Chapter Two: From The Past

"Rosie, Roman, it's time to come down," Brielle said.

She reached up towards the horses tied to the front of the carriage where the young servants sat atop, giggling as they ran their hands along the horse's main.

They simply giggled louder and leaned out of the way of her attempts to pull them down. Brielle smiled, taking a step back as she tucked her hair behind her ears. Oh, to be so young and carefree. To not care so much about different social classes to be in and what it meant for everyone. Brielle looked at the carriages that were to carry the royals and let out a sigh, feeling her stomach twist in apprehension.

Almost time for them to go to Archenland. And, while most would've been excited to go home, she was increasingly dreading it as the seconds passed. She wasn't ashamed of her past life by any means, but, like many others, couldn't help but compare what she knew of her life to what the Royals had. The clothing, the servants, the way they simultaneously ruled over Narnia and Telmar—more so Telmar as Cair Paravel, the Pevensies' home, was still in ruin—with Caspian by their side. Becoming formidable forces to anyone who may want to challenge their reign or exude their own force upon them.

There were those that quivered at the mere mention of any of their names. And yet, Archenland was one of Narnia's closest allies. There was nothing but peace between the two countries. It made sense that the royals would want to visit after Miraz's fall to ensure the peace was being kept and to establish a better connection—politically—in case there was another uprising.

The idea of them meeting Vincent and Silas made her upper lip curl every second the thought crossed her mind. She managed to sell it well enough, to Susan, that they were at least friends. But friends were the last thing she would've willingly said. Then again, she hadn't anticipated being back in Archenland with the Pevensies anytime soon. She missed it greatly, devouring any letter she received, often reading it and re-reading it well into the night. But, as there were some things even the Pevensies didn't miss about their home in England, there were things Reagan didn't miss about Archenland.

She rarely, if ever, thought about her home in Essex, in the real world. With all the time she'd spent in Narnia it was very much like "the real world" ceased to exist, nothing more than distant memories that came up at times where her mind wandered, in brief moments by herself.

Brielle was knocked out of her thoughts—literally—when the horse let out a whinny, upset by something about Rosie and Roman being on its back, and tossed its head, knocking into Brielle's side. She fell to the ground, landing on her hands and knees, feeling the skin pull back. She turned back to the horse, glaring at it as it continued to wave its head around, starting to nervously stamp its feet to the ground.

At Brielle's glare, the horse seemed to become more much agitated, starting to whinny louder and louder. Yeah, you're going to regret that, Brielle thought. She curled her fingers into her palm, ready to raise her hand and set a spell on the horse, only stopping when she heard Edmund's laugh behind her.

"I see you don't have the magic touch with animals," he said, reaching up to place his hands along the neck of the horse. Almost instantly, the horse calmed down, gently stamping its foot along the ground and breathing quietly through its nose. Edmund reached out and ran his fingers over its head, between the eyes and down to the snout. "You should see how the rest of them are. Scary, innit?" He reached towards Rosie and Roman, who'd grown silent upon the arrival of the Just King, eyes turning to wide saucers when he slipped his hands under their arms and gently carted them to the ground.

Once they were firmly on the ground, Rosie and Roman continued to stare up at him, jaws slacked as Edmund chuckled nervously. It wasn't until Brielle shooed them back to their mother that they finally moved, scampering away as fast as their legs would take them, kicking up dust as they went. Brielle chuckled to herself, carefully pulling herself to her feet, dusting off the front of her dress.

"I thought you became used to the animals around here," Brielle commented. "All the talking beasts and…" she trailed off, seeing the dark look come to Edmund's eyes. He continued to, absentmindedly, stroke the neck of the horse as he turned away from her.

"So much time has passed since we left the first time," Edmund remarked. "Since we came back. Some of our friends…we've lost more than we thought we would. The Beavers, Mr. Tumnus…" he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "The centaurs, the minotaurs, the fawns…everyone is gone. The friends that we had when we first arrived were taken down by Jadis and her army. Then, once we left, things moved on without us, for hundreds of years. They lost their rulers, their ability to speak…"

Brielle watched as Edmund clenched his jaw, a vein throbbing in his neck. He cleared his throat, turning his back toward Brielle so she didn't see the frustration that came to his eyes. Brielle ducked her head, licking her lips. She hadn't been there for a good chunk of their adventures the first few times they went to Narnia, had been transported to the beach of Cair Paravel when they were slowly falling into their roles of the prophecy of the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve.

Edmund wasn't one who liked to show his emotions too much, she noticed while working along side Susan. He was jovial when he was in a good mood and could be downright nasty when he was feeling slighted in some way. But other than that, he didn't allow himself to get too caught up in his feelings. Whether it was sadness or jealousy, he did his best to keep it at bay. But it was moments like this, when he didn't have an audience, where he didn't have to be King Edmund the Just that he was truly himself.

Not that his sarcastic and joking manner wasn't his true self. But sometimes it was hard to keep up the façade. While he didn't know it, she certainly understood how exhausting it could be.

"We were attacked once," Edmund added. "By a bear. We just came back to Narnia and…well, I'm sure you remember everything that happened after that." He turned back to her with a half-smile, his freckled cheeks turning up as one side of his mouth flipped up.

"Yeah." Brielle folded her arms, a very unladylike thing to do, but found herself in good company. As it was, she reasoned. If it keeps things from going South, it makes it easier for me to get to the High King. "I remember something about showing off and dropping a torch."

Edmund rolled his eyes. It was a hard thing to speak about, Brielle knew. How things could've gone even worse with the raid against Miraz's castle, had Edmund not been able to recover from dropping the only signal they had to taking them by surprise, there would've been more casualties. Edmund held that guilt for a long while, unable to look Peter or Caspian in the eye as days passed, working harder than ever when training to go against Miraz once more.

Not that the others noticed, Brielle thought. They were too busy arguing over what to do; arguing whether they should stage another ambush, whether they should wait for Aslan's help, argued over Peter's and Caspian's ideas of what to do to take down Miraz once and for all.

"I wasn't showing off," Edmund defended himself. He finally lowered his hands from the horse and folded them across his chest, like a petulant child. He even lifted his chin in a manner she was sure he did a lot when he and his siblings were younger. "I was getting ready for my first plan of attack."

"Yeah, that was it." Brielle looked over her shoulder and stood back from Edmund when she noticed the rest of the royals were heading their way, flanked on all sides by knights, pages, and aides. Brielle grasped the sides of her dress and swung her leg out into a deep curtsey. "Your majesties."

"You know you don't have to be so forward with us," Edmund said, almost patronizingly.

Brielle merely shrugged as she stood from her curtsey. "There re certain ways I must act in public," she reminded him. "Though I am Queen Susan's Lady in Waiting, it doesn't mean that I am to have any special privileges when I'm around others."

"It doesn't?" Lucy teased, making Brielle smile. She sucked in a breath between her teeth, practically bouncing on her toes, showing off her young age compared to the age she truly—technically—was. "Are we ready to go? I can't wait to get back to Archenland."

"Careful, Lu," Caspian joked. "If you get any more excited, we'll have to have you run along with the horses."

Susan laughed along with Peter and Edmund. "Do you really think that'll get us there faster?" She tucked a lock of hair behind her ears. "There's more than enough things I thought of to get Lucy's energy out but making her run the carriages isn't one of them."

"I have a very good imagination," Caspian replied. He leveled his gaze on hers. "When it comes to ensuring my own means of entertainment and pleasure, that is." Susan blushed and looked away, finding she had no way to turn when she saw Brielle send a smirk her way. Due to that, Susan turned her gaze to the ground, as if suddenly interested in the flowers by her feet.

"Are we ready to go then?" Peter asked, unknowingly rescuing his sister from the sweetly awkward exchange. When he got positive responses, he moved to place his hands on Edmund's and Lucy's shoulders, holding them back from climbing into the nearest carriage. "You two are going in your own carriage."

Edmund's expression immediately turned into one of such outrage that only a younger sibling could muster. The one on Lucy's face wasn't much better. She quickly arraigned her features to appear innocent while equally perturbed. A look that usually had Peter walk back on any sort of punishment or order he was to give to his youngest sister. "Why do we have to go in our own carriage?" Edmund demanded.

"Yes, I believe we've managed to pride ourselves and you on what we've done ot hold ourselves in such high standards as the Kings and Queens of Narnia," Lucy added. She lifted her chin in the same manner Edmund had before but continued to hold a more regal air as she did so. "So…I demand you to tell us why we have to be sequestered like some sort of commoner."

Peter folded his arms and smirked at the younger of the four Pevensie children. "I don't want to have to take the entire trip to Archenland hearing you constantly ask, "Are we there yet?" or stating that you have to use the loo, or get into one of your inevitable pinch fights because you're bored. Or any other childish games you'd get into."

At that, Edmund visibly bristled. "I haven't done that in years." He jerked his thumb over to Lucy. "And, even then, Lu's always the one to start it!"

"I do not!"

"You do, too."

"Do not!"

"Do too."

Susan rolled her eyes then shook her head at Peter, who continued to smirk. If it were possible, it grew wider. "You do love to be right, don't you?" She asked.

"You have no idea."

With that, the group moved to climb into their carriage. A servant opened the door for Susan and Brielle to climb inside, with Caspian and Peter taking their hands to help them up the steps. Susan smiled fondly at Caspian as she passed him to get inside. A fond smile that he gave back, seconds before glancing at Peter to ensure he hadn't noticed the exchange. Brielle, on the other hand, did her best to keep her smile on her face as she took Peter's hand and allowed herself to be brought up into the carriage.

She sank into her seat on the outside of Susan, her rightful place to protect Susan in case of an ambush and smoothed down her dress. Turning her head, she watched as Edmund and Lucy went to their own carriage, already bickering with each other as they went.

Caspian laughed and nudged Peter's on the shoulder. "You truly do know your siblings."

"Well, when you've been on enough car rides with those two in the backseat, I reckon you learn things pretty quickly," Peter replied. He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat as the carriage started up and moved along the dirt path leading from the Telmarine castle.

"How long is the ride, again?" Susan asked Brielle. Long enough, Brielle thought. Instead, she gave Susan a ballpark guess on how long it would take to get to her home. Susan beamed and nudged Brielle in the side. "Then, not much longer until we meet the mysterious Vincent and Silas."

At that, Peter and Caspian both perked up. "Vincent and Silas?" Peter repeated. His tone seemed to turn a bit cool at the edge. Something Brielle couldn't miss despite the teasing warmth that masked it. "Are they suitors of yours?"

"Why is it that whenever they're mentioned it is automatically assumed they're my suitors?" Brielle asked, working to deflect the conversation. She brought her hands to her lap and started to twist her fingers together. A distracted motion, albeit a calming one. "No, they're not my suitors, they're from a noble family and they're people I've known for a very long time."

Caspian rubbed his chin. "And you're not betrothed?"

"No."

"Not even politically."

"No."

"Then why all the secrecy surrounding them?"

Brielle's eyebrows twitched upwards. "A lady's got to have her secrets," she replied, putting on a haughty tone that made the others laugh. The conversation quickly changed, bringing Brielle some relief. She watched as Susan produced a book from the pocket below her seat and started to read and Peter and Caspian fell into a conversation about war strategies and political moves of Telmar; all the decisions that resulted in its eventual fall.

Brielle continued to twist her fingers, moving it back and forth as the seconds passed. A smirk came to her face when conversation around her slowly, slowly started to die. Susan turned the pages of her book a bit slower, Peter and Caspian started to yawn. Very slowly, their heads stared to droop.

Bringing her fingers up to touch her broach, Brielle watched as Peter, Caspian, and Susan all fell asleep, breathing quietly as they fell into a deep slumber. Brielle looked to Susan and held her breath, momentarily waving off the guilt that struck her. She hated that Susan, Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy had to become caught in the crossfire, but they'd understand in the long run.

They had to.

Peter's head fell to his chest, eyes slamming shut.

Goodnight, your majesty, Brielle thought, dropping her hand from her broach.

"Peter…Peter!"

Peter groaned as he heard the urgency in his little sister's voice. Sitting in the library, he thought that he would be able to get a little bit of peace and quiet. Not that he didn't enjoy his siblings' company, they were closer than most families were, but being together all the time made it difficult to find time to himself. Frustration crept into his shoulders, already having a feeling he knew what Lucy was calling him for. His suspicions were confirmed as soon as Lucy appeared beside him, out of breath, her braided pigtails flopped over her shoulders.

Peter saw the terror in her eyes, noticed the heavy breathing, and the way she clutched her chest. Whatever it was had her find her big brother as soon as possible.

"Ed's in a fight again." He didn't have to ask, he knew already. He closed the book he'd been reading and set it aside as Lucy confirmed it. But he must've been moving slower than Lucy wanted for she grabbed his arm, starting to tug at it.

"Susan is trying to stop him. We keep telling him that mum is going to be really mad. But you know Ed's temper."

"Unfortunately, I do." Peter replied.

More often than not, Edmund's anger was turned to him for one reason or another. Peter could feel anxiety run through his body. If Susan was really trying to stop Edmund, it had to be a bad fight. Usually, Susan would sit back and comment once on Edmund's foolishness before rolling her eyes and watching the rest play out.

Peter leapt from his chair so fast it toppled to the floor. Others that were in the library looked over at him in confusion as Peter and Lucy ran out of the library. "Where is he?"

"The front lawn!" Lucy replied as she struggled to keep up with her oldest brother. Peter cursed under his breath, making Lucy gasp quietly in surprise.

The two ran across the grounds, immediately finding the fight as they approached. A large crowd had gathered around with guys and girls both shouting, watching, and egging on whomever was in the middle of the circle. Peter came to a stop at the edge of the crowd and scanned the scene. There was a kid lying on the ground, holding onto his nose. Blood had stained the collar of his shirt and his tie. Across from the circle, Peter spotted Susan. As if she knew she was being watched, Susan lifted her head and caught Peter's eye, sorrow clearly written on her face.

Peter suddenly felt a surge of anger.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed his way into the center of the circle, just as Edmund was shoved backwards by another student. Peter caught his brother before he hit the ground and held on tightly as Edmund tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Knock it off, Ed!" Peter grunted, holding on tighter as Edmund continued to flail.

"Get off, Pete!" Edmund shouted. He flailed so violent that he accidentally hit Peter in the face.

"Get out of here!" Peter called to the two students that were fighting against Edmund. They glowered at the younger Pevensie boy, clearly still itching for a fight, before turning and walking away, seeing the fire that raged in Peter's eyes when he glared at them over Edmund's head. Now that the fight was over, the other students walked away too.

Peter shoved Edmund away from him, turning to tend to his own bruise.

"Ed, are you ok?" Lucy asked her brother.

"I'm fine." Edmund muttered, eyes downcast.

"Like hell, you're fine," Peter snapped back. Edmund took a step back. "Why do you always have to act like this, Ed?"

"I-"

"Don't you know the reason that mum has been so upset lately is because of your actions? All of the fights that you've been getting into?"

"Peter" Susan warned.

"Sod off, Susan!" Peter snapped at her. He sighed and turned his head away, tugging on the ends of his hair. He turned on his heel and stared back to the library, taking long, angry strides as he went. When he arrived, he pushed open the doors to go inside, then stopped.

Instead of the library filled with students and other scholars, he found himself standing along the shore. Waves lapped at his feet, rushing up to soak the ends of his slacks. Peter's eyebrows furrowed together, taking in the scenery.

He turned and brought up a hand, shielding his eyes from the immense sunlight that stretched over the sand. Twisting around, he looked for his siblings, finding them gone. Sweat flooded his palms. He dropped his hand from his face and glanced around.

"Su!" he shouted. His voice was barely audible over the crashing waves. "Ed! Lu! Where are you?" He paused, waiting for something, anything. He licked his lips, getting nothing in response. "Answer me!"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane."

Peter whirled around, pressing his lips together when he found Maugrim padding towards him, leaving footprints in the sand as he went. Maugrim. Jadis's right hand, captain of the secret police. Peter remembered their last encounter all too well. Remembered how Susan and Lucy were playing around in the river, shortly after they had first met Aslan, and they were attacked by the large wolf, who clearly wanted nothing more than to tear them limb from limb. Peter, to protect his sisters, had no choice but to go in and fight the wolf.

Truth be told, Peter hadn't wanted to kill him. Had never killed anything in his life. He simply wanted to protect his sisters from the current danger, wanted to protect Narnia from Jadis and her rule. Needed to fight to send the White Witch a message, that they wouldn't be scared off too easily.

Sacrifices had to be made. Peter swung up his sword at the right moment and it became buried deep in Maugrim's chest, killing him instantly. Peter simply turned and washed the blood off his sword, ensuring his sisters were okay, taking in the wide-eyed wonder they looked at their big brother with. He couldn't' think about what had just happened, they needed to get somewhere safe.

So Peter compartmentalized it. He'd killed the wolf…forced himself not to think about it.

Every now and then it came back to him. It caught him off-guard, when he'd been pouring over maps or books, the image of the dead wolf that laid there. When they got back to the real world, taken out of Narnia after living out his life, it became a fantastical tale to tell Professor Kirk.

Seeing him now…Peter simply clenched his jaw and watched the wolf's every move. If Jadis was able to come back, summoned by a hag and a werewolf, it made sense that Maugrim was to make another appearance in his life.

Maugrim was dead, Narnia was magical.

"How are you here?" Peter demanded. "You're dead."

"And yet, here I am boy," Maugrim's lips pulled back into a snarl. He chuckled, pacing towards Peter. "Or should I say King?"

"High King," Peter corrected him.

"Your majesty." Maugrim's voice turned sarcastic as he dipped his head in a low bow. Then he lifted his head and continued to pace, circling Peter, watching him like a piece of meat. After a few moments, he leaned back on his haunches and slowly sat down.

They stared at each other.

Stared until a loud roar made Peter jump, made Maugrim leap to his feet, made Peter jolt awake from his dream with a sharp inhale of breath. He looked around the carriage, bringing his arm across his forehead.

He worked to steady his breath, to regain his composure. A King wasn't supposed to be scared. Nevertheless, Peter looked out to the window nearest to him, expecting to find Maugrim racing along the side of the bumping carriage, but was relieved to find nothing.

A/N: Again, thanks for the response to the last few chapters. I'm glad you're all enjoying it so far. The pacing will increase as the story goes on.

Cheers,

-Riley