but if we need to fight them..."
"Don't be ridiculous," said Moorwin. "You can't fight invisible creatures. You won't even be able to see where they are."
"I don't need to see them," said Leo. He took a few deep breaths and concentrated. Don't be fooled by the invisibility. The creatures are there, they're just trying to convince the world around them that they're not. Don't pay attention to that. See what's there, not what they want you to think is there...
And now he knew for certain that ten or twelve creatures were approaching him at great speed. He couldn't tell just what they were yet, but he could definitely tell that they were not friendly. They had a feel to them that he was all too familiar with; he'd felt it with Foot ninjas, Triceraton soldiers, and numerous others he'd encountered over the years: They were killers, killers on a mission who wouldn't hesitate to take down anyone who might get in their way.
But he had dealt with such people before.
"Who goes there?!" he called. "You think yourself invisible, but I know you're there! Be warned -- if you approach the castle with hostile intentions, we will do whatever in our power to stop you!"
The creatures, seemingly surprised, slowed down before him. He was beginning to make out their shapes now; they seemed like four-legged creatures at first but as they came closer some of them seemed to shift and take on a more human shape. It was as if they came more and more into focus as they slowed, and he heard one of them speak, with a gruff voice: "I thought you said we would be invisible to all like this!"
Another one, the one that Leo judged the biggest and probably the leader, said in a voice that sounded wilder, harsher and stronger: "We were supposed to be." The creature fixed Leo with a stare, and came even more into focus; it seemed like a man, but an extremely wild and feral man dressed in ragged furs. "Who are you, who can see through the Red Lady's powerful enchantments?!"
"You tell me who you are first," said Leo, holding his sword out at an angle, as a sign that if they wanted a fight, they'd find one.
The creatures came even more into focus, and it seemed as though whatever it was made them invisible was wearing off as they spoke, because Moorwin took an involuntary step back as they grew clearer and sharper; twelve beings, some looking like their leader -- wild, and savage men -- while others looked like unnaturally large wolves, and yet others appeared as some strange hybrid of human and wolf, but were growing less wolf and more human by the second.
"Werewolves!" the centaur exclaimed.
"I was not addressing you, horse," the leader snarled. "We have business with the so-called king of Narnia. A business proposal, so to speak, to the mutual benefit of everyone."
"I see," said Leo. The feeling of fierce hostility radiating from the creatures didn't exactly make him inclined to trust them. "Tell us this business proposal, then."
"I have a different proposal for you," said the leader, his voice twisting into a savage growl. "Stand aside, and we will not kill you!"
"If that's the attitude you bring forth business proposals with," said Leonardo, "then I doubt you'll get to any sort of agreement with the king. Royalty have this thing about good manners. And I'm sure that trying to sneak up on them while invisible counts as a breach of etiquette as well. Now, I suggest you turn around and go back while you still can!"
"There are too many of them for us to fight alone," Moorwin hissed.
"Perhaps," said Leo loudly, not taking his eyes off the werewolves for a moment, "but take this into consideration: They are no longer invisible, and can, I should think, be easily seen from the watchtowers at the castle even from here. To get to the king, they have to get through the village, and even if they managed, the castle is bound to have guards and archers. They would be dead long before they could even get the king in their sight. I'm sure that these werewolves can see the futility in trying to attack."
As one, the werewolves stared at him with eyes that said: We'll remember your face, green creature. Some of them with barely-contain rage, others with a more measured form of loathing.
Then, the leader made a sort of hand signal to his comrades, and all of them dropped down on four legs, turning back into wolves and running back towards the forest.
"All right, leg it!" said Leo hurriedly to Moorwin, quickly sheathing his swords so there wouldn't be any accidents during the final gallop.
The centaur seemed a little confused at the expression (apparently, they didn't say "leg it" in Narnia), but she caught the general gist of it, at least, because she turned and galloped at high speed towards the village and the castle.
"I've never heard of anyone talking their way out of a situation with angry werewolves before," the centaur panted. "They're savage beasts!"
"Let's just hope they don't remember that and try to come after us before we've reached the --" Leo glanced back, and saw to his horror that three of the wolves had turned and were running after them, even as, in the far distance, the leader howled for them to come back. They were probably the ones that had given into the rage instead of following the more sensible route of caution, Leo thought fleetingly before making a decision. "Run to the village as fast as you can! Warn them!"
"What are you --" Moorwin began, but didn't get any further as Leo jumped off her back and rolled as he hit the ground.
He got to his feet again, drawing his swords. "GO!" he roared to the centaur, using the same voice that he used with Raphael whenever his brother got stubborn and there wasn't time for a longer argument. "They can't be allowed to reached the village! Too many innocents! I'll hold them off!"
Moorwin seemed to waver for a split second, but then ran in the direction of the village at an even higher speed than she had managed with Leo on her back.
Content that she would reach the village and at least give the people there some warning before they were attacked by raging werewolves, Leonardo turned back to face the three charging creatures, who were gaining in on him with the speed, it seemed, of race cars.
"Come on," he taunted, to make sure their attentions were all on him on not on the centaur that was running away. "Who's afraid of the big, bad wolves?"
The fastest wolf sprang on him like a furry streak of lightning with bared teeth and claws, but Leo was prepared for just this, and threw himself aside at the last minute, so the werewolf landed ungraciously in the dirt, leaving itself open for the slicing of Leo's sword. A neck -- be it animal or human -- is actually quite a bit tougher than most people think, and a werewolf's neck tougher still, but nevertheless, and with one swift, skillful swing of the sword, the werewolf's head was separated from its body.
Leo had no time to celebrate his victory, because the two other wolves were jumping on him now, both at the same time. One of them, he managed to avoid completely, but the other collided with him and sent them both tumbling down. For a brief moment, everything was complete chaos, with furious claws slashing against him and teeth snapping wildly in front of him, but thankfully, the wolf misjudged and only managed to scrape his plastron. It would have been lethal to a human, but as a turtle, Leo's heart was protected by a shell that the werewolf's claws didn't manage to slash through.
Kicking as hard as he could, Leo was able to send his opponent flying before getting back to his feet just in time to have the other werewolf, the one that had missed, attack with a ferocious growl. Leo just narrowly avoided being pushed over again, instead jumping to the side and then jumping again, over the wolf and landing, feet-first, on the second werewolf, which was in the process of raising itself again but now collapsed under the sudden extra weight.
"Back off, or I kill your comrade here!" Leo shouted to the first werewolf, as he brought one of his swords down to the second one's neck, poking it with the pointy tip.
It didn't work. The wolf merely jumped at him again, with bared teeth, and Leo had no choice but to slice at it with both swords and jump aside.
The wolf stumbled and fell to the ground, lifeless.
The one remaining wolf tried snarling, but couldn't quite seem to manage. Since Leo had been forced to jump off it, it was rid of the extra weight (and of the threatening swordpoint towards its neck), and managed to raise itself
"You will... pay for this, creature," it threatened, coughing and wheezing.
"That may be, but you aren't the one who'll make me pay," said Leo, holding both swordpoints out at it. "Surrender. You're wounded and weak, and you don't stand a chance."
The wolf's eyes narrowed, filled with hatred, but it didn't answer.
"What do you want with the king of Narnia? Who sent you?" Leo demanded.
"We were sent by... the Red Lady," it answered. "That is... all you will learn from me." With that, and with a sudden and surprising new vitality, it turned and ran, away from the village and back to the forest, where its other comrades had vanished previously.
Leo let it run. It was much too fast for him, and besides, he hated killing, even when it was necessary, even in honorable combat like this. That werewolf had had enough wind knocked out of it for now what it wouldn't be a threat, at least for a while.
He looked over at the bodies at the two other werewolves and briefly considered making a fire and burning the bodies -- it wouldn't do at all to just leave them lying there -- but in the end, he decided against it. It would only take time and resources he didn't have. He'd just have to get someone from the village to come and tend to the bodies, or...
He looked up as he heard hoofbeats from the distance. Moorwin had returned from the village, and was galloping towards him. Leo hailed her with both swords, before stepping over to the edge of the road to wipe the blood of the swords in the grass. It would have to do until he got the time to clean them properly.
"I returned as quickly as I could," said the centaur. "The villagers are warned, and a couple of the knights are saddling up and ready to ride to your aid as we speak. Where is the third werewolf?" she added as she saw the two bodies lying there in the middle of the road.
"It ran," said Leo. "Apparently, it didn't feel like taking chances. Do you think these knights will be able to take care of these bodies? I'd do it, but... I left my matches in my other belt."
Moorwin flashed him a rare smile. "I am sure arrangements will be made. You have probably done enough for one day -- foiled a probably threat to the king, killed two werewolves and frightened off ten more... that is a good day's work in my eyes."
"I wish we knew more about who'd sent them, though," said Leo. "I was hoping to take one or more of them alive, to interrogate. But they didn't give me that option. I suppose we could try running after the one that got away, but he has to be far off by now."
"And werewolves are experts in covering their tracks," said Moorwin. "Not even the best hunting dog in Narnia could track one that did not want to be tracked. But I suppose you, with your... shall we say... skill in sensing them...?"
Leo shook his head. "I can really only do that if they're in my immediate surroundings. Useful for hide-and-go-seek, but not for tracking." He paused, as he remember what the surviving werewolf had said. "By the way, you wouldn't know who the 'Red Lady' is supposed to be, do you?"
Moorwin shook her head, just as Leo had. "I heard the leader werewolf mention the name, but other than that..."
"Well, the one who ran for it just now said that she was the one who'd sent them in the first place."
"Perhaps the king, or at least someone in Cair Paravel, knows more," said Moorwin thoughtfully. "We had better request an audience as soon as possible." She was about to say something else, when once again, hoofbeats were heard from the direction of the village.
They both turned to see two men on horseback, clad in armor, coming rushing towards them. They were, as Leo guessed, the knights from the village, come out to help them against the werewolves.
As Raphael might have said, had he been there, 'trust the cavalry to arrive just after the danger is past.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just at the edge of the forest, the wounded werewolf rejoined his comrades, who were waiting for him, still in wolf forms, in the shadows under the trees.
The leader greeted him with a mighty blow of his paw that sent him tumbling, and then stood above him with bared teeth, as the other wolves gathered in a circle around the two, watching with detached emotionlessness. None of them felt, or even thought about feeling, the slightest bit of sympathy -- the culprit had disobeyed a direct order, and was now getting his punishment, as was only fitting.
"Idiot!" the leader growled. "Did I not tell you not to go back? The green creature was right, we would never have gotten to Cair Paravel without the invisibility spell of the Red Lady."
The wounded werewolf tried to raise himself, but was knocked down again. "We shouldn't have allowed the green creature and the centaur to live," he said weakly. "Now they will inform the king, and Cair Paravel will know about us. They'll increase their guard, probably employ magicians to see about countering invisibility spells. Any hope we might have had about reaching the castle at all is gone, Red Lady or no."
"That might very well be," the leader agreed. "But you and the other two still disobeyed orders, and look where it got you."
"Why could we not," the wounded werewolf said, knowing he was fighting a losing battle but determined to make his point nonetheless, "have charged the green creature and the centaur all at once? We could have stopped them and killed them before they ever reached the village! They wouldn't have stood a chance against all of us!"
"We did not do that," said the leader, "because we were too close to the village and were at risk of being seen and hunted down by the villagers. We did not do that because the green creature is an unknown factor in this, and a warrior besides -- and it's folly to rush into unprepared combat with an obviously powerful enemy that you know nothing about. And, most importantly, and this is really all the reason you should need," he said, letting his voice become a snarl, "we did not do that because I said so."
There was a short pause. Nobody spoke, or even made a sound.
Then, the leader got off the wounded culprit and looked at the others. "We will have to inform the Red Lady about this new development," he said. "We will also have to inform her that the first part of her plan has failed... as well as trying to find out why her invisibility spell faded when we talked to the green creature. As a little reward for your folly," he added, looking at the wounded wolf, "you shall be the one to ask her."
The wolf got back to his feet and whimpered nervously.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be continued....
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes: I know, I know, the traditional legends say that werewolves can only be killed by silver or fire. But this isn't the case with Narnian werewolves -- the werewolf in Prince Caspian is killed with, presumably, a normal steel sword, so the tradition of silver and fire apparently doesn't exist in that world. And Leonardo only had his swords to fight with; it's not like he had thought to bring some silverware along on what he thought would be a normal sewer patrol.
As for the village near Cair Paravel: You're right, Narnia-fans, if you read the books they say nothing about a village. However, in The Last Battle (which takes place hundreds of years after this story), there's a city around Cair Paravel. So the village here is the meager beginnings of this, though it'll take almost two hundred years before it's grown large enough to be called a city.
THE LION, THE CAT AND THE TURTLES
Chapter Three:
Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolves?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riding a centaur was not something that most people, even in Narnia, ever got to experience.
The fact that many Narnians used the saying "as impossible as putting a saddle on a centaur" when talking about things that absolutely couldn't be done should really say the most of it -- centaurs were proud, free creatures and not, as they themselves would indignantly say, pack-horses. Only occasionally, and only when no other solutions would be practical, might some of the more free-minded centaurs allow someone to ride them. This was considered a great honor and privilege.
If Leonardo had known all this, he might have appreciated his ride a little more. As it was, the main thing he appreciated was the fact that he'd been trained in keeping his balance from an early age. It was much harder and more uncomfortable to ride a centaur than it was to ride those horses he'd gotten to ride back in his own world; not only was there a lack of a saddle, but Moorwin also clearly wasn't used to having passengers and took little care for him as she galloped forward through the woods.
"How far is it to Cair Paravel?" Leo shouted above the wind in his ears.
"About one hour, if I could gallop the whole time," Moorwin answered back. "But I can't do that, especially not with a passenger! I will have to slow down soon! How fast would you say your invisible creatures were moving?"
"Nowhere near as fast as your galloping!"
"Good! With a bit of luck, we've overtaken them by now!"
Soon after, Moorwin did slow down to a trot -- which was both better and worse for her passenger, as the pace grew more comfortable, but the amount of bouncing up and down grew worse. If they hadn't been in such a hurry, Leo thought as he tried remembering the meager riding lessons he'd had (was it something about rising up and down in rhythm with the horse to avoid being jolted?), he would rather have walked.
"You did not by any chance happen to see, or feel, if we were passing the invisible creatures?" said Moorwin, sounding slightly out of breath.
"No, but I wasn't really in an ideal position for feeling anything..." aid Leo apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to travelling in this way."
"Then we shall be of good spirits as of yet," Moorwin announced. "Onward to Cair Paravel!"
And for a while, that was all any of them said to each other -- while Moorwin didn't strike Leo as particularly unfriendly, she very clearly didn't have Portly's incredible talkativeness. She hadn't asked him where he came from, or who he was, nor had she launched into any speeches about herself, or the land of Narnia and its history.
On the whole, this suited Leo fine. Less talking meant more time for thinking, especially now that he felt that he was starting to get the hang of this riding, and with everything that had happened in such rapid succession since he'd somehow entered this land of Narnia, he hadn't had much chance for doing that before now.
His situation was not, on the whole, a perfect one. He was stuck in a completely different world with no clue as to how he'd gotten there and no clue how, or even if, he would ever get back to his family again. This would normally not have been so much of a problem: he'd been in similar situations before, both with and without his brothers, and he'd always managed to get back home somehow. But if what Portly had said about time was true, then it was worse. How could he know that he'd return to New York in the same time period he'd left?
There was no point in thinking about it right now, he decided, pushing the uncomfortable thought away for the moment. There was absolutely nothing to be done about it at the very moment, and he'd probably be better advised focusing on his current situation and what he could do. You didn't become the group leader for people like Raph, Mike, or even Don, by wasting your time obsessing over things you couldn't do anything about; you needed to focus on the things you could do something about, while you could still do something about them.
It was sometimes difficult knowing the difference between what you could do something about and what you couldn't, but you had to make the choice and act on it -- and desperately hope that your choice had been the right one.
And right now, it seemed to Leo like the only thing he could do something about was these invisible creatures that were on their way to the Royal castle -- whatever they may turn out to be. If the benevolent king of this land (and Leo had no reason to assume that this king Rilian was anything but benevolent) was threatened, and Leonardo was in a position to do something about it, then... well, not doing anything would just be dishonorable.
He was sure that his family would have agreed with him there.
Luckily, the Narnians seemed friendly enough, and it was always a relief to meet people who didn't question his strange appearance... but there was something, well, odd about them. Oh, he didn't think they were evil or anything, but... there was just something about this place and its people that struck Leo as... different. And it wasn't just the fact that they seemed to consist mostly of centaurs and dwarfs and talking animals and other strange creatures either.
It's more like the land itself, he realized. Something about the air... and the plants and trees... and even the ground and rocks. They seem slightly more... well, I'm not sure what, but there's definitely more of whatever it is. It must be the same thing that affects the people here, gives them that undefinable quality...
But I don't think the effect is negative.
A thought struck him. Supposing the "invisible creatures" I thought I felt were just the effects of the land, and I just wasn't familiar enough with it to correctly identify it?
If that was the case, he'd roused the alarm of the Narnians without cause, and was on his way to warn the king against something that the king didn't even need to be warned against.
But Moorwin didn't think that this would be a problem. "It is better to risk a false warning than to ignore a potential danger," she said. "And of course, we Narnians are all very protective of our king nowadays."
"I can plainly see that," said Leo. "He must be a very good king."
"He is, but also, we nearly lost him once before." Maybe Moorwin sensed that Leo had no idea what she meant, because she immediately continued: "While the old king, Caspian, still lived, then-prince Rilian disappeared without a trace shortly after the death of his mother. We all thought he was dead, but he had in reality been kept prisoner by a powerful enchantress. Ten years ago, though, two children came from another world and broke the enchantment and freed the prince. That's why he's now called 'Rilian the Disenchanted.' I was only a foal back then, but I remember seeing the children briefly after they'd rescued the prince. My father was one of the centaurs that carried them back to Cair Paravel, in fact, along the same path we're going now."
"Hmmm," said Leo, because this new information had given him another thought."What happened to the children afterwards?"
"They went back to their own world, I reckon. Isn't that what they all do in the end?"
"Moorwin," said Leo, "am I right when I say that on all the occasions when someone came from other worlds to Narnia, it was to either put a king on the throne, or to remove a king or queen that was ruling without the right to do so, or to help out a king in a time of great need?"
"I haven't heard it put quite like that before," said Moorwin after a brief pause. "Mostly, it's agreed that they come when Narnia is in need of aid. But then again -- the fate, and well-being, of a king is often closely linked with that of his country -- and even moreso for Narnia than for most other countries."
In other words, Leo thought, unless this is an exception to the rule, it might seem like the reason I was brought here was to help the king as well. I wish my brothers were here, though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The journey went on. Moorwin went as she had said -- short periods of intense gallop, longer periods of brisk trot. Leo didn't know if the air and the land was having some unexpected effect on him, or if he was just discovering that he really did have a natural talent for horseback riding and just never had the chance to properly develop before, but he found that the ride was becoming easier as time passed.
The landscape was changing as well; the lush and dense forest began thinning out until it was replaced completely by a grassy plain, a well-travelled dirt road stretching across it and towards the horizon. And then, in the distance, on a hill and overlooking what seemed to be a small village, a castle.
Even from such a long way off, Leo could see how huge, how impressive, it was. Built in stone and looking as if it could stand up to almost any siege, it was a castle that any king would have been proud to call his own.
"Cair Paravel," said Moorwin, quite unnecessarily. "We are almost there! Let us gallop the last bit!"
"Wait!" Leo suddenly shouted, as another sensation overcame him, a feeling of displacement, of something wrong...
"What is it?" Moorwin came to a halt.
Leonardo briefly closed his eyes, focusing and concentrating intensely on the sensation. Something was there. Something unseen, unheard... He opened his eyes again. "They're here. Just behind us, but closing in fast."
"The invisible creatures?" said Moorwin.
"That's them," said Leo, drawing his swords. "Get ready to run. I'm not used to horseback, or centaurback fighting, but if we need to fight them..."
"Don't be ridiculous," said Moorwin. "You can't fight invisible creatures. You won't even be able to see where they are."
"I don't need to see them," said Leo. He took a few deep breaths and concentrated. Don't be fooled by the invisibility. The creatures are there, they're just trying to convince the world around them that they're not. Don't pay attention to that. See what's there, not what they want you to think is there...
And now he knew for certain that ten or twelve creatures were approaching him at great speed. He couldn't tell just what they were yet, but he could definitely tell that they were not friendly. They had a feel to them that he was all too familiar with; he'd felt it with Foot ninjas, Triceraton soldiers, and numerous others he'd encountered over the years: They were killers, killers on a mission who wouldn't hesitate to take down anyone who might get in their way.
But he had dealt with such people before.
"Who goes there?!" he called. "You think yourself invisible, but I know you're there! Be warned -- if you approach the castle with hostile intentions, we will do whatever in our power to stop you!"
The creatures, seemingly surprised, slowed down before him. He was beginning to make out their shapes now; they seemed like four-legged creatures at first but as they came closer some of them seemed to shift and take on a more human shape. It was as if they came more and more into focus as they slowed, and he heard one of them speak, with a gruff voice: "I thought you said we would be invisible to all like this!"
Another one, the one that Leo judged the biggest and probably the leader, said in a voice that sounded wilder, harsher and stronger: "We were supposed to be." The creature fixed Leo with a stare, and came even more into focus; it seemed like a man, but an extremely wild and feral man dressed in ragged furs. "Who are you, who can see through the Red Lady's powerful enchantments?!"
"You tell me who you are first," said Leo, holding his sword out at an angle, as a sign that if they wanted a fight, they'd find one.
The creatures came even more into focus, and it seemed as though whatever it was made them invisible was wearing off as they spoke, because Moorwin took an involuntary step back as they grew clearer and sharper; twelve beings, some looking like their leader -- wild, and savage men -- while others looked like unnaturally large wolves, and yet others appeared as some strange hybrid of human and wolf, but were growing less wolf and more human by the second.
"Werewolves!" the centaur exclaimed.
"I was not addressing you, horse," the leader snarled. "We have business with the so-called king of Narnia. A business proposal, so to speak, to the mutual benefit of everyone."
"I see," said Leo. The feeling of fierce hostility radiating from the creatures didn't exactly make him inclined to trust them. "Tell us this business proposal, then."
"I have a different proposal for you," said the leader, his voice twisting into a savage growl. "Stand aside, and we will not kill you!"
"If that's the attitude you bring forth business proposals with," said Leonardo, "then I doubt you'll get to any sort of agreement with the king. Royalty have this thing about good manners. And I'm sure that trying to sneak up on them while invisible counts as a breach of etiquette as well. Now, I suggest you turn around and go back while you still can!"
"There are too many of them for us to fight alone," Moorwin hissed.
"Perhaps," said Leo loudly, not taking his eyes off the werewolves for a moment, "but take this into consideration: They are no longer invisible, and can, I should think, be easily seen from the watchtowers at the castle even from here. To get to the king, they have to get through the village, and even if they managed, the castle is bound to have guards and archers. They would be dead long before they could even get the king in their sight. I'm sure that these werewolves can see the futility in trying to attack."
As one, the werewolves stared at him with eyes that said: We'll remember your face, green creature. Some of them with barely-contain rage, others with a more measured form of loathing.
Then, the leader made a sort of hand signal to his comrades, and all of them dropped down on four legs, turning back into wolves and running back towards the forest.
"All right, leg it!" said Leo hurriedly to Moorwin, quickly sheathing his swords so there wouldn't be any accidents during the final gallop.
The centaur seemed a little confused at the expression (apparently, they didn't say "leg it" in Narnia), but she caught the general gist of it, at least, because she turned and galloped at high speed towards the village and the castle.
"I've never heard of anyone talking their way out of a situation with angry werewolves before," the centaur panted. "They're savage beasts!"
"Let's just hope they don't remember that and try to come after us before we've reached the --" Leo glanced back, and saw to his horror that three of the wolves had turned and were running after them, even as, in the far distance, the leader howled for them to come back. They were probably the ones that had given into the rage instead of following the more sensible route of caution, Leo thought fleetingly before making a decision. "Run to the village as fast as you can! Warn them!"
"What are you --" Moorwin began, but didn't get any further as Leo jumped off her back and rolled as he hit the ground.
He got to his feet again, drawing his swords. "GO!" he roared to the centaur, using the same voice that he used with Raphael whenever his brother got stubborn and there wasn't time for a longer argument. "They can't be allowed to reached the village! Too many innocents! I'll hold them off!"
Moorwin seemed to waver for a split second, but then ran in the direction of the village at an even higher speed than she had managed with Leo on her back.
Content that she would reach the village and at least give the people there some warning before they were attacked by raging werewolves, Leonardo turned back to face the three charging creatures, who were gaining in on him with the speed, it seemed, of race cars.
"Come on," he taunted, to make sure their attentions were all on him on not on the centaur that was running away. "Who's afraid of the big, bad wolves?"
The fastest wolf sprang on him like a furry streak of lightning with bared teeth and claws, but Leo was prepared for just this, and threw himself aside at the last minute, so the werewolf landed ungraciously in the dirt, leaving itself open for the slicing of Leo's sword. A neck -- be it animal or human -- is actually quite a bit tougher than most people think, and a werewolf's neck tougher still, but nevertheless, and with one swift, skillful swing of the sword, the werewolf's head was separated from its body.
Leo had no time to celebrate his victory, because the two other wolves were jumping on him now, both at the same time. One of them, he managed to avoid completely, but the other collided with him and sent them both tumbling down. For a brief moment, everything was complete chaos, with furious claws slashing against him and teeth snapping wildly in front of him, but thankfully, the wolf misjudged and only managed to scrape his plastron. It would have been lethal to a human, but as a turtle, Leo's heart was protected by a shell that the werewolf's claws didn't manage to slash through.
Kicking as hard as he could, Leo was able to send his opponent flying before getting back to his feet just in time to have the other werewolf, the one that had missed, attack with a ferocious growl. Leo just narrowly avoided being pushed over again, instead jumping to the side and then jumping again, over the wolf and landing, feet-first, on the second werewolf, which was in the process of raising itself again but now collapsed under the sudden extra weight.
"Back off, or I kill your comrade here!" Leo shouted to the first werewolf, as he brought one of his swords down to the second one's neck, poking it with the pointy tip.
It didn't work. The wolf merely jumped at him again, with bared teeth, and Leo had no choice but to slice at it with both swords and jump aside.
The wolf stumbled and fell to the ground, lifeless.
The one remaining wolf tried snarling, but couldn't quite seem to manage. Since Leo had been forced to jump off it, it was rid of the extra weight (and of the threatening swordpoint towards its neck), and managed to raise itself
"You will... pay for this, creature," it threatened, coughing and wheezing.
"That may be, but you aren't the one who'll make me pay," said Leo, holding both swordpoints out at it. "Surrender. You're wounded and weak, and you don't stand a chance."
The wolf's eyes narrowed, filled with hatred, but it didn't answer.
"What do you want with the king of Narnia? Who sent you?" Leo demanded.
"We were sent by... the Red Lady," it answered. "That is... all you will learn from me." With that, and with a sudden and surprising new vitality, it turned and ran, away from the village and back to the forest, where its other comrades had vanished previously.
Leo let it run. It was much too fast for him, and besides, he hated killing, even when it was necessary, even in honorable combat like this. That werewolf had had enough wind knocked out of it for now what it wouldn't be a threat, at least for a while.
He looked over at the bodies at the two other werewolves and briefly considered making a fire and burning the bodies -- it wouldn't do at all to just leave them lying there -- but in the end, he decided against it. It would only take time and resources he didn't have. He'd just have to get someone from the village to come and tend to the bodies, or...
He looked up as he heard hoofbeats from the distance. Moorwin had returned from the village, and was galloping towards him. Leo hailed her with both swords, before stepping over to the edge of the road to wipe the blood of the swords in the grass. It would have to do until he got the time to clean them properly.
"I returned as quickly as I could," said the centaur. "The villagers are warned, and a couple of the knights are saddling up and ready to ride to your aid as we speak. Where is the third werewolf?" she added as she saw the two bodies lying there in the middle of the road.
"It ran," said Leo. "Apparently, it didn't feel like taking chances. Do you think these knights will be able to take care of these bodies? I'd do it, but... I left my matches in my other belt."
Moorwin flashed him a rare smile. "I am sure arrangements will be made. You have probably done enough for one day -- foiled a probably threat to the king, killed two werewolves and frightened off ten more... that is a good day's work in my eyes."
"I wish we knew more about who'd sent them, though," said Leo. "I was hoping to take one or more of them alive, to interrogate. But they didn't give me that option. I suppose we could try running after the one that got away, but he has to be far off by now."
"And werewolves are experts in covering their tracks," said Moorwin. "Not even the best hunting dog in Narnia could track one that did not want to be tracked. But I suppose you, with your... shall we say... skill in sensing them...?"
Leo shook his head. "I can really only do that if they're in my immediate surroundings. Useful for hide-and-go-seek, but not for tracking." He paused, as he remember what the surviving werewolf had said. "By the way, you wouldn't know who the 'Red Lady' is supposed to be, do you?"
Moorwin shook her head, just as Leo had. "I heard the leader werewolf mention the name, but other than that..."
"Well, the one who ran for it just now said that she was the one who'd sent them in the first place."
"Perhaps the king, or at least someone in Cair Paravel, knows more," said Moorwin thoughtfully. "We had better request an audience as soon as possible." She was about to say something else, when once again, hoofbeats were heard from the direction of the village.
They both turned to see two men on horseback, clad in armor, coming rushing towards them. They were, as Leo guessed, the knights from the village, come out to help them against the werewolves.
As Raphael might have said, had he been there, 'trust the cavalry to arrive just after the danger is past.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just at the edge of the forest, the wounded werewolf rejoined his comrades, who were waiting for him, still in wolf forms, in the shadows under the trees.
The leader greeted him with a mighty blow of his paw that sent him tumbling, and then stood above him with bared teeth, as the other wolves gathered in a circle around the two, watching with detached emotionlessness. None of them felt, or even thought about feeling, the slightest bit of sympathy -- the culprit had disobeyed a direct order, and was now getting his punishment, as was only fitting.
"Idiot!" the leader growled. "Did I not tell you not to go back? The green creature was right, we would never have gotten to Cair Paravel without the invisibility spell of the Red Lady."
The wounded werewolf tried to raise himself, but was knocked down again. "We shouldn't have allowed the green creature and the centaur to live," he said weakly. "Now they will inform the king, and Cair Paravel will know about us. They'll increase their guard, probably employ magicians to see about countering invisibility spells. Any hope we might have had about reaching the castle at all is gone, Red Lady or no."
"That might very well be," the leader agreed. "But you and the other two still disobeyed orders, and look where it got you."
"Why could we not," the wounded werewolf said, knowing he was fighting a losing battle but determined to make his point nonetheless, "have charged the green creature and the centaur all at once? We could have stopped them and killed them before they ever reached the village! They wouldn't have stood a chance against all of us!"
"We did not do that," said the leader, "because we were too close to the village and were at risk of being seen and hunted down by the villagers. We did not do that because the green creature is an unknown factor in this, and a warrior besides -- and it's folly to rush into unprepared combat with an obviously powerful enemy that you know nothing about. And, most importantly, and this is really all the reason you should need," he said, letting his voice become a snarl, "we did not do that because I said so."
There was a short pause. Nobody spoke, or even made a sound.
Then, the leader got off the wounded culprit and looked at the others. "We will have to inform the Red Lady about this new development," he said. "We will also have to inform her that the first part of her plan has failed... as well as trying to find out why her invisibility spell faded when we talked to the green creature. As a little reward for your folly," he added, looking at the wounded wolf, "you shall be the one to ask her."
The wolf got back to his feet and whimpered nervously.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be continued....
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes: I know, I know, the traditional legends say that werewolves can only be killed by silver or fire. But this isn't the case with Narnian werewolves -- the werewolf in Prince Caspian is killed with, presumably, a normal steel sword, so the tradition of silver and fire apparently doesn't exist in that world. And Leonardo only had his swords to fight with; it's not like he had thought to bring some silverware along on what he thought would be a normal sewer patrol.
As for the village near Cair Paravel: You're right, Narnia-fans, if you read the books they say nothing about a village. However, in The Last Battle (which takes place hundreds of years after this story), there's a city around Cair Paravel. So the village here is the meager beginnings of this, though it'll take almost two hundred years before it's grown large enough to be called a city.
Sign up to rate and review this story