Restricted

~. ~ Chapter Five ~. ~

It was a rainy summer's night and the night before the trip to the capital of Tashbaan where both Susan and Edmund would represent their siblings as ambassadors of their Kingdom to negotiate peace with the southern nation of Calormen. Instead of retiring early for the night in preparation for the long journey ahead, Edmund found himself sitting in his usual couch at his favorite corner of Cair Paravel's library, listening to the peaceful raindrops outside the window and holding onto a particular book which he had read over and over again throughout the years ever since Narnia became his homeland.

"I can hear you." Edmund said with a smirk, without looking up as he flips through the book to a certain page.

"I swear you have a hearing of an owl, Edmund. I tried to be as quiet as possible." Lucy pouted as she plopped herself onto the couch opposite her brother.

"Well, it seems you aren't trying hard enough." Edmund laughed as he looked up from his book at Lucy and continued seriously, "What brings you here at this hour? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I should be asking you this question when you have a long journey ahead tomorrow morning. And stop throwing your big brother aura at me like Peter." Lucy groaned. "I'm a grown up."

Edmund laughed at his sister's response as he stared at the view outside which was blurred due to the pouring rain. Ever since the White Witch was vanquished, the two have grown to be the closest of all, frequently discussing their thoughts without the presence of their two older siblings. After all, it is partly because of Lucy that Edmund has changed to a better person.

"I can't sleep." He replied, honestly.

"Is it because of the trip to Calormen tomorrow?" Lucy guessed.

"No, Lu. Not that." Edmund replied.

Lucy let out a sigh when she saw the enormous book sitting on his lap and realized what was bothering him. Years have passed, and it appears that it is still having an impact on him.

"It's a prophecy Ed. Do not dwell on it too much." Lucy comforted her brother.

"We are from a prophecy too, Lu." He reminded her, "And I'm not sure if we are there to stop it if she comes back."

"Well, didn't the prophecy mention that a son of Adam and a daughter of Eve will? Although I am unsure of some of the meanings in the prophecy too." Lucy said, she too, worried the future of their Kingdom once they were gone.

"Provided that they do not fall into temptation like I did." replied Edmund, his voice filled with guilt even many years had passed and that explains why his devotion to Narnia and Aslan is stronger than anyone else.

"Edmund, you need to let go of the past." Lucy moved over to the seat beside him and tugged his arm, "You have proved yourself to everyone that you are as deserving as all of us. Narnia will not be as stable and prosperous now without you."

"I know, Lu." Edmund gave a reassuring smile to her, "I'm just being sentimental, that's all."

"That doesn't sound like the Edmund Pevensie I knew." Lucy teased, trying to liven up the mood of her brother.

"Right." Edmund flashed her a cheeky smile and continued, "Wait till Peter hears from me that you sneaked out of bed in the middle of the night venturing around the castle alone. I'm sure you'll have a lot of explanation to do."

"But I was with you!" Lucy complained.

"Well, too bad I won't be there to vouch that for you and you'll be stuck with him alone, monitoring your movements all day for as long as we're gone." Edmund laughed at his sister hysterical reaction.

"I wonder how your future wife will put up with you when you're such a pain in the arse." Lucy argued back.

"At least I will have a wife. You might be single for life when Peter decides to lock you up in the tower when he realizes there's a whole lot of suitors asking your hand for marriage. Our dear Susan is a living example." Edmund rebutted.

"You better keep your ideas to yourself brother." said Lucy, looking scared as she recognized how true it can be of what Edmund had said. Peter's protectiveness towards her is out of the world. Everyone knows that.

"Alright, alright." Edmund raised his hands up in surrender. "I promise I will marry you off as soon as possible to keep you away from annoying me."

"Hey!"

Edmund snickered as he placed his arm around Lucy's shoulders and continued, "I'm joking."

"I know, Ed. No offence taken." She yawned and smiled at him afterwards. "I should go to bed now."

"Yes, you should. Goodnight Lu."

"Goodnight Ed." Lucy replied as she made her way out of the library. She stopped after walking a few steps and turned back looking at her brother dearly before calling out to him in which he responded with a smile. "Stay safe Ed and please keep a look out for Susan. Come back to us safely."

"We will. Don't worry."

With that, Lucy proceeded back to her chamber leaving behind Edmund whose fingers still lingering on the specific page of the book in which was written:

The Old will join forces with the New
To defeat Evil that dampens hope for the few

A young maiden will arrive to this land
To unite the both according to His plan

Beware the desire of falling into the cold
Where Evil blinds you when you no longer withhold

Nevertheless, with faith restored
Hope shall return and Love will soar

The crownless shall be crowned again
Where happiness and peace lies forever in his reign

Edmund laid down with his hands supporting the back of his head as he stared at the constellation of stars above him. Memories of the past came back to him as if it was just yesterday he was in the library of Cair Paravel having the conversation with his little sister. He reminded himself the words of the prophecy again as he somehow finally realized the meaning of it the moment Aliyah stepped foot into Narnia with them. She was part of the prophecy all along and he was not sure whether he is happy about it or not. As he was about to close his eyes and rest for the night he realized that he was not the only one who was having sleepless night until he hears Susan's voice.

"Lucy, are you awake?"

"Hmm." She replied.

"Why do you think I didn't see Aslan?" Susan asked, sitting up and she found Aliyah with her eyes wide opened too. "Couldn't sleep too, I guess?" She smiled to her friend who was lying at the other side of Lucy.

Aliyah nodded her head as she faced Susan. "There are many things in my mind." She replied.

"You believe me?" asked Lucy in surprise.

"Well, we got across the gorge." said Susan, logically. "Perhaps we all knew deep inside our hearts, He's right there. But just that, there's isn't any proof."

"But I did see Him." Lucy told her sister. She had already lost track how many times she had repeated the same sentence to them. "I really do. I wouldn't mistake Aslan for any lions in the woods."

"I understand Lu." said Susan, "But –"

"What if Lucy isn't the only one who saw Aslan?" Aliyah spoke up and the two girls immediately turned and looked at her beamingly.

"You saw Aslan too?" asked Lucy, with a slight excitement in her voice.

"I don't really know who Aslan is in the first place." began Aliyah. She sat up and hugged her legs and continued, "I only know He is a lion based on what you lot told me and I did saw one just now right at the spot Lucy was pointing to. I supposed that's Him then."

"See Susan! I knew it was Aslan back then. Why wouldn't you and Peter believe me?" Lucy asked, excitedly.

Aliyah took a glance at Susan and saw a conflicted look on her face, as if she is trying hard to believe what her sister had said. "He's different from any lion I've seen. Not that I see a lot of lions before but his aura is different." She told her.

"That's the power of Aslan." Lucy smiled, as she gained confident once more that she had seen the majestic lion.

"You always knew we'd be coming back here, didn't you?" Susan asked Lucy, softly.

Lucy looked down as she sensed her sister's sadness. "I hope so."

Susan sighed as she laid back down on the ground, giving Aliyah full access to view at the familiar silhouette lying beside her friend as she realized Edmund was awake and listening to their conversation discreetly all this while.

"I finally just got used to the idea of being in England." Susan said, frankly.

"But you're happy to be here, aren't you?" Lucy asked.

"While it last." Susan responded with a practical reply. Lucy looked at Aliyah and the both of them knew exactly what she was referring to.

"I think we should rest for the night. I do hope we will find the Narnians soon." Lucy smiled at Aliyah as she held her hand tightly.

"Yes hopefully. Else I would have to deal with your brother's mood swing for another day." Aliyah joked as she rolled her eyes and saw Edmund chuckled silently from a side glance. She gave him one last look before lying back down as she turned and flashed a reassuring smile to Lucy. "I'm sure we'll see Him again. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks Aliyah." Lucy returned the smile as she thought about his brother before continuing, "You won't believe how happy I am that you are the one here with us."

"It feels good to be here too, Lu." Aliyah replied back as she closed her eyes and slowly made her way to her dreamland.

….

It was the next morning and everybody was still sleeping deeply because of the exhaustion they had been going through these last few days on foot. Aliyah slowly opened her eyes and stretched herself while sitting up looking around her surroundings. The fire they set the day before had already been blown out. Peter and Trumpkin were still sleeping back facing her. Edmund was sleeping with his face flat on the ground and beside him, Susan was sleeping peacefully with her hands in front. Everything seemed to be alright until Aliyah found something was amiss.

"Where's Lucy?" She said to herself, looking at the empty spot beside her.

Aliyah let out a sigh and looked at the woods behind her. She hesitated for a while, staring at the trees with deadly silence around them as if they were the only ones in the vicinity. In the end, she stood up and took her arrows and bows with her before walking deeper into the woods. Aliyah did not know what she was doing neither she knew the way as she observed the trees in high alert. After some time, she realized she was lost and that she should have woken up Peter or Edmund, who knew the area better than she did.

"Aliyah?"

She turned quickly, her bow raised and arrow nocked tightly, ready to defend herself but broke into a thankful smile instead after seeing the person who was standing right before her.

"Lucy!" Aliyah went forward to hug the younger girl.

"Why are you out here alone?" Lucy asked but smiled guiltily after looking at Aliyah's grim face. "I'm sorry I shouldn't wander off without informing any of you."

"So why are you here alone?" Aliyah asked her in return, looking extremely concerned because she knows that Peter would make them search the whole forest or even the whole of Narnia just to find his little sister.

"I thought I heard Aslan. I dreamt about Him last night." Lucy replied sadly and Aliyah rubbed her hand gently on her back, comforting her.

Before any of them could continue talking, they heard a growl coming from the further part of the forest. Aliyah and Lucy looked at each other nervously and held each other's hands while they walked forward. Aliyah was silently hoping that it would not be a wild lion like what Peter had said otherwise, she would never see the others ever again. As the girls continued walking, they heard another growl again which made them stopped at their feet. It was louder and clearer this time.

"Aslan?" Lucy called out, "Asl –"

Suddenly, a hand appeared from nowhere and covered both Aliyah's and Lucy's mouths and pulled them behind some bushes. The girls tried to retaliate but failed to do so. Once Aliyah felt that the person had released his grip on her, she immediately turned and kicked whoever was in front of her relentlessly. It was Lucy's voice that brought her back to her senses.

"Pete?" whispered Lucy.

Aliyah snapped opened her eyes immediately and saw Peter groaning silently as he held onto his leg in pain. She sent him an apologetic look as he rolled his eyes at her in returned. Peter signaled the two of them to be quiet as they watched a minotaur walking past. He slowly rises up from their hiding place with his sword drawn and walked out carefully.

Without any notice, a man suddenly hurled himself at Peter from nowhere and began to attack him with the sword in his hand. Both Aliyah and Lucy watched nervously as the two began their fight. Peter managed to hit his opponent's face with his sword handle but he was also fast enough to recover by swinging his sword towards the incoming Rhindon. Peter swung his sword swiftly, again and again, harder each time, knocking off his opponent's sword but at the last time, he swung it so hard until it got stuck on the tree trunk. His opponent took this opportunity to kick him to the ground and he quickly went on to pull out Peter's sword from the tree trunk.

It was during that split-second Aliyah decides to appear out from the bushes with her arrow aimed directly at the attacker. As much as she disliked how Peter acted sometimes, she would not want to see him in danger and she is the only one who can save him now.

"Drop the sword now." She warned, her hands trembling and controlling herself not to release the arrow as she put up a strong front in front of the man who literally can cut her down into pieces.

"I would stay away if I were you." The man told her, pointing Peter's sword at her.

"And what makes you think I will do that?" Aliyah challenged back, her courage growing and her eyes fixed upon at the man. "Do not doubt the speed of my arrow."

Aliyah looked behind the man and saw Peter slowly picked up a rock and she knew what exactly he was going to do. She coordinated with him as she continued to distract the man while Peter made his next move. However, before he could do anything, a loud cry could be heard beside her.

"No stop!" It was Lucy.

The three of them stopped fighting and looked around. Centaurs, dwarves, minotaur and other sorts of creatures that Aliyah had never seen before began to crowd around them. There was only one word came to Aliyah's mind at that period of time. She knew she had finally met them. Yes, indeed, they were the Narnians that she and her friends had been finding for the past few days. She lowered her bow and saw the young man who was fierce before looking as confused as her.

"Prince Caspian?" Peter asked.

"Yes?" the prince eyed Peter suspiciously and demanded, "And who are you?"

"Peter!" Susan's voice rang in the woods as she, Edmund and Trumpkin came running towards them. She ran to hug her sister right away, and Edmund walked to Aliyah; his shirt hanging loosely with his sword in his hand, and he had no belt on. Aliyah assumed he had come right away after waking up because his unruly soft dark hair was sticking out in multiple directions.

"You could have called one of us up." He mumbled but loud enough for Aliyah to hear.

"I figured you could all get more rest while I looked for Lucy." She explained, watching the interaction between Peter and Caspian.

"I wasn't that tired." He replied.

"You were snoring." Aliyah casted a side eye at Edmund who was looking slightly pink in the face. "I can hear it despite being two humans away from you."

"Why? Would you like to be closer?" Edmund countered her with a smirk, and it was Aliyah's turn to be embarrassed. She looked away awkwardly as she kept her gaze fixed on the front, attempting to ignore the mental image of her and Edmund lying together.

Caspian took a look at the sword he was holding and looked up to Peter. "High King Peter." He finally came into realization.

"I believe you called." Peter answered.

"Well, yes." said Caspian, frankly. "But I thought you'll be older."

Oh boy, that's actually the wrong move.

"Well, if you like, we could come back in a few years." Peter told him bluntly. Everyone who knew Peter clearly knows that he was feeling irritated and frustrated by the fact that people underestimate his abilities due to his age.

"No!" Caspian stopped him from turning away after realizing he had offended the High King. "No that's alright. You're just… you're not exactly what I expected."

Aliyah followed Caspian's gaze and found out that he was looking at Susan with a mesmerized smile on his face. She is always the popular one back in school and it is not surprising that she can capture any young men hearts just by a simple look and smile on her face. Aliyah smiled inwardly at them as she saw the look on Susan's face; she was clearly in awe of the Telmarine Prince. However, Aliyah was not the only one who witnessed their interaction though. Her younger brother too was observing the two.

"Neither are you." Edmund added. Aliyah quickly nudged his arm and prevented him from uttering another word.

"A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes." said a Badger. For the first time in Aliyah's life, she was surprised to see an animal talk.

"We have anxiously waited for your return, my liege." A mouse spoke next. He came up and bowed deeply to Peter, "Our hearts and swords are at your service."

"Oh my gosh, he is so cute." Lucy whispered to Susan and Aliyah but apparently one of them had her attention elsewhere.

"Who said that?" The mouse asked, sharply. He had his small sword drawn and pointing everyone. Aliyah made a mental note to herself to avoid provoking him. He can be small in stature but deadly at the same time.

"Sorry." Lucy admitted with a shy smile.

"Your majesty!" replied the mouse, bowing deeply at Lucy, "With the greatest respect. I do believe 'courageous', 'courteous' or 'chivalrous' might more befit a knight of Narnia."

"Well, at least we know some of you can handle a blade." said Peter, looking pleased from the amount of respect he gained from the fellow Narnian.

"Yes indeed." The mouse nodded his head. "And I have recently put it into good use securing weapons for your army sire."

"Good." said Peter, deep in thought. He turned and faced Caspian, "Because we're going to need every weapon we can get."

"Well then, you will probably be wanting yours back." He reminded him by handing him his sword, which Peter took over looking solemnly.

"Your majesties." The dwarf beside the badger spoke up before they moved off. He pointed a finger at Aliyah wearily and continued, "May I know who this lady is and her affiliation to us?"

"She's with us. She's Lady Aliyah of …" Peter informed the dwarf as he struggled to come up with something. "…England." The rest of the Narnians looked at him confusedly.

"Is she from another world?" Caspian was the first to ask, his face full of interest.

"Our world."

The surrounding Narnians let out gasps, their faces flushed with surprise as they heard Edmund's response. Murmurs began to spread among them as they chatted without leaving Aliyah out of their sight and it was getting uncomfortable for her to be in the center on attention of things that she was not aware of.

"The same respect we show each other should also be shown to her. I do not wish her to be treated like an outsider." Peter declared and the Narnians bowed respectfully at their King's order.

Well, what happened to being a stranger in Narnia. Aliyah thought.

"So, it's true!" The mouse came forward, his small arms reaching out as if welcoming her. He smiled brightly at her and continued excitedly. "You're the girl in the prophecy!"

"What prophecy?"

Restricted