Hello and welcome to Act 3 everyone! Can you believe the story is halfway done already? As I do between every Act, I will continue to give you some behind-the-scenes info on this story.

I am always thinking about new ideas for my stories, both fanfiction and original. One night I was up late, and I was tossing all sorts of ideas around in my head, from all different things I had seen- scenes from nature, television shows, novels, and films all bounced in my head in a giant melting pot, along with the problems of my best friend. All of a sudden, a single line from the movie "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" popped into my head and BAM! Nerina was born. She came to me, and I knew she had a story that needed to be told. Each night she would let on to more and more of her story. Once I had enough information to begin writing, I did, and could not stop until after i finished the chapter where she goes in the pool.

I will finish the story on how this story was born later.

Thank you to second daughter of eve for reviewing. I only have one thing to say- Who said it would be a romance between those two characters?

Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Act 3, Scene 1

"Nerina! Wake up Nerina! You too Peter!" called Adelphos the next morning.

When Peter opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Nerina still sleeping on his shoulder. He gently shook her and called her name.

"I'll wake her up," he said to Adelphos, who smiled and walked away.

Peter looked back down at Nerina, noticing her fingers twitching, playing a violin or piano piece in her dreams. He called her name again, and she opened her eyes, then yawned. She stretched, then looked at Peter. Her eyes widened, and she looked down.

"I'm sorry," Peter stammered, "I planned on bringing you back to your tent, but-"

"You protected me," Nerina said quietly, and Peter stopped. "You protected me, just like you said you would."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're-…because you're a-…" she sighed and looked up at Peter. "I believe I have misjudged you. I'm sorry for the way I have acted-"

"It's all right," smiled Peter. "You were treated badly and lied to. You had every right not to trust me. I'm glad you are more trusting now. Just remember that he was only one person. Not everyone is like that."

She smiled back timidly. "Thank you. I will try my best." She looked down for a moment, then back up at him, with an unsure look on her face. "Peter?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything. Go right ahead."

"Can we be friends?"

Peter grinned. "Of course Princess. And now," he stood, brushed himself off, and held out his hand, "my new friend, will you allow me to escort you to breakfast? I do believe you have a long, hard day ahead of you."

Nerina let him help her up and she too brushed herself off. Then, picking up Nerina's things and dropping them off in the carriage, the two joined the rest of their comrades for breakfast.

After breakfast everyone prepared for the day. When they were ready, Nerina, Adelphos, and the Narnian monarchs walked up to the entrance to the ice-filled cave.

Heart, don't fail me now!

Courage, don't desert me!

Don't turn back now that we're here

People always say

Life is full of choices

No one ever mentions fear!

Nerina rubbed her face with her hands. "Adelphos, do you have any idea of how I can do this?"

He chuckled. "Sorry, but no. You're the one with the ice powers, not me."

"How long has this been here?"

"The White Witch did this the night after you went missing. The morning we discovered that you were gone, we started searching everywhere. We planned on sending search parties out of the cave the next day, but we woke up the next morning, set out, and met this."

"How far in do the ice caves start?" asked Peter.

"Normally," Adelphos replied, "if we set out on foot into the cave now, without the ice, we could reach Arcadia by noon. It takes about five hours to get to Arcadia from here, and halfway in the ice caves begin, so there is a lot of ice between us and the ice caves."

"I just figured out how to do this!" exclaimed Nerina. "I'm going to need your help Adelphos."

"How would you like me to help?" her friend asked.

"I'll tell you after I get this ready," she responded. She walked over to a large chunk of fallen ice. Waving her hands, she dragged it through the ground, making a ditch that began at the ice-filled cave and ended in the ocean.

Nerina explained. "I don't have enough strength to take all the ice out of here at once, and if I turn it all into water at once, it will flood the marsh. So, by making this ditch, I will turn a little bit of the ice back into water at a time, and put it into the ditch. Adelphos, you can help the water flow through the ditch and into the ocean. Let's start now, because this is going to take a while. Everyone else, just sit back and relax."

A few hours later they had made great progress. They were almost halfway through the ice. Adelphos and Nerina had a smooth production running. Nerina would change some ice into water, and put it into a trough made of ice that she made as they got further in the tunnel. Since she made the ice, it couldn't melt, and Adelphos helped the water down the trough to the ditch, and out to sea. Both of them sang the whole time.

Or how a road can seem so long

How the world can seem so vast

Courage, see me through

Heart I'm trusting you

On this journey...to the past

In the afternoon, Nerina broke through the ice. The two finished, and Nerina melted her trough. They raced back to camp on the horses they were using, and ate supper with everyone. The ditch was filled in, and everyone went to sleep, excited about reaching Arcadia the next day.

Everyone woke up excited and fully rested the next morning, and after a hardy breakfast, freshening up, and picking up camp, they all climbed aboard their carriages and set off.

After an hour and a half, they stopped. The travelers had reached the end of the rock cave and the beginning of the ice caves. Through a group effort, all the carriage wheels were replaced with runners made especially for the journey. When these were in place the caravan continued.

"So how excited are you right now?" Adelphos asked Nerina as he drove the carriage. "You get to see your family, friends, home, and country again."

"I am ready to burst into song," she answered, and of course, being an Arcadian, she did.

"So since we will be arriving shortly," said Adelphos once Nerina was finished, "there are a few things we should let you know about your visit. First and foremost, the names of your hosts. The Royal Family is a bit large. The current monarchs are Nerina's parents, obviously, whose names are King Arion, meaning 'with melody' and Queen Charissa, and her name means 'grace'.

Somewhere down this road

I know someone's waiting

Years of dreams just can't be wrong

"Next we have the heir to the throne. His name is Chorevo, meaning 'dance'. He is betrothed to Anthea, whose name means 'lady of flowers'.

"What do you mean "betrothed?!" exclaimed Nerina. They still haven't gotten married?! What are they waiting for, the stars to rain down from the heavens?!"

'They were going to get married last year, but they decided to wait until you were found," said Adelphos.

"Oh they did?! They are so nice!" smiled Nerina.

"Then there's the second oldest," continued Adelphos. "His name is-"

"Koros! And his name means 'jig'!" clapped Nerina. "Koros plays the flute, but he dances sometimes, and his favorite is the jig. I love my big brother! Well I love all four of them, but he is the closest in age to me. Chorevo is 27, Koros turned 20 last month, then comes me!"

Arms will open wide

I'll be safe and wanted

Finally home where I belong

"And next in line is 10-year old Gelio, meaning 'laughter'. He plays the trumpet. And finally, the youngest- Ireno. He is 5, and his name means 'quiet', even though he is not very quiet when he plays the large drums," finished Adelphos. "The last thing you don't know, because we forgot to tell you since we did not realize that Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve were different, is that Arcadians live very long. We live much longer than you do. Everyone in Narnia that is not human live to be much older. Arcadians can live up to be 1000 years old. After we reach our thirties, we start to age slower. For example, the King is 894, but to you he will look much, much younger."

One step at a time

One hope, then another

Who knows where this road may go?

"That's very interesting," remarked Peter.

Back to who I was

On to find my future

Things my heart still needs to know

They continued talking and watching the ice float in the caves' lakes. The ice was very beautiful, and the water was a gorgeous dark blue. The ice of the caves themselves was white with a hint of glistening blue.

Yes, let this be a sign

Finally the traveling Narnians and Arcadians stopped.

Let this road be mine

Susan reached up and squeezed Nerina's hand. "New memories," she whispered.

Let it lead me to my past

Nerina gulped, nodded, and could not help it as a smile crept over her face.

And bring me home…

There, in the valley stretched out before them, surrounding by tall mountains of sheer rock, was the musical country of Arcadia.

…at last!

Song Used-Journey to the Past from the motion picture Anastasia

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Act 3! Please let me know by reviewing! Thanks!

Happy Easter! Jesus lives!

Haras