“QueenofNarnia,indeed!”saidMr。Beaver。“Ofallthecheek—”
“Peace,Beaver,”saidAslan。“Allnameswillsoootheirproperowhemeadisputeaboutthem。Tellyourmistress,SohatIgranthersafethatsheleavesherwandbehigreatoak。”
Thiswasagreedtoandtwoleopardswentbackwiththedwarftoseethattheswereproperlycarriedout。“Butsupposihetwoleopardsintostone?”whisperedLucytoPeter。Ithinkthesameideahadoccurredtotheleopardsthemselves;ataheywalkedofftheirfurwasallstandingupontheirbadtheirtailswerebristli'swherangedog。
“It'llbeallright,”whisperedPeterinreply。“Hewouldn'tseweren't。”
&eslatertheWitchherselfwalkedoutohehillaadstoodbeforeAslahreewhohadnotseeshuddersrunningdowntheirbacksatthesightofherfadtherelsamongalltheahoughitwasbrightsunshineeveryosuddenlycold。TheonlytwopeoplepreseobequiteattheireasewereAslachherself。Itwastheoddestthiwofaces—thegoldehedead-whiteface—soclosetogether。NotthattheWitchlookedAslalyinhiseyes;Mrs。Beaverpartioticedthis。
“Youhaveatraitorthere,Aslan,”saidtheWitch。OfcourseeveryohatshemeantEdmund。ButEdmundhadgotpastthinkingabouthimselfafterallhe'dbeenthroughaalkhe'dhadthatm。HejustwentonlookingatAslan。Itdidn'tseemtomatterwhatthe>
“Well,”saidAslan。“Hisoffeagainstyou。”
“HaveyottentheDeepMagic?”askedtheWitch。
&ussayIhavefottenit,”answeredAslaellusofthisDeepMagic。”
“Tellyou?”saidtheWitch,hervsuddenlyshriller。“TellyouwhatiswrittenoableofStoaellyouwhatiswritteersdeepasaspearislooHill?Tellyouwhatisehesperor-beyoleastknowtheMagicwhichtheEmperorputintoNarniaattheverybeginning。YoukraitstomeasmylawfulpreyandthatforeverytreacheryIhavearighttoakill。”
“Oh,”saidMr。Beaver。“Sothat'showyouagineyourselfaqueen—becauseyouweretheEmperor'shangman。Isee。”
“Peace,Beaver,”saidAslan,withaverylowgrowl。
“Andso,”uedtheWitch,“thathumaureismine。Hislifeisforfeittome。Hisbloodismyproperty。”
&akeitthen,”saidtheBullwiththeman'sheadibellowingvoice。
“Fool,”saidtheWitchwithasavagesmilethatwasalmostasnarl,“doyoureallythinkyourmasteryrightsbymereforowstheDeepMagicbetterthahatunlessIhavebloodastheLawsaysallNarniawillbeoverturnedandperishier。”
“Itisverytrue,”saidAslan,“Ido。”
“Oh,Aslan!”whisperedSusanintheLion'sear,“'twe—Imean,youwon't,willyou?'twedosomethingabouttheDeepMagi'ttheresomethingyainstit?”
“WainsttheEmperor'sMagic?”saidAslan,turhsomethinglikeafrownonhisfaobodyevermadethatsuggestiontohimagain。
EdmundwasohersideofAslan,lookiAslan'sface。Hefeltagfeelingandwonderedifheoughttosaysomething;butamomethatheectedtodoaowait,anddowhathewastold。
“Fallback,allofyou,”saidAslan,“andIwilltalktothe>
Theyallobeyed。Itwasaterribletimethis—waitingandwwhiletheLioalkedearogetherinlowvoices。Lucysaid,“Oh,Edmund!”aocry。PeterstoodwithhisbacktotheoutatthedistaheBeaversstoodholdiher'spawswiththeirheadsbowed。Thetaursstampeduhtheirhoofs。Buteveryolystillihatyounotismallsoundslikeabumble-beeflyingpast,orthebirdsidowhem,orthewindrustlingtheleaves。AndstillthetalkbetweenAslaeWit。
AtlasttheyheardAslan'svoice,“Youeback,”hesaid。“Ihavesettledthematter。Shehasreheyourbrother'sblood。”Ahehilltherewasanoiseasifeveryonehadbeenholdihandhadhingagain,andthenamurmuroftalk。
&chwasjustturningawaywithalookoffierherfashestoppedandsaid,“ButhowdoIknowthispromisewillbekept?”
“Haa-a-arrh!”roaredAslan,halfrisingfromhisthrone;ahopenedwideraherrewlouderaheWitch,afterstaringforamomentwithherlipsickedupherskirtsandfairlyranforherlife。