~ by Amanda Pizzalatto

Back when Narnia was enjoying its golden days, when demigods and mortals lived side by side, there lived a very special family called the Pevensies. Aslan named the four children the future kings and queens of Narnia and prophesied that the four would prevent evil from befalling Narnia.

But at the moment, the four were growing and learning, often accompanied by their friends. One friend in particular, Nico di Angelo, a young demigod who lived next door, was very dear to the youngest Pevensie, Lucy. Her friendship was very dear to him as well, for, ever since being named the son of Hades, others avoided him like the plague. Only the Pevensies and their friends were ever really nice to him. Lucy especially went out of her way to make his day brighter.

Eventually, Nico stopped showing his face to the outside world, but he would see Lucy in the backyard after school. They would sit on the bench under the pomegranate tree and chat away gaily, the only time he would really smile. Lucy would often state that it was a lovely smile and begged him to smile more often. He would always reply that he would only smile for her. The answer did please her, but she wanted others to see his lovely smile, hoping that people would give him a chance if they saw it. Before she could say such, he would change the topic, and they would continue talking until dinner. Sometimes they would separate for dinner, other times they would join each other in one of their houses.

One day, when they were about fifteen, tragedy struck. A nymph told Zeus that she heard of a prophecy stating that a child of Hades would rule over Narnia while his own son was the Captain of the guard. In a fit of jealous anger, Zeus attacked the di Angelo family. Maria hid her son, leaving her and Bianca to face Zeus’ rage. By the time Hades got wind of the attack and rushed to protect his family, both women were dead, and Zeus was searching for Nico. The two fought for a few minutes before Aslan entered the scene, stripping Zeus of his powers and sending him away as punishment.

Nico was almost like a statue during the whole thing, never speaking and barely moving, even when the great Lion breathed on him. He stayed that way up until Mrs. Pevensie hugged him after the funerals. Lucy joined in the hug as he wept bitterly. He stayed with them for a week before returning to his own place. The family checked up on him every day, making sure he was fed and warm. The family’s love and patience seemed to have paid off when Lucy found him sitting on the bench under the pomegranate tree, waiting for her to come home from school. She hugged him, happy that he was waiting there for her like usual, but worried about him still. She saw his eyes, he still looked very sad. He tried to smile for her as he asked her how her day went. She told him before bursting into tears. He pulled her into a hug.

“No, you shouldn’t be comforting me! I should be comforting you! You lost your family!” she blurted between sobs.

“Then why are you crying?” he asked with a catch to his voice.

“Because you look so sad, I can almost feel your pain,” she replied.

“Lucy,” he whispered. He just held her; the tears in his eyes were all dried up.

Edmund found them as the sun was setting and bid them to dinner. Lucy refused to let go of Nico, which prompted him to join the family for dinner for the first time in a long time. Nico tried again to smile that evening, to show them that he was fine. But the family knew better, and heaped love on him the rest of the night.

When Lucy got home the next day, she wasn’t quite surprised that he wasn’t back under the pomegranate tree. She quickly did her chores before rushing into his house, calling for him. When no answer came, she became worried. True, he could shadow-travel, but he would never hide on her, unless he was actually feeling fine enough to have some fun. But the way he acted the day before suggested he wasn’t quite there yet. She searched the house again before rushing to her home with the worry that something had happened. Her family suggested that perhaps Nico had gone to the underworld for a visit with his father and would be back soon. Lucy wasn’t sure, but she decided to wait and see.

When Nico had not returned in a week, Lucy became frightfully worried. After a two week absence, Lucy was adamant about searching for him. Her family was also beginning to worry, but didn’t want to jump to conclusions and sent a message down to Hades via Hermes. Lucy didn’t want to wait and left secretly in the night.

She walked as far and as quickly as she could so that her family would not find her before she had a chance to really start looking for Nico. She asked the few people she saw out that night if they had seen Nico, but none had. She kept on going, moving further and further away from home.

For the next two days she travelled only by night, moving as quickly as she could. She knew that once her family realized her disappearance, they would send a search party after her. She just wanted to find some information about Nico before they caught up with her.

She continued to ask everyone she met if they had seen him, but she kept getting answers in the negative. But then she met a friendly cat who told her that he saw a magnificent sleigh pulled by white reindeer gliding through the snow. In it was the boy she sought, and someone he thought was a witch who had enchanted the boy with a spell of some kind. The cat told her they were going north, no doubt heading for the lands of the giants. The cat warned her to be careful when she left Narnia, there were wild dangers that she was unequipped to face. She promised to be careful before she excitedly continued on her way.

A few days after she crossed the border from Narnia into the wild lands of the North, she came upon an interesting sight. Though, in a way, they came across each other. It was a woman in a green kirtle with a young boy riding together. The boy’s face was hidden by a helmet, but he looked to be about Nico’s age, and about his build. Excitement and worry began to fill Lucy’s chest. Was her quest almost over? And how was she to get him out of the witch’s spell? Her thoughts were interrupted by the woman.

“Hello, my dear! And what is a young lady like you doing travelling in these wildlands all by yourself?”

“Oh, um, I’m, I’m looking for a friend of mine,” stated Lucy. If she had to fight for Nico’s freedom, then she would fight.

“A friend? What does she look like?”

“He,” stated Lucy before describing Nico.

“Oh my, I have not seen a boy like that,” stated the lady, with an odd hint of relief.

“Really?” asked Lucy as her eyes were drawn towards the lady’s companion.

“Does my son look like him?” asked the lady. She turned to him and made him remove his helmet. He did have dark hair like Nico, but that was the only similarity. This boy had blue eyes and a fuller face; whereas Nico had dark eyes and a gaunt look.

Lucy began to tear up a bit. “I-I’m sorry, ma’am, for thinking . . .”

“Oh, my dear, it’s perfectly fine! You were hoping to find him soon and bring him home. I’m sorry for disappointing you. Perhaps I can make it up. Come with us. We will help you through the wildlands.”

“Oh, thank you so much!” exclaimed Lucy as the boy helped her onto his horse. The three rode off, and the lady explained that they lived underground to protect themselves from the dangers of the wildlands.

When they got to their underground mansion, the two showed Lucy around. But Lucy noticed that only the lady did the talking, her son stayed absolutely quiet. Lucy began to wonder if he was under a spell too. But what for? He was her son after all. Wasn’t he? An inkling of doubt began to fester in Lucy’s thoughts as she followed her guide and learned about the underground mansion. The mansion even had its servants in the guise of gnomes, many of whom did not look too happy at being there. But they all worked hard, keeping the underground home in tip-top shape.

At dinner, the lady spoke more with Lucy, asking her about everything. Lucy wisely used an alias, going by the name of Lucy Peterson, and kept Nico’s heritage a secret. She also changed Edmund’s and Susan’s names and left Peter out altogether. There was something about this lady that she didn’t quite trust, though the lady seemed rather jolly and spoke freely.

After dinner, the lady brought out a lyre and began to play an enchanting song while her son and Lucy sat by the fire. Lucy’s eyelids drooped, and in a matter of minutes, was sound asleep. When she awoke the next morning, she forgot all about searching for Nico, she forgot about him completely. She wanted to stay with the lady and her son. The lady was more than happy to oblige and let Lucy stay. Lucy stayed with them for quite some time, the days seemingly flowing all into one in the underground mansion. But there was always something in the back of Lucy’s mind that seemed to scream of urgency, yet she couldn’t quite get at it. Wasn’t she looking for something, or someone? But nothing came to mind, and she lived quite contently with the lady. That is, until a certain fruit crossed her path.

The red fruit rolled into her path, making her pause and look at it. First she was curious, but as she got closer, she realized with shock that she recognized this almost unrecognizable fruit. It was a pomegranate! And with that thought came a slew of others.

“Nico!” she gasped as her hand flew to her mouth. How long had she been there? Could she get out now? She thought of the boy who was there, realizing she had never gotten his name, nor the lady’s name, and began to wonder if he too was under a spell. But how to break it?

The opportunity came a lot sooner than she had expected, or hoped. That evening, the lady asked Lucy to stand watch while the boy was strapped to a silver chair. He was under a spell, and this was the only way to break it, though it was going to take a while. Lucy eagerly agreed, stating she was glad of being able to help the lady with something in the house. The lady was pleased with Lucy’s reaction and left her in charge of making sure the boy didn’t break the bonds. Not long after the boy was strapped to the chair and the lady left than he began shouting, begging Lucy to free him.

“I am not her son! I’m Jesse Aarons, prince of Terebinthia! You must let me go! This chair is making me lose control of myself!”

Lucy waited a moment before walking towards him. “I believe you, Jesse,” whispered Lucy. “I’m Lucy Pevensie.”

Jesse gasped. “Your majesty!”

“Do you know where any weapons are?”

He nodded towards an alcove. “Push the statue, it opens a secret room.”

Lucy rushed over to a statue of a snake’s head and pushed it. A secret door opened, and Lucy found dozens of weapons.

“She hid them there, in case any kind of authority came looking. She didn’t want anyone to know of her plans,” explained Jesse.

“How long have you been here?” asked Lucy as she grabbed a sword, a dagger, a quiver, and a bow. She rushed towards Jesse and used the dagger to start cutting through the ropes.

“Maybe a couple of years, I can’t tell. The days blend into one down here.”

“No kidding,” muttered Lucy. A panic began to grow on her. How long had she been down there? Was Nico alright? Could her siblings have found him by now? She couldn’t think of that at the moment, first, she had to get herself and Jesse out of there before the witch came back. Speaking of which. “Do you know a way out of here?” asked Lucy.

Jesse nodded. “Yes, I do, thankfully. Even though I forget who I am after being in this chair, I do not forget what I’ve heard and seen while here with her, though it seems like a dream. And I think your friend was here too.”

Lucy glanced at him in shock. “Nico? Was here?”

Jesse nodded grimly. “Yes, the witch who kidnapped him is none other than the White Witch, this witch’s cousin, apparently. She said she had heard of this prophecy that a child of Hades would one day rule Narnia. She wanted to control him, and through him, Narnia.”

“And what does this witch want?” asked Lucy as she finished cutting the ropes.

Jesse rubbed his wrists before replying, “Terebinthia and Archenland. The two argued that night about it, apparently. And they kept him away from me, otherwise, I’m sure we would have escaped.” Lucy nodded. “Now come, on, we have to go!”

Jesse rushed towards the secret room and grabbed his own sword while Lucy quickly stuffed two bags full of food. The two raced towards the door, and paused. Lucy let out a shriek and Jesse gasped. The witch had returned!

“You’ve escaped!” she gasped when she noticed Jesse out of the chair.

“You think?” muttered Lucy as the two backed up into the room.

“Wretched girl!” the witch screamed as she lunged at Lucy. But Jesse unsheathed his sword and attacked. Lucy fitted an arrow to her bow and let it loose, the shaft embedding itself in the witch’s side. She let out a scream.

“You will never leave!” the witch shouted before turning into a poisonous green snake. Lucy screamed as the snake lunged towards Jesse and wrapped him up in her coils. Lucy let a few more arrows fly, giving Jesse a fighting chance against the witch. He mostly used his sword to keep the snake from biting him with those horrible-looking teeth. Until Lucy managed to shoot at the neck – it was enough that the snake reared her head back as she shrieked in pain. That gave Jesse the opening he needed and he cut the snake’s head off. The two stood there, panting with exhaustion. They glanced at each other after a moment before grabbing the bags of food and rushing out of the room. They shouted that the witch was dead, letting the gnomes know that they were free, as they made their way to the surface.  

Jesse led her to the stables where they quickly saddled the two horses before galloping off the rest of the way towards the surface. Lucy was never happier at seeing the sun again and feeling the wind on her face.

“I guess this is where we part ways,” remarked Jesse. “Thank you for helping me.”

“You’re welcome! Now that I’ve aided in defeating one witch, I may be able to defeat another!”

Jesse chuckled. “I hope so too, your majesty. The best of luck to you, and may Aslan be with you.”

“And the same to you, Prince Jesse,” replied Lucy. The two directed their horses in different directions, Lucy to the north and Jesse to the southeast.

After riding for a few hours, Lucy found herself entering into a forest. She was glad of it. She could make a fire for the night, perhaps even find some suitable shelter. But she hadn’t gone far into the forest before she was surrounded, by three children close to her age. All three had bows drawn and aimed at her. One boy lowered his before approaching her.

“Halt!” exclaimed the boy as he grabbed the reins.

“Halt for what? I’m on an important mission. Let me through!” declared Lucy as she wrangled with him for the reins. She let out a shriek as he just about pulled her off of the horse.

“Riccio!” berated the only girl in the group.

“What? We have orders!” returned Riccio.

“He has a point, Hornet,” stated the third member of their party, a dark-skinned boy.

Hornet let out a sigh as she moved her long braid off her shoulder. “I know, you’re right. Come on, let’s take her to camp,” she stated as she helped Lucy off the ground. “Mosca, take her weapons.” The two quickly disarmed her before taking her deeper into the forest. Lucy didn’t put up a fight; if they were following orders, then it was best that she talked to whoever was in charge. She would have to make them understand the urgency of her mission.

After a few minutes, the group came across a makeshift camp. Several tents made of animal furs surrounded a campfire. Pots and pans were stacked in a makeshift cabinet made from logs while laundry was hanging on a line between two trees. Lucy thought it looked rather cute.

Hornet left the group and ducked into one tent. Lucy heard some muffled words before Hornet came back out, followed by a boy. The boy nearly took Lucy’s breath away, he looked like he could be Nico’s brother. Both had the same dark hair, serious dark eyes, and once-olive skin that had turned pale. Though Nico had a bit of a greenish-hue to his skin and looked more gaunt than this boy, the similarities were striking, and almost eerie.

“Are you alright?” asked the boy.

“Oh, um, y-yes, I’m fine. Thank you,” replied Lucy.

Riccio glanced between them in surprise. “Do you two know each other?”

“No, I’ve never seen her in my life,” replied the boy, whom Lucy figured was the leader of this band of thieves.

“Nor have seen him before . . . but I know someone who looks somewhat similar. That’s why I’m passing through this forest, to find him.”

“He ran away?”

“No, kidnapped,” blurted Lucy.

“Ah, I see. Well, if there’s thievery of any kind, you’ve come to the right place. The Thief Lord knows much between the northern kingdoms and Narnia,” the boy stated with a sly smile.

“Oh, and pray tell me, how do I gain an audience with this . . . Thief Lord?”

“You’re looking at him. I am Scipio, the Thief Lord, at your service,” he stated as he bowed.

“Oh, a pleasure to meet you, Thief Lord,” replied Lucy as she curtsied.

“A very nice curtsy you have there, madam. May I presume that you are of high rank?”

Lucy let out a breath. Should she tell them? She acted on instinct with the witch, and she would do so now. “You are quite right, I am of high rank. I am Queen Lucy of Narnia.”

Scipio’s gang gasped as Scipio’s own mouth dropped. He then burst out laughing. “This is quite the treat! That is, if you are indeed the Queen Lucy.”

“I am indeed,” replied Lucy. “And I beseech you to let me go find my friend. I just received word that he is in grave danger.”

“How grave, your majesty?”

“He was taken by someone whom many people refer to as the White Witch.”

Scipio’s face fell as his eyes flashed. “Then he is in grave danger, very grave danger. You would be too if you continued forward. I hope you have heard that she wished to rule Narnia?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Then you cannot possibly continue,” stated Scipio.

“Oh! But I can, and I must! I have already defeated her cousin, Green Witch, or, whatever she’s called . . .”

“You defeated her?” exclaimed Mosca incredulously.

“Well, more like Prince Jesse of Terebinthia gave the final blow, but together, we did defeat her,” stated Lucy confidently.

Riccio, Hornet, and Mosca glanced at Scipio.

“The White Witch is far, far worse than the Lady of the Green Kirtle, your majesty,” replied Scipio in a whisper. “She will turn you to stone for sure. She probably has already done so to your friend.”

Lucy gasped. “Oh Nico! What a horrid fate! Perhaps Aslan may free him!”

Scipio laughed harshly. “Aslan, huh? You would turn to Aslan? Why would he listen to you over us?”

Lucy glanced at him in shock. “But, Aslan listens to everybody! He might not be able to do anything at the moment as something bigger might happen!”

“Like what?”

“I-I don’t know, but he has a plan, we just need to trust him.”

“Then why did he let the White Witch turn two brothers, friends of ours, into stone? The youngest was going to turn nine in a few months.”

Lucy gasped. “Oh no, I’m so sorry! You must let me go! I might be the one to free them!”

Scipio thought for a minute. “Fine. But only after you’ve trained with us for a while. I’m not letting you go in there without some skills to save yourself.”

Lucy held out her hand. “Deal.” The two shook on it, and Lucy’s training began.

Lucy stayed with them for a good two weeks, learning everything she could from them. She and Hornet became good friends during that time. When it came time for her to leave, the group wished her well in finding her friend. Though Scipio wondered aloud if Nico really was her friend, or something else. Lucy asked what he meant, but he only smirked and shooed her off.

A few days later, Lucy found herself standing in front of a castle. It looked cold and menacing. Lucy shivered in spite of herself and didn’t want to go in. But the thought of Nico being held in such a place motivated her to move forward.

She got within inches of the gate when she paused, noticing that the gate was opening. Thinking quickly, she hid behind the nearest statue. The gate opened completely and a sleigh pulled by white reindeer rushed out. Lucy caught a quick glance of a woman, cold and beautiful, before she disappeared from view. Lucy didn’t wait too long and rushed into the castle before the gate closed. To her surprise, there were no guards to detain her. But she didn’t want to waste this good luck and went off in search of Nico. She eventually found him, in the dungeons.

“Nico!” she gasped as she peered through the bars.

The dark head snapped up, his eyes widening. “No! You can’t be here! You shouldn’t be here!” he exclaimed as he rushed towards the bars. “Leave me! She’ll kill you!”

“I’m not going without you!” announced Lucy as she looked for the keys. She found them and unlocked the gate. She caught him as he fell forward. “This might be a while,” she muttered as she wrapped his arm over her shoulder.

“She’s only feeding me enough to keep me alive,” explained Nico as the two made their way back to the courtyard.

“If we had time, I’d feed you something, but we need to get out of . . . ah!” Lucy let out a shriek followed by a gasp from Nico. The White Witch was standing between them and the gate!

“So, you did come,” she muttered softly as she took a step forward.

“I told you that you shouldn’t have come!” hissed Nico as he pulled Lucy closer to him and the two took a step back.

“And now, I shall have two new statues for my collection,” the White Witch uttered as a cruel smile spread on her face. She raised her wand, the end of which seemed to twinkle cruelly.

“No!” yelled Nico. He unsheathed Lucy’s sword and pushed her to the side before rolling to the side himself, out of reach of the wand. But in the next instant he was back on his feet, blocking the witch’s wand with the sword. “Run!” he shouted as the battle between him and the witch intensified. But Lucy only loosed two arrows into the witch’s side to give Nico a fighting chance.

The witch yelled in pain. “Maugrim!”

At that moment two things happened simultaneously. The howls of wolves echoed throughout the castle as Lucy could tell that quite a few were heading their way. At the same time, the castle doors burst open and several people called out her name. The noise of battle erupted in the otherwise quiet castle as centaurs and fauns met the charging wolves head on.

That allowed Lucy to turn her focus back on Nico. She turned just in time to see Nico bring the sword down on the wand, breaking it in two. Lucy began to cheer, but in the next instant, it had turn into a cry of anguish. The witch used her broken staff to knock his arms up, and then stabbed him with it.

“No!’ screamed Lucy as she rushed forward and caught Nico’s head in her lap.

“Lucy . . . run!” gasped Nico. Lucy glanced up, the witch was reaching for her.

“Some prophecy,” she muttered.

A growl startled them. The witch glanced up and shrieked. Aslan pounced on her. Lucy bent over Nico to protect him, and to keep from seeing the end of the witch.

“It is over,” rumbled the deep voice. Lucy glanced up with tears in her eyes. Aslan was standing over them.

“Please, Aslan,” she whispered.

The Great Lion breathed on Nico, who was instantly healed.

Nico sat up and glanced in the Lion’s eyes. “Thank you,” he muttered. Their foreheads touched for a brief moment before Aslan walked away.

“Lucy! Nico!” called out several voices as the Pevensie family and Scipio’s gang hugged them with relief. The Pevensies explained that Prince Jesse was the one who told them where to find Lucy. And if she hadn’t stayed with Scipio’s gang for those two weeks, they wouldn’t have gotten to the castle when they did and would have lost both Lucy and Nico.

Meanwhile, Scipio was watching the Lion intently as he went from statue to statue, breathing on each. Not long after he left to go to another statue, the statue he had left came back to life. His eyes wandered over the statues, looking for his two friends. He paused and smiled with relief when two voices called out his name.

“Prop! Bo!” exclaimed Hornet as she whizzed by Scipio to hug their friends. The rest of the gang soon joined in the reunion and introductions were made all around.

Once Aslan unfroze the last statue, the group left the castle and made their way back to Narnia. Scipio and his gang decided to leave their life of crime and join the Narnians, the Pevensies promising to take care of their needs.

One night in the Wildlands, while the others were asleep, Nico thanked Lucy.

“But of course! You’re my friend! You would do the same for me! Wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would! I . . .”

“You what?” asked Lucy.

“I . . . don’t want to lose anyone else,” whispered Nico.

Lucy hugged him. “You won’t. The White Witch is gone, and Zeus has to serve his time for what he did to you and your family. Besides, my siblings have my back, as well as yours.”

“I know,” muttered Nico as he glanced down.

“I’m sorry, Nico. I shouldn’t have mentioned it . . .”

He shook his head. “No, you’re fine. It’s just . . . this whole thing made me realize just how much you mean to me.”

“And it showed me how much you mean to me,” whispered Lucy as she snuggled up to him.

He placed his arm around her and pulled her closer. “Lucy?”

“Mhm?” she muttered as she placed her head on his shoulder.

“Are we . . . are we just friends?”

Lucy glanced up at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean could we . . . could we go out?”

“Oh!” blurted Lucy as she raised her head up in shock. “So that’s what Scipio meant . . .”

“What?”

Lucy blushed as she explained, “Scipio wondered if you were just a friend, or something else . . .”

“Like a candidate for future husband?” whispered Nico.

Lucy giggled as her blush got redder. “Well of course, silly. How else would you be a king of Narnia?”

“Oh!” It was Nico’s turn to be surprised. “You’re right! I didn’t think of that!”

Lucy giggled softly. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’d love you, prophecy or no prophecy.”

“And I’d love you if you were a queen or not.”

“I know,” whispered Lucy.

The two sat by the fire for a few minutes before turning in for the night. Both were happy that the ordeal was over and were looking forward to the beginning of a wonderful future together.

Chronicles of Narnia

(The Pevensies, Aslan, White Witch, Lady of the Green Kirtle)

Heroes of Olympus

(Nico, Bianca, Maria di Angelo, Zeus, Hades)

Bridge to Terabithia

(Jesse Aarons)

The Thief Lord

(Scipio, Hornet, Riccio, Mosca, Bo, Prop)