Chapter Three

They were arguing…again…they just couldn't seem to find common ground with anything, and frankly, it was really starting to irritate her. Lucy sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time as she explored the forest around Aslan's grave. She'd walked the path many times, but it was something to do, someway to get out of the constant Peter vs. Caspian debate. If they didn't stop soon she didn't know what she'd do.

Her thoughts were so consumed with ideas of how she could help Peter and Caspian get along and how she could find Aslan that she didn't notice the root sticking up in her path and she fell. She groaned more from annoyance as she sat back up. She looked at herself, nothing seemed broken. She tried standing and was pleased to find that nothing felt broken either. She took to dusting off the dirt from her gown when the light filtering through the trees bounced off something and caught her gaze. She looked up, her head tilting to the side as she saw something in the distance, partially hidden behind the trees.

She took a few steps forward, glancing back at the camp behind her before moving forward once again. When she got close enough to the thing she'd spied, she saw what appeared to be a statue, covered in vines and leaves. She reached out, her dagger in one hand and started to cut the vines away. As soon as they fell aside she saw an inscription at the bottom of the statue…and her eyes widened.

Quickly she turned and fled back towards the camp…

IOI

"…one has infiltrated that castle!" Caspian shouted again.

"Has anyone ever tried?" Peter asked, his nerves reaching their end.

"It cannot be done!"

"Well why not?!"

They were at a standstill. Neither one was willing to admit that the other had a valid point in their arguments. Neither wanted to admit they were wrong.

"Why do you want to send hundreds of creatures to their deaths?"

"Why don't you want to try for an advantage?!"

"Peter!" Lucy shouted, running to the entrance of the chamber, calling out before Caspian had a chance to respond.

"What?" he snapped. He felt immediately guilty as he saw Lucy flinch…but then he noticed the tears in her eyes, "Lu…what's wrong?"

Her face scrunched, "I…I didn't mean to…I just…I stumbled across it and…"

"What?" Edmund asked, as confused as everyone else.

"Lucy…" Susan added, "What did you find?"

Lucy just shook her head, "Follow me," she said before running away. The Pevensies only looked at each other for a moment before taking off after her, Caspian following close behind.

They ran out of the chamber, just in time to see Lucy enter the forest. They managed to catch up with her quickly enough, nearly running into her as she suddenly stopped.

"Lu…" Peter said, slightly agrivated at her sudden halt.

"Peter…" she cut him off, pointing to the side, "…look…"

He turned to look over to where she pointed, his eyes widening in shock as he took in the stone figure. It was a girl, a small, simple crown carved into the top of her head. Her hair wasn't pulled up in any special style, more pulled back to keep it out of her face. She was kneeling down, her body turned slightly to the side. Her hands were held gently to her chest, a beautifully simple gown carved as her clothes. Her expression was sad, almost heart broken as she sat there, her head slightly bowed.

Whatever this statue was, Caspian thought, it was something very meaningful to King Peter.

Peter took in the statue, dropping his sword. He took a step, only a single step towards the statue before falling to his knees. That didn't stop him though as he continued to make his way to the statue, crawling as he did so. He finally reached the statue, reaching out a shaky hand as his fingers traced the small inscription at its base. Caspian had never seen someone react that way to a statue before.

"No…" he whispered, as his fingers retraced the words written at the base, "No…it can't be…"

"What is it Peter?" Susan asked, taking a step towards him with Edmund while Lucy just stayed back, looking on with Caspian.

"No…no, no, no, no, no, no!" He shouted, banging his fist against the ground before shouting, "NO!" to the sky.

He crumpled forward, burying his face in his arms, his body shaking with sobs. No, Caspian had never seen someone react that way to a simple statue.

The Pevensies looked at each other in question and concern for a moment as Peter continued to sob. Edmund stepped forward, reaching out a hand to touch his brother, "Peter…" he said softly before Susan cut him off.

"Don't Edmund," she whispered. He looked over to see her kneeling beside Peter, her gaze locked on what was written in the statue. He knelt down and read for himself the Narnian words that had caused his brother to crumble.

To the Majestic High Queen Haelyn,

May she rest in forever, joined by those who love her.

"It…it can't be…" he whispered, he really didn't know what he expected. It had been thirteen hundred years…did he really expect her to survive that long? But just thinking, knowing that his Avris, his angel, the one who had saved him was gone…it left him shaken…no wonder Peter had reacted so, "Pete…" he whispered again.

"Give him some peace Ed," Susan whispered to him, "I'll keep with him." She laid a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder, rubbing comforting circles in his back as Edmund stood.

He walked back towards the others in a daze, walking right past Lucy and Caspian without so much as a word. Lucy walked right up to his side, putting an arm around him, taking comfort in him as he returned the jesture.

Caspian felt quite out of place as he walked along side the siblings, both obviously affected by the statue as well. After a few minutes of silence, he just couldn't stand it anymore, "What was that a statue of?" he asked, unable to contain himself.

Edmund sighed, and looked to Lucy who merely nodded, "What do you know of Queen Haelyn?"

Queen Haelyn? That was not a name he thought he had ever heard before, much less as a Queen…at least not in his culture…perhaps…He thought back to everything his tutor had ever said to him. Now that he really thought about it, his professor had mentioned something about a Haelyn…a queen in the Old Narnian days. "All I know is that she was a queen of Narnia."

"She wasn't just a queen," Lucy said, "She was High Queen."

"But…" he started, the gears in his head working over time, "The only way for her to be High Queen is if…"

Is if she was Peter's wife. The statue was more than just a statue…it was a grave.

IOI

"Who was she?" Caspian asked. He and Edmund and Lucy had been walking outside the camp for a while now and all the siblings had done was talk about their fond memories of their Queen. Times when she and Edmund would duel, when she and Lucy would go dancing with the Dryads, when she and Susan would fashion dresses for each other, and times when she and Peter would go riding together. It was quite obvious to him that Peter and this girl were very deeply in love, just hearing the stories of how they were when they were together. But he didn't know anything about the woman in question at all. How they met, her family line, or even if she had a role in the epic battle of Narnian Lore. She seemed like a great fighter and someone who would not sit by as others fought battles without her, it made him curious.

Edmund and Lucy seemed to sense the underlying questions and spared each other a brief look. He could read the question in their gazes, should they tell him? It was really Peter's story to tell, but they must have felt that he had a right to know because they led him to a quiet area of the camp to sit down and talk in private.

"You remember the legends about the last battle?" Lucy asked, "About how we were put up against the White Witch, Jadis?" He nodded, yes, he had heard all that from his tutor. She took a deep breath, "Do you remember when I told Peter not to forget who really defeated her in the battle?" He nodded again.

"It was Haelyn," Edmund added, "She was the one who defeated her."

His eyes widened in shock, Queen Haelyn defeated the White Witch? Why wasn't that in any of the history book? He would have thought that something as important as that would have been told. "How?"

"Now, there's one thing you must understand Caspian, before all else is said," Edmund said, "Jadis…Jadis was Haelyn's aunt."

"What?!" he asked, completely shocked by the revelation. "Why would she wish to kill her aunt?" He couldn't understand it, why would anyone want to kill their relative. Even with his uncle Miraz trying to kill him, he didn't think he would ever wish to kill him. He just couldn't.

"Jadis killed Haelyn's mother," Lucy explained, "You see, Haelyn's mother was the overseer of spring while her sister Jadis ruled the winter. Jadis wanted to lock Narnia in an eternal frost and the only way to do that was to remove spring. Haelyn survived but was locked in Jadis' Ice Palace and…well…"

She couldn't go on, and Edmund could see that, "Jadis had to make sure that Haelyn wouldn't do anything to jeoprodize the winter, so she thought that she could make Haelyn hate the spring, to hate warmth…she…she burned her Caspian."

"Burned her?" he asked, a vile feeling rising in the pit of his stomach.

The siblings nodded, "She burned her, very badly." He took a breath, "When I first came to Narnia, I was taken as a prisoner of the Witch along with Lucy's faun friend Mr. Tumnus. He was hurt very badly, but Haelyn was there and she healed him."

"She escaped," Lucy continued, "And she came to help us in the battle. She even trained Peter in different forms of combat. A lot of the moves you see him use Haelyn taught him."

"She just appeared in the battle," Edmund cut in, "She healed me after Jadis wounded me, and went to fight Jadis herself. She won…but barely…"

"She was really injured and Peter didn't think she'd make it," Lucy added, "He was terrified to lose her, but was so happy when she got better. She left for a little and we didn't think she'd come back, but she did and she and Peter got married and…" She sniffled, "I can't believe she's gone."

"It's been more than a thousand years Lu," Edmund said, hugging her once more.

Caspian was silent for a moment, "So…the necklace that Peter wears…"

He was referring to a simple silver chain that Peter wore around his neck with a golden ring dangling on the end of it. He would have never noticed that the boy-king wore it had he not touched it that time Lucy mentioned the last battle. It made sense now just why he did so, he was remembering his love.

"Yes," Lucy said, "She gave it to him the last day we were in Narnia…" she could recall that day, just before they'd gone off on their hunt she had taken his wedding ring off his finger and attached it to a slim but beautiful silver chain and hooked it around his neck, whispering a charm. She thought that the charm Haelyn had whispered was what allowed the ring to remain with Peter even when they returned to their own world. "Do you think she knew we'd be leaving?" she asked her brother.

Edmund sighed, remembering the day as well. Haelyn had looked so sad, her eyes almost begging them to stay at the castle and not leave. "I think she might have sensed something was going to happen…I don't think she knew just what."

There was silence again. Caspian sat there thinking about what he'd just been told. If the Kings and Queens of Old had returned to Narnia, a millennia after they had ruled…he didn't now how Peter could fool himself into thinking that his queen was still alive. But he guessed Peter had hoped, that by no one saying she had died, that she might have survived and come forward in time like they had. In Narnia, almost anything was possible…however…he didn't think it possible for a simple girl to survive 1300 years alive.

A/N - I know the story is pretty confusing. You'd really have to have read my story Avris before reading this to get what's happening. The story starts to make more sense in later chapters, believe me. Right now it's mostly me just messing around with Caspian...is he crazy? Is there really a girl talking to him? Who is she? What will happen etc...