EDMUND:

Ruth and the beaver Gidder were the first two back of their party. Ruth immediately rushed up to me. "I found something. I think I know where he went."

"What? How? I didn't spot anything."

"Your Majesty?" a minotaur in my party asked behind me. "Shouldn't this wait until everyone is here?"

Ruth shook her head. "The trail is fresh, sir. We must follow it now."

"Well... what did you see?" I asked, fighting to remain neutral but wanting desperately to drop everything and follow Ruth. I hoped she knew I trusted her more than I was letting on.

"Follow me," she said, walking over to a bush and breaking off a branch. "Gidder and I saw a branch that was lying like this." She turned the branch 180°, so that the leaves were facing away from the bush. "When we walked further, we saw that it pointed to the next camp. I think we should go there next, and look for another arrow, or other sign of Olivus."

"That doesn't mean anything," the same minotaur said dismissively. "That could happen at any time."

A flicker of hurt crossed Ruth's eyes, but she smiled politely. "That's certainly possible, sir. I'm just saying what I believe. Gidder said that Olivus is intelligent, and extremely loyal to his family. I've come to believe that he was kidnapped instead of running away, and that this was his very subtle way of helping us find him."

"Yeah, or maybe he was just hungry!" another member of my party chuckled, drawing laughter from the rest of the crowd except myself, Ruth, and Gidder.

Ruth sighed. "Possibly. I will wait for the rest of the search party members to return before taking action."

And with that, the group dispersed, waiting for the return of the others.

"I believe you," I muttered to Ruth. "I think it's a hint."

"Thank you, Edmund," she said with a genuine grin. "Will you promise me something?"

"Of course, anything."

"If nobody believes me and nothing more promising comes up when the messengers return, will you go with me in that direction?"

"Ruth, I'd go with you to the ends of the earth if you asked me," I replied honestly.

She beamed brighter. "Thank you. I knew I could count on you."

🦁

Three hours later, we were sitting in Olivus's room, searching his belongings with his parents looking for anything we could find but discovering nothing. The search party had concluded that whether or not to pursue the clue Ruth had found would be decided by his family. They asked to look through his things one more time before reaching a decision. Ruth looked as if she would cry, but nodded politely and searched diligently.

After another hour of searching, Olivus Sr. sighed heavily. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"What then would you like us to do, sir?" Ruth asked.

He sighed again. "It just seems like such a stretched conclusion to reach when given a stone, my lady."

"I understand," she replied, "but have we nothing better?"

"Dear, nobody heard nor saw anything better," Nindia said gently, laying a hand on his arm. "Wouldn't you rather have somebody looking actively than just waiting around for a random sign?"

Olivus Sr. nodded reluctantly, meeting my gaze, then Ruth's, then mine again. "Please pursue it, Your Majesty."

Ruth visibly relaxed next to me, and I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "We will."

Ruth knelt down and met the badgers' eyes. "I promised we would do everything possible to find your son, and we won't stop now. We'll return or send a messenger at the first sign of anything else, alright?"

"Alright, and thank you," Nindia said. "This means so much to us, my lady and Your Majesty."

"We do it gladly," I insisted. "Well, Ruth, shall we?"

She nodded and rose, her green-grey eyes alight with determined fire. "Let's go."

We informed the leader of our plan on the way out of town, then took off running down the mountainside.

"There it is," Ruth panted, pointing at the branch as we flew past.

"I'm with you, Ruthie, that's definitely intentional," I called.

She threw a grin over my shoulder. "Hopefully if we keep running, we'll make up for lost time."

I nodded and picked up the pace. We had been running for nearly an hour and could clearly make out the outline of the next camp when all of a sudden, I was flat on my back in the grass, staring at the blue afternoon sky.

"Ed! Are you alright?" Ruth asked, dropping to her knees by my side and waving her hand in my face.

I sat up, chuckling. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I didn't even realize I had fallen until I was on my back."

She giggled. "What did you trip on?"

"I don't know." I rose to my feet and surveyed the meadow. Looking down, I found my answer. Carved into the soil was a moderately deep gash, pointing 45° to the left.

Ruth smiled at me. "You tripped on our next clue?"

I shrugged. "I mean, possibly. Let's see if there's anything else that might be a clue first."

She nodded. But after five minutes of searching turned nothing up, we set off in the new direction. But between the heat and my growing headache, I couldn't keep the same pace, and soon fell behind. Ruth noticed immediately, and slowed to a walk.

"Are you alright, Edmund?"

I nodded. "Just a bit of a headache. I'm sorry, Ruth. You can go on wi-"

"No, no, no. We'll rest." She grabbed my hand and led me under an oak tree. "Do you have water?"

"Yes. Thank you." I rustled in my pack for my canteen, taking a long draw of water. "I think I jolted my head the wrong way when I fell."

Ruth frowned. "That's not good. Where does it hurt?"

"Mainly my neck."

"Let me see if I can help," she said, taking a quick sip of water before coming to kneel behind me. Her slim fingers were surprisingly strong, and I felt better the longer she massaged my sore neck.

"That's helping a lot, Ruth, thank you," I said a few minutes later.

"Of course," she replied. "Does your head hurt anywhere? Did you hit it on anything?"

"It hurts, but I don't think so. I don't think I'm bleeding or anything."

"Alright, good. Are you ready to keep going?"

"Not quite yet," I said reluctantly. "It still hurts."

"Want me to keep going?"

"No, Ruthie, rest."

She complied, sitting cross-legged on the grass and taking another sip of water. Her damp honey-colored hair stuck to her flushed face in small dark circles, but her eyes were bright. As if she felt my stare, her bright eyes met mine and she smiled. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I was just making sure you were handling the heat alright."

She nodded. "I think I am. It sure is hot, though."

I drew another long sip of water. "I hope the others are doing alright at the castle."

"They're on an island, so I'm sure there's at least a nice sea breeze," she commented. "Here, it's hot and still."

"And sticky!"

She laughed. "And sticky. And we are sweaty." She reached into her bag and extracted an apple. "I suppose now would be a good time to take a long break, actually. If we break during the hottest part of the day, we can run through the night. Besides, hopefully you'll feel better, especially if you sleep a little."

"That's a good idea," I said with a nod.

"Are you hungry?"

I shook my head, and laid down on the grass. "I'm going to take a nap." I pulled my pack over my head, and quickly fell asleep.

I didn't wake again until dusk. Ruth was staring thoughtfully at the sky, and didn't seem to notice I had woken up. So I just absorbed the scene. A strange happiness swelled up inside me.

I had a purpose. I was helping search for a missing son, a missing brother, a missing best friend. And we were on the right track.

It was a we. I was with Ruth. We were helping together.

The last time it was Ruth and me alone... I shuddered at the thought. A steely resolve hardened in my core. No matter what, I would never be the reason she was in danger again. I would be strong for her this time, no matter what came my way. I'd protect her from everything and everyone. Even myself. Especially myself.

As my eyes adjusted, I saw faint tear tracks on her cheeks, just as had been there this morning. I wanted so badly to ask then, but I was scared. When I'd asked if she was alright a couple days prior, she had said yes, an obvious lie.

Does she not trust me? I found myself wondering once again. The thought pained me, but I knew deep in my heart it must be the case. So I swallowed my pride, and resolved to be strong for her. If I didn't let her see my darkness, if I was the best person I could possibly be to her, maybe then she would let me help.

I stretched and yawned, pretending to just be waking up. "Good morning, Ruth," I joked as I rubbed my eyes.

"Good morning, Edmund," she replied. "Sleep well?"

"I did, thank you." I glanced down, then met her gaze. "Were you crying, Ruth?"

"Oh, no," she lied, wiping her face and smiling. "I must just still be sweaty."

I opened my mouth to say I didn't believe her in the slightest, but I closed it and thought of a better approach. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I might have dozed off. I'm not quite sure. But I'm alright," she said quickly, smiling again. "I'll be good through the night. How's your head?"

"Better, thank you. You helped a lot."

"Good." She stretched her arms and yawned before rising to her feet. "Shall we?"

I grinned. "We shall."

🦁

We had been walking - not running so we could take in our surroundings better in the darkness - for about two hours before we saw anything out of the ordinary. Just a few paces in front of us lay three wolves, sound asleep in the grass

I silently pulled my sword, but Ruth laid her hand on mine

I tapped her on the shoulder and mouthed an exasperated "What?"

She shook her head and looked back at the wolves.

I tapped her again. "What?" I mouthed again.

She shook her head again, motioning for me to put my sword away, and began creeping toward the wolves. My heart hammered in my chest. What was she doing?

She cleared her throat as I reluctantly sheathed my sword. "Excuse me," she said softly. The wolves leapt to their feet with a snarl and a bark. Ruth held her hands up and shrank away. "I'm sorry to disturb you. My friend and I are lost, and trying to make our way to the next camp. Will you please point us in the right direction?"

The wolves eyed the two of us warily.

"Why are you wandering this time of night?" one asked, sounding as if he were still half-asleep.

"We received word that one of our dear friends was ill," she lied, smiling sadly. "You may have seen the messengers going back and forth earlier today. We thought we knew the way, but we seem to be rather lost. Can you help us?"

They seemed completely caught off guard. It was ten seconds before anyone answered.

"The nearest camp is that direction," another wolf said gruffly, stretching before lying back down. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. It was the same direction the clue had pointed.

"Thank you so much for your help!" Ruth exclaimed. "Sorry again to bother you."

The other wolves laid down. "Don't mention it," one said after a long yawn.

Ruth and I hurried away in the direction they had sent us in, and did not speak until we had been walking for nearly an hour.

"Well, that worked," she whispered, smiling.

"What were you thinking?" I chuckled.

"That it would be better if we woke them up on purpose than by accident."

"You almost got mauled!"

"But I didn't."

"Still, Ruth, try to be careful?"

"Same goes for you." She squinted at the horizon. "It looks like the outline of the camp is up ahead. It sure is dark, though."

I nodded. "We should slow down. We were about this far away from a camp when we found another clue."

"I agree." But even though we proceeded at half the pace we had previously adopted, we couldn't seem to find another clue. We reached the outskirts of the camp, then turned around and examined a kilometer-long radius all the way around it before sunrise, finding nothing.

"What do we do now?" Ruth moaned, as we sat down under a tree.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Maybe we should rest until sunrise, then look again in the sunlight."

"The Narnians in the camp would think we're crazy," she replied. "I'm in favor of resting, though."

I studied the dark circles under her eyes and nodded. "You look tired. Rest, Ruth. I'll stay awake."

She yawned and curled up on the grass. "You can sleep too, Ed, it's alright."

But before I could open my mouth to reply, she was sound asleep. I smiled, and pulled her beanie from her bag, securing it on her head and pulling it down over her eyes. I hoped her dreams would be kind to her. She deserved at least that much.

Something about this disappearance wasn't sitting right with me. At this point, it was obviously a kidnapping. But why? Who? How? And... why, just why?

Who would take a teenage badger from his family? And why? Especially as a potential crisis approached?

I prayed that the heat would break, and that there would be hope for Narnian crops, but it didn't look good. Every place we went, the tensions only grew. Narnians worried about their crops, about their surpluses. I hoped Peter and the others were arranging trade with other kingdoms, in case our crops failed. But I knew that Narnian crops were exported. I knew that we barely imported any food. Our soil was the most fertile, but if the heat... I forced the thought away. Worrying about it would do no good.

I mulled over Olivus in my mind once again. Who? How? Why?

It was no accident that we came across three wolves in the pursuit of Olivus. I was concerned that they were alone, no badger in sight.

They wouldn't have... eaten him, right? No. Of course not. Narnia wasn't that savage. Not even the evil ones.

I eventually willed myself to stop thinking, but when I stopped thinking, I dropped off to a light and dreamless sleep, slumped against the tree. When I awoke, the sun was beginning to rise. I let Ruth keep sleeping, but I got to my feet quietly and stretched my stiff limbs and neck. I squinted at the camp ahead, which also seemed to be just waking up.

But as my eyes adjusted, I saw three shadows lurking on the edge. The wolves!

I dove through my bag, searching for binoculars. Ruth stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. I brought them to my eyes and tried to make out what they were doing. They seemed to be talking to each other.

Then they split up. Two ran to the corners, one creeping forward still. I didn't know what to do.

Watch or intervene? Wake Ruth, or go on alone? What would be safer for her? What would be safer for the camp?

To my horror, a creature emerged from the camp. A dwarf, it seemed. At the sight of him, the wolves came back, and the four of them circled up. I shoved the binoculars back into my bag, my decision made.

I knelt in front of Ruth and gently shook her shoulder. "I'm sorry to wake you," I said softly, "but we need to go now."

"Hm?" She lifted her beanie off her head and looked at me with sleepy, confused eyes.

Sadness ripped through my chest seeing how tired she was, but I took the beanie from her hand and placed it in her bag. I crouched next to her, leaving one hand on her shoulder and pointing with my other hand.

"Three wolves and a dwarf are having some type of meeting outside the camp. We need to warn the people inside."

Some form of understanding registered on her face. "Alright," she said, rubbing her eyes. I helped her get to her feet.

"I think we should circle around the hill and enter the opposite way," I suggested. Ruth nodded, putting her pack on her shoulders, and we began to run. I kept half an eye open for new clues, but my immediate concern was the safety of the camp. We reached it quickly, all things considered. The sky was now a brilliant blue, and the world was beginning to become uncomfortably hot again.

Ruth and I slowed to a walk when we neared the camp, so we wouldn't be flushed and breathless when we entered. But as soon as we set foot into camp, I gave my quick spiel about Ruth and asked to meet with the leaders.

Ruth and I took turns explaining to him the situation at the camp's border, explaining that the same type of activity had been observed before Olivus Jr. had vanished. He listened with rapt attention, and quietly spread the word throughout the camp that no one was to leave until the situation had been handled.

"Handled?" a disgruntled satyr asked. "What do you mean by handled? I want to go fishing on the lake."

"Lady Ruth and I have a plan," I reassured him. "You will be able to fish soon, sir."

He muttered something under his breath and stomped away, bucket in hand.

"We do?" she asked softly.

"I do," I corrected with a grin.

"Oh no..."

"What? Don't you trust me?" I teased.

"Of course I do, it's just-" She sighed and smiled. "I do trust you. So what's the plan?"