A.N: Yes, you are allowed to shoot me, pierce me with a lance, hang me from a tree, stab me with a sword or pierce my heart with an arrow because I've neglected you and this fanfic. But even if you do, there would be no more fanfic coming from me, would there? I just got so sick of this chapter so I referred to the movie to help. Argh, I'm so fail. This chapter is extreme lag, so yeah, if you're disappointed, I don't blame you. Hopefully the next chapter would be more promising.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Evangeline Rosslyn.
Chapter 9 - Into the woods and across
Paranoia was the thing that was bugging Evangeline the most as she entered the forest. She arched her arm back to place it on the hilt of her daggers, looking around and searching to see if there were any wild beasts that were going to lunge themselves at her.
Edmund had rolled his eyes when he saw her doing that, but it didn't stop him from letting go of the hilt of his own sword. There was absolutely no point of having a weapon on hand if you didn't know how to use it. You could swing it, just to keep an attacker away, but it would do minimal damage. Which made Edmund think, who was going to train Evangeline?
It seemed that after a while, Evangeline's paranoia settled down and she began to walk normally like everyone else did. Trekking through the forest was least to say, uneventful. Evangeline's feet ached and she was bored and annoyed with having to watch where she stepped without stumbling over a fallen log and landing into Edmund or Susan, which happened several times.
With the dismal silence that seemed to follow the party everywhere, Evangeline began to pretend that she was off on an adventure, which she was, but she never thought that it would be this quiet. One tree… She began to count. Two trees, three, four, a fallen log, five trees… that's the eleventh bush we've passed… Another fallen log… Are there a lot of storms here in forests?
"Are we there yet?" she heard Lucy moan, she sounded like a small child sitting for hours in a car.
"I don't think High King Peter even knows where we're going…" Trumpkin muttered. Peter's head whipped around, eyes narrowing, whatever feelings he was trying to compress, it all came out through the blue of his eyes.
"I know where we're supposed to go. We need to head west. To the place where you last saw the Narnians and Prince Caspian…"
"And where is that place exactly, Peter?" Susan asked in exasperation.
Peter was going to reply but was cut off by Evangeline, "Who is Prince Caspian?"
"He's the one who got knocked in the head, obviously," said Edmund.
"Well, he's a prince…"
"And I'm a king," Edmund replied evenly.
Evangeline shrugged, "You're probably right… A prince shouldn't have gotten knocked in the head…"
"So you're agreeing with me? That means that you're withdrawing from the bet?"
"No…" Evangeline slapped Edmund at the back of his head and laughed, "You're a king, and you just got slapped on the head… How does that make anyone less older or younger?"
Edmund looked offended and glared at her.
"As I was saying…" Peter spoke up, obviously having enough of seeing his best friend and brother argue. "We're heading towards where Trumpkin last saw Caspian and his friends, Nikabrik and Trufflehunter."
"More dwarfs?" Evangeline asked.
"Yes and no. Nikabrik is a black dwarf and Trufflehunter is a badger," Trumpkin replied.
"And where Trumpkin lived there were other Narnians in hiding, which is the best place to go to first because Caspian would be finding allies close to the Shuddering Woods…" Peter finished.
"Wait… Allies?" Lucy asked, "Surely there's not another war to fight…" she said, disheartened.
"Our dwarf informant here isn't completely sure about that. But still, we need to be ready," Edmund told his sister.
"I am sure. Those men who captured me were talking about it… That disappearance of their Prince to them means that we Narnians have kidnapped him." Trumpkin replied. "That Lord Miraz said so himself… That he'll destroy the whole forest to get rid of 'these vermin'…"
"But what if it's all just a big misunderstanding?" Evangeline asked, "Can't we just talk to this lord?"
"Nothing is as easy as it seems, Ange. Not everything can be sorted out by mere words…" Peter replied. "Come on, we don't have time to waste… We need to head westwards."
Weariness was weighing on everyone like an anchor, making them more irritable than ever. Even Susan, the ever-so-calm sister seemed snappy.
"Excellent, so we'll just trudge our aching feet into the direction where Peter thinks is west…" she muttered.
"Doesn't anyone have a compass?" Evangeline asked, almost in a whining tone, "What about you Edmund? You had a torch…"
"I'm not your walking survival tool kit!" Edmund exclaimed. Evangeline shrugged and sat down on a fallen log.
"I know where I'm going…" Peter growled.
"Fair enough then, Peter. But if we get lost, it's your fault," said Susan.
Trumpkin rolled his eyes and muttered something about different directions and River Rush.
"I'm sure I know which way west is from Cair Paravel…" Peter snapped back.
The group became quiet, even though they were uncertain, they still followed him.
They all walked in single file, Peter, Lucy, Trumpkin, Susan, Evangeline and then Edmund.
Trying to keep ahead as she didn't want to be taunted by Edmund, Evangeline walked faster than usual and had managed to trip over a branch that got caught between her legs.
Edmund helped her get up, but a large smirk was evident upon his features as he probably thought that it was enough for payback from his slap to the head.
"Why are you so… accident prone, Ange?" Edmund asked.
"I don't know, I never was until I came here…"
Edmund laughed and tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear.
Her heart skipped a beat but she wasn't sure whether it was supposed to be an act of kindness or flirtation, so she tried her best to not let any emotions flutter over.
It was probably nothing, Evangeline. Nothing to get flustered about. You two were arguing, yes? Let it stay that way.
While trying to wrestle her emotions together, she realised that Edmund was staring at her.
"What are you staring at?" she asked.
"N-nothing," Edmund stammered, looking away, "C'mon, we should catch up with the others."
Evangeline nodded, wondering if she had something on her face. She wiped her shirt sleeve self consciously over it and followed him.
oOoOoOoOoOo
"I don't remember this way…" Susan said aloud.
"That's the problem about girls… You can't carry a map in your heads," Peter said, grinning as he strode confidently towards a strange rock formation that had shown up in the middle of the forest.
"That's because our heads already have something in them," Lucy retorted with a smile. Susan and Evangeline laughed, and Edmund smiled to himself because Lucy had bested Peter with only one sentence. He made a mental note to congratulate her later.
"I wish that he'd just listen to the DLF in the first place…" Susan muttered to Lucy.
"DLF?" Edmund asked.
"Dear little friend," Lucy explained, smiling with Susan.
"Oh, that's not at all patronising…" Trumpkin muttered.
Evangeline patted his shoulder, "I'm sure you'll be able to think of something to get back at them."
Peter kept on walking forward, only to pause and turn his head in different directions. "I'm not lost…" he muttered to himself.
"No, you're just going in the wrong way…" Trumpkin replied. Evangeline rolled her eyes. That was basically the same thing.
"You last saw Caspian at the Shuddering Woods, the quickest way there is to cross at the River Rush."
"Unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing at the River Rush…"
"That explains it then, you're mistaken."
"But things have changed since we've last been here Peter…" Susan said, "Look at this rock formation. We have never come across it during our travels, and something as big as this couldn't have been overlooked. Landscapes change with time, and so do paths…"
"You can't be too sure about that…" Peter replied.
"Oh, can't you just accept it, Peter? Cair Paravel was in ruins, instead of it being out on a cliff face and behind it was just roads, there is now a peninsula carved around it. I bet that the path that you're following has changed too. Why don't you just listen to Trumpkin?" Susan said, rather irritably.
Peter shook his head, "There might still be a chance that it's there, all we just have to do is cross the River Rush. We shouldn't be too far from it now. If we can't cross it, then we'll take Trumpkin's road."
Susan frowned and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine."
After 5 minutes walk to the River Rush, Peter's hope was dashed. The river had carved a deep crevice into the rocks, which made it impossible to cross.
Evangeline was surprised when Peter told Susan to shut up after she muttered something about soil erosion. Of all the years that she knew him, Peter had never told any of his sisters off. Something was seriously bugging him. She'd have to talk to him later.
"Is there another way down?" Edmund asked Trumpkin.
"Yeah…" The whole group turned to face him, hopeful to cross the deep ravine. "Falling…"
Evangeline almost stomped her foot in annoyance, she was tired from walking all day, only to be disappointed at their walk had all been in vain. She folded her arms and looked bitterly at the ravine that used to be 'River Rush'.
"But we weren't lost," Peter insisted.
"There's a ford near Beruna, how do you feel about swimming?" Trumpkin said, making up for what he said. Evangeline wanted to groan, more water? Narnian water seemed to be a curse on her, after how cold and wet she felt when Edmund drenched her a few hours back.
Susan nodded, "I'd rather that than walking…"
As Evangeline and the rest of the group turned around to follow Trumpkin, she heard Lucy ask aloud, "Aslan?"
The whole group froze and turned, even Evangeline, even though she didn't know who 'Aslan' was. But something nagged at her, like she was curious to find out who Aslan was because she knew that by the way Lucy spoke his name fondly, he was special to her.
"It's Aslan! It's Aslan over there!" Lucy cried out. Peter walked back to the cliff and peered across.
Evangeline looked to where Lucy was pointing and frowned. She saw nothing.
"Don't you see, he's right…" Lucy's voice faltered. "There."
"Do you see him now?" Trumpkin's voice piped up, filled with doubt.
"I'm not crazy… He was there. He wanted us to follow him."
"He wants us to get ourselves killed," Evangeline muttered to herself.
"I'm sure there are any number of lions in this wood, just like that bear." Peter said gently to his sister.
"I think I know Aslan when I see him."
"Look…" Trumpkin said, "I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist."
Evangeline couldn't agree more. But she was confused as to who Aslan was, Trumpkin said that he didn't exist and Lucy claimed that she just saw him. And did Peter just say that Aslan was a lion? She thought Aslan was a man when Lucy first mentioned him. Why would they want to follow a flesh eating animal? They could get attacked again, like that bear.
"Last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up… looking pretty stupid…" Edmund said in Lucy's defence.
Lucy smiled gratefully at Edmund. And Evangeline was just surprised at his… niceness. She wondered what he was talking about when he mentioned about not believing Lucy.
Peter looked back across the ravine and looked at Lucy, "Why wouldn't I have seen him?"
"Maybe you weren't… looking."
"I'm sorry, Lu," Peter said, starting to walk in Trumpkin's direction.
Lucy looked like she was about to cry.
Evangeline sped up to walk next to Peter, pulling him aside like she would during their fitness lessons and talking to him in a low tone. "You don't believe her?" She asked as she kept pace with his walking.
Peter shrugged, "I'm not sure what to believe… Aslan wouldn't have left his land to be under attacked or invaded by foreigners. There must have been some dignitaries or a ruler leading the land while we were gone…"
"And now that your palace was destroyed, do you think anyone really ruled or looked after the land after you left?"
"No… There was probably a lot of turmoil after we disappeared. I'm just confused!" Peter replied with a shake of his head. Evangeline rubbed his shoulder comfortingly, she didn't know how to help him because she's never been in this type of situation before. Leaving some land that you called home, and coming back to see it destroyed.
"Do you believe her?" He asked, after a moment of silence.
Evangeline shrugged, "I don't even know who Aslan is, but you know Lucy never lies."
"She probably misses him…" He replied, not helping her understand more about this 'Aslan'.
Peter's uncertainty was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. He was their leader, and if he wasn't sure what to do, then there would be conflict.
Evangeline sighed, trying to wrap all this around her head. Peter, her best friend whom she had known for the past three years was a King, or he used to be one. And his siblings ruled with him too. Thousands of years passed when they left this land, Narnia. And it's a different world which used to have talking animals and is under a rule by a foreign king that has taken over the land and brought fear. Lucy believes that she saw something – a lion, which wasn't really there named Aslan. It was all too much to take in.
"Pinch me." She ordered Peter.
"What? Why?" He asked, surprised.
"Tell me that this is all a dream, tell me that I read too many books for my own good. Tell me that Narnia isn't real and this is all just a figment of my imagination." She squeezed her eyes shut, and prepared to get woken up by Peter, who had snuck into her room while she was asleep during the school holidays.
"I should wake any moment now…" She murmured.
When nothing came, she opened her eyes and met Peter's blue ones. He laid a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not going to pinch you, you know Narnia's real. Look at where we are. I know it's a lot to take in, especially when it's only been less than a day or so. You'll get used to it. Trust me." He gave her a reassuring smile.
They suddenly heard continuous thumping noises, clangs of metal and the creaking of trees, followed up by large shouts coming from the mouths of men. She saw Peter's eyebrows knit together and she knew that it couldn't be such a good sign. When he ran forward, she followed and what lay before her eyes was a horrible wreckage of sweaty men destroying a beautiful landscape.
"The trees!" Lucy almost shouted. Edmund closed a hand around her mouth, but she removed it, understanding to keep her voice low. "They're felling the trees!" she cried in a hoarse whisper.
Evangeline couldn't almost catch it as the loud noises were blocking out what Lucy was saying.
"I take it that we don't want to be seen?" Evangeline whispered as Peter and the rest crouched on their knees. They hid behind a pile of logs and observed what these people were doing. Men were hammering away at trees while others were building things out of it, making war weapons by the looks of it.
There were three big catapults lined up in one area, and many men were carrying logs to the area, where after they were placed down, they were placed up accordingly to resemble the model another man was working on.
Peter shook his head, "Look, they have soldiers…" She followed his outstretched hand and saw a parade of men wearing metal helmets and was dressed in navy blue armour.
"And they're building a bridge…" Trumpkin whispered.
As she heard the whinny of horses coming from her left and she knew by the gasps and tension that the rest of the group had was to hide. Peter and Edmund's shield got caught in the logs as they slide down on their backs, but whoever was on that horse didn't seem to notice them.
"That's him…" Trumpkin said, his voice full of venom as he looked at the figure on the horse. "Miraz…"
"Perhaps this wasn't the best way to come after all," Susan whispered. After taking one last look, the group slid out from their hiding place and disappeared back into the cover of the forest.
oOoOoOoOoOo
"So where exactly did you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asked as they arrived back to the River Rush.
Lucy looked around, giving them accusing looks. "I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grownups, I didn't think I saw him, I did see him."
"I am a grown up…" Trumpkin said.
Evangeline and Edmund looked at each other and suppressed a smile.
"It was right over…" Lucy said, and screamed as the ground beneath her gave way with a loud cracking sound.
"LUCY!" everyone cried in unison, running to where Lucy was standing before.
They all looked down and sighed in relief as the youngest was still safe and alive, smiling up at them from where she landed, onto the next level of rock. "Here," She finished.
Evangeline's pulse was rushing and she could feel Edmund's too. Wait… She could feel Edmund's pulse?
"Oh, it's ok, you could use my arm anytime you want when somebody else's life flashes before your eyes," said Edmund.
"You gripped onto mine too," she replied nonchalantly.
One of Edmund's eyebrows rose, "No, I was holding onto my sword handle."
Evangeline rolled her eyes in return, "Yeah, because that's all you know how to do in desperate situations."
Ed's eyes creased, "If that's what you want, my offer is still there…" He let go of her hand, but she still held on.
Evangeline returned his look and squeezed his arm tighter which made him groan, she faked a sweet smile, "Thanks, I'll keep it in mind, my king."
A.N: Horrid, I know, but reviews do help speed up things a little :)
