*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN C.O.N. ONLY MY OWN CHARACTERS

It's been a long week full of turkey dinners and pie but I am glad to say that i have Chapter 14 up!

I would just like to give a shout out to all those who have reviewed: THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your comments continue to make my day :D

Anywho, on a less cheesy note, on with the chapter!

It's strange that one would have a peaceful sleep after taking part in a battle. Many would believe that horrible pictures would blink through their heads instead of lovely ones. Images of meadows and glistening lakes blinked in front of Serena's eyes as she dreamt. The lateness of the hour and the gentle bounce of the horse in which she sat had soothed her into a slumber. It should be noted that she was the only one to have drifted off, although to say that everyone else was fully awake would be less than factual.

Peter, who was seated behind the sleeping girl, his arms meeting around her waist to refrain her from falling off their horse, realized she was out when she leaned uncomfortably into his chest. He gently shifted her body slightly; her head now angled inward instead of outward, and left her like that.

It was not until Edmund, who now rode properly upon a centaur, addressed the condition of Trumpkin, who had fallen off a roof during the battle and now lay limp in the arms of a minotaur, that Peter had had any intention of waking her up.

"Pete, Caspian told me that she healed him," Edmund pointed out, gesturing to the blonde girl lying on his brother's chest, "And I thought, since he's kind of in a life and death situation right now, that maybe she could heal Trumpkin too."

The minotaur holding the dwarf was walking not two feet away.

"Well I think that's a great idea, but if you can't already see, she is kind of asleep."

"Well then wake her up." Edmund replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was.

Peter blinked and let out a quiet, "oh, of course," and slowly and gently, almost too gently, un-twined his hands and pushed her shoulder.

"Wake up Serena."

The girl's only response to this was a groan and gripping her hand around Peter's shirt.

The boy looked up to his brother, unsure of what to do next.

Edmund rolled his eyes at his sibling's sissyness, reached his arm over to Serena and shook her hard, yelling, "wake up!" so loud that the narnians around them glanced up.

Serena awoke with a jolt, making Peter's arms tighten around her so that she stayed put. "Woah, what is going on?"

"Trumpkin needs you to heal him."

The girl looked up to Peter, moving back a few inches upon realizing how close she was to him, before glancing over to the wounded dwarf. She let out an annoyed guttural noise as she moved her body forward and nodded.

The centaur Edmund was seated upon moved to the side as Trumpkin was brought towards Serena. He had scratches all over his small face and had tears in his clothing, although, it would be suspected that most of his wounds were internal.

She moved her hand over the small man, her eyelids shut tight in concentration. After a minute or so, Trumpkin's eyes flew open in shock and a cough escaped his lips. As he regrouped himself he looked over to Peter and Serena, his eyes widening upon seeing the look on the latter's face. He said nothing, but nodded his head in thanks, and was put on the ground, trudging his little legs forward upon contact.

"Well he's grateful." Peter said sarcastically.

"It's fine," Serena replied, still looking at the dwarf as he pushed past the narnians in his way.

The next few minutes were silent, meaning silent between the two on the horse. Narnians around them, and humans, were all having quiet conversations with each other.

A minute or two more past before Peter spoke, perhaps showing that his mind had not registered that time had gone by,

"So you can heal."

Serena paused a second before responding flatly with, "yes."

"I didn't know faeries had the power of healing." Peter stated, a small laugh on his tongue.

"There's a lot you don't know about faeries."

"Clearly."

It was not the word itself that angered Serena, but the way in which he said it; with a haughty tone referencing more than just their simple conversation. She repressed the intense longing to elbow him, or snap at him with one of the comebacks currently circulating through her head. But he held something delicate that she did not want to break. He knew about Louis, what he could do, or in reality couldn't do, and she feared that any unsatisfactory or careless slip-of-the-tongue would cause him to scream what he had seen to the world. And even reacting to his aggravating comments was not worth that kind of exposure.

So she just sat there upon the horse, gazing at trees slowly illuminated by the light growing ever brighter over the horizon. Dawn was creeping across the sky, and as she looked at it, the gentle bump of the horse's steps swaying her head slightly, she couldn't help but wonder if Louis was looking at it too, dawn always was his favorite time of day.

"Do you think there on their way home, yet?" A young blonde girl asked her brunette friend.

"Hopefully. No, I'm sure they are!" The brown hair girl replied upon seeing the blonde's worried expression, the girl hugging her doll closer to her chest.

"Louis said he'll let us know the moment he sees them." Lily stated, almost more of a reminder to herself.

The two were sitting on the stone table, recounting stories and memories that each figure engraved on the stone walls reminded them of, more of a time passer than anything else.

Louis had arrived a few hours ago, stating simply that he was injured, and decided to return home. Lucy had offered to heal him with her cordial, but he had kindly denied this, stating that Serena had in fact healed him earlier that evening. This, of course, lead an excited Lucy to ask many questions about this feat of hers, ultimately finding out that the sisters were, in fact, part faerie. (Winning an "I thought you guys seemed faerie-like" from Lucy)

Lily had found it almost astonishing that Serena would do something so revealing, but shrugged it off, happy that she could share what she was with her new friend.

For a moment Lucy, in her almost humorous excitement, decided she would cut herself, just so Lily could heal her. Of course, Lily refused aggressively, but the whole spectacle was very amusing to Louis, who just stood above them, chuckling his ponytailed-head off.

After a few hours playing of their game with them, his memories from the different carvings so cryptic and bizarre that they caused the two girls to erupt in giggles, Louis decided to head upstairs, figuring dawn would begin soon. He left abruptly with that, but added upon leaving the room that he would call if he saw any soldiers appearing in the meadow.

"So what about that fawn over there?" Lucy asked Lily, her finger outstretching in a point towards a very large statue in the form of a satyr.

Lily put her index under her chin in thought, and after a moment or two moved it upwards in the air in an 'I got it!' motion.

"It reminds me of Mr. Tumnus!"

Lucy's eyes widened at this, "Really! Why? Did you know him?"

"No," Lily replied, almost sadly, before continuing in a cheery voice, "But I did read about him, a lot actually!"

"Oh," Lucy face dropped slightly at this remark. She had wondered if maybe, somehow, this girl would have had some news about her old friend. She then laughed slightly, and said, "You sure do a lot of reading dontcha then!"

Lily laughed, "Oh yeah, me and my sister alike. We have so many books."

"Where do you get them all?"

"Louis, actually. He'd buy them for us. Actually, most of the books were about you guys, funny enough." She giggled now, more to herself though, before looking back to Lucy.

"Where are all these books now?" The brown haired girl asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"At our house," Lily replied slowly.

"Oh, is that by the ruins of Cair?"

"Well kind of, it's close." There was something odd in her voice that Lucy was quick to pick up on.

"You guys just left right away; you didn't take anything with you!"

"It's okay, we've read them a hundred times, and there's nothing really else there that we cared for." She tugged gently at the necklace around her neck. Their jewelry was really all that mattered to them. The other pieces she had been wearing were currently sitting in a draw along with her sister's, safe in their room.

Lucy's soft eyes shone of care, but she decided to change the topic slightly.

"It must be weird then, to be with us."

Lily giggled with Lucy, "You have no idea." She put her hand on her elbow, and leaned in closer to Lucy. "I think Serena feels weirder than I do. She's read so much about you guys, especially Peter. My goodness it must feel bizarre!" The two then burst into giggles, trying to conceal their mirth by placing hands over their mouths.

As the two managed to regroup themselves, a thought popped into Lucy's head, a simple, childish thought.

"Lily, what will you do after all this? Will you go back home?"

The blonde's face fell a bit, she had never actually thought about this at all. "I don't know, I suppose. I'd rather not though."

Without really meaning it to, Lucy took this as a marvelous idea!

"Well then you two can live with us! You, Serena, and Louis too!" An enormous amount of excitement was growing on the young queens face. Lily tilted her head slightly, a huge wave of warmth running through her being.

"Really? T-that would be wonderful! Great actually, but a-"

She was cut off as Lucy threw her arms around her, it was incredible how much force the small girl's embrace had, Lily feeling as though she would suffocate from it, but at the moment she could not have cared less.

Watching over their possessions did not seem half as pointless now.

The two released one another, excited expressions plastered on their faces. They looked like young girls who had just told they would spend summer vacation together, the enthusiasm for the future almost unbearable.

Lily and Lucy continued to giggle and converse quickly, their hands attached, speaking about how they would live together, a random burst of laughter escaping each one as the other came up with a spectacular idea.

They were so caught up in this array of happiness and giggles, that they did not even notice when Louis entered the room. It took a few moments, but after a couple failed attempts, the man finally gained their attention, chuckling,

"I hate to interrupt your little soiree, but their back."

A loud trumpet was sounded by one of the fawns walking in the group, the loud noise meant to signal their return. Peter, who had long since dismounted his horse, actually, it was really a half mile before reaching the meadow, for he believed, as he told Serena, who was very confused when he handed her the rains and haphazardly jumped off the moving animal, that he wished to be the first to greet the narnians awaiting them. The almost resentful tone he used made it clear that he, whether or not it would ever be admitted, was in fact doing something he did not want to do, but had to do, since he was in fact their leader. Serena could not help but admire him a little for this, though she was still unaware as to what exactly had gone on, bits and pieces of High King Peter were splashing through his proud exterior. However, as they neared the How, it became apparent that, since Peter gave Caspian a glare as he trudged ahead of him, perhaps he was not going to take the blame for himself, but rather hand it over to the young prince.

As the group of solemn soldiers neared the How further, narnians, along with Lucy, Lily, and Louis emerged. These three L named people's smiles, which they had been wearing upon their bright faces, faded and dimmed as they saw the expressions upon everyone else.

Lucy was the first to speak once the dismal group had entered ear shot,

"What happened?"

"Ask him."

"Peter!" Susan cried to her brother, a response that many of those surrounding were most likely thinking in their heads. How could he blame this all of Caspian?

"Me?" The Prince replied, as though Peter had just accused him of a horrible crime. "You could have called it off there was still time."

Serena was listening intently as she dismounted her horse, little snippets of what had happened coming out through their argument.

"No there wasn't thanks to you." Peter said to the prince, facing him sideways, as if he planned on walking away, "If you'd just kept to the plan those soldiers might be alive right now."

"And if you just stayed here like I suggested they definitely would be!"

Serena looked away as Edmund, who had just placed himself back on the ground, walked by her. She did not know why she hadn't thought of it sooner, this boy would of course be able to quench her curiosity. His eyes were glued on what was ahead of him as she latched onto Edmund's shoulder, making the boy to flinch a bit in shock. He looked at her with puzzlement, signaling her to divulge what she wanted to.

"What exactly happened last night?"

He turned to face her fully, his expression still confused. "You don't know?"

"No I-I can't remember." She stated regretfully.

Edmund furrowed his eyebrows once more before replying in a whisper that mirrored the girl's,

"Well, from what Susan told me, Caspian went to Miraz' room, which wasn't in the plan. She said you were there actually; it's when she told me about you healing him, that's really cool actually. I was wondering- " He ceased his rambling upon receiving a glare from the girl. He coughed, his eyes flickering between her and the arguing boys.

"Anyways after that Peter still opened the gate, even though Susan and Caspian's pleaded him not to. And they fought, but the gate ended up being closed and almost half our men were left inside and STOP IT!"

Serena jumped at his random screech, the yell directed at Peter and Caspian, who had begun yelling at each other about not being a good leader and fathers. The two boys paused at the sound of Edmund's cry, looking up to him with stunned faces.

The momentary silence was ended, not with more fighting though, but with a small, familiar voice breathlessly saying her sister's name.

Lily, just now seeing the figure of her sibling, ran to her quickly, wrapping her arms around the taller girl upon reaching her. Her action seemed to spark something, for as soon as the blonde girl had exclaimed, other narnians began yelling out the names of their loved ones, as if hoping to find them, or in fact seeing them amongst the crowd.

As the meadow was filled with noise, whether it be laughter, tears, or the like, Caspian headed inside along with many others, including the dwarf Nikabrik and the centaur Glenstorm.

Peter gave Lucy a hug, though it did not feel as loving as her embraces usually did. When he let her go, he watched as she ran over to Susan and Edmund, the latter currently reuniting with Lily. He stared at them all until he heard a slight rustling to his right. He turned to see Louis, the man standing nonchalantly beside him kicking the grass rhythmically with his foot. His gray eyes were surveying the group as a small smile played upon his thin face. Peter made a motion to look away, but just before he could Louis chuckled, angling his face towards the young king.

"They say every 'Hello' ends with a 'Goodbye.' Well, as true as this statement is, it does not make the next 'Hello' any less incredible." He then moved his bony hand to his head and positioned it as if he were wearing a hat, and tipped it forward, giving Peter a polite, "Your Majesty," before starting towards the crowd.

Peter watched with a blank expression as the tall man walked towards Serena, Lily, and Edmund. The man gave the older girl a small hug, which Peter noticed was being held a little too long for what he would have expected. If he didn't know better, he would have thought he saw Louis place his head towards Serena's ear, as if the reason for their prolonged embrace was so he could whisper something to the girl. This site made anger rise in Peter once more as images from earlier that night flooded into his head. He turned swiftly in a one-hundred and eighty degree angle and walked into the How, not wanting to look at anyone anymore. He remembered what she had told him a few hours prior, she said she would tell him everything, and he intended to keep her to her word.

Serena looked blankly in front of her, staring unseeingly at the doorway to the How. She did, however, notice Peter walking angrily inside, but she acknowledged it as nothing.

Louis had recently extracted his arms from around her body, placing them now momentarily around Edmund, Susan, and other returning soldiers. Though he was gone, the words he had spoken to her during their embrace still rang around in her head,

"I shall need to speak with you in a few minutes. We must sort all this out."

She felt her head moving upward and her eyes latching upon the ledge sticking out of the How. Not wanting to stay within this group any longer, her legs began walking her towards it. She decided that having a view to look at would be a relaxing way to think a bit before her father figure came to speak with her.

A tall man made his way up a staircase, the same one he walked up every morning. His thin legs ascended each rocky step with ease though thoughts flooded his ageless mind. He wondered where he had gone wrong. His plan for that night seemed so foolproof in his head, which was, most likely, the exact reason for its failure. His slender feet reached the top step as countless regrets and wrongs, many of which had seemingly outlived their time in his brain, pounded through him like sludge through a pipe. He could only hope to make sure his girls, the only two beings alive he still loved, were able to overcome his mistakes. With a breath, and a smile forcibly growing on his face, he walked onto the ledge.

Serena flinched slightly, though not harshly for she knew she would not be alone for long, as she heard footsteps behind her. Feeling no need to turn around and identify who stood behind, she stated,

"Hello Louis."

"Hello my dear." He took a few long strides and seated himself down gracefully, legs flung over the side, unlike hers, which remained neatly crossed.

A rather uncomfortable silence followed. Louis, being the way to was, was not unaccustomed to such prolonged quiet, and in fact relished every opportunity in which he could break it. Serena was not used to his inability to speak and break said quiet, so the two sat awkwardly, both waiting for Louis to think of something. However, much to his surprise, it was Serena who broke it.

"That potion blocked my memory; I can't remember anything of the battle."

Louis placed his hand under his chin, looking rather knowledgeable.

"I suppose your mind was clouded, so that your body could take over." He paused for a moment and glanced at Serena, her eyes egging him to continue.

"This morning, as I sat here watching the dawn, I read the description of the potion more thoroughly. Let me read it to you." He stuck his hand into his vest and pulled out a familiar old book. He carefully flipped to a page with a small piece of paper stuck into it, one of three Serena noted. As the book was opened up fully, his finger having found the place in the text it was looking for, Louis cleared his throat, and read,

"The consummation of this potion is, but not limited to, those who wish to enhance their combat abilities in every way possible, be it with the mind or the body. The liquid will provide those with the euphoria every warrior should experience whilst engaging in warfare." He then closed the book hastily and stuffed it back into his vest, a little too quickly, Serena thought.

"So, what does that mean exactly?"

He chuckled softly, "It means that I should have read the fine print. When it said mind I figured it simply meant that it enhances your alertness. Of course, we know now that it does just the opposite. And I did not take the euphoria it spoke of quite as seriously as I ought to have. I must once again apologize for my carelessness"

Serena diverted her gaze as his voice softened, looking back towards the picturesque view. "That all makes sense; although it doesn't do us much good now does it?" Her vocal tone was graced with a hateful, sarcastic twang.

Louis let out a breathy sigh, "You mean that boy that seems to be the basis of all our problems, don't you?" He chuckled a bit, the corners of his mouth rising teasingly at her. "Well, I suppose we'll have to deal with him the way you previously suggested. Tell him everything."

Serena opened her eyes wide, but then brought them back to their normal size. "I wasn't actually planning on doing that-"

"Oh, but you must! I think he is expecting it."

Serena gave him a quizzical glance, the amount of joy he found at this confused her greatly.

"You really want me to tell him everything? Everything?"

Louis' smile faded into a line. He leaned closer to the girl and extended his finger, his voice mirroring that of someone giving very specific instruction,

"Only what he asks."

"But-"

She would have continued her statement if it hadn't been for one blonde haired king walking through the open doorway. He had his hand placed upon his forehead, fingers digging into the area above his eyebrows. His eyes were fastened to the floor as he took a few steps, pausing however, and slowly moving his eyes upward; giving a little jolt upon realizing that he was very much, not alone.

"Oh, hello there."

A small star shot through Louis' eye as he glanced at Serena, the smile toying at his lips all making her feel horribly uncomfortable with what he was planning.

There was a small silence in which they all stared at each other, the encounter awkward for all but one of them. Louis, who had once again obtained his ability to break these times of inarticulateness, flung his legs on top of the rock and stood up.

"Well, I think I should be going now. Don't ask me why, for I will have no answer." He chuckled under his breath and glanced at Serena, who responded with some nonverbal argumentative expressions. Louis simply winked at her with a sparkling eye before waltzing back into the How, pausing for a moment to tip his head to Peter.

The boys' addled expression at the man's departure molded back into a hard one. His blue eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a straight line. He took in a silent deep breath and walked towards Serena, who had uneasily moved herself to once again face the meadow.

"Does he really think himself to be funny?" Peter asked upon sitting down beside her. The harsh tone of his voice brought Serena to face him.

"He just tries to be lively. Maybe you should try it sometime." She mumbled the last part to herself, but whether or not he overheard, her comment was ignored.

"Lively? I wouldn't call him that per say... I believe insane with a bizarre sense of humor is a more fitting description."

He laughed a bit; glancing to his right to see if she was doing the same, she wasn't…He calmed his face down, the air of seriousness once again being established. There was a slight pause before Peter spoke, his addition to the conversation definitely one that could be considered an ice-breaker,

"You fought amazingly last night. More amazingly then you ever fought with me…"

"Are you suggesting something?" Serena replied, sounding a bit more offended than she meant to.

"No, of course not," he looked out at the sky, his hand placed firmly under his chin, "but it is a bit worrisome that you did not notice when I was calling a retreat. You could have very well died you know." The emphasis he put on the word died made a sense of shame pulse through Serena's veins.

"I know," she began quietly, awkwardly even, "thank you by the way, for saving me." She gave him a weak smile when he turned sharply to her, his mouth hanging open a bit.

"No problem." There was a small crack in the seriousness of his face, a slight speckle of embarrassment coming through as he looked at her during small silence following. In that pause, in which his eyes seemed to be locked on hers, he noticed the swimming again. The mystery in her irises had almost disappeared, her faerie origin taking away most of their mysterious essence. She blinked then, taking Peter out of his momentary thoughts. He coughed slightly, bringing his hand to his neck, as if straightening his invisible tie.

"The way you were fighting also reminds me about how Louis killed that soldier, he didn't seem to me as a very blood thirsty man." He jutted his head towards the door as he said Louis' name.

Serena gave an awkward giggle, "Yeah, that was kind of weird."

"Kind of," Peter began, picking idly at his nails, "I think being stabbed then automatically killing the soldier that stabbed you, with his own blade might I add, is a little more than weird. Of course, not dying in the first place is a little bit bizarre isn't it?" He put an extra amount of force on the word bizarre, flicking a piece of dust out from his short fingernail as he did so.

Serena bent up her legs and placed her hands on her knees. The bile in his words was easily detected.

"Look I know It's strange, but he has his reasons-"

"Strange? Ha ha, I would say more like unnatural!"

The girl gave him a glare before tapping her hands on her knees, "Fine, I know it's unnatural, but he has his reasons-"

"Reasons, oh what reasons could those be? He wanted to live forever? Wanted to cheat death in battle? 'Cause he clearly did that!" The resentment in his words was no longer covered, coming out through his teeth with each dictated syllable.

Serena repressed the urge to scream at him, "His reasons aren't like that-"

"Then what are they!"

"I don't know!" She yelled, her face clenched with frustration. Peter leaned back a bit at her outburst as she lowered her hands, which had been shot into the air.

"I don't know, ok? I don't know." She began, calmly now. "I don't know. But all I do know is that you have to keep what you saw secret, ok? You can't tell anyone, not even your family." He voice was crackly, like she was trying to hold back tears.

Peter softened his face, though not enough that he would appear to have given in.

"And why should I? Hmm? Why shouldn't I punish Louis for doing something unnatural, and illegal?"

Serena turned towards him fully now, her legs placed under her bottom.

She leaned closer, her eyes appearing damp and anger filled, though pleading at the same time. She spoke in a harsh tone,

"Because what good will it do? He can't die, remember? He's already tortured by that. Why make him sit in a cell for eternity? How will it help the world! He's not hurting anyone, I fact he's helping us! Lily and I would have nothing without him."

Peter searched her face, "But you hate him, don't you? He already leaves, why would you care?"

Serena sat back and ran a hand through her hair, which she noticed had become rather messy. As she patted down her curly locks she gave him a flat, solemn answer,

"For the same reason he needs to come back, for the same reason he doesn't leave and never return. Because if he was gone forever, Lily will be too."

Peter's eyes widened, "Wait, what do you mean Lil-"

"There you are! Thank Aslan I found you!"

Serena and Peter looked up to see Edmund standing breathlessly by the doorway, a look of urgency plastered on his freckled face.

The dark haired boy made plaintive gestures for them to stand up and follow him. As the two did what he asked, Peter inquired as to why he looked so pressed. Edmund stated that he would explain on the way, but that they had to go now.

Peter and Serena nodded in agreement, but caught a quick glimpse at each other before following the younger boy. The girl's face was painted with look plead, begging Peter one last time not to tell anyone. Although his expression may not have read exactly as so, Peter agreed, at least for now.

As he followed his brother down the narrow staircase, her words kept circulating in his mind.

If he was gone forever, Lily will be too.

Peter could not begin to comprehend what that could mean, but figured that as of right now, given the loss he had just inadvertently caused, he was in no position to endanger someone's life. No matter how enigmatic the reason might be.

A/N

So there you have it, 14! I hope everyone liked it! I aim to get chapters out at least once a week, but don't fret if it's a little more (or less even, fancy that!)

Anyways, if you liked it, or didn't like it for that matter, or have any comments or questions feel free to tell/ask me in your review! Anonymous reviews are welcomed as well ;)

Peace and Love