They all obeyed. It was a terrible time this.waiting and wondering while the Lion and the Witch talked earnestly together in low voices. Lucy said， “Oh， Edmund！” and began to cry. Peter stood with his back to the others looking out at the distant sea. The Beavers stood holding each other’s paws with their heads bowed. The centaurs stamped uneasily with their hoofs. But everyone became perfectly still in the end， so that you noticed even small sounds like a bumble.bee flying past， or the birds in the forest down below them， or the wind rustling the leaves. And still the talk between Aslan and the White Witch went on.
At last they heard Aslan‘s voice. “You can all come back，” he said. “I have settled the matter. She has renounced the claim on your brother’s blood.” And all over the hill there was a noise as if everyone had been holding their breath and had now begun breathing again， and then a murmur of talk.
The Witch was just turning away with a look of fierce joyon her face when she stopped and said，“But how do I know this promise will be kept？”
