Yes, well I'm on a roll. Rainy nights really agree with me. Do enjoy!
Chapter Three
Juliet leaned on the windowsill as she caught her breath. She had pushed the table by the doorway to the window, and had tied the bed covers and the curtains to it to form a very long rope. She wasn't that heavy, so Juliet hoped that the thing wouldn't rip and have her plummeting to her death. She still wasn't famous, so she didn't want to die yet.
Climbing on top of the table, Juliet grabbed her makeshift rope and threw it over the window. She pulled on it to make sure that it was secured tightly to the table before slowly climbing onto the sill. Her palms were sweaty, and she cursed herself for being too nervous. She wiped them on her dress before taking a tight hold onto her rope. Gradually, she dropped one leg over the sill, and holding her breath, another.
She was now dangling under the window.
Juliet didn't have the barest idea of what she was doing. She tried to slide down on a slower pace, her grip on the cloth turning her knuckles white. She could hear the table bang against the wall as her weight pulled on the cloth.
And then she heard the horrifying sound of cloth ripping. It turned out that the cloth was a little bit too delicate to be used as climbing material.
Luckily, she was not too far from the ground when she fell. Of course, her landing was not all that smooth. In fact – Juliet landed on her face on the garden green.
She found herself staring at a pair of brown leather boots that looked fashionable – during the 1600s.
"What are you doing?"
Juliet didn't let herself look at the person while down on the ground – she found it unfair to argue or negotiate something whilst in a weak position. She quickly stood up, and even though her clothes were dirtied and her hair was probably something that resembled a rat's nest, looked at the boy with a haughty expression.
"What, you think I want to stay in this mad place?" she demanded. "And I suppose you are one of the Kings" she used her fingers as air-quotes for emphasis, "That rule this Barnia place"
The boy, who had blonde hair glared at her. "You shouldn't be talking to me like that"
"Well, try me" Juliet sneered. "And you don't look frightening at all – you look like some teenage boy who was insulted – which you are, I guess" she shrugged and smiled sarcastically, "I'm leaving this hovel"
Technically, it wasn't a hovel. It was far from a hovel. This place was better than what Buckingham Palace looked from the outside! It also had a perfectly wonderful view of the sea. But Juliet would never admit that.
Before she could leave however, the blonde boy grabbed her wrist. Juliet turned back to look at him, a storm of insults ready.
"How dare you! Let go of me at this instant! You can't manhandle me like that!" Juliet tried to pull away but the boy's grip on her arm was too strong. "I have you know, women have more rights now than the Middle Ages! Let go! You can't keep me here!"
"Look, it's dangerous out there!" the boy tried to explain. "The Lady has spies around here, when she finds out you're here you'll get killed.
"The only thing dangerous here are you lot!" Juliet was practically screaming. "Let go!"
"Listen to me!" the boy looked more annoyed than ever. "I'll let go if you stop struggling – if you promise not to leave"
Juliet stopped struggling for a moment, "No promises, blonde boy"
"I have a name you know" he said to her. "I'm Peter"
Juliet recalled that Peter was the name of the so-called High King of this so-called world. She also assumed that he was older than Susan, but not by more than two years probably.
"You can't leave the castle" Peter repeated. "It's dangerous"
"Why?" Juliet questioned. "You're not tricking me into your prisoner"
Peter sighed, "We're not imprisoning you or anything. The Lady –"
"The Lady?" Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Is that your mother or something?"
"No – she's a witch"
Juliet snorted, "Awfully original name"
Peter cracked a smile, "Well, yes, it's not original, but she's dangerous. If she ever hears of a daughter of Eve arriving here in mysterious circumstances, she'll set her minions on you"
"Minions?" Juliet repeated. "And what did you call me?"
"Rats" Peter replied. "Her minions are rats. They are those that have abandoned Aslan and have gone back to their savage ways"
Juliet suppressed a shudder. Worms and insects didn't bother her much, but rats? Even if she was given St. George's crown she wouldn't go near one!
"A daughter of Eve" Peter continued, "Is what Narnians call women who come from our world"
"And they call men sons of Adam?" Juliet asked.
Peter nodded, "Where did you find that out?"
She shrugged, "Lucky guess" She still didn't want to admit that this place – Narnia, was real, even if she was forced to believe it moment by moment. Admitting about the cave as her entrance here was like one step to believing this, and she did not want to believe it.
Juliet suddenly remembered her brothers, "But my brothers – Will and Philip. They'll wonder where I am!"
"Don't worry, time works differently here in Narnia than in Spare Oom" Peter assured her. "A day has already passed here, but it couldn't have been more than a few moments there"
Wait, a day?
Before she could ask however, Peter offered her his hand. "We should go back now – it looks like it will rain"
Indeed, dark clouds were already looming on the horizon, and Juliet suppressed a shudder. There was something foul and evil with the breeze that had swept by. She stared at the hand Peter offered her.
"No thanks" Juliet replied coolly. "I can walk fine with no one's help"
Peter tried to hide his smile as he nodded. "Very well"
The way he smiled strangely reminded Juliet of her brother – and for the first time, she missed him. She blamed it on the fact that she was in a strange land called Barnia and where the people revered a lion named Allan. Strange places always gave people strange feelings. And this, this place was number one in the list of strange places – in fact, it deserved a whole category for itself.
Juliet wondered if the assorted animals, creatures and four humans would get mad if she didn't wear the clothes they had laid out for her. It was a dark green gown and it complimented her eyes quite well. She liked it fine enough, but she had second thoughts on the high-heeled shoes. She always felt as if she was in danger of falling whenever she wore heels.
As she looked at the gown and shoes, a dryad appeared from the adjacent room.
"Oh!" she said. "Hello, milady. I had not heard you enter. Shall I help you dress for dinner with the Kings and Queens?"
Juliet stared at this new creature. Her ears looked elfish and her eyes were green. She recognized her from the books of mythology that Will read, "You're a dryad" she said.
The dryad nodded happily, "Yes, milady. My name's Cressida. Queen Susan assigned me to be your handmaid"
"Alright…" Juliet decided it best to humor this…creature. "But I think I can manage dressing myself"
The dryad chuckled, "You might have some trouble with the buttons and laces, milady" she took the dress from the bed (with a new sheet replaced on it) and showed the back to Juliet. It had a number of laces that made Juliet dizzy, as well as some buttons.
"Yes, you should help" Juliet admitted. She was starting to get uncomfortable in her sweater and skirt.
"Of course" the dryad nodded, "We shall have you beautifully dressed for dinner in no time"
The dryad had braided her hair to the side and placed a daisy on the end of the braid. Juliet thought that she did a wonderful job, but the daisy was too…Amanda-ish for her. That is, very delicate and womanly.
Juliet found her little bag on the dressing table and she opened it. Her torch had been returned, thankfully. She had bought it with her own savings and she hated the thought of losing it. Looking through her things, a glimmer of gold caught her eye. When she pulled it out, she realized that it was her mother's old locket. It was not just any old locket, however. It was a beautiful golden one, with a real ruby clasp.
"Milady?" Cressida reentered the room and gasped when she saw Juliet holding up the necklace in front of the mirror.
Juliet turned around and raised an eyebrow at Cressida's shocked expression.
"What? What's wrong?" she demanded. When Cressida didn't say anything she rolled her eyes, "Good God, Cressida! What is it?"
Cressida pointed to the locket, "She who carries a heart of gold and ruby"
"What?" Juliet was confused.
"You are the girl!"
Well that was awkward. My cliff-hangers suck. T_T . Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. :D Don't worry, Lu and Ed will appear next chapter!