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Part 1 of chapter 13 is finally here!
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Chapter 13. Part I. "Recollections Of A Past Lifetime."
"This doesn't mean I lost my dream. / It's just right now I got a crazy mind to clean." - Twenty One Pilots, 'Heavydirtysoul'.
Everything had seemed so clear before. Why he had sided with the White Witch, why he had deceived his siblings, why he had escaped the Beaver's house to go to the castle, he had known all of those answers.
No more than a few hours had passed from the moment he had stepped into the courtyard full of stone statues and yet, as he sat on that frozen cell, surrounded by ice, Edmund couldn't help but ponder on how hazy and confusing was his mind.
He tried to shield himself but the cold and the fear were destroying his every nerve and his every thought, tainting even the happiest of his memories until they brought him nothing but shame and regret.
That's the thing, though, hadn't he betrayed his memories too when he rejected his siblings for sweets?
The objective had always been clear. Getting back at Peter, making him feel even an ounce of the pain he had felt at being alone and so misunderstood.
He had accomplished his purpose, that was certain.
Peter was hurt because of him.
But so was Susan, who had always tried to listen to him. Lucy, who had tried to be sweet towards him even as he continued to push her away, she was now betrayed too.
Just then, screams echoed from the hall outside towards the cell he was at.
Edmund shivered, his heart constricting with guilt.
Even strangers who had never done anything wrong against him had been punished because of his mistake.
How did everything go so wrong?
How did he manage to make so many terrible mistakes?
Heavy steps started making their way towards him.
He knew what that meant.
They were coming to get him and take him to the White Witch.
And from then, to chase his own family.
Edmund hugged his legs, making himself as little as possible, and wished fervently to disappear.
He needed to get out.
"You guys are so cute!"
Edmund woke up trembling, and gazed sideways in confusion at his girlfriend, who had sat up besides him to glare sleepily at his sister, who was smirking at them from the doorway.
"Dude, I was asleep," Beth snapped as she rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"I'm sorry but did you expect me to be silent when finding this?" Lucy asked with a laugh. "Now, Ed, I know nothing happened but you might want to get out of here before Su finds out, you know how she gets with this things."
"Oh my god," Beth groaned in exasperation but frowned when she glanced at her disturbed looking boyfriend. She raised hastily out of her bed after a second and marched towards Lucy. "I promise I'll get him out, now leave."
"But-" Lucy tried to retaliate but Beth closed the curtain that served as her room's door in her face.
"Are you okay?" Beth asked worriedly as Edmund sat up in her bed slowly, a frown marring his features.
Edmund looked at his girlfriend slowly as he fought to regain his bearings, almost expecting the cold to attack him again in any second.
Finally, he smiled weakly as Beth sat before him on the bed. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry...I just had a bad dream."
Beth reached forward to caress his cheek. "You dreamed about her again, didn't you?"
"It just feels so real," Edmund talked almost without noticing, leaning into her warm touch as it proved most effective to keep the memory of cold away. "And when I wake up, I just expect it to be cold so everything's so confusing and scary for longer than I would care to admit."
"Well, I know I can't keep that memory at bay." Beth replied as she moved towards her boyfriend and slowly sat on his lap. "But I can make sure you don't feel that cold when you wake up."
Edmund gulped, unused to being so close to her, and relished in her warmth as he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to be as honourable as possible considering she was in her nightdress. "Do you promise?"
Beth smiled and leaned to kiss him softly. "I swear."
Edmund kissed her back enthusiastically for a few moments before suddenly pulling away, clearing his throat as he tried not to blush. "My love, I'm sorry but I don't think we should be doing this."
"What do you mean?" Beth frowned in confusion before glancing at herself when she noticed that he was looking anywhere but at her. Then, she rolled her eyes. "Seriously? This is too much for you?"
"Not like that! I just-" Edmund quipped, his cheeks slowly cooling as Beth sat with a good-naturedly huff besides him on the cot again. "In the society I grew up in, this is...improper, so I'm not used to so much...proximity."
"Well, I'm sorry," Beth replied, swallowing down a chuckle as the mighty Just King scratched the back of his head nervously. "For me, this night dress is a too proper dress if I compare it to clothes people wore back where I come from."
"What did you wear to sleep in back in England?" Edmund couldn't help but ask curiously.
Beth smirked amusedly. "Well, I wore a tee shirt and shorts but I know that some of my friends back in England wore their undergarments."
Whatever calmness Edmund had managed to regain, it was gone as he flustered yet again. "...Undergarments?"
Beth cocked her head inquiringly. "Ever heard of a bra, my love?"
"Beth!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Beth laughed loudly as she reached forward to kiss his cheek lovingly. "You're just so cute when you're flustered."
"Can we please change the subject?" Edmund asked weakly, though laughing as well as his girlfriend looked away to hide the amusement in her eyes. By then, his nightmare was nothing but a distant memory.
"Of course, Ed," Beth replied as calmly as she could and pulled her hair into a bun, "We can talk about whatever you want."
Edmund looked at her wordlessly as she messed with her hair, distractingly pulling it out of the bun she had just made to start braiding it instead. He then reached forward to pull her closer and clasped her wrists just as she was about to reach for her hair again.
Beth looked up at him with a fake glare. "What are you doing?"
Edmund kissed the insides of her wrists, smirking slightly when he heard her breath falter. "I've never seen you with a bun before. It looks beautiful on you. Everything does, really."
Beth looked down for a second, her hair hiding her blush. "Well, aren't you a charmer."
"I'm just feeling grateful, I guess," Edmund replied easily as he lay on the cot, subtly giving her time for his praise to sink in.
He knew that as confident as she was, she found it hard to accept compliments because of everything she had gone through in England so he had no problem giving her time to become used to his praises.
After a few moments, Beth lay beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Why is that?"
"You helped me to get over that nightmare, just like you said you would," Edmund explained, gazing at his girlfriend with a soft smile as she raised her head to look at him. "You went through hell yesterday just like I did but somehow, you still found the strength to help me carry my emotional baggage."
Beth rested her chin on his chest as she pondered on his words. Finally, she shrugged. "I guess yesterday wasn't the worst thing that's ever happened to me. Like, yes, I relived that fear and pain, right? But it reminded me that I survived. I left England and I'm not alone. I have Adrien and you and all the others so...it can't really hurt me anymore, and that knowledge has given me strength."
Edmund was speechless as he studied the girl laying slightly on top of him. He was in awe by her strength, her resilience, and her endless kindness. He had no idea what he had done to get so lucky but he didn't plan on wasting his time thinking about that.
Beth was right, he got to choose what he felt about that nightmare.
And he chose to feel pride because he had atoned for his mistakes, he had worked on himself, and he wasn't going to betray his loved ones again.
Calm silence ensued between them as they lay, each of them comforted by the other's warmth.
After a few minutes, Edmund sat up suddenly with an alarmed look. "Wait, Lucy was here, right? She saw us?"
"Yes." Beth frowned in confusion as she sat besides him. "When Adrien woke up, I told him to tell your siblings that I asked you to stay with me until I fell asleep and you fell asleep too. I imagined that once they heard that, they wouldn't get any ideas if they found you here."
"But Lucy didn't know." Edmund stated hesitatingly.
Beth looked at him in confusion, both of their eyes widening in alarm as they began to realize the gravity of their situation.
"If your sister goes to your other sister with the gossip, we won't hear the end of it," Beth whispered with dread.
They lay frozen for a second before both scrambled to their feet at the same time, reaching frantically for their clothes.
"Why aren't you dressing?" Edmund asked almost exasperatedly after he turned towards Beth with his blue shirt on his hands to find her sitting on her cot, looking at him expectantly.
"I'm in my night dress," Beth explained, rolling her eyes when Edmund only raised an eyebrow in response. "I need to take it off in order to put on my dress."
"Right, of course, I will just go." Edmund flustered for the third time that morning. He rushedly reached down to kiss her before running out of her room in his pajamas, his clothes a wrinkled bundle on his arms. "I'll see you in a minute for breakfast, love!"
Beth watched her go with an amused chuckle as she rose from her cot and gathered her clothes from her pile by the foot of it.
She had become used to quiet mornings ever since she made it to that world.
In retrospective, she would rather have those noisy ones with her family any day.
Spare Oom.
Susan couldn't quite recall any memory related to those two words. It was more of a feeling, a feeling of dread, as if everything would change if they tried to find that place.
Susan wanted to stop Lucy. She knew they would be better off if they just got back on their horses, gave up on finding the White Stag and rode back to Cair Paravel. She knew they would regret continuing this path so she reached for her sister's shoulder but the impulsive Valiant Queen was already rushing through the thick forest.
Susan hesitated while her sister and her two brothers ran away from her and deeper into the woods, Lucy's skirts rustling against the fallen leaves, their crowns, gold and silver, shining as the sunset' light poured on them.
She wanted to scream and order them to stop. She wanted to go back home but she felt frozen, as if having a feeling deep down that, no matter what she did, she couldn't change what was about to happen.
She glanced back at the lamp post for a moment with trepidation as she frantically searched within the recollections of her mind for the reason why it so looked familiar to her.
It was a feeling that somehow, that unlit lamp post had started everything.
What was everything though?
She knew she couldn't be apart from the others, though, so, with despair, she followed.
It all happened in a moment.
The forest was getting thicker around them. What had been a young forest was now ancient and dead silent, branches and leaves getting in their way, obstructing their view and their step so much that eventually, the four of them had to walk slowly in a line, Lucy at the front followed by Peter, Edmund, and Susan closing the march.
They couldn't see. The trees had gotten so narrow around them that no light was able to get through, almost making it seem as if night had fallen.
Susan glanced warily around her. She was expecting it any second now. She didn't know what it was but it was the same anxious feeling that wouldn't let her sleep or that would make her study her surroundings carefully.
She had unconsciously been preparing for this moment for fifteen years.
But no amount of preparation could have ready her for what was about to happen.
Suddenly, as Susan reached forward automatically to move a branch aside, her fingers grazed something soft and warm.
Fur.
She stalled, her eyes widening in alarm as she noticed that thick, winter coats were hung around her, no trees in the vicinity.
She frowned at the floor. She was stepping on wooden boards.
There was no indication of a forest around them, even though they had been in one a few seconds ago.
Where exactly were they?
Susan looked up at her siblings. She wanted to call for them but she couldn't speak, she was frozen from the fear, from the certainty of knowing it was too late and there was no turning back.
She didn't remember ever using fur coats but still, she couldn't help but feeling as if the clothes around her were heavy with memories, almost as if they were just about to take her to a past she didn't remember, and that she wasn't sure she wanted to.
"Fur coats," she whispered in disbelief.
Her siblings didn't listen, too busy bickering before her.
Susan frowned. Their voices sounded lighter, almost childish.
She rushed forward as fast as she could to catch up with her siblings, trying to stop them from fighting.
It happened in a moment.
One moment she was Queen Susan the Gentle, the Marksman Queen, the warrior queen who led regiments into victory over and over again. She was the unofficial High Queen of Narnia, respected amongst the international royals and leaders, loved by her people and an essential part of the four kings and queens of Cair Paravel.
And in the next, she was Susan Pevensie, the teenager who was underrated by all adults for being a girl and a pretty face. She was back to being the logical sister, the annoying know-it-all who had no friends.
For a moment, all four of them stared at themselves in shock. Neither of them moved from their positions sprawled on the floor right before the wardrobe. Susan touched her clothes with a new sense of grief, her sweater and skirt so dear to her before, but now nothing compared to her long royal dresses.
She had lived in Narnia for fifteen years. She had family, duties, hobbies and a life there. She had grown up and became a widely accomplished woman.
Now, she was back to the start.
The shock stopped her from doing anything but breathing shakily, even as her siblings began to snap out of their daze.
"Susan," Peter finally spoke quietly. It seemed as if she had last heard his teenager voice a second and years ago at the same time. "Are you okay?"
Susan shook her head to relieve herself of the overwhelming feelings. She needed to keep it together. She had to survive in England until they went back, so she had to control her emotions even better than before.
At last, Susan looked at Peter with a thin smile, her eyes clear yet guarded.
"I'm fine, Peter."
Susan had been staring lifelessly at the door for what seemed like forever when her sister entered their room with an over excited giggle.
"Good, you're up." Lucy breathed hurriedly without really looking at the Gentle Queen. "You won't believe where our brother spent the night! I'm so ready to tease the two of them at breakfast, they have it coming."
"Alright, Lu," Susan answered distractedly, not really paying attention to her sister, her mind miles away.
Lucy looked up, startled at the lifeless tone, and frowned at Susan worriedly. "Su, are you alright?"
Susan then rubbed her forehead tiredly, closing her eyes in a poor attempt to erase that memory from her mind.
"Remember how Beth said that we needed to make new memories in order to forget what we saw yesterday?" Susan replied quietly after a moment, not taking her gaze off the floor as she continued to massage her temples. "I'm beginning to wonder what did she actually mean when she said that because this memory is just not leaving, no matter what I do."
Lucy hurried to her sister's side, laying her hand on the older queen's shoulder comfortingly. "Do you want to talk about it? I know you feel like you have to shield us from this but I can take it. Me or anyone you would like to talk to."
Susan whimpered painfully, the grief of her memory tormenting her again because, unlike what the others saw, her personal nightmare was something that could perfectly happen again, any minute now.
If anything, she was more reluctant to talk to Lucy than anybody else because of how easily she had fared in England, especially in comparison to the mess the Gentle Queen had been.
Lucy had her faith and, in England, it had been enough for her to hold onto the hope of going back to Narnia.
Susan, maybe because of her status as an older sister or just because of who she was, had always struggled with matters she deemed illogical so, in the subject of faith and hope, Gentle and Valiant Queen had rarely seen eye to eye.
However, maybe that's why Lucy was the person she was meant to talk about this. After, all, in the matters of faith, her sister was the undisputed professional.
Susan began slowly, almost hesitatingly as she tried out the words to explain a matter she hadn't discussed with anyone yet. "The day we went back to England, when you said the words 'Spare Oom', I had a bad feeling, as if we shouldn't look for it. I tried to stop you guys, to make you turn back and go back home to Cair Paravel but I was frozen, almost as if I knew nothing I did or didn't do would change our fate."
"The day we went back, that was your worst memory?" Lucy asked carefully, looking at her sister with pity.
Susan stared right ahead, knowing it would be easier for her to pretend no one was beside her as she poured out one of her deepest secrets. She nodded slowly. "It was enlightening, in a way, as much as reliving that day made the grief surface all over again."
Besides her, Lucy cocked her head inquisitively "What do you mean?"
"Our worst memories, they reflect our darkest regrets or fears, haven't you realized?" Susan replied, finally glancing at Lucy, both of their expressions troubled. "Peter is terrified of losing any of us, and that's why he saw the moment the White Witch almost killed Edmund. Ed, he's frightened at the idea of reliving his days as a traitor and you-,"
"My faith," Lucy cut her sister off, her eyes wide as she also saw what her sister had figured out, "Aslan represents faith and hope to me. I have always depended on both of them to survive, so my deepest fear...I'm terrified of losing them both."
Susan nodded, unconsciously fidgeting with her hands "I think my deepest fear is the uncertainty of not knowing what is going to happen. Our lives in England were paused when we came here. Here, we grew up, we settled into adulthood and from one moment to another, we were right back to the start. The anxiety it left me, the need to look over my shoulder and be aware of any indication that we'd be going back, I think that was what damaged me the most last year."
"But we came back, aren't you happy about that?" Lucy's gaze was even more worried, as if she truly feared for her sister's answer.
"Of course I am, Narnia is my home. My place is here as Narnia's oldest Queen of Old." Susan smiled as reassuringly as she could. "But a thought I've been mulling over is that it could happen again. We could go back in one split moment, without warning, and we'd have to settle in our home away from home all over again. I don't think I can deal with that a second time."
Lucy grasped her sister's hand in hers. "But what will you do if we have to leave again?"
Susan looked at her sister thoughtfully for a moment. She knew Lucy only wanted to help but she also was beginning to realise was that in her sister's mind, there was no other path than hoping and waiting patiently.
As per Susan, she wanted to spare her heart if the worst happened, and regardless of any cost.
The Gentle Queen finally stood from her cot, bringing her sister up with her. The two queens looked at each other in silence, the younger with innocent, hopeful eyes, the older with guarded ones, heavy with not so happy realisations.
"We'll worry about it when the time comes, okay? Now come, we need to get to the kitchens before our brothers eat all of our food," Susan replied with a joking smile and walked towards their room's makeshift door, a slightly hesitant Lucy following her.
But then, as the Gentle Queen reached for the curtain that served as their door, she stalled and turned towards the Valiant Queen with a frown.
"What were you saying before about Edmund?"
Lucy grimaced nervously at her sister's look of alarm. "Oh yes, well, about that..."
"Lu!"
Lucy turned at that, smiling mischievously as Edmund fell into step with her. "Good morning, my dear brother. Should I ask how was your night?"
"Shut up," Edmund replied pleasantly. He locked his hands behind his back as he leaned towards his sister. "Did you tell Susan?"
"It might have slipped," Lucy replied, laughing when Edmund groaned. "Don't worry, Susan might freak out over this but she's not Peter, she will listen to you before jumping into any conclusions."
"I forgot about Peter," Edmund grumbled. They both smiled politely at two dwarves who walked past them before Edmund reached to grab Lucy's arm. "Seriously, do you think is going to be alright?"
"Ed, we know you. You're far too proper to do anything that might not be deemed honourable," Lucy spoke quietly, smiling as reassuringly as she could when she noticed how flustered her brother was behind his cool façade. "And Beth is far too young, just like you. We might tease you but we trust you."
"Well, good." Edmund replied sheepishly before resuming their stroll, Lucy walking behind him with a slight smirk. "It was actually a really good night. I didn't want anything to taint it."
"I noticed. You don't look as haunted as you did yesterday," Lucy quipped as she linked her arm through his like they used to do when they took strolls through Cair Paravel' gardens.
"I actually had that nightmare again, about the White Witch, but Beth and I talked about it and the way she sees it is that we get to choose how we feel about those horrible moments we experienced," Edmund began, slightly hesitant as he found it difficult to voice his feelings, even to someone as close to him as Lucy was. "So, I chose to be proud that I've changed and I'll never do anything like that again. I feel better now."
Lucy smiled softly at him. "I'm glad, because we're proud of you."
Edmund nodded his head in thanks before glancing forward, noticing they were nearing the kitchen, and smiled as he imagined himself next to his girlfriend again.
Lucy noticed all of that and her heart fluttered at seeing her brother so light, carefree and happy. It was poetic, in a way, that Beth and Edmund got together. In a way, Beth had saved them from the White Witch, but most importantly, she had saved the Just King from falling into her claws yet again.
Not that she could ever be so emotive with her brother.
So, Lucy gushed playfully, "You love her, don't you?"
To her surprise, her brother flushed slightly before eyeing her with a small smile. "I think I do."
Lucy froze, not used to her brother not being snarky but then, Edmund glared at her.
"Don't you dare say a word about this, Lucy Pevensie."
And, he was back.
Lucy smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"Lucy, I mean it," Edmund threatened hushedly as they neared the entrance to the kitchens.
"Fine!" Lucy replied with a laugh as she raised her arms in defeat before moving to allow a group of Narnians to enter the room.
Edmund moved past her with a huff, already looking for Beth as he neared the kitchens but her sister was not done.
"Ed?"
Edmund glanced at her distractedly, having spotted Beth walking towards them with Adrien. "What is it?"
Lucy smiled, all teasing gone from her features. "For what is worth, I think she loves you too."
Edmund looked at her then, his eyes lit with hope. "I hope you're right."
"I was worried last night, Ed, you could have let me know where you were," Peter commented teasingly as he sat on the table.
"I tell you, waking up to see the biggest bed-head ever registered, I thought something really wrong was up with Beth," Adrien intervened, adding to general hilarity of the room.
Edmund rolled his eyes and glanced at his companions. "Why aren't you teasing Beth too? She was who told me to stay with her."
"Way to throw me under the bus," Beth intervened drily from beside him.
Lucy, who sat on Edmund's other side, smiled charmingly. "We aren't teasing her because you're much easier to annoy."
"Besides," Susan chipped in from Lucy's other side, "What kind of people would we be if we didn't take the opportunity to mock the professional prankster in our family?"
"Right, so you all have ganged up against me and breakfast isn't even over. Nice," Edmund grumbled, fighting off a smile when Beth leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"You know we mean well. How big would your ego be if we didn't tease you on a constant basis?" Beth asked cheerfully.
From Beth's left side, Adrien looked up from his plate. "Immense?"
The table exploded into laughter again as Edmund turned towards his last possible ally and tried to ignore his flushed cheeks.
"Help me," Edmund mouthed at Peter as the latter took a bite from his plate.
Peter only smirked in return.
The oldest Pevensie glanced silently at his siblings, trying not to attract any attention to himself as his heart felt lighter by the joy spread around him.
Deep down, Peter knew that those were darkest days to his family. They had tried everything to help Narnia to no avail so now, Peter had given up, and was willing to wait for Aslan.
Waiting, hoping, it was infinitely harder for him than it was to attack and he knew he wasn't the only one.
But right then, as his siblings remained optimistic and joked around, unconsciously bringing up the general morale, Peter felt prouder than he had ever had. Remaining joyful and optimistic during their country's hardest days was a monarch's hardest and most important job, after all.
He was also thankful for Beth, and even Adrien. He knew it wouldn't be the same without them.
And he was thankful for a certain prince too since, as annoying as Caspian might be, he had become very important to his siblings.
"I hate to break the cheerful mood," Peter cut the light chatter around him, grimacing innerly as his companions sobered up, "But we need to talk about Caspian."
"What about him?" Lucy asked, noticing how Susan averted her eyes towards her food, how Edmund glared at Peter and how Beth closed her eyes wearily.
"Yesterday we discussed our personal relationships with him," Peter replied, his eyes on the Just King, the Marksman Queen and Aslan's Daughter. "But Caspian is the heir to the Telmarine Crown and if we're to present a united front to our troops, then we need to solve this sooner rather than later."
"How are you defending him?" Edmund growled, "If anything you should be rejoicing in our broken relationships with him!"
Peter shook his head in shame at having been so immature during the last couple of weeks when it came to the Telmarine Prince. "We aren't perfect, Edmund. We all were forgiven for our mistakes. If forgiving Caspian will make us a better team in order to defeat our enemy, then that's what we need to do."
Edmund straightened at that, his usually warm, bright eyes cold with deep fury. "I remember my mistakes. They keep me awake at night, even counting with your forgiveness. I won't be unfair for it is against my nature, but he was my best friend and I deserve to process my fury before I even think of forgiving him."
"Ed, I didn't mean it like, you know that-" Peter began but Edmund raised a hand to stop him.
"I know but right now, I don't particularly care. Give me some time, okay?" Edmund replied, struggling to soften his voice. Once Peter nodded his agreement, Edmund turned to his girlfriend. "I'll see you later, okay? I need to get to the training grounds."
"I'm teaching the Archenlandian sword fighting style later, you should join me," Beth replied with an encouraging smile as she gripped Edmund's hand in silent support.
Edmund nodded, small smile grazing his lips and after kissing the princess' forehead, she nodded at the rest and exited the still full of activity room.
Peter rubbed his forehead tiredly, before looking at Beth. "I don't mean to be insensitive but where do you stand? You're Aslan's Daughter, which makes you a member of the Narnian Royal Family."
"I hadn't thought of that, with everything that happened," Lucy intervened, her eyes curious as she looked at the princess. "What does that make you then? Princess of Narnia? Queen?"
Beth shrugged, "I was actually planning to ask Professor Cornelius. Would you like to join us?"
Lucy nodded enthusiastically and Adrien, who had been entirely focused on his breakfast, looked at Beth pleadingly. "Can I come too?"
Beth nodded with a loving smile. "Of course, brother."
Both Lucy and Adrien raised from the table at the same time, enthusiastic about their next activity but, as Beth raised too, Peter cut their departure off.
"Beth," the High King pleaded as he leaned forward slightly, "Please."
Beth hesitated before regarding Peter with careful, guarded golden eyes. "I'll stand beside Caspian against Miraz. It is my duty as his friend and the Great Lion's Daughter and if you think my attitude towards him needs to be modified in the name of the people we're fighting for, then I'll do what's right for them. Until then, Ed is right. I deserve to be angry and to make my own process. I'm uncomfortable at the idea of trusting him again so please, do not push me on this until I'm ready."
And with that, Beth walked away from them as serenely as she could, Lucy and Adrien trailing behind her.
Peter stared after them, worried at having pushed them too far. He had nothing but Narnia's best interests in mind and in order to succeed, he knew they needed to stand together.
He just hoped he wasn't too late.
"They'll be fine."
Peter turned towards Susan with a hesitant frown. "How can you know?"
Susan smiled almost amusedly at that. "Beth left the first healthy home she knew for Caspian. She isn't leaving him now."
Peter sighed. "And our brother?"
"You know how guilty he still feels about the White Witch, even after all this time." Susan shook her head with certainty. "He takes this things personally but he isn't the Just King for nothing. His anger will fade away and they will go back to being best friends."
"I hope you're right," Peter replied with concern. His breakfast laid cold and forgotten on its plate before him. "And I hope I didn't push them too far."
Susan looked at him thoughtfully before smiling suddenly as she stood up. "I don't think so. I think you pushed us just the right amount, in fact."
Peter looked up at his sister with a confused frown. "What do you mean?"
Susan grabbed her quiver from its spot leaning against their bench and smirked at Peter. "You're right, our people goes first. It's time Caspian and I had a chat."
Caspian hadn't felt that miserable in a long time.
He knew Peter would have taken his absence from breakfast as an opportunity to talk to the others so he decided to lay low but still, he missed his friends.
The thing was, he wasn't the kind of guy who ran from a fight. He would have rather be near them to prove himself worthy of their trust and forgiveness as soon as he could. But, he had been asked to give them time.
This was one of the hardest things he had ever done.
He winced as he shifted his shoulder slightly. The day before, between everything that happened, he had wrapped his open wound hastily and forgot all about it. Clearly, it hadn't been enough so there he was, at the infirmary, waiting for someone brave enough to deal with him.
Caspian sighed and covered his face with his hands. Everything was such a mess.
"I hope you haven't waited for too long."
Caspian looked up from his hands, his eyes widening involuntarily as Susan approached him.
"No, just waiting for someone free enough to treat me," Caspian replied, his voice uneven as Susan remained guarded, detached from him.
"I'm free. Are you okay with me treating you?" Susan asked evenly as she folded up her sleeves.
Caspian nodded and watched her mutely as she headed decisively towards the counter where all the medical supplies had been set up.
The first thing he noticed about Susan was that she seemed darker, for some reason. Not because of the hardened look on her face or the leather vest she still wore over her dress after the raid but just something about her demeanor. It didn't change how Caspian saw her because to him, the Gentle Queen was the girl who entered his life and made everything better but it saddened him anyways, because he would have the merry girl who practiced archery with him any day.
He wanted Susan to be happy, and nothing else.
"How is the ankle?" Caspian asked as Susan walked to stand beside him by the cot.
Susan left a few clean bandages, a recipient with water mixed with Lucy's healing potion and a pair of scissors on Caspian's cot before smiling slightly at him. "Good as new, luckily. How's the head?"
"Same, my skull is too thick to be so easily harmed," Caspian chuckled lightly before looking down to his feet.
Susan regarded him silently for a moment before sighing. "Caspian, I need you to take your shirt off."
The prince looked up quickly, trying not to blush as he pulled the shirt over his head, wincing as he shifted his shoulder slightly.
Immediately, Caspian felt a pair of hands reaching for his shirt as well. "Here, let me help."
Caspian stayed still while Susan retrieved the shirt and stepped closer to him, her focus on cleaning the infected wound. Her fingers were gentle and cool against his hot skin so, despite the awkwardness, he couldn't help but be immediately relaxed.
Susan eyed him before smiling slightly. "Can I offer you some advice, Caspian?"
Caspian tried not to nod too eagerly. "Of course."
"Now, this is going to burn a little bit so just hold onto me, okay? You're going to be fine." Susan started to wrap the bandages around his shoulder, reaching to place a hand on his other arm when he hissed. "My advice is that you shouldn't be so polite to the others while you wait for them to forgive you."
Caspian grunted as he felt the wound healing itself, and tried to distract himself by looking at the beautiful girl before him. "What do you mean? They said they needed time."
Susan remained silent as she cut the extreme of the bandage with her scissors and tied it so it would stay in place. She then moved to sit besides the prince. "My brother and Beth feel betrayed and, while that's something you can't change, it also doesn't help for you to be so unnaturally mellow around them because it just reminds them of everything...does that make sense?"
"Sort of," Caspian replied, "so I should tone it down but not entirely, then? I just feel I should keep to myself while they process everything, out of respect."
"Well, perhaps you should give them time but doesn't mean you need to stay away from us," Susan quipped, her face wearing an amused smirked as she nudged Caspian playfully. "Also, it means you can look at me in the eye, something that you aren't capable of doing as of late."
Caspian chuckled and looked at Susan doubtfully. "I thought you were going to side with Ed and Beth."
Susan cocked her head thoughtfully before reaching slowly to grab his hand into hers. "You saved me, Caspian. I couldn't be angry with you after that, no matter what you said."
With that, she leaned her head against his good shoulder. Caspian, feeling lighter than he had in a long time, reached down and kissed her forehead lightly. "Thank you, Susan."
Susan smiled, clutching his hand tighter but, before any of them could resume the conversation, Trufflehunter entered the infirmary.
"Your Majesty, Prince Caspian, I'm sorry for the interruption," Trufflehunter quickly apologized as he bowed.
Both teenagers quickly stood up as calmly as they could manage, adverting their eyes from each other. Susan smiled slightly at the Narnian. "It's okay, my friend. What is it?"
"I'm afraid I have worrying news for you, My Queen," Trufflehunter replied, "My team and I have just finished counting how many lives we lost back at the Telmarine Castle."
Susan and Caspian exchanged a concerned look.
This could not be good.
Professor Cornelius looked down from the clear, free Narnian sky when he heard laughter behind them. Turning, he laid eyes on the trio walking towards him and smiled, taking advantage of the distance to study his old and new friends.
Queen Lucy was a face he felt he could recognise anywhere. There was distinct light in her features that made her eyes brighter, her step graceful and her smile hopeful. Her light came not from innocence or childish naivety but from knowing things always get better, and that's what made her faithful disposal contagious.
Adrien was an interesting creature, to say the least. From what the Professor had managed to find out, the young centaur descended from a long line of revolutionary leaders. However, as the centaur laughed delightedly at something Queen Lucy said, Professor Cornelius couldn't help but wonder whether he knew about his past, about the curse Narnians said had been inflicted on his family.
He wondered whether Adrien would be lucky enough to be spared.
Between the former two walked Princess Elizabeth. He had watched the girl grow, forever innocent as she followed Caspian and Prince Thor around, her loose golden locks flowing with the wind, her dress wrenched in mud as she ran carelessly through puddles.
As the Professor studied the princess, those memories felt from a lifetime ago.
The fourteen-year-old before him was no girl, not anymore. She was a warrior queen, the kind worthy of songs made in her honour, like Queens Susan and Lucy. Elizabeth had entered that world as a scared girl with no allies, power or family. In two years, she had managed to obtain all three, along with her true descendance.
Oh, Professor Cornelius was well aware of what they wanted to discuss with him.
After all, who else but an intellectual to tell the Great Lion's daughter everything he knew about her true nature?
"My dear Professor," the princess said warmly when they were at hearing distance from the old dwarf. "I hope your stay with us has met all of your needs."
"You have been gracious hosts, my dear princess," the Professor replied with a serene smile as she reached forward to hug Beth, Lucy and Adrien in turns, "Hopefully, we will soon be able to succeed in regaining Caspian's castle."
"Hopefully," Beth replied politely, her golden eyes glowing gently as they reflected the sunlight. She intertwined an arm between the Professor's, Lucy and Adrien falling into step with pair on either side. "I'll say, Professor, we need to discuss some matters. Are you free to take a walk with us?"
"I was actually about to take a nap but we could perhaps head towards the lateral entrance in order to avoid unwanted ears," Professor Cornelius replied amicably before patting his friend's hand. "I must admit I didn't expect you to be Aslan's Daughter but I should have seen it coming. After all, a Daughter of Eve never comes to this world without a reason."
"But her past," Lucy trailed off, nodding when Beth smiled assuredly at her. "I don't understand how Aslan could have sent her to an abusive household. There has to be something we're missing."
"Probably," Professor Cornelius shrugged kindly before glancing at his companions in turns, "However, if there's anything that might be able to comfort you, Your Highness, is that you are the remarkable person you're today partly because of what happened to you. I don't condone it in any way and I'm sorry you had to go through that but you fought, you survived, and now you're more than ready to lead your people into victory."
"Perhaps," Beth finally replied, her eyes carefully masked as she glanced into the distance. Silence enveloped them for a second before she smiled thinly at the Professor. "But I'm not interested in discussing that. I'd like to know everything you can tell me about my legacy, if that's okay with you."
"You said Beth is ready to lead her people into victory," Adrien suddenly quipped in from besides his sister. "What does that mean? Is she going to be our Queen?"
"Well, Aslan's Daughter was said to be a free spirit. As the daughter of the King of Kings, she is High Princess of Narnia and the Narnian throne is hers by right but whether she wants to rule, that's her choice and no one else's." Professor replied, Lucy frowning in confusion from his right.
"So all this time we have been fighting for Caspian to be King when Beth was the rightful Queen all along?" Lucy asked, her voice slightly higher as panic filled her insides.
"Wait, I-" Beth began to complain but Professor Cornelius raised a calming hand in her direction.
"I wouldn't worry, Your Majesties. Caspian is the rightful heir of Telmar's crown, just how Beth is the rightful heir of Narnia's. In any case, I would advice to concern yourselves with this later. Life tends to work itself out, you'll find out," Cornelius explained, smiling slightly as he felt Beth relaxing beside him, "Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions about your heritage, my dear."
"Well, I wonder who my real mother is, mostly," Beth replied slightly uncomfortably, "And also, whether my English mum knows I'm not actually her daughter by blood."
"Well, I'm afraid you will need to ask Aslan himself about your English mother, Beth," Cornelius replied kindly, "About your true mother, I'm afraid none of the books that refer to the myth of the Great Lion's Daughter specify who her mother is. They do however detail some of the powers you inherited from her, just as you also share powers with Aslan."
"Powers? That's so cool! What can she do?" Adrien asked excitedly, the rest of the group laughing at his enthusiasm.
"Brother, I'm human, not a toy to play with," Beth teased lightly as she wrapped her free arm around the Centaur's shoulder. "But...what powers?"
"Well, it is said that you will be able to unlock them once you find someone to count as your emotional support," Cornelius replied, "Once you are able to form that kind of bond with someone, most likely a loved one, you'll be able to shapeshift into any animal, you'll have supernatural strength and a small amount of magic, which you'll have to learn how to control, of course."
"That's amazing! Would she be able to summon stuff? Because I'd kill for a chocolate bar," Adrien pouted innocently, his adorable face making the rest of the group melt as they laughed.
"Again, not a toy," Beth laughed slightly nervously in reply as they finally arrived the vicinity of the lateral entrance, where the training grounds stood. In the distance, they could see Edmund practicing with his army.
Lucy glanced at the Princess knowingly and stepped forward before offering her hand to the centaur. "What do you say we go see what Ed's up to? Maybe we could convince him to teach us some techniques."
Adrien nodded eagerly and pouted in a begging manner at his sister, smiling enthusiastically when Beth nodded her agreement. The centaur hugged the princess tightly before running off, Lucy laughing as she followed him in a much slower pace.
"I see you found yourself a family in this Ancient Monarchs, Your Majesty," Professor Cornelius pointed out as the pair resumed their stroll.
"Cut it out with the politeness, my friend, I'm no Queen to be called as such," Beth replied in a joking dry manner, "Regardless of who my father or my legacy might be."
"I can't imagine what you must be going through. To be handed little pieces of the life you were stolen, because you were born to help your people, just like your father was," Cornelius said in a fatherly manner, smiling gently at the Princess as she ran an impatient hand through her loose locks. "However, I'm afraid there's something else we need to discuss."
Beth halted altogether after hearing those words, nerves for some reason bubbling from the bottom of her stomach. "What is it?"
"There is something called True Nature. According to the lore, Aslan's daughter -meaning you - , can reach this State only at pivotal times in your life, in which you would gain tremendous power beyond your imagination, at the cost of a great drain of energy once you returned to your normal state."
Beth slowly nodded as they resumed their walk, "Okay, how do I reach it?"
"You need to imagine the happiest moments in your life with the people you love. The happiest the memory, the easier it will be for you to achieve your True Nature." Cornelius explained before hesitating for a second. "However, the lore also indicates that the first time will be more difficult, for your True Nature won't be activated unless in response to one of your loved ones' being at risk."
Beth froze in her step and glanced at the Professor with wide eyes before looking towards their right. In the distance, they could see Edmund directing Adrien on how to properly hold his sword, Lucy standing slightly to the side.
Beth gulped. "Does it say whether I'll be able to save them?"
Professor Cornelius patted her hand in a comforting manner as he grimaced sadly. "You must save them. However, I'm afraid it doesn't clarify whether you will."
Beth closed her eyes shortly before she chuckled darkly.
"I really hate my life, sometimes."
"That's my spot."
Peter lowered the borrowed bow and turned to throw a cheeky smile at his sister. "You need to learn how to share, Susan."
Susan rolled her eyes and stood besides Peter, glancing critically at the arrows Peter had poorly shot at the target. "Why are you practicing archery anyways? You hate it."
"Edmund and I made a bet. I need to hit bullseye before our meeting with the War Council," Peter replied easily. He shot yet another arrow, sighing as it sped past the target, missing it altogether.
"What happens if you lose?" Susan asked curiously as she moved to adjust his brother's posture.
Peter smirked. "If Edmund wins, I have to make the inventory with you tomorrow. I wanted to anger him so I told him that if I win, I get to be best man at his wedding with Beth."
"Nice," Susan rolled her eyes. She took a step back and motioned Peter to shoot. "Why do you think we're so comfortable at the idea of two teenagers marrying in the future, anyways?"
Peter threw a satisfied smile at the arrow he shot, which had managed to actually hit the target before exchanging a frown with his sister.
After a moment, they both shrugged.
"Hey, how did it go with Caspian?" Peter asked as he aimed yet again.
Susan sighed, "Do we have to talk about this?"
"It's up to you, I guess," Peter shrugged. He groaned as his latest arrow landed on the most exterior ring of the target and glared at Susan, "Will you help me? I don't want to be stuck doing the inventory with you."
"I feel honoured, really."
"You know you can be slightly overbearing when it comes to doing a task with somebody not as overachieving as you are," Peter replied, smirking when Susan rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Aim," Susan sighed in defeat. She walked around her brother, inspecting her stance, "It's just, I've done complicated, you know? I've seen how bad it can turn. You weren't in Tashbaan but it was so terrifying to see Rabadash's true colours. I have no intention of going through that again."
Peter lowered his bow with an alarmed glance. He remembered that Calormene Prince really well. "Do you think Caspian's like Rabadash?"
"No, of course not!" Susan exclaimed, "He's nothing like that monster...which in a way is worse for me because it means I could really fall for him and I really, really, don't want to be hurt again."
"Su, I get it but we are humans. We are bound to be hurt more than once. We live and we get hurt, that's just how it is." Peter shrugged, his bow by then forgotten as it hang from his hand loosely.
"But it's so complicated! Every time him and I have tried to start anything with him, something happens," Susan retorted moodily, "First you and your overprotective mother-hen complex, then the raid, then the White Witch and it's so unfair. Aim again, you're not giving up yet."
"But Su, when has anything been easy for us?" Peter asked, rolling his eyes but aiming nonetheless when Susan motioned him to stand sideways, "We lived for fifteen years in Narnia before being whisked away back to England. We spent an year there and we came back to our home only to find out it's been thirteen hundred years since we left Narnia, everyone we knew from the Golden Age is dead and we're fighting a freaking revolution. When has it ever been easy for us?"
Peter sighed when he heard no response and turned towards his sister, expecting her to be on the verge of murdering him.
Instead, Susan was cocking her head at him, almost fascinated. "You almost sound like you're okay with the idea of me and Caspian."
"I'm trying to be," Peter replied honestly. He lowered his bow again. "I mean, we've grown up already after all, right? Just because I'm the oldest doesn't mean you or Ed or Lu can't date. Ed was a major flirt while we were living in Cair Paravel, you were engaged last time we were here, even Lucy had a crush for Peridan, for Aslan's sake. I struggle with the idea, because I want you guys to be happy but, just like I supported Ed with Beth, I support you if you want to be Caspian. And if either of you guys wake up one day and you don't want to be with them anymore, then I'll support you then as well."
Susan smiled, all former bickering forgotten, and reached forward to hug her older brother tightly. "What you've just said is something neither the you before Narnia or the High King you ever said to me. It means more than I can express."
Peter smiled back and glanced at the sky as the wind suddenly picked up, noticing with a frown how rapidly it seemed to be darkening. "We should go inside before the rain catches us out here in the open."
Susan nodded her agreement and picked up the quiver full of arrows Peter borrowed from the armory. "Besides, there's something we need to discuss with the others. Trufflehunter has finished counting the amount of people we lost with the raid."
Peter nodded darkly, all happiness gone from his features but held up a finger as he reached and took an arrow from his quiver. "Give me a moment."
Without waiting for a reply, Peter aimed, held his breath, and shot, the wind helping him hit bullseye.
The High King smirked at the impressed Gentle Queen.
"Looks I need to start preparing for a wedding."
Beth stood by the lateral entrance of the How, looking unimpressed by the lone, wet, figure that continued to practice on his own under the rain.
"Are you going to tell him?" Lucy asked from beside her.
Beth sighed, "I wished he made it easier and just came inside. I don't want to ruin my dress. I only brought three."
Lucy patted her shoulder mockingly, "Your life just keeps getting harder, sweetheart."
Beth snorted despite herself and pushed her best friend away lightly, "Have some empathy, you heathen."
"Yes, because I'll direct my empathy towards the girl who gets to hang out with her boyfriend all day," Lucy replied mockingly, smirking when Beth laughed shockedly. The Valiant Queen then retreated inside, calling without turning, "I'm going to watch the rain from a drier spot. Hope you have fun!"
Beth shook her head amusedly before sighing and running outside towards the training grounds, shielding her eyes as rain began to pour even harder. A lightning struck once more, and Beth eyed her boyfriend with alarm as she carefully stepped on the wet grass.
"How are you able to continue practicing!?" Beth yelled to make herself heard as she neared Edmund. She gestured at the storm surrounding them when Edmund almost dropped his sword, startled by the sudden interruption. "The sky is about to fall down!"
Recovering a moment later, Edmund smirked at the princess. "Isn't it romantic, though? You coming to look for me under the rain? This is the kind of material all romance novels are based on!"
"I thought you were 'too tough' to read those kind of novels," Beth replied, smirking when Edmund had no answer. "You see? You can't even hide how much of a softie you actually are."
Edmund wanted to retort but he softened as Beth finally stood before him, her long hair wet and sticking to her face, her eyes glinting merrily. He reached forward and snaked an arm around her waist before reaching down to kiss her. "Hi. I missed you."
"I missed you too." Beth smiled slightly before pulling away and punching his shoulder. "What are you doing here? All trainings were cancelled due to the weather."
"I guess I lost track of time," Edmund shrugged, rubbing his shoulder mockingly, "I used to practice under the rain all the time when I lived in Cair Paravel. It's no big deal."
"No big deal because you had servants that attended to your every need." Beth rolled her eyes before grabbing Edmund's hands and pulling him back towards the How. "Come, let's get inside before we catch our deaths."
"How did the meeting with Professor Cornelius go?" Edmund asked as they walked slowly back towards the How in order no to slip. He wrapped his arms around Beth in a poor attempt to cover her from the rain.
Nonetheless, Beth looked up at him with a smile before grabbing onto his hands. "I'll tell you about it but I need you to remain calm until I finish, alright?."
Edmund nodded and true to his promise, he remained silent as Beth recounted her conversation with the Narnian Professor, though his eyes grew darker the more she spoke. At last, Beth looked up at him with sheepish smile. "Wondering how a person's life can be so complicated?"
"Sweetheart, stop underestimating me, I know complicated," Edmund replied, his arms tightening unconsciously around her frame. "Do you know when is it going to happen?"
Beth shook her head. "I have no idea. I wished I knew, so I could protect all of you. This is what peeves me the most, you know? Like, why does it have to affect you as well?"
"I know. I wished it was easier, you deserve easier," Edmund replied, "But I'm with you, no matter what."
Beth stopped walking and turned in his arms, reaching up to kiss him a moment later. "Thank you, Ed."
Edmund shrugged with an easy smile. "No problem."
The pair resumed their walk in thoughtful silence before Beth suddenly carrasped nervously. "So, now that you're already in the mood, when do you think is the acceptable time for me to tell you that you are attending a meeting with Caspian, Peter and Adrien to plan our strategy to face the telmarines?"
"What!?" Edmund stopped, Beth sighing and pulling away from his arms to look at him with the most adorable smile she could muster in response. By then they were a few feet from the entrance. "Why aren't you girls going!?"
"Lucy said there's work for her to do at the infirmary and Susan forced me to help her make a inventory of the weapons and armours we have," Beth replied as soothingly as she could. She grabbed his face and forced him to look at her when he looked up exasperatedly. "Hey, I know this sucks and nobody is asking you to be his friend but you're the best strategist we have. If you're there, Peter can't be too dauntless with his plan, and Caspian won't be able to be too careful."
Edmund sighed, "I know. But you have to make it up to me. You could easily be there instead of me."
"What? Would you rather help Susan?" Beth retaliated, rolling her eyes playfully when Edmund glared at her. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Fine, I guess I can manage to make it up to you in some way."
Edmund smirked and leaned down to peck her lips. "Good."
"Will you two just get out of the rain!? You're tainting the view with your cuteness!"
Edmund and Beth looked up in alarm, smiling when they encountered the annoyed faces of Lucy and Adrien on the terrace above the lateral entrance of the How.
"I was here first!" Edmund called back, laughing when the pair groaned in response.
"Hey, you should better get out of there, that terrace is not safe ground at all! You're at risk of falling down any second now!" Beth ordered, narrowing her eyes when neither the queen nor the centaur moved, "I meant it, get inside where it's safe!
"I know see why you and Peter bonded so quickly," Edmund commented, "You both have the same overprotective syndrome."
Beth threw him a dirty look but before she could respond, another lighting struck, this time on the higher levels of the How.
The four of them looked up as they heard a terrible sound, almost as if the How itself was complaining by the collision.
And then, some stone from the top of the structure became loose and fell right on the structure Lucy and Adrien were standing on, effectively trapping them.
"What now?" Edmund asked as people began to emerge from the exit just before them, his siblings amongst them.
"Oh, dear Aslan," Susan gasped as the group reached the soaked couple.
"Can we get the griffins to bring them down?" Caspian asked concernedly.
Peter shook his head, his eyes never leaving his youngest sister, who was wrapping her arms around the scared centaur. "We sent them on a patrol. It'll be hours before they get back."
"What do we do then? Another stone could fall on them any moment now." Susan quipped in, her face white as a ghost. The five of them looked up, ignoring the rain falling on their faces, terror reigning within all of them.
Edmund turned suddenly towards Beth, his eyes pleading. "Love, try it now."
Beth shook her head frantically. "I don't even know how it works, what if I hurt them further, I-"
"Beth. Please."
The princess swallowed her fear as best as she could and returned her boyfriend's earnest look. "I don't want to fail them or any of you."
Edmund shook his head. "You can't. We believe in you."
Beth took a deep breath and nodded, ignoring the others bewildered looks as she took a few steps forward.
"What is going on?"
"What is she doing?"
"Beth?"
The girl in question looked up at her frightened brother and best friend, focusing on their smiles and their excited chatter when they accompanied her to talk to Professor Cornelius to calm herself.
She thought of Adrien's relief when she decided to take him in as her brother. He was her family, just like she was his.
In a way, he was her emotional support.
She opened her eyes as she started to feel a distinct warmth growing from her stomach and expanding to her entire body.
She ignored the gasps behind her as she felt herself growing larger.
She was Aslan's Daughter and she was there to help, just like her father was.
Instinctively, she took off the ground, flew onto the terrace, and grabbed the two relieved kids before taking them back towards safe ground just as another stone fell from the superior part of the How and broke the terrace.
Beth carefully placed them a few feet before the gathered crowd before landing on the ground herself, closing her eyes again as she felt herself becoming human.
Immediately after the transformation was over, she rushed towards Adrien and Lucy, who by now were surrounded by the royals. "Are you guys okay!?"
The two of them hugged Beth by her waist tightly, too shaken to reply.
Susan glanced at the boys around her before gaping at the princess. "A gryffin? How?"
Beth shrugged humbly, "I can shapeshift, apparently, just like my father."
Adrien looked up with a small smile. "Thanks, Beth."
Beth hugged the two tightly, smiling when she felt Edmund and the others hugging them as well. She formed her bond with Adrien, yes, but she had a family in all of them.
Narnians were beginning to get restless as they waited for their leaders to join their meeting. They had been hearing rumours all day, as the uncertainty and doubt reigned over them all without problem.
The shock had worn off but still, the threat was as real as ever. The Telmarines were coming to end them.
What were they going to do?
At last, Peter, Edmund, Caspian entered the room they reserved for meetings, Adrien behind them. The Narnian leaders gathered around the table stood at once, bowing respectfully at their monarchs.
"Thank you for joining us, my friends," Peter began as he headed for one head of the long table, Edmund heading towards the other. Caspian sat on Peter's right while Adrien took his place on Edmund's. "We understand there's been doubts circling around on how are we going to face the next stage of the Narnian Revolution. Hopefully, we will be able to ease those concerns by the time we finish with this meeting. Shall we begin?"
The Narnians nodded and sat around the table while Peter, Edmund and Caspian remained standing. The High King nodded at Trufflehunter. "Trufflehunter, your team and yourself finished counting the Narnians we lost at the raid. Could you share those numbers with the rest of the group?"
Trufflehunter nodded grimly and stood as well. "My friends, I'm afraid we lost 243 Narnians at the Telmarine Castle during the raid. 50 of those approximately lost their lives on the way back to the How."
Silence ensued while the Narnians wordlessly grieved for those lost at the unfriendly territory. Edmund glanced at each face mournfully as he became angry at their circumstances.
243.
Those Narnians lost their lives with the hope of creating a better Narnia for their people. A Narnia in which their families could live without the fear of being persecuted by those who invaded their country.
They couldn't let the fallen Narnians become nothing but a number.
"We will win this war for them," Caspian suddenly spoke. He glanced at each Narnian decidedly. "We can never hope to fill the hole our fallen brothers and sisters left us with their sacrifice but it will not be in vain. We will win this war for them, for every one of the Narnians in the How and for the generations to come."
Peter clasped Caspian's back with an approving nod. "Very well. Now, do we have inventory of our supplies and weapons?"
Edmund shook his head and placed his report on the table covered by maps and drawn loose paper sheets. "Queen Susan and Princess Elizabeth are dealing with the inventory of our weapons as we speak. The last inventory, made before the raid, detailed we had 784 bows, 364 crossbows, 1987 swords, 601 knives, 5009 arrows, 697 axes and 1997 shields. Of course, we have members of the army continuously making new weapons so we just need the updated version to know where do we stand but I'm not worried."
"Good, thank you for the update. Now, I'm aware you and our sister are doing the inventory of our leftover food supplies tomorrow so we will be able to organize hunting parties once you guys are done," Peter smirked subtly at his brother before gazing at Trufflehunter, "What about our medical supplies? How long can we fare with the ones we have left?"
"We should be good for a few weeks, Your Majesty, especially with Queen Lucy's cordial," Trufflehunter replied, "Her Majesty is right now stocking our reserves with new bandages but it wouldn't be unwise to go on a last trip to the forest to fetch medicinal herbs."
Peter nodded, "Choose ten soldiers and head with them tomorrow at first light."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"That's all very nice," Trumpkin intervened harshly, "But it won't do us any good unless we have a plan for when the telmarines come. Do we know how many soldiers we have?"
Caspian carrasped, "I took care of those numbers earlier today. Currently, we are counting with 660 archers, 826 swordsmen and 759 wild animals."
Tense silence was made as they all thought the obvious thing. They were not enough, not against the telmarines.
Caspian suddenly reached forward and grabbed a large empty paper sheet, hastily sketching the How before looking up at his companions. "The Telmarines will come. Miraz already feels like he knows his enemy so now, he will come with his entire force to end us. Our only chance at winning is to come up with a way to trap them and attack them from all sides."
Peter raised his eyebrows at the idea, "Do you think they will fall for a move like that?"
Caspian smirked lightly at the High King, "You said it yourself, this is a tomb. They don't know the structure like we do, so they will come with the assumption that they are going to trap us here."
Peter glanced at his brother, who in return frowned at the Telmarine Prince. "Well, do we have a way out in case they come and surround us?"
"On the lowest level of the How, there is this immense empty space supported by nothing but large stone columns," Caspian began, himself, Peter, Edmund and Trumpkin frowning as they remembered the last time they were at that place. "Princess Elizabeth and I thought of using it for storage when we first arrived here but we finally deemed it too unstable."
"If we dig in, we could hold them off indefinitely," Peter mused to himself before chuckling lightly. He hated it when Susan was right.
Edmund walked around the table and grabbed Caspian's sketch, placing it by the middle of the table so everyone could see. "If we destroyed those columns far enough from the How as to not compromise it but close enough so that our archers can reach them, we could make the Telmarine cavalry fall, unsettling their horses and causing chaos amongst their forces."
Caspian leaned forward and pointed on either side of the How's main entrance. "If we dig two exits on either side of that spot, the same army that destroys the underground structure could come up on either side of the enemy and attack them before they can regroup."
Silence ensued as they all tried to find any faults in the plan.
Finally, Trumpkin nodded. "I like it but we should coordinate all of the attacks so the underground group knows when to destroy the structure and the archers know when to shoot without taking out any of their own."
"Beth could help us with that," Adrien quipped in, "She could use her powers to make sure our armies stay coordinated."
Peter nodded proudly, "We will have to speak to our sisters and perfect the plan but I think it's a solid one, unless any of you have anything else to add?"
Almost everyone immediately shook their heads but a faun hesitated before glancing directly at Edmund. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but couldn't Princess Elizabeth do more in the upcoming war? She is Aslan's Daughter, right?"
Edmund school his facial features into a polite uninterested expression, even as his eyes darkened defensively. "Yes. So?"
"Well, we were witnesses of how she turned into a gryffin to save Queen Lucy and Adrien. Shouldn't we exploit her powers as much as we can?" Bronn asked, clearly unaware of how much he was risking his life with that blunt question.
Edmund threw a subtle exasperated glance at his brother. Peter smirked in return and motioned him to take the question.
"Princess Elizabeth, as you must be aware, has only recently become aware of her true legacy. I'm unaware of what do her...new abilities entail, but I'll be sure to discuss it with her," Edmund finally replied, barely holding himself from actually growling at the poor Narnian.
"Well, since we've established that," Peter finally decided to intervene, "I call the meeting adjourned."
The Narnians bowed and retreated the room, quietly chatting amongst themselves, leaving an angry Edmund, an amused Peter, an excited Adrien and an uncomfortable Caspian standing around the long table.
"My first war council room," Adrien breathed excitedly, "That was so cool!"
Meanwhile, Peter smirked at Edmund as he and Caspian began to organize the objects laying on the table. "Are you okay?"
"I mean, the nerve of him," Edmund retorted angrily, "Like, I get it, she's here to help. That doesn't mean she's an object!"
Caspian cleared his throat, his eyes on the table as he quickly retrieved books and maps. "We know her. She won't let herself be so bluntly used."
Edmund opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Lucy as she rushed into the room with an excited grin.
"Guys, there's something you need to see."
"Okay, I know you girls are really excited but I had all kinds of scares today so just, keep it simple, okay?" Peter asked as the group moved towards the How.
"Fine," Beth, who walked at the front of the group, agreed as she threw the others a smile, "So, what do you guys actually know about the stories written about you?"
"The least we hear about them, the better," Edmund quipped.
Susan rolled her eyes at him from the back of the group where she walked with Caspian before calling, "Why do you ask?"
"Well, you know how there is this legend that the Old Narnians hid all kinds of objects that belonged to you guys in certain Narnian locations in case you came back, right?" Beth asked as they walked through the entrance of the already lit Stone Table Room.
"Yes, you told us the How was one of the places where the Narnians might have hid our stuff, right?" Peter asked as he took a few steps forward. Unconsciously, the other four stepped side by side, all of them gazing at the room respectfully.
Beth, who stood a few steps before them, nodded excitedly. "One of the theories is that the How wasn't built for the Narnian's safety, but rather to protect the Stone Table and your belongings. Caspian and I have been looking for those things ever since we arrived to the How."
Caspian's eyes widened. "You found something, didn't you?"
Beth smiled excitedly at him, all anger at her friend seemingly forgotten. "I sure did. Come, I need your help to grab everything."
Caspian nodded and followed the princess across the room and to the side of Aslan's carving. Beth moved a stone faux wall and together, the two of them entered carefully.
Behind, the four Kings and Queens of Old walked hesitatingly forward, their eyes fixed on the hiding spot.
Edmund gulped emotionally. "It's incredible how much they loved us, when you think about it."
Susan shook her head. "I try not to think about it. It makes me feel even more guilty at having left them when they needed us."
Lucy sighed. "We need to stop feeling guilty about that. They clearly didn't hate us. They guarded our belongings and everything."
Peter nodded and glanced at his siblings as Beth and Caspian re-emerged from the hiding spot. "Lucy is right. We weren't here for them but we're here for their families. We're going to save them, whatever the cost."
Beth and Caspian left the covered bundles on the Stone Table before turning towards the Pevensie. The princess smiled reassuringly. "Now, I think the magic in this room's enough to keep this intact but just in case... be prepared, okay?"
The Pevensie nodded and Beth and Caspian eyed each other before they carefully uncovered the four bundles. Finally, Beth turned and handed Lucy a thin, long bundle with a smile. "Lu, I believe this is yours."
Lucy took the package slowly and smiled brightly as she uncovered it. She unsheathed the blades slowly, her eyes shining with relief when they came out of the sheath without problem, the knives perfectly kept in spite of the time. "My long knives! My dear friend, the Princess of Galma gave them to me!"
Caspian in turn handed Susan a much smaller package. The Gentle Queen uncovered it with a melancholic smile, sighing in relief as she laid eyes on her favourite bracers. "I wondered where this might have gone. I couldn't find them in our chest."
"Well, chances are the Old Narnians hid the belongings you used the most," Caspian replied with a smile. "Try them on, just in case the straps wore off."
"Now, boys, this are yours," Beth intervened as she uncovered Edmund's and Peter's old armours.
Lucy looked up from her knives and Susan stopped fidgeting with her bracers to witness their brothers walk towards their armours slowly, almost as if they were in a dream.
"The chainmail is in a perfect state," Edmund finally breathed as he slowly grazed the armour with his fingertips, studying every inch of it.
Peter glanced at the golden lion sewed onto the armour shirt, taking in the bright golden surrounded by the deep, passionate red before looking at the heirs to the Narnian and Telmarine thrones. "Thank you."
Caspian shook his head. "We are just returning them to their rightful owners."
Besides him, Beth smiled. "We couldn't let you guys continue to think any of this is your fault. You weren't part of the problem but you're here to help and that's all it matters to any of us."
Lucy and Edmund rushed to hug Caspian and Beth respectively, too moved to speak. Behind them, Susan laughed as she dried her eyes. "Now, I don't want to cry before any of you so I'm going to sleep. Perhaps we should all do the same."
"She meant in your own bed, Ed."
"Cut it out, Peter," Edmund called before glancing at his girlfriend. "Do you want me to walk you to your room?"
Beth glanced at Caspian before shaking her head. "Actually, I wanted to talk to Caspian alone for a second."
Edmund glared at Caspian before sighing as Peter carrasped pointedly. The Just King kissed Beth's forehead and glanced at her with raised eyebrows. "I'll be waiting for you outside, okay?"
"I'll be right there," Beth replied patiently, watching him retreat with a fondly exasperated smile.
Soon enough, his fading footsteps were all the sound around the prince and the princess. Caspian clasped his hands behind his back as awkward silence fell around them.
"Is everything alright?" Caspian finally asked, secretly cowering under Beth's scrutinizing glance.
Beth regarded him with a certain indecision before sighing. "I had a talk with Pete about you today. It made me think and I thought I should discuss my conclusions with you."
Caspian took a hopeful step closer, his heart hammering in his chest at the possibility of regaining his best friend. "Okay, then."
Beth then dropped her calm, cool act for the first time since the White Witch's incident. She wrapped her arms around herself nervously, almost as if supporting herself. "Peter thinks I'm showing my anger towards you in a too obvious way. He thinks it isn't good for the people to see the two of us so divided."
Caspian crossed his arms in an attempt of refraining himself from rushing forward and hugging Beth until they went back to before when they were so close. "Well, you have a right to be angry and, after hearing you express your feelings, I can't forgive myself either, if I'm being honest."
"I know you aren't like that, though," Beth replied, her voice small, her defenses dropping from either the decreased anger or her love for her best friend. "I know abusive people. I've lived with one and I've seen them at court, here and in Archenland. Your uncle is abusive. You aren't."
"I did threaten you, though," Caspian whispered, his eyes filling with guilty tears as he remembered that wretched moment vividly. He looked down in shame. "You, the only family I have left, you were there when I needed you, and I retributed you with a sword against your throat."
Beth took an involuntary step forward but halted herself from going any further. Caspian felt even worse at the clear fear she felt but then, Aslan's Daughter smiled thinly.
"Look, I just need you to know that I'm not leaving your side. I will fight beside you against Miraz. The Narnians are now my people too, yes, but you used to be my best friend and I'm not giving up on you," Beth declared, her chin held proudly before her eyes softened as she continued, "Caspian, I'm still angry and I'm afraid of you a little bit but just give me time, okay? I will forgive you, eventually."
"Of course," Caspian replied with a small smile of his own, "and in the meantime, I promise that I will become worthy of your forgiveness. You won't give it to me out of the kindness of your heart. I will regain your trust as your co-leader and as your friend. I love you for being such a good best friend, Beth, and you deserve everything good life has to offer, including my respect while you process everything."
Beth's smile widened, her eyes shining merrily for the first time since their fight.
She nodded her head. "Good."
So, how was it?
I'm actually still undecided on who is going to be Beth's mom. If you have any thoughts on that please leave it on the comments.
Stay tuned!
