Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia nor any of the characters and places associated with it.
Chapter 20: Stories
Emolise POV
"I can't believe that you're married!"
"I can't believe that you're High Queen!"
"I can't believe that you're pregnant!"
My friends and I are all sitting down in the lounging area, crowded around Ashley. We haven't seen her for weeks, which was starting to worry all of us. Everyone in the castle was glad when she finally came down stairs and got crowned. We have been waiting a while for her to get her act together.
"Hey, Ash, we should all go out tomorrow and buy some cute clothes for the little baby," Kabella suggests. A loud echo of agreements sound throughout the room. I take no heave to that though; I'm looking at Ashley, anticipating her reaction to all their joy. She smiles faintly at all our excitement. I know her look immediately though; tiredness. I can't blame her really. Not only is she pregnant, but the members of the court, which include the royal family, spent all day trying to figure out the location of my dear mother, worried that she might be getting closer to the castle. I can't even help them though because not even I know my mother's location. If I did, then I would surely tell them, especially Ashley and her husband. I yawn and take a curious glance up at the moondial. It's nine pm, which means that the bell will ring at any minute and we can all go home.
"I'm not sure. I'm a little tired. Maybe as I get a bit closer to the due date I will consider going out with all of you, but for now I just want to lie down and relax," she explains groggily. All of us sigh at that. We have been eager to spend some girl time with Ash ever since she got back from her honeymoon with Peter, but she has been depressed over her sister's death and then got too busy looking for my mum for us to do anything with her.
"Maybe you should go to bed, Ash," I suggest as I give my attention back to her. She's almost asleep on the couch. I feel tired just looking at her. Her eyes open wide as she remembers where she is before she slightly blushes.
"Sorry, I forgot where I was. I think I might just do that, if I can even stand up." All of us give a slight chuckle at that. The bell rings then, signalling the end of the work day for us. I stand up slowly and stretch before going and giving all my friends a hug. They're all getting ready to leave as well.
"I'll see you all later. I need to get home to my brothers and sisters," I explain. They smile and wave as I leave. I walk down the hallway before I hear fast approaching footsteps from behind me.
"Hello, Em!" Killara greets as she slows down to a walking pace beside me. Her blond hair is blowing slightly in the frosty breeze and her usual hazel-coloured eyes look dark and dusky in the dim light.
"Hi, Lara!" I answer back. Killara lives opposite me so we usually walk home together from work. We walk out of the castle before we begin talking, knowing that inside the castle there are prying ears everywhere listening into teenage conversations.
"So have you figured out where your mum is yet?" she asks me curiously. Killara knows everything about my mum; we talk about her almost every night. She's the only one of my friends that I could ever really talk to about such a serious matter. Well, if you count out Malina and Ashley. I frown.
"No, I don't know. I'm worried if I figure it out though then she's going to hurt either my siblings or me. I know that I should probably talk to someone about my concerns, but then what if it gets out there and then we're all going to be in danger," I explain. Lara's in deep thought for a moment.
"I guess," she sighs. "I do have to wonder though, what set your mum off? I mean, what could possibly take place that she would go out of her way to kidnap a seven-year-old and kill her in cold blood especially with how close you've all been to one another over the years," she comments after a while. I grimace.
"I'm not too sure. She hasn't told me the exact reason. The only thing that can be a clue is that a few months ago she told me specifically that she used to like Ashley more when Peter wasn't around. It's a bizarre reckoning, but we can't rewind the past. I have a feeling though that it could have to do with the fact that she married King Peter." I sigh as we arrive onto the dirt path that leads up to our two houses. I ignore the spooky sound of the owl sitting in the pine tree as I focus more on the sounds of my siblings in the house, or stable, since that's what it is. We walk slowly up to our houses.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Em," Lara says before giving me a hug.
"Okay, sure. Say hi to your parents and siblings for me." She nods before running up to the front door of her small house. I turn and walk up to my own, all the while trying to drown out the awful noises of my brothers and sisters fighting. I take a deep breath in before gently opening the front door. To say the house is a mess, would be an understatement. I can't even see half the floor, but I guess I should expect that when my brothers and sisters are alone at home all day.
"Emmy!" Sarah exclaims while running up to me and hugging my right leg. I grimace slightly. She lets go of it suddenly and runs off to the lounge room shouting. I glance over in the main direction and groan. Stupid brothers! They're pulling the heads off my sister's teddy bears and throwing them into the fireplace. Why they even have the fireplace lit in the first place, I don't know. My house is chaotic at night time. Having thirteen younger brothers and sisters is not always a good thing. I throw my bag down onto the ground in the living room before walking over to the kitchen and grabbing a red apple from the fruit bowl. I finish off my apple before I hear the front door open.
"Hi, kids!" my dad's booming voice echoes throughout the house. I throw the apple core out the window and walk casually over to where my dad's standing.
"Daddy!" I hear at least five kids exclaim loudly while they run up for hugs. I frown at them. Thank Aslan they're going to bed soon.
"Hey, Em, what's wrong?" dad asks.
"Can I talk to you once all the kids go to bed?" I ask, completely ignoring his question. He nods and goes back to listening to my siblings chat and laugh. "Oh and, dad? Savid, Harrichale, and Garames were pulling the heads off teddy bears and tossing them into the fireplace...again," I tell him. The little boys glower at me evilly. My dad shoots his head in their direction.
"Is this true?" he asks them, his voice on the edge of anger. They nod sheepishly before mumbling "yes" under their breaths. "Well then I suppose you're all in trouble. Go up to your rooms, now," he demands in an angry voice. The boys all shoot glares at me before they start walking slowly upstairs. "As for the rest of you, it's past your bedtime. Come on, up to bed." I hear Zellenia, Raquelia, and Claudia all groan in annoyance. They believe that since they're over twelve, they should have a right to stay up until at least eleven pm, I know better. They will have to wait until their sixteenth birthdays before they're allowed to stay up late; they will also be expected to get jobs. That thought makes me chuckle. My siblings are all so spoilt that the thought of having to work somewhere makes them gasp in horror.
While I'm thinking over all of these things, Sarah has happily skipped up to dad and given his cheek a kiss and gone up the stairs. The rest of the younger ones follow her example while the older ones grudgingly walk up to him, say, "bye," and head up the stairs slowly. I chuckle. Once they're all gone, I turn to my dad who's already walking over to the hay pile in the lounge room. I follow him in slowly. The fire has grown a considerable amount, thanks to the many bear heads that are now roasting slowly in it, throwing an orange glow off into the room. The small, wooden table in the middle of the room is covered in a large amount of food scraps, no thanks to my siblings. I also notice that a painting of our family, which had been sitting on the small desk against the brown wall, is now on the ground in pieces. I try to ignore the rest of the room, too afraid to know what else has been smashed, as I walk over and lounge down on the hay next to my dad.
"You wanted to talk about something," he starts after a short, comfortable silence. I nod.
"It's about mum-" I start to say.
"I thought we had discussed this Emolise," he cuts me off sharply. I grimace. It's true. Dad has explained to me very clearly that mum has turned into a very delicate subject. I tend to ignore what he tells me though, so the subject has been brought up quite a few times over the past few months.
"I know, dad, but have you seen how everyone in the castle is starting to react to even the sound of mum's name. This is not going to end well. Peter has sent out search parties to look for her dad. They're going to find her and when they do, she's going to think that we ratted her out and turn against us!" I explain to him, suddenly terrified for my family's safety. He frowns.
"Your mum knows what she's doing," he tells me simply.
"Peter wants to kill her dad, but we know what mum's like! She'll manage to find a way to get away and then plan a slow and painful death for us all!" I screech at him. He puts a finger to his lips just as I remember that all my siblings are sleeping upstairs.
"Emolise, no more; your mum is dangerous. I didn't want to admit it earlier because I didn't want to frighten you, but she is. I don't want you to get involved in this. She's stuck in something that she can't get out of easily," he tells me. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.
"Stuck in something? What? Dad, I don't understand what you mean," I murmur. His expression becomes grave, almost impossible to read.
"Good."
"Dad?" I inquire questioningly. I feel myself becoming more and more frustrated with him as all he gives me is silence. "Dad, I'm old enough to know what is going on. Please tell me something...anything. I'm begging you," I plead. His expression softens remarkably then before his mouth drops into a gentle smile.
"Okay then, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone." I nod enthusiastically, eager to know what's happening to my mother. "It's a bit of a long story though, so get comfortable." I do as he says and lay down so that I'm facing him head on.
"I'm all ears," I tell him smiling. He smiles back as he takes a deep breath in before starting.
"It started a few years ago when Isabella had just turned two. Your mother never liked Olivia, Ashley's mother. She was jealous, envious of Olivia's life. Olivia had a beautiful cottage, while we lived in a shaggy, old stable that was falling apart at the seams. Olivia had two perfect daughters, while Starstone had thirteen messy, disobedient children (no offence, honey, you know I love you either way)" I smirk and can't help the giggle that escapes me. We are a pretty disobedient bunch of children. "As I was saying, your mum was just plain out jealous of Olivia, so she devised a plan. Up in the southern mountains, just on the border of Narnia and Archenland, are a group of, I guess you could call them, rebels. There were three creatures in this group. I'm not going to tell you their names for your own safety. Their main goal in life was to overthrow the kingdom, take back what they believed was rightfully theirs.
Your mother was curious of them and managed to track them down to a small cave surrounded by dead shrubbery. She talked with them and complained about Olivia's life to them. All three of them listened intently to what she had to say. Once she was done, they agreed to help her destroy Olivia's life. Starstone's plan was to simply burn down their house, once Olivia, Henry, Ashley, and Bella were all out, just simply to ensure that Olivia had a worse life than she did, but the rebels had other plans. Instead of doing what Starstone wanted them to do; they kidnapped Olivia and Henry before bringing them to the torture chamber and killing them. They got rid of the bodies before telling Starstone that the deed was done. The next day we were at work and Ashley came running up to us in absolute tears. She told us that The White Witch had killed her parents and that now she and Bella were all alone. We were all in shock as she told us. Instantly I saw a change in Starstone. She suddenly became a lot happier and seemed to have cheered up to her usual self again.
Once the two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve arrived, she changed again. She became impossibly harder to deal with. Even though she seemed excited about the arrival of the children and defeat of the White Witch, she seemed to be getting angrier, more vicious. When she found out that Ashley had started courting the High King, well let's just say that she wasn't happy. She wanted you to become High Queen, not Ashley. She became so mad that she took the two-day trek back up to the mountains to find the rebels. They weren't very hard to find. She asked them if she could join their group and also asked them whether they would like to help her plan Ashley's death, because if Ashley died, then that would mean that the throne would be available for the taking. They discussed it for a day before agreeing. They gave her the job of kidnapper. She would sneak into people's homes and kidnap the person that needed the punishment before taking them back over to the torture chambers. She decided though that there was one person who she personally wanted revenge on. The one person that she wanted the honour of bringing down. The one person that was almost impossible to get to without the proper technique; Ashley. The rebels agreed that they would help her, because they knew that if they could get rid of Ashley, then Peter would be lost. So one night while all the guards were off duty they snuck into the castle and took everything out of the kitchen. That was the time when the kitchen got flooded. As soon as Peter and Ashley got married, Starstone thought it was the perfect time to get revenge. She was going to burn down Ashley and Peter's new mini house when the rebels came up with the idea of kidnapping Bel -"
"Hi, honey," a voice echoes throughout the small room. I turn my head around so that I can see the front door. It flies open before mum saunters in. She places a bloody knife back in its holder on the kitchen bench before walking over to us.
"Hi, darling," my dad replied before they lock lips and kiss passionately. I try to hold in my disgust. I have seen people kiss before, Peter and Ashley included, it's just the way mum and dad hold each other like that; it just looks so wrong. There are some things that children should not see and this is one of them. They pull away after thirty seconds before mum turns to me.
"Hey, Em! What are you two up to?" she asks conversationally. I shrug my shoulders at the same time dad does.
"You know just talking about things, as we usually do," I answer, trying to be casual about the situation while trying to figure out a way of escaping my house so that I can alert Peter and Ashley to her location. I know though that it's only going to put my life in danger, so I hold back the idea. I can always tell them tomorrow.
"What type of things?" she questions with a sly smile. I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to come up with a lie that would sound somewhat true.
"We're just talking about work," dad cuts in, much to my relief. She nods.
"What were you doing?" I ask her while trying to reign in my nerves. I have to admit that I'm afraid of what she might say.
"Just planning something…" she tells us carelessly. I gulp.
"What are you planning?" I inquire. She smiles at me.
"That's for me to know and you to find out," she answers while pointing at me. I nod.
"Um, sure mum; I'm going to go to bed now. Night," I say before giving both of them a kiss on the cheek and walk slowly upstairs. Once I'm out of sight I run to my bedroom and close the door quickly. I lean up against it, my mind racing with possible scenarios that my mother's planning. Kidnapping Ashley again, killing Ashley and planning someone's death, overruling the castle. There are endless possibilities and I have to admit that I'm frightened. A soft knock on the door brings me back down to reality as I nearly jump in the air with fright. I stand up and slowly open it to find my dad standing on the other side of it.
"Can I come in?" I nod and turn around so that I can lie down on my bed. He follows me before placing himself down next to me. I look at him.
"She wants me to be the High Queen?" I say softly. The question has been on my mind since he first mentioned it in the story and I have to make sure that I had heard him right. He nods solemnly. "Mum's lost it dad. Peter loves Ashley! There's no way he's going to marry me if she ever dies. Besides, I don't know if she has ever noticed, but I'm a centaur! Only Daughters of Eve can be queens. Mums plan is just plain stupid!" I yell - whisper to him. I know it isn't his fault, I just have to let all my frustration out on someone.
"Emolise, please don't get involved in this situation. I can't risk losing you," he tells me calmly. I take a few deep breaths in before speaking again.
"What do you think mum's going to do when she finds out that Ashley is pregnant?" I ask worriedly. Dad's eyes widen and his jaw hits the ground.
"Ashley's pregnant!" he exclaims loudly before I put a finger to my lips, a reminder to be quiet.
"Yes, dad, she is! We can't have mum hurt her. Her and Peter are looking forward to this baby," I tell him. He nods his head and thinks over what I have said for a moment before sighing.
"When did you find this out?" he inquires quietly.
"Before I left the castle to come home from work." He nods.
"Okay then," he answers back. There's silence for a moment, but I can tell that he's about to say something, so I keep my mouth shut. "Emolise," he finally starts.
"Yes."
"Don't tell Ashley what we have discussed. If you do, it's just going to make your mother madder, okay? So keep your mouth shut," he commands me quietly.
"But dad! Her life and her child's life could be at risk! How do you expect me not to tell her?"
"Just don't. If you do then our family's life is at risk. I'm trying to find the right time to tell the High King whilst keeping us all safe at the same time." I nod.
"Okay." I slowly lay my head back down on my pillow. "Good, I love you, angel. Have a good sleep."
"I love you too, dad," I murmur softly as I slowly close my eyes. I feel him kiss my forehead before I hear his footsteps head out of the room. The door shuts quietly. I'm immediately immersed into a dream. It's night time. There's a low mist that hovers over the snowy ground and dirty - white snow is piled up on top of all the leafless trees of the forest. Standing directly in the middle of the forest are four creatures. The first one looks to be a sort of wolf with blood-stained teeth and fur. The second creature is a short, dirty dwarf. His hair and beard are a midnight black colour and fairly long. You can barely see his face. His clothes are all torn and covered in mud stains. The third creature is an ogre. He has brown skin, no hair, and a torn-up cloak. The fourth is my mother, only she doesn't look like she usually does. Her hair and fur is a mess of knots and twigs and her eyes look ferocious and wide. All four of the creatures wear lethal grins that make my skin burst into goose bumps. That's when I notice what they're looking at. Ashley, lifeless and deathly pale. Her crown has fallen off her head and is now laying side up in the snow. I also notice that her stomach is sliced open and her baby is lying dead in the snow. Peter's cradling her in his arms, bawling his eyes out. I hear an awful chuckle then before startling awake with a gasp. My skin's drenched in sweat and my hair's knotted. "It was just a dream," I murmur to myself as I lay my head back down.
"Are you ok, sweetheart? I heard you scream," my dad asks worriedly as he bursts into the room. I nod.
"Yeah, I just had a nightmare," I assure him. He smiles gently before kissing the top of my head.
"Okay then. I love you," he tells me as he leaves the room. As soon as the door is closed, I shut my eyes. I fall asleep pretty quickly, only to have more nightmares for the rest of the night.
