Disclaimer: I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia.
Author's Note: Thanks so much to everyone who read "Breathe"! I had so much fun writing it, and I hope to go through and edit it to make it better, eventually. For now, I'm super excited to give you "Hope", Ana and Rashid's story. Obviously, Susan and Asher will still be in it, just not as the main characters. Thanks so much for all your awesome reviews! Xoxo, Aisie
Ana ran down the hallways of the palace, her dark hair flying behind her and her bright eyes sparkling mischievously. Rushing headlong around a corner, she felt herself hit someone and she fell back with a little scream. Before she could hit the ground, she was pulled back to her feet by a strong hand. Looking up, she saw Rashid's grinning face.
"Here I thought you were turning seventeen, but I must have been mistaken. Only young girls run inside palaces."
She stuck out her tongue and laughed. "Leave me alone, Rashid. I'm late to my own party!" she yelled as she ran back toward the dining hall."Ana! Wait! Your head scarf - it fell," he called out after a loud sigh, the girl turned back around. "Susan doesn't have to wear one."
"Queen Susan is not from here. Our rules don't apply to her."
"She says head scarves are barbaric and meant to lower the status of women."
"They are to protect you!"
"From who?" she yelled angrily. Rashid looked down at the young woman before him, her eyes flashing. Suddenly, he smiled again.
"From men like me!" he yelled, reaching down and tickling her. Ana laughed, pulling away from him and grudgingly winding her headscarf around her face. When she was done, all Rashid could see was an edge of dark skin and her eyes.
"Better?" she asked sarcastically. He nodded, and she left after giving him a quick hug.
Rashid stared after her, a soft smile lighting up his face. Ever since he had rescued Susan from the White Witch, he and Ana had become close friends. Asher and Susan had forgiven him for his betrayal, Susan in particular. She would hug him sometimes, and he knew she was thinking of her brother, Edmund. Susan's story was strange, but Rashid had come to accept that there were some things he would never understand. Ana had been the most accepting of him, since she had been too young to truly understand his betrayal.
His traditional view of the world sometimes clashed with her easy, free spirit, but they had become friends anyway. Now, though, Rashid worried that her spirited behavior was leaning towards rebellion, and he feared the Council of Elders would force her to comply with their rules.
Asher, who had three children, and a beautiful wife, did not have much time for his little sister. It had been Rashid to comfort her when her mother died, Rashid to tell her funny stories when the thunderstorms came, and Rashid was the one left to worry over the impulsive and gorgeous seventeen year old. Ana didn't like rules, and most of the time it didn't matter. She lived a sheltered life in the palace, Susan and Asher indulging her every whim. But Rashid knew that as Princess - and therefore Queen to be, in one year her life was going to change drastically. Suitors would not accept a bride who cared little about head scarves, who ran when she should have walked, and who was loud when it was time to be silent. And even though he knew he didn't have a chance, Rashid couldn't help loving her all the same.