Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, only my OC's and plot.

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Chapter 9: Necklace

"The courtyard is beautiful today," I admire as I walk through it hand and hand with Brianna. The sun is shining through, sending marvellous rays through the tree leaves. All the flowers are in bloom. Roses, carnations, tulips – everything you could imagine. The sound of the fountain in the middle of the courtyard ringing through the air is shrill and somewhat calming. And the smell! The smell is indescribable!

"It is rather pleasant," she agrees nonchalantly whilst admiring a white butterfly sitting on a leaf.

"Would you like to sit down for a little while?" I ask, gesturing to the stone seat.

"That might be nice actually. We can watch the butterflies on all the flowers!" she exclaims as she skips over to it and sits down. I smile at her enthusiasm. Sometimes I still can't believe that this gorgeous little girl is my daughter. We truly are the luckiest parents in the world. I sit down next to her and sigh. This place is just so beautiful.

"What's your favourite part about being a princess, Brianna?" I ask after a few minutes of peace and quiet. The blue butterflies surround us as we sit there taking it all in.

"Being able to wear pretty dresses and jewellery and also being able to call you mum and dad." I smile and hug her into my side.

"Well we both love calling you our daughter." She puts her arms around me in a loving gesture as something catches my eye in the corner of the yard. Underneath one of the rose plants in the corner, something is shining in the sun. It sends off rainbows in different directions as the light hits it from different angles. What is it? I stand up, leaving Bree on the seat, as I investigate it. As I get closer it looks a little bit like a chain. I can see each individual knot as I get down close to it. I pull on it and out of the dirt comes a small silver necklace. Something is hanging off it but it's covered in chunks of dry dirt. I take it over to Brianna and sit down next to her as she curiously looks at it too.

"What's that thing hanging off the chain, mother?" Bree asks.

"I'm not sure." I try dusting it off, but the dirt is too stuck. I look around for anything that can help before my gaze rests on the fountain. Hmm…I stand up and dunk it in the water, watching the dirt slowly disintegrate off the end, before I brush away the excess. I give it one last dunk to get the last bit of muck off it before examining it closely and moving back to the seat. It's a small pendant with a green stone positioned in the centre. On top of the green stone is a letter. B. "I think this was Bella's necklace," I whisper as I stare at it. As soon as the words leave my mouth the air around us starts to cool. Something feels strange. Almost an eery feeling. The butterflies begin to disappear from around us too as the courtyard goes quiet. The sun goes away as clouds take over the sky. Goosebumps run up my arms and legs as I look around us. I can feel Bree start shaking uncontrollably next to me too; her teeth starting to chatter in the cold. Even the fountain water is starting to fade its noise. It's enough to pull me out of gaze. Something's not right. My heart starts to speed up as my eyes scan our surrounds. My eyes land on one of the trees as I hear the snap of a branch.

"Run, Brianna," I command in a calm, but also somewhat shaky voice as I stand up. She doesn't; instead, she grabs onto me.

"Please, I don't want to leave you!" All at once a creature jumps out from behind the tree at us. Roaring at us. Brianna screams as she clutches onto my leg. I reach for my sword, only to realise its nowhere to be found. No!

"GO!" I scream at her as I push her off my leg. The creature snarls at us before it starts to run. Brianna screams again as I grab her and run her through the courtyard; the creature chasing us as we weave between rose bushes and flowers. She lets go of me as we continue to run. The creature gaining on us. "Keep running, Brianna!" I say as I look beside me at her. I stop dead in my tracks though as I realise she's not there. I fling myself around in a panic and freeze. She's tripped and…

"ASHY!" She's also no longer Brianna. It's Bella. I race over to her, as fast as my legs will carry me.

"BELLA!" I scream, but I'm too late. She's gone. "No," I whimper as I fall to my knees. I cry. No – I wail – as I startle awake. My eyes fill with tears. It was just a nightmare. I feel strange though. Like I have no emotion. My eyes are full of tears, but I don't have the energy to actually push them out and cry. I feel…empty.

"Ash?" I turn over in bed and face a groggy, tired Peter, my body feeling lifeless and drained.

"That nightmare – I don't understand," I whisper. It's caught me so off guard. He envelopes me in his arms, holding onto me so tightly I couldn't get away even if I wanted to.

"It's okay. I've got you," he whispers in my ear. We stay like this for a few minutes, trying to recover from the shock of the dream. A knock on our bedroom door quickly drags my attention away from Peter and over to the other side of the room. "Yes?" Peter calls out quietly obviously hearing it too. It's not uncommon to have people knocking on our door at all hours of the night. Usually, it's guards reporting a crime or alerting us to a raid of evil creatures in the town which is why I'm surprised when a little face appears through a slight crack in the door. I frown at the expression on her face and roll away from Peter, sitting up slightly.

"What's wrong, darling?" I ask as I open my arms to her. She pushes open the door fully and runs up to me, immediately jumping into my awaiting arms. I stroke back her long, black, messy hair as she quietly sobs into my nighty.

"I had a nightmare and it scared me," she chokes out in a whisper. Me too, Bree, me too.

"What was your nightmare about?" I ask her curiously. She moves over so she's cuddled up into the crook of my arm before looking at me. I smile reassuringly and wipe away the few tears that have escaped their confines from her cheeks. She gives me a bleak smile before wiping her runny nose on my white, bed sheet.

"Me and you were in that courtyard together, but we were sitting on a stone seat. We were talking about something when suddenly a big creature jumped out at us. You told me to run, but I didn't listen to you since I was scared and all I wanted to do was stay with you. It started chasing us around the courtyard, but I slipped on the tiles and fell to the ground. You came back to save me but the creature pounced at me before you could help me and I died," she cries. I immediately pull her closer to me and kiss the top of her head softly. We had the same nightmare. I feel my face drain of any blood that was left in it as realisation hits. Why did we have the same nightmare about that courtyard?

"Why don't you cuddle up to daddy for a bit. I need to go for a quick walk."

"Ashley?" Peter questions as I pass Bree over to him, his eyebrows furrowed into a deep curve. My eyes well up as I look at part of my little family.

"I'll be right back, I promise." I pop my head into the twin's rooms quickly to make sure they're still sleeping – and in bed – before grabbing my sword from the table and heading out into the not-so-abandoned hallway. Yerialds is standing guard with Oreius outside. Both are on night duty tonight now that they're back from searching for the spies, girls, and trainees. They found nothing else. No hints, no clues, no shoes. Nothing. "Would you come with me?" I ask Yerialds. He looks at me curiously.

"Where are we going?"

"Downstairs. You must keep this quiet though. No one must know exactly where we're going." He nods at me before looking at Oreius with concern. Oreius looks worried, but says nothing wisely. We walk down the staircase and to the Great Hall, bumping into a few guards along the way. They all bow and look suspicious, but don't question me as I've got Yerialds with me. Once we're in the Great Hall, I tap on the secret doorway three times. My heart is racing as the door opens. "Wait here," I instruct. I feel fingers wrap around my arm though as Yerialds holds me back from going in.

"We were told no one was allowed in that courtyard anymore. Your orders. And because of that, I'm slightly concerned about you going out there by yourself in the middle of the night." I huff. I need to do this.

"I know, Yerialds, but this is important," I respond. I think it comes out snarkier than I intend, but hopefully it gets my point across.

"Please can I come with you then, Ashley? I have a bad feeling about this." You know he's serious when he uses just Ashley instead of my official title. I sigh and push his arm off mine.

"The centaur entry is around the other side of the hallway and I can't risk being caught by anyone so no. I need you to wait here. I promise; I'll only be a minute." I turn around and enter, much to Yerialds disappointment, before walking through the small corridor and into the open air. I pull my sword out, just in case, and wander into the middle of the courtyard where the trickling fountain is. I check for any movement, any sounds, anything that will give away if someone – or something - is here. Nothing; everything is quiet. I sit down on the seat and look around, trying to remember exactly what I did in my dream when a shimmer catches my eye in the moonlight. I walk over to the garden cautiously, constantly checking behind me, before bending over and picking up the chain. Tugging on it, the necklace rips out of the ground, the pendant covered in dirt. Just like my dream. I look around, checking again for anything that could be here. All is quiet. I turn around and walk quickly back to the entry, stashing the necklace into my pocket, when through the quiet I hear something. A snap. I turn back around slowly. My heart picking up more speed as all my nightmares come rushing back to me. Its red eyes piercing, reflecting the glow of the moon. Its teeth shining as it snarls quietly. Its black fur ruffling slightly in the small breeze as it stalks ever so closer to me. "Stay away!" I scream as I hold my sword out towards it. It stops. "I'm warning you!"

"Eht fuh colsae niolm penatsa," it snarls back as it once again takes a few steps towards me. For some reason that language sounds familiar. As if I've heard it in a dream.

"I mean it. I will kill you," I say. It continues closer. Its jaw forming into a wolfy smirk.

"You know the language, Ashley. The language of the Black Subjours," it says loudly. I shake my head as my breathing spikes. I can't give it the satisfaction.

"I don't know anything. Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"Fajh leosaj kinme delaj noibne nejkmns – dead."

"I'd like to see you try," I spit out. It lets out a massive snarling roar as it leaps at me. My instincts kick in, rolling away from it in an instant. I stand and unsheathe my sword, the silver of the blade glistening in the moonlight. It turns to me and jumps again. I duck and leap forward as it jumps overhead, smashing into the water fountain and knocking the stonework down in the process. It turns to me again as I once again stand up. Its fur is dripping with red water – blood. It growls again as I see it change its stance. I ready my sword. This is it. I'm going to take it down this time. It jumps, claws out ready to strike as my sword swings – only it misses. My heart leaps into my throat as my mind makes a split decision. I throw myself backwards and aim my sword up, hoping it'll stab it. Whoosh. I hear a slash as another sword suddenly slices down, slashing the creatures head off just before impact. The remnants land on me, its body extremely heavy. I'm trying to make sound, but nothing is coming out. My head feels light. My brain is fog.

"Ashley! Ashley! Your Majesty!" Someone rolls the dead body off me, seemingly pretty easily, and picks me up. I can't really see a face. My mind is too wiped. My eyes blur over with blackness. The thing places me down on something soft before something cold hits my face. Water. I blink fast and wipe it away, coming back down to Narnia from my head spin. I sputter a bit as I get it out of my mouth and look up.

"Yerialds!" I can't help it. I start crying. "Thank you," I manage to get out as I hug into him. He saved my life. "How did you know to come in?" I sputter out between crying.

"I thought I heard something after you walked in. I was going to shout out to you, but you wouldn't have listened to me and it would've drawn to much attention so I raced over to the other side. I'm glad I did what I did. You were almost killed."

"I know! It was so stupid of me! But I had to! I just – I just had to go there tonight. I had to find it. To see if it was there." He pulls back slightly and looks at me like I'm crazy. I can't really blame him for that though. I am sort of out of my mind right now.

"If what was there?" My hand flies to my pocket and pulls out the necklace still covered in dirt. I breathe a sigh of relief. I was worried for a moment that I might've lost it. I get up and run to the nearest basin which is just down the hall and scrub it in the water, getting all the muck off before pulling it out. The B pendant. Bella's necklace. I feel the tears fall as I stare at it. What could this mean?

"What's that?" Yerialds asks as he trots over to me.

"It's Isabella's necklace." We both stare at it for what feels like the longest time before I'm pulled from my trance by a hand on my shoulder. I jump slightly at the sudden touch.

"We should go back upstairs before Oreius starts to get worried and alerts the High King." Peter! I'm not sure how he's going to react to this, but I can't imagine it's going to be pretty.

"You're right. We should go."

We walk back upstairs, trying to avoid anyone from seeing us; both of us trying to be as quiet as mice. We don't need the questions and fussing at this moment. The only question right now is – why? Why Bella's necklace? What has Bella got to do with any of this? I feel sick to my stomach wondering. Just – why? We get to the apartment door and stop. Oreius takes my look in before looking at Yerialds who is also covered in blood.

"What ha –," he starts.

"Don't. Ask." He nods once.

"As you wish." He opens the door for me to go in which I do; very cautiously. I try to be quiet and chance a quick glance up. Peter is in the main room. He looks concerned, pacing back and forth. He stops when he hears me walk in and is about to run forward until he takes in my look. His face changes expression from concerned, to happy, to furious. All within seconds.

"What is going on, Ashley?" He's angry. Very angry.

"Brianna and I had the same nightmare. I had to go down. I had to find the necklace!" He freezes in place for a moment before tightening his jaw. I can see his mind ticking over for a moment before he takes a few paces towards me; his hands out.

"You – wait, you went down to the courtyard? By yourself? In the middle of the night? The one that you promised your daughter you'd never go to again? And not only that – you come back covered in blood and all you have for me is that you had to find a necklace?" He shakes his head in disbelief, his face starting to go red.

"I'm so –,"

"You walked straight into a trap, didn't you? I'm just glad you know how to use a sword and were smart enough to take yours with you. What if you didn't, Ash? This is why we promised to tell each other everything!"

"I didn't want to scare Bella – I mean Brianna – because our dreams were the same and I knew I had to go there right at that moment and I couldn't tell you because she was there and I just – I just had to know, Peter."

"Bella? What has Bella got to do with anything? We're talking about our daughter! Who, by the way, in case you weren't aware, was terrified because she had a nightmare and suddenly her mother went missing for an hour! Bella is dead. There's nothing we can do about that! Brianna is now! She should be your concern, but she's not because you were too busy chasing a nightmare in the middle of the night! It could've waited till tomorrow. We could've discussed it and worked out a plan together, but instead you just up and went. You didn't think it through, Ash. And I'm just so angry that you hid it from me and so frustrated that you could be that selfish, but I'm equally as relieved that you weren't killed so that's that." He throws himself down onto the couch, head in his hands, as he tries to calm himself. I take a few steps towards him. I just need him to calm down before I talk to him. "What were you thinking?" I stop. The very same question I've been asking myself.

"I don't know. Can we just talk about this for one mom –,"

"Mummy? Why are you covered in blood?" I turn to the hallway only to see Bree standing there in tears. "Did you break your promise?" I feel my heart snap in two as I go towards her. Peter jumps up too.

"Bria –,"

She races to her bedroom and slams the door closed. I turn back to Peter who is frozen in place again. I can feel the emotions welling up, threatening to spill out. We stand here for what feels like hours before he just shakes his head angrily and walks back to Brianna's bedroom. I can't hold them in anymore. I let the tears pour over and down my cheeks as I feel my legs collapse under me and fall to the ground in a messy heap. What have I done? Why did I do it? Peter's right, I didn't think it through at all! I cry. And I cry. And I cry some more. I really ruined things this time. I stay on the ground, my body too tired to really move. I'm absolutely exhausted. I allow sleep to overtake me quickly. Everything can be worked out tomorrow.

Bella? Necklaces? Matching nightmares? What could it all mean?! Please feel free to leave me a review to let me know what you think. I love getting feedback and seeing what you all think. :) Also don't forget to follow and alert the story if you would like to keep up to date with when I post a new chapter. I try to update weekly, but sometimes it ends up being fortnightly so make sure to keep your eyes peeled!

Also a very big Merry Christmas to you all!

Until next time!

- narnia and beareject fan 1 xoxo