A/N:::::::: Geeze these chapters just keep getting longer and longer. I'm not sure if that makes you all happy or sad.... Anyway, I updated again! I'm on a role, baby! I just kinda had this hit of inspiration, and I'm currently eating, drinking, and sleeping Narnia. I listen to world music that reminds me of it, I'm writing this fic, and I'm painting a gigantic oil painting of Cair Paravel for my art show (which I'll post a link to next update ;) ). I hope you guys all like this chapter. I had some pretty shaken readers after my last cliffy, so hopefully this will clear a few things up.
I've been listening to a milion amazing songs while writing this story, most of which have become quite the soundtrack to this story. But there is one song that is the ultimate soundtrack to Nightfall. It's one of my all-time favs, and the mood it sets is just perfect for this tale. I STRONGLY suggest you find and listen to it if you haven't heard it already. It's an amazing song by an amazing band, and it will remind you of me and my story... *bats eyelashes*
The song is "Cemeteries of London" by Coldplay. PLEASE give it a listen. And also PLEASE visit my author's page and put your 2 cents into my new poll atop the page. It means a lot, as does everything else you guys do for this story. Much love. Enjoy.
:::::NIGHTFALL:::::
.The Story of King Edmund the Just.
:::CHAPTER TEN:::
.A Unicorn Dream.
***
:::::As seen through the eyes of Peter the Magnificent:::::
Once again I had no idea what was happening. I was watching Edmund's face when he cautiously stepped out into the summer morning, and I saw his feet catch strangely on the stone the second his foot hit the top stair that led into the courtyard. He froze on the spot, eyes wild and breath suddenly becoming labored. I followed his frightened gaze ahead, to where Lucy and Phillip were surprisingly standing. I was overjoyed to see them, though I'd probably scold my youngest sister later for following us. Both their faces lit up the moment they saw us step from the castle. But Edmund didn't look overjoyed. He looked scared out of his wits.
"Ed?" I questioned nervously.
He turned to face us, and I fearfully recognized that unseeing look in his eyes. It was the same look he'd had when he'd attacked me in my bedroom at Cair Paravel. The look of enchantment, the look of hallucination. He gazed past me, towards Chay, who was standing right beside me, her hands clutched anxiously to my shoulders.
"What's wrong?" she breathed. I couldn't tell if she was asking me or my brother.
"No more," Edmund growled, the fear in his eyes turning to sheer hatred. "I won't go through this again. I'm not ready!" I watched in horror as he yanked his sword from its sheath and advanced towards us. Faolchú's fur bristled on his back and a terrifying growl rumbled in his throat.
"Don't!" I commanded the wolf, extending my arm.
"I have no loyalties to you," he spat.
"I won't let you hurt him," I insisted, all the while backing further into the castle entrance as Edmund drew nearer.
"What's happening?" Chay demanded, her grip on my tightening.
"Jadis's spell," I explained curtly, my mind reeling as I tried to find the best course of action. I didn't want to cross blades with my brother. Not again. And, to be terribly honest, I was too afraid he'd win.
"Edmund?" I heard Lucy's small voice carrying on the summer wind as she watched us retreat back into the castle.
But Edmund couldn't hear her. He couldn't hear anything. I slowly withdrew Rhindon. I didn't know what else to do. The only other options were to let Faolchú stop him, or to let Edmund lunge.
Suddenly a large white blur sped before our eyes, and collided violently with my brother. Edmund flew back onto the stone floor, sword clattering down the steps. Jasper advanced towards his brazenly, nostrils flaring and tossing his head as he came to stand over my brother.
"That's enough Edmund," he commanded, snorting and staring down with his wild eyes. "Come home."
Edmund was shaking his head dazedly as Jasper lowered his to Ed's eye level. The two stared at each other a moment, before I saw Edmund's eyes becoming clear once more. A pathetic whimper escaped his lips before he desperately threw his arms around Jasper's arched neck. I watched with wonder as the unicorn's eyes shut softly, and he pressed his jaw against Edmund's sweaty temple.
"Edmund?" Lucy's voice rang out again, and all our heads snapped around to face the two figures at the base of the stairs. Lu was just beginning to climb when Edmund hurled himself down the steps to meet her. They almost fell down the flight of stairs when his arms ensnared her tightly. I could see the delighted surprise in Lu's eyes as she returned the embrace. Phillip was pawing impatiently at the ground.
"What just happened?" Faolchú asked, watching the reunion curiously.
"That's what we've been trying to figure out," I sighed. "It has something to do with Jadis. Something to do with the bit of wand left inside him I think. A curse of some sort. It just began to take hold on his eighteenth birthday... and I don't know why."
"What kind of curse?" Chay asked, stepped out from behind me.
"The kind that gives him visions," I explained. "The kind that accidentally turn him against his own family."
"So... what did he just see?" the wolf asked.
I shook my head despondently, watching Phillip poking his nose lovingly into Edmund's palm. "I don't know," I confessed. "And I don't think I want to imagine it."
By the time the rest of us reached the bottom of the stairs, Edmund's doting attitude on Lucy had already shifted into annoyance.
"It's bad enough I have to watch myself around Peter," he was chiding. "I shouldn't have to worry about you and Phillip too!"
Lucy's chin jutted out in her typical defiant fashion. "You can't expect me to always stay in the palace, Edmund. I can take care of myself."
"I'm... I'm not safe right now, Lu."
Her eyes softened a bit. "I'm not scared," she assured him, using her whisper-voice. "I want to be here. I can take care of you." She reached out and took hold of his hand, eyes big and brown. I smiled to myself despite the situation. There was a time not too long ago when Edmund would have shied away from that hand, would never had let anyone take care of him. Instead he only squeezed her fingers, smiling slightly, though the smile never reached his eyes.
It was only then that Lucy paid any mind to our company. She blinked in mild surprise. "Well," she grinned, "It's nice to know you and Peter were not alone."
Jasper took that opportunity to step forward and introduce himself. As Lucy stared at him with utter fascination, and Chay and Faolchú waited to be introduced, I glanced once more at my brother. He was already watching me. His brow was knitted and his eyes burning with a lonely and frightened fire. I hated that look. I hated knowing that despite Lucy's words, Edmund was obviously feeling more alone than ever.
*****
::::As seen through the eyes of Jasper the Unicorn::::
It was a strange feeling once we left the confines of the witch's courtyard. Just as we had descended the hill to the castle in silence, so were we leaving it. Despite the fact that there was so much to be said, so much to discuss, question, and explain, the seven of us remained silent as we climbed the steep path from what once had been the Ice Castle. Once we'd reached the top almost an hour later, we turned and looked down at the rocky, gnarled structure. It looked less sinister than it had when we had first gazed down at it the night before (Aslan's mane, had it really only been last night?). Now it was just a dark, sad structure. It looked like a dead weed growing at the shore of the sparkling lake. I could hear Edmund's breath beside my ear as he stood next to me, looking down. I watched him carefully, far more interested in him than the castle. I know it sounds silly, but I wanted him to hug me again, the way he had when I'd awoken him from his trance. I was shamefully becoming addicted to the feel of affection after all these years.
Chay was standing on Edmund's other side, her wild, strawberry hair whipping past her face and her dress being tossed against her delicate frame. "I can't believe I'm standing here," she breathed. "Your country is so beautiful. I never really saw it before." She turned to watch Edmund's face curiously. "It's all right," she whispered. "It's over. We're out. It's just another nightmare now."
She reached out to take his hand, but Edmund quickly yanked it away as if she burned, and stalked away from the mountain's edge. "It'll never be over for me," he mumbled.
But the voice of his little sister caused him to halt. "Where do we go now?" she asked his retreating back. We all watched uncertainly as he took a heavy breath and scratched the back of his neck.
"I don't know," he confessed, turning to face us. "I don't feel some powerful tug telling me where to go. It's not that simple. It's never been that simple. All I feel is the same coolness right here," he placed his hand over his heart, where the key was now resting beneath his clothing.
"I suggest we all rest," Peter sighed. "Most of us haven't slept in ages. This journey will be pointless if we can't function properly."
"Do we have time for that?" Edmund asked nervously, eyes darting to the sun, as if after only one hour outside Chay would have sucked it dry by now.
Peter grinned at his brother knowingly. "We need to rest sometime, Ed. Now's as good a time as any."
He looked between the lot of us briefly, before releasing a surrendering sigh. "Fine. But not here," he insisted. "Just a bit further, on the other side of this mountain."
There was no argument there, and within minutes our group was marching wearily away from the dark skeleton of Jadis's home. It was a beautiful summer day in Narnia. The trees were laughing in the breeze, their cool canopy of leaves swaying above us as we walked through the forest. Birds were alighting on nearby branches, curiously watching this unlikely band as we passed by. As always, I was bringing up the rear. I preferred to walk in the back, to observe everyone carefully. And it came with a strange comfort... seeing myself as a part of a group.
Peter and Edmund were walking in the front, hands resting on their hilts as they talked quietly. Occasionally the horse called Phillip would trot forward and insist Edmund hop on his back. But Edmund would always politely wave the horse away, and Phil would continue to walk just behind him. I could see his ears pricking forward as he listened to their conversation, and I chuckled to myself. What an eavesdropper.
Behind the horse slunk the wolf. Faolchú looked on edge in the forest. His snout pointed in every direction at every sound, as if expecting an ambush at any second. I doubted that he had traveled these woods in some time. I would imagine he stuck close to the castle when hunting. When he wasn't searching the skies, he was watching the backs of the Kings, particularly Peter's. He didn't trust the High King. He was fascinated by Edmund. I wasn't entirely sure why. Whenever I stretched out my mind I would only see a rush of water, a flash of light, a butterfly turned to stone, and a small boy crying beside a waterfall. Just pieces. Nothing made sense.
Walking behind them all, and just a meter before me, were the two girls. Queen Lucy and Chay were chattering like gossipy nymphs. The young Narnian Queen was quite fascinated with the mysterious stranger from Charn. The two of them looked the same age. It was strange to know that Chay had been alive for thousands of years... in one form or another. I didn't catch much of their conversation, mostly because I was constantly trying to reach into Chay's mind. But, disturbingly, I found little there that I could understand. Either she was skilled at blocking my intrusion, or she was completely unfettered to my destiny. I could hardly believe the latter to be true.
We stumbled upon a quiet spot nestled between a stand of maples, the forest floor littered with moss. It reminded me of traveling with Edmund, when it was just the two of us, and I would tease him for his need to sleep. Unicorns need very little time to slumber. Nonetheless, I settled down on the mossy bed with the rest of them. Phillip insisted on standing while he slept, and for some reason felt it necessary to shot me a disapproving glare before he shut his eyes. Faolchú spun in a couple tight circles, sniffing the earth, before plopping onto the ground with a heavy sigh and resting his snout between his paws. Chay lay beside him, resting her face on his black, shaggy side. The three Pevensies settled in beside me, on the outskirts of the maple hollow.
"I'm glad I'm here," Lucy yawned, pulling her hair from her braid and letting it fall past her shoulders.
"You should have brought Sue," Edmund rolled his eyes. "And Tumnus and Oreius. Heck, why not the entire royal court? This gang is still a little small if you ask me."
Lucy caught the good-natured sarcasm in her brothers voice and smiled dryly before playfully punching Edmund in the arm as he lay down, resting his head on Peter's jerkin. "I tell you who I should have brought... Lady Rosalie. She was quite torn up over your sudden departure."
Edmund and Peter both chuckled on their mossy blankets. "What did you tell her?" Edmund asked.
Lucy shrugged. "I may have said something about a waiting boat, a journey North, and a forbidden romance with a Giantess princess."
I listened carefully as their laughter took flight into the air. The others stirred slightly in their light slumber, and the three siblings lowered their voices.
"Susan would have come," Lucy explained. "But she had to keep an appointment."
"What appointment?" Peter asked.
"She promised to visit Tashban this month? Remember?"
Both brothers groaned into their makeshift pillows. "She's going to see Rabadoodle?" Edmund exclaimed softly, drawing muffled laughter from his brother and sister.
"She promised," Lucy repeated. "One of us has to keep their diplomatic heads about them."
Edmund turned over onto his stomach. "Yeah well," he mumbled, "I'm just glad it's her."
Peter shook his head with a smile. "It really should be me," he sighed.
"No argument here," Edmund replied sleepily.
"But I wanted to come with you."
"No complaints here either."
"Tumnus sends his best," Lucy recalled, playing with a tiny flower that had grown through the thick moss. "He says he'd take good care of Paravel while we're gone."
"Did he say that with a sense of maniacal sarcasm?" Edmund asked. "Because sometimes I seriously wonder what that faun does when we're gone."
Peter chuckled, his eyes shut as he fought sleep. "I know what you mean. I had a dream last time that he was sprawled across one of our thrones, and my dryad-in-waiting was feeding him grapes."
"Which one?" Edmund asked.
"Sarajoy."
"That's the prettier one, right?"
"Edmund!" Lucy exclaimed, though her voice rose with laughter.
"Do you make her feed you grapes?" Edmund continued.
"Not in a long time," Peter joked.
"I seriously need to consider firing my staff...."
Their talk and laughter slowly fizzled out, each sentence becoming softer and each voice more exhausted. I curled my neck and rested my head upon my folded knees. After a long stretch of silence I was surprised to hear Lucy's small voice, half immersed in sleep whisper, "Goodnight, Edmund."
I smiled to myself, drifting to sleep just seconds after I heard him mumble goodnight in return.
*****
Unicorns don't dream. They only remember. Muted nightmares of past battles, colorful images of countries we've walked, swirling sunset hues of the skies we've grazed beneath, echoing whinnies of the others we've known and loved.... Or, if you're me, silent and twisted mazes of woods and beaches, swamps and mountains, meadows and rivers... all the places I have traveled alone in my long years. It made sleep boring for me. I didn't need a reminder of all the places I had been, all the paths I had walked in my never-ending journey for my ultimate purpose. The memories I yearned for never came: the ones I'd lost long ago, the ones I'd possessed when I was a true unicorn. A whole unicorn.
In this particular sleeping memory, I was strolling along the shore of the Eastern Sea-- a walk I'd made many times. The sun was just rising and I had been walking all night. I ducked into one of the many caverns to find some sleeping shelter. The cavern walls were glittering with precious stones, and icy stalactites hung from the cathedral-like ceiling. The sunlight was leaking into the cave, hitting the gems and crystals and shattering its glow across the rock. Each bit of sunlight looked like a fairy dancing. Moments like this were the ones I wished I could share with someone.
I smiled sadly to myself in this memory, before it all changed. I saw a great mass come to stand at the cavern entrance. Though he was blocking the sunlight, the cavern only seemed to get brighter, and he shook the ocean spray from his shimmering golden mane with a hearty chuckle. I stood perplexed, my heart hammering and my breath gone. I did not recall this memory. This felt so much more like a dream.
In this vision, Aslan walked gracefully towards me, reached up with one mighty paw to knock the most beautiful stalactite from the cavern ceiling. Instead of falling and shattering onto the ground, it merely floated to hover just before me, like an offering. It threw rainbows across my forehead. I had only one second to snort with pleasure before a bony, white hand from nowhere smacked the crystal from the air. I watched in horror as it flew across the cave, hit the stone wall, and smashed into a million precious pieces. My heart stung with the sight, and one of the glittering shards sliced cruelly across my face, leaving a terrible scar....
*****
::::As seen through the eyes of King Edmund the Just::::
I must have been exhausted. It was the first time in a long time that I did not dream. Not the familiar nightmare I'd been plagued with for years, nor one of the haunting visions that seemed peppered with memories of my past. There was only darkness as I slept. But as I slowly felt myself rise into consciousness, I felt my heart sink with a terrifying revelation. Perhaps that was my dream... or my vision. Perhaps the sheer blackness was a ghost of what was to come... what I had unleashed upon Narnia.
My eyes snapped open and I looked up at the late-day sunlight winking through the canopy of maple leaves. The sounds of birds and heavy breathing was all around me. My brother and sister were still asleep beside me, breathing deeply into their mossy pillows. I sat up quietly and looked around. It seemed to be late afternoon; we'd probably been asleep for roughly seven hours. Chay was curled up not far off, hugging her arms to her chest and folding her knees. Faolchú was resting beside her, his snout resting on her sprawled hair and his bright eyes open and wary as he watched me rise. I was careful not to wake Phillip as I tiptoed by. He was snoring softly, swaying on his feet with his head resting against a tree trunk. I smiled at him as I passed.
I found Jasper just a few moments later. He'd stayed near the group, and stood beneath a stand of birches, whose trunks sparkled almost the same shade of opal as he. The unicorn was reaching with his great neck to reach the bright leaves of the overhanging branches. I couldn't help but wonder how many mornings he'd spent like this, surrounded by the beauty of Narnia, but deep down too sad to ever really enjoy it. I couldn't help but wonder how much longer this life of his would last.
I ask myself that same question every morning, he said mournfully inside my head. And every night.
I paused in mid-step. Stealth had always been one of my talents, but once again Jasper was one step ahead of me. I frowned. "I told you to stop doing that," I pouted.
He tore another mouthful of foliage from the branch and turned to face me while munching. And I told you to stop thinking about me, then.
"Can't help it," I shrugged, walking forward. "You're just so darn fantastic."
"There's the sarcasm I love," he chuckled, bending his neck down to scratch his ear against his front knee. "I was afraid you lost it. You seem even more out of it now than you did when I found you."
I ground my teeth anxiously. "Don't say that," I mumbled despondently. "I don't think I can take the thought of getting worse."
"Maybe not worse," he amended. "Maybe just... different. Distracted. Or maybe you're just more afraid."
I threw my arms into the air. "Why would I be afraid? Aside from leading more and more of my loved ones into danger, coming face to face with something that echoes all too clearly of my darker past, and then putting all of Narnia in the danger of someone coined The Great Eclipse?"
Despite my diatribe, Jasper only chuckled. "I know enough about your past, Edmund to tell you that you've been up far worse creeks than this. And you certainly arouse victorious that time. You'll do all right."
"You don't know that," I muttered darkly.
"I know that worrying as you are won't help matters any. Like it or not you took on this challenge, and like it or not your not alone in this. People are tagging along, some of them people you care for very deeply. But they won't leave. So you may as well take their company with some gratitude, instead of viewing it as just another reason to panic. Four thrones at Cair Paravel, Edmund. You're not meant to to any of this alone."
"What about you?" I asked.
"What about me?"
"Do you still think you're meant to be alone?"
Jasper snorted thoughtfully, swishing his tail at a buzzing dragonfly. "As always... I'm not sure what I'm meant to be. What I'm meant to do."
I bowed my head gravely and turned a stone over with my foot. "I don't know," I mumbled. "I think you're doing it."
He eyed me thoughtfully. "What's that?"
I didn't meet his gaze. "Staying with me. I need you here."
I wasn't looking at him, but I could feel his eyes on me as he stood silently. After a long moment of awkward silence, he whinnied softly. "You do, don't you?" he chuckled, pushing me with his nose. He was so strong I actually flew forward a couple meters.
I laughed freely. It's funny how the ones you love can make you do that when laughter seems impossible. "Look at the mighty unicorn!" I chuckled, charging him and throwing all my weight into his massive shoulder. I'm sure my tackle wasn't enough to knock him down, but Jasper fell to the earth anyway, grunting and whinnying in a fit of horse-like laughter. His hooves kicked up moss and leaves and his teeth were showing with a beaming smile. I had only a second to feel some delusional bravado before he rolled over to throw his weight onto me. His full weight would have crushed me, but he was carefully lifting half his body up, pinning me with the other side of his barrel chest.
I laughed through my coughs and sputters as he pressed down on me. "I can't breathe, you nag!" I gasped.
"You sure talk like you can," he chuckled. It was strange... I may have been unable to breathe, but having Jasper this close was a lot like wearing that crystal key-- it eased the burning inside me. Until all the air ran from my lungs. "Get off!" I grinned, shoving his body away from me. He rolled away, still laughing quietly, and as I lifted myself up to sit beside him, he was flinging the twigs from his mane with a shake of his head.
"Edmund?" he asked, his tone changed.
I was still trying to catch my breath, a stupid grin on my face. "Yeah?"
What do dreams feel like?
I frowned thoughtfully, but before I could answer another voice shattered the quiet.
"Your Highness?"
I turned with a start to see Phillip standing a few yards away, watching us curiously.
"The others are stirring," he reported. His voice had a strange edge to it. "We are waiting to hear your plan."
I rolled my eyes and blew out a heavy sigh. "Great," I muttered, standing and brushing the dirt from my clothes. "As if I had one."
Jasper followed right behind me, and I heard Phillip say to him as he passed, "You should be more careful. It's a common mistake to forget the severity of your weight compared to his."
I turned to watch a frown flit across Jasper's face. "I think I am well aware of my own body mass, thank you."
"You may think so, but your lack of experience with humans could be a problem."
Both horse and unicorn were inches apart, nostrils wide and ears pinned back just the slightest. "Enough," I commanded. "Everything's fine. Phil, Jasper was being very careful. And Jasper, he's just looking out for me. Now quit pawing and snorting and let's go get the others." I rolled my eyes and blew a strand of hair from my eyes with a sigh as I turned back towards our sleeping spot. I'd watched Peter having conversations like this many times before... with women. Me? I was fighting off horses.
I am not a horse.
I cringed inwardly at the bitterness in Jasper's mental voice.
When I reached the cavern of maples and moss I found everyone awake. My brother and sister were shaking the debris of the forest floor from their clothes while Faolchú watched Chay a few yards off, examining a collection of bright pink blossoms. They all turned to face me as I approached.
I shuffled my feet as they drew close to me. "I'm not sure what you're all expecting," I confessed. I kept the edge off my voice; it just sounded a bit defeated. "There's no great compass inside me, pointing me in the right direction. I don't know where we should go. I'm sorry."
"Perhaps you're thinking too hard about it," Lucy shrugged, as usual attempting to be helpful.
"What did you do last time?" Peter asked. "How did you find yourself on a journey to the castle?"
I twisted my mouth in a dry smile and jerked my thumb beside me to where Jasper stood. "I followed him."
"Not true," Jasper interjected. "I knew only the rough direction of our destination. It was your dream that provided the answer."
"What dream?" Lucy asked.
"Long story," I mumbled. "But it had the castle in it, and Jasper saw my dream with his gift and decided that it was our destination."
"Have you had any dreams since then?" Peter asked.
"Several," I shrugged. "But I don't think any of them will help us. They've been so muddled, and thinking back I'm not sure any of them are relevant to our journey."
This whole time Chay and Faolchú just watching us silently. Faolchú's head was cocked curiously to the side while Chay calmly held a plucked blossom to her nose and twirled it thoughtfully between her fingertips. I found myself watching too intently, and angrily tore my eyes away.
"I thought your dream was always the same," Peter frowned thoughtfully, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.
"It was. Until I met Jasper." I looked over at him, noticed a twig still stuck in his mane from our tussle, and picked it out. He nodded his head in a brief thank you.
"Is that another gift of yours?" Lucy asked. "To give others visions?"
"Not to my knowledge, littlest Queen," Jasper said. "Until I began traveling with your brother, the strange visions were always my own."
"And these aren't really visions," I said. "They're more like...."
Memories? Jasper finished.
I nodded.
"A unicorn's dream."
"Memories of what?" Peter asked.
I shrugged helplessly. "I don't know." I was too exhausted to even get into this strange past I was just beginning to uncover.
"I agree with your sister," Chay finally spoke. She had placed the blossom behind her ear. "I believe you are thinking too intently about the situation. It seems to me that all that led you to me was intuition, dreams, and some help from Jasper."
"What luck that was," I muttered, but the soft look of hurt in Chay's eyes meant that she heard.
"Edmund," Lucy chided quietly.
But Chay continued. "I'm simply suggesting that we wait just a bit longer. See if any more dreams can help decode this mystery."
"Each moment we waste, Narnia's fate grows darker," I objected.
"We could always eat?" Peter suggested, bringing a reluctant smile to my face. It was a running gag in our family that we always sought food at times of great duress. But now that he mentioned it, my stomach was aching with emptiness.
I glanced at my sister hopefully. "Did you bring anything from Cair?"
She twisted her mouth in a regretful frown that killed my hopes. "Just enough for one night. I ate pretty much all of it yesterday. But I still have half a bag of grapes," she added with gusto.
I couldn't hide my disappointment. "Great," I muttered.
"I could hunt as I have done for Chay," Faolchú volunteered. "But I would need to bring down a stag to feed a Chay, a wolf, and three humans. I'd probably do no better than a rabbit at this time of day."
"Even better," I grunted. "A feast of four grapes and one fifth of a rabbit."
Chay's giggle started me as I looked up to see her covering her mouth with her delicate hand.
Peter smiled at her. "You'll have to excuse my brother," he sighed. "He tends to get cranky when he's hungry."
I scowled at him. "Do you think you're some picnic when--"
"Shh!" he held up a hand to silence me, and I put my hand on my sword, scanning the trees for some sign of danger.
My eyes darted about nervously. "What is it?"
Peter lowered his hand thoughtfully, chewing on his lower lip as he turned to me. "I actually think I know where we are."
"We all know where we are," I rolled my eyes.
"No, but exactly where we are. I have an idea."
"Wait!" Lucy exclaimed, her face now light with a smile of revelation. "I know!"
She took off before I could grumpily ask what they were talking about. Peter eagerly followed, along with Faolchú bounding along curiously. I noticed how Jasper lingered behind a moment, giving me time to catch up to Phillip.
"Do you know where they're going?" Phil asked.
I shook my head. "A cafe perhaps?" I replied dryly.
"What is a cafe?"
I slowed my step and frowned. "I... I'm not sure. I'm sorry. I have no idea where that came from." I rubbed my temple thoughtfully, trying to pry that particular word from my mind. What was I talking about? I kept picturing iron chairs, round glass tables, and the strong smell of something hot.
"I love watching you and your siblings." Chay's voice suddenly popped up beside me, snapping me from my reverie. "I would have given anything for that," she sighed. "That kind of love could have changed so much."
"Maybe," I grunted quietly. I didn't really want to think any further on Chay and Jadis's past... on what could have been... on what needn't have happened if destiny's path had been different.
"I know you're worried about your decision to release me, King Edmund," she continued. "And I'm so sorry to unleash this burden upon you. But I truly hope that you'll come to not only trust me, but to like me. And to be more at peace with your course of action. But until then, all I can do is thank you yet again King Edmund."
I blew a sigh from my nose and pushed aside a stray branch. "Can you just not call me King Edmund every time?" I asked. "It takes too much time. Just call me--"
"Ed," Jasper called from behind, a snicker in his voice.
I threw a half-frown half-smirk over my shoulder. "Edmund," I corrected. "Or even King if you like. Just not both at the same time."
She nodded meekly, visibly disappointed by my response. "Of course, Edmund."
To put it frankly-- I was being a jerk. I knew it. But I didn't care. Just a few days ago, as I lay with my eyes shut tight on Peter's bed, I heard General Oreius discussing my past with Jadis. He had mentioned that there was no way of telling what scars she could have left aside from the shimmering line across my chest. And as I watched Chay sadly fold her arms and slow her pace just enough to fall behind me, I was pretty sure this was one of those scars. I could never see her as anything other than a reminder... a shadow of what I already knew, and feared. I was sorry, but after almost hurting my brother twice and after seeing terrible things that weren't there-- my feelings towards Chay was hardly the scar I was worried about most.
"Don't let him get to you," Jasper was speaking to her behind me. He didn't even bother to lower his voice, but Chay replied in hushed tones I couldn't hear over our crunching footsteps and the songs of the birds and rustling leaves. "You have seen many horrible things in your past," Jasper continued to her. "And so has Edmund.... Just give him time. He thinks it won't heal... but it will."
I pushed my feet to walk further to the front of the line. I still had no idea where we were going; Peter and Lucy were almost skipping through the woods ahead of me. I once again had to politely decline Phillip's offer to carry me, and nearly started jogging to catch up to my siblings. I finally drew near enough to hear Faolchú's voice as he gracefully bounded beside them.
"Inform me of something," he said to Peter. "Why are we following your lead and not that of the one who actually could possess the answers we need?"
My brother no doubt picked up on the sharp edge to the wolf's voice, and I could see his shoulder's become rigid. "I don't need to inform you of anything. Nor explain myself. You're only a tag-along in this journey."
I was now so close to the three of them that I could hear the growl in Faolchú's throat. "No more so than yourself, Highness," he snarled.
Peter turned to him with flashing eyes. "I think you need to be reminded of--"
"Stop it both of you," Lucy reprimanded in her gentle yet firm manner. Both the King and the wolf silenced instantly. I chuckled to myself. Peter and Faolchú, Jasper and Phillip, Chay and me... Lu was the only one who liked everyone here. I wasn't surprised, just as I wasn't surprised at her ability to command respect from a High King and a rebellious wolf. There was just something about her.
We were now walking along the edge of a steep hillside. Below wound the bubbling river, and beyond that lay the very outskirts of the Western Woods. I hadn't been in this part of my woods in many years, but I was certain I'd been here long ago. The forest stretched out to the horizon, where the sunlight was slowly growing softer and the clouds a gentle lavender and rose. It was then, as I gazed towards the horizon, that I realized just how far we'd come since this very morning.
I slowed to a stop and stared dumbstruck at the pair of purple-ridged mountains that towered over the trees. They were as beautiful as any mountains in Narnia, but I knew the icy heart that lay between them. For a fleeting moment it was no longer day, and it was no longer summer. It was a blue-mooned winter, and those mountains were calling to me in some terrible song.
Enjoying the view, are we?
It was Jasper; he was standing beside me, following my gaze to those mountains. I snapped from my trance to look into his golden eyes.
"I can see that memory," he explained somberly. "I'm sorry you have to relive it again."
I nodded dully. "Me too."
"But now you know where we are," he smiled softly. It was not a question. And somehow that crazy unicorn knew where we were as well.
A smile broke through my melancholy, and I nodded. "I do."
I turned with him and walked a few meters more along the ridge, to where the others were chattering excitedly. Lucy was clasping her hands beneath her chin in eager happiness, while Faolchú watched her curiously. Peter was standing close to Chay, his hand lightly touching her back as he pointed below. Phillip nudged me with a smile as I approached, and Jasper and I leaned over to look with grins of relief.
For the moment, all awful memories were washed away. The light of the day was just soft enough to make the lanterns inside glow like embers. The setting sunlight bounced off the timber, making the wood glisten like copper. Smoke was rising from the modest chimney, filling the summer wind with the scent of dinner.
We had reached Beaversdam.
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A/N::::: See? Now stop being mad at me for making Chay evil. Haha. This story has many more twists and turns to come. Hope you're enjoying it. Now go vote on my poll and leave a review! Look out your window! You can see me standing creepily outside with a cardboard sign reading "Will write for reviews". Lol
--Tiki--
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