“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。