Thanks princess emma of narnia, Ella Unlimited, LucyOfNarnia, and XxNarniaxXxSkanderxX for your reviews!
My dear wonderful readers, for those of you who are religious, I ask you to add my beloved grandmother, who died last night, to your prayers. She was an amazing woman with a kind heart, a sense of justice that would shame a sheriff, and one heck of a stubborn streak. This chapter is dedicated to her.
Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind" is for scene 4 and Beyonce's "Broken-Hearted Girl" is with scene 6...
Duels
"How can you know?" Peter quietly asked his youngest sister, who had just returned to the room after the oddity of the Witch. The High King still sat staring at the Lion carving in the back of the room, trying to glean some sort of wisdom from the dead rock.
"What do you mean?"
"To have seen Him… I wish He would just give me some sort of proof."
"Maybe we are the ones who need to prove ourselves to Him."
A moment later, someone came storming in to announce Miraz's approach.
"Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election, by prescription, and by conquest, High King over all Kings in Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Island and Lord of Cair Paravel, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion, to Miraz, Son of Caspian the Eighth, sometime Lord Protector of Narnia and now styling himself King of Narnia, Greeting.
"For to prevent the effusion of blood, and for the avoiding of all other inconveniences likely to grow from the wars now levied in our realm of Narnia, it is our pleasure to adventure our royal person on behalf of our trusty and well-beloved Caspian in clean wager of battle to prove upon your Lordship's body that the said Caspian is lawful King under us in Narnia both by our gift and by the laws of the Telmarines, and your Lordship twice guilty of treachery both in withholding the dominion of Narnia from the said Caspian and in the most abhominable, bloody, and unnatural murder of your kindly lord and brother King Caspian Ninth of that name.
"Wherefore we most heartily provoke, challenge, and defy your Lordship to the said combat and monomachy, and have sent these letters by the hand of our well-beloved and royal brother Edmund, sometime King under us in Narnia, Duke of Lantern Waste and Count of the Western March, Knight of the Noble Order of the Table, to whom we have given full power of determining with your Lordship all the conditions of the said battle. Given at our lodging in Aslan's How this XII day of the month Greenroof in the first year of Casian Tenth of Narnia."
Edmund looked up confidently from the parchment, noting with amusement the lords' alternating anger, fright, and confusion as they sat at their giant table, high and mighty, trying to decide how to respond to such a proposal. It wasn't every day that the High King from the past sent an invitation like this. As a matter of fact, Ed himself looked very much the threatening warrior himself after being in the reviving atmosphere of Narnia for so long.
They squabbled among themselves for several minutes, shamelessly suggesting to their 'king' that he refuse the duel, regardless of the obvious disgrace, being all declared 'cowards' for the very idea.
At long last, Miraz submitted to dueling with Peter later that day and the Just King left to deliver the news with wary satisfaction.
Margaret hadn't said a word since her cousin had dragged her off of the hill that morning, but she scowled at Kathryn's straight back as if it all was her fault, regardless. It annoyed her to no end how mature and wise the other Warder seemed to be, while she had so recently been shirked on the very humiliating grounds of her own silliness and stupidity. Finally sick of the never-ending silence, which Kate seemed perfectly content to leave as it was, Daisy groaned,
"According to you, you haven't seen Aslan in years…so, how are you supposed to know where we'll find him? Or was the 'let's go find Aslan' thing just a front to go have some quality time with your long-lost cousin?" The taller female in the elegant green gown (which was terribly unfit for a forest walk, though it seemed natural for her…Daisy herself had changed into a more close-fitting, woolen brown dress) only glanced back with an indecipherable look. "Come on, now! I don't like never-ending silence. The most quiet I ever get is the clanking of metal when I'm tinkering." Still no reply. "Hey! You may not be dead, but your amount speech tells me otherwise. What, are we lost?"
"No."
Daisy stopped short.
"She speaks! That's a shock." Suddenly, the girl looked down at the multiple tracks on the ground and folded her arms. "You're right; we're not lost. You are just leading me in circles. You weren't taking us to Aslan. You just wanted me away from everyone else. How noble and self-sacrificing of you, oh great and powerful Katarina: the lonely Warder." The woman with the black mane shocked her by suddenly storming to a nearby ravine and seemingly walking on air to reach the other side. "Wait a second! How did you…?" The taller one glowered as she turned back, still standing on nothing.
"What?"
"You…walking on air…"
The glare stayed.
"It's magic. Or have you forgotten where you are?"
"No, no, no… It must be some sort of force field…but what could possibly be generating energy like that for…?"
"Silence!" Kathryn hissed abruptly. "There is no fancy science involved here. It's magic, not one of your home trinkets. Some of us still have faith in the wonders of Narnia and Aslan."
"A thousand years and you're still living on blind faith. Don't tell me you haven't ever asked questions about how things really work on the technical level, Kate! We live in a world of inquiry and discovery."
"Not here. We still believe in powers greater than us and I took you out here to show you my world, not yours."
Margaret gestured helplessly.
"You poor thing. Having a pity party now, are we? All I see is trees, death, and a certain haunting quality that sends chills down my spine. It's nothing like what I used to know. If that's what you wanted me to see, you didn't have to make me get my boots muddy to do it. I wanted to come back, but this madness isn't what I ever wanted. I want to remember the Golden Age and all of the love and lightheartedness that came with it, not this."
"Then forget it! Forget me! Forget all of this! You are so selfish…you would never be able to do what I've done, seen what I've seen, and been through…" Watery eyes ruined her stoic face. "Some people think that I am crazy, Margaret. Sometimes…I thought I was crazy, too. When you are on your own like that for so long, outliving everyone you care about, you tend to see their faces when you look in a mirror or turn a corner. You left and went back to your cozy little world and you can't even stand this place for a few days! You are so selfish that you would never be able to do this!" Margie's anger was boiling, but the other woman went on. "I'm slipping, Daisy. The girl I was is rearing her head and struggling against the senseless woman I became over the years. You think that a few hours of silence is terrible…try a thousand years of loneliness."
Daisy growled at the mixed emotions whirling around in her head, eventually settling on going in the opposite direction of her peculiar cousin, who continued her rampage through the forest.
Peter stared with dread at the man he was about to face as they approached the stone square. Nearing the platform, he finally looked to his brother, asking,
"Why did Kathryn and Margaret have to leave now, of all times?"
The younger boy rolled his eyes.
"They left to find Aslan, like you said…which brings to mind: why did Susan and Lucy have to run off after Him too? Lucy is still out there."
"Kate was taking too long," he growled, making sure that his armor was secure.
"There is still time to surrender," Miraz addressed him.
"Well, feel free."
"How many more have to die for the throne?"
"Just one."
As the duel began, Peter was somewhat surprised by the tyrant's agility, despite the heavy armor he wore, though his thoughts were also very much occupied by Kathryn and her reasoning for their dialogue the previous night.
"You think you can kiss me one time and you can do whatever you want with my heart…cut it, fold it, twist it until I can feel nothing but the pain…well, you deserve congratulations then. You succeeded in that! But I am the one who faced a thousand years of struggle and tears to protect this country only to have it fall to pieces before my eyes. I am the one with the guilt of a land on my shoulders. Over the centuries, I heard tales of the bravery and perfection of the Golden Age under its Kings and Queens, while the stories about me increasingly spoke of shadows and failure…but it was my own condemnation upon myself which holds my soul in a deadly grip.
"You promised that you would never leave this all to me and you broke that promise, Peter. You broke your promise and my heart. How dare you expect me to come to you smiling as if nothing ever happened to deter me and no time passed for my feelings to fester. I don't know whether to slice your head clean off and be done with it or to kiss you and never let you go. I'm torn, Peter, and I feel helpless to do anything about it!"
During the fierce dialogue of the broken-hearted girl, Peter's countenance changed from angry to mortified to sadly defeated. Following a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the High King stood, tenderly looking straight into her eyes.
"I have spent the past year and a half angry at myself for leaving. When it came down to it, though, I just…I had hoped that nothing had changed, only to find that everything has. Sorry won't make up for a thousand years of loneliness, will it?"
Tears welled up, despite a set jaw, and she shook her, slowly reaching to touch his cheek. Peter took her cold hand in his warm one and kissed her forehead gently, their locked eyes telling more to each other about their trials and feelings than words could have ever described.
Bending her head to lean against his shoulder, Kathryn whispered,
"I am tired…tired of hiding and leading and defending what cannot be protected."
"Can't you come back with me?"
"Back to…England? What is there for me there, now? This is my home, no matter what ideas fly by in flashes of wish and want. I'm sorry that I resented you."
"I'm sorry I left."
Frankly, regardless of the woman's renewed affection and forgiveness, Peter still felt terrible for disappearing all those years ago. The idea of time passing so much faster in Narnia than on Earth hadn't even touched his thoughts. While he had been happily assuming that only a year and a half had mutually passed during their parting, she had spent more than a thousand years struggling to live and protect Narnia, with time feeding her hate and sorrow. No wonder she had felt so abandoned!
Landing on his back, the young man cried out in pain as the combination of Miraz's foot and his own shielded arm dislocated his shoulder. His life, all of the joy and guilt, seemed to crash in on him as the self-proclaimed king's eyes shown with self-assurance. Despite the agony, he managed to get up and fight on for another moment before finally calling for a time out.
Again he looked to his brother as the Just King examined his injury.
"What do you suppose happens back home if you die here? I mean…when Kathryn stayed, everyone who had never been to Narnia before just forgot her."
While the High King was distracted, Ed took the opportunity and suddenly popped his shoulder back into place with a resounding crunch, gave a disturbingly cryptic answer, and pushed Peter back up, soon recommencing the fight.
Despite everything, he vividly remembered cornering a dear friend to find out what sort of ring to fashion for the woman he loved, having planned on proposing to her long before either displayed too much affection other than of friendship; however, something about Ed and Daisy's engagement had made something fall into place in his life, making him realize how incomplete he always felt without Kate by his side.
Finally, Peter gained the upper hand and sent Miraz to his knees, holding his sword pointed at the cruel man's neck. It was by this person's orders that Kathryn had been locked up and tortured only a few days prior, and only hours after awakening, but he stayed his hand.
"What's the matter, boy? Too cowardly to take a life?" the 'king' spat.
"It's not mine to take," the boy replied calmly, walking to the side, handing the weapon to Caspian, and going to retrieve his recently discarded sword before standing beside his sibling to watch the outcome of the prince's revenge.
What if the reason for Kathryn's delay was the consequence of somethings terrible happening to her out in the forest? He hadn't even had the chance to tell her how much he truly loved her or how she had filled his thoughts every single day during their parting. Despite her anger and assumptions that he didn't care, he never stopped cherishing the memory of the lilac scent of her silken hair, the gentle cooing sound of her voice, and the softness of her skin as he held her in his arms so long ago.
It was those memories that always kept him level-headed. His only comfort was the knowledge that he was the only one able to reach that tender soul of hers beneath the warrior, though that shell had hardened more than ever; that marvelous singularity had nearly been threatened by Caspian's charity, but he knew that there was nothing really to worry about.
The future monarch lifted the knife high, ready to plunge it into the traitor's heart when said traitor spoke.
"Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you do have the makings of a Telmarine King after all."
The statement had the opposite affect that Miraz had apparently anticipated. With a ferocious yell, Caspian stabbed the sword into the ground, hissing,
"Not one like you. Keep your life, but I am giving the Narnians back their kingdom."
Peter gazed at the prince, suddenly having significant approval of this royal foreigner as the Narnians cheered for their just prince and their kingly victor, but the admiration didn't last long.
Somehow, the Telmarines cheated. Before they knew it, Miraz was face down on the ground with one of Susan's arrows sticking out his back and the Telmarine leaders were shouting 'treachery'!
"Aslan!" Lucy cried, racing to the huge Lion.
A woodpecker tapped away incessantly, the grating noise vibrating against the eardrums of any creature within hearing range. In reality, however, there wasn't a woodpecker anywhere near the area.
With a tense jaw, the raven-haired Warder stared angrily at her metallic armguard, tapping furiously at the hard surface with one of her newly self-repairing fingernails. Something in the back of her mind kept taunting her with terrifying elusiveness, like an itch directly in the middle of her back. With twitchy paranoia, she jerked her head towards the sound of a mouse scurrying through the underbrush. Memories flickered through mind in random clusters.
"Get out! Run, Kate!" the lighter brunette called, getting out of the car and grabbing her cousin as she headed for shelter.
"Stop!"
SSSSS
"You're not alone," Susan cooed. "We're all here. And you'll get to see your parents when you get back home."
Kate shook head quickly.
"They're gone. My parents are…dead."
Susan turned on a seemingly numb Daisy with fire in her eyes.
"But you said…"
"I lied," the subject of accusation stated coldly. "Her dad and my parents were…killed in a bomb strike last week. We're here because we probably won't have much of a home to go back to."
"Yes, we will!" Kate suddenly hissed, raising her tear-stained face defiantly. "Aunt Polly will take care of us."
"Since when did Grandma take care of us? All she's done is ship us to the middle of nowhere to get over everything and move on."
"What about Kate's mum?" Ed interjected unexpectedly.
"Three years ago, she was killed in the crossfire of a downtown shooting. It seems the wide open country isn't enough to get her mind off of things."
SSSSS
"None of this would have happened if Peter had never left."
The centaur barely hesitated in pressing a question.
"Do you hate him?"
Steam should have been coming from her ears. Lightening bolts should have been leaping from her eyes.
"My duty may be to Narnia, my loyalties to Aslan, and my love to these people…but my hate has grown through the centuries. A broken heart cannot be mended when the cost of the needle and thread is the safety of a world. The pieces of my heart remain in Narnia, however I may have once wished for more. I only regret that he never…"
SSSSS
Thank you for waiting with me, Madame," the girl said, cocking her head timidly.
"My pleasure, Kathryn. Just remember to stay on your toes."
They giggled together, completely contrasting the stern matron and frightened student from earlier. In reality, the Madame spoiled the misfit with particularly tough training and homemade cookies.
SSSSS
"Sorry," the boy muttered, removing himself from the darkness to sit cross-legged on the other side of the creek. "I…couldn't sleep."
"So, you are human." He nearly gaped. His expression must have been quite priceless as she allowed herself a quiet giggle. "Honestly, I was quite worried; boy of prophecy, Knight of Narnia, and soon to be King... It definitely holds potential for getting a big head."
"I'm not the only one in prophecy."
"But I am not fated to be a monarch," she smartly shot back.
"Aslan showed great concern for you and your cousin. You obviously have something big in store for you."
SSSSS
"I would never leave you to study dusty maps and tomes on your own. I give you my word."
"I will hold you to that," she whispered, not in the least flustered and leaning her head against his chest.
SSSSS
"I wish I could get you, birdie, but I can't climb up there and the tree won't just bend down for me to help you."
SSSSS
"Where were you, Peter? I put all my trust in you and you threw it away like it was nothing just when I you needed most!"
SSSSS
"I do love you, Peter, but we have a lot of ground to cover before our slate is clean."
SSSSS
"…And when Adam's bone answers the call,
Forever may Narnia all
Its enemies in vain enthrall."
SSSSS
"After all these years, my dear Mr. Tumnus, I would have expected you to retire or die off by now like everyone else," she said with a hushed tone.
The faun scoffed, tapping his cane hard against the marble floor.
"I will ignore that comment, young miss. Without me, this country would fall apart at the seams. You won't get rid of me too soon."
"I do not doubt it." His humor subsided as his gaze fell upon the open containers. "Haven't those sat around collecting dust long enough?"
SSSSS
"Up on your toes, Kathryn."
SSSSS
"I'm Kathryn…but my friends call me Kate," she said quietly. "You must be one of the new people Mrs. Macready was grumbling about this morning."
The boy smiled warmly, but sadly, and laughed. Though Kate wasn't normally the type to act too rashly...normally...she honestly wanted to melt.
"I suppose so. I'm Peter, by the way."
The calming tenor voice perfectly matched his appearance.
"A pleasure."
SSSSS
Is love supposed to drive you mad?
"Lovely area, isn't it?" a rich voice questioned. Kathryn whipped her head around to discover a long-limbed young man with golden hair and eyes directly above her, crouching on the lowest limb nearly ten feet up. "They once said that the forests of Narnia were the most elegant and peaceful places in any land or any world. But I don't really think this is the time for sight-seeing, Warder Katarina…or…whatever your name is."
He waved off the guess as if it didn't matter in the least, smirking handsomely.
The transforming Eagle meanwhile hopped down from the tree, which was quivering with life along with its fellow shrubs.
"Is there something you wanted?" Kate mumbled, not frightened at all by the two-handed sword at the man's side, which he caressed too fondly.
"The Narnians need our help," Aida broke in, dragging a very-unwilling Daisy through the bushes towards the other two. The youngest girl puckered her lower lip and sat down on a root with a huff, allowing a scowling Aida to focus on the more experienced of the two. "Kathryn, Peter and Miraz dueled…but the Telmarines are treacherous and I fear that a battle may be occurring even now. It's a battle that the Old Narnians aren't even close to being prepared for. They need their Warders…now."
Something akin to admiration showed in the male's glowing eyes for his fellow creature.
Kathryn looked at her cousin.
"Can we put aside our quarrels long enough to save this little country?"
Margaret pursed her lips prior to replying, rising from her slump.
"I may be 'selfish and unable to go through what you've been through', but I am still a Warder of Narnia, too, cousin."
With their differences momentarily settled, the archer, with hands resting on her long daggers, and the blade-dancer, limply holding the handle of her sword, went forward, accompanied by a tall beau, a dusty-haired huntress, and a whole army of awakened trees.
She had finally resigned herself to the madness that was her royal romance. She hated Peter with a passion, but her love for him was ever-lasting. He had always been the only one she felt safe and open with, but Caspian had showed her that she wasn't utterly a rock wall with his kindness. She owed him her life. She wanted to go back to Earth and spend her life with Peter, but there was nothing for her there; she was nothing but a dream back there and her duty was to Narnia.
Little did anyone know that she always had stood near him after battles and horse rides, not for the generally assumed reason that she was one of his commanders, but because she wanted to be near the scent of pine and spices that always radiated off of him then. They wouldn't guess that she always tried to be around when he visited with people who possessed exceptional humor only to hear his rich laugh. Would that ever be true again?
Thanks for reading and please review! I apologize if the part of Peter and Miraz's duel was not very specific, but I'm relying on YouTube for my movie references and that particular bit decided that it didn't want to show.