Welcome readers! This is a new and AU fic you'll read right below this. Multi-chapter... eh probably 10 to 15 chapters in all. Rated K+ for safety and strong emotional moments including nightmares and hallucinations. Brother fluff at the end (expected from me as usual). Please enjoy I will have a full author's note at the end.
Disclaimer: Yeah sorry I'm a wannabe Lewis. (I don't own anything.)
Everything ended in a blur for Peter. As he stood he saw Aslan, alive and well, walk away from Witch's body. He looked to the battlefield to see the Witch's army backing away from them and some even retreating with great speed. Dazed from the rush of adrenaline that was beginning to drain away, he shook. He'd done it—he lead an army to victory.
"It is finished," The Lion said calmly. Peter smiled and sighed in relief.
"Peter!" A yell from a woman's voice and the collision of a small body startled him slightly.
"Oh! You're safe!" Susan exclaimed following in pursuit of Lucy.
"Are you alright?" asked Lucy pulling away from him.
"I'm fine," his words came out hoarsely from lack of water. "Where's Edmund?"
Lucy's grin faded and Susan hugged him once more. Peter panicked and pushed Susan away softly, "You said he would be in there?"
"The Witch's palace is melting. We looked everywhere for him. The dungeon is completely underwater." Susan had tears in her eyes as she spoke. Peter began to shake his head, "No, he's somewhere. He would have made it out of there."
"I'm afraid, children, that he is not in her residence. He escaped somehow from her clutches. That is why she came to find him yesterday. He must be in the surrounding forest hiding. He is still alive."
"Then we should go back and look." Peter wasn't satisfied with anyone's answers. The adrenaline rushed though him still and everything seemed so slow for him. He longed for Edmund—for him to be safe. But there's wasn't anything to prove that here.
"Peter, we are not finished here. Lucy, Susan, tend to the wounded soldiers."
The two left, not walking very far to their first solider, a Dwarf, Lucy began to administer her cordial and waited. The Dwarf gasped and smiled, Lucy giggled and went to the next wounded soldier. Peter watched them carry along with their business and then looked to Aslan hoping for some type of answer on his missing brother; at least something better than the first on.
"We must take care of the people who fought. Then, we will start our search." Aslan continued over to a faun turned into stone and then breathed upon him. The faun came back to life leaving Peter speechless. He looked to the Witch's discarded wand and realized that her magic was never as harmful as he thought it was since Aslan could change them back.
He was tired, cold, and hungry. His clothes were worn and tattered. He lost half his sweater in a stumble though some brambles. But he kept moving for if he stopped someone would find him. The followers of the Witch would kill him, and the followers of Aslan might as well do the same since he killed his family for sweets. One part of him wanted him to stop and let the world take over him- to not care anymore, to give up and die. However, another voice told him to keep moving, and to keep moving in a certain direction. He didn't know which one it was but he knew it was getting warmer.
He ventured onward, slowly, dragging his feet in fatigue. His shoes were ruined and his socks were completely wet from the slush he had been walking though. The ground was sometimes rocky and he would stumble and he would moan in pain. He knew his feet were blistered already from his shoes and the water was making it worse. However, he continued on miserably.
The next thing he knew he was on the ground in a grassy part of the forest. He yelped in surprise and saw that his foot was caught on a tree root. He freed his foot and looked around. He was in a meadow in the middle of the forest. The sun rays gleamed though the thin tree canopy warming his cold and tired body. This would be the perfect place to die he mused as he laid. He had nothing to lose. His family was gone, he couldn't go back to his old home, and the locals would just kill him. So, after shedding a few tears he closed his eyes and let the sensation take over him.
A Dryad looked over at the boy who was laying there in the meadow. She was quite smart and put together the boy and how it was warming up. She knew Aslan was in Narnia and a battle was being fought but she was rather shy. She had never left the tree in her life. But when the boy tripped over her root she new something was wrong. Humans were supposed to be upright unless they were sleeping or hurt. She took a breath to collect her bravery and took a step out into the world. She moved slowly until she heard a noise and she moved back to the tree with speed.
"No, I need to see if it's alright." She said to herself, gathering up her bravery once more. She moved away again and slowly began to move to the human. She got down to his level and saw him completely asleep. Or he could be hurt since the human tripped on her root. Or both? She needed to find someone who could help her, but she was the only one who lived in this area since she lived a private life. She would have to step out of her comfort zone. Go beyond what she knew.
"Alright," she told herself, and began her search for someone who could help her with this human since he could be the future king of Narnia.
I apologize about how quick this chapter was. This is a muse I had in my head for six months and I'm trying to piece it together. The chapters will get longer I promise. I think I bit off more than I can chew doing this fic, Momento Mori, Just Don't Look Back, Musings, and bits of Forever Gone Forever You. After I get three chapters posted for JDLB I'm going to be taking a short hiatus and figure out how to manage all of this and schoolwork. I'll probably just stop writing for 2-3 weeks and work on my Spanish because that is what is kicking me in the butt right now. Anyhow, I would like to thank Lady of Stormness Mountain for being my beta, friend, and a listener to my random rants. Thank you so much!
A question I would like people to answer if they review: Should I have this fic as my main focus when I come back or keep it to the side until I finish a few things? Anyways please review!