Wow, I logged on today to finish writing this chapter and I fell out of my chair when I saw the number of reviews! And my parents were wondering why I'm obsessed with my story...silly parents:P
RedRose252 AKA Mello the 2nd - I know right? :D I was jealous as I was writing it.
laurencita12 - Aw, thank you! 8D I'm super happy you look forward to the updates so much.
Vanillastar - Me too hon'! :) Haha yes, Ed is a little stinker, isn't he?
MisguidedGhost21 - I know, I was having mixed feelings writing that chapter. I so wanted to be in her shoes (waking up in the arms of Caspian, who wouldn't?) but I felt bad for her as well. Thanks, I'm glad we agree that they're cute together! :D
Evy201 - Same here. Aw, I'm glad you thought it was adorable, I did too. :) Well, I can't say about the dream, but the story will not always be as happy as it is now. I think there's something in this chapter about the dream being a vision or not, but in the next chapter or two we'll know for sure.
iheartweaselytwins - Aww, thank you, it made my day that you love my writing!:D
And now here is Chapter 9! I'm thinking that there may be a sequel to this story, since I have a fairly interesting idea...Hm, decisions, decisions. I may have to ask you guys if I should write it or not when I finish this story.;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia! (Sadly)
Chapter 9
For the hundredth time, I released an arrow from my bow, sighing in frustration and defeat when it once again landed on the outer edge of the target. I'd been steadily practicing for hours now, since I'd gotten up this morning. Before I could do any more thinking, I pushed all thoughts from my head and focused on trying to figure out why in the name of god almighty I couldn't hit anywhere near the bull's eye to save my life.
To save my life...unbidden, my mind instantly flashed back to last night. To my dream. Within a second, the water in my eyes blinded me and my chest ached with the effort of holding back my sobs. Still blinded my the tears I was barely holding in check, I let another arrow fly from the string, gritting my teeth in frustration when I heard it hit a tree rather than the target. I wanted to cry again, but I wanted to train more.
Again and again, I released arrows from my bow, my aim getting progressively worse with each attempt. This only added to my escalating frustration and I was shooting faster than ever. It seemed that if I stopped, I would break down again, and I didn't have time for that. The raid was tomorrow! My heart clenched in fear, a single tear slipping down my cheek. I angrily swiped it away before returning to my task.
Now it seemed that the faster my arrows flew through the air, the faster my tears fell. I felt so helpless, so worthless. I was supposed to be the freaking chosen one, why couldn't I get an arrow to hit a target that wasn't even 25 feet away?
I finally lost my patience with archery and quickly gathered my arrows, grabbing my sword from the ground as I stormed off the training grounds to find a certain young centaur. Perhaps a good spar would help to clear my head a little. Just thinking of Jaystorm brought the dream right back and I found I couldn't control the tears leaking from my eyes. I didn't stop though, I only walked faster. There had to be a way to stop it. Maybe if I trained enough, I'd be able to save him somehow. I couldn't lose him; he was like the brother I'd never had, but always wanted.
My thoughts were still racing away when I found Jaystorm, but he was busy. On the outside I was perfectly calm and collected when I told him it was fine, but inside I was more restless than ever. I needed to train. Now. And just then, thanks be to god, Edmund walked up.
"Ed! You busy?"
"Not at the moment, no. Need help?"
I almost cried with relief. "You up for helping me train a little?"
"Sure, why not? It'll give me the perfect opportunity to mercilessly tease you about a certain person we both know of."
"Then I'll have to make sure I don't give you time to think."
He smiled and followed me to the training grounds.
"Alright milady, let's see these skills of yours."
"You know I despise formalities," I growled back. He just grinned and before I knew it we were well into a duel.
"Faster, Laurah! Don't think!" Edmund was training me harder than I'd ever been trained in my life. Not that I minded of course; it was just what I needed.
"Trying not to, Ed." I swung my sword with all my strength, and I thought our blades would shatter into a thousand needles. Even though my body was quite tired, my mind was still in need of more 'therapy,' as I called it. I'd only lost to Edmund twice in the space of 2 hours, all the other times it had been a draw. I could tell I'd improved a little already; I swung with a little more precision and I learned to keep my emotions in check. Speed hadn't been much of a problem, not even when I'd first started. It helped soothe me that I was improving, as did Ed's encouragement: hidden within sarcastic comments of course. But I didn't mind, I liked keeping the mood as light as it could be.
With a swift move on both our parts, Ed and I tied yet again. We were both grinning.
"Thanks for all the help, Ed. You're a pretty good teacher when you're not trying to get a rise out of me."
"You're a pretty good student yourself, even if you can be stubborn as a mule." He smiled, and it really felt like I'd gained another brother.
"You might want to practice that archery again though. Try not to hit anyone though," he said with a wink.
"Don't worry Ed, I will do my absolute best to aim for the target."
"Good luck. Should I send your prince to help you out a little?"
"For the love of heaven and earth, HE IS NOT MY PRINCE!" But even though I was slightly annoyed, Ed just had that personality that made it impossible to ever be truly angry with him.
"Sure, sure," he said, waving his hand. "Was that a yes or no?"
"I'm sure he's busy." Even though I secretly hoped he wasn't.
"Well, if he's not I'll send him over. Take care Laurah." Ed waved as he walked back to the How, leaving me to wonder who here didn't know I had a crush on Caspian.
But just a little one. Only a teensy, tiny, miniscule, miniature, infinitesimal one.
Sighing to myself, I made my way back over to the archery grounds, hoping to keep my thoughts at bay for another few hours.
As I was walking, I spotted Lucy, who waved and trotted over.
"Hello Laurah. Are you alright?" Apparently my face was betraying my anxiety.
"Yeah, I'm just worried is all..." I felt tears threatening to spill over again, but I blinked them back, determined to be a big girl rather than a leaky water faucet.
Lucy smiled sadly at me. "We all are I think. I love Peter, but I really wish he hadn't decided to do this."
"Me too Lucy. Me too, " I whispered, my sorrow seeping into my hushed voice.
She looked at me for a second, seeming to be trying to figure out what was wrong. She seemed to understand that I preferred to not talk about because she just offered to keep me company while I practiced, an offer a gladly accepted. We just talked while I tried over and over again to actually hit the target, with no success. I was getting more and more frustrated and angry with myself every time I missed. I tried not to show it, but all the pressure was building up: the raid, the dreams, everything. I could tell Lucy knew something was upsetting me and that she really wanted to help. She was like a sweet and caring little sister to me, and this comforted me a little.
"Do you want to talk about it, Laurah?"
"...I don't know Lucy. In a way I do, but at the same time I don't."
"Sometimes it helps to talk to someone."
"I don't want to upset you, I can barely handle it myself."
"Don't worry about upsetting me, you can just tell me if you need to. It's obviously something important to you."
"It was just a dream...I think." I trailed off, but her face only encouraged me to continue. And so I told her my dream, the dream that was causing my mind such agony. I broke down and cried several times, though this time is wasn't hysteria. I could barely get the words past the lump in my throat, but I forced them out. But it took more than several tries for me to tell her about Jaystorm, my best friend, dying. The only thing keeping me together was my repeated assurances to myself that it was only a dream. It was only a dream.
As I explained the entire thing to her, her eyes slowly widened, tears filling them and occasionally spilling over until her cheeks were almost as wet as mine. I hated that I'd made her cry, so I hugged her to try and comfort her. We stayed like that for a minute or two before she slowly pulled away, wiping her eyes.
"We need to tell Peter. Now."I knew she understood my fears that it hadn't been just a dream, that it was a vision. I nodded my head in agreement, mostly because I was too distraught to disagree. She was power-walking back to the How, pulling on my hand to get me to keep up. The dream still flashed through my head, granting me no respite from my fears. I vaguely heard Lucy start talking and focused enough to hear her say that my dream might have been a warning from Aslan.
"I did have a dream about Aslan earlier that night..." I murmured.
"You did? What happened?"
"I was really confused about if I was the girl from the prophecy and he helped me out a little. He also told me that a dream I'd had a little while ago 'had yet to happen.'"
She only walked faster, this new information seeming to have alarmed her further. We were almost back to the How now, both of us slightly out of breath. We immediately walked up to the first person we saw, a faun standing watch. The faun didn't know where Peter was, so we just hurried into the How to find someone who would. Praise be to heaven above, we ran into Ed.
"Ed, where's Peter?" Lucy's voice was almost frantic now, but hushed since she was out of breath.
"He was walking toward the armory last I saw. What's the matter, Lu? Laurah?" He was worried and confused, but I preferred to tell the two Kings at once rather than flood the whole How.
"Thanks Ed!" I called out behind me. We'd have to tell him later. Lucy and I raced down to the armory and quickly found the High King.
"Peter! We need to talk to you. Now."
"What is it, Lu?"
"Tell him Laurah." Lucy smiled encouragingly at me.
I hesitated for a second before opening my mouth and telling Peter everything. I managed not to cry until the fateful end of the dream, when the salt water welling up in my eyes spilled over and my voice cracked several times. Peter laid a hand on my shoulder and used his other hand to wipe away my tears. I looked up at him, confusion clouding my eyes, to see his crystal blue eyes staring straight into mine. I didn't know what to think.
"It was only a dream, Laurah." His voice wasn't harsh or unkind, and how I wished I could believe his words.
"But it felt so real. And what about what Aslan told me?"
"She's right Peter. This might be a warning."
"He was talking about your first dream Laurah, he said nothing about this one."
"But if that one is a vision, why wouldn't this one be one too?" I could hear the fear and pain in my voice.
"Peter, please don't do this," begged Lucy. In my mind, I begged Peter to listen to his little sister.
"It's our only hope, Lu. I'm sorry." His mind was made up.
It took all of my shrinking willpower to not burst into tears of despair. I was so afraid, so terribly afraid that the vision would come true. I'd grown to love the Narnians; I wanted to see them live in freedom again. What could I do? What could I possibly do?
As these thoughts were running through my head, Peter gave my shoulder a final squeeze before turning and walking away. I just stood there in shock while Lucy started saying something about trusting in Aslan. I nodded my head, not really taking in her words.
"I'm sorry Laurah. At least we tried."
I put my arm around her and told her it would be okay, even though I didn't believe my own words. She hugged me back before I let go. I needed a minute to myself to try and process this. Like always, she understood what my eyes said and gave me one last reassuring glance before leaving me.
I walked outside to the ledge I kept returning to; I was beginning to think of it as my ledge. I sank down onto the grass, right next to the flower that had appeared the other day when I'd wished for it. I ran my fingers over the delicate petals, but it only cheered me up a little. I doubted a whole field of them would lighten my mood more than a fraction.
I had no idea what to do. Peter had made up his mind to go, and I knew his order would be followed to the letter; he was the High King, after all. I wanted so much to stop this. Somehow I knew it was a mistake, I knew that my dream was going to happen if the raid did. I didn't fear death for myself, I'd give my life a hundred times over if it meant I could save everyone that would die in the raid. I'd do anything. But what? What could I do?
I felt so helpless. The feeling grew and grew until I was so tense I thought I was going to explode, which was why I jumped a good two feet into the air when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder.
"HOLY SHIT!" I let out a long breath, praying for self-control. I really had to stop swearing whenever I got startled. I took in a deep, shuddering breath before turning around to be greeted by two warm brown eyes. Two very amused brown eyes. I gulped, less than pleased that I'd sworn in front of Caspian twice now.
"Hello Caspian."
"Hello, my lady." He was amused by how startled I'd been, not that I could say I blamed him. I'd probably be pretty darn amused too if the situation was reversed.
"Is this formality going to become a regular thing with you?" I grumbled, though I couldn't be totally mad.
"It may." His lips still wore a (rather charming if you ask me) smile as he sat down next to me. I smiled and just shook my head, amused despite myself. How did he always manage to make me feel better?
"What was troubling you, Laurah?"
I paused before answering. "I think we both know." I blinked back sudden tears.
He didn't say anything, just took my hand in his own, stroking the back of my hand with his thumb. My heart fluttered with something I dared not name.
"What can I do, Caspian? I feel so useless," I whispered, feeling the weight of those words deep in my heart.
"You shouldn't feel useless Laurah. You should never feel that way." He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze while capturing my green eyes with his chocolate ones. I could feel myself relaxing instantly as I let myself get lost in his eyes. I almost felt like it would all turn out alright, but my dream returned to haunt my thoughts once more. I looked away from his eyes, not wanting him to see the pain that would surely be in mine. He had more than enough to deal with, he did not need me turning into a weeping willow. I hated that I couldn't hide how bad I was feeling.
I was afraid to look at him for fear he would see everything I was thinking. He could always tell when something was wrong, no matter how hard I tried to hide it. But not this time; this time I would hide it so well even he would be fooled. When I could feel all traces of anxiety had left my face, I turned back toward Caspian with a smile.
"Thank you."
I think he bought it because he nodded his head. It kinda felt like he wanted to talk about last night, but he didn't say anything. I suddenly felt so drained of energy, which annoyed the living heck out of me. It was only a few hours past noon for crying out loud! Wow, now I was getting mood swings? Because now I felt like I really needed to jump and just run around, to have a moment of pure insanity, and maybe practice sword fighting or some archery afterwards. Yep, I was definitely going crazy.
I started fidgeting without even realizing it, which earned me a very curious look from Caspian.
"Everything alright?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, I'm just going crazy I guess."
"You don't look crazy." His face was amused once more as it turned to look at mine.
"Look harder," I said with a laugh.
"Perhaps we should walk around a little, it might help that fidgeting."
"And once again I say: You read me like a book, your highness."
"I thought you didn't like formalities," he answered as he helped me up, his hand under my elbow.
"I don't, but that doesn't mean I won't return the favor." We both smiled before falling into a comfortable silence as we walked to nowhere in particular.
"I think I'll head to the training grounds. Wanna come?" I needed to let off some steam without it being obvious.
"Archery or the sword?"
"Sparring would be more fun, but I really should practice trying to actually hit a target that isn't a prince."
He chuckled and before long we were at the archery grounds, where I spent the rest of the daylight hours practicing. And oddly enough, Caspian never left my side.
Another chapter that's kinda short, but hopefully the coming ones will be longer. Oh, and as a heads up, there is a huge cliffy coming up in the fairly near future, so be ready for it.;) Think we can get to 40 reviews?
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