After that terrible encounter, there was a weird mood over the group. We kept going on our path but there was a lot of bickering between Peter and Trumpkin about where we were actually going. I, however, was so distracted and distraught about everything that was happening that I was just following along aimlessly.
I noticed that Trumpkin was getting frustrated and moved to walk by me. He was giving me a strange look almost like he was trying to figure me out. Suddenly, Susan and Lucy come up on either side of me and linked our arms. They put our heads together for a second and Susan lets out a sigh.
"I don't remember this way at all," Susan informs her older brother as we make our way through another unfamiliar bend.
"That's the problem with girls. They can't carry a map in their heads." Peter replies cheekily as he keeps walking in the direction he deemed was correct.
"That's because our heads have something in them," Lucy informs him, smirking. I let out a surprised laugh and smile at the girl with pride. Peter stops in his tracks and turns to his youngest sister.
"You and Maggie are spending too much time together." He states before continuing on his way. I roll my eyes and pull Lucy closer.
"I wish he would just listen to the DLF," Susan whispers so that only us and the two boys behind us can hear.
"DLF?" Edmund asks us confused.
"Dear Little Friend." I guess as the other two nod at me. We laugh and keep following the older boy. However, we suddenly stop at a dead end.
"I'm not lost," Peter whispers to himself.
"No, you're just going the wrong way." Trumpkin informs him annoyed. This causes Peter to grit his teeth and turn around.
"You said you last saw Caspian at the Shuddering Wood and the quickest way there is to cross the River Rush." Peter snaps at the dwarf.
"But unless I'm mistaken there is no crossing in these parts." Trumpkin replies unamused.
"That explains it. You're mistaken." Peter tells him in a stone-cold voice. Trumpkin looked enraged but bit his tongue. All-day I have been watching these two go back and forth all the while I am standing here wallowing in the loss of the Narnia I once knew. I was not doing my job of being the bridge between our worlds. I was not being the strong Warrior I promised Orius I would be.
"Peter," I state firmly, causing the boy to whip around and raise an eyebrow at me. All eyes were on me waiting to see exactly what I would say. "Why are you not trusting Trumpkin who has lived in these woods all of his life? Why do you think you know better than him?" I ask, unlinking my arms from the other girls and taking a step towards the older boy. He snarls at me.
"Are you telling me I don't know my way around my own country?" He asks me, astonished.
"I'm not saying that," I tell him stubbornly. "What I am saying is that Narnia has changed. It's not the same one we left. So, instead of forcing the old ways on a new situation we should be learning the new ways from someone who is knowledgeable in them." I inform him, crossing my arms.
"I will not be told I am unknowledgeable about my country and I do not want to hear any more about this Margret Rose." He snaps at me and then marches off. Susan and Lucy give me a kind smile before following their brother. I let out a sigh and turn to the dwarf.
"I tried," I tell him, shaking my head.
"Has the High King always been like this?" He asks me as we slowly start to follow the others.
"Yes. But it's been worse lately." Edmund says coming up on my other side and putting his hand at the small of my back. "Maggie and him usually have opposing viewpoints on things but they usually find a compromise. Her passion for her people and her beliefs are both Peter's favorite and least favorite things about her." The dark-haired boy chuckled.
"I grew up hearing all of these amazing stories about the Kings and Queens of Old." Trumpkin informs us. "According to those stories, your locket can tell you where you need to go. So, can you get it to help us know if we are going the right way or not?" He asks, pointing at said object. I wrap my hand around it protectively.
"That's not how it works," I inform him. He lets out a sigh and starts to walk ahead of us.
"Huh, oh well. I am going to go make sure His Majesty doesn't lead us off a cliff." The dwarf says walking away. I let out a little chuckle at his joke and turn to Edmund who is staring at the locket in my hands.
"How does it work?" He asks me curiously.
"I don't know!" I complain, stopping my foot. He laughs and kisses the side of my head.
"Come on." He says guiding me towards the others. We walk for a while until we come to the edge of a very steep gorge.
"Look at that Trumpkin was right," Edmund whispers in my ear.
"Shocker the creature who lives here knew where he was going," I replied back sarcastically. This causes both of us to chuckle a bit.
"Over hundreds of years water erodes the soil and.." Susan starts to explain in her know it all voice.
"Oh shut up!" Peter snaps at her angrily. He then reluctantly turns to the dwarf. "Is there another way down?"
"Ya. Falling." Trumpkin replies sarcastically. Peter glares at him and the dwarf sighs. "There is a ford at Beruna. Anyone mind swimming?" He asks all of us.
"Anything is better than walking." Susan agrees as she goes to follow the dwarf.
"If only we asked his opinion sooner," I say to Peter, giving him a pointed look.
"Hush." He tells me before leading me the way the other two were headed. Suddenly, the locket glowed and just as soon as it started it ended.
"Aslan!" Lucy shouts pointing across the gorge. Everyone quickly turns to her but keeps looking back and forth between my locket and where she was pointing. "It's Aslan over there! Can't you see he is right…" She turns back around and sees that there is nothing there. "There."
"Do you see him now?" Trumpkin asks her like she is stupid.
"I'm not crazy. He was there!" She informs the dwarf. "He wanted us to follow him!" She says turning to the rest of us. We all look at each other confused.
"I'm sure there are many numbers of lions in this wood, Lu. Just like that bear." Peter tells her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I think I know Aslan when I see him!" She snaps at him, getting worked up now. They have a little bit of a staredown that Trumpkin interrupts.
"Look, I am not jumping off a cliff for someone who doesn't exist." The Dwarf informs us stubbornly.
"Last time I didn't believe Lucy I, I ended up looking really stupid." He says hesitantly. He was having issues looking at all of us. I know that he was still haunted by what happened the last time we were here. I walk back over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. I could tell that Edmund's words got to Peter.
"Why wouldn't I have seen him?" Peter asks his youngest sister.
"Maybe, you weren't looking." She informs him. They stare each other down again.
"Well, what do you think Maggie? I mean the locket did glow." Susan asks, drawing all eyes to me. I look at all of them and give Edmund and Lucy apologetic eyes as I step towards Peter.
"I agree with Peter," I inform the group.
"Really?" Peter asked me, surprised.
"Why?" Edmund asks me. Lucy looked at me very hurt.
"Look, Lu, I believe that that was Aslan. I mean the locket glowed and that is one of the first times it has done that since we have been here." I give her a small smile. "But. Our main priority is to help the Narnians. Aslan doesn't do anything without a reason and I think if he wanted to present himself he would have done so by now. We need to find the Prince and figure out what is going on." I finish addressing the last part to the whole group. Peter puts a hand on my shoulder and turns to his little sister.
"I'm sorry Lu." He says before he leads me to follow Trumpkin down the path. I glance back and see that Lucy turned back to the gorge. She then turns to look at my fiance. He nods in our direction and she silently obeys and follows us down the path. Edmund starts to rub her shoulder comforting her. I turn back forward feeling very guilty.
We are walking for a while without Lucy saying a word. She just walked quietly next to Edmund with his arms still around her confrontingly. I take a step back to join them.
"Hey you two." I say once I reach them. Edmund gives me a loving smile but Lucy just gives me an indifferent look. I let out a sigh. "Listen Lu…" I started but was quickly interrupted.
"No!" Trumpkin says as we approach a clearing. We all turn and look and see hundreds of men cutting down trees.
"Let's get a closer look." Peter says as he leads us to crouch behind a pile of logs. We see that the Telmarines are building a bridge across the river and where cutting down all the trees.
"No." I whisper as I creep forward to get a better look.
"Your majesty, stop." Trumpkin warns me. Just then a couple of men on horses come riding in. Edmund grabs me around my waist as he pulls me down with his back sliding against the logs. He pulls me close to his chest as we try to look as small as possible.
"Maybe going this way was not the best idea after all," Susan tells Peter who silently agrees. We all take one last look at the destruction and then head back into the woods.
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"Where do you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asks her when we get back to the gorge. I stand next to Edmund and roll my eyes at Peter's wording.
"I wish you would all stop acting like grown-ups!" She complains looking at all of us. "I didn't think I saw him, I did see him." She tells her brother matter of factly.
"I am a grown-up." Trumpkin mutters. I bite my lip to hold back a laugh and I see Edmund doing the same thing. We make eye contact which makes it even harder to keep a straight face.
"It was right around…" Lucy says taking a couple of steps. Suddenly the ground breaks out from under her and she lets out a terrified scream.
"Lucy!" Susan shouted as we all rushed forward. All the humor from before left my body as I ran to the whole where Lucy fell through. I fall to my knees as I get to the mouth of the hole only to see that she was completely fine.
"Here." She finishes her thought looking up at us. She had in fact found a secret path that would allow us to cross the river.
Trumpkin jumps down to join Lucy on the path. The young girl starts to lead the way with the dwarf close behind. I look up at the rest of the Pevensies and shrug before I too jump down onto the path. Susan is close behind me as we make our way to the bank of the river. Lucy starts to cross but missteps and starts to fall. Luckily, Trumpkin catches her before she does. They share a look of understanding and continue on their way. We all eventually make our across the river and hike up the peak.
"It's getting late. We should set up camp." Peter says when we reach a clearing. "We need to gather firewood and find something to eat." We all nod and get to those tasks. I start to gather wood and I feel Edmund come up next to me. He didn't look pleased.
"What's wrong with you?" I ask him, confused.
"I misstepped and my foot got wet in the bloody river." He complains, shaking the foot in question. I roll my eyes and laugh as I step into his arms.
"Aw did poor Eddie get beat up by the river?" I ask him in a baby voice.
"Yes, he did." He complains pulling me closer. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lucy carrying firewood.
"Lu, can you believe him? Grumpy because of a little water in his shoe." I laugh and turn in his arms so I can look at the younger girl.
"I can believe it but won't do anything about it." She says before walking away. I sigh and rest my forehead on Edmund's shoulder.
"She's mad at me," I mumble into his shoulder. I feel him rubbing my back.
"She's not mad. She is just not used to you siding with Peter and not her," He whispers in my hair kissing my forehead.
"You know a lot has changed today but the one thing that hasn't is you staying by my side. I don't know what I would do without you," I say looking him in the eye. "I love you. A lot." I tell him and he leans down and puts his forehead on mine.
"I love you too. A lot." He says before leaning in and kissing me.
"For the love of. Are they always like this?" I hear a gravelly voice ask interrupting us. We pull apart to see Trumpkin and Susan looking at us.
"More so when they are teenagers but the short answer is yes." The older girl says crossing her arms. "Come on we found some food." She tells us.
We all sit down to eat the few things that the others found in the woods. We then all settle in for the night. I lay down in the grass next to Susan. I close my eyes and let out a content sigh. Suddenly, I feel another body lay down on top of me.
"May I help you?" I ask moving to look at my fiance.
"Just getting comfy." He tells me, pulling me closer. I shake my head and cuddle closer to him. It has been a while since I had fallen asleep in Edmund's arms. I breathe in his sent and let my eyes grow heavy