Chapter 1: An Age Forgotten

Author's Note: Yes, I should be writing for Snapshots of a Golden Age. I've been wanting to write something like this for a while. It wasn't really addressed in the book or the movie, and I think it's important. I think Peter and the others would be upset, seeing their home destroyed like that. I'm quite proud of this, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I liked writing it. :) Reviews make my day.

DISCLAIMER: Generally, if you recognize it I don't own it. This goes for quotes, characters, places, and situations. All rights to Walden Media/Disney and C.S. Lewis.

Edmund stops splashing, a curious look in his eye. "Edmund? Ed, what's wrong?" Lucy, Susan, and I look at him expectantly. Edmund's face is turned to the cliff near the sea. "Where do you suppose we are?"

"Well, where do you think?" Honestly, how many magical lands do we know? Edmund looks back at us, then at the cliff. "Well, I don't remember any ruins in Narnia."

I look at Susan and Lucy, who look just as confused as I am. Ruins? In Narnia? How much time as passed? Lucy turns to the cliff. "Let's go check it out." Ed, Su, and I readily agree and the four of us leave the water and head for shore.

The walk to the cliff is easy, just up the beach. There is a slope towards the top of the beach, making the walk easier. In no time the four of us are in front of the ruins. The ruins look familiar, somehow. I can't place how, but I feel like I know this place.

My brother, sisters, and I walk around the ruins. Most of the walls are destroyed, piles of rock are everywhere. Much of the surrounding grass has grown up and into cracks in the stone floor. The place seems vaguely familiar, but I can't place how. I should know this place, somehow.

I spot something shining near Susan and Lucy, who stand near the edge, overlooking the sea. Glancing around, I see Edmund round a corner, heading in the direction of our sisters. Curious, I follow him.

In Susan's hand is a golden chess piece, a knight. The horse has ruby eyes, one of which is missing. The piece is scratched in places but otherwise in good condition. A look of realization spreads across Edmund's face. "Hey, that's mine. From my chess set." Taking the piece from Susan as he speaks, he looks thoughtful. I, on the other hand, remain confused. "Which chess set?" I ask. Edmund looks as though the answer is obvious. "I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?"

"It can't be." My youngest sister has an odd look on her face, as if she has just realized something that maybe she didn't want to. Lucy runs off and I follow her. Out of habit, mostly. I know she can take care of herself.

Somewhere along our short journey, Lucy grabs my hand, pulling me along. I follow her, wondering where exactly she's leading me. Knowing her it could be almost anything.

She leads me to an open area overlooking the sea. It's strangely familiar, as if from a half-remembered dream. Edmund and Susan have followed us here. Looking at them, I can tell they feel the same. Both of my siblings have curious expressions on their faces. Lucy puts her hand on my shoulders, turning me to face the sea. Susan stands on my left, Ed on my right. Just like old times. I realize with a slight start that we four have been sitting, subconsciously, in this very order this whole long year. Some things never change. Lucy grins. "Imagine walls, and columns. And a glass roof."

Realization dawns on me, flooding my brain. "Cair Paravel," I whisper. Edmund and Susan look at me, awestruck. There is pain mixed with the happiness in their eyes. In all of our eyes.

When we came here, none of us knew what to expect. We didn't know how much time had passed in Narnia, what we would find here. But it sure wasn't this.

I almost can't believe it when Edmund points out the catapults. Since when are there catapults in Cair Paravel? His words, spoken with suppressed anger, send a chill down my spine. "This didn't just happen. Cair Paravel was attacked."

Those four simple words, "Cair Paravel was attacked," bounce around in my head. Who would do such a thing? So many years have passed in Narnia, only one miserable year in England. This isn't the Narnia I remember, and I resent that. I knew where every tree was, every river. I knew the land better than the land of England. To see Cair Paravel like this, in ruins...it's unnerving. Everything about Narnia has changed. I thought that our home, our castle, would at least remain the same. Before now, in England, all I wanted was to see Cair Paravel. Now to be here and find it destroyed...I don't even know what to think.

From my position near the catapults I spot a door. If I'm right, this door should lead to the royal treasure chamber. I walk over to said door and start tearing at the vines covering it. "I don't suppose you have any matches?" I ask Edmund. My brother looks in his school bag, which he happened to be holding when we came here. "No," he says, "But would this help?" He holds up the flashlight he had gotten for his birthday. I grin. "You might've mentioned that a bit sooner!" Edmund just grins at me and starts down the stairs, flashlight in hand. I allow Susan and Lucy to go ahead before going through myself.

I enter a vast stone chamber. A very familiar chamber. Amazingly, everything is still in order. "I don't believe it. It's all still here." I manage a smile as I say this. Truly, after all this time I figured it would all be gone. Gone like the castle, gone like the Narnia I remember.

My siblings hurry over to their respective chests. A statue of the chest's owner stands above each one. We're older in the statues, adults. We look proud, respected. Everything rulers should be.

My brother and sisters open their chests, examine the items once so prized. Items that they have longed to see for the last year. Susan's bow and arrows, Edmund's armor, Lucy's cordial and dagger.

I walk towards my own chest, staring up at the statue above it. It was so long ago. I was so much older then, so much more...everything. A better brother, a better king. My siblings' next words sum up my thoughts exactly.

Lucy holds a dark green dress up to herself. "I was so tall then." Susan looks at her, a sad smile on her face. "Well, you were older then." Edmund looks up at our sisters, a helmet on his head. Even with that simple helmet he looks so much more Narnian. "As opposed to hundreds of years later, when you're younger."

My chest stands open before me, the treasures of an age forgotten gleaming. Rhindon lies on top, not even rusted to the sheath. Picking up my sword, I feel as if I've finally come home. Rhindon had seen many battles in our fifteen years as rulers, and I'm sure it'll see more. Rhindon is solid, dependable. The exact opposite of how I feel right now. Having this one thing the same, in a world where everything has changed, is reassuring. When everything goes wrong, at least Rhindon is there. With Rhindon, I can feel at least somewhat in control.

I turn to look at my siblings, gaging their reactions. Susan and Edmund look grave, as if they have just begun to realize the enormity of the situation. Lucy looks as if she's about to burst into tears. "All our friends...The beavers and Mr. Tumnus. Oreius. They're all gone."

This information hits me harder than I thought. I never thought about the impact the time would have on our friends. Oreius was the survivor. I never imagined him dying. And the Beavers and Mr. Tumnus. I would have liked to see them again.

So ignorant of me. I thought I had learned of death during our time as rulers. I thought I knew how quickly it could come, how a life could be changed before you even knew what was happening.

I was an adult then. Now, I'm only a child. I might have an adult brain and fifteen years' worth of adult experiences, but I'm still a kid.

No. I don't have an adult brain. I have the brain of a fourteen-year-old, not of a twenty-eight-year-old.

I think it's about time we found out what's going on here.

Author's Note Part 2: Should I continue? It would continue with Peter's transformation in Narnia and then after Narnia in England.