*AUTHOR"S NOTE – I am so very sorry that it took me so long to write this chapter and get it out. I have been very sick ever since the day after Christmas, and I only just now was feeling up to writing again. I hope that everyone had a wonder Holiday Season, and that all of you New Year's dreams come true! I will try very hard to have the next few chapters out soon, and don't worry about the story ending before it's finished, because I already have the last chapter of not only this story, but the ending to a sequel as well, and I fully intent to see these tales through! Thank you all so much for your support and for your patience. – Nev*
Chapter Eleven: A Bad Ankle, Among Other Things
"Well, it doesn't seem to be broken," Said the healer, a chestnut-colored male Centaur named Fircil. Peter had placed Aria on her bed, and now stood behind her head as the Centaur knelt at her side, feeling the ankle that Aria was pointedly not looking at. The healer was very careful not to touch the deep teeth marks the dotted the pale skin, but merely turned the foot this way and that, every now and then eliciting a gasp from the patient. "But it is sprained, so I suggest that you stay off of it for a couple of days, My Lady."
Aria nodded and thanked him as he began to wash the blood away and then wrap the ankle in long strips of clean cloth. When he was finished, he rose and told them that he would have some food sent in for them, then bowed to Peter and left.
Peter then assumed his position next to Aria. "Does it hurt terribly?" He asked her, gesturing to the ankle that was now propped on a soft cushion.
Aria shrugged. "I've had much worse, believe me." She told him, settling back against her pillows.
Peter smiled. "How?"
"Well, when I was about twelve years old, I decided that I really wanted to learn how to ride a horse." She smiled, and shook her head. "No, scratch that, I thought that I already knew how to ride a horse, and when my parents sent me to camp to learn, I confess that I didn't really listen to what the instructor was telling us about how to saddle the horses. I figured that it couldn't really be that hard." See blushed. "So, I had saddled the horse, much faster than any of the other girls, and I led him to the place where we were going to learn how to ride. And I mounted the horse without help, and I was sitting up there, just gloating and feeling so proud of myself, and then..." she cleared her throat. "And then I started to ride him around the paddock, at a good trot, and as soon as we came to the first turn, I felt the saddle start to slide sideways, and then when we got to the next turn, it slid sideways again, and before I knew it, the entire thing was upside down, underneath the horse. And I was still in it." She sighed. "Needless to say, I fell off pretty soon after that. I split my head open and snapped my wrist. And when I went back to camp last summer, I listened."
Peter couldn't help his laughter. "I'm sorry." He said.
Aria shook her head again. "Don't be."
"No, I'm sorry you got hurt, not for laughing." He told her. "That's one of the funniest things I've ever heard." Aria chuckled as well for a moment before Peter became serious again. He took her hand between his and caught her gaze. "Thank you." He said.
Aria sighed, her brow furrowing slightly. "Don't start that again." She said. "I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have done if they'd have been there.
Peter shook his head fervently. "No," He said. "What you did was very brave. And there are a lot of people who would like to think that they would do something like that, but many of them wouldn't when the time came to do it. And you didn't think about what would happen to you, and you were hurt." He finished, his voice growing slightly angry.
Aria watched him, her brow still furrowed, only now it was in slight confusion. "I'm... sorry?" She asked.
Peter sighed. "No, I'm sorry." He said, one of his hands leaving hers and shoving through his golden hair. "It's just, when I saw your ankle, and knew what you had done for the girls, all I could really think about was that you got hurt, and you didn't need to."
"Peter." Aria said, leaning forward slightly and placing her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm not hurt that bad, and no else is hurt at all. If my little sprained ankle kept other people from the same or worse, then I'm happy to stay in bed." Then she looked away slightly. "Not for a couple of days, I don't think, but for a little while anyway." Then she looked back at Peter, smiling softly. She shook his shoulder when he didn't respond. "That was a joke, Peter, you're supposed to laugh. I'll admit that it wasn't as hilarious as the first one, but it was still pretty good as far as my standards go."
Peter forced a slight laugh and Aria sighed, withdrawing her hand. "Forced laughter, however," She added. "Is just an insult in its entirety." She looked at him, trying once again to make him smile. "Come on, Peter." She said. "I was the only one hurt today and we've been through three scares, two of them real and dangerous, and I was the only one who got hurt. And, trust me, there isn't a day that goes by when I don't do something clumsy and hurt myself, so, all-in-all, I'd say that today was a quite successful one.
Now Peter looked at her. "You don't seem that clumsy to me." He said. "In fact, I would have said that you were very graceful."
Aria fought an inexplicable urge to blush. "Oh, Peter," She said instead. "You've only known me for two days. You just wait until it's been a little longer, then you'll see." And now he did manage a chuckle, at which point she beamed at him. Then the tent flap was pulled back.
"I'm pleased to see the two of you are enjoying yourselves." Aslan said as he entered, followed by Susan and Lucy, and then three fauns carrying trays laden with food.
Lucy immediately bypassed Peter and sat on the bed next to Aria's knees, as Susan sat on her own. "Are you feeling better?" Lucy asked her, and Aria nodded, smiling at her.
"I'm glad to hear it." Aslan told her, smiling. "I talked with Fircil and he has recommended that you stay abed for three days." He chuckled as Aria blanched silently. "But I have convinced him that, if you will agree to have some help getting around, that you may take your leave of this tent as early as tomorrow morning."
Aria smiled at him, extremely relieved. "Thank you." She said. She had not been looking forward to staying in bed and having nothing to do.
Aslan nodded. "In that case, I shall take my leave of you children." He said, moving towards the tent's entrance. "I must supervise the troops when they return." And then he was gone, the flaps on the entrance swinging closed behind him. Then the fauns, having set their trays down on the floor betweens the beds, exited as well, leaving the children to eat their meal in private.
Lucy looked at Peter, her joy at seeing Aria all right slowly turning into worry for her brother. "Do you think Edmund's all right?" She asked him.
Peter started to answer, but the worry and guilt in his own mind stopped him before any words of comfort could leave his mouth. Aria, seeing his dilemma, smiled at Lucy and grasped her hand with her free one, only now noticing that Peter's had never left hers on the bed. "Of course he is." She told the little girl. "I don't know Edmund that well, but from what I've seen of him, he's very tough. I know that he'll be just fine."
Lucy nodded, her fears mostly appeased for the time being, but Aria knew that the siblings would never really be alright until their brother had been returned to them safely. Lucy and Susan then both took seats on the floor next to each other, beginning their meal. Peter squeezed Aria's fingers and smiled appreciatively at her before dropping to the floor as well, his back leaning against the side of her low bed. It was he who filled her goblet with water and passed it up to her, as well as pieces of soft bread topped with cheeses or hot meats.
During the meal, the siblings regaled her with tales of their world in England, in the past, and she tried to explain things about her own time to them. She found it surprisingly hard to explain the things that she had just simply grown up with, like video tapes, DVDs, cell phones, CDs, mp3 players, and the like, especially knowing as little as she did about their own time, and having nothing to compare them to. So, after a while of stumbling over her words and confusing everyone involved, she simply gave up and began to simply tell stories based on movies that she had seen or books that she had read.
Of course, each of the siblings had their own interests in her stories of things yet to come. Susan wanted to know how everything she had mentioned before worked, and wondering how they could have been the slightest bit possible. Lucy was ecstatic when Aria told the story of the 'Princess Diaries' film. And Peter... well, Peter was just content to listen to everything.
The stories lasted well into the night, and Lucy was already asleep by the time Peter decided to leave for his own tent. He tucked Lucy in, kissing her hair. Then nodded to Susan, who was gathering the empty trays onto a side table. Lastly, he bid Aria goodnight, placing a hand gently on her shoulder before exiting the tent.
Soon afterwards, Susan bid Aria goodnight as well before extinguishing the lights and settling into her own bed.
-- -- -- -- --
When Aria awoke the next morning, Susan was already re-braiding Lucy's hair. She sat up, yawning, and thought about how glad she was that the mornings were no longer freezing.
Susan looked over at her. "Good morning, Aria." She said.
Aria nodded in return, still yawning, and drew the blanket back from her ankle, prodding at it gently with one finger before judging it fine enough to start moving around. She swung her legs off the bed and made to get to her feet when Lucy stopped her. "Ah, ah, ah!" She warned. "You promised that you would have help getting around."
Aria smirked at the little girl, raising an eyebrow. "Well," She said. "You're a good height for an arm rest, how about I use you?"
Lucy giggled but shook her head. "Why don't we go and get Peter?" She asked.
Aria sighed slightly. "I don't want to burden anyone." She said. "Least of all Peter, he has enough on his mind at the moment. I'll be fine by myself." Lucy looked skeptical, so Aria added. "I promise that I won't stay on my foot too much."
She then rose to her feet, one hand clutching her headboard for a moment before she gained her balance. Susan smirked at her and stood. "Why don't I help you?" She asked, and then her face fell slightly. "After all, it is my fault that you got hurt in the first place. If I had just thrown the towel sooner."
Aria shook her head, placing her free hand on Susan's shoulder. "Throwing the towel when you did is probably the only thing that kept my throat intact." She said, smiling at the younger girl. "And I'll trade a sprained ankle over that any day."
Susan's smile grew slightly before she shook herself, wrapping one arm around Aria's waist. "It's time for breakfast." She said. "And I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starving."
"Here, here!" Lucy cried, and followed the two older girls out of the tent.
Emerging, Susan and Aria first saw Peter staring up at a tall rock above the camp. He looked at them for a moment before looking back up, the girls' eyes following his gaze. And there stood Aslan, speaking the fourth Pevensie sibling. Susan let go of Aria, going to stand near Peter.
Then Lucy started forward, yelling to Edmund, but Peter held her back, knowing that Aslan wished to speak with their brother alone. Aria watched Aslan and Edmund look towards them, then saw Aslan nod at the boy, apparently meaning that they were finished.
When the two had made their ways down to them all, Aslan spoke to them as Edmund studied his feet. "What's done is done." The Great Lion said. "There is no need to speak to Edmund about what is past." Then Aslan stepped away from them.
Edmund looked up at his siblings, then back down. Aria saw that he looked a bit worse for the wear, with a split lip that looked very painful as well as a cut on his cheek. "Hello." He said.
Lucy smiled at him, then stepped forward eagerly to hug her brother, and Aria smiled to see that he returned it gladly. Susan then stepped forward as well also hugging him and asking if her was all right.
"I'm a little tired." He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Aria watched as Peter nodded towards his tent. "Get some sleep." He said, making no move to greet his brother. Edmund looked at him for a moment before moving to do just that, and Aria couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy. Then Peter turned to him. "And Edmund," He said, smiling. "Try not to wander off."
Edmund smiled and then disappeared into the tent. Peter turned back to the girls, and now saw Aria, still standing under the awning of their tent, one hand touching one of the supports. "What are you doing out of bed?" He asked.
Aria shook her head at him. "I was promised breakfast." She said.
Peter narrowed his eyes slightly. "You promised that you would have help." He started.
Aria held up her free hand. "Susan was helping me." She said. "But the interruption was completely understandable."
Lucy then tugged on Peter's sleeve. "Oh, couldn't we wait until Edmund wakes up to have breakfast?" She pleaded. Peter smiled down at her, then shrugged and looked to Aria.
She smiled and rolled her eyes. "I suppose that I can wait a few more hours." She said.
"Come on." Susan told her, taking her arm. "I'll see if I can't do something with your hair for you."
Aria laughed as the girl led her back into the tent. "Yes," She said. "That should take a good couple of hours." As Susan deposited her back on her bed, and Lucy and Peter followed them in, she fingered her hair again. She never had finished combing it out. "You might just want to let me do it." She said. "I'm sure that it'll be frustrating to no end."
Susan came back to her with her own bone comb. "Why do you let me worry about that, and you tell us all another story." She ordered as she sat next to Aria and began gently detangling her misbehaving locks.
Aria sighed, trying to rack her brain. "I'm not sure." She said, her brow furrowing in thought. "I guess I could tell you about my favorite book. It won't be published until I'm in middle school."
Lucy sat on Aria other side. "What's it about?" She asked.
"It's about girl in Ireland who had six older brothers, and one night, her wicked stepmother turns them all into swans, and she's the only one that can turn them back. It's a very long story, but she ends up being kidnapped and taken to England, where the man who kidnaps her ends up falling in love with her, only to have has uncle try her as a witch and he has to save her."
Lucy's eyes brightened and her smile grew. "It sounds beautiful." She said.
"It's also very long." Aria warned.
"That's all right." Peter said, settling himself on Lucy's bed, his eyes watching the three of them. "If you don't finish it this morning, then that just saves more of it for the next time."
Aria smiled at him. "If you don't get too bored." She said.
Peter shook his head, smiling softly at her. "I doubt that's possible." He said.
Aria fought to hide the blush that tried to flood her cheeks and swallowed, nodding. "All right then." She said. "Once upon a time, there lived a man named Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. It's called Sevenwaters because of the seven rivers that end in a lake near the village. Lord Colum was blessed with six sons.
"The eldest was called Liam, and he was a natural leader who was sure to follow in his father's footsteps. Next was Diarmid, who had a great passion for adventure and a contagious smile. Then there were the twins Cormack and Conor. Cormack was a fierce warrior, and Conor, who was as different from his twin as night was to day, was an avid scholar, who everyone said would one day be called away to study the ancient ways and become a druid priest.
"Then came Finbar, who was both blessed and cursed with the gift of being able to see the future, and who had grown old before his time with this knowledge that was at once great and terrible. The youngest of the sons was named Padraic, who was very compassionate, and had a great love for animals.
"But Lord Colum also had a daughter, who was the youngest of the seven, and whose name was Sorcha…" And the story went on for two more hours. With Susan combing and braiding Aria's hair, Lucy listening avidly, soon laying her head in the elder girl's lap, and Peter watching from across the room, a smile playing across his face.