I soon reached the entrance of the castle, and began to proceed cautiously, scanning the teal and white of snow and ice for Edmund's raven black hair. All around me stood solemn stone statues, faces frozen in fear. It occurred to me suddenly that it was the Witch's doing. Her magic must have enabled her to turn her enemies into stone.

I moved stealthily among the statues; crawling around one and ducking behind another. My heart lurched in my chest when I heard a snarl and a bark.

"Be still, stranger, or you'll never move again," a raspy voice said menacingly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Edmund!" I slowly moved my head towards the source of the sound and stood up to see better. It was in fact Edmund. A wolf stood on his chest. Edmund continued quickly. "I met the Queen in the woods! She told me to come back here! I'm a Son of Adam!"

"Hm. My apologies, fortunate favorite of the Queen. Or else, not so fortunate." As the wolf got off of his chest, Edmund rose to his feet in a hurry. Our eyes met for a second. He cast me a desperate look. I gestured for him to follow the wolf, and I took a few tentative steps. He understood that I was going to follow him, and caught up with the wolf. When I heard the wolf say "Wait here," I ran up the stairs as quickly and quietly as possible. Once inside the large room, I slid along the wall and crouched down behind some ice. Edmund was sitting on the Witch's throne, smiling wildly. I felt my stomach churn. This was not right. Edmund was not himself.

Something was very, very wrong. He met my eyes, and his smile faded. He looked away uncomfortably and marveled at the intricate ice structure.

The White Witch came into view then, approaching her chair stone-faced. Her nature was much like her ice palace: her dress was stiff and white, her hair did not quiver when she walked, and her eyes were dark and cold. I couldn't help but tremble at the sight of her.

"You like it," she said, coming up behind Edmund. He jumped to his feet quickly.

"Uh y-yes... Y-Your Majesty," he stammered.

"I thought you might," she said, sitting on her throne. A dwarf soon entered the scene, wearing a maroon hat. The Witch stared at Edmund; it was impossible to read her expression. She was like a frozen lake: you could never see what was beneath the surface, but you knew it was unstable, and stepping on the wrong part could be a fatal mistake.

"Tell me, Edmund... are your sisters deaf?"

"No."

"And your brother... is he unintelligent?"

"Well, I think so, but Mum says-"

"Then how dare you come alone!" the Witch exclaimed, standing to her full height. The castle reverberated her shouts and seemed to quiver because of them.

Edmund backed down the stairs. "I tried!"

"Edmund, I asked so little of you," she said as she pursued him slowly down the stairs.

"Th-they just don't listen to me!"

"Couldn't even do that..."

"I did bring them halfway!" The Witch froze. "They're in a little house at the Dam, with the Beavers!"

Time seemed to stop. I wanted to run up there and shake him. How could he betray his family like that? But then I took pity on him. The White Witch was intimidating. She could kill him anytime she wanted. Perhaps it was for the better that he told her... they would have enough time to escape the dam.

"Well," the Witch said after a heavy silence. I tensed up, unsure of what she would do. "I suppose you're not a total loss then, are you?" She turned on her heel and began climbing the stairs; Edmund followed.

"Uh, I-I was wondering. Could I, maybe, have some Turkish Delight now?"

The Witch turned a glance toward her dwarf. My confusion reached a climax. "Our guest is hungry," she said flatly, sitting on her throne once more. The dwarf moved toward Edmund and pressed the tip of a scary knife to his back.

"This way," he said with a nod of his head, "for your num-nums!"

Edmund shot me a panicked look as he was led away. I mouthed "I will find you" just before ducking behind ice again.

"Maugrim?" A wolf came to the Witch's side. "You know what to do."

He howled, and the ice around me seemed to tremble. I made myself as small as possible while wolves surrounded the perimeter of the room and echoed his howl. Edmund's eyes widened in horror as they sprinted out the door and into the cold.

I watched intently as Edmund was led away. I began to crawl among the ice, as far away from the Witch as possible. She sat completely still on her throne, staring straight ahead into the darkness of night. As I neared the passage Edmund had been led down, the Witch rose to her feet with a bang. I jumped, but managed not to make a sound. She walked with purposeful steps in my direction. I froze, my heart pounding so wildly I feared she might hear it. Her steps stopped a few feet away from me. Then, by some miracle, she walked the other direction.

As soon as she had left, I sprinted as quietly as I could through the halls, following Edmund and the dwarf. Thankfully, the dwarf didn't move all that fast. I saw them enter a room. I heard loud bangs and rattles, and I began to panic. What was he doing to Edmund? I hid in a dark corner and waited.

A few minutes later, only the dwarf emerged. He disappeared into another room. I was about to go into the room where Edmund was when the dwarf came into the hallway holding a tray.

"I have your num-nums!" he declared, going back to Edmund. A minute later, he emerged again empty-handed and disappeared down the hallway, probably off to find the Witch. I seized my opportunity and ran into the room. Edmund and Tumnus were talking lowly when I walked in, each chained at their wrists and ankles.

"Ruth!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Sh," I said softly, smiling. "Are there keys? I need to get you free."

​​​​​​"The dwarf took them," Tumnus said bitterly. "Maybe there's a way to open them without keys?"

"Worth a shot," I mumbled, going to Edmund's side and fiddling with the shackles. I studied his face. "You alright?"

He nodded.

"What about his sister?" Tumnus asked. "Is Lucy alright?"

​​​​​​"Last I saw her, yes. They are going to find Aslan at the Stone Table."

"Aslan?" His voice was an awed whisper.

I nodded excitedly. "He told me I would see him soon. As soon as I get you and Edmund out of here, we're going to find him."

"W-we are?" Edmund asked. I stopped my fiddling and saw fear in his eyes.

"Of course. Is something wrong?"

His eyes screamed "Yes!" but his mouth said "No." I looked down and studied the locks. I grew frustrated when I found no weaknesses. I looked up apologetically at Edmund, but his gaze was looking at something over my shoulder.

"RUTH, LOOK OUT!" Mr. Tumnus screamed.

I turned my head to meet the blunt end of a sword being smashed against my head.

The world around me disappeared in a sea of black stars as I crumpled to the ground, unconscious.