DONE FINALS!!

DONE DONE DONE

That's all I will say.

Well one more thing. I decided that for the sequel to this story I'm going to have it narrated in the first person. Ok? Cool. Sounds good to me.

And Happy Christmas to all, and a Merry New Year! (incase I don't post before).

Now on with the story…

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Chapter 36: Nightmares Become Reality

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Your POV

Running away into the woods…how original.

It was too ironic how you found yourself in the same dilemma as you had that day your step brothers were chasing you. Same clothes…totally different situation. It only reminded you of how much you hated/sucked at running, but whatever. It was too late to stop now.

The only thing you could think to do was to run until…well…until someone either caught you, or you passed out from exhaustion. The goal here was to get as far away from all your decisions and goodbyes as fast as you could. You did not look back.

But it would not be a difficult task for middle aged men like Peter, Edmund, and Caspian who were in the best shape of their life to catch you at some point. Not to mention the millions of horses, birds, and other creatures of Narnia who would most likely be able to catch up to you in a moments notice. You were trying not to think about that right now. The key objective was to escape.

But it was hard when you soon heard the soft crunching of leaves not too far behind you. You turned around quickly as you ran, but you didn't see anybody.

A few seconds later, you heard screams.

"Jade! Come back!"

"Jade! It's not safe in there!"

"Please, Jade! Come back!"

Oh no. Now they were coming after you…great. You had only just begun your escape. If they thought that their screams were enough to stop you, they were wrong. And they didn't scare you either. Why would it not be safe in these woods that were just restored and reawakened by Aslan? The Telmarines were gone, there was no threat. There was nothing dangerous or unsafe about these woods.

You were pretty sure.

So, despite all the screams, you kept running away.

Maybe another tree would open up a portal to another completely new world. That would make this decision between Narnia and your home so much easier.

You heard more crackling of leaves behind you and turned around faster this time, trying to get a glimpse of whoever you thought was following you. But still no sight of anyone. Maybe it was just your imagination.

You finally stopped for a moment to catch your breathe. All was silent, save for your fast paced breathes from your running. Your heart felt like it was going to drop out of your stomach, and you clutched your chest to try and ease its beating. But it was no use. You were so tired and it was starting to get a bit dark. And as brave as safe as you thought you were the thought of being in the woods alone at night creeped you out. It was no use running around aimlessly in the woods anymore, you needed to get out.

Then, the sound of rushing water reached your ears. Water…

Maybe that water led to a river or a nearby lake that was outside the forest walls. Surely that would lead you out of the woods before dark.

So you took a few more deep breaths before dashing off once more.

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Caspian's POV

Back at the meeting, everything was a mess.

"I can't believe she ran away! What are we supposed to do?!" Susan shrieked, her hands shaking. From her past experiences, Susan was probably the most scared for Jade. She knew what awaited her out there.

"Relax, Susan. Everything is going to be fine." Peter said. He placed his hands firmly on his sister's shoulders and calmed down her shaking. Personally, Peter didn't see what the big deal was. It was just Narnia. Jade could hold her own for a few hours, if not, a few days. He didn't understand why Susan was freaking out over nothing. If only he knew. "We'll find her."

"What should we do, Aslan?" Edmund said. He was more concerned with Jade's feeling and the inner turmoil that she was going through. He had felt the same pain many years ago when he and his siblings accidentally when back through the wardrobe to England. He understood her pain. However, Edmund didn't have the choice to go back. He went back unwillingly. The magic of Narnia had made Edmund, as well as his brother and sisters, forget about their home as well. And at the time, if he had known about a past home that he really belonged to, he didn't know if he would choose to stay in Narnia or go back. It was too much to think about, and there was too much too lose.

"Just give her some time alone. That's all she probably wants. She'll come back eventually." Peter said nonchalantly.

"No! We must go after her!" Caspian blurted out.

"Caspian's right." Said Aslan. "We must find her before…others do."

Susan and Caspian locked eyes for a moment, understanding what he meant. They doubted the others understood, and if they were lucky, they never would.

"I doubt she knows her way around Narnia. She could be in real danger." Edmund agreed, still ignorant.

"Her getting lost is the least of our worries." Said Caspian. "But Aslan, what are we supposed to do about the townspeople." He asked. The townspeople had all lined up and gathered to follow the Pevensies and Jade, but the line was brought to a halt when Jade ran away. They were all confused, and if they didn't get through the portal soon they might start to get suspicious.

"Very well, then. I will deal with your people, Caspian. Do not worry." He said. "Go, Kings and Queens of Narnia. Find your friend, go without me."

"But…what if we need your help." Susan said in a serious tone. Aslan understood what she was thinking.

"I think you can manage this on your own." He replied. Susan looked shocked, Aslan never refused help.

So, feeling downtrodden and a bit rejected, the Pevensies and Caspian set off to go find Jade.

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"Jade! Come back!" Screamed Lucy, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was enough that she had said her goodbyes to everyone, now she would have to do it once more. And what's more was that Jade was in the woods all by herself.

"Jade! It's not safe in there!" said Susan, as she thought about all the possible dangerous creatures Jade might encounter.

"Please, Jade! Come back!" Caspian pleaded. This wasn't supposed to happen…none of this was supposed to happen.

Jade wasn't supposed to run away, let alone go home when they eventually found her. Because that was what she was going to do, right? She had already chosen. She had been heading towards the portal. She wanted to go home.

But Caspian should have known that she would do something rash and run away. He knew that Jade was not the normal girl who could just stay still and do what she was told.

He knew that she thought about herself last out of everyone, so it was only typical that she wouldn't think about how her decisions affected herself, but how they affected the ones around her. And that was probably why she froze up, Caspian thought. She was going to go home because she thought it was the right thing to do for everyone else (which it wasn't), but only at that second did she realize that she didn't want to go home after all. Then, did that mean she wanted to stay here in Narnia…with Caspian?

Caspian shook those thoughts away, not wanting to get too hopeful. Even though she ran away from the portal to her home, that didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't going to end up going home.

After all, she ran away from him too.

"No sign of her at all." Peter said. "No footprints, no lost shoes, no torn pieces of clothes on trees…no nothing." His shoulders slumped in disappointment. They had been looking for hours now, and it was starting to get dark.

"We'll never find her at this rate." Edmund whined. "These woods are too big…it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

"Don't say that, Edmund." Susan chided. "We will find her, we just need to try harder." She glared at Caspian.

"Susan's right." Caspian said, and then he whistled. "We must find her before dark. It's best if we split up."

"Split up?" Lucy asked nervously. She didn't want to be left all alone in these woods. She didn't think she was brave enough.

"Don't worry, Lucy. You'll come with me." Peter said.

"Yes." Caspian agreed. "We'll split up into four. I'll take the South, Susan will take the East, Edmund will take the West, and Peter and Lucy will take the North. On horseback, of course. It's the only way. Jade must have gotten farther away than we expected…there's no telling where she could be.

A moment later, the house of hooves filled the air as Caspian's horses responded to his whistles.

"Are you sure splitting up is the best idea?" Lucy asked nervously.

"I don't think we have much of a choice, Lu." Peter said as he helped her mount the horse that Caspian called for them.

"We will meet back at the castle at sundown. If you find her, go back to the castle immediately and sound the alarm." Caspian said. The rest, all now mounted on their horses, nodded in agreement.

And with that, they set of in different directions to find their friend.

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Your POV

You stopped running.

You didn't dare move another inch forward.

You weren't that tired. Sure, your feet were hurting. But you could keep going. That wasn't why you stopped.

You were still lost, in the middle of the woods. You hadn't reached the edge yet. That wasn't why you stopped running either.

Your feet didn't hurt, you didn't run into a monster, you could still see in the now darkened sky, and you didn't hear the sound of anyone chasing you. None of these were the reasons why you had stopped running.

You reached a clearing. You knew the second you stepped into this clearing that something was off. A feeling of dread and familiarity filled the pit of your stomach, and it only doubled once you saw who was standing in the dead center of the clearing, back towards you.

Caspian.

"What?!" you thought to yourself. "What the…who…how the hell did they find me…I didn't hear them at all…"

Breathing was now officially impossible.

But the worse part was…you were glad that he was here. As much as you thought you should stay away from him and fall for him even more, you couldn't help the fact that he was all you really wanted. Whether it be being in the same room or the somewhere in the same world, it still made you feel secure to know that he was there somewhere.

Maybe that was how love felt.

You could barely see him through the thin trees, but you knew it was him. You could feel his presence. It was a mixture of confusion and utter happiness that filled your gut. It was rather surreal and unique, yet it made you a bit uneasy and uncomfortable.

Maybe that was how love left too.

You decided to make your way towards him. Because he probably knew you were here, so there was no use in trying to run away. And as you walked towards him, you saw the trees before you begin to part as if they were paving out the path that led you to Caspian. It was kinda freaky.

"Caspian." you called to him quietly, as if your voice would break the silence like glass if you raised it too much.

Then he started to run away, and you began to panic. You didn't want to lose him, so you ran after him.

However, as you ran, you began to notice that all of the trees shrunk back. You turned around; they were no longer moved out of your way. Instead, their heads were bowed, and if your ears deceived you, they seemed to be emitting off a sort of growl. You were bewildered…so of them even seemed like they were purposely blocking your way to Caspian.

They didn't seem friendly anymore.

"Caspian, wait up." You said as you almost ran head on into a tree that got into your way at the very last second. That could have ended badly…

You were starting to get a bit scared now, so you continued running over to Caspian. You ran much faster this time, in fear that the trees would strangle you to dead or something cruel. You reached the clearing of the forest, and Caspian was still walking away. It was as if he didn't hear you at all.

"Caspian," you gasped out. He did not even acknowledge that you were there. You wondered if he could even hear you. "Please Caspian, wait up!"

Was he ignoring you?

You angrily stopped in your tracks, tired of fending off vicious tree branches that had made a number of scratches on your face and tree roots constantly trying to trip you.

"Caspian! Stop!" you yelled furiously this time. Your voice echoed throughout the forest, bringing the attention of all the trees and other living beings.

Finally, Caspian seemed to respond to your calls. As if in slow motion, he turned his head around, eyes glaring daggers at you.

You stumbled back a bit, astonished as to why Caspian was looking at you with such intensity.

"Caspian?" you said a fourth time, utterly confused.

You suddenly felt an invasion of déjà vu. Did this already happen somewhere? It felt so familiar. Especially when Caspian turned his whole body completely around towards you. His figure was now facing yours, eyes continuing their attempt to kill you with such a piercing look.

He began to take steps toward you, and for ever step forward he took, you took one backwards.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked, venom dripping off ever word. You had never heard Caspian speak with such a tone. It reminded you of…his Uncle.

"What do you mean?" You innocently replied.

"Shouldn't you be back at your home by now? You were just about to leave." He said as he walked toward you with a quicker pace. You continued to back up, but your path was blocked soon enough. You turned around to see the trees of the forest forming a line, preventing you from backing up any further.

With your only route to escape being closed off, Caspian eventually made it over to your side, grasping your upper arm and lifting you up.

"Please, don't tell me you want to stay on my account." This time he spoke, his voice seemed a bit softer. You couldn't, however, pinpoint the sound of his voice. It felt like he had been hurt? No, not just hurt. He felt…sad? Maybe that too…but his tone was not too soft. So he must be feeling…confused? "You might as well just go home. You're no longer wanted here." He said, dropping your fragile form back on the ground. You looked up to him, and gazed into his empty eyes. You understood now.

He felt betrayed. He thought that you were leaving because you didn't want to be with him. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. That wasn't the reason at all.

"Caspian, I'm…sorry. You just don't understand…this is all too hard for me to handle. Really…I'm just trying to make the best decision. I have no idea what I did wrong." You said. Caspian chuckled and evil laugh. It made you cringe…why was he acting this way? So bitter and…well, evil.

"You did nothing wrong." He said, turning around to walk away. "Just leave already. Forget about it."

You reached your hand out to grab his shoulder, but you realized that you could not move. There was a tightening sensation in your stomach, and you looked down to see the branches of the trees holding you back, wrapping you up against their trucks. It was nearly impossible to escape.

"Caspian come back!" you yelled to his retreating form. "I'm not leaving because I want to! I never wanted to leave you!" Tears were now streaming down your eyes as you poured out your heart to the only man who you ever loved this way. Your arms outstretched towards him, trying to reach out to him even though he was getting farther away from you by the minute. "This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make! I'm sorry! I want to be with you! I never lied about that! I really do love you…please believe me! I promise!"

This seemed to ignite something within Caspian. He whipped his head around, but did not dare make a single step towards your direction. His eyes were no longer soft, and that evil gleam came back to his handsome face. However, to you, he did not seem so handsome anymore.

"You promise? You promise? YOU PROMISE?!" his voice boomed, making you lean back into the tree trunks. "You promised before, now didn't you? But you lied! Remember the time when I told you to stay at the How? Well…did you? No! You promised me you wouldn't set foot outside that How, but you did! You lied to me! So how do I know that you're not lying now?!"

You were completely and utterly shocked. How could he even say those things…

"Caspian! Why are you acting this way!" you yelled, your face tear-swollen. "You know that's not true…you should know that I would never lie about something like that. I thought you knew me better than that!"

"I guess I don't…come to think of it, I don't think I ever did. You coming here was a mistake. I never want to see again! Get out of my sight and just leave already." He turned back around, continuing his journey to nowhere.

"What…no" You whispered. "How can you even say that? You wish I never came here?" you said, now becoming extremely hurt at his words. "Well I'll tell you one thing, Caspian. Coming here was the best thing that's ever happened to me! Never in my life did I think I would experience such a place. I never thought I would feel so at home and peace in a place that I never even knew existed! I don't regret coming here, and I certainly don't regret meeting you. And for you to say that me coming here was a mistake makes me want to rip my very soul to shreds! I love you so much it hurts!" you said, the words rolling off you tongue unexpectedly. You were shocked at your outbreak, but did not regret your confession.

"I want to be with so much…" you whispered.

Caspian's form froze at your statement and he spoke back in an even lower whisper.

"Well I don't want to be with you." He said. He turned around, so you could see the stone cold expression that demented his facial features. It just didn't fit him. "You already chose. You don't get a second chance." He looked you straight in the eyes, and you looked back.

But then, he was back to walking away again. You struggled against the thick tree branches, but they would not budge.

"Caspian, wait!" you called out desperately, tears brimming your eyes as well now. "Caspian, please! Don't leave me here!"

The trees then began to shake you back and forth, torturing you even further as their grip seemed to be slowly suffocating you. You twisted and turned, arms and legs kicking and scratching, trying anything in order to break free. But you could not…and you felt helpless.

Weak…unloved…confused…alone…helpless.

You could not hold it in any longer, and more tears began to stream down your face as you continued to thrash about.

Then, once Caspian was out of sight, the tree branches all at once shrank away. You didn't care. Their tights grips against you were the only things that kept you standing, and once they retreated, you let yourself fall helplessly to the floor in a heap.

You felt pathetic.

What had become of you now? Is this what you had been reduced to? A shaking lump on the ground that told the dark story of a girl with a torn conscious and a broken heart? You knew you didn't deserve to be here in Narnia, or even to be with someone as amazing as Caspian, but was this really what you deserved? Were you really that bad of a person? You disgusted yourself.

It felt like ages that you had been on the ground, crying away the pain that would never ease, until a voice brought you out of your world.

"Oh… what'sssss wrong, my dear." The voice hissed. You head snapped up, and your green eyes locked with narrow, yellow ones.

"Who are you…" you said quietly.

"Oh…don't be afraid, my dear. I only want to help." The creature hissed. And even though the sight of it sent shivers down your spine, you did not flee. Right now, you were open to affection from anything or anyone that was offering. Anything to end the suffering.

You sniffed, holding back tears.

"Ohhh, don't cry me dear. Pleassssse." It cooed. "Tell me all your problemsssss. I'm here to lissssten."

And against all your reason and judgment, you told of your dilemma to the green snake that lay before you.

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Gasp!!! Uh-oh…what happens now?

Guess you'll just have to wait until next time. Yes, I know I'm evil…you don't have to tell me :)

But really, thanks for reading and sorry for the cliffhangers. I'll be sure to post soon. Maybe I'll give you all a Christmas present…but who knows? Just review!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

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