Hey guys!
The final version of chapter 11 is now up!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but Beth's storyline.
Cheers for reading! Feel free to review, fav and/or follow this story!
Chapter 11. "Stay with me."
For a moment, Lucy could only stare at her best friend in horror, fearing the worst. "Spotted? How so? Are they okay?"
Beth sat before the queen, distractedly picking at her nails. "I sent two griffins about an hour ago to scout for telmarines in the area and instead, they saw our army coming back."
"Oh, okay," Lucy replied, visibly relieved but sobered up when she noticed Beth's anxiety in spite of the enthusiasm she'd shown when telling the news. "What is it? Did they say whether they were okay?"
Beth hesitated. "Lu...I don't think the raid went too well."
Lucy sat still for a moment, too confused to be able to come up with an answer. She couldn't help but remember her dream, which made her wonder about Aslan's Daughter.
Why on Earth hadn't she come and help yet?
"Did you sleep well, Lu?" Beth's forced light voice snapped the queen out of her thoughts.
The youngest girl studied her best friend. Beth was smiling in an obviously fake manner, and appeared as if she was seriously sleep deprived. Also, her quiver with bow and arrows were still hung across her back, her sword still strapped to her side.
"Beth, you look awful," Lucy spoke bluntly, making both girls laugh quietly. "Did you sleep at all?"
"Now that you ask, I didn't really had the time to sleep. I rotated between watching you, Adrien, and checking on our different patrols," Beth answered, closing her eyes tiredly as she yawned.
Lucy hesitated, opening her mouth as to suggest that her friend slept for a bit but then, Beth cracked one eye open. "You are delusional if you think I can go to sleep now that the rest are coming."
Lucy laughed, raising her arms in mock defeat. "You are right, I know. Besides, I wouldn't want to keep you away from my dear brother."
"You are hilarious, my friend," Beth replied as she stood up, bringing the queen up with her, "Now, I've asked the griffins to check whether our army is being followed. They have yet to assure me that, so you stay here until Trufflehunter blows the horn. Understood?"
"Yes, mom," Lucy playfully glared at her friend, smile never leaving her lips. "You know, I'm starting to think you are worse than Peter."
"And don't you forget it." Beth smirked, leaning down to hug her friend before turning to leave to continue with her duties.
Lucy watched her walk away, admiring Beth for her strength. She hadn't slept, she was probably dying from concern as well and yet, they couldn't have been in better hands.
"Thank you, my friend," Lucy whispered softly, smiling at the retreating princess.
The horn was blown fifteen minutes later.
Lucy immediately rushed outside, never stopping moving until at last, she stood besides Beth at the front of the group waiting for the returning party.
Beth glanced momentarily at the queen before looking at the incoming crowd, her calm façade hiding how worried she was. Lucy looked back at the returning soldiers as well, realizing then just how few were returning, in comparison to the many that had left the How a day before.
Lucy could only focus on that for a second for, as she studied the incoming crowd, she identified her family.
Peter and Caspian were walking at the front, Susan a few steps behind them. Their faces were fallen, their hands clenched as they walked.
"Can you see Ed?" Lucy whispered, too afraid to even think of the worst case scenario.
Beth shook her head, before climbing a rock beside her to get a better view. "Where is he? What happened to the army?"
Eventually, both girls found Edmund and though their relief was significant, it was rather brief for then, they noticed just how messed up were the commanding leaders.
Lucy took a few steps forward, particularly concerned at how Peter seemed to be shaking from the anger, how Caspian was clutching the hilt of his sword, how Susan kept looking between them both warily.
"What happened?" Lucy asked weakly.
Peter directed a glare at Lucy while Caspian tightened his jaw, Susan paling behind them. The army behind them stopped walking, as if sensing the incoming storm.
Meanwhile, Lucy unconsciously stepped towards Beth, who had climbed down from the rock, and both girls braced themselves.
The thing about a horrible event is that it takes a moment for the feelings implied to dawn on you.
The shock wasn't even the worst part of the aftermath. It was the infinite thoughts racing through his mind, the countless of conflictive feelings fighting for predominance within him.
The worst part is how overwhelmed we are until everything just stops and we are able to catch our breath.
As they made their shameful retreat back to the How, Peter could only think of that.
He felt the grief for his fallen Narnians, the sadness for the families who would soon learn that their loved ones were gone, the pride he for how brave his people had been in such horrible affair.
He felt venomous, corrosive guilt for being too proud to call everything off when he had the chance.
He was subconsciously aware of the relief for having his brother and sister physically intact and at having a safe Lucy and Beth back at the How, but this was steadily losing against all of the other emotions struggling inside of him, looking for a way to burst.
Then, the anger at Caspian began to gain strength. The anger for the fact that the prince chose to focus on his revenge against his uncle rather than on the Narnian liberation. Anger that was being fed on the fact that when Caspian didn't follow the plan, they were all screwed.
"Pete?" Suddenly Edmund was beside him. It was with effort that he could acknowledge him, tormented as he felt.
When Peter finally nodded his greeting, the younger King continued, "Beth has sent a few griffins to check whether we are being followed. I'm going to join them with Dramos until we make it to the How, alright?"
Finally, Peter glanced at his brother, forcing himself not to wince as he took in his state. Edmund was even paler than normal, his hair messy, dark bags under his eyes and his clothes drenched with dust, sweat and blood.
His eyes filled with despair, grief, anger and stress.
Peter had seen that look on his brother's face every day during their last year in England.
"How are you Ed?" Peter finally asked, hesitating before placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"I feel like crap," Edmund answered with a sad smile, "But you guys survived and Beth and Lu are waiting for us so...yeah, there's that to look forward to."
"How is the DLF holding up?" Peter asked then.
"Well, he is more alive than dead but he has a couple of broken ribs, deep slashes and of course, a severe concussion." Edmund shook his head. "We need Lucy now."
"We will be there soon enough. Go with Dramos and let me know of any updates," Peter replied, clearly dismissing him, not because he didn't want to talk to his brother, but because of the anger boiling inside him, as he didn't want to explode and hurt his brother.
The rest of the walk was uneventful so, by the time he took notice of his surroundings again, they had arrived to the How. Caspian and Peter were now walking side by side silently, Susan a few steps behind them.
The crowd gathered before them had gone from enthusiastic to terrified as they noticed their defeated postures, their long faces, the few returning in comparison to the group who had left.
None of them wanted to speak. They could feel the horrifying truth just before their eyes, carefully covered, and none of them was willing to unveil it.
"What happened?" Lucy's light, sad voice finally broke the reigning silence.
Peter glanced at the crowd before him, trying to find the words to explain what had happened. Regardless of the experience he had in dealing with this sort of situations, he found himself speechless as he tried to come up with an answer.
He gazed at his sister, noticing with sadness how anxious and stressed she seemed to be. Beth a few steps behind her, full clad in armour, her bow and arrows strapped to her back, wore a cool façade as she assessed the situation, only her exhausted eyes betraying her.
Both groups stood motionless, facing each other, not really knowing how to approach this situation until finally, a young centaur raced forward past Lucy and Beth and towards Glenstorm.
It was in that moment that it dawned on him that those people standing before him until now had been convinced in that he would bring their families back.
Of course, none of them could have known how exponentially wrong things had gone but still, Peter had come up with the battle plan.
And in that moment, the High King finally exploded.
He shot Lucy and angry glare as he spat in Caspian's direction, "Ask him."
Wasn't he the heir? Wasn't him the one to wear the crown when the war's over?
It was time for him to practice was it feels like to make a mistake and have to owe your people an explanation.
"Peter," Susan's warning came from behind them but Peter paid her no mind. He was too mad to even care about his sister siding with Caspian yet again.
"Are you being serious right now?" Caspian growled and both leaders halted in their steps, glaring murderously at each other. "You could have called it off, Peter. There was still time."
"Caspian." Beth had taken a few steps forward, her hands held up in a calming manner. "Peter. Stop this now."
If either the High King or the Crown Prince heard her, they paid no mind to her warning. They cared nothing about decorum, patience or priorities. They just needed to blame this whole ordeal on the other.
"Is that so, Caspian?" Peter raised his eyebrows in disbelief, raising his right hand to point at the prince in an accusing manner. "Because I think there wasn't. If you had done everything according to plan, our soldiers would still be alive."
Caspian took a step back, eyes wide in shock as if he had shot him but not a moment later he shook his head in an attempt to retaliate.
"And if we had stayed here, like I suggested, they definitely would be!" Caspian exclaimed, clutching the hilt of his sword tightly, brows furrowed in rage. "You just can't stand that there is at least someone here that doesn't like what you propose."
Peter narrowed his eyes at that, his rage ascending yet another note. "You called us!"
"My first mistake," Caspian replied, his voice dangerously even.
Air seemed to drop a few degrees after the prince said that. Peter tried his hardest not to glance at any of his siblings as he processed that comment. He couldn't have care less for Caspian's dislike towards him but the rest of his family, they had taken him as one of their own.
Caspian could mess with him all he wanted, but he had another thing coming if he thought Peter was going to let this slide.
"Caspian!" Beth exclaimed angrily, her voice now closer.
Caspian didn't seem to register her at all.
"No," Peter retorted, his voice venomous in response to Caspian's offence towards his siblings. "Wrong, Caspian. Your first mistake was actually thinking you could lead this people."
With that, Peter turned to leave. He didn't have anything else to add.
If only Caspian were on the same page.
"HEY!" Caspian yelled and Peter turned around, eyes bewildered. Caspian's eyes were almost black with fury. "I wasn't the one who abandoned Narnia!"
"Look who's talking!" Peter yelled back, "You and your people were the ones who invaded Narnia! What does that say about you? You have no more right to lead it than Miraz does!"
Caspian pushed Peter out of the way but the High King was too riled up to let it go.
"You, him, your father!" Peter continued, voice not even faltering as Caspian stopped dead in his tracks with his back turned. "Narnia is way better off without the lot of you."
For one seemingly eternal moment, everyone stood still, breaths held as they waited for Caspian's reaction.
Caspian screamed and turned around, waving his sword at Peter. His opponent quickly unsheathed Rhindon and both leaders stood motionless, swords pressed at each other's throats.
"Stop it! Now!" Edmund's voice suddenly roared and snapped them back into reality.
In that moment, all Peter's senses came back to him, reminding him of where he was, that he was not alone and most importantly, that he was supposed to lead the people he had bickered in front of.
Peter momentarily glanced at Caspian as he retreated towards the How, only to be stopped by Beth before turning towards Lucy, who rushed forward as Edmund advanced with Trumpkin in his arms.
"How could you say that? I understand you wanted to hurt Peter but you only managed to hurt the rest of your family," Beth's pained voice made Peter glance at the bickering pair. The princess was staring accusingly at her friend, arms crossed in defiance, not really noticing the deadly look in Caspian's eyes. "I don't care if you were just saying that. You are apologizing to them and to your people for that ridiculous scene as soon as you clean up."
"You are dead to me," Caspian hissed in return, his voice disturbingly clear despite the noise coming from the crowd around them.
At once, everyone stilled, glancing nervously at the royals, the close friends with secret fear at the Prince. Trumpkin, now healed, stood slowly in front of Lucy while Susan placed a hand on Edmund's shoulder as if to stop him from entering the fight.
Peter, the closest to the prince and princess, glanced knowingly back at Susan.
Caspian had chosen to believe his father's assassin instead of his best friend for the last couple of years.
What an absolute moron.
"Excuse me?" Beth asked, her voice turned down to a terrified whisper because of how shocked she was.
What the hell had happened in the castle?
"Why didn't you tell me?" Caspian roared and though she kind of wanted to escape and never look back, she knew that the only thing that could solve this was to calm him down, so she stood her ground.
"Would you care to fill me in on what you're talking about?" Beth tried to speak as evenly as she could, a frown of her face as she realized how deeply... disturbed he seemed. "And I'd very much like to have a civil conversation with you so calm the hell down."
The silence was tense around them. As the troops had reunited with their people, they'd unconsciously formed a makeshift circle around the pair so now they were the big show, a fact that Beth realized with an uncomfortable grimace.
The Pevensie siblings stood with Trumpkin on the first row, keeping Edmund from intervening but still, their postures prepared and a hand on their weapons.
Most bad things in our lives happen in a second. It takes one second for something bad to happen to us or to hear horrible news, only one second, but it always changes our lives forever.
Beth noticed everything in one second. For one second she was distracted and that's what it took for Caspian to point his already unsheathed sword to her neck, point digging into her skin lightly.
Beth stilled in fright as gasps echoed from all around them, all of the Narnians too fearful of Caspian to move.
She tried to remember a moment in which she felt as terrified as then.
She remembered her life in England, her violent father and her overwhelmed mother but still, she came up empty because, regardless of everything bad that had happened to her, Caspian was her rock and the one she always thought would never hurt her.
He was his best friend.
She clenched her fists as she stared at Caspian, wordlessly trying to find anyone, anything that would ground her so she wouldn't freak out. Above all things, she needed to think.
"BETH!" Edmund screamed, attempting to run to the rescue but retained reluctantly by Peter and Trumpkin. Besides them, Susan had notched an arrow to her bow, her eyes never leaving Caspian.
"Stay away, Ed!" Beth called with as much authority as she could manage, not because she craved to be released from this situation, but because she had never seen Caspian so unstable and if there's anyone that could figure out why, that's her. "Everyone, back off!"
Beth studied Caspian, noticing how his hands were shaking so much he could barely grab the sword. His slightly unfocused eyes glistened with unshed tears, even as they glared murderously at her.
Trying to forget the coldness against her throat, she took a small step forward and towards the prince.
"Caspian. This is me. You know me, you know you can trust me. We've supported each other through everything." Her voice couldn't help but tremble but Beth never looked away from his eyes. "What happened?"
Caspian angrily wiped his face as two tears fell down his cheeks. He attempted to steel the grip on his sword. "Why didn't you tell me who killed my father?"
"What?" Beth whispered shockedly, trying her best to ignore the sea of distressed voices around her. "I didn't even know he was murdered, I thought he died in his sleep! You told me that!"
His sword trembled even harder as he shook his head, inadvertly causing a shallow cut on her neck. "You're lying."
"Why would I lie? Caspian, I don't know who told you this but you need to remember who I am. I would never do anything to harm you." Beth declared passionately, yet slowly as to conceal her nerves.
She slowly walked forward, taking small steps towards her broken friend. Finally, she stood just before him and gently placed her hand on top of his. "Please, believe me. Give me your sword and let's get you inside. Caspian, please."
Both friends stared at eachother intently and finally, Caspian nodded slowly and left her with his sword before turning around and walking away without another word.
Beth could only stare after him in shock for a second before two pair of familiar arms were wrapped around her.
"Beth, are you okay?" Edmund asked frantically as he searched all over her for further injuries. His siblings stood behind him, a couple of fauns who served at the infirmary by their side.
Beth tried to speak but as the adrenaline left her, she found herself unable to do anything but hold herself up and even that took great strength.
As exhaustion washed all over her, she remembered she hadn't slept all night. Her feet suddenly failed her and she felt hands keeping her up as she tried to keep her eyes open.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry to disturb but Princess Elizabeth seems to be experiencing exhaustion cause by an anxiety attack. We should take her inside and get her to the infirmary to rest."
"She stayed up all night, also." Beth distantly heard Lucy. Her strength was quickly leaving her as sleep slowly claimed her and, at last, she gave up and rested her head on what he guessed was Edmund's shoulder. "I'll give her a drop from my cordial now but she needs to sleep, Ed."
Beth never knew what he replied for she was already too far gone.
His mind raced faster than his ability to grasp information, his hands were clammy, forehead sweaty as he rubbed his eyes, trying to somehow convince himself the last hours hadn't happened.
He didn't know what was happening to him. He was so desperate to free Narnia and he cared about them so much but when Miraz told him the truth...it became too much for him to handle and at the worst possible moment.
He walked from one of the corridor to the other, barely glancing at the beautiful drawings of the Kings and Queens of Old as he tried to come up with a way to solve this. He pried himself to be quite smart but this, this he didn't see a solution.
His heart raced, his head hurt as he replayed every moment all over again.
Miraz.
His father.
His people.
Peter.
Beth.
Then, he halted on his steps as he realised he had done the unthinkable. He had placed a sword against his best friend's neck. He had hurt the girl who had dropped everything to save him time after time.
He turned towards the drawings, his mouth covered by his hands as he thought of the four Monarchs of Old.
He thought of Peter and how, even when he hated him, Caspian couldn't help but admire his leadership' skills. He thought of Edmund, his best friend. He thought of Lucy, the little sister he'd always wanted. He thought of Susan, and how he hadn't stopped thinking about her since they met at that clearing.
In one morning, he'd ruined the truest friendships he'd ever had in his life.
He remained motionless before Susan's picture as the stress, the pain, the madness exploded inside him.
He'd never felt as unsteady as he did then.
He didn't know what was wrong with him.
"Are you so glad of that magic horn boy?" Nikabrik's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Your Kings and Queens have failed us, Caspian. Half your army is dead and those who aren't will be following them soon enough."
"What do you want?" Caspian snapped defensively as he attempted to clear his head. His inner conflict was no one's business but his. "Congratulations?"
For some reason, Nikabrik smirked at that.
"You want your uncle's blood?" Nikabrik demanded and Caspian recognised the madness he was feeling in Nikabrik's cruel eyes. "So do we. You want his throne? We can get it for you."
"It's my throne, not his. Who are you with?" Caspian barked distrustingly at the dwarf.
Nikabrik merely smirked before retreating towards the Stone Table' Room. "Follow me."
Caspian stilled for a moment, trying to check on his instinct to decide whether this was a good idea.
But his feelings were so mixed up together, his mind so foggy with confusion, that he couldn't decipher anything rather than his desperate need for everything to just stop.
So, after listening for other footsteps that might indicate someone approaching his location, he turned and followed Nikabrik.
Beth woke up feeling as if she'd slept really deeply. For a moment, she stared at the cavernous ceiling, frowning as she tried to recall what'd happened.
It came back slowly...and then all at once.
The army. Peter. Caspian. His anger at her.
The sword against her throat.
As if able to read her mind, he spoke from beside her, "You are okay. Stay still."
Beth slowly turned her head, frowning at how drowsy she felt. For a moment, she could only study the boy before her, looking for any major injuries, noticing how he seemed to have merely taken off his armour before sitting beside her while she slept.
She smiled slightly, ignoring her scratchy throat. "You look even worse than me."
Edmund left a leather-bound notebook on Beth's cot before chuckling and leaning forward to caress Beth's face. "I see your humour sense is thriving, as usual."
"It takes a lot to take that away from me," Beth replied weakly, a small smirk gracing her lips. She then sobered up and patted the spot beside her. "Come lay with me. I missed you."
Edmund hesitated before standing up and taking off his boots. He carefully crawled into the cot and lay beside Beth, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed his temple. "You really had me worried for a second, love."
"I can't believe I fainted in front of you. I make it a point not to be a damsel in distress, especially to the boys I like." Beth said with disbelief, both of them chuckling lowly at her own exasperation. She then rested her hands on his arms and looked up at him. "What happened?"
Edmund sighed. He tightened his hold on her as if reliving the fright and concern he had been subjected to. "You were seriously sleep-deprived and that on top of the stress and sudden rush of adrenaline caused by your fight with Caspian, it made you experience exhaustion and an anxiety attack. Lucy gave you a drop of her cordial to take care of any injuries but you just needed to sleep for a while."
Beth bit her lip, guilty at how actually haunted he seemed. She gently rested a hand on his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Ed, the last thing I wanted to do was to frighten you."
Edmund shook his head. "This was not your fault. You didn't do anything to have this happen to you."
Beth stilled as she remembered the fight and the clearly troubled prince.
As her lingering feelings of shock continued to course through her, the princess couldn't help but be extremely frightened by Caspian but still, she couldn't help but know something was quite not right with him.
She had to believe that otherwise, he would have never done that to her.
Also, she revelled in the feeling of Edmund beside her. There was something so comforting in knowing he was okay and so close to her. They'd gone through hard times the previous night but both were okay and together and that alone assured Beth that everything would be alright.
After a long moment of silence, she finally had the courage to ask. "Has anyone talked to him?"
Edmund rolled his eyes but replied nonetheless. "I don't know, honestly. I haven't left your side and I know the others have been avoiding him. They know you'd be upset if they killed him."
"Thank you for that, I guess," Beth quipped sardonically. She then noticed how hollow his eyes looked, how he was even paler than normal, how dark the bags under his eyes were.
She snuggled into him in an attempt to comfort him. "You are the one who should be sleeping, you look about to pass out."
"I'm alright now," Edmund assured her with a small smile before perking up. "Besides, there is this thing we promised to talk about when I came back from the raid."
Beth couldn't help but smile at that, annoyed of how insanely cute he was when enthusiastic about something.
"You might have to help me remember, Ed, nothing is coming to mind," Beth replied playfully, sighing when he leaned forward to kiss her longingly.
He pulled back with a smirk. "So, I'm your boyfriend now?"
Beth rolled her eyes with a stupid fond smile on her face. "I guess I don't have a choice."
Edmund laughed happily before kissing her forehead lovingly. However, before he could lean down again, a loud snore interrupted their moment.
Both royals turned to the side, noticing the centaur unconscious on the cot besides theirs. Beth gasped and raised quickly from the king's arms.
"Adrien?" Beth looked at Edmund as she approached the centaur's sleeping form, her face twisted in alarm. "What happened to him? Why is he here?"
Edmund scrambled up to his feet to stand beside her in case she felt faint again. "He had an attack too. His uncle died back at the castle."
"He's all alone, then. His uncle was all he had left," Beth sighed, quickly averting the conversation as she saw the guilt in his eyes. "He's the one that told us about Aslan's daughter, which we need to discuss if you guys haven't already."
"Oh, I know about that." Edmund shrugged when Beth looked inquisitively at him. "Aslan came to me in a dream. He said she will come to us in response to our greatest threat yet."
"So there's more crap on our way?" Beth asked. She shook her head before turning to Adrien again. "Well, hopefully the Daughter of Aslan will prove herself useful to counteract the fact that she hasn't made an appearance yet."
Edmund, noticing how Beth clearly didn't want to leave Adrien, brought her a chair before sitting on the princess' cot. "I know you, Beth. You have your I'm-going-to-do-something' face."
Beth rolled her eyes at the King before gazing at the asleep Narnian thoughtfully. "Adrien was worried about what would happen to him if his uncle didn't come back. I know how that feels but, so far, I've been lucky to always have people around me who I can call family. I was thinking that maybe I could be his sister, if he wanted to, of course. After all, I rather like having a lot of siblings."
"Well, it's none of my business what you do with your life, I've learned that from experience," Edmund replied, laughing when Beth glared at him, "But he couldn't ask for a better sister than you."
Beth smiled at him gratefully and it was in that moment that the queens of old walked into the infirmary.
"Beth, you're up! We wanted to check up on you." Lucy rushed to her best friend, wrapping her arms around her neck tightly.
"Lu, let her go. You're going to choke the poor girl," Susan intervened wearily as she followed her sister. She placed a hand on the princess' shoulder. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm okay. You two?" Beth asked in return, looking at them closely. She knew Caspian's words must have hurt them all.
"We're okay," Susan' expression was carefully built as to conceal her pain.
The princess recognised the queen's shielded face immediately. It was the same one she had worn in England every day.
Beth nodded understandingly. "Ed and I were just beginning to talk about Aslan's Daughter. There's much we need to discuss so perhaps we should organise a meeting."
Edmund looked at his sisters with a frown. "Where is Peter?"
Lucy sighed. "He disappeared right after getting Beth here. I think he's struggling to cope with what happened at the castle and his fight with Caspian couldn't have been very useful."
Susan and Edmund dropped their eyes as the previous night was mentioned, so Beth and Lucy hastened to change the subject.
"Su, you should talk to him. As the voice of reason in our family, he will listen to you," Lucy suggested before looking hesitantly at the other two until Susan nodded and exited the room. Then, she spoke. "What do we do about Caspian? He's the Heir to the throne, after all."
"I don't want him near any of you." Edmund crossed his arms defiantly. "I mean it, he was so out of line and I don't trust him."
"I agree that we should let him be on his own for a while but I'll talk to him later," Beth intervened, raising her hand when Edmund opened his mouth to argue. "You can be there if you want to but just like I had an attack, maybe he did too, only with different symptoms. Hearing the truth about his father's death couldn't have been easy and I'm not justifying his actions but he's my friend and I'm not leaving him just yet."
Edmund gaped at her for a few moments before groaning and covering his face.
Beth smirked lightly at Lucy. She had won that one.
Susan walked through the different corridors and outside, knowing that Peter would be feeling suffocated anywhere but in an open space.
She tried to offer a warm smile at every Narnian she crossed but found it difficult as they were all so obviously depressed.
This wasn't her first war so the grief should've been natural for her to deal with but she felt emotionally unstable, even more than how she'd felt in England.
She felt their grief too, added to the guilt of having been their leader in that failed raid.
And, for the first time since she became queen, she struggled to maintain her calm facade.
She pondered on how she would found her brother. He would either be practising with Rhindon, and it would take her a long time to make him stop or, worse, he would be numb.
But something must have changed within him because when Susan found Peter, outside by the deserted grounds around the How, he was crying his eyes out.
Susan sighed as she stopped walking. She covered her mouth as she studied her brother, trying to decide how should she approach him.
Finally, she sat beside him cross-legged and glanced at Peter, who had buried his head in his arms as he sobbed.
Blinking back emotional tears at his grief, Susan looked ahead towards the Narnian forest. "Do you remember when we came to Narnia for the first time? We were trying to cross the frozen Rush River when Maugrim and his pack intercepted us. I yelled at you for not accepting his deal and then you saved us when the ice broke. Do you remember what happened then?"
"We almost lost Lucy," Peter mumbled, still hiding his face but his crying not as intense anymore.
Even though he couldn't see her, Susan nodded. "And instead of being useful or comforting you, I yelled at you for losing her, as if you had anything to do with it. I've always been hard on you but I haven't realised just how much until now."
Peter raised his head slightly, only his eyes being shown, and looked timidly at his sister. Susan returned his look sorrowfully and shook her head. "I didn't agree with the raid but I think we all wanted to do something, we couldn't just sit here and hope for a miracle. You weren't alone in this and none of this is not your fault."
Peter rubbed his eyes harshly before groaning and sitting up straight before her. "I feel like shit."
Susan chuckled darkly. "We all do. But this is not our first lost battle. We will find a way to win this war and give the Narnians their home back."
"I know," Peter nodded before cocking his head, his posture sheepish. "I'm sorry I was such an arse to you during our year in England."
"Pete, we all had to cope someway." Susan smiled, happy to have her kind, overprotective brother back. "Besides, I couldn't have been much better with the state I was in."
"You were entitled to anything you felt." Peter reached forward and grabbed Susan's hand into his own fiercely. "We all deserve to have moments in which to break down."
Susan nodded and looked towards the Narnian landscape again. Silence was made between them as they both though about their home, how much it had changed and yet, how it remained their home.
Finally, Peter was the one to voice both their thoughts. "What do you think will happen to us if we leave again?"
Susan tried not to wince at those words. For a while now she had been trying to come to terms with the fact that their departure at the end of thekr quest was a logical possibility but still, the mere thought cracked her heart further.
So, when in doubt, go down the humor lane.
"I sure hope we don't have to. I'm kind of already planning Ed's and Beth's wedding."
"Yes, those two are meant to be." Peter smiled crookedly. "How is she, by the way?"
"She's just fine. Just a little scared," Susan replied, biting her lip as Peter nodded hesitantingly.
She needed to tell him about Aslan and his daughter, which would mean telling him that Aslan reached Edmund and Lucy in a dream when he could've helped them with the raid. It would mean telling him that his powerful daughter was amongst them, and they didn't even hear of it until now.
Also, that girl, as daughter of the King of Kings, ranked above all of them, Peter included.
Susan braced herself. "Pete, there's something we need to discuss."
"Am I the only one questioning why are we only hearing about this now?" Peter asked exasperatedly.
None of his companions replied. They all agreed with him.
"Everything happens for a reason?" Lucy intervened timidly, smiling innocently at Peter when he glared at her.
The group had decided to gather in one of the secluded rooms deep into the How that they used when they needed to discuss important issues.
Also, they didn't want their conversation to be heard. This whole information was stark new to them all and neither of them was completely certain it was entirely useful so, at least until furtherly discussed, no one else could know.
"I keep thinking about her daughter. He said she didn't have any idea who her true parents are. I can't even to imagine how it must feel to even be unaware you're living a lie." Beth shook her head. She looked up at Edmund, who stood right beside her. "And he didn't give any clues of what does she look like?"
Edmund sighed. "He only said she will have golden eyes."
"Well, that's helpful," Beth muttered bitterly, smiling when Edmund chuckled. Then, the princess looked at Lucy, who sat at the table with herself and at Peter and Susan, who were pacing behind the Valiant Queen. "Do we even know anyone with golden eyes?"
Peter shrugged, looking annoyed. "What I don't get is why she didn't come to aid us during the raid."
An umcomfortable silence was made as they all avoided voicing their thoughts first.
Susan gazed distractedly at the doorway, almost expecting Caspian to walk in and make amends.
She shook her head as she realized what she was doing. He had learned something terrible of course, but it hadn't been their fault. They still needed to hear his explanation on his regrettable behaviour but maybe, she needed to start accepting the fact that he's not the man she thought he was.
"Well, it's obvious," Lucy replied, raising her arms in defeat when Peter stopped his pacing to glare at her. "I'm sorry, Peter, but it is! Aslan said she would come at the wake of our greatest threat so clearly, it wasn't the raid."
They all quietened as Lucy's words slowly dawned on them. It meant worse was coming their way and the idea frightened them so much they didn't even want to imagine the possible different outcomes.
Slowly, Edmund sat besides Beth and closed his eyes in defeat. "So, basically, she might not even come during this war."
"It just means we have to fight for ourselves." Lucy replied, trying to remain optimistic and trusting of Aslan's plan. She glanced at Peter. "You said so yourself, it is up to us now. At least for now."
Silence was king again as they pondered over Lucy's words but then, Edmund broke it.
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask, what is this I hear about the White Witch's minions?"
Beth who had been rubbing her forehead tiredly, groaned and sank down her chair. Lucy squeaked and hid her face with her hands.
Peter and Susan halted in their steps and looked at the other three with wide eyes. Peter walked towards their table and leaned forward, resting his hands on it for support. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
"Okay, I know you'll go crazy so before you do that...well, don't, okay? We're fine, as you can see for yourselves." Beth replied rather defensively, studying the three oldest with narrowed eyes when they nodded their agreement.
Beth looked at Lucy, seeking for her approval to tell the story. Lucy only groaned and tried to make herself as small as possible.
Beth rolled her eyes and stood as she recounted the events occurred the night before. Even if they freaked out, she knew could count on the power Lucy had on her siblings and the one she wanted to think she had on Edmund in order not to be as reprimanded as she was sure they were going to be.
After she finished telling them about the witch and the werewolf, stunned silence was king as the three oldest monarchs gaped at the two girls. Edmund stood, as if his nerves were too much and Susan sat down, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden stress.
And Peter well, he had always been more vocal.
"So, when I told you to be safe, where did I imply that you could meet with admitted followers of the White Witch!?" Peter looked at Beth, in his mind the responsible one of the duo as she was the oldest. "What if Lucy was hurt? What if they had tried to bring her back using the two of you?"
"I know you haven't just told me again what I can and cannot do," Beth warned. Peter raised his arms in defeat and began pacing again. "Look, Lu had to be there, she was the only queen here. I'm no Narnian to have the power to make any decisions in your name."
"Look, I'm not happy about this, of course, but Beth is right," Susan said from her seat. She held up her hand, knowing that Peter was behind her glaring. "Peter, please, Lucy is queen too. I'd like to see your reaction if we kept you from fighting in order to keep you safe."
"Thanks, Su!" Lucy's face had slowly reappearing from hiding when she realized her siblings where taking the news better than she could have hoped for.
"I'm still not happy about this."
"Sorry," Lucy muttered and pouted at Susan. The latter looked away with a fond roll of eyes.
"But why did you even have to talk to them? It was obvious that they couldn't have meant well for us!" Peter retorted before glancing at Edmund pleadingly. "Brother, help me out here."
"Ah...I can't, Pete. They were wise to gather information. Now we know that we need to deal with the scattered followers of Jadis once we win this war." Edmund walked towards his girlfriend and whispered to her ear, "You need to stop stressing me out, love."
Beth leaned back and smirked. "What would be the fun of an easy relationship, huh?"
Edmund chuckled and kissed her temple as Peter finally sat besides Susan with a resigned sigh. "I give up."
"Good for you," Lucy quipped, "I'd also like to add that I'm technically 27 so you need to stop hovering around me like a mother hen."
As they laughed, a faun entered the room in a rush, frantically relieved to having found them. At once, the group straightened, knowing his news weren't good.
"Your Majesties!" He exclaimed, his eyes frightened, "The visitors from last night have disappeared! So has the White Witch's wand and those guarding the corpses are dead!"
For a moment, the five of them were petrified as they struggled to understand what he was even saying.
And then, everything got much more complicated.
"But they were dead! How-" Peter started but was cut off by Beth as she collapsed onto the floor.
Edmund and Lucy immediately rushed to her side but she seemed to ignore them as she gasped in intense pain, clutching her head and gritting her teeth as if keeping herself from screaming.
"Beth, what is it?" Edmund asked, frantically trying to make her look at him while Lucy studied her from the other side, trying to look for any injuries they might have missed earlier.
Just then, Beth stilled, her gasps stopped and the grip on her head relaxed. Slowly, she straightened and looked right into Edmund's eyes. "Someone is bringing her back. You know of whom I speak. They are at the Stone Table."
Edmund and Lucy looked shockedly at her. Behind them, Susan and Peter covered their mouths.
The princess' eyes had changed from green to clear gold, exactly like Aslan said.
Last time he was there, he had felt a tremendous amount of hope irradiating from the room. He had been accompanied by his heroes and his best friend and to him, it looked as if everything was going to be alright.
If only he could go back to those times.
The Stone Table's Room was almost completely dark when Caspian appeared at its doorway. He breathed deeply as he lit the fire once again, noticing how the room seemed to echo his own feelings.
Anger.
Despair.
Madness.
He shook his head and walked decidedly into the room. It would all be over soon. "What are we doing here, Nikabrik?"
"You have tried one Ancient Power and, of course, it failed," Nikabrik hissed as he stood right before Aslan's carving, "But you are yet to try the most powerful of them all."
"Of what power are you talking about?" Caspian narrowed his eyes at the dwarf, distruting him more with every second that passed.
"One that was a bless for Narnia," Nikabrik replied. He gazed at Aslan's carving and smirked, "One that kept even the Great Lion at bay for nearly one hundred years."
Caspian frowned at that but before he could answer, he heard steps behind him.
They were not alone.
Caspian froze where he stood, looking warily towards the entrance behind them as he tried to figure out who was approaching them. With a start, he recognized low whispers of a tunic as it brushed against the rocky ground, grunts and high-pitched whispers in another language.
"Who are you?" Caspian demanded as he unsheathed his sword.
"I am hunger. I am thirst."
Caspian lowered his sword in surprise as two cloaked beings appeared from the shadows.
The one speaking was a tall creature with a long brown cloak. His face was covered by his hood and he seemed to be carrying no weapon. His companion was an old witch. Ugly and with a beak, the witch was wearing a torn old dress. She didn't seem to be carrying any weapons either but kept her hands behind her back as if carrying something.
"I can fast a hundred years and not die," the man continued as they walked towards Caspian and Nikabrik. The witch was graceful like a panther while her companion struggled to keep up with her pace.
"I can lie a hundred nights...and not freeze. I can drink a river of blood and not burst. Show me..." he then took a step forward, and took of his hood as he roared, "your enemies!"
Caspian took a step and tried his hardest not to look too frightened.
The creature was a werewolf. A freaking werewolf.
"What you hate, so will we," said the witch, her voice weirdly musical, "No one hates better than us."
Caspian eyed them thoughtfully for a long moment. He knew better than to trust them but also, he knew he needed his uncle dead. More than anything he needed to see him die for his crimes.
So maybe, if they could keep her happy, maybe they would all be sparred after the war was over.
Caspian's expression hardened as he came to a decision. "Can you guarantee Miraz's death?"
"And more," the Witch replied as she bowed deeply at Caspian.
Slowly, Caspian nodded, agreeing to make the worst mistake of his life.
"Let's draw the circle!" the witch exclaimed with a flourish of her hand and she and the werewolf started circling Caspian, the werewolf drawing a circle with his claws while the witch chanted words in an unknown language to the prince.
Caspian stared at them almost in fascination. And then, like a spark of light in the dark, flashbacks were lit within his memory.
The two years of his friendship with Beth. Meeting the True Narnians. Training with Peter. Chess games with Edmund. Throwing knives with Lucy. Being with Susan by the archery fields.
"Wait," Caspian demanded but it was too late. The werewolf jumped forward and slashed his hand, blood flowing from the wound rapidly.
Knowing it was all about to get much worse, Caspian looked up in horror.
She stared right back at her.
The White Witch.
Cheers for reading! Hope you liked it!
