Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia nor any of the characters and places associated with it.
Chapter 7: Keep you Two a Secret
"I need to tell you something."
"Should we sit down for this?"
"Probably." He walks us carefully over to the new lounge before placing me down on one side of it. He then continues to fall down onto the other side before stretching his arms up above him and draping one over the head of the couch. He angles his body slightly so he's facing me before gesturing for me to continue. I curl up in my corner before starting. "Peter...my parents both...died...when Bella was two. They were protecting us...from the White Witch and she...killed them with her...knife."
"They didn't stand a chance...against her. I promised my mum and dad that if anything ever happened to them, that...that I would raise Bella and keep her safe. That's why I'm working so hard. That's why this job is so important to me. It's also why I need us to keep our relationship private. I can't afford to be fired!" I explain slowly, trying to fight the waterworks that are gathering in my eyelids. A few escape though and I'm absolutely certain Peter floats over to me. I've enveloped in his arms within seconds.
"Ashley, I'm really sorry about bringing it up. I didn't know," he apologises. I look up at his face then. The first thing I see are his deep, blue eyes staring at me. They hold nothing, but love and compassion. I smile weakly.
"I know. You don't have to apologise though," I tell him reassuringly. He plants his lips on the top of my head before pulling me into him, his chin now resting on my hair.
"I know and I promise, Ash, that if you get fired over this, I'm going to let you and Bella move in with me immediately. I will never let you go without food and stuff like that just because you can't afford it," he tells me. Go away tears! I don't have time for you. He cares so much for me; yet, we've known each other for only a year. I know now that I'm in love with him. There is no doubt in the back of my mind about it. We sit here just holding each other for what feels like an eternity until the vague sound of owls hooting pulls us back to reality. I look up at the new, golden sundial and sigh. Ten pm.
"I have to get home to Bella. It's late," I tell him while standing up and stretching my weak limbs. He nods and stands up himself as he runs one of his hands through his messy hair.
"That's probably not a bad idea. I'm sure your little sister is missing you," he tells me as he picks up his crown off the table. I never even saw him put it down.
"She's used to being alone at home now. Usually, she'll just go and visit her friends for the day," I explain while walking over to the staircase.
"Oh well, I guess that's fair enough."
"I have to go. I lo – I'll see you tomorrow." That was close. I give him a very quick peck on the cheek before making my escape down the staircase. I can't believe I almost just told him that I love him. The stables are pitch black when I enter them, the torches having all been blown out by the heavy wind. I pull open Crystals stable before jumping up onto her back. Her fur is ice cold.
"About time you got here. I'm freezing my backside off," she whines.
"I'm so sorry, Crystal. I was talking to the High King and lost track of time. Now come on; lets go home," I say. The town is eerily quiet and deserted. There are a few owls and fruit bats flying around as well, just to add to the spookiness. We ride through the gates slowly before we pick up speed and enter the dark forest. The freezing, cold wind is blowing on my face as I ride next to the Great River. I'm certain there are drops of rain in there aswell.
We reach the cottage quickly and ride on to the back stable. I jump down off Crystal and lock her up in her stable for the night. Something doesn't seem quite right as I walk towards the front door and get out the key to unlock it. I open it slowly. Everything is just as I had left it this morning. Thank Aslan for that!
"Ugh, Bella. What have I told you about leaving the candles lit?" I groan loudly as I enter the living room. Honestly, is she trying to burn the place down? I go over to it to blow it out, but stop periodically. A note?
I'm sleeping over at Sarra's for the week.
My forehead creases into a frown. A week? That's not like Bella at all. I pick up the candle and walk slowly upstairs to look in Bella's bedroom. Her bag is gone along with all of the clothes I had laid out for her. I smile. That makes me feel better. I walk back down stairs to my bedroom and put my pyjamas on. I lay down in my bed and try to get comfortable, but I can't. It is not like Bella to sleepover her friend's house for a whole week. My mind is tumbling around in a frenzy. Maybe I should ask Cabigail tomorrow whether she is or not. I close my eyes and am glad when I find myself falling asleep.
I wake up at four the next morning, aching for Peter's touch again. I jump up out of bed and practically run to the closet. I yank it open and rush to find a dress. I pull out my pink one and put it on quickly. I grab out my pink shoes and put them on as well, almost tripping in the process. I brush through my long, brown, messy hair, roughly straightening it out, only to put it up in a high ponytail. I take a glance in the mirror and smile. I look nice for once. I run to the kitchen and grab a pear before running out the door. I'm going to walk to work today. It's healthier than riding a horse everywhere.
The woods are quiet and misty. I can hear the hoot of an owl in the nearby tree, but besides that there is no noise. My mind wanders back to the nightmare that I had had and I immediately feel nervous and vulnerable by myself. I start walking a tiny bit faster as I remember the snap of the jaws and the bright, red eyes. I reach the castle in one piece, much to my relief, and quickly run to the front entrance. I sprint up the staircase and reach the door only to be greeted by Malina.
"Good morning. You're in a lot earlier than I was expecting." I smile at her and walk over to the white sofa. I sit down and grab the glass of water that is sitting on the table with my name on it. I have a sip and instantly feel refreshed.
"Said the one who is usually here at around eight," I shoot back grinning. She laughs and takes a seat next to me. She turns to me then, her green eyes shooting through me.
"Guess who's not coming in today?" she says quickly, smiling crazily.
"I don't know, who?" I ask, expecting her to ramble on for hours.
"Starstone! She had some errands to run today so she's not here. How great is that?" I smile widely. Starstone is not here, which means I don't need to be as careful with Peter. Hallelujah!
"You know, Mal, that is great news. Now Starstone's not here to destroy all my plans with the High King. I mean, seriously, could today get any better?" Malina's about to reply but I stop her. "Don't answer that," I command quickly before practically running up the stairs. I stop in front of a sundial in the hallway and look at the time. Four forty-five am. Peter won't mind if I wake him up yet, will he?
...He won't mind. I run over to the door and am instantly held back by arms on each side of me.
"What excuse do you have to be in here at this time in the morning, Ashley?" Oreius asks. I spin around to look at him. Great, I don't have an excuse.
"Um...Starstone told me too," I answer weakly with a puny smile. Oreius raises an eyebrow.
"Right so Starstone told you to wake up the High King from thin air, did she?" Whoops.
"No Emolise told me Starstone wanted me too," I reply while slowly reaching for the door handle. He grabs my wrist. I glare up at him. "Just let me in, please? The truth is I left something in there yesterday, but I didn't want to say the truth because I thought that you would think that I'm lying if I did," I explain. That sounded a little believable, right?
"Fine you can go in, but only because I admire you trying to lie," he tells me. "Just grab what you need and get out." He walks down the staircase then and I smile and quietly enter. As soon as I close the door, the sound of snoring echoes throughout the horribly messy bedroom. I walk, or should I say climb, my way over to the bed. I look up at Peter and frown when I notice that he's in the dead centre of the bed – again. Stupid double king sized bed. I jump onto it and crawl over to the centre, so that I'm kneeling next to him. I lean down to his ear carefully and whisper,
"Peter. Time to get up!" He stirs a little bit, flipping over onto his stomach. I huff. "Peter," I whisper a little bit louder. Snore. I groan and then proceed to slap him across his head.
"Ouch, what the..." He pauses when he sees me. "Good morning, Ashley. What do you want?" he asks grumpily. I smile innocently and lay down next to him.
"Guess what? Starstone's had to run some errands today so she's not coming in, which means that we can spend the entire day together," I tell him excitedly. He smiles tiredly and yawns. He glances up at the silver sundial that hangs over his fireplace and then turns his attention back to me.
"You woke me up at four fifty to tell me that we have the day together even though I am the High King and have several meetings to attend to today?" he asks incredulously. I nod slowly. I should really remember that he actually has things to do as High King.
"Yes, it seems that way." He rolls his eyes at me and lays back down onto the soft mattress before slowly closing his gorgeous eyes. It's silent for a few moments before I notice him open his eyes again.
"You're not going to leave me alone until I get up, are you?" he inquires doubtfully. I shake my head.
"No, I'm not. So you better get up and get dressed unless you want freezing, cold water poured over your head," I suggest. He's up and out before I even finish my sentence. I smile innocently at him and get off it myself.
"You know, servants shouldn't be threatening people who have the power to kill them," he tells me matter-of-factly while opening his creaking closet door. I watch as he quickly pulls out a tunic and throws it on before walking into the walk-in-closet and closing the door behind him. I wait for a few minutes before the door opens again. He has put his crown back on his head and is wearing a brown and gold tunic with long dark green sleeves, a golden cape, and gold tights. I have to admit it to myself, he looks attractive. "What?" he asks while looking at my face.
"Nothing, I'm just thinking that you look smashing in your gorgeous attire," I explain innocently. I get the privilege for a second to see his cheeks go a bright red. "Who's the one blushing now?" I tease him as I remember our conversation from a few nights ago. He chuckles.
"Taunt all you like, but you won't see my blush for the rest of the week," he promises. I laugh and go over to give him a hug. He buries his face in my hair as I bury mine in his chest. Our hug breaks apart as we both hear the bedroom door groan open.
"Ashley, time's up. I hope you've found what you were looking for," Edmauel tells me whilst strolling into the room. Thankfully, I have time to move over to Peter's bed before he has time to see us together. "Why are you up so early, Your Majesty?" he scrutinises while turning to Peter.
"To be truthfully honest with you, Edmauel, I have no idea," Peter tells him while I stifle a chuckle. One evil chuckle escapes though, which earns me a strange look from Edmauel and a deadly glare from Peter. I shut my mouth tightly and smirk.
"Oh, well, Ashley, leave the premises now and let the High King do his job, just like you should be doing, which reminds me, why aren't you in uniform?" he asks, his hand resting on his sword hilt.
"I forgot to wash it so I have no clean ones?" He sighs and rolls his eyes at my lame excuse. Even the towns people know that there are spare servant uniforms everywhere.
"Go and get changed and get to work," he commands while turning towards the door. I nod and quickly exit the room with Edmauel right behind me. I hear the door close right before there's a hand on my shoulder. "Can I please talk to you in private, perhaps in the abandoned hallway?" I nod and walk quietly up the stairs. They groan beneath my feet as I take one uneasy step after another. We reach the top slowly. Edmauel walks ahead of me and looks around the newly-decorated corridor before turning back to me. "Nice job. This place looks great," he compliments. I smile.
"Thanks. It took quite a while, I'll tell you that much, but what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" I ask uneasily. He frowns and gestures for me to have a seat. I do as he says and look up at him.
"Do you know that I can hear everything that you and the High King say when you're in his bedroom together?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at me. My stomach knots. He's going to fire me, I know it, or tell Starstone, which, to be honest, would be even worse.
"No, I didn't," I say sickly. My stomach has an uneasy knot in the middle of it.
"Well I can. I know that King Peter is courting you and if I even had the tiniest bit of respect for Starstone, I would be telling her right now, but to tell you the truth, I don't have any respect for the woman. You two make a very nice couple and I would hate to see you get fired over something so minuscule. I promise you, I won't tell anyone," he swears while putting a hand to his heart. I sigh happily. At least Edmauel can back me up if anything bad happens. "I can't really find any negatives about this situation at all. It only seems right considering that your Great Grandparents were both King and Queen for a -" He stops talking abruptly realising his horrible mistake as he takes in my shocked expression.
"My Great Grandparents were King and Queen?" I ask disbelieving him. He looks down at the floor sadly.
"Yes, they both were. That is before the White Witch arrived though. As soon as she was here all hell broke loose. Your Great Grandfather built the house that you're living in now when she started to use her winter spell on Narnia. They never came out of that house. The last thing anyone heard from them was that they both died quite a few years later and left behind their one and only son (and rightful heir to the throne may I add on) but since your father isn't...um...here anymore either, let alone your grandfather, you should be the one to take over for him. It's in your blood," he explains to me slowly so as to let everything sink in. I nod slowly while listening to the slight sound of the wind whistling through the open window. I really should've studied my family's history.
"I never knew that. Why didn't my father ever mention it?" I ask rhetorically. Edmauel shrugs his shoulders.
"I suppose it was because he didn't want you to think that the whole country would lie on your shoulders if he died," he suggests. I smile bleakly. He has a good point.
"Sure, let's just go with that," I agree, cheering up a little bit.
"Alright, it was nice to talk with you, Ashley. Just make sure you get changed into your uniform okay," he tells me. I smile at him.
"Thanks, Edmauel." I give him a hug, before running quickly down the staircase. My mind is in a total frenzy as I enter Peter's bedroom again. I can't believe my father was supposed to be king! Well you learn something new every day. I swing the door open and close it behind me quietly, before spinning around to face the messy bedroom. Peter's lying in the middle of the bed reading a very boring looking book.
"I thought you were told to stay off the premises, Ashley," he says in a teasing tone as he puts down his book to look at me with a raised eyebrow. I stick my tongue out at him and walk casually over to his bed, kicking stuff out of the way as I go along.
"I was, now onto more important things. When in Narnia are you going to clean your bedroom?" I question him while jumping onto the bed and crawling over to the middle of it to lounge down next to him.
"I thought that was your job?" he scrutinises. I laugh.
"Oh, it is, but you made this mess, so you should be the one to clean it up. It's only fair since I clean up every other mess you make," I say rolling my eyes. He smirks at me.
"Now back to the premises thing –" he pauses as I put my hand up to stop him.
"Edmauel knows," I tell him smartly. He freezes.
"Edmauel knows that we're together?" he whispers breathlessly into my ear. I nod. He seems to freeze on the spot as if trying to figure out something else to say. "He's not going to tell Starstone is he?"
"No, he promised me that he wouldn't say anything," I tell him carefully. I hear Peter exhale slowly.
"Good. I'm sort of happy that he knows now. It means one less person to hide it from," he explains. I laugh freely not worrying whether Edmauel hears me or not. At that exact moment the door flies open to show an out-of-breath Malina.
"Bad news, she's here!"
"Shoot! See you soon, Pet – I mean King Peter," I shout over my shoulder as I run out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me. Malina grabs my hand and drags me swiftly up the stairs. Once we reach the top, she pushes me into a spare room. I look around at all my friends – who are sitting on the floor in a circle – confused. I vaguely hear the door close before Malina drags me over to the circle and sits me down on the floor.
"Something really bad has happened…" Emolise starts before trailing off. I look over to her and frown.
"What? What's happened that has you all so worried," I ask demandingly. The girls all look at each other and nod at Emolise.
"Um, Starstone might...have, um...figured something out," she stutters. My eyes grow wide and I shake my head. No, she can't have!
"What has she figured out?" I ask wearily.
"Um, she knows that something is going on between you and King Peter and she told me that...um...you better watch out because as soon as she has evidence, she's firing you," I gasp. Oh no!
"She can't fire me! I have to look after Bella and myself. If she fires me –" I stop abruptly, remembering with perfect clarity the conversation that Peter and I had last night.
"I know and I promise Ash that if you get fired over this, I'm going to let you and Bella move in with me immediately. I will never let you go without food and stuff like that, just because you can't afford it. I promise."
I look over to my friends and grin. "I don't mind if I get fired. Peter promised me last night that he would always protect me and look after me and that if I got fired I will be allowed to move into the castle with him," I tell them while suddenly becoming very interested in the colour of the walls. I hear a few gasps as I look over at Cabigail. Oh that's right! "Cabigail, is Bella staying at your house for the week?" I ask. She nods.
"Yes, Bella and Zara are at home right now playing with their dolls." I let out a slow breath as I listen to her. Thank Aslan! I was beginning to wonder whether or not she had been kidnapped or something horrible like that.
"Okay good. I was worried," I tell her. She smiles at me sweetly. I hear one of my friends clear their throat just before Mirasdean's voice echoes throughout the empty, cold room.
"What are we going to do about Starstone?" she asks, getting instantly down to the important stuff.
"I don't think we can do anything to her, but, Ash, you and King Peter are going to have to be far more careful than what you are at the moment with your...relationship," Malina says. I nod.
"Right, we need a plan," I say while leaning in towards the centre of the circle. The girls all lean forward at the same time I do.
"Why don't you and King Peter hang out together in public? We can warn you when Starstone is coming and you two can quickly separate," Tamilla suggests as she plays absent-mindedly with her long, curly, light-brown hair. I grimace.
"We can't do that, Tamilla. Taking it 'out in public' means that everyone is going to see Peter and I together. Word spreads quickly around here. It would most definitely reach Starstone in a matter of minutes," I explain. It would've been a good idea if it wasn't for the public thing though. There's a long silence. "I got it!" I shout loudly, making Mal and Ka jump. My friends all turn to me expectantly. "I'll just spend time with him in our secret hallway. We can have a messenger bird and every time you see Starstone going upstairs you can send the messenger bird up to warn us," I suggest.
"That's a great idea, Ash!" Malina agrees. There are chants of other agreements following hers. "Okay, so it's decided. You and Peter can go upstairs and do whatever you like and then when Starstone goes upstairs we will warn you." I nod.
"Someone has to stay up on this level though; just to make sure that the enemy doesn't come up past this room," Henrietté says as she looks around at us all with her narrow, grey eyes.
"You're right. Killara you can stay up here and just pretend to clean this room if Starstone comes up okay. We'll leave the messenger bird with you. As soon as she starts heading up give the bird the message and send the bird up. Got it?" Emolise asked.
"Got it," Lara replies. I smile and stand up slowly.
"Perfect, it's all planned out now. I'll go and talk to Peter about it. So I'll see you all later," I say while running out of the freezing, cold room. I practically skip down the staircase and through the hallway until I reach Peter's room. I reach my hand out quickly and do three, quick taps on the door with my knuckle. No answer. I try again. Still no answer! "High King Peter!" I call into the room while slowly opening the door. It squeaks as it opens slowly, almost killing me. "Peter," I whisper lightly as I notice him sitting at his desk in the corner of the room. He jumps a bit before throwing something into a draw and slamming the oak draw closed. He spins around wearing a very innocent smile.
"Yes, Ashley," he says, smiling like a complete idiot. I walk forward my eyes trained on the suddenly spotless ground. There is no way he cleaned all this himself.
"Before I say what I want to say, I have to ask," I pause as he gestures for me to continue. "Who has cleaned the place that you call your bedroom?" I ask angrily. Peter's smile falls as he reads my angry expression.
"Um, someone named Jemila came in and cleaned it all up for me," he tells me simply. Of course she did!
"Peter, Jemila is evil," I explain through gritted teeth. He seems to sink back a little.
"What do you mean she's evil, Ash? She seemed perfectly nice to me." I walk forward and sit on the edge of his huge bed before answering.
"She hates me and I hate her, so please don't talk to her," I beg. He smiles and stands up slowly, before walking over and lying on the bed behind me.
"Don't worry. I totally ignored her like Aslan told me to. Apparently, Kings and Queens aren't allowed to have normal conversations with servants," he says. I look over my shoulder at him with a smirk.
"Really?" I ask curiously. Since when has that been a rule?
"Yes, really," he answers. Fingers tickle my back suddenly as he begins to draw random patterns on it. It's actually quite relaxing. "Now what were you going to ask me?" he requests.
"Um...the girls and I have figured out a plan so that we can spend more time together without getting caught," I start with a slight humming noise. He smiles encouragingly and gestures with his other hand for me to continue. "Killara will stay on the floor underneath the abandoned hallway with a messenger bird and when she sees Starstone heading upstairs she will give the bird a warning and send it up to us so that we can hide," I explain. I watch as Peter runs his left hand through his chaotic, bed hair and clenches his jaw.
"That would be a great plan, if I had time to spend with you." I frown, upset with his answer.
"What do you mean by that?" I ask sadly. I feel him remove his fingers from my back before he leans back against the headboard.
"I'm the High King, Ash, I have a lot of duties to attend too and not much free time to spend as I please. I would love to spend time with you in private, but at the moment it's just not possible. I'm too busy." I grimace. "In saying that though, I will spend time with you at night on dates, but it won't be very often," he adds. So it's day two and I'm already learning the downsides of dating the High King. Yay for me.
"Okay then. I suppose nothing can be done about it," I reply. He smiles apologetically just as I hear the door handle start rattling. My head whips around to see who it is just as Starstone enters. She's looking at the floor giving me just enough time to pick something up and head towards the desk in the far corner. I throw the ink container into the open drawer before turning around.
"Ashley, what are you doing in here? And why aren't you in uniform?" she asks me angrily. I shrivel back a little bit as she walks forward, tossing some towels onto the ground. I hear the quiet thump as they land on the stone flooring. I'm about to say something when Peter interjects.
"Ashley just finished cleaning my bedroom. It looked like a garbage pit this morning," he tells her in a very convincing tone. She turns to look at him carefully before bowing and turning around to me. Her glare is back out in force.
"Okay then. Ashley, we need you down stairs in the kitchen now, but first get dressed, you can't be recognised as a servant by wearing normal clothes," she commands. I nod once before hurriedly scurrying out of my boyfriend's chambers. I hurry down the staircase and quickly fling open the clothing cabinet before I grab a servant dress and throw it on. After running – or should I say sprinting – over to the kitchen I fling open the door. I have got to talk to Malina before Starstone gets here.
"Hey, are you alright, Ash? You seem to be in a rush," Malina says.
"Yes, I'm fine, I just had to talk to you before Starstone came back down. I need advice. Peter told me that he's so busy that he doesn't have any time to himself, which means he doesn't have any time to spend with me. Do you think he's making an excuse?" I ask. I can feel tears welling up in my eyes from the simple thought of Peter not wanting to spend time with me. "What if he doesn't really like me?"
"Well he is the High King, Ashley. It's hard to say. He is very busy, but from what I know about King Peter, he is a very honest man. I think if he didn't like you, he would've told you straight out. Besides, the girls and I have all noticed how he looks at you. He likes you without a doubt," she tells me sincerely. I smile.
"You're right – as usual," I comment. She laughs and then gives me a side hug. "Thanks, Mal. You suddenly made me feel a whole lot better." She beams brightly just as I hear Starstone walk in.
"You're welcome, now we better get to work unless we want to get fired." She winks at me before hurriedly skipping off towards the sink. I grimace. Just because Peter promised me that I can move in with him once I'm fired doesn't mean that I'm deliberately going to go out of my way to get sacked. Does it? The practical side of my brain is screaming at me, telling me not to even think about the possibility of getting fired on purpose. The other side is yelling the complete opposite at me. If I get fired on purpose, would Peter even let me stay with him, or is that only going to happen if Starstone catches us together?
I ponder on my thoughts aimlessly as I go over to a spare bench and grab the cutlery, plates, and glasses before stacking them neatly and carefully onto a gold serving tray. I exit the kitchen carefully, tray in hands, and walk over to the dining room. I stroll casually over to the huge, gold table in the middle of the room before placing a plate, crystal glass, and the appropriate cutlery on the empty table in front of each golden chair. Two arms snake their way around my waist at that exact moment and drag me backwards. I smile before spinning around in their arms. I jump a little as I realise that it isn't the High King like I had expected. No, it's King Edmund of all people.
"Hey, honey. You want to go out on a date later tonight?" he asks while wagging his bushy eyebrows. I roll my eyes and then put on my 'thinking face'.
"Hmm, let me think about that. Um...NO!" I answer him. I hear heavy laughing coming from the other side of the room as I unwind his arms from around my waist.
"Edmund, WHY ON EARTH DID YOU JUST ASK MY GIRLFRIEND OUT ON A DATE?!" Peter bellows angrily. I look over at Peter and then back to Edmund and burst out laughing. Edmund looks scared out of his brain.
"King Edmund, I thought you said that it was easy picking up a girl? Why did she say no if you're such a girl magnet?" A young boy of about twelve with short, red hair asks.
"Girl Magnet?" I laugh out loud before I feel Peter's hand lace together with mine. I feel him shaking with laughter beside me as well.
"Yes, King Edmund said that he gets any girl he wants," the little boy tells Peter and I.
"Right, King Edmund why are you lying to innocent, little boys?" I ask. I look over to him and contain more laughter as his face is beet red.
"You couldn't have played along, Ashley? I mean golly I'm trying to earn a reputation here!" he whines. I roll my eyes at him.
"Whatever, King Edmund," I say before turning to my boyfriend. "Are you busy at the moment?" I ask him, curious as to why he would already be in the dining room and not in the court room.
"Nope, it turns out the meeting got cancelled so I can spend time with you after all," he explains to me happily. I smile widely. Instantly I grab his hand and start dragging him upstairs to the abandoned hallway.
"Hey, Ash, is our plan 'keep you two a secret' starting now?" Malina asks as we pass her on the fifth level of the castle.
"Yes, it is," I tell her while still dragging Peter by his hand up the next staircase. "One more thing, Mal, where did that name come from?" I ask, curiosity ringing like bells out of my voice.
"We just thought it was cool. Anyway, see you two soon," she says before quickly running down the flights of stairs that we just came up.
"Am I allowed to say that I thought you were only joking when you told me about your plan or will that be an insult?" Peter asks. I slap his arm playfully (he just laughs at that) and continue to drag him up the slippery flight of stairs. We reach the hallway eventually, both of us out of breath. Those stairs are honestly killers. Peter lets go of my hand and lounges down onto the sofa while I try to catch my breath back. How am I this unfit?
"Are you alright?"
"Yep, just slowly dying. Give me a second, won't you?" He purses his lips, trying to withhold the laugh that I'm sure is just bursting to come out of him.
"Alright, I'm good now." I stroll over to him and effectively fall down on the opposite side of the couch to him. I probably could get up and move so I'm cuddling him, but it's easier to just lay this way. Besides, I'm boiling hot. I sigh in content as I feel fingers wrap around my ankles. Peter grabs my legs and pulls them up so they're over his lap before he starts to massage them. That feels so good. My gaze flounders over to the clear windows and I honestly can't help but admire the view.
It's beautiful today. The sunshine's shining on the entire forest causing some of the trees to turn lime green. The Great River is glistening like a diamond and the usually loud roar of the waterfall falling over the cliff face is only a quiet whisper from up here. It's days like these that I wish I were a child again, so that I can go outside and play in the river all day. For the second time in my life, I'm jealous of my little sister.
"What are you thinking about?" Peter asks curiously. I shrug.
"I'm just thinking about how beautiful it is outside and how I wish I could be a child again. That way I could swim all day and play tag with the other children instead of being locked up in a palace, being forced to clean it all day, every day," I explain, with a tiny hint of regret in my tone. The sound of shuffling on the couch brings my tired gaze back to my boyfriend.
"I don't wish you were a child again. If you were a child than I wouldn't have met you and I wouldn't be able to court you," he tells me matter-of-factly. I smile weakly. Why does he always have to be right?
"Okay, fine then. I take back what I said." He smiles at me.
"Good," he replies, his hands making their way to my feet. I giggle slightly before a peaceful silence envelopes the room. I don't really mind though. It isn't like some silences where it's just plain awkward. This silence allows us to just sit here and soak each other in. In the silence I can hear the faint chirps of the birds in the trees below combined with the light roar of the waterfall. It makes it sort of romantic in a way. I shift my body to the side so that my eyes are looking straight at the forbidden doorway. It gets me thinking.
"Peter, what do you think is behind that forbidden door?" I watch him closely as he tosses a glance over to the doorway and then turns his full, undivided attention back to me.
"Maybe a room full of dead corpses or a ghost or just an empty room. I'm not really sure." He pauses. "Or maybe, just maybe, it could be something specifically designed for us," he thoughtfully adds on. I raise one of my eyebrows at the last idea. Hmm, I wonder. I swing my legs off the couch, being very careful not to hit Pete in the process, before I get up and walk over to the silver door. I take one last look at the sign before putting my hand on the handle and turning it. "Ashley, don't go in there! Aslan has put it there for a reason! Seriously please listen," he pleads with me. I sigh in defeat and let go of the handle before turning around to face him. He's standing in front of me now, his arms crossed in front of him.
"Tell me, what's the worst thing that can happen?" I ask. He seems to be at war with himself for a little bit before shrugging his shoulders.
"Fine, let's have a look," he says regretfully. I beam widely at him before turning back around and turning the door handle again. I can feel Peter's presence beside me in an instant. I start to push the door open bit by bit. ROOAAARRR! I jump, my head flying over my right shoulder as I look around the room. Smoke rises from all the candles that have now been blown out, but besides that, there's nothing there.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," I say, turning back to Peter. He nods his head in agreement. He reaches past me and closes the door again; my mouth turns down into a frown. "Sorry. I should've listened to you," I apologise. His face seems to soften up right before he pulls me in for a hug.
"It's okay. I have to admit that I was sort of curious...but I know we'll find out in the future so it's all good," he tells me while pulling away to look at my face. I smile weakly. He grabs my hand and is about to lead me towards the couch. As we turn though, we are both suddenly face to face with The Great Lion, Aslan, himself!
