Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia nor any of the characters and places associated with it.


Chapter 13: Rescue Missions

Peter POV

"Wakey, wakey, Your Majesty! It's time for another beautiful day!" I hear a high-pitched female voice say. I groan and roll onto my side.

"Can I please have five more minutes?" I ask tiredly. Out of nowhere comes a very bright light. I groan again and roll away from the open window. Golly, these servants are so pushy!

"King Peter –" I cut her off then with my hand before turning over onto my back and looking up at her shining, blue eyes.

"It's just Peter for you, Kabella," I stress before rolling back onto my side. She sighs long and hard. I wish she would just leave me alone and let me get my well-deserved rest.

"Fine then, Peter, please get up so that Starstone doesn't kill me. I promised her yesterday that I would wake you up in time for your first court meeting of the day, so pretty please," she pleads. I roll my eyes and sit up.

"Nothing in the world is going to get me out of this bed until at least ten am. I haven't been getting very much sleep lately, as you already know, so I would appreciate it if you just left me now," I state unenthusiastically while falling back down onto the soft, heather mattress.

"But you have a meeting at sev –" I cut her off with my hand again. She groans and is about to leave when a very worried looking Malina comes rushing in. Her eyes are red and puffy and her breathing is extremely fast. She looks like she's been crying.

"Peter, Ashley's missing!" she exclaims in absolute alarm. I sit up and freeze immediately. Ashley's missing! She can't be.

"Malina are you sure she's not out in the town somewhere. You know planning the wedding," I suggest. She shakes her head.

"She's gone, I've looked everywhere and, besides, there's people who say they saw someone carrying something that was struggling out of the castle last night. They said that whoever it was headed straight to Owl Wood," she exclaims in absolute hysterics. Tears are flowing rapidly down her pale cheeks and landing on the floor with quiet drops. She wipes her eyes and comes to sit next to me on the bed. "Your Majesty!" she screams while putting her cold hand on my shoulder. There are guards everywhere in this castle. No one can possibly just walk in and take Ashley out of her bedroom without the guards outside my room knowing. I mean the door to her bedroom is well hidden as well. It blends in with the surrounding wall. It's so well hidden in fact that, when it's dark, it's almost impossible to find the door handle. I grab the hand on my shoulder and look her in the eyes.

"Come on, Malina! You have to show me where Owl Wood is," I say while getting up and throwing on some random clothes. She nods and grabs my hand before pulling me out of the room. Malina speeds me out the door and through the narrow streets of the town until we arrive at the edge of the light forest. From here she leads me due North until we reach a wooden sign post that reads "Owl Wood". She drags me into the forest and stops.

"This is it. Would you like me to com –"

"Yes!" I cut her off quickly. I am not exactly in the mood to be in some unknown place by myself. I need a clue, anything, to prove that she was here. I glance down, my eyes instantly being drawn to what looks like fresh trails. I walk forward and get down on my knees to closely inspect them. There are two sets. The first deposits are of hoof marks and the second set looks like drag marks. I tilt my head naturally. Something came through here. "Come on, Malina, lets follow these tracks." Her sniffles from behind me is all the answer I need. I stand back up and start to follow them. The tracks lead us deep into the forest; I have to jump over brambles and push through branches constantly. Eventually though, we reach an open space. I stop abruptly. The tracks have vanished. Hmm...I wonder if there's an underground cavern or something. I feel warm skin lightly touch my hand suddenly and I jump slightly before looking over my shoulder.

"Sorry," Malina apologises. "I'm just really scared. What if someone's murdered her, Peter?" she asks, her eyes flooding with tears again. I quickly look down at my feet in anguish before my eyes grow wide. On the floor, covered in dust and dirt, is the engagement ring I only gave Ashley yesterday. I pick it up and put it in my pocket. No matter what happens, I will never lose this ring. I feel tears welling up in my eyes at the thought of her being murdered. What if I never see her again? I blink the tears away in anger. No! I will see her again, if it's the last thing I do. I look down again. Malina cannot see me like this. Hey, what's that? On the floor is what looks to be a crack in the earth. I follow it around curiously. It looks like some sort of door. I put my left foot on it experimentally. The ground instantly rumbles and shakes before it begins to move. I startle back in surprise. Malina and I both watch on in shock as the ground rises up to reveal a secret door hidden underneath.

I grab her hand and very slowly open the door. As we walk cautiously inside, I glance around the room. The walls and floors are all made of a dark stone. The walls themselves are covered with whips and ancient looking devices. There are a few chains hanging up along the walls as well. I know instantly that it's a dungeon of some sort. I hear hooves walking toward us then. Malina and I search around frantically until we find a room that we can hide in. We dive in and shut the door quietly behind us. I could've fought off whoever it is, but considering I don't know how many people there are here, I don't want to risk it! I stop breathing as soon as I hear the footsteps outside the doorway. We hear them go up the ramp and the main entrance close shortly after. We wait a few moments to make sure there are no others before I look at Malina and open the door quietly. Once the sight is clear we walk out and down the hallway. I strain my ears for anything that will tell me that Ashley is here; I can't hear anything but my own heart beat and breathing though. We walk a bit further on until Malina tugs at my hand. I didn't even realise she was holding it. "Oh, Peter, it's no use! We are never going to find her," Malina says, truly upset.

"Don't...say that...Malina!" I say through gritted teeth. As soon as I stop talking, I suddenly hear someone moving. I look around in the dark tunnel and find a set of bronze keys followed shortly after by a door. I put my ear to the entrance and, sure enough, there's shuffling. I move back and find the lock. After sliding the key in, I tear the door open and gasp in horror.

Ashley POV (2 hours prior to Peter POV)

I wake up to what feels like an eternity later. My back's really sore and my head is aching. I look around slowly and notice that I'm in a dark, damp, small, and – very smelly – room. The floor is made up of a cold, dark stone and has little clusters of weeds growing through the cracks of it. There is no window; only a small, wooden door planted on the left wall. I look up at the roof then and notice a small, brown bat hanging upside above me. It's peering down at me; its dark, black eyes are full of curiosity. Where on earth am I? I feel warm tears starting to well up in my eyes as realization dawns suddenly me. I'm in a cell or dungeon!

I quickly look down towards the hard and cold floor. It's now that I notice a trail of blood leading from the doorway to my body. I put my hand on the floor, trying to support myself so that I can get up and get a better look, but quickly pull it away after I feel something warm and sticky underneath it. I take it up to eye level and see that my hand is completely covered in blood. I gasp and let the tears roll down my cheeks. There's also something else missing; my engagement ring. I hold in my weep in fear of the creature coming back and bashing me. I just want a nice, warm, tight hug from Peter right now. I need to get out of here. I use the wall as a sort of scale and try to pull myself up by it. My fingers dig into the cracks in the stone work, effectively working like a ladder. My legs feel weak as I put all my weight on them.

Ahh! I gasp as pain surges right up throughout my entire body. I collapse onto the ground and look down at my swollen leg. I must have broken it. I rub it and notice all the huge, deep, bloody cuts and purple bruises that cover my body. My nightgown is torn and has holes all through it; it only just covers my body. I reach up to comb my fingers though my hair only to pull out a bunch of leaves and twigs. I lie back down and start softly crying to myself. My nose is runny and tears run down my cheeks in flowing rivers. Stop it, Ashley! You're stronger than this! Oh, how I wish my thoughts are true! It feels like hours before I actually stop and sit up.

My leg is throbbing with pain and all I want to do is get out of here and back to the castle to be with Peter. The problem is, even if I try to get out and succeed, I will have to crawl the entire way back to the castle and, since I don't even know where I am, that doesn't seem like a very smart idea. If only Aslan were here so I can cuddle up in his soft mane and sleep in comfort instead of on hard ground. At that moment I turn my face around so that I'm facing the door and there stands the Great Lion himself.

"Aslan!" I exclaim, the last of the tears slowing at once until finally stopping. He smiles at me and walks forward. I wish I can jump up and just tackle him into the floor in a bear hug, but I can't because of this stupid leg. He lays down in front of me so that he's eye to eye with me. I smile and position myself so that I'm lying on his warm, soft mane.

"Ashley, you are starting to lose hope in yourself. You should never do that. Always remember that I am here when you need me," he says sternly. I nod my head in his mane and look him in the eyes.

"Thank you, Aslan," is all I'm able to say. He smiles at me.

"Help is on the way right now, Dear One. Never lose hope," he says before he suddenly vanishes. Did I imagine that or was he really here? I feel like crying again. I at least want him to stay until the help arrives. Without warning, I hear hooves outside my cell. The lock turns roughly and in comes the biggest terror ever. As soon as it notices that I'm awake, it gets out a giant bat and bashes me over the head with it. I cry out in pain.

"STOP! PLEASE STOP!" I cry out. It grabs my chin harshly forces it up before it gets out a long, sharp knife. It slices my arm roughly, effectively causing more blood to flow from my body. I cry out some more in pain. It tosses the knife back into its sheathe then before it turns around and leaves me alone. I hear the door slam closed as the keys rattle in the heavy lock again. I wish I can die. That is all I want to do right now; die! I don't even know what I did wrong to deserve this type of punishment. Maybe this is what Aslan was talking about. I am losing hope in myself. I want to give in and just die. I cringe internally at the thought, worried that if I cringe physically, I might just injure myself even worse. I stop suddenly as soon as I hear the main entrance close. It must have left.

"Yes!" I whisper quietly to myself. I can survive just a bit longer as long as I don't think about my aching leg and the horrible, bloody puddle that I'm lying in right now. I close my eyes in hope of a little bit of sleep before the help arrives. It works, within seconds I'm lost in my dreams.

Peter POV (Back to where we were at before)

I take a few steps slowly forward until I'm fully inside the small, damp room. There's a trail of blood along the dirty floor that leads up to the far corner of the cell. I look closely at a figure that is in the bend before I feel my heart start to pound a hundred miles an hour. "Ashley," I whisper softly to myself before running forward and getting down on my knees beside her. Her dark, brown hair is loose and covered in leaves and twigs. Her skin looks deadly pale, a striking comparison to the dark cell around her. A giant slice that is oozing blood runs down her left arm, covering her in flesh blood. Her dress is torn and barely covers her torso. The thing I hate most though is the fact that her eyes are closed. I grab her hand gently and feel around her red wrist for her pulse. I find it after a few seconds and breathe out a long sigh of release. At least she's alive. I hear Malina behind me crying softly. I can't blame her. I want to cry myself. I gently pick Ashley up underneath her legs and bare back, before I carry her back out into the hallway. I look down at her sadly. She seems so extremely fragile when she's injured like this.

"Peter, I know you want to wake her up and everything, but perhaps we should get out of here before the creature comes back," Malina suggests once she has stopped crying. I look up at her face and then back down to Ashley.

"You're right; we should go. I'm sure Ashley would prefer to wake up out in the light forest anyway," I agree after a few minutes of silence. I glance back up to Malina and furrow my eyebrows. She's smiling happily at me.

"You really love her, don't you?" I smile weakly myself for a moment before looking back down to my fiancée.

"Yes, I do," I admit softly as we start walking down the dusty hallway. All of a sudden, I hear a flutter of wings behind me. I look over my shoulder and raise an eyebrow as a bat comes fluttering towards us. It stops about an inch away from my face before continuing over to Malina. I ignore it and continue walking and eventually make it back to the entrance. Malina is beside me after a few minutes. I watch intriguingly as she walks over to a lever and pulls it back to reveal the large doorway. She opens the door quickly and scurries out. I chuckle a little bit as the curious fruit-bat follows her out like a lost, little, puppy dog. After a few seconds, I quickly run up myself and exit so that I can close the door. Oddly enough though, as soon as the door closes, the entire dungeon disappears back under the ground.

"That was weird," Malina says as we start walking away.

"Yes, it was a little bit, but at least Ashley is safe now. I don't think I can live another day without her," I say. She smiles at me slightly before looking straight ahead of her. All of a sudden, the brown bat appears again. I laugh as it continues following her, I don't even think she has realised it's there until she turns to me and comes face to face with the inquisitive mammal. She startles backwards a little bit, causing me to crack up laughing. It's only now that I remember that Ashley is still in my arms. I look over to the forest and notice that there's a visible patch of greenery in between the branches of the trees.

I make my way over to them carefully and barge my way through the bushy brambles. My view opens up into a beautiful, grassy meadow. The grass is a bright green with little, yellow flowers peeping up all over it. There's also a light stream running straight through the middle of it. The meadow is heavily surrounded by trees so it's a safe place to sit down and think. I walk over to the stream and sit down right next to the crystal clear, blue water. I carefully re-arrange myself so that Ashley's now laying her head on my lap and the rest of her body on the soft grass. It looks like a position that she would be happy in. I reach down into the stream and gather some water in my hands before gently pouring it on her forehead so that I can wipe away some of the blood. I then wash away the blood on her arm before getting out my dagger and tearing through the bottom part of my shirt. I take the piece of material before wrapping it tightly around the large cut. There, that should help. I hear Malina walk up to me then before I see her sit down next to me. I smile in humour as I notice the bat perched on her shoulder.

"I see you made a little friend," I tease. She rolls her eyes.

"Yes, I know, okay. I told him he could sit on my shoulder. Mind you he doesn't talk; he just seems to understand me. Then I thought 'he's adorable', so Cinnamon is officially my new pet," she explains. I laugh as soon as she says the name 'Cinnamon'. That's such a girly name. "Are you going to wake up, Ash?" she asks suddenly. I steal a quick glance down at my sleeping fiancée. She seems quite peaceful. I don't really want to disrupt her rest, but I'm also not sure if she's in pain. I don't really want her to be hurting.

"No, I don't want her to wake up yet," I answer after a few long minutes of thought. I glance over to Malina who seems a little confused at my answer. Her eyes hold inquisitiveness as she gazes at me. "I don't want to wake her up and hear her cry out in pain. I think she's happier asleep at the moment," I add on quietly.

"I understand," she says once I'm finished. I smile softly as I soothe out Ashley's hair. "What's it like?" I look up at Malina confused.

"What's what like?"

"Well, being a High King of a country that you never knew existed and getting betrothed at nineteen. I mean you must be very strong to be able to face all that at your age," she clarifies. I think about what she's saying for a split second before answering.

"It's hard. I mean what nineteen-year-old boy finds a magical land in an old wardrobe, defeats a witch, and suddenly finds himself ruling over the country and all its occupants. Not many, I can tell you that. It's frightening to think about. You never know whether your decisions are going to affect those around you in a good or bad way. I mean most of the decisions I've made since I've gotten here have pretty much destroyed lives –" Malina cuts me off then with her hand.

"If you're referring to Ashley, I'm going to slap you," she threatens in a menacing tone. I grimace. She must have noticed for she instantly slaps my arm. Ouch! The girl can be quite sassy when she wants to be. "Don't you dare say that you have destroyed her life! I've never seen Ashley so happy before. Honestly, if you could've seen her before she met you, you would understand what I mean. She was so depressed!" she explains. I look back down at Ash's peaceful, sleeping face. I could never imagine her being depressed. "Anyway, Peter, we better get Ashley back to the castle. It looks like her leg is broken," Malina points out. I look down at the swollen-up knee and quickly tear another piece off of my white shirt before coiling it tightly around the break.

"Fixed," I say lightly. She glowers at me.

"I mean it," she warns while standing up. I chuckle a little bit as Cinnamon puffs out his chest like a tough man as soon as Mal is up. I follow Malina's (and Cinnamon's) lead and carefully pick up Ash underneath her knees and torn up back. We casually walk out of the meadow then, pushing past branches until we're back onto the main, dirt pathway. We stroll out of the now light forest casually; well as casually as you can with a bat sitting on one person's shoulder and the other carrying a young girl who looks like she's dead. As soon as we walk through the gates, all eyes are on us. The town is quiet. I can't even hear the squeak of a mouse! Malina and I walk over to the side of the castle and enter through to the sick rooms. It's not exactly a hospital like we have back in England, but it's the same concept. This particular spot is only for the Royal family and workers in the castle mind you.

Everything is spotlessly clean and white. The walls are a cream colour and match the wood flooring perfectly. There are a few wooden chairs lined up against the western wall and a reception desk opposite them. We walk precariously up to the desk and ring the little bell that's hanging from the ceiling. I look down slowly to my angels face and furrow my eyebrows. She looks so vulnerable. I hear hooves come up to the desk after a few minutes, bringing me instantly out of my thoughts. I look up quickly to notice a female centaur standing in front of me. She has long, curly, black hair that hangs down to her knees. Her coat is also black and clings to her in such a way that it makes the plain, short fur look shiny. I look up at her face then. She has piercing, bright-green eyes that seem to burn through anything she looks at. Her skin is lightly tanned and looks clear. She's clearly looking at Ashley. Her mouth is agape and I could've sworn I hear her gasp a little.

"What happened?" she asks shakily. I can tell that she doesn't usually have to deal with serious injuries like this.

"She got kidnapped and tortured. We found her around one pm in an underground dungeon lying in a pool of her own blood. It wasn't exactly a pleasant sight. I'm sort of worried though, she hasn't opened her eyes at all," I explain. The nurse looks quite worried at this information and immediately leads us to one of the many sick rooms. I place Ashley carefully down on the heather bed before the door opens again. I look up from Ashley's sleeping form only to see Doctor Hedrick run in.

"What happened, Your Majesty?" he asks while rushing over to Ashley's side and immediately studying her knee.

"She got kidnapped and pretty much beaten by some psychopathic creature who owns an underground dungeon," I tell him simply. It seems I'm explaining this to a lot of people today. He looks at her worriedly.

"Has Ashley woken up at all?" he inquires while wiping away some of the blood on her body with a wet cloth. I frown.

"No," I answer him solemnly. He scribbles something down on a parchment before checking her scratches and bruises. He also takes a sample of her blood. He leaves the room for a little bit before walking back in.

"Your Majesty? I'm afraid this is a bit more serious than you expected. Ashley is in a coma."