000000000000oooooooooooooo0000000000000000

Chapter 3

000000000000oooooooooooooo0000000000000000

Another update! Wohoo!

I know you're all anxious to have her back in Narnia- but remember that doesn't happen until one year later... Same with the Pevensies. So patience! hehe

Now enjoy:

.

.

.

000000000000oooooooooooooo0000000000000000

.

.

.

The honk outside startled me, and it also made me flush in embarrassment. Alyssa was here and honked, meaning it was 7 AM. Meaning I had been staring at the mirror for 30 minutes.

Mortified, I grabbed my full backpack and ran out of my room. There were clothes thrown about the bed and floor, the make up and jewelry boxes looked as if someone had rampaged them... But I couldn't help it.

I was scared.

You could put twenty minotaurs before me and I wouldn't flinch. But you send me to high school for a day and I was a mess! It had been two years since I lived among teenagers of this world... That was worrying.

My memory was back and I knew that I had nothing to fear, because to everyone else in the world the story was simple: Relatives from England had come to visit suddenly, bringing news that my grandmother had died on the same night of the team party. Me, being ever so close to said grandma, was devastated. So it's understandable that I had a breakdown at the party.

Well, that's what my parents, Duke, and Alyssa had told everyone. Now I had to play my part in the tale. I'd go to school looking sad and speaking very little and take a few weeks off from water polo. I wouldn't speak much because I needed to lose my British accent. I wouldn't play water polo because...

I was terrified of swimming.

Dad had been the one to guess when I refused to take a bath, he had seen right through my faked confidence. He noticed the horror that came over my face when I hastily said I'd take a shower instead. And if Dad knew, then Mom knew.

And to get Coach off my back he'd told Duke, my fellow Captain. Coach couldn't get me into the pool when both his Captain and volunteer-parent assistant were against him.

"KAY!" Mom shouted from the kitchen. "Alyssa is-"

"Here." I finished for her, entering the kitchen. I grabbed the brown paper bag from the counter which held me lunch, kissed her cheek, and exited the room in less than 10 seconds. "See you after school!" I called out just before I shut the front door behind me.

As soon as it was closed, I froze.

Oh my god, it was like Narnia never happened. Everything this morning seemed to normal... So routine... Waking up to an alarm clock, taking a shower, getting dressed, packing my backpack, rushing out the door, and now heading to high school. It was ordinary life. An ordinary day in an ordinary teenage life.

Alyssa was looking at me with concern and honked again.

Jumping, I tightened my hold on my lunch bag and walked to the passenger door. It was unlocked and I got in.

"Good morning Alyssa." I greeted, buckling the seatbelt.

She sniggered, "You're going to have to cut down on that you know."

I blinked stupidly. "Pardon?"

Apparently it was the wrong response because she laughed as she began to drive. "That! The whole polite attitude... It's too adult."

"Oh." I mumbled, "Sorry."

Alyssa sighed, "It's okay. Look, I'm still freaked out by this whole thing. You know this morning I had to actually pinch myself three times to remind myself that this is real. This whole thing about you living in a different world and coming back..." I must have looked offended because she quickly assured, "I totally believe you Kay, don't worry. It's just... It's just that I don't know how to act around you."

"What do you mean?" I felt hurt.

Not taking her eyes off the road, Alyssa looked awkward as she explained, "Put yourself into my position. My best friend, just a normal girl, tells me that she's a royal super strong soldier who fell in love with a Prince... Oh, well I guess I should say king huh? You had the adventure that I've always dreamed about! An elf and two men fell in love with you, you're friends were Queens, you lived in a castle, you had magic powers, and more! I guess... I guess I'm just a bit jealous that I couldn't go too."

My mouth hung open. "You make my life sound like a fairy-tale. It is I who is jealous! Yes, I have no regrets about my life in Narnia... But you have not had your heart torn apart and thrown in your face twice. You haven't had the countless experiences of slicing a blade across an enemy's throat. You haven't-"

Alyssa was frowning, "Alright, damn Kay. Sorry I said anything."

I bit my lip. "Forgive me... I didn't mean to get so defensive."

Her frown turned into a grin.

I found myself smiling again. "What are you grinning about?"

"The fact that you just said 'forgive me'!" Alyssa exclaimed. "It's like I just pulled you from medieval romance novel."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh shut up."

"Aha, there's the modern teenager I know." She winked.

Neither of us said anything for the rest of the drive, but I was glad. It gave me the chance to finally come to terms with what was happening. I was returning to my old life, and there was no chance that I would ever leave it again. I should glad to have my family and friends again, and it was a miracle that they supported me. I had their love...

So why did I feel so alone?

My hands curled into fists.

No, I would not feel this way. I would be happy again... Happy in this life. With this family, with this circle of friends, with this home, with this world. I had told my tale and even had it recorded... It was time that I let it go or else I would forever be caught between two lives. Torn. An incomplete person.

I needed to be full and thriving. My heart was restored and in tact once more- there was no sense in dragging the painful past along and breaking it again.

While I sat in the passenger seat of Alyssa's modern day car, I let Narnia go. It was not cruel of me or wrong, but simply necessary. I stopped being Princess Makayla, Guardian of Narnia.

"I am Makayla Steen, junior high school student and Captain of the girls' water polo team." I whispered.

"What was that?"

I gave her a smile, "Nothing... Nothing at all."

.

.

.

000000000000oooooooooooooo0000000000000000

.

.

.

"Welcome back Makayla." My math teacher greeted me. Although his smile was bright and genuine, there was the strong shine of pity in his eyes. I wasn't surprised, all my teachers had been informed of my grandmother's death. They were probably instructed to be kind and taken an easy on me for the next month or two.

"Thanks." I said quietly and walked to my normal seat. Everyone bought it, I could tell by the awkward looks that they gave me. The whole class stared at me, well except for Alyssa and Duke. And my day was full of awkward stares. Strangers, friends, and rivals peeked at me from the corner of their eyes. They whispered when I passed them in the hallway, some even dared to point. But they were not cruel whispers, I knew that from their expressions. Everyone had heard about my dead grandmother and no doubt my breakdown in the pizza parlor.

I was touched when I walked into AP English with Duke, Alyssa had Biology. There, on top of my desk was a dozen roses and a few cards. One was signed by the entire girls water polo team and the others from a few friends. Duke squeezed my shoulder with a smile before going to his seat, I smiled at him.

Besides the pity, I found people shocked. They were taken aback at the new relationship between Duke and I. It was common knowledge that Duke was interested- but everyone knew that I always rejected him. Most even saw our fights and arguments. So it was no surprise that gossip flew when Duke walked at my side, even touching my arm or shoulder at times.

English flew by and before I knew it, the lunch bell was ringing.

"I'm sorry to hear about your grandma Kay." A girl I knew to be named Lily said. We had only spoke a few times, but I knew her to be a kind person.

"Thank you." I told her politely, standing up and gathering my things.

Lily nodded and left the classroom. Duke replaced her and he sighed, "I kind of feel bad."

"What?" I laughed.

"People think your grandma died."

"A shame, because she's happily sipping tea over in England right now." I teased lightly. "You know, I've never met her but she sounds nice on the phone."

Duke shook his head. "Poor woman, she probably loves you to death and here you are! Telling people she's dead."

I smiled, "Yeah, I'm going to hell. Anyways, is Alyssa meeting us in the cafeteria?"

"She said she'll grab a table for us." Duke explained as we left the classroom and entered the hallway. It was crowded and suddenly I was reminded with of a river. Except there was no water, but just a bunch of hungry teenagers... And the current was flowing towards the cafeteria.

"We're not going to sit with the team?" I asked, confused. "We always sit with the same crowd."

"Right now you've got to drop the accent." He laughed. "Don't worry, I've already told the team that you'd like a bit of time to 'mourn' Granny. They understand, I mean they gave you flowers!"

"The girls did." I corrected. "Your boys had nothing to do with it."

He winced, "Well us guys aren't as... Prepared to handle stuff like girls are."

"You're handling it." I noted.

"But it's different for me."

I raised an eyebrow, "Different? I'd say more difficult! You know the truth and that's out of this world." I paused. "No pun intended."

Duke gave a grin and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, "Well, I do my best."

And that's how we walked into the busy cafeteria, the center of the social world of my high school. People looked up from their meals and conversations, some girls even gaped angrily at the sight of Duke Keelings arm around me. I felt blood rush to my face and carefully I wiggled out of his grasp.

"I think Alyssa is lonely." I pointed out calmly, ignoring the loud whispers of girls. All their pity was gone, only replaced with bitterness and jealousy. Lovely.

Duke followed my gaze and found our friend waving at us from an empty table. Unfortunately, it was located in the middle of the great large room. We made our way towards it, I struggled to hold my roses out of the way of passing people and their trays, but I managed.

"What's up?" I found myself asking as I plopped myself down onto the white table.

Alyssa choked on her pizza. It took her a few moments before she could speak, but when she did, she sounded surprised. "Wow... I think that's the first normal thing you've said since... Well, you know."

I opened my lunch bag and withdrew the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I examined it critically, "This is going to be my first peanut butter and jelly in two years."

Duke had sat down besides Alyssa, so they both faced me. His eyes widened, "Really? They were always your favorite, your mom makes them pretty much everyday for you."

Biting into the glorious sandwich, I gave him a hard look. After chewing and swallowing, I muttered, "You know too much about me. Stalker."

He shrugged, "I've been asking you out for the past year... I did my homework on you."

"The last time you asked me out was over two years ago, so the fact that you remember my favorite sandwich is worrying." I noted, continuing my eating.

Duke winked, "Maybe to you, but to the rest of the world I asked you just last week at the game."

I shivered, "Talk about weird."

Alyssa nodded. "Seriously."

Lunch was normal, strangely normal. There were no servants to prepare a fine feast, there were no golden goblets filled with wine, and there certainly was no crown above my head. But even after I thought about this, I felt no remorse. I was surprised to find that I was happy to sit with my simple sandwich that my mother had prepared.

A goblet meant nothing compared to a mother.