So we're on to chapter two and I finished it much earlier than I thought I would, yay! A huge thank you to everyone who has already added this story to their favourites and alerts and of course my lovely reviewers who all made me smile. In case you missed it I suggest you go back and read the little bonus chapter for Dreams, Desires and Destiny as the final fates of Emma and Josh are revealed in this chapter. While I'll not give anything away here, I'm sure you all have an idea of what's coming. So here's another chapter for your reading pleasure and I'm sure most of you know the drill by now; please feel free to leave a review!
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It took us about twenty minutes to climb the unstable remains of the steps that had once connected the castle and the beach, though once we finally arrived at Cair Paravel we split up and searched the ruins. Without hesitation, I made my way to the gardens, but all that remained of the pavilion were a few steps and a smile pile of rubble. I decided to try the rose gardens, but soon found that it was wild and overgrown, more a mass of thorns and weeds without a single flower in sight. Deciding it would be pointless to go any further, I made my way back to the castle. I joined Peter as he descended from the remains of a staircase, and walked with him in silence back towards our siblings.
"Hey, that's mine!" Edmund exclaimed in surprise once we'd all regrouped, examining the golden object in Susan's hand. "From my chess set."
"Which chess set?" Peter asked.
"Well, I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?" he pointed out sarcastically, taking the chess piece from Susan and further inspecting it.
"It can't be," Lucy suddenly whispered incredulously, before running past us and towards what I knew to once have been the throne room.
Taking Peter's hand, she led us all up a few steps and on to an elevated platform. "Don't you see?" she asked.
"What?" Peter replied, not entirely sure what she had discovered.
"Imagine walls," she instructed, beginning to place us in front of what remained of our thrones. "And columns there. And a glass roof."
Unable to help myself, I began to recreate the image of the room in my mind and for a fleeting moment it was almost as if we were back to being Kings and Queens at Cair Paravel and it had not been touched or ravaged by war or time.
"Cair Paravel," Peter finally said in disbelief, before turning to me. "It can't be...Anna?" he asked, and I could see in his eyes that he knew it really was Cair Paravel, but was asking me to lie to him and that he'd believe it.
But I couldn't do it.
"It's Cair Paravel," I confirmed, glancing at Susan, Edmund and Lucy as well.
There was silence as everyone tried to process this new piece of information, because surely this couldn't be all that remained of our home.
But it was.
Gradually, we all began to wander away from our thrones, and it wasn't long until Edmund came across one particularly large rock and knelt next to it, closely examining it.
"Catapults," he said in surprise.
"What?" Peter asked in confusion.
"This didn't just happen," Edmund explained. "Cair Paravel was attacked."
Peter glanced at me, and I simply nodded in response, before my eyes flickered to where I knew the door to the treasure chamber was concealed. Following my gaze, Peter looked over and recognition dawned on his face. He quickly made his way towards it with Susan, Edmund, Lucy and I following, and with the help of his brother managed to reveal the wooden door. Easily breaking the door down Peter then produced his pocket knife and cut a strip of his shirt off. He didn't miss the pointed look of displeasure I gave the knife though.
"What?" he defended. "I did tell you it'd be useful one day, didn't I?" I rolled my eyes,
"You also told me that you'd stop carrying it with you," I pointed out.
"Are you complaining?" he challenged playfully.
I didn't reply.
Winding the piece of cloth around a small stick, he then turned to Edmund. "Don't suppose you've any matches, do you?" he asked.
"No," Edmund began, reaching into his shoulder ba., "But would this help?" he asked with a cheeky smile, producing his flashlight.
"You might've mentioned that a bit sooner!" Peter exclaimed, but his smile showed that he was more amused than annoyed, before he caught my eye as I grinned. "And you could have stopped me!"
I held my hands up in a placating manner and shrugged. "Not allowed to interfere with the story, remember?" I replied, my smile never fading.
He rolled his eyes playfully at me before tossing the stick behind him and allowing us all to pass through the door with Edmund leading the way.
We quickly descended the stairs and entered the main chamber. "I can't believe it, it's all still here," Peter said incredulously as we all made a beeline for our respective chests. Briefly glancing at the statute of me as Queen, I opened my chest to reveal it's contents.
On top of what I identified to be some of my favourite dresses lay my two swords in perfect condition. I delved through the layers of material, and was pleasantly surprised to find my wedding dress in the mass of fabric. While I enjoyed the feeling of nostalgia and the warm smile it produced, I had no use for it now and simply replaced it after I had removed it and showed Susan and Lucy, who also displayed their bridesmaids dresses. I also discovered my Claddagh necklace, securely stowed away in it's box and in practically the same condition as I had left it in. I was now very glad of my decision not to wear it on the hunting trip, having feared I would lose it or damage it, and quickly put it on. As I began to choose some suitable clothing, I heard Susan mutter something unintelligible.
"What is it?" Lucy asked, having also heard her.
"My horn. I must have left it on my saddle, the day we went back," Susan replied with ill concealed disappointment, removing her bow and arrows and surveying them.
But our attention was soon diverted from the missing horn as we all watched Peter approach his chest and open it. I didn't fail to miss the longing look he gave the figure of his older self.
Slowly, he opened it, picked up his sword and unsheathed it, reading the familiar inscription, "When Aslan bears his teeth, winter meets it's death."
"When he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again," Lucy finished. "Everyone we knew, Mr Tumnus and the Beavers, Emma and Josh. They're all gone," she surmised quietly, tears filling her eyes.
"I think it's time we found out what's going on," Peter said determinedly.
"But what did happen?" Susan asked, turning to me.
"I can't tell you, not yet," I replied, shaking my head.
"But Emma, Josh...what happened to them?" Peter asked.
I sighed. "I can't tell you that because for once I don't know the answer. Like me, they were never part of the original story line, and so anything could have happened to them," I explained.
"But surely we'll be able to find them. They'll probably be with Oreius and the Beavers and Mr Tumnus. They can't have all just disappeared," Peter began, but I shook my head and his voice died away.
"We won't find anyone. Come on Edmund, I know you've worked it out by now," I said, turning to him.
His eyes widened, fully aware of what I was saying to him. "I had only guessed...I was hoping I was wrong," he said slowly.
"What are you both talking about?" Peter asked, glancing from Edmund to me.
"Approximately thirteen hundred years has passed in Narnia since our departure. Emma, Josh and everyone we ever knew are dead," I said quietly.
There was a lengthy silence as Peter stared at me. His expression was surprisingly neutral and almost devoid of emotion, but I could see in his eyes that he was practically breaking apart inside. While I had been granted almost a full year to grieve for our children, I couldn't reveal anything to Peter, and that had been the worst part. He had already been angry enough at having left them, but with the knowledge that they were now both dead Peter was ready to practically destroy all that was left of Cair Paravel. He had almost reached breaking point.
Striding angrily over to a corner of the room, he kicked at one of the golden plates and it clattered noisily against the ground. I approached him silently, and placed a hand on his shoulder, but something else had now caught his attention. Following his gaze, I saw two other chests that had been placed in the room with figures of a young man and woman standing behind each one. At first glance, I had thought they were copies of the statues of Peter and I, but upon closer inspection I realised they were actually Emma and Josh, my son and daughter. Transfixed, I began to make my way forward, but Peter attempted to stop me.
"Anna," he called, the warning clear in his voice, but I ignored him and continued my advance towards the chests.
Opening both with each hand, I revealed the contents. On top of the dresses, pieces of armour and tunics, their weapons lay in their sheaths, as perfectly preserved as our own. I almost smiled at the sight of them; a long sword for Josh like his father and dual swords for Emma like her mother. I was soon aware of Peter standing behind me, and he too silently surveyed the objects.
"We will find out what happened to them," he promised quietly.
I nodded. "Then we need to move on from here," I replied.
Within a few minutes we had all chosen an outfit from our trunks and changed, a pale blue and white dress for me with my hair tied back in a long braid and my Claddagh necklace secured around my neck, much more comfortable in Narnian clothes than our school uniforms. After a few minutes of indecision, we all eventually agreed to go back down to the beach.
But as soon as we stepped on to the sand Lucy gave a loud cry, "Look! Over there!" she exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the water on the other side.
We could all see two men holding a small figure over the water, and it was obvious they were preparing to throw him from the boat.
Running forward and quickly notching an arrow, Susan fired a warning shot at the boat, startling the two Telmarines.
"Drop him!" she shouted as we ran to join her, Peter, Edmund and I drawing our swords in a threatening gesture. They stared at us for a brief moment, a little startled at our sudden appearance.
"Drop him?" Trumpkin said incredulously, although his voice was somewhat muffled by the band around his mouth. The Telmarine soldiers then proceeded to unceremoniously drop him in the water. Peter and Edmund sprang into action as both divided in, while Susan shot the soldier who reached for the crossbow and he fell back. A few seconds later his friend had joined him in the water.
Peter dragged the dwarf to shore as Edmund hauled in the now abandoned boat, and Lucy quickly stepped forward and withdrew her dagger, cutting the ropes that bound Trumpkin.
Once he had finished coughing and gagging, Trumpkin stood and fixed Susan with a contemptuous glare. "Drop him?" he exclaimed angrily. "That's the best you can come up with?"
Susan looked incredibly put off at his words, not to mention severely annoyed. "A simple thank you would suffice," she replied haughtily.
"They were doing fine drowning me without your help!" Trumpkin shot back.
"Maybe we should have let them," Peter replied heatedly, the firm set to his jaw line giving away his anger.
Trumpkin had no answer.
"Why were they trying to kill you anyway?" Lucy asked, trying to smooth out the situation.
"They're Telmarines. That's what they do," he replied morosely.
"Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund said with confusion, voicing everyone's surprise, except mine.
"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?" Trumpkin asked sarcastically.
"It's a bit of a long story," Lucy said as I handed Peter back his sword. Trumpkin watched the exchange, particularly noting the hilt of the sword and then glancing at us all. I fought to hold back a smile as recognition dawned on his face.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," he groaned. "You're it? You're the Kings and Queens of Old?" he said incredulously.
Sorry to disappoint you.
"High King Peter," Peter began while extending his hand. "The Magnificent," he then added. Trumpkin gave him a sardonic look, not at all impressed by the use of his full title.
"You probably could have left off the last bit," Susan pointed out.
Trumpkin chuckled. "Probably," he agreed as Edmund and I glanced at each other, both fighting to hold back a smile.
"You might be surprised," Peter replied evenly, seemingly unfazed by his initial blunder. He drew his sword, and offered the hilt of it to Trumpkin.
"Oh, you don't want to do that, boy," he scoffed, giving Peter and his sword a disparaging look.
"Not me. Him," Peter replied, gesturing to Edmund, who gladly accepted the challenge with a confident smirk and drew his own sword.
The dwarf looked momentarily put out but reluctantly accepted Peter's sword, though making it seem as if it were far too heavy for him to hold. Edmund glanced at us, looking overly cocky, before he had to quickly block an unexpected but well aimed attack at him. While Trumpkin seemed to have the advantage in the beginning, Edmund was soon able to best him and it wasn't long before he was on the ground and disarmed.
"Beards and bedsteads!" Trumpkin cried, his expression now one of utter shock. "Maybe that horn worked after all," he conceded.
We all glanced at each other. "What horn?" Susan asked.
"Your horn," Trumpkin replied. "The old stories said that it was magical, and could summon you, but we could never find it. When we found Prince Caspian in the woods he had it and used it, but I didn't think anything would come of it. But never mind about that, we need to get back to the other Narnians before Miraz finds out you're here."
Peter turned to me. "An explanation would be absolutely brilliant right now if you could manage it."
I sighed. "There's still very little that I can say. You'll just have to be patient for a little bit longer," I replied. Peter looked disappointed, as did the others, but he nodded to show he understood.
"So, how do we get to the Narnians?" he asked Trumpkin.
There was a brief silence as he considered this for a moment before motioning to the boat. "We'd be best taking this up Glasswater and going on foot to the Shuddering Woods from there," he said.
A short while later and we were all in the boat and rowing steadily up the river.
"They're so still," Lucy commented quietly, glancing up at the trees.
"They're trees. What do you expect?" Trumpkin answered, seeming a little perplexed at Lucy's observation.
"They used to dance," she replied sadly.
"It wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded. Those that survived retreated to the woods, and the trees retreated so deeply into themselves that they haven't been heard of since," he explained.
"What did happen, after we left I mean?" I asked quickly before Lucy could speak again. I needed to know what had happened to Emma and Josh. I had been trying to restrain myself until a more appropriate moment, but I desperately needed to know and I knew I wouldn't be able to wait until we were at the How. I could also tell from glancing at Peter from my seat next to Edmund that he was wondering the same thing as me, and looked almost relieved when I had asked the question. He stopped rowing, and turned to face Trumpkin.
The dwarf hesitated for a moment, looking from Peter to me. "I thought you were the one that was supposed to know everything that happened?" he asked sceptically.
"I'm afraid this is a rare exception," I responded.
"With respect, your majesties, I'm not sure I'm the one who should be telling you..." he tried to argue, looking increasingly uncomfortable, but I gave him a pleading look.
"Please," I begged quietly.
He hesitated once again, before looking down at his clasped hands and finally revealing the fate of our children. "King Joshua the Brave and Queen Emma the Courageous were made King and Queen just after after their sixteenth birthdays. Thanks to the regency act you set up, Lord Peridan was the regent and King Lune of Archenland was their Guardian until they became King and Queen. But in all of the confusion the Telmarines were able to weaken Narnia and eventually invade. In a fight known as the Last Battle of Cair Paravel, the Narnian and Telmarine armies faced each other. Along with the rest of the army, your children were killed in that battle when they were eighteen years old."
There was a stunned silence for a considerable length of time. I buried my face in my hands, only vaguely aware of Edmund's consoling hand on my shoulder, before a loud whack against the side of the boat startled me and I looked up to find it was Peter who had created the noise, lashing out in his anger and grief. He was almost white, and his hands were clenched so tightly around the oars that I was surprised they didn't break under the pressure. We stared at each other, not knowing what to say or do at this point. I had thought, quite foolishly, that maybe having already lost one child before would make it slightly easier this time. But in fact it was just as, if not more, painful than the last.
"I don't understand," Lucy said hoarsely. "How could Aslan have let this happen?"
Trumpkin gave her a disbelieving look. "Aslan? I thought he abandoned us when you lot did," he said disparagingly.
"We didn't mean to leave, you know," Peter said tersely as he continued to row with a seemingly new found determination.
"It's makes no difference now, does it?" Trumpkin muttered.
"Get us to the Narnians, and it will," Peter answered gravely.
I have a feeling this is going to be a long day.