Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia nor any of the characters and places associated with it.
Chapter 12: Answer
"Peter, you're not serious are you?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow while looking down at him. He looks quite upset.
"Actually, I am," he replies softly with a tear rolling down his cheek.
Oh crap!
Why do I always mess perfect moments up? Oh, that's right, because I'm an idiot, that's why! I close my eyes for a second, trying to escape reality in hope that it's all dream, but of course luck obviously isn't on my side today. I open my eyes again to the devastating face of my boyfriend.
"Peter, I'm sorry. I didn't expect it and to be truthfully honest I thought you were joking. I mean, I'm only eighteen. You don't usually expect your nineteen-year-old boyfriend to propose to you at my age. I didn't mean to hurt you at all. What you said was beautiful and I loved every second of it, I just wasn't expecting it. I'm sorry," I apologise softly and quietly while looking at my finger nails. They've suddenly become very interesting. As I fiddle with them though, I can't help the tears that begin to well up in my eyes and fall down my cheeks. I hear the sound of shuffling sand and instantly know that Peter has stood up. I look up at him slowly. He looks so sad. His eyes are glazed over and I can tell that he's trying to keep all his emotions in tack. I feel so guilty! With all his emotions though, he's still gentleman enough to wipe away my salty tears.
"It's alright, I understand. I know that you're only eighteen, but I love you and I got told by Aslan himself that I was to be married soon and today seemed like the perfect day to propose and I really wanted to make it special and memorable for you," he explains shyly. I smile up at him shakily.
"You know, Peter, even though I totally messed up your whole plan, it was really sweet of you to come up with a way to make it memorable for me. I really appreciate it and, for the record, I feel terrible for laughing at you," I tell him, honesty raining out of my voice. He looks at me then. He's smiling faintly, but not enough for me to feel any better about what I have said and done.
"I forgive you for laughing at me, but, you know, you still haven't answered the question," he comments. I grimace. I was hoping he had forgotten about the answer!
"Um...well," I stutter out un-helpfully while looking at the floor.
"Would it help if I got down on one knee again?" he asks curiously.
"NO!" I shout out at him while quickly looking up at his shocked face. He looks a little taken aback by my sudden outburst. "I mean no, I just have to think for a moment please; this is really sudden," I edit as calmly as I can. He nods his head once before looking down. I go over the past year and a bit in my head quickly, from the first time we had met all the way to the present scenario. Every time I'm around Peter I smile brightly it seems. He makes me so beyond happy and I can't imagine being with anyone else. I take a glimpse over to Peter and then quickly steal a glance over my shoulder at the giant, white-stone castle that stands behind me.
If Edmauel is right, then I will one day be Queen. That one word alone should cause me to make up my mind, but it only makes the answer to the question that much harder. Marriage seems like such a scary word as I think about it now. Everything around me is a blur as I go over every possible aspect of matrimony in my head. When I really think hard about it, the only thing holding me back from marrying the star of all my dreams is the fact that we're both still so young! Will we both be committed enough to each other to be able to pull off such a young marriage? I already know the answer to that question. Yes, we would. I look at Peter who's now staring at me carefully, obviously trying to read all the different emotions that are splayed across my face. After what seems like forever, he stops looking at me and turns his attention to the white sand. He looks sad.
"Peter, I will marry you," I blurt out quickly. His eyes shoot up to mine quickly.
"What did you say?" he asks me amazed. I smile lightly at him while taking a few steps forward so that I can wrap my arms around his neck.
"Peter, I will marry you," I repeat slowly, smiling. His eyes suddenly light up like a child's on Christmas morning. Then he unexpectedly pulls me in for a giant, passionate kiss. I freeze for a second before I start kissing him back. His arms wrap tightly around my waist as my hands knot themselves in his soft hair. I suddenly feel very light and look down only to realise that I'm off the ground. I don't really care though; we just keep kissing. After a few minutes he puts me back onto my feet and pulls away before slipping the white-gold ring onto my left hand. He kisses my knuckle after putting it on and then takes a step back.
"Thank you. This means so much to me!" he exclaims as he pulls me in for a hug. I beam brightly.
"Peter, why are you thanking me? Of course I was going to say yes," I tell him honestly. He smiles.
"Because I know how sudden the question was and then your reaction to it...I was worried that you were going to say no," he explains while grimacing. I smile and grab his hand with my left one before I lightly peck his cheek with a kiss. I look down for a second and I could've sworn that I saw him look at the sparkling, bright, blue ocean. When I look up at his face, he smiles again, or should I say smirks. Let's just say that it's a smile I don't trust one bit.
"Peter, what are you –" he cuts me off abruptly as he picks me up suddenly and walks towards the water's edge. "No, don't you dare!" I screech at him, while hitting his chiselled chest. Wait – when did he take his shirt off?
"Aww, don't you want to go for a swim?" he taunts. I grab him around his neck as we get closer and closer to the ocean.
"No, I don't!" I screech at him loudly. He starts laughing at me hysterically.
"Are you sure?" he manages to gasp out in between breaths. I frown.
"Yes, I'm sure! Now put me down, Peter Pevensie!" I scream at him. He smirks evilly for a second, before he shrugs his shoulders. I look down and notice that we're standing in the ocean.
"If you insist," he says, before throwing me into the freezing, cold water. I scream loudly before I sink beneath the surface. He's going to pay. I swim back up to the surface of the water and let a wave push me back to the shoreline. I look up quickly and glare at my now laughing boyfriend – oh wait, no, I should say fiancé. I stand up and point a finger angrily at him.
"You are going to pay!" I promise, before running up to him and jumping up into his arms. He hugs me back while laughing in my ear. After a few seconds, he pushes me off him and grabs my left hand.
"How do you plan on doing that?" he asks, while raising one of his eyebrows. I smile innocently at him, as I take a step forward.
"Like this," I whisper menacingly in his ear, before flinging him like a dirty rag into the sparkling, blue water. I hear the splash as he lands into a large wave and starts to laugh heavily. I watch in amusement as his head pops out of the water. He shakes the water out of his hair which causes me to sigh. Who knew that Peter was even more attractive soaking wet? I watch the muscles in his arms unashamedly as he half swims-half walks up to the shoreline.
"How did you do that?" he asks in amazement as he stands up a few paces in front of me. I shrug.
"After ten years of play wresting with your father in the front lawn, you would want to hope that you built up a bit of strength," I tell him smirking. He shakes his head slowly.
"You are so sneaky," he says before running up and picking me up before precariously flinging me over his shoulder.
"Peter, put me down!" I scream as I bash his back. He seems to lose his footing for a second before I suddenly feel very lightweight. We both fall into the blue water with a very big splash before we take one look at each other and both burst out laughing.
"I put you down," he says after a few minutes. I playfully splash him as he swims up to me and grabs me around my waist. He starts to slowly kiss my neck, but, as nice at it feels, I'm not in the mood for a romantic swim, I just want to muck around in the water. So, I splash him again, and again, and again. He eventually gets the idea and picks me up before throwing me over his shoulder so that I do a somersault before landing in the cold water. I surface and quickly swim up to him.
He splashes me before I swim around to his back and proceed to jump up onto his shoulders. He laughs at me as I try to splash him from above his head. I decide that this is almost impossible to do in a dress though, so I quickly jump off his back and swim onto the white shore and slip off the dress so that I'm left in my undergarments. I dive back into the water and quickly duck-dive under a wave so that I'm back with Peter. He splashes me again which causes us to enter a full-on water fight. After a while the playful splashing turns into playful, water wrestling.
We toss each other around in the deeper water and throw seaweed whenever the other one has their back turned. It's so much fun that I almost don't notice when around a dozen mermaids come onto the scene. They have all swum up to the shoreline and watch on in amusement as Peter and I tackle one another in the whitewash. I have just dunked Peter beneath the white, foamy water when I hear one of the little female mermaids laugh in a high, soprano voice. I hear Peter rise up out of the water just as a few of the young boys start laughing. I glance at Peter and he seems just as baffled as me. The little girl that's laughing starts to point behind us. Peter and I spin around at the same time only to be wiped out by a huge, aqua wave. As soon as I'm underwater, I swim up to the shore.
I stand up once I know I'm on the damp sand and instantly feel Peter beside me. He grabs my left hand and kisses the ring that's, thankfully, still placed on my ring finger.
"That was so cool!" I hear one of the merboys exclaim as he looks at us. "Mother, can we please go and wrestle in the whitewash too?" he asks, turning to the black-haired mermaid next to him who's obviously his mother. She seems hesitant.
"Well okay, but be careful," she warns. The young children all nod and are instantly in the whitewash wrestling as soon as the sentence is out. I smile at the small children as they precariously throw seaweed at each other and tumble aimlessly through the soft waves. I feel Peter tug on my hand and I follow him as he leads me to an old, brown, worn-out log that's sitting in the beautiful sunshine on the dry, white sand. He sits down and pulls me down next to him so that I can cuddle up to him, but still dry all my soaking, wet clothes in the process. I lean my head tiredly against his shoulder as he puts his head on mine. It's quite late. The bright, blue sky is beginning to turn a faint pink colour and the sun is starting to set on the horizon.
"I love you," Peter whispers lovingly into my ear. I sigh in bliss.
"I love you too," I whisper back. The truth behind those few words is starting to make me feel dizzy. I do love him with all my heart, mind, strength, and body. I will jump in front of him if someone goes to stab him. I will cheerfully die for him, because I know that he will be safe. The thought of dying for him is scary in my mind, but in my heart, I know I would. I feel him very lightly kiss my hair. I smile and wrap my arms around his torso. "Peter, why did you buy a new set of armour this morning?" I ask curiously while looking up at his face, the conversation from this morning rushing back to me. He looks down at me and smiles.
"It's for you. I thought you would like a set of armour just simply to protect yourself. Is that okay?" he asks worriedly. I smile and blush ruby red. He is so sweet! I can't believe he got me armour.
"Yes, that's fine – trust me," I reassure him, while looking into his blue eyes. He leans down quickly and catches my lips in a quick, loving kiss before pulling away and looking out towards the sunset. I look out towards it too. It's beautiful. The sky is bright pink, fire red, and glowing orange all in one. All the blue is gone. The sun's only just peeking out from above the horizon causing the water to take on the colours from the sky. I watch as the mermaids swim away into the depths of the ocean only to be replaced with joyous dolphins that are jumping and surfing gleefully in the glossy waves. The gentle, warm, sea breeze brushes against my dry, soft skin as I sigh in contentment. Peter really made today memorable. There's no way that I will be able to forget any of it. "Thank you," I say while turning to look at his face. He smiles lightly.
"Thank you for what?" he asks curiously. I unwrap my left arm from around him and look at the sparkling diamond ring.
"For everything. Today was amazing and I'll never forget it," I whisper while twisting my hand. The ring looks pink in the light of the sun and is shooting off twinkling sparkles in every direction. I feel him tighten the grip he has on me and instantly cuddle back into him.
"I'm glad that you'll never forget it. That was sort of my plan after all," he smirks down at me, humour obvious in his tone. I hit his arm playfully and smile.
"Of course it was, Pete," I say lightly. I hear him chuckle lightly before I lean my head back onto his comfortable shoulder. We sit in a relaxed silence as we watch the large sun sink beneath the horizon. We observe the sky together as little dots of sparkling light start to appear all over it. Peter softly pushes me off him after a while and stands up before offering me his hand. I grab it and he gently pulls me up off the old, beaten-up log. We walk hand in hand along the ocean shore. The quiet noise of the glistening waves breaking on the seashore is the only sound to be heard.
"I love you," Peter tells me as he stops. He spins me around and pulls me into him carefully.
"I love you too," I reply before leaning up a bit so that I can give him a kiss. He leans down to meet me half-way. As soon as his lips meet mine, I'm in heaven. The kiss is full of undeniable love. I feel my heart burst at the mere thought of having him with me forever. He pulls away from me slowly, smiling his famous, breath-taking smile, before grabbing my hand again and walking me back to the castle. As we enter the town, I'm shocked to discover that the town is dead silent. There is no one in sight. All the candles in the houses and shops are blown out along with the candles that line the side of the street. "What's going on?" I ask rhetorically. My breath is shaky though. I glance over to one of the stalls. There is a white moon dial that's visible in the silver light of the moon. I look at it closely. It's only nine pm; usually the streets are still packed at this time with creatures heading home or going out to one of the many restaurants that scatter the town.
I tighten my grip on Peter's hand, too afraid to admit that I'm terrified. He tightens his grip on mine too, not in fright like me though, but in comfort. His thumb traces soothing circles on my palm trying his best to relax me. It works, in a few seconds I'm fully relaxed which is why as soon as I hear the noise of footsteps behind us I jump. It's suddenly silent again. I feel my heart start to quicken as I hear heavy breathing coming from behind Peter and I. He lets go of my hand then, before I hear the sound of a sword being drawn.
I see Peter spin around in the corner of my eye and notice that his facial expression turns to one of horror. As quick as lightning, Peter's arm encircles me and pulls me behind him in a protective stance. I take a glance over his shoulder and realise what has made him so protective all of a sudden. There are four huge creatures. All their teeth are sharp and stained red with blood and all their coats looked black in the moonlight. I also notice a tinge of red mixed in with the black; they're the exact replica of the creature from my reoccurring nightmare. Peter's hand is still on my waist. I feel him pull me forward inch by inch until I'm fully pressed up against his back.
I'm shaking with fright as I watch the creatures in front of Peter start walking forward slowly towards us. I see the glint of Peter's sword as he points it straight at the first creature. The creature snarls with fury as it pounces at us. Peter pushes me back quickly so that I fall onto the dirt pathway a few feet away from me. He slices the beast's head off quickly and then speedily turns to the other three. They start to circle him. He can't face three by himself; there's no way! I jump up to my feet using my hands as leverage and run towards Peter. He has another sword with him so I grab it out of its sheath and stand against his back, pointing it sharply at the horrid beast.
It takes a step towards me. I don't care. As long as Peter doesn't get hurt, I'm fine. It snarls viciously at me before taking a leap and soaring towards me. I slash my sword in anger and jab the creature in the heart. It falls to the ground in a heap of blood. I hear a yelp as I spin around to look at the other two creatures. I notice that one of them is dead on the ground, while the other one stalks closer and closer towards us. It leans back on its hind legs ready to pounce. Peter shoves me backwards instantly causing me to skid painfully along the gravel ground until I'm a few metres away from the action. I know I have a huge scrape along my side, but at the moment I can't care less. I watch on in absolute horror as the creature pounces at Peter. I hear the slash of Peter's sword as the creature's head flies over to the other side of the street, causing blood to splatter over both of us. I barely notice though, my main attention is on my fiancé who, at the moment, is knocked to the ground by the huge body of the beast.
"PETER!" I scream as I get up off the ground and run forward hurriedly. Once I reach him, I push the giant creature off him, not caring about the blood that covers my hands while I'm doing it. I look down at Peter's pale, but bloodied face. He looks angry. There's a huge deep, cut on his cheek that's oozing blood. I sigh in relief as he looks up at me. I immediately lean down and give him a hug before the emotions of the day start to catch up to me. I start to cry. I drench his shirt in a matter of seconds with red tears. That was one of the most frightful experiences of my life.
"Are you okay?" he asks me, concern ringing out of his voice like bells. Am I okay? Is he insane?
"Peter, you just killed an unknown creature before it fell on top of you and you're asking if I'm okay," I reply, shocked, while lightly wiping a drop of blood away from the deep cut with my finger. He smirks in humour.
"Yes, I am. You're going to be my wife in a few months. It's my job to protect you and keep you safe," he explains while standing up and helping me up. He gives my red forehead a kiss before he speaks again.
"Let's go and get cleaned up and have some dinner," he suggests. I nod while he wraps his arm around my waist and leads me inside the castle. We walk through the large, front door and slowly walk over to the Great Hall.
"Do you think people are going to freak out when they see us?" I ask Peter when we reach the doorway of the Great Hall. He laughs openly.
"Probably, but that's what will make it so much fun!" he exclaims happily. I smile. It will be pretty funny to watch their reactions. I lean my ear against the door and notice that there is a large number of different voices in the room.
"Alright, let's go in," I say. Peter opens the door for me and I casually walk into the huge hall. A chorus of "Congratulations" fill the room instantly before everything goes quiet. The music, that was playing rather happily, dies down at once as does all the chatter. Most of them look absolutely, one-hundred percent horrified and shocked. I look at Peter in the light of the candles and realise that he's looking at me. I also realise what a state he's in. He's pretty much red with blood. There isn't one piece of normal colour left at all. I look down at my own body and realise that I pretty much look the same. My dress, which I had put on back at the beach, is ripped at the seams and has slashes all through it. Both my shoes are missing and my side has a huge, deep gash in it that runs from mid-thigh all the way up to my waist.
It's flowing with blood and has gravel and bits of dirt all through it. I hadn't noticed how bad it was until this moment, but now that I think about it, it really hurts. I feel some tears roll down my cheeks as the pain starts to increase to its maximum. Everyone in the room is still in shock. I suddenly feel a hand lightly touch the wound and relax as I look down to notice Peter.
"What was this from?" he asks hesitantly as he lightly wipes away some of the blood. I grimace.
"Skidding across dirt and gravel," I reply cautiously. He looks back down to my wound guiltily. I look up at the room then in need of something that will divert my attention away from the painful sensation that's flowing throughout my body. Some of the creatures finally start to move again, their shock wearing off. I watch one of the town's nurses as she races out the door and comes back a few moments later with a bucket and cloth. She kneels down at my side in an instant and gently places the wet cloth onto my wound. I hiss in pain as she wipes away some of the blood. I notice a lot of the creatures come up to me then, all of them have their attention directed at my injury.
"Sorry, this might sting," the nurse warns me. I nod my head just as she starts to apply some sort of lotion to my skin. It's soothing at first, until it touches the deep gash. I grit my teeth together in pain and tighten my grip on a hand that I don't even realise I'm holding.
"Loosen your grip, Ash," Peter warns. I let go of his hand quickly and look back down to the nurse. The pain subsides as she places something over the top of it. "Are you okay?" Peter asks worriedly.
"Yes. I knew I had injured myself; I just didn't realise how bad it was until now," I explain. He grimaces and gently places a kiss on my forehead.
"It'll be fine in a few days," he promises me. I smile.
"I know," I answer him simply. I see Peter face a dryad then and smile when he tells her to run a warm bath for me. The beautiful girl spins around quickly and heads out the doorway. "Thanks," I whisper in his ear. He gives my forehead a quick kiss before focusing on the nurse.
"Alright, Ashley. Be careful and try not to put too much pressure on it," she tells me. I smile at her kindness.
"Thank you for cleaning it up for me," I say. She smiles back at me before picking up her stuff and quickly scurrying out the door. I look at Peter then. He's frowning at me. "What's wrong?" I ask him tenderly.
"It's just...I'm your fiancé I'm supposed to be looking after you and protecting you. Seeing you injured like this, it pains me inside, Ash," he explains. I smile lovingly at him and lace my fingers with his.
"Let's head upstairs to talk," I suggest before dragging him out of the Hall. We walk quickly up the stairs to our floor before casually walking over to Peter's room. The guards open the large doors for us before we nonchalantly stroll in. I sigh as the smoky smell of burning wood catches my attention. The fire's burning hot as Peter sits down in front of the old, stone fireplace. I look down at him just as he opens his arms up to me. I shake my head slowly. He frowns.
"Since when don't you want me to cuddle you?" he asks upset. I sigh.
"I want too, but I also want to go and get cleaned up before getting comfortable. We're both still covered in blood you know," I remind him. He smiles weakly.
"Don't take too long," he warns me. I smirk at him before quickly running out of the room and heading straight to my new one. I open up the door with a creak and quickly scurry over to my closet. I tear the door open and grab the closest dress I see, which just happened to be long and dark blue, and hurry over to the bathroom. I strip off the shredded remains of my yellow and white dress before quickly hopping into the bath. I sit down slowly, waiting for the water to sting my wound, but I never feel it. I look down at my side, confused. I swear my jaw hits the bottom of the bathtub. The wound is healing in front of my very eyes. I watch on in awe as the skin closes up until there's no cut left. The area where it had been yellows over, and then disappears all together.
My hand finds its way to my side to feel around for it. There's no evidence that there was ever anything there. I smile brightly before leaning back. Wait, shouldn't the water be red? I look down at my body. I'm back to my normal, pale self. The dryad must have put something in the water to heal it. I smile in spite of myself. I should probably get out. I stand up and carefully get out of the bath tub before drying myself off and throwing on my long new dress. My hair is a mess. I comb through it roughly before going straight to Peter's room. As soon as I enter, I spot him. By the looks of it he hasn't moved, but I know he has because he has fresh attire on now and is clean as a button. I skip happily over to him and sit down on his lap. His arms wrap around me carefully, before I nestle back into his chest.
"How's your battle wound?" he asks curiously, while lightly tracing a line down my right side where the scrape used to be. I chuckle while turning my head around to look at his face.
"Gone," I reply simply. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean by gone?" he inquires. I smirk.
"The dryad put some healing lotion in the bath and it disappeared in seconds," I explain happily. His face falls into a huge smile then, illuminating slight dimples in his cheeks. How have I never noticed that he has dimples before?
"I'm glad to hear that," he tells me while tightening his grip around me. I snuggle in closer to his chest.
"Peter, what date do you want to get married on?" I inquire incredulously. He thinks about it for a few seconds.
"I'm not really sure, but I think I would like to get married within the next few months."
"Hmm, okay then. The tenth of August it is." He chuckles a little bit to himself before giving my forehead a kiss.
"That sounds perfect, Ash," he comments. I smile.
"Okay, then the date's official," I say with a grin.
"Good, now onto more important things, we should probably go and enjoy that ball for a bit before we go to bed. They all threw it for us after all." I smile and stand up, helping him to his feet.
"That sounds like a great idea." Together we head down to the Great Hall to celebrate with our friends and family. The feast is certainly one to remember. The table is lined with the most delicious food and the dancing that follows dinner is beyond amazing! I haven't had this much fun in years! After an hour or two of celebrating, Peter leads me upstairs before stopping at his door.
"I have a meeting starting at seven am tomorrow morning and its now eleven-thirty pm. I think we should both probably head off to bed," he suggests. Unfortunately, he's right, as usual, which means I have to leave him for the night, much to my dismay.
"I suppose you're right," I respond with a grimace. He smiles at me gingerly before leaning in for a quick kiss.
"I love you and I'll see you in the morning," he promises. He gives my lips a quick peck again before walking over to my bed chamber door and opening it. I yawn as I follow after him and hurriedly walk through the door.
"I love you too," I say before gently shutting the door behind me. I instantly get out of my dress and put on my pyjamas. I jump into bed and quickly pull the warm, soft sheets over my body. A sudden dream pops up into my mind. I'm in the bright, green, happy forest. Around me are blooming blossoms and roses. There are some dryads that keep swirling around me in elegant twirls. I hear an angelic, low voice say my name suddenly. I turn around and see the beautiful and magnificent lion, Aslan, standing behind me in all his glory. My legs carry me over to him as fast as humanly possible before we fall to the ground together. He laughs deeply and then grows serious.
"You are in great danger, Ashley. Just remember that I am always with you through everything. Never lose hope and I will promise you now that no loved ones are going to get hurt nor are you," he tells me seriously. Great danger? What does he mean? I'm suddenly startled awake by the creaking sound of the door opening. I can see a shadow enter and then it just disappears. I look around and can't see anything. I snuggle under my silk doona even more. Suddenly I feel tight arms grab me and secure my mouth with a rope.
I struggle in their tight grip, but the grasp only grows tighter every time I do. In the end I just give up. I let the "thing" pull me harshly out of my bed. It's so dark tonight. I still can't make out who or what it was. Great, I'm going to die a few months before my wedding. What a joy! The creature grabs my shoulders fiercely and pulls me up so that I'm standing. They fling me over their shoulder and start walking towards the door. I hit their back, trying to get them to let go of me. Goodness, how strong is this creature? It's as if I'm not even here. We exit my bedroom and walk down the pitch-black hallway. I give up with hitting the thing since it isn't actually doing anything. I think I make out the outline of a horse back in the black hallway, but I can't be certain. We walk down the stairs and exit the castle. The vague outline of lots of trees come into view soon. The forest. We walk into it, only to suddenly be swarmed by flying creatures. They looked a bit like...owls? We must be in owl wood! The sound of hooting follows quickly afterwards, proving my hypothesis correct. The creature grabs my arms then, pulling me off their shoulders and throwing me harshly onto the ground.
"Ouch!" I yelp through the rope as I land painfully on a tree root. I hear evil laughter from above me, which, oddly enough, sounds painfully familiar. I feel something bash me across the head and then the next thing I know, everything goes pitch-black.
