*~To Narnia And Back~*~Chapter Seven~*~Evil Begins~*
We were all walking back across the field towards the How, still none of us talking. Susan and I were now on foot, and the horses were somewhere towards the back of the line. Peter was in front, with Caspian a few paces behind him. I then saw Lucy run out of the How just as we passed the stone ruins. I could see that all the Narnians who had waited behind at the How were a little shocked that we had returned so soon and also that there were only half the number that we left with.
"What happened?" Lucy asked, looking at Peter.
"Ask him." Peter replied angrily, referring to Caspian.
"Peter." Susan and I said.
Caspian started to look angry too and stopped, at which Peter stopped too just ahead of him.
"Me?" Caspian said. "You could have called it off. There was still time."
"No there wasn't thanks to you. If you'd kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive right now." Peter went to walk away, but turned back round when Caspian spoke in an angrier tone.
"And if you'd just stayed here like I suggested then they definitely would be!"
"You called us, remember?" Peter told him.
Caspian looked at Peter in the eye. "My first mistake."
"No. Your first mistake was thinking you could lead these people." He turned to walk away again.
"Hey!" Caspian yelled, shocking all of us, including Peter, who looked at Caspian and dared him to continue what he was going to say. "I am not the one who abandoned Narnia."
"You invaded Narnia." Peter had advanced on Caspian. "You have no more right here than Miraz does!" Caspian pushed past him and headed towards the How. "You, him, your father!" Caspian stopped abruptly. "Narnia's better off without the lot of you!" Caspian emitted a battle cry and both he and Peter drew their swords and pointed them at each others' throats.
"Stop it!" I yelled, and they both turned to look at me.
"Alex." Edmund said, and I turned round to look at him. He and Glenstorm were lowering a very injured Trumpkin to the ground. Lucy then rushed past me and knelt down next to him, Susan and I joining her. She poured a drop from her healing cordial into his mouth, and a few seconds later, he opened his eyes, looking around at all of us.
"What're you all standing around for? The Telmarines will be here soon enough."
Lucy, Susan, and I all smiled, and once we knew that he was okay, we stood up and made a move to walk over to Peter, who was still looking really angry.
"Thank you." Trumpkin said, stopping us in our tracks. He was looking at Lucy."My dear little friend." Lucy grinned and we then went to stand with Peter. He was just starring at the entrance to the How, at which I assume that Caspian had gone into because he was no longer around.
"Why didn't you stop him?" Peter looked at me, still angry.
"What?" I asked.
"You could've stopped him from going to Miraz."
I was shocked, and I started to feel a little angry too. "And you think I didn't try to stop him? You should have seen the look on his face, Peter."
"That doesn't mean any-" I interrupted him angrily.
"Of course it means something, Peter! That man killed his father!"
"What did Caspian think he could do? Just kill Miraz like that? Miraz is a powerful man and would've defeated Caspian easily."
I gritted my teeth, glaring at Peter. I then noticed that everyone was silent and that Lucy, Susan, and Edmund had backed off a little from us. I walked closer to Peter and starred at him deep in the eye.
"If I ever found the person who killed my parents, nothing would have stopped me from killing them." I gave Peter one last glare and turned around, walking towards the other side of the field, yanking my arm away from Susan as she tried to grab it. I was just so angry and furious and upset that tears started streaming down my face, and I didn't even care if the Narnian's saw. Once I got to the other side of the field, I found a stump to sit on. I faced away from the How, and I didn't plan on moving from there in a while.
I couldn't believe that Peter had said those things to me. He knows how sensitive I am about my parents, even though I say that I don't remember much about them. Doesn't mean that I still don't love them and think about them everyday. I'm permanently wondering what happened to them ten years ago. I hugged myself in comfort and stopped crying after a few minutes or so. I didn't want to be like this the entire time. Truthfully, all I wanted to do was either go into the How and find Caspian, or walk forwards into the forest and not return for a while. I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. It was a clear morning, and then I realized how long we had been out for. We had been fighting through the night, and it had taken us a few hours to get back to the How, so we had been awake all night. None of us realized though because we were so shaken up by the events that took place last night. I then remembered that Caspian was still on his own and upset and hurt, probably much like I was right now. Most likely worse. I also should apologize for pushing Susan away, I know that she only wanted to help. But sometimes you just need a little time on your own to regain yourself, and I think I've just about done that.
I got up and walked back to the How as sitting on that stump just got me thinking about many things, most of them being bad, and so I decided to distract myself from my thoughts. I saw that Caspian, Peter, or any of the others weren't outside the How; there were only some Narnians. I saw Glenstorm comforting a female centaur, who's husband was lost in the battle. My heart gave a tug and I walked faster, not wanting to start crying again. I wasn't really in the mood to see Peter yet, but the others I wanted to see. But there were so many rooms and tunnels to look in, so I decided to head for the Stone Table room, as that's where they were most likely to be.
Just as I was almost at the Stone Table room, I heard Peter's voice echo "Stop!" I broke into a run through the corridor, hitting various dark patches, but I knew the tunnel to this room so well by now that I knew where all the turns were. Once I came to the entrance to the room, I found Edmund and Peter battling a Werewolf and a Hag, while Lucy and Trumpkin were fighting Nikabrik. I didn't know who to go and help. Just as I was about to run over to Edmund, I noticed that Caspian was standing on the other side of the Stone Table, with his back facing towards me. He had his arm out in front of him, and then I saw that ice had been created in between two pillars, the two that were positioned either side of Aslan's carving. A woman was embedded in the ice, and her right hand and part of her wrist was sticking out of the ice, holding out towards Caspian's hand. My eyes widened, and I stopped running towards Edmund. I realized who that woman was in the ice. It was the White Witch, whom my siblings had defeated the last time they were here. How was she still alive? Or was only her spirit alive in the ice?
I stopped asking myself questions and saw that Caspian was edging his hand towards the White Witch's hand. I knew something really bad was going to happen if they linked hands, probably something that we couldn't defeat on our own. And so, I acted on my instincts. I ran past Peter, who had just killed the hag and started running behind me. I ran round the Stone Table and ran into the side of Caspian, pushing him over onto the ground, and I landed right next to him, my arm still across his chest. I screamed out in pain as I collided with the ground, as I had completely forgotten about my injury on my stomach. Probably wasn't the best idea to land on my stomach.
"Get away from him!" Peter yelled, and I just about saw that he was standing where Caspian was moments ago, and was pointing his sword at the White Witch. Caspian was in shock as everything had happened so fast, but as I tried to put pressure on my stomach to stop the pain, Caspian put his hand under my head and tried to comfort me, but we were both too occupied about what was happening between Peter and the White Witch.
"Peter dear...I've missed you. Come, just one drop." She then reached towards Peter, as she had drawn back her hand slightly when I pushed Caspian over. Peter didn't move, just kept pointing his sword towards her. "You know you can't do this alone." Peter hesitated, but then he started to lower his sword slowly, being drawn in by the Witch's power. A sword then appeared through the Witch's body, and she groaned in pain. The ice started to crack rapidly, and then violently shattered, at which we all shielded our faces, Caspian shielding both mine and his by turning my head into his shoulder and holding his hand in front of his face.
Once we no longer heard the ice falling to the ground, we all looked up, and saw that Edmund was standing on the other side between the pillars, still with his sword drawn. He then sheathed it, and I could definitely see the anger in his face, as he was most affected by the Witch's power the last time they were here. He then said to Peter,
"I know. You had it sorted."
Edmund then slowly walked away behind the pillar, clearly annoyed that his brother never appreciates how much he actually does help out.
Caspian then got up and helped me onto my feet by holding onto my arms. He didn't let go of them when we were both on our feet. I winced at the pain from my stomach, but thankfully the pain had eased since I fell on it. I looked behind me and saw that Lucy and Trumpkin were okay, and there was the body of Nikabrik laying face down in front of them. They were both looking at something behind me. I turned back round, and noticed that everyone was looking at the carving of Aslan, that had been covered up by the ice and the White Witch earlier. Peter wasn't blinking as he looked at the carving, and I think that he must realize that none of us couldn't really do anything without Aslan. He is the power that we need when we're in Narnia. I think maybe Peter has finally realized, from the events that just occurred, that he also needs Aslan to guide the way.
Just as we turned to go out of the room, we saw Susan standing by the entrance, looking really angry. She was looking at Peter and Caspian. She looked over at Lucy, then looked back looking more angry. I think she was really angry because the boys had put Lucy in a lot of danger by having her in this room when everything broke loose. She then turned and left the room, and I saw Peter hang his head. But, that wasn't the case for long because he then rushed over to me, and Caspian backed off.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Peter asked, looking me in the eye.
"Just a little." I replied. "My stomach. I got hit in the castle, but it's only just started hurting a few minutes ago." I saw that Peter's eyes were glistening, almost with tears. He then moved his hands from my arms and put them on either side of my face, and leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes.
"I am so sorry. I am so so sorry, Alex. I didn't mean anything of what I said earlier. I was a stupid idiot, and I shouldn't have said-" I cut him off.
"Peter, it's okay. You were just angry and upset about what happened at the castle. You were just acting on your emotions. We've all done it."
"It wasn't your fault though, and I had no right to blame it on you."
I smiled. "Thank you for the apology. But honestly, just forget it. Like I said, our emotions get the better of us sometimes." I pulled him in for a hug, and he hugged me very tightly, and wouldn't let me go for a couple of minutes. You see, it's moments like this that I know that I like two guys at the same time. How do I get myself into these situations?
Once we parted, I smiled at him again, and he returned it. I looked round the room and found that we were the only ones left in the room. We went to leave the room, when my stomach started to hurt again. I bent over in pain and almost fell to the ground, but Peter grabbed me so that I didn't.
"Alex? What is it? Is there anything I can do?" His voice was full of panic.
I just about caught my breath. "Lucy's cordial heals injuries right?" He nodded frantically. "I think I need a drop of that." I grimaced as I tried to take another step. Peter then picked me up in his arms and ran down the tunnels with me, as I tried to stop the pain. We reached the outside and he placed me on the grass gently.
"Lucy!" Peter shouted towards the stone ruins, and I saw Lucy rush over, followed by Susan, Edmund, and Caspian, all with worried looks on their faces.
"It's really not a big deal, guys. You know I'm clumsy."
Lucy poured a drop of the fire flower juice into my mouth. It tasted strong and hot, but it also had a sweetness to it. It was quite pleasant for a type of medicine. A few seconds later, I found that the pain in my stomach was completely gone. I touched my stomach and nothing; there really is magic in this world. I sat up on my own, with ease, and wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulder.
"Thank you, Lu."
She smiled and flung both her arms round my neck, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back grinning. Once we let go, I said,
"I really need to learn not to get hurt. It's becoming rather annoying." They all gave a small laugh, and we tried to enjoy the rest of the day by not thinking about the evil things to come and the future battles we will have to fight in.
It was nearing the evening of the same day that we had come back from the raid, and I was walking towards the outer upper level of the How, planning to watch the sunset, when I accidentally walked in on a conversation between the Professor Cornelius and Caspian. They looked round when I came through the opening.
"Oh, I'm sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." I made a move to leave.
"No, no, Alex, stay." Caspian said, and I turned back to see Caspian smiling at me. I smiled back and took a few steps towards them, but I didn't sit with them as I still didn't want to intrude.
Cornelius then got up. "Well, I have some children to educate about the history of Narnia. Goodbye to the both of you."
I smiled at him as he walked past me into the tunnel, and then Caspian said,
"Please, come and join me." He motioned for me to go and sit next to him, at which, of course, I did so. But as I sat next to him, he looked back towards the forest and the sky ahead, and I noticed how sad he looked. I think he was trying to cover up his sadness with the smile a moment ago. But I'm a girl, I can sense these things. I also think I know just what he's sad about. I debated whether to ask him about it or to just distract him. With my situation with my parents being killed, I've always wanted to talk to someone who understand exactly how I was feeling and what I was going through, so maybe Caspian is looking for this too. I took a shot at it.
"How are you doing? That must have been pretty tough what you went through with Miraz last night."
Caspian looked down at his hands, and for a moment I wondered if I had made a mistake in bringing it up.
"The Professor just told me that he knew what had happened to my father, but thought that I shouldn't know the truth while I was still in the castle with Miraz. He was worried that I would get so angry that I would try to kill Miraz as soon as I found out, and that if I did, I would probably be killed by him." He had clasped his hands together and was moving his thumbs around as though nervous or anxious. "I can't believe I never knew. How could he do such a thing? And to his own brother. My father never did anything to hurt him."
I put my hand on his. "We can never understand what some people do. But if I had to make a guess, I'd say that your father was such a great King, that Miraz was jealous, and got greedy."
Caspian nodded, and I could almost see the tears in his eyes. I think he was trying to cover it up and not cry in front of me. I wouldn't think any less of him even if he did cry.
"I'm ashamed to have Miraz as my family. All I wanted to do in that room last night was to kill him. I want him to suffer what my father suffered." I felt a lump in my throat and my heart broke for him, as I saw one tear fall down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, then put that hand on top of mine. I edged closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder, but I was still looking at him.
"I know exactly how you feel. If I ever find the people that killed my parents, I know that the vengeance will just completely take over me and Alex would be gone. All I'd want to do is torture them to the point of satisfaction on my point, but I know that it will never be enough. It makes me angry and sad to think that I would ever do such a thing, but I don't think that I would be able to control myself in that kind of situation." I felt my eyes fill up with tears.
"I wouldn't think any less of you if you did do that. We have the same feelings and emotions and I like that I have someone to talk to about this. To know that someone knows exactly how you're feeling."
"I think you'd be the only one to understand really." I said, biting my lip afterwards to stop the tears falling.
Caspian was looking at me, and I noticed how close we were. We had been in this situation a few times before now, but this time, it wasn't by accident, and it didn't feel awkward. It felt right. I smiled a little and he returned it. He took his hands from mine and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I wrapped both my arms around his shoulders and hugged him back, closing my eyes. It was very different from my hug with Peter. This one felt much more comforting and loving. Whenever I think that I like both Caspian and Peter, I find that as soon as I'm in Caspian's company and not Peter's, I feel much more strongly for Caspian, and almost all of my feelings for Peter just evaporate.
Caspian pulled his head back from my shoulder, and looked into my eyes. His eyes darted down to my lips, but almost as soon as it happened, his eyes were back onto mine. We both started to edge our faces closer, before...
"Alex, do you want to-oh crap sorry! Didn't mean to-sorry..."
Perfect timing Susan. Caspian and I instantly pulled back, but I kept one hand on his shoulder. Susan then turned to go. I called her back because the moment was gone. "Susan! Wait. What did you want to say?"
Susan was trying to cover up a grin, but she also looked embarrassed, but then I think we all looked embarrassed – I was just trying not to let it show.
"Just wondered if you...wanted to go for a walk?"
I could so tell that she actually was planning on doing something else, but now she wants to go for a walk so that she can hear all the details about what just happened. I turned to Caspian.
"Just keep your head up, and try not to be too upset. Think about the good things. I know it's hard to not think about the bad things, but you will carry in your father's footsteps as King. Count on it." I gave him a warm smile, before I got up, and went with Susan, who was still trying to hide a grin.