Hours later, I wished the siblings good night and retreated to my room. I changed into my warmest clothes, and decided it would be safest to leave my beanie back home. To lose it in Narnia would break my heart. I waited until I could not hear their muffled conversation across the hallway, then I slowly opened my door. The room was dark and silent. I took a deep breath, and crept down the hallway.

The door was slightly ajar, but I couldn't remember if I left it that way. I peeked in, and, seeing no one, I slipped in. The wardrobe was as chilly as ever, but this time, I grabbed a coat from the wardrobe before stepping into the snow. I still shivered... but I doubt it was from the cold.

This time, it was night time. I was more careful to look around me, eyeing the trees warily. I also took more notice of my surroundings. I saw a lamppost. It was larger than any I had ever seen, and its light was as bright as the sun.

"If I get lost," I whispered, "I can always just come back to this lantern. The wardrobe is right there. Alright. Alright, now I can explore. I'll look for Aslan. Once I find him, he can tell me what to do."

With those words of self-encouragement, I set off. I wove through the trees, relieved that none of them tried to attack me. My senses were on high alert, and my heart was soaring. I kept saying his name to myself.

"Aslan. Aslan. Aslan. Aslan. As... wait." A twig snapped behind me. My leg throbbed with the memory of being attacked by the tree. "Who's there?" I spun in a defensive circle, but none of the trees moved. I glanced up at the sky, scanning the treetops, when I felt a tug at my hand. I jumped and stifled a scream, but the hand didn't let go. I glanced down and saw a beaver. It stood on its back legs and scanned me with bright black eyes, its nose twitching.

"Hello," I said nervously.

​​​"Hello! Are you a Daughter of Eve, my dear?"

I failed to stifle my scream this time. I wrenched my hand free and fell on my back in the snow. I propped myself up on one elbow, breathing heavily.

"You... you can talk?"

"Yes, ma'am! We all can. Say, I've never seen you around here before! What's your name?"

"My name... oh. My name is Ruth. Ruth Byrne."

"Ah, so you are a Daughter of Eve!"

"I... suppose. What's your name?" I lifted myself up and sat crisscross in the snow.

"Not here. Are you cold? Are you hungry? Follow me, we'll visit my house. Sound alright? Alright then, let's go!"

I pushed myself to my feet and sloshed through the snow, following the talkative talking beaver. He chattered on about his family and his home, but I was too busy trying to understand that a beaver was talking to me to try to understand what it was talking about. Also, he climbed easily over snow drifts, whereas I would sink down as far as my knees with each step. He would occasionally look back and tell me to hurry, but other than that, he just carried on.

A few minutes later, we could see a dam in the distance. "There it is!" he said proudly. "Built it myself right alongside my father and my father's father. Long before this accursed winter. I hope my son can live there one day, once this winter has passed. Say, let's go meet them!"

"Alright," I said with a smile. "Let's."

The inside was very cozy. Three little beavers ran in circles, laughing and playing and weaving between their mother's legs. When my guide stepped into the room, he called in a loud voice, "We have a visitor!" All eyes turned to me.

"Visitor?" "Visitor?" "Visitor?" Three small voices asked. Suddenly, all three were at my feet, watching as I ducked to fit in the doorway.

"Hello, little ones!"

"Hello!" They chirped in unison, raising their paws in a wave-like gesture.

"I am Mr. Beaver," their father said. "And this is Jimmy, my oldest son, Jenny, my oldest daughter, and Jilly, my yougest daughter." He grabbed his wife by the hand. "And this is my wife, Mrs. Beaver."

"Nice to meet you," I said. "I am Ruth."

"Wooth," Jilly repeated.

"No, Jilly, it's Rrrrruth," Jenny corrected, shooting me an exasperated look. "She can't say her R's yet."

​​"Wooth!" she said again. I giggled.

"That's alright, Jenny. And yes, good job, Jilly." She held her small beaver arms out to me, so I picked her up and held her in my arms.

"Will you be staying with us for long?" Mrs. Beaver asked, wringing her apron worriedly.

"I don't believe so, ma'am. I was looking for Aslan when..."

"You were looking for Aslan?" Jimmy asked in awe.

"Yes! Do you know where I could find him, by any chance?"

Mr. Beaver looked at me gravely. "Aslan hasn't been sighted since before this winter."

"Oh." I felt the air slowly leak out of my lungs as my hope deflated. "How long has that been?"

"Too long, it seems," he said, wagging his head sadly. "Come and sit. You have a lot to learn." I sat down at the table, Jilly still clinging to my neck and the other two still scurrying around my feet.

"You see, a prophecy started to circulate as soon as this winter came upon us and Jadis took over. The White Witch that is," he added, noting my look of confusion.

"The White Witch is Jadis," I repeated to myself. "Alright. Now what did this prophecy say?"

"We call it the 'Golden Age Prophecy'. It goes a little something like this:

Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bears his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
​​​​​When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone,
Sits at Cair Paravel in throne,
The evil time will be over and done."

The air hummed with energy. I felt a burning sensation in the pit of my stomach. "So when Aslan comes, winter will be over?"

"That is the most common interpretation, yes. The confusing part concerns Adam's flesh and Adam's bone."

"Wait, who am I?"

"Uh, Ruth Byrne."

"I'm sorry, I mean, I'm a Daughter of..."

"Eve. Daughter of Eve."

"What do you call human boys?"

"Sons of... oh... Adam."

"So if they're Sons of Adam, it must mean that they will become Kings of Narnia," I mused. "Which means they have to overthrow Jadis."

"Do you know human boys?" Jenny asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

"Certainly! They are wonderful," I added, remembering my conversation with Peter and my shared dislike of coffee with Edmund.

"You mean, they are here?!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed excitedly.

"No, but..."

"But...?" He urged me on by nodding suggestively.

"I may be able to get them here. Maybe. I'm not the most convincing person..."

"You just convinced me that you're not the most convincing person!" Mrs. Beaver exclaimed encouragingly, setting a teacup in front of me. After setting Jilly down, I sipped from it politely, admiring the craftsmanship of the intricate designs.

"Thank you. And what a beautiful cup! Did you make this?"

She nodded proudly. As I took a few more sips, Jenny tugged at my hand.

"Are you the human who fought the trees?" she asked. "At the beginning of the winter?"

​​​​​"Beginning of winter..." I mumbled. "But it was only yesterday!"

Mr. Beaver looked suspicious. "How can we be sure?"

"John," Mrs. Beaver scolded.

"I have evidence," I said, rolling down my left sock. I walked over to Mr. Beaver. "I received this yesterday."

"Oh," he said. "Sorry. Do you want my wife to bandage that? 'Tis a nasty wound."

"It's alright. Thank you, though."

"If you insist," he said. "So is there anything else you want to show me?"

"No. But I want to help you end this winter, however I can."

"What you could do is bring the boys. It seems that those two events are connected... Aslan and the boys coming, I mean."

I nodded, ignoring the pang of uselessness ripping through my chest. "I can try."

"Ruth, it is like I always tell the little ones: don't try, just do it," Mrs. Beaver said, squeezing my shoulder.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, nodding my head. "I will."

"That's the spirit! You look sleepy, dear. Would you like to stay the night with us?"

"I certainly would, ma'am, but I should probably head back. I don't want anyone to worry about me." Not like they would, I thought woefully.

"I understand," Mr. Beaver said, "But if only a day passed in your world between the beginning of winter and now, I think it would be alright if you stayed the night."

I grinned. "Alright, I will. Thank you."

Jimmy suddenly appeared very worried. "Does that mean that it's bedtime?"

"Not yet, son," Mr. Beaver chuckled. "We must have music first." He cast a look at me. "You see, Ruth, the one thing the White Witch cannot take from us is our music. We still sing every night, whether the winds are howling or not, whether the snow is falling or not, whether we're wanting to or not. When we sing..." His voice trailed off as he stared up at the ceiling longingly. "When we sing... we just know everything will be alright. We don't know when or how everything will be made right, but it will."

I felt a surge of warmth in my body. "What kind of songs do you sing?"

"Some of them are silly, some of them are songs from the past, but most of them are about the return of Aslan and what He has done for us before."

I nodded. "How great!"

They beamed. "Well, Jimmy," Mr. Beaver said, "What song do you want to start with?"