Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 4
The awkward moment
The boys rushed over and grabbed everything they could reach and began shovelling it down. But peace merely sat down and took dainty bites of her toast.
Peace was sitting four chairs to Edmund's right facing the windows. Peter sat to his left and Susan sat opposite him with Lucy to her left.
Peter started choking unexpectedly on his mouthful of eggs and bacon.
"Peter are you alright?" Susan said looking worried as Edmund thumped him on the back.
"Caspian!" Peace cried and jumped up sending her chair flying as she ran round the table to the tall man with brown curly hair falling on his broad shoulders standing next to Aslan.
"Peace! How are you, I've missed you so much!" Replied Caspian hugging Peace
"And...long time no see your majesties." He said releasing Peace and straightening up.
"Caspian, it's wonderful to see you again!" Said Lucy rushing over and shaking his hand with a large grin on her face.
"Queen Lucy the Valiant. Nice to see you Lu. King Edmund the just, high king Peter the magnificent, and... And queen Susan the gentle." Caspian's cheeks reddened, then pulling himself back together, "I've missed you all so much!"
Edmund got up with his brother still cloaking on his breakfast and asked Caspian if he had made it back to his country safely, he answered
"Yes, I got back safely and my people were all pleased to be back. And Lucy, Gale had four children and was a teacher in the first school we made. She got to a ripe old age with her father and mother, but never forgot you and we were very good friends after I returned." He said to Lucy and Edmund.
"But, Susan would you mind if we talked somewhere private for a moment?" He asked her with his cheeks glowing she got up and walked out the room with him, still in silence. When they returned they all sat down to a proper breakfast and Peter asked Aslan
"I thought you said none of us were to return again sir, why have you changed your mind?" Everyone at the table fell silent and watched Aslan get up from the floor next to Peace, stroll to the top of the table and place his front paws on the edge of the wooden surface before saying
"I know what I said, but I was wrong. Even I make mistakes sometimes and it took me a long time to realise that Narnia is still in need of you.
However, there are no current wars to fight," Peter and Edmund looked disappointed but carried on listening, "the problem is not Narnia's peace but Peace in Narnia. I told you that many turned against her, and that I put her in this tower," Aslan turned his gaze away from the confused four to his daughter, who was eagerly listening to her father until she caught his eye and pulled back out of view, but Aslan said "Peace go and get dressed dear one while I tell them about what you've got up to in the tower." Peace looked very upset and opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it and muttered "Yes Father." And departed the room.
"Now I may talk freely, Peace is soon going to turn fourteen, meaning she will soon be of age. I want her to see Narnia. You are here to escort her around the neighbouring areas and protect her against those who wish to seek her for the wrong reasons. Do you have any questions?" He concluded
Everyone seemed speechless but Edmund asked
"Why can you not escort her?"
"Because if I went with her, our enemies might notice, but five young people walking around is nothing strange to Narnians."
"Five? But there would be six would there not?" Susan asked
"And who would they be dear one?" He said with a small laugh. Susan flushed then said very quickly
"Us four, Peace and Caspian?" She went so red when she said his name that Lucy giggled at their relationship's uncertainty. Caspian laughed, his handsome face lighting up, he said "I will meet you at the village on the other side of the forest, there is the place where most of the supporters of Peace live." He said taking out a large map of the surrounding kingdom.
"We are here, in the great hall of the Castle Bastillon. Now to get across to the Village of Serenity, you will have to cross The Great River Serpent, but you can't get straight across, you will have to wade through Hook Corner," he said indicating to a small river leaning in a sharp bend from the great river to the castle," that won't take too long, so then all you have to do is make your way through the forest of Elytac, that may take a long time so you should head in a direct line straight to the only shallow strip of the river. Aslan and I have found no other way to cross but for you to sail a small boat across, Peace can work magic with a boat!" Caspian gave a glance at Aslan and received a look from him as if he had just stride into dangerous territory and quickly looked back to the map suddenly taking a lot of interest in the matter, "Well then you will have to be very careful, because you will have to pass very close to a hamlet, where they will see you and Peace as a threat to their kind and they will not hesitate to slit your throats while you sleep, so cover that ground in one day if possible." Caspian looked up at Peter and then said," I will meet you at the village, don't worry." He concluded. But Lucy said, "How will you get there before us?"
"Because I won't be seeing or showing Narnia for the first time to anyone on the way. And maybe I'll have some help from Aslan to get a head start." He said.
"Well, what do you expect us to eat?" Susan said, her eyes fixedly on the parchment map.
"Don't worry, I've told Peace how to get food. She may have inherited some of my talents." Aslan said walking over to the door and gentle tapping it with his paw. The door swung open to reveal Peace listening in at the door.
"Sorry father." She said looking at her feet feeling embarrassed.
"Come in dear one, I was hoping to see you." Aslan said turning back to the table winking at its occupants.
Peace shuffled in wearing a sunny yellow and Skye blue dress with red linings that made her look like nature had just walked in the door.
"Sorry I was listening. I have known less than nothing about what happens outside these walls for twelve years and I guess I'm just desperate for answers, sorry." She explained still taking grate interest in her red lined blue shoes.
"Well it's time you found out anyway. Come Peace. "Ushered Aslan, "for your fourteenth birthday you are going to go on a short journey to see a little bit of what will one day be yours." Peace looked astounded as she soaked in what he had just said then asked " You mean I'm going out of the castle walls?!" She cried beaming at her father. "Told you she'd be pleased." Said Caspian getting up and putting his arm round Peace then adding with eagerness "We better start toughening you up. Come on, I can't teach her by myself!" He said to the four spectators, who were speechless that they were included in this family conversation.
When they had all strode outside Caspian said " Alright now, Ed, Pete you come with me to brush up on that sword fighting-no not for your benefit, for me, you see there has been quite a few arguments among my people, about who's the better sword fighter out of you two, and I'd like to think I'll be seeing the back of them. And I thought that maybe you wouldn't mind teaching a few fighting skills to Peace?" He said going pink as he looked Susan in the eye to ask.
"It would be our pleasure." Susan said to the nervous Peace beside her.
"Let's get going!" Peter added triumphantly, "which way?"
Susan and Lucy went to the spot Peace had lead them to, it contained five targets, enough arrows to fit out and army and a couple of bows and daggers.
After Susan demonstrated how to prepare the bow ready to shoot, she stood waiting for Peace to have a go and caught a glimpse of Lucy throwing daggers a target which was unrecognisable for the red carved handles and blades covering the surface. Susan smiled to herself before turning back to a struggling Peace. She had got arrows all over the place and had somehow managed to get her arm knotted in the string of the bow. "Here, you do it like this" Susan said pulling the bow off Peace and placing the arrows back in her quiver. She then showed her how to hold the bow and how to get the arrows out of the quiver without poking anyone's eyes out. Susan started to get angry at Peace because she couldn't do it, this caused Lucy to be drawn over to calm down her frustrated sister.
"It's ok Su, how about you take a break and I'll show her how to throw the daggers?" Lucy said taking her away from the disgruntled Peace.
After getting a drink for her furious older sister Lucy made her way back to Peace and showed her how to hold the daggers, Lucy was shocked at how many mistakes Peace had managed to make while attempting to hit the target board, which was still completely undamaged, she said she was going to have a break and slumped down next to Susan on the bench at the edge while Peace carried on flinging the knifes around.
Susan was still attempting to detach her purple dress from the bench due to Peace's first attempt at throwing daggers, but gave up as her sister sat down next to her and admitted she was also struggling to get anything through to her. "It's like she doesn't even speak English anymore."
"She has at least stopped hitting the wall so much now, I mean, she's got within a metre or two of the board now." Susan said as sarcastically as she could make her whisper sound.
"Yes, but she had her eyes closed when she let go of that one." Lucy sighed. The three men walked over, laughing at some unheard joke.
"How's it going Lu?" Edmund said, and stopped talking to the other laughing two to look at his depressed sisters. But all he got was a slight nod at Peace who was just throwing a dagger up into the air, watching it fall then gasp at the fact that it had just landed directly on a daisy, and cut it equally in half.
Peter laughed quietly as she attempted to force both halves back together.
"I see what you mean. Maybe we should have a go?" Peter suggested half-heartedly.
"Great idea, you can be the ones to tell Aslan that his daughter just became two halves, like that daisy." Susan said grimly. Caspian was now kneeling next to Peace and they over heard him say
"I think you're over doing it a bit." Before he walked back to them and said
"She's says going to try her hand at the sword, in full body armour for her own safety."
Edmund then looked over at Peace, she was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed pulling at the ground sadly.
"Can I go and cheer her up?" He asked Caspian quietly. He replied
"If you really want to." In a surprised way.
So he walked over and sat down opposite her and pulled the dagger out of the ground to examine it. Peace continued to ignore him and carried on tearing at the grass. "You really look up to him don't you?" He asked looking at Caspian walking with his siblings as they walked to the rose garden to admire Aslan's handy work.
"Yes, and up to you." She answered.
"Really? Why?"
"Because you were always the under-dog and yet you never gave up trying."
"Well, I suppose I'm kind of in Peter's shadow." He said looking straight into Peace's grey-green eyes; she looked away.
"I'm in the shadow of Father and him, so I'm basically in the dark." She said ripping a daisy from its roots and then its petals.
"Yeah, but like you said never give up trying." He said sympathetically.
"Can you beat anyone with a sword?" Peace said suddenly looking up with her usual cheeky grin.
"Err, yes of course I can!" He answered pretending to look hurt by this accusation.
Peace laughed under her breath and whispered
"Bet you couldn't beat my friend."
"What Caspian, well no we drew last time, but I-" Peace interrupted his speech to say "Not him. I said friend, not cousin."
"Alright, but I haven't got any armour." He said getting up and helping Peace to her feet.
"Oh father will lend you some if you ask nicely." She said sarcastically.