Restricted

~. ~ Chapter Six ~. ~

Well, it is good that you have troops." Peter told Caspian as the two lead the Narnians from the front. Aliyah had been strolling behind them the entire time, feeling useless because she could not understand their discussions about the battle tactics and strategies they had mentioned. But one thing Aliyah was certain of was that the tension between them was gradually dissipating.

"Why didn't you tell me about the prophecy?" Aliyah asked Edmund.

Aliyah turned and looked at him; his face deep in thought as he walks by her silently. In contrast with the others, he seemed to be unhappy with the fact that she is the girl that was named in the so-called prophecy. Not that she believed in it fully but she was marveled at the faith and hope the Narnians held within them when they still look up to their Kings and Queens with dignity and willing to follow them without a word of doubt despite so many years had passed.

"I had my reasons." He answered with an unexpectedly short reply.

"What did the prophecy say?" She asked, but Edmund gave no reply. She instantly pulled him aside while the rest moved by them with a significant look which Aliyah recognized straightaway. It is the same look that they gave to the Pevensie siblings and she is determined to find out why.

"What are you doing?" Edmund asked Aliyah. He kept his poker face as he watched Lucy move past them with a knowing smile on her face.

"I can't hold it in anymore, Edmund. I need to know the truth." She told him, desperately. "Why are they looking at me like that?"

"You will know it when the time comes." He replied and he tried to join back the group but Aliyah blocked his way by stepping a little closer to him, too close in fact that they were just inches away from each other's face.

"No." Aliyah said stubbornly, ignoring the close gap between them. "I want to know it now. It seems like the whole world knows about this damn prophecy except for me."

Edmund looked away as he contemplated inwardly if he should to tell her the truth. It was a simple prophecy as it seems but it turned out to be something that matters a lot to him personally and somehow or rather he knew that Aliyah will know it eventually from the others if he continues to keep his mouth shut.

"Edmund, please tell me who I am." she pleaded.

"You're the one who unites us together." Edmund finally gave in as he told her. "You are the reason that we are here. They believe that because of you, we are able to defeat the Telmarines and help Caspian to reclaim back his throne. At least this is how I interpreted it."

"Oh." Aliyah stared at him as thousands of questions begin forming in her mind. "But I'm a nobody. I know nothing about Narnia. I can't possibly fight like you guys!"

"Sometimes you just have to believe the prophecy and yourself. It turns out to be right somehow." He explained, his face full of unwillingness. "It works well for my siblings and I."

"Then why are you so upset unlike the others?" Aliyah asked. "You don't seem happy that I am part of the prophecy."

Edmund shifted his eyes as he met her brown eyes, staring back at him and realizing the intimate distance between them. His heart racing faster than it ever did before as he maintained his calm demeanor before he loses his mind and sanity. He could not bear telling her the truth, as much as he wanted to, because he himself is uncertain about the future.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your majesty," the dwarf who doubted Aliyah's identity previously walked over and bowed to them with Trumpkin by his side, interrupting their conversation. "I'm afraid you have to rejoin the group before we lost anyone of you again."

Edmund nodded his head thankfully in reply and pulled Aliyah along with him while the two dwarves stared at the two of them from behind with a questionable look on their faces.

"So, what are they like?" the dwarf asked Trumpkin. He waited until the Just King and Aliyah were out of earshot before speaking again.

"Malcontents, complainers, stubborn as mules in the morning." Trumpkin grumbled.

"Uh, that sounds like you on any normal day."

"They are worse than me Nikabrik." Trumpkin retorted.

"Ah, so you like them." The dwarf named Nikabrik replied amusingly.

"Well enough." Trumpkin admitted. There is no doubt that after spending a few days with the Pevensie siblings and Aliyah, his feelings for them had definitely grew stronger no matter how much he tried to deny it.

….

After hours of walking, the group of them had finally arrived to a wide field in front of them. Aliyah exhaled in wonder as she spotted a hill with ahigh mound at the bottom leading to a cave within it. She believed that this was the camp location where the Narnians had congregated for the impending attack on the Telmarines. Rows of centaurs began to gather uniformly as they approached the entrance, their swords drawn and pointing upwards as a sign of respect and an announcement indicating the arrival of their Kings and Queens.

Both Aliyah and Caspian, who were new to the Narnian world, knew their place and that they should not be standing alongside the Kings and Queens of Old when they made their way into the cave-like hill. They followed behind and it was at this time, it appeared as though everyone realized that hope had once again returned to them, just as it had when the four Kings and Queens were brought to their realm to free them from the White Witch's curse of a hundred years of winter.

Aliyah observed Narnians of all kinds engrossed in their task at hand, whether it was polishing, sharpening, or hammering the blades, in the dimmed surroundings with the noise of weapon making ringing through the entire cave. They all had the same goal in mind: to provide as many weapons as possible for the impending war.

"It may not be what you are used to, but it is defensible." Caspian told the two Kings who were observing the work of their army. Memories of them preparing for battles during the Golden Age flooded their minds as if it had just been days ago they had led an army.

"Peter." Susan called out to him as she beckoned the rest to join her. "You may want to see this."

Aliyah went towards Susan as she saw mural paintings on the wall reflecting by the dim lights in the cave. Her hand reached out to the four humans standing by their thrones on the wall which she instantly knew who they are by the look of it. Next to it was a Faun standing by a lamppost which she remembered Lucy had mentioned to her few days back about her encounter with the faun named Mr. Tumnus when she first landed in Narnia. All these were familiar to her until her eyes landed on another mural painting, one depicting a woman with a boy in Narnian armor who is breaking some sort of stick that is held by the Witch.

"It's us." said Susan.

"What is this place?" Lucy asked.

"You don't know?" Caspian responded in astonishment after noticing how carefully the four royals were watching him. He proceeded to take one of the fire torches on the wall as he led the five of them deeper into the cave. Aliyah was about to follow behind when she noticed one of the Pevensie siblings had not followed. Instead, he was absorbed in a particular painting, his face deeply contemplative.

Edmund turned around after some time, looking surprised to find her standing there looking at him and the painting behind him. Although neither of them spoke, there was a mutual understanding between them that they both needed each other at that moment, and Aliyah was there for him.

Edmund then went to get a fire torch from the wall, and the two continued down the dark walkway, joining the others until they arrived in a huge room. Caspian then lowered his fire torch as Aliyah saw fire spreading throughout the room and illuminating it, revealing more stone carvings of the Narnians and a Lion standing in the middle of the room in front of a huge cracked table.

"This is Aslan's How." Caspian told them.

Aliyah went forward and touched the cracked table together with Lucy by her side. "He must know what he's doing." said Lucy.

"I think it's up to us now." Peter replied with a determined look on his face and everyone remained quiet after hearing his reply.

….

Things were busier than ever since the Kings and Queens of Old had arrived at Aslan's How, and the Narnians were more driven than ever to gather their weapons in anticipation of the plans that their Kings and Queens had planned for the future. They, especially Lucy were busy speaking with the fellow Narnians reminiscing the old times while Aliyah finally found an excuse to venture around Aslan's How alone. She found solitude on the higher level of the mound and sat on the concrete ledge, enjoying the silence and the green vast field right in front of her as the wind blew against her.

"May I?"

The momentary calm was broken by a voice as Aliyah turned around and nodded at the unexpected person standing behind her.

"Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Caspian, Prince of Telmar." said Caspian, joining her on the ledge.

"I am well aware of that." Aliyah smiled as she extended her hand, "I'm Aliyah Hurdwood."

Caspian took her hand and raised it up to his lips.

"Oh no no no." He glanced up at her strangely as Aliyah stopped him right away before it touched his lips. "You're supposed to shake it."

"Oh. I see." Caspian looked at her, and Aliyah proceeded to shake his hand, showing him how it was done.

"There you go." said Aliyah as she pulled back her hand politely after shaking it with the Telmarine Prince.

"Is that how your world does it?" Caspian asked curiously, practicing the gesture that Aliyah demonstrated to him.

"Well yes. That's what we normally we do when we meet someone for the first time." Aliyah rubbed her neck awkwardly, mentally cursing herself for forgetting she was in Narnia and not back in England. "What brings you here? Shouldn't you be with Peter and the rest?"

"I came to apologize." Caspian told her.

Aliyah furrowed her brows. "What for?"

"For how I have acted with you and King Peter back in the woods. Forgive me. I thought you were sent by my uncle to kill me." explained Caspian.

"There is nothing to forgive, Caspian. Do not take that personally because all of us are aware of your situation." Aliyah answered and smiled reassuringly at him.

Caspian nodded contentedly, knowing he had found himself a friend, or at least someone who understands his position. "So how is it like? To be part of the prophecy?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Aliyah let out a sigh as she stared afar. As much as it is good for her to be far away from home, she felt lost in this new world where everyone knew about her, but ironically enough, she was not sure who she was at the same time.

"Do you believe in Aslan?" Caspian asked.

"Well, sort of." Aliyah replied, frankly. "Though I have never really interacted with Him before. Have you?"

Caspian shook his head in reply. "I've heard tales about Him from my professor. He was the one who introduced me to the world of the Narnians and gave me Queen Susan's horn before I managed to escape the assassination attempt planned by my uncle. I'm glad that I've blew it and summoned all of you back."

Aliyah watched how the prince's face lit up when he mentioned about her best friend, but chose to remain quiet as she anticipated to see how the love between Prince and the Queen of Old will blossom. She was certain that Susan felt the same way the prince did about her.

"So where is your professor now? I don't remember seeing any humans other than us." Aliyah asked.

"He stayed behind in the castle in order to give the chance to escape. It would be a lie if I said I do not worry about his safety every day." Caspian replied in despair.

"We'll rescue him out safely. At least I'm sure Peter will." Aliyah told him and Caspian looked at her in doubt.

"What makes you so sure of it?" Caspian probed with a hint of sadness, "I'm not even sure if he's still alive."

"I may only be in Narnia for a few days, but one thing I've learned from the Narnians is that they don't give up hope easily. We shouldn't either." said Aliyah, completely astonished by herself because she had not anticipated saying such motivational thing to the prince.

"You're right, Lady Aliyah." Caspian smiled.

"Please Caspian, just call me Aliyah and if you don't mind, please excuse me while I make a move." She told him. She got to her feet as a place suddenly entered her mind and she decided she should head there instead.

Caspian nodded his head in acknowledgement. "It's wonderful to be having this conversation with you, Aliyah. So far, I haven't found anyone who understands how I feel and I am overjoyed to have met you. I will see you around."

Aliyah returned his smile as she left the Caspian alone to make her way down to the lower ground and arrived at the location she had in mind. The lights in the huge chamber were certainly dimmer than those outside as eeriness crept through the atmosphere while Aliyah entered deeper into the stone table.

She ran her fingertips along the edge of the concrete table, feeling the surface's roughness until she came across someone back facing her, sitting on the opposite side of the table and staring up at the stone structure of the Great Lion. It was no other than Edmund himself. Aliyah stepped back silently as she planned to leave without him knowing, but instead she heard his voice calling out.

"Please stay."

Aliyah went over to him and sat down hesitantly beside him. She quietly observed him, realizing that he never took his gaze away from the stone structure in front of him.

"That boy in that painting." Aliyah began, breaking the silence between them. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Edmund nodded his head in reply.

"What happened?" she asked, softly.

Edmund turned to face her, debating whether or not to tell her his story. He was concerned that now that if she knew everything, she would judge him, and that matters to him greatly.

"I will not judge you, I promise." said Aliyah. It was as if she could read his mind or see right through him.

"I once betrayed my siblings to the White Witch and I was deemed as a traitor to Narnia because of that." Edmund closed his eyes and relived the dreadful memories before continuing. "Peter, Susan and Lucy had to come and save me with the help of Aslan. It was on this very stone table, Aslan was sacrificed and killed on my behalf."

Aliyah gasped realizing how he felt after hearing his story. It takes more than courage to admit one's mistakes, redeem them, and share them again.

"What happened after that?"

"He raised from the dead, of course." Edmund let out a small smile as he admires the stone carving of Aslan before him. "And defeated the White Witch. We were crowned Kings and Queens of Narnia from then on because you see, we came from a prophecy too."

"Then what about the painting outside?" Aliyah asked further, "You were breaking some sort of stick that the witch is holding."

"That's her wand." Edmund explained, as he leaned his back onto the stone table. "Many were killed and turned into stone by that wand."

"So, you redeemed yourself by breaking the wand." Aliyah concluded.

"I had to." said Edmund, truthfully. "That was my only chance. I've seen what the White Witch can do and I've helped to do it. After all, I was the one who started it. If I hadn't intervened, Peter would have been killed."

"You did well." Aliyah consoled him as she discovered a newfound respect for him. "Not everyone will be on the right path at the very beginning."

With that, Edmund looked at her intently, recalling a conversation he had with Lucy on the day they returned to Narnia.

"When will you be breaking the news to her?" Lucy softly whispered to her brother as the two of them purposefully remained behind the lot.

"I don't know, Lu." replied Edmund, looking engrossed in his own thoughts.

"What's wrong, Ed?" said Lucy, oblivious to Edmund's concerns. "Isn't it a good thing that Aliyah is here with us? She fits in the prophecy like you have mentioned."

"I may have misunderstood the prophecy a bit." Edmund confessed as he looked at Aliyah, who was ahead of them as she and Susan attempt to catch up with Peter and Trumpkin.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, worryingly.

"Have you not noticed how the prophecy makes no mention of the young maiden's fate?" Edmund reminded his sister; whose face became horrified as she realized the gravity of the situation. "We all knew Caspian would reclaim his throne, but what about the young maiden who came to Narnia? The prophecy made no mention of her fate."

"No." Lucy shook her head as she refused to accept the fact. "This can't be. It cannot be. We can't lose her Edmund."

"I do not wish to lose her either." Edmund admitted. "I made a promise."

Lucy looked at her brother keenly, realizing what he meant. She was aware of how much Aliyah matters to him, even if he may not have been aware of it due to his stoic character. She is also not prepared to lose a friend too, a friend that she looks up to her as her sister.

"But if we choose to remain silent about the prophecy, she will soon learn about it from the others as well." she reasoned out.

"I will do my best to keep an eye out for her if she comes to know the truth." Edmund stated, "Whatever it takes."

"Isn't that something you've always been doing all along?" Lucy told him as she held onto her brother's arm. She trusts that her brother would defend Aliyah well even if they encountered danger. "Although the prophecy did not reveal her fate, it does not mean she will end up the way we thought she will be. Perhaps we are simply overthinking things too much. Faith in Aslan is all we need, Ed."

With a grim look on his face, Edmund nodded his head in agreement. He can only rely on Aslan now because his faith in the Great King has not faded like that of his older siblings, and he will continue to do what he has done for a long time.

And that is to protect her.

"Will you promise me one thing?" Edmund inquired. Aliyah took notice of his defined jawline that stands out in the dim room as she admired his side profile unconsciously, his deep husky voice capturing her full attention.

She always knew him as a slightly less talkative person than his other siblings, but he always injects some of his funny sarcasm into the conversation when the occasion called for it. He always stays in the background so that his brother can shine, but he is always willing to pitch in when his assistance is required.

However, she had never seen Edmund in this light before; he exuded a mix of melancholy and gentleness in his aura, a rare side of him that Aliyah does not mind getting accustomed to.

"What is it?"

"No matter what happens," Edmund continued, his soft gaze fixed on her, "Never give in to the dark side."

"I promise."

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