Sorry for the wait, dear readers! I got a little hung up on an original story idea and a midterm I took today. To be honest, a little break should do some good, I've spoiled you guys rotten with quick updates haha.
Chapter 11!
As it turns out, Finnick isn't such bad company. In fact, I found myself completely forgetting about Peter and enjoying the trip with Finnick. Of course it's not just us and we walk along with Oreius. The stories the two of them tell me! It's a riot really, the way they each try to one-up the other's story: ranging from unusual sights to conquests in battles. And the way Finnick excitedly leans forward to point out familiar sights from his childhood, his voice enthusiastically chatting away in my ear, it's adorable.
"And my uncle sprang from the ground, roaring like a minotaur! Dell didn't speak to him for weeks!" Oreius' unstoppable laugher earns amused smiles from me and Finnick as we comfortably sit pressed against each other.
Up ahead, though, we all see the procession stop, some people falling out of ranks.
"What's happening?" I sit up straight, trying to peer into the setting sun to find the source of trouble.
"Sun's going down. We must be stopping for the night," Oreius suggests.
"Aslan probably thinks it's safer if we travel during the day," Finnick jumps down from the horse, bringing me down.
"From what?" I frown, wrapping my fingers around his arm to steady myself still feeling lightheaded.
"The witch's supporters," Oreius answers, walking with us to the front.
"Yeah, they're bound to be running about these woods," Finnick warily glances around.
Catching sight of Peter, I leave the safety of Finnick's arm and rush over to him before Finnick can haul me back.
"Peter," I smile, seeing his face light up as he spots me.
"Evi," he beams, catching my arms, "Where have you been all day? I've hardly had a chance to spend time with you."
"Finnick and I had to check the back line, he says the witch's remaining supporters might wage an attack," I explain as he leads me to his siblings where they already had a fire burning.
"As long as we have Aslan, they won't try anything," he shakes his head, looking at the great Lion speaking with his subjects.
Knowing what he said is true, I nod, laughing as Lucy pulls me over to the fire where a delicious looking spread has been laid out for us. The tales of Finnick and Oreius made me forget just how hungry I am, and I'm grateful for the hot meal before me.
The sun finally dips below the horizon and bathes the land in darkness except for the white moon and the glowing fires lining the temporary camp. The five of us get caught up in wild laughter and more stories from home, and I find myself feeling a little guilty at the way I easily ditched Finnick earlier. Still...I love the Pevensie's company and I love the way Peter catches my eye every so often with a slight smile on his lips.
"It's kind of hard to explain!" I laugh when Peter asked what Internet is.
"Well what else is there in the future?"
"Yeah, what's your favorite thing?" Edmund and Susan ask.
"My iPod," I answer, laughing at their confused looks, "Basically you can take any songs you want and transfer them into this tiny little box that plays them back. Kind of like a radio."
They still look confused but I shrug it off with a smile, seeing Edmund shiver next to me. I open up the blanket around my shoulders and draw him in close to me. With a grateful smile, he looks up at me and settles into the blanket. It's getting somewhat late and we all idly sit by, starting to feel sleep's dastardly effects, with nothing but the crackle of the fire to be heard.
"What about the war?" Peter slowly asks, causing the others to expectantly pay attention and shake of the weariness for just a few more minutes.
I let out a sigh, meeting his hopeful gaze.
"Which one?" I respond, thinking to all the conflicts the world has seen since WWII.
Our world is a cruel place and I knew that before I came to Narnia, but after being here for a while I've come to realize just how cruel it really is. Peter glances between me and his siblings and they all suddenly become very dejected and fall silent once more this time more permanently as Lucy quickly falls asleep in Susan's lap.
"I'm going to take her to bed," Susan quietly says, gently lifting Lucy up and over to their sleep sacs.
The rest of us nod, bidding them a soft goodnight. Edmund is still wrapped in my blanket but sleep weighs heavily on his eyes and his head falls on my arm. Looking over at Peter, I see him smile at his brother and he mouths, "I think he fancies you."
"I do not," Edmund sleepily protests.
Peter and I quietly chuckle, noticing that things were pretty much settled down across camp. I hear him let out a sigh and I watch as he stands and starts out for a walk. I stay with Edmund, knowing that he too will probably go to bed soon and I could join Peter then.
"I realized I never thanked you," Edmund sighs.
"For what?" I chuckle.
"For saving me...twice now."
"You don't need to thank me for that," I smile down at him.
"Of course I do! You did it all without any expectation of something in return. The very least I can do is thank you."
I shake my head at the dark haired boy, kissing the top of his head.
"Edmund, I know if you were given the opportunity, you would do the very same for me," I rub his arm.
"And I will. From this day on, I promise to look out for you in every way possible," he determines with enthusiasm that only makes me giggle.
"I thought that was my duty," I ruffle his hair, "Besides, I think you're just a bit overtired. Why don't you go get some sleep?"
He nods with a wide yawn, shedding the blanket and joining his sisters. I smile as he leaves, wrapping the blanket around my shoulders to go find Peter. It's not too difficult; he is only just outside camp on the bank of the river Beruna that we've been counting on as our guide to Cair Paravel. White light from the full moon casts a royal glow on him and I can only stand still and observe him for a moment. To me, it's clear the battle has changed him, he truly looks like a king now.
"What are you doing out here?" I ask, walking over to him.
"I just wanted some time alone," he answers still looking out at the rushing water.
"Do you want me to go?"
"Not at all," he finally smiles at me, putting his arm around my waist.
"What do you think happens now?" I ask, letting my head fall onto his shoulder.
"You don't mean to say you want to go home, do you?" he frowns.
Bending down, I pick up a flat stone, curling my finger around its soft edges to skip it in the clear water. At this point, I really don't know what I want, and I'm silent as Peter quietly watches me skip a couple stones.
"Home feels kind of like a dream now, doesn't it?" I eventually say, turning a small, gray stone between my fingers.
"Yeah," he nods, totally understanding, "Like this is home and England is some distant memory."
The stone in my hand skips three times before sinking to the bottom of the river.
"I feel like if I go home, I'm not going to belong. Like I won't remember anyone and they won't remember me," I shrug, walking back up the bank next to Peter.
"Then don't go," he tucks my hair behind me ear, "I'm not."
"When did I say that I was leaving?" I smile, linking my arm with his as we walk back to camp.
As we reach the fire, or what is now just a smoldering pile of glowing embers, I take my arm out of Peter's whispering him goodnight.
"You're not staying?" he whispers back, and I don't need any light to see his frown.
"I think I should go back by Finnick," I shrug my shoulders.
"Why not stay with me?"
"Finnick has a horse and I think if I piss him off he'll make me walk."
I hear Peter's chuckle in the dark, and I know he's comfortable letting me go back. Staying with Peter would've been nice but I've had such a nice day with Finnick and I don't want to have it end badly the next morning when I told him I spent the night with Peter.
"Goodnight, Evi," he whispers and I nod, turning away.
It's easier for me to walk by myself in the dark without the bright sun causing my head to throb and I'm able to maneuver my way around all the sleeping bodies back to Finnick and Oreius who already appear to be sleeping.
Quietly, I tip-toe over to Finnick's horse and pull out a sleep sack and lay it next to him.
"You're not as quiet as you might think," I hear him whisper and see that he still has his eyes closed.
"Yeah, well, a concussion kind of puts all your senses in a fog. I can't tell how loud I am," I frown at him while sliding into my sleep sac.
His brown eyes open and look at me, a smile on his face.
"What?" I hiss, annoyed by his constant stare.
"You just surprise me, is all. I didn't expect to see you until morning," he props himself up.
"Oh," I simply say, earning a chuckle from him as I draw the thin blanket over my shoulders.
The ground was hard and full of bumps, adding to the discomfort on the right side of my body and I find myself rolling all about just trying to find some kind of comfortable position; it's also satisfying to know that I'm keeping Finnick awake as well.
"Will you lie still already?" he hisses.
"No! The ground is hard, my side hurts, and these blankets aren't exactly warm," I complain, furiously turning over to face him.
With a wide roll of his eyes, his arm shoots out and wraps around my body, bringing me up against him as close as I could be. He rolls on his back, tucking his other arm around me and lets my head fall on his chest. I have kind of grown used to Finnick's affectionate exchanges throughout the day but it's difficult to ignore the feeling of his warm, strong body against mine. I hadn't noticed before when he was in all his gear, but now that he's just in an undershirt, I can feel how toned and well-built he really is, his muscles rippling beneath the thin fabric. Spreading like wild-fire, the warmth from his body sends chills shooting down my spine all the way to my toes.
"Better?" he asks with a sigh.
"That depends. Are you going to try and kiss me again?" I fire back, receiving a quiet laugh from him.
"It crossed my mind," he replies with a smirk.
Instead of frowning at him, I giggle, relaxing into his chest, "Goodnight, Fin."
It's pretty obvious to me now, I am attracted to Finnick but in an entirely different way than Peter. Finnick is my protector, my knight in shining armor, so to speak. When I'm around Peter I feel like I'm his protector, he comes to me for advice and safety which isn't a bad thing necessarily but a king should be able to protect and form his own opinions.
Peter and I get along incredibly well and he is so sweet to me, not to mention he, too, is incredibly attractive. There's just something too sweet about him, though, like he's holding back to a point where I feel like we can't quite breakthrough the "good friends" barrier. Sure, we've kissed but that was hardly anything but a couple-second peck on the lips. Whereas if I let myself, Finnick and I would crash through that barrier like a battering ram.
A few hours of sleep is all I'm allowed before we're up and once again marching our way to Cair Paravel. According to Finnick and Oreius, we haven't much farther to go and
"You very well could walk on your own, you know," Finnick taunts as he decided a couple hours ago to walk alongside the horse, while I contentedly sit in the saddle. According to Oreius we would be arriving at Cair Paravel very soon.
"And you could climb up here with me. You chose not to," I retort.
"Is that an invitation, love?" he smugly smirks at me.
I simply look ahead with a slight smile on my face as Finnick shrugs his shoulders.
"You're going to regret not being on this horse when I go sprinting off when we reach Cair Paravel," I tell him with a playful smirk.
"You'll do no such thing," he points a finger at me.
"And just how do you plan on stopping me?" I laugh.
His silence makes me laugh again and he squeezes my leg getting a shriek out of me.
"I'll come up with something," he amusedly looks up at me.
"You better think quickly because I think I see it up ahead," I excitedly tell him, feeling him swing up behind me moments later.
"You're kind of a downer," I refuse to give him the reigns.
"Am not," he pouts behind me.
Our little squabble is interrupted by a horn up ahead and I know for sure we've reached the castle.
I tighten my hold around the reins with my good hand, "Hang on," I glance over my shoulder before breaking out into a run, Finnick's hands clamping down on my waist.
We zoom past all the blurred forms up to the front once more, slowing as we reach an elegant stone gateway leading up to the largest castle I've ever seen, constructed in gorgeous white stone with blue, domed, roofs. Its immense size is more like a small village than an actual castle as is intricately built in and around the bluff it's founded on. The bluffs themselves would've been a sight in its own, towering above a white, sandy beach below.
On one side of the castle, the Great River cascades down the rocks in a waterfall and dumps into the great ocean. The pool of the waterfall his surrounded by the castle walls and a number of trees but remains completely intact and untouched otherwise. A number of small huts also line the forest outside the castle and down on the beach, making Cair Paravel seem that much grander. Nobody, including Finnick, can contain their excitement and we all laugh and cheer, the procession slowly filing across the bridge and into the massive Entrance Hall.