As promised, another chapter! :D Gosh this feels good, to write again! And I got some very very nice reviews, that positively made my day, so thank you to all you wonderful reviewers! The next chapter should be coming in 3 or 4 days, as before. ;P
NymphadoraLupin98 - Aw, thank you for responding so quickly!
Hahaha I wish I'd seen that! Actually that was a case of a runaway character, but I kinda liked it, so I kept it xD
And here you are! Another chapter ;)
chibimaker - Thank you, it's great to be back! :D
Haha no, but that's alright xD
And good, I'm glad the tension is building! And I hope you all hate me for what I'm going to do! :P Haha and thank you, I'm on track to win this one too! 8D
Garideth - First of all, you should know that I had to laugh out loud at that "witch in a broom factory" line! Ah, how I've missed you all!
First: Aw, thank you :D But I won't keep you waiting that long the rest of the story, I promise. xD
Second: Haha yes, it was about time. ;) Aaand actually this chapter didn't turn out as dark as I'd anticipated, but don't worry, it'll be in the story!
Third: Aw, thank you! It's addicting! xD
Finally: Awwww, I'm tickled pink how much you love my stories! Enjoy this next chapter! :D
Evy201 – Haha yep, an update! ;)
Yeah, I figured her leaving without telling her mom was kinda cold. :P And neither did I! Runaway character! xD
Darker actually got postponed. There's a little in this one, but the bulk of it is actually later :/ Still, it's a-comin'! ;)
Fantasy Girl – Thank you! :D
Disclaimer - Still don't own Narnia! xD
Enjoy!
Chapter 9
Narnia is not a place to fear. But I'm afraid. This isn't the Narnia I know. This isn't the Narnia I remember. All around me is darkness, and a low hissing echoes in my ears. It's not a snake, but it sounds every bit as eerie and dangerous.
I'm expecting a painful impact as I fall, but my landing is surprisingly gentle, considering how fast I fell. A quick "Oof!" pushes past my lips as I land on my back and something hard pokes into my spine.
Wincing slightly from the impact, I sit up slowly, running my hands over my surroundings. From what I can tell, I've landed on a huge boulder. Somewhere near water – I can hear the gentle lapping of the waves against the base. Salt permeates the air I breathe, and green wraith-like shapes are the only thing to see other than inky black. I don't know if I'm even in Narnia.
A wild war cry echoes from somewhere to my left, followed by the ringing of steel on stone. It almost sounds like someone is trying to cut a rock with a sword. The cries escalate in volume, and it seems like there are words in there, but I can't understand – to my ears, it's one wordless jumble of syllables.
"Hello? Is someone there?" I call out tentatively, my head turning as I search for some sign of human life. I find none. The continued shrieks sound inhuman. They frighten me.
I have no idea where I am, and I can't think what I should do. The misty things floating around are coming closer to me, morphing into so many different things too fast for me to process.
Trembling from the damp chill in the air, I force myself to my feet, my movements slowed by fear. The boulder beneath my feet is slick, and no sooner than I've stood up, I'm back on my bum.
"Where am I?" I whisper to no one in particular as I rub my now-bruised backside.
Mist swirls around me, blocking everything from my view. It's the kind of green cartoon characters turn when they're seasick, and I shrink from the stuff as a low cackle drifts from it. My arms try to wave it away, but it only pushes against my face. I cough for want of clean air as it floods my mouth and nose, and my fear runs through my veins like ice. A gag erupts from my throat as I try to force the green mist out of my throat, but it's no use – I can feel it seeping into my head.
I let out a scream as it winds its way through my head, forcing its way through my facial bones and toward my brain. Again and again I try to cough it out, panic setting in when the pain escalates. My arms flail around, smacking into the rock I'm sitting on in my frenzy. This vile thing is in my head, and its presence is tantamount to thousands of needles picking at my skull from the inside out.
My nails claw frantically at my skull, and I can't stop screaming now. Then suddenly, the pain stops. The misty wraith is no longer engulfing me, and I'm back in the darkness. My lungs greedily gulp in air, and I wheeze as oxygen floods back into my lungs. My throat is rough and scratchy from my screaming fit, and my vision is cloudy, probably for the same reason.
A ragged hack comes from my throat as I fill my lungs again and again, hoping the cloudiness of my eyes will go away soon.
"Well, why don't you go with the army."
I nod, happy that I'd be near Jaystorm. Maybe I can change the vision, maybe I can change what could happen. My thoughts are interrupted when I see Caspian shoot Peter an incredulous look. He looks angry, livid even. Before I can open my mouth to ask what the heck that was, he turned to me.
"You're going?" His voice is low and even a little dangerous.
"Yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"
"Are you out of your mind? It's far too dangerous - "
" - for a girl?" I snap, cutting him off.
"No, that's not what I was going to say. I was going to say it's too dangerous for you."
Peter opens his mouth, but not to defend me.
"Caspian has a point, Laurah. You only just learned to fight, and you've never been in a real battle."
"There's always a first time," I throw back, using his own words against him.
"That doesn't mean this has to be it! We'll be outnumbered, and what about the other night?" Caspian has raised his voice, sounding desperate to keep me here.
"That's no reason for me to stay behind! Besides, I'm supposed to be the girl from the stupid prophecy; how could I stay?" My voice is even louder than his now.
"Just because you are doesn't mean you have to die!"
"It's war Caspian, people are going to die no matter what!" We're both full-out shouting now.
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO BE ONE OF THEM!"
"And what would you have me do, sit here on my ass and do NOTHING?"
"I WANT YOU SAFE!"
"I DON'T WANT TO BE SAFE DAMMIT, I WANT TO FIGHT!"
"Why? Why do you have to go?" He's pleading with me now, shoulders slumped and eyes boring into mine.
"BECAUSE I HAVE TO TRY AND CHANGE IT!" I can't stop a few tears from leaking from my eyes.
"Please, just stay." He looks deep into my eyes, begging me.
"I'm going Caspian, and nothing will change that. Not you, not anyone!" I swat his hand away as he moves it toward my shoulder, probably to comfort me. Except I don't want any comforting from him right now.
I shake my head vigorously as I come to, confused and dizzy. Where on earth did that memory come from?
A strange sort of hazy pain registers from inside my head, and I hack raggedly. Then it's gone, and my bleary vision notices a thin stream of green mist leaving my mouth. It seems there are pictures in the wispy trail, but my eyes are too clouded over to make them out.
Before I can get my bearings again, I'm again flung out of consciousness.
His smile blooms on his face, his white teeth contrasting sharply with his tanned skin. The light shining on him seems to come from the being by his side, a being who is walking hand-in-hand with him. Her face is hidden by the white-blonde hair falling over her cheek, but he brushes it back tenderly, eyes only on her. He loves her, it's plain.
He leans down to press his lips against her hand, and a glint of gold flashes from her ring finger. She says something to him, something that makes him smile broadly and cup her face in his hands. On his left ring finger as well sits a ring. As he tilts his head, I can finally see his full profile.
"Caspian?"
Tears slip down my cold cheeks as my sight fades back to reality. How much time has passed in Narnia since I left so abruptly? How long as it been since I left without a goodbye? Has he truly moved on?
My eyes are still clouded over, and everything seems to be in some shade of green, but I can still see the engagement ring on my finger.
"Did you forget me?" My pained whisper cuts through the silence, torturing me more than anything I've seen so far.
I'm distracted from my pain for a moment as I hear the hissy laugh I've heard before from the mists. It brushes against my teeth for a second, and I realize there's still a thin trail of the stuff leaving my mouth. I cringe but don't close my mouth – I want that evil thing out of me, so I'm certainly not going to hinder its exit.
Somehow, I'm laying on my back again, so I sit back up on the rock, dreading whatever else this place will decide to show me.
It's dark outside, and the only light is from the windows of the restaurant a little ways away. My boyfriend and I walk hand in hand along a little pathway winding through the woods just outside. The moon is shining brightly and reflects off of my shimmery top. It's been a perfect night.
He uses his hand to brush his long, dark hair back out of his face. His other hand holds mine, his thumb tracing circles on the back of my hand. We walk along for a little bit before he stops and turns to face me. I turn towards him, wondering why he's moving closer to me.
His face is now inches from mine and his free hand comes up to cup my face. Then I realize.
'He's going to kiss me.'
I've never been kissed before - this would be my first. But it's okay. I trust him. He's a good guy, he just has a somewhat poor choice of friends. Just as I let my eyes slide shut, I hear something. A branch cracking under someone's foot.
My eyes snap open and I try to turn my head to see who's there, but he won't let me.
"What's going on?" I whisper, suspicion snaking through my voice.
"Don't worry about it, it's nothing."
Call me crazy, but I know he's lying. I don't know how, but I just know. That's when I hear someone whispering. And the beep of a camera recording a video.
I instantly push him away, just as his lips are a millimeter from mine.
"Why is someone recording this?" I hiss at him, anger glinting in my eyes.
Ever the suave one, he swaggers back up to me and puts an arm around my waist. "You're imagining things, Laurah. Just relax."
"They're your friends aren't they?"
"No, of course not. Why would my friends be here?" It didn't take a genius to see through his lie.
"Oh I don't know, maybe to record you kissing me perhaps?" I remember how he'd been whispering with his friends a few days ago, when he thought I wasn't looking.
"Why would they do that?"
"How many girls have you kissed before?"
"Why does that matter?"
"Have you been playing me from Day 1?" I don't want to think he was, I really don't. But I also remember how Nikki warned me about him when I'd agreed to go out with him. She'd told me he'd had dozens of girlfriends and that I was just another girl for him to toy with. I hadn't believed her then, but now I'm starting to.
"Why are you getting all suspicious? Are you afraid of kissing someone?" He sounds like he's daring me to pull away, daring me to look like I'm scared.
But if that's how he wants to play it, fine. "No, I'm not scared of kissing someone. I just don't want to kiss you."
I distinctly hear gasps and an "Oooooo!" from behind the trees, and that's all I need to confirm my suspicions. He hadn't taken me on a date because he liked me. He'd just wanted to prove he could kiss any girl he wanted, that he could make any girl fall for him. Heck, he probably asked me out on a dare! And his stupid friends want to get it all on tape.
A look of pure rage crosses his face before he quickly gets it under control. But I can still see it in his eyes. I should be scared, but I'm too angry with him. The sick little...
"Alright guys, I think we're done here." His voice is cold and hard, not at all like the sweet voice he'd used with me all during dinner.
"That was a bust!"
"Damn, did she just dump you?"
"No, dumping is my job," He retorts coolly. "I'll be along in a second."
I hear the miserable excuses for human beings he called his friends walk off in the direction of the parking lot. But he stays.
Neither of us says anything.
I can feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. He doesn't deserve to have me cry over him.
The corner of his mouth twitches, the barely contained fury flashing in his eyes.
1. . .
2. . .
3. . .SLAP!
The next thing I see is the ground. It takes me a minute to figure out what just happened. I raise a hand to my stinging cheek.
"That should teach you your place, bitch." Venom seeps from his voice, and I can tell without looking that he's wearing an angry but self-satisfied smirk. Then, just like that, he turns and walks away.
I don't move.
I hear him drive away with his friends, laughing and hooting.
I don't move.
I see the restaurant owner switch off the lights in the restaurant.
I don't move.
I'm in shock. To shocked to cry, to shocked to yell, to shocked to do anything but lay there on the leaves.
My ears have dried into salty, rough streaks on my face, and my fingers brush over the crusty trails, wiping the salt from my cheeks. I don't need to cry over this memory – he still isn't worth it. Still, it hurts. And I can't help but think I deserved that, for the pain my sudden departure must have caused Caspian.
I want to remember something good, something happy, something beautiful – so my thoughts turn to that night Caspian knelt in front of me in the woods, joking yet serious. His eyes had sparkled with the boyish mischief and teasing I'd expect from a fellow teen, but there had been something underneath too. Back then, I hadn't dared to try to figure it out, but now I want to know.
I try my hardest to remember what his face looked like, but the memory I manage to conjure up is blurry at best. Focusing harder does no good, and suddenly, my head is empty. What was it I was trying to remember?
I shake my head, trying to clear the fog that has seemingly settled over my mind. Something isn't right, and it's like my own mind is slipping away from me.
"What are you doing to me?" I shriek into the nothingness.
I receive no answer other than more of its sinister whispering.
"What do you want?!"
"Shh, shh," soothes a comforting voice.
I spin around, searching for the speaker. Nothing. I'm about to scream in frustration again, but then I notice the faint glow emanating from my wrist. Ah, the bracelet. Quickly, I quiet myself to listen. I'm praying for another murmur of comfort, but none comes.
My head nods forward and I sink to my knees, curling up into myself. I'm frightened and confused and I want to go home, whether my true one in Narnia or my other with my adopted mom – I don't even care which it is, I just want to be out of this place, whatever it is.
"Please, tell me I'm not alone," I whisper to my bracelet, my only link to the outside world.
"Please, please say something."
I wait and wait, my elbows resting on my thighs as my head hangs. Time passes, an eternity or a minute I can't say. I wait as patiently as my frazzled mind will allow. Just as I think I'm about to snap, my prayers are answered.
"Take heart, daughter. You do not suffer alone."
It's a small comfort, but it's a comfort still.
"Thank you."
My lips touch the bracelet in a punctuation of my 'thank you,' then the glow stops. But I don't feel quite as alone as before.
Nikki POV
There's weird, gold light everywhere, and I'm holding on to Laurah's hand for dear life. I hope she isn't too angry that I decided to tag along, but I'm just not ready to say goodbye to the girl – we've been through thick and thin together, and why would that stop now?
Suddenly, her hand is torn from mine and I'm on my own in this strange stuff. My mouth opens to let out the scream I've been holding in for a while, but I end up coughing out salt water instead. Wait a minute, salt water? What in the name of-?
"Blech, acgh!" I spew out the brine-tasting water, only to find it up to my chin. It occurs to me I should swim, but I'm far too busy keeping this nastiness out of my lungs.
"Laurah, if you can hear me and this is a joke, you're dead, understand chica!" I sputter out in spite of my predicament.
I kick my legs as best I can, but the sweatpants I'm in keep dragging in the water.
"Blast these damned…pants!"
A splash sounds from a little ways away, but I don't care about whatever it is. I'm busy trying not to die of salt water intake here. But when a hand lands on my waist, I mind that very much.
"Hey, get your paws off me, you perv! Trying not to die here, now beat it!" I screech, spewing water from my mouth as a wave smacks into me. "And where in the name of chicostix did that come from?! Waves don't smack unless they're on a beach!"
"Easy miss, I'm only trying to help you," says the a male voice from behind me.
I swivel around as best I can in the water to face this creepo head on.
"Who put a mop on your head, kid?" This dude's hair is curly as in piglet-tail kind of curly, and it looks remarkably reminiscent of the rag mop my mom uses to mop the floor.
"I beg your pardon, miss?" he sputters, looking some mix of confused and annoyed.
"For what?"
This pipsqeak only stares at me as if I'm from another planet, so I roll my eyes in frustration and turn away.
"But um, miss?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you plan on being out here forever?"
"Out where? Oh, in the ocean? Oh I don't know, I kinda got THROWN in here and got separated from my BEST FRIEND, who is the dang king's FIANCEE!" My hollering makes me feel a bit better about this whole situation, but I'm still rather out of my zone, so to speak.
"You know the king's fiancée?" A glance over my shoulder shows me dinner plate sized eyes and a gaping jaw.
"Yeah, not only do I know her, she's the reason I'm even here! Of course it's my fault too come to think of it…I am the one who grabbed her hand after all, not vice versa, but oyu know there was a chance she might not come back and I couldn't let that be the last time I saw her and why in the name of blue chimpanzees am I telling you this?" What's gotten into me, spouting my life's troubles to some strange mop-headed guy? Maybe I've swallowed a little too much seawater…
"Well miss, you can talk to King Caspian about it if you like, but first perhaps we had better get you on board?"
"On board with what?" I look up from the water to see what he's talking about.
"In fact, it might be a good idea for us to get out of the way, miss."
I'm still scanning the area, wondering exactly how much rum this probably-sailor has consumed. Then my eyes land on something very big and moving this way very quickly. Ah, so that's what he was rambling about.
"Yeah, you might be right about that. I didn't come all this way to be pancaked by a ship."
"This way then, miss."
"Could you quit with the 'miss' thing? It's kinda weird, no offense," I mumble as I doggie-paddle toward the old-timey looking ship. Why does it have purple sails? Don't all those big ships in ye old days have white ones?
"I suppose…?" he says over his shoulder.
"Awesomeness. And what's up with the purple sails? Isn't white a little more…normal?" I pant, trying to keep up. I'm not a horrible swimmer, but this dude's a freaking fish!
"Purple is the color of royalty." He's nice enough to slow down while I paddle my way along.
"Oh yeah, it is isn't it? Wow Nikki, blonde moments!"
"Who is Nikki?"
"Uh, me."
"Ah, my apologies m-"
"Weren't we going to drop the miss?"
"My apologies." By now we're come up alongside the ship, where two ropes hang from its side into the water. "Hang on to the rope."
I do as I'm told, biting back whatever sarcastic response was ready to roll off my tongue in favor of trying not to be bashed to bits on the side of the ship. "Hey, what gives?" I complain as he puts his hand on the side of my waist. I'm a big fan of the 'personal bubble' around strangers.
"I am only trying to help you balance."
"Balance? What for, we aren't going anywh- Whoa!" Suddenly, the wooden plank we're standing on is lifted from the water up toward the ship's deck, and I almost lose my footing – only the hand on my waist keeps me balanced. "Alright, I see what you meant," I concede grudgingly.
When the plank gets even with the deck, I step off with the help of the guy whose name I still don't know, aka MopMan.
"She knew Laurah, My Liege," MopMan spits out before I can even take a good look around.
So I ignore him and scan the crowd gathering around us. No Laurah, so obviously I don't know anyone here. And…is that a bull?
"You knew Laurah?" A tall, dark-haired man with the beginnings of a beard has appeared in front of me and looks some mix of hopeful and pained.
"Correction señor, I know her, present tense. I take it you're Caspian, her dearly beloved?"
He looks positively shell-shocked, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
"What, cat got your tongue Your Highness?" I say, trying to cover up the giggles tickling at my throat. This fish-impression is most amusing indeed.
"Is…is she alright? When did you see her last?" His voice is barely audible, so it takes me a minute to get what he's saying.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I think she's okay. I mean, she was before we got separated anyway. She couldn't want to see you, I tell you! After over a year away from you, she's still positively love-struck. Oh, but I saw her last just a short while ago. She was going to come back here you see, and I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to my best friend, so I went with her. Everything was cool at first, but then something happened, and she went one way and I went another."
"Do you have any idea where she is now? Any at all?"
"If I did, I'd have said so, chico. Hey, you look older than she described you. How long has it been here? You know, since she left?"
"Three years," Caspian answers hollowly, sadness heavily apparent in his eyes and voice.
"Yikes. Well, she can only be so many places, right? Who knows, maybe we'll bump into her," I spout optimistically.
"I hope you are right. Forgive me, but you are?"
"Nikki, official best friend of your fiancée, aka Laurah, or chica in cases of affectionate nicknames." Ah, I miss that girl already – I hope she's okay, come to think of it.
"And am I correct in guessing that you share Laurah's disdain for formalities?"
"Dude, I'm from the 21st century – of course I do."
"Then we all shall keep that in mind. Men, this young lady is Nikki."
A chorus of polite hellos ensues, and I wave back with a grin. Almost everyone has beards, and it's kinda adorable in a teddy-bear sort of way. A boy and girl walk forward from the crowd, and they seem to be closer to my age.
"Lucy, Edmund, this is Nikki, Laurah's best friend. Nikki, meet Queen Lucy the Valiant, and King Edmund the Just. Did Laurah explain Narnia's history to you?"
"Yup, down to the last detail. The two of you are from the Golden Age, and you, Caspian, are a Telmarine, yes?"
A nod from all three of them confirms my question. I'm suddenly at a loss of what to say, but a loud whoosh from overhead distracts me.
"Um, what was that y'all?"
"Oh, that's our cousin, Eustace. He's been turned into a dragon," explains the brown-haired, freckled girl called Queen Lucy.
"Ah, okay a drag-Wait, a DRAGON?!" Now I'm sure it's my eyes that look like dinner plates. Do I have seawater stuck in my ears, or did she just say d-r-a-g-o-n, as in dragon?
"No need to worry, he won't harm us," Edmund assures me.
"Well, that's good news at least. Now, where are we going in this purple-sailed ship?"
Another chapter, done and dusted! Expect the next in another 3 to 4 days ;)
And reviews are certainly welcome! :D