CHAPTERFIVETHEDEPLORABLEWORD
THEwerefaeanotheracrossthepillarwherethebellhung,stilltrembling,thoughitnaveoutanynote。Suddenlytheyheardasoftheendoftheroomwhichwasstilluurnedquickaslightwas。Oherobedfigures,thefurthest-offoneofall,thewomanwhhtsobeautiful,wasrisingfromitschair。Wheooduptheyrealizedthatshewaseveheyhadthought。Andyoucouldseeatoonlyfromherdrobes,butfromtheflashofhereyesandthecurveofherlips,thatshewasagreatqueen。Shelookedroundtheroomandsawthedamageandsawthe,butyouotguessfromherfacewhatshethoughtofeitherorwhethersherised。Shecameforwardwithlong,swiftstrides。
“Whohasawakedme?Whohasbrokenthespell?”sheasked。
“Ithinkitmusthavebeenme,”saidDigory。
“You!”saidtheQueen,layingherhandonhisshoulder—awhite,beautifulhand,butDigorycouldfeelthatitwasstrongassteelpincers。“You?Butyouareonlyachild,aonyoaglayouhavenodropofroyalornoblebloodinyourveins。Howdidsuchasyoudaretoehishouse?”
“We'veanotherworld;byMagic,”saidPolly,whothoughtitwashightimetheQueentooksomenoticeofheraswellasofDigory。
“Isthistrue?”saidtheQueen,stilllookingatDigoryandnotgivingPollyevenaglance。
&is,”saidhe。
TheQueeherhandunderhisdforceditupsothatshecouldseehisfacebetter。Digorytriedtostarebackbuthesoonhadtolethiseyesdrop。Therewassomethingabouthersthatoverpoweredhim。
Aftershehadstudiedhimforwelloveramigoofhisdsaid:
“Yi。Themarkofitisnotonyou。Youmustbeoofamagi。Itisonanother'sMagicthatyouhavetravelledhere。”
“ItwasmyUndrew,”saidDigory。
Atthemoment,selfbutfromsomewhereveryclose,therecame,firstarumbling,thenag,andthenaroaroffallingmasonry,andthefloorshreatperilhere,”saidtheQueen。“Thewholepalaceisbreakingup。Ifwearenotoutofitiesweshallbeburieduheruin。”Shespokeascalmlyasifshehadbeeioimeofday。“e,”sheadded,aahahe。Polly,whowasdislikingtheQueehersulky,wouldherhaakenifshecouldhavehelpedit。ButthoughtheQueenspokesocalmly,hermovementswereasquickasthought。BeforePollykehainahandserahahatsheothingaboutit。
“Thisisaterriblewoman,”thoughtPolly。“Shehtobreakmyarmwitho。Andnowthatshe'sgotmylefthandI'tgetatmyyell。IfItriedtostretchadgetmyrighthandiImightn'tbeabletoreachit,beforesheaskedmewhatIwasdoing。pen'tletherknowabs。IdohopeDigoryhastheseokeephismouthshut。IwishIcouldgetaword
TheQueeoftheHallofImagesintoalongcorridorahroughawholemazeofhallsandstairsandcainandagaisofthegreatpalaceg,sometimesquite。Onceahugearchderingdownoertheyhadpassedthroughit。TheQueenwaswalkingquickly—thehadtotrottokeepupwithherbutsheshowednosignht,“She'swonderfullybrave。Andstrong。She'swhatIcallaQueen!Idohopeshe'sgoihestoryofthisplace。”
&ellthemthialong:“Thatisthedoortothedungeons,”shewouldsay,or“Thatpassageleadstotheprincipaltorturechambers,”or“Thiswastheoldbainghallwheremygreatgrandfatherbadesevenhundredoafeastahemallbeforetheyhaddrunktheirfill。Theyhadhadrebelliousthoughts。”
&lastintoahalllargerahaseen。Fromitssizeandfromthegreatdoorsatthefarend,Dightthatnowatlasttheymustbeaihishewasquiteright。Thedoorsweredeadblack,eitherebonyorsomeblackmetalwhiotfoundinourworld。Theywerefastehgreatbars,mostofthemtoohightoreadalltooheavytolift。Hewoheywouldgetout。
TheQueegoofhishandandraisedherarm。Shedrewherselfuptoherfullheightandstid。Thenshesaidsomethingwhichthey'tuand(butitsoundedhorrid)aionasifshewerethrowiowardthedoors。Andthosehighandheavydoorstrembledforasedasiftheyweremadeofsilkandtheilltherewashembutaheapofdustohreshold。
“histledDigory。
“Hasyi,youruncle,powerlikemiheQueen,firmlyseizingDigory'shandagain。“ButIshallkhemeantime,rememberwhatyouhaveseen。Thisisenstothings,andtopeople,whostandinmy>
Muchmhtthaseeninthattryinthroughtheydoorway,aheQueehroughittheywerenotsurprisedtofiheopehatblewintheirfaceswascold,yetsomehowstale。Theywerelhterradtherewasagreatlabelowthem。
Lowdowhehagreat,redsun,farbiggerthanoryfeltatowasalsoolderthanours:asuheendofitslife,wearyoflookingdownuponthatworld。Totheleftofthesun,aherewasasiar,bigandbright。Thoseweretheonlytwothingstobeseeninthedarksky;theymadeadismalgroup。Ah,iion,asfarastheeyecouldreach,therespreadavastwhichtherewasnolivingthingtobeseen。Aemples,toyramids,along,disastrous-lookingshadowsiofthatwitheredsuriverhadflhthecity,butthewaterhadlongsinished,anditideditchofgraydust。
“Lookwellonthatwhioeyeswilleverseeagain,”saidtheQueen。“Suchwas,thatgreatcity,thecityoftheKingofKings,thewoheworld,perhapsofallworlds。Doesyouruyasgreatasthis,boy?”
“No,”saidDigory。HewasgoihatUndrewdidn'truleaheQueeon:“Itissilentnow。ButIhavestoodherewhenthewholeairwasfullofthenoisesof;thetramplihegofwheels,thegofthewhipsandthegroaningofslaves,thethunderofchariots,andthesacrificialdrumsbeatiemples。Ihavestoodhere(butthatwasheeheroarofbattlewentupfromeverystreetandtheriverofred。”Shepausedandadded,“Allionewomaforever。”
“Who?”saidDigoryinafaihehadalreadyguessedtheanswer。
“I,”saidtheQueen。“I,JadisthelastQueen,buttheQueenoftheWorld。”
&wostoodsilehed。
“Itwasmysister'sfault,”saidtheQueen。“Shedrovemetoit。MaythecurseofallthePowersrestupoaIwasreadytomakepeadtospareherlifetoo,ifonlyshewouldyieldmethethroshewouldnot。Herpridehasdestroyedthewholeworld。Evehewarhadbegun,thereromisethathersidewoulduseMagic。Butwhenshebrokeherpromise,whatcouldIdo?Fool!AsifshedidnotknowthatIhadmishe!SheeveIhadthesecretoftheDeplorableWord。Didshethink—sheeakling—thatIwould?”
“Whatwasit?”saidDigory。
“Thatwasthesecretofsecrets,”saidtheQueenJadis。“Ithadlosofourracethattherehich,ifspokenwiththeproperies,woulddestroyalllivingthiheonewhospokeit。Buttheakingswereweakaedandboundthemselvesandallwhoshouldeafterthemwithgreatoathsoseekafterthekword。ButIlearipladpaidaterriblepricetolearnit。Ididilsheforcedmetoit。Ifoughttoovereherbyeveryothermeans。Ipouredoutthebloodofmyarmieslike>
&!”mutteredPolly。
&greatbattle,”saidtheQueehreedayshereinitself。ForthreedaysIlookeddownuponitfromthisveryspot。Ididnotusemypowertillthelastofmysoldiershadfallen,andtheaysister,attheheadofherrebelsthosegreatstairsthatleadupfromthecitytotheterraIwaitedtillweweresoclosethatwecouldseeoher'sfaces。Sheflashedherhorrible,wickedeyesuponmeandsaid,“Victory。”“Yes,”saidI,“Victory,butnotyours。”TheheDeplorableWord。Amomeheonlylivingthihesun。