Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia nor any of the characters and places associated with it.
Chapter 22: Missing and Killing
I feel all the blood in my body boil as I read her words. She has my babies! I'm ready to kill someone in a very gruesome way. My motherly instincts kick in automatically as I angrily get out of the uncomfortable hospital bed. I throw on my morning gown and am about to leave the room when two arms grab me around my waist and pull me back into the room. One of the arms reaches out and closes the door before they spin me around so that I'm pressed against its chest.
"I know you're worried and upset, so am I, Ash, but you must lie down and rest," my husband tells me as he cuddles me into him. I can't help but let the tears fall in defeat as I cry into his chest.
"What if she kills them, Peter?" I retort loudly.
"Don't worry. I'm going to find them and Starstone is going to die," he promises me in a calm, but at the same time, harsh voice. I smile weakly against him.
"Really?" I ask him through sobs.
"Really. She's done too much to you for me to be able to let her get away with any of it. The next time I see her, I will kill her, with no hesitation," he tells me before he gives the top of my head a kiss. I sniffle before wiping away the tears with the back of my left hand. I move away from him slowly as I hear someone enter the room. I turn around only to see Oreius standing at the doorway.
"King Peter, we have gathered the knights for when you're ready to go out and begin the search for your children," I hear his deep voice say. Peter walks over to him quickly.
"Fantastic. Thank you, Oreius. We will go out at once! Ensure that they've all got their swords and shields. I will be down periodically." Oreius nods once at him before bowing to me and quickly running out of the room.
"Peter, should I bring my sword and shield too? I suppose I'll also need to quickly run and grab my armour –" he cuts me off commandingly with a strong voice; his gentle, comforting side gone in a flash.
"Ashley, you are not to come. Understand? No way, under any circumstance, am I going to risk putting your life in danger again. You will stay here in the hospital under the watchful eye of Malina and don't you dare try following us or there will be consequences." I gape at him openly. Is he being serious?
"What?! You don't honestly expect me to sit back and watch you put your life in danger, do you? I am going whether you like it or not!" I shout at him. I'm past being nice now. This is my family we're talking about. There's no way I'm going to sit back and wait for them to return not knowing what's happening to them or where they are.
"Ashley! I command you as the High King of Narnia to stay here!" I look at him, dead in the eye. He's being serious; dead serious. Never in my time with Peter has he ever commanded me as High King to do anything. I feel angry tears roll down my cheeks before splashing like rain drops onto the granite floor.
"Or what? You'll lock me in the stocks for a night? Put me in a catapult and throw me over to the other side of the world?" I push on furiously. He looks down at me angrily. I'm pushing his buttons purposely. I want to win this battle. I'm not going to give in easily.
"Or I'll lock you in the dungeon for a night. Perhaps a good dose of fear will put you in your place," he threatens; his voice even and harsh. I gape at him, absolutely shocked into place. He has never looked at me as someone lower than himself; he's always treated me like his equal, his missing half. It's out of character for him to talk about putting me into my place when we're talking about our family. I feel tears roll down my cheeks without my permission as I give up. I sit down on the chair that's next to me before putting my face in my hands and crying. Perhaps the pregnancy mood swings haven't worn off yet after all. I feel myself being lifted up in the same second before I'm placed onto the uncomfortable bed again. "I'm sorry, Ash. I can't risk you being hurt again though," Peter apologises in his gentle calming voice again.
"Just go. You don't have a second to lose," I tell him with a hoarse voice. I look up at him through watery eyes as he nods down at me. He leans down and gives me a quick, but passionate, kiss before he straightens up fully.
"I love you and I'll see you soon," he promises me. I smile slightly.
"I love you too, come back with our babies and her head," I reply. He smiles at me before quickly exiting the room. It feels like forever before Malina finally enters the empty room. When she does come in though, she's holding a tray full of fresh fruit. My stomach growls immediately, rendering me to immediately grabbing an apple when she's next to me.
"How are you feeling?" she asks as she takes a seat next to my bed.
"How am I feeling? I feel many things right now. Upset that my children are missing, extremely angry with my husband for not letting me go with him, happy that I don't have any more back pains and the list goes on," I answer with a grimace as I take a bite from the apple. She frowns at me before passing me a goblet filled with juice.
"Maybe this will make you feel better," she says. I take a sip. Orange and mango juice; it isn't my favourite but it does taste cool and refreshing.
"Thanks," I answer before I suddenly think of something. If Malina isn't here, maybe, just maybe, I can sneak out.
"Hey, Malina, I need to use the chamber pot, but it's too cold for me to get up without having my coat on. Could you maybe run back to the castle and get it for me? Peter left it in our bedroom," I ask innocently.
"Sure, Ash. I'll be back as soon as I can," she agrees happily. I smile.
"Thanks, Mal," I say before she quickly runs out of the room. Once she's out, I get off my bed and quietly sneak over to the window. I carefully open it to try and avoid making too much noise before poking my head out of it. The ground is right next to the window. I smile before straightening up and looking behind me to make sure that no one's coming into my room. It's clear so I very carefully climb up onto the window seal before jumping off of it. I land easily with two feet on the ground before full on sprinting to the castle while trying to ignore the shooting pain that runs throughout my abdomen. I need to collect my armour and sword before heading out alone into the forest. Peter will surely kill me for this, but, for now, the only thing on my mind is his safety and our babies.
Once I reach the castle, I slow down. I'm fine to wander around the castle normally, now that I'm away from the sick rooms. I just have to make sure that I don't bump into Malina as I'm walking through the hallways. I slip in through the golden, front doors casually before walking down to the armoury where we keep all the weapons and armour. I very quickly throw on my armour and grab my sword and shield before hurriedly running out of the armoury and to the stables. Once there I tear open the stable door and quickly grab Crystal's rope. I try pulling her outside but she just digs her hooves into the ground in utter denial.
"Come on, Crystal. My babies and husband are in trouble," I tell her in a stressed voice.
"Well you could've just said that," she retorts with a horsey neigh at the end. I jump up onto her before we head for the exit. Just as I'm about to get out though, who should walk in but Edmund. I have to say that I'm shocked to see him. I thought Peter would take Edmund along with him. Obviously he's so scared for everyone's safety that he has left all his family at home too. That thought makes me nervous. What if he thinks he's going to die? I'm not sure how I feel about that thought. A life without Peter is like a life without air, impossible.
"Hey, Ashley, where are you going?" Edmund asks me with a smirk, effectively pulling me out of my train of thought. I'm about to reply but he cuts in again. "Let me guess, you're sneaking out after Peter told you not to leave the room too." I look at him guiltily.
"Maybe." I smile innocently at him only to notice that he's wearing armour too. Wait – he said 'too'. "Want to come with me?" I ask him. He's on a horse beside me before I even finish my sentence.
"Let's do this!" he says excitedly. I take that as an instant yes and quickly start Crystal again. We trot out of the stables and town together before pushing our horses forwards and rushing into the woods. I know exactly where to go first. If my children are still alive, then they'll be in the dungeon where Starstone took me when I was kidnapped. "Ashley, where exactly are we going?" Edmund asks me curiously after a while of riding. I take a quick glance at him. He looks a little bit confused.
"To the same dungeons that I got taken to when I was kidnapped," I reply, my voice cracking a little bit as the memories of that awful day swirls throughout my head.
"Oh…well at least you know where we're going and are not just randomly looking around the woods for any sign of life," he says. I smile.
"Yes, at least," I agree, even though, in reality, I have no idea where we're going. It goes silent then as we ride on through the creepy woods. It's starting to get dark and cold as well which doesn't help anything. After a while of riding in complete silence, we finally find the clearing where the door should be. "It should be around here," I tell him as I jump off Crystal and carefully take a few steps forward. I hear a small creak before the ground starts moving. I jump back and hold Edmund by my side as the door appears.
"Would you like me to go in first or would you like to lead the way?" Edmund offers. I smile at his gentlemanly question.
"I will, Edmund, but thanks for the offer," I answer before taking a few steps forward. I'm about to enter but think otherwise.
"What's wrong?" Edmund asks me as he comes to my side. I hold my finger to my lips before whispering,
"What if she's on the other side of this door?" His face suddenly holds understanding as he puts his ear to the door; I do the same. After listening for a few minutes very carefully through the door for any sign of Starstone or my babies, I open it. I grab Edmund's hand and drag him in before I hear the door close suddenly. I spin around quickly knowing for a fact that that didn't happen the last time I was here. "Did you just close the door?" I ask him. He shakes his head.
"Maybe it was the wind," he whispers back. I take that into consideration but look around anyway. I can't see anyone so I slowly turn back around and nudge Edmund forward. He does what I say and quietly starts walking forwards. I feel my heart race faster with each step closer I take to the cells where I was kept that time. I take a deep breath in as I look at the closed wooden door that had lead into a spare cell. That has to be a good sign. I rush forward and very quietly and carefully try opening the door. It won't budge, so I get out my small dagger and try fiddling with the lock. I hear the click as I hit the right spot and carefully take my dagger back out so I can put it away. I pretty much rip open the door then, expecting to see my babies locked away, what I see though isn't my children, but a tied up and frightened Emolise. I run forward and rip the rope away from her mouth quickly.
"Trap! It's a trap, Ashley! Get out of here NOW!" she screams at me instantly; tears flooding down her cheeks as she tries standing up.
"Emolise, calm down and be quiet before someone hears us. Now, quietly tell me what happened." I suddenly realise that her arms and legs are tied too and quickly get out my dagger again so that I can cut away the ropes. Once that's done, she scrambles up, pulling me along as well.
"I'm so sorry, Ash. I should've told you where she was when I knew, but I couldn't! She threatened to kill me and my siblings if I said one word to anyone about it. I was already pushing my luck with telling Killara about her. I'm so sorry; but seriously, you have to get out of here no -"
"Em. Emolise. Is someone in there with you?" we hear an ice-cold voice say. I hold my breath and bite my lip as I hear footsteps, or should I say hoove steps, slowly approaching us. Edmund's at my side in an instant, pretty much trembling with sudden fear.
"Don't do or say anything, Edmund," I warn quietly through gritted teeth. Edmund nods to me in agreement, looking flat out frightened, his eyes filled with terror. He's the lucky one though; at least he gets to face the doorway and see who comes in. All I can do is stand in fright and pray that no one sneaks up on me since my back's turned to the doorway. Emolise looks truly terrified as tears flow down her face. I can't help but let my own fall as well. I should've listened to Peter. Why was I raised as such a disobedient child?
"Well, well, well. Who do we have here? Oh, I do believe it's King Edmund and High Queen Ashley. Not exactly the King I wanted to see, but I suppose you'll do," Starstone sneers as I hear her enter the cell. My breathing spikes as I plan my next move. There's no way I'm going to leave Em or Ed so that means I will be fighting her. Great. Just great. I move my left hand slowly to my sword hilt before spinning around. At the sight of her, I can't help but let angry tears roll down my cheeks. She has fresh blood on her and is holding a bloody knife. She killed them. That's my breaking point. I rip my sword out and hold it out in front me, threatening her. She just smiles at me. I take a step forward; she takes a step backwards. I take another forward step; she takes another backwards one. It goes on like this until we're both fully out of the cell. This is a good thing; it means I have the upper hand.
"You killed them," I seethe through my teeth once I'm able to get over the sudden death of my children. She just smiles at me and pulls out her own sword before throwing her knife towards me. Luckily for me, I have quick reflexes due to dad's "fun" wrestling matches with me when I was a child. I duck down automatically, letting the knife fly over my head, before jumping back up again. Her smile never drops. I hear the smack of the knife as it smacks into the stone wall.
"Yes. Yes I did," she admits with a deadly smirk. I feel all the blood in my body race as she admits it, causing me to run forward in fury; my first and last mistake. I loosen the grip on my sword for one second, only to have her flick it out of my hands with her sword in the same second. It goes skidding across the floor as I come to an abrupt stop. She takes my shocked opportunity as a chance to push me onto the ground harshly. I smack my head and back against the rock floor hard before I try reaching for my sword, only to realise, after a dreaded second, that I can't reach it. I look up, only to see her dark, green eyes staring back down at me. "It's been a fun race, Ashley, I'll give you that, but maybe you should've learnt that listening to authority is usually a good thing." Her smile is deadly as she says it and I know that this is it. There's no way of getting out of this mess. I close my eyes and wait for the searing pain through my heart, but it never comes. No, what comes instead is the sound of a sword being drawn followed by the sickly scream of Starstone. I open my eyes quickly and look on shocked as she kneels there in front of my husband pleading for her life. "You don't understand, Your Majesty! I didn't commit any of the murders. I only did the kidnapping for the real enemies. Please, you can't kill me, King Peter! I don't deserve to die!" she screams at the top of her lungs at him. He isn't having any of that though. His blue eyes are dark and furious. His gaze could kill the air with its intensity. I scramble to my feet and stare on in shock as Peter speaks to her.
"Starstone. You have almost killed the love of my life on two occasions (you did kill her on another one). You killed my sister-in-law in cold-blooded murder. You threatened to kill your own daughter if she told anyone of your whereabouts. You murdered Ashley's parents and left her as an orphan and finally you have kidnapped and killed my children. No one will ever get away with that; ever. You touch or hurt any member of my family; you pay the price. You kill someone, then you shall die too."
"I didn't kill your children! I just kidnapped them and then gave them over to the rebels. They weren't going to kill them until Friday. I lied to Ashley to get her angry. They told me that they wanted you and Ashley both dead before they killed the babies. Don't ask me why, that's just what they told me. Please don't kill me, I didn't do anything." Peter's eyes blaze as she says the last few words causing him to flare up.
"You didn't do anything?! I just gave you the list of what you've done. You've wronged everyone in this room; you don't deserve to live anymore. Just be glad it's not me who's going to be taking your life though. I would've killed you slowly and painfully," he seethes at her. I'm suddenly very confused though. If Peter isn't going to kill her, then who is?
"You're not going to kill me?" she asks, suddenly amazed. He kneels down lower, keeping his sword at her neck.
"It's not my life to take." With those words he straightens up, his sword never leaving the place on her neck. "Ashley," he says simply, his voice even. I know that it's a command and quickly follow through. I smile, unable to hold in the joy of her death anymore and pick up my sword from the floor. I then walk over to them slowly before stopping at Peter's side. He gives me an angry glance. I know instantly that we will be having a very serious conversation once we get back to the castle about obeying commands. I turn to Starstone and hold the sword up before I risk a glance over to Oreius who's holding onto Emolise tightly. His eyes meet mine. I don't need to say anything to him; he automatically knows what I'm asking. He nods twice at me and visibly tightens his grip on a very scared Emolise. I turn my attention back to Starstone.
"This is for everything you've done to me. All the pain you've put your family, Peter, and I through. I will be glad to get rid of you and so will the majority of creatures who live in this country." With those words I thrust the sword down and stab her in the heart before pulling it back out and slicing off her head for extra measure. I feel relief pour over me once I'm done. She's dead and never coming back. I hear sobs come from beside me then and notice Oreius cuddling a crying Emolise in comfort. I hand the sword back to Peter without a word to him before slowly walking over to them. Once I'm a few feet away, I stop.
"I'm sorry, Oreius and Emolise. I hope that, someday, you'll be able to forgive me for this," I apologise before turning back around and slowly walking back over to a furious looking Peter.
"Wait, Ashley," I hear Oreius' deep voice say. I stop and spin around quickly. They're both standing there with gentle smiles on their faces, tears in their eyes. I can see, just by looking at them, that I'm forgiven.
"Yes," I answer with a shaky voice. I can see Oreius take a deep breath in before walking towards me. He stops a few inches away before grabbing me into a tight, centaur hug.
"Thank you for saving my family and myself. Starstone had lost her head and would've killed every single one of us if it wasn't for you and His Majesty," at this he bows to Peter, "as sad as it is to see her go, I'm also relieved. We don't have to hide most of our lives anymore. Everything in my home and with my family can go back to normal now and, for that, you have my greatest appreciation," he tells me. I smile at him and give him another tight squeeze before letting him go and walking over to Em.
"I'm sorry, Em," I say before giving her a tight hug and pulling away.
"It's okay. Thank you for saving me. You're a true friend, Ash. I don't know what I would do without you, even though I'm going to miss my mother. I know she was dangerous, and, by the look of her when she came into the cell, she was about to kill me, so thanks and you're forgiven," she tells me, her voice cracking a tiny bit in the middle. I smile tenderly at her before Oreius tells her that they're going home to check on all her siblings. She gives me another hug goodbye before quickly leaving me alone to face my doom. I slowly turn around and walk over to Peter with my head down to make sure that I don't make eye contact with him. I know he's angry at me. I can feel the anger radiating off him in waves as I get closer and closer. Once I'm standing in front of him, I stop. There's a silence between us that seems to go on and on. The other voices in the room die down after a while before it goes completely silent. I can hear the owls outside, hooting in the night, just before Peter starts talking.
"Do you realise how absolutely, infuriated I am with you?" he asks me. I nod guiltily.
"Yes, I do," I answer. I feel his warm fingers encircle my chin before he lifts my head up so that I can look at him.
"What in your right mind were you thinking when you snuck out of the hospital and came here; with Edmund may I add? You nearly got yourself killed and I can guarantee you that Aslan wouldn't have let you come back again if you would've died, Ashley. I just can't believe you did this," he tells me furiously. I feel tears well up in my eyes as he says it.
"To answer your question, I was thinking that it was stupid of my husband to go out there and get himself killed. I was thinking about the well-being of our babies. I couldn't just sit back and wait for you to get back, not knowing what was happening the whole time you were gone. I had to help. I'm the High Queen, a lady, and your wife and I expect to be treated as such. Being the High Queen it's my duty to help you out in every way possible. If that means sneaking out of a sick room to come and fight a bad guy, or girl in this case, then that's what I'll do. You can't stop me from helping you and being worried about you," I explain to him through sobs.
"You don't realise how scared I was when I found you on the floor with Starstone above you about to kill you. If I would've come a second later you would've been dead and I don't think I could've lived with myself if anything ever happened to you again. I was wrong for shouting at you in the hospital and I was wrong for commanding you to stay there, I should've let you come with me. You would've been safer having me and all the knights with you as you came here instead of having pretty much no one," he apologises – at least I think it's an apology. I smile through watery eyes before falling forward and hugging him. He hugs me tightly back before I suddenly think of something.
"Starstone mentioned, before I killed her, that our babies are still alive. Peter, we need to find them before they kill them," I urge him before unwrapping his arms from around me. "Edmund, go back to the castle, alert everyone to Starstone's death, and tell them we'll be back as soon as we find our children," I command while looking over my shoulder at him. He nods once.
"Got it and, Pete, Ash? Be careful, you're fighting fire with fire right now," he says before running out. I look at Peter with a sorrowful expression then before nodding once to him and running outside. It's dark outside; almost black. The moon is high in the sky and there is a gentle mist flowing over the surface of the ground like a river. Luckily, Crystal is still there next to Midnight. They're both asleep already though, much to my disappointment.
"Ashley!" Peter calls as he runs out a few minutes later. I spin around to face him.
"Yes," I reply curtly.
"Listen, I think we should stay around this area for the rest of the night. It's an hour's horse ride back to Cair Paravel from here. If you also count in the amount of time it takes to wake up the horses and get through the city gates at this hour you're looking at around an hour and a half to two hours. It's not worth it, especially when we'll be coming back here in the morning," he explains. I think about what he has said for a moment.
"Okay then," I agree. "But I don't want to sleep in the dungeon," I add on as clarification. He grimaces. I look at him with wide eyes. "Seriously, you wanted me to sleep in there?" He nods and smiles guiltily.
"In that case, let's just stay out here. We'll cuddle up to the horses for the night," he suggests. I sigh and nod. Peter grabs my hand then and leads me over to the horses. They're lying down for a change, probably both tired from standing in the same spot for so long. They're lying along the edge of the woods which, I have to admit, scares me a little bit. I'm not so keen on lying down and sleeping along the outskirts of the forest with no way of knowing whether something is lurking around me or not. My grip on Peters hand tightens as we approach the horses. He sits down on the ground next to them before lying down so that his head is on Crystal's stomach. He opens his arms to me. I'm about to lay down when I hear a voice.
"Psst! High Queen Ashley!" the voice says. I spin around expecting to see someone but come up empty. I turn back to Peter. "Pssssst! High Queen Ashley! Up here!" the voice says again. I look up at the tree above me. I can't see anything and I'm certain that Peter probably thinks I'm a freak right about now.
"Alright, either I'm getting paranoid or there's really something in the tree above us talking to me," I say to Peter, still looking up at the tree.
"Honey, I don't think anything is there. Come on, you need to sleep. You haven't had very much over the past weeks and tomorrow is going to be a full-on day," he tells me. I sigh and look at him.
"Okay then, if you say so," I agree. I feel something light land swiftly on my shoulder then.
"Queen Ashley!" I scream loudly as the voice echoes loudly throughout my ear. I look at my shoulder only to jump a little bit as I notice Peppy the Squirrel sitting on it.
"Peppy! You almost gave me a heart attack!" I complain as I wait for my heart to calm down and get back to normal.
"Sorry, Your Majesty, my greatest apologises," he says with a bow. "I just overheard your conversation with His Majesty though and thought that maybe if you slept indoors it would be a little bit safer for the both of you. There have been some mysterious figures walking around these areas lately and with Your Majesties high rankings on the throne, I figured maybe you'd like to sleep somewhere a little bit cosier and safe," he explains. I raise an eyebrow.
"Safe?" I repeat. The little squirrel bobs his head up and down like a mad man making his entire body jump a little bit. He kind of looks spastic right now.
"Mr. Squirrel…um…Peppy, we're not going to sleep in a hole in a tree if that's what you mean," Peter cuts in before Peppy can answer my question.
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, King Peter! More of a tree house type of thing. Follow me!" he exclaims excitedly. I grin and am about to listen to his directions when I hear someone start speaking.
"Did we miss something?" I hear a drowsy female voice ask from behind Peter. I smile at Crystal.
"Peppy's showing us somewhere where we can stay for the night," I answer her with a smirk. She yawns and stretches before standing up causing Peter to jump up quickly and move away from her. I can't help but let out a small laugh. "You and Midnight are coming, Crystal. We'll need you tomorrow," I tell her. She nods as she neighs, automatically waking up Midnight.
"Huh, where are we going?" Midnight asks, tossing his head in Peter's general direction.
"We're following a squirrel that is going to lead us to some shelter for the night," Peter tells him. Midnight stands up once Peter says that and comes over to stand next to Crystal who's standing next to me.
"If Your Majesties are ready…" Peppy trails off.
"Alright, let's go," I agree eagerly. Even with my armour on, I'm still starting to get cold. Peppy jumps off my shoulder and swiftly lands on a tree trunk before saying "follow me" and jumping a few trees ahead. I smile at Peter and grab his hand before we start walking, or should I say running, to keep up with the crazy squirrel. Peppy leads us crazily through the forest until he suddenly stops. We stop quickly too.
"In there," he says as he points to a little stone house that is built around the trunk of a great, oak tree. I smile and walk forward until I'm standing directly in front of the wooden door. I tap three times on it before I hear some scuffling coming from the other side of the door.
"Boys, stop it," a female voice says before the door opens revealing a large, white and black badger.
"Oh, Queen Ashley! What a pleasant surprise to see you here at this hour," she exclaims as she curtseys to me. I smile at her. "What can I do for you?" she asks once she's up properly again.
"My husband and I are in search for our missing babies, but we have nowhere to stay for the night. You wouldn't happen to have any room for us to stay for the night would you?" I ask her. She smiles tenderly at me.
"We do have a spare room if you'd like to have it for the night," she agrees. I take a glance over my shoulder to Peter.
"Will we even fit in the house?" he asks unsure. I laugh.
"You obviously have never been in a tree house in Narnia before. They are quite large inside and I usually find that I'm able to stand up almost straight in quite a few of them. We'll be fine," I reassure him. He smiles at me.
"Whatever you like," he replies. I turn my attention back to Bethany.
"We'd love to stay with you if that's okay," I say quickly. She smiles at me and quickly scurries out of the way so that we can get in. I'm not wrong about the place being spacious. Yes, I do have to duck down a little bit, but it isn't too bad. It's fairly cosy. In one corner of the room is a small kitchen and a rustic looking dining table. In the other corner of the room is a large, brown, wooden seat with colourful cushions on it. Next to the seat is a small wooden bookshelf flooded with books. There's also a small fireplace along the wall and a large, beige rug on the floor. A few, small shelves, which are covered in photos and knick-knacks, lined the walls to finish off the room. Bethany leads us through the room and to a small, closed door once my assessment of the room is finished. She opens it to reveal a good, sized bedroom that consists of a small, double bed and a closet.
"This is your room," she tells us as she lets us pass. I smile.
"Thank you. It's perfect for the night," I thank her as I turn to face her. She smiles at Peter and I.
"Good, would you like anything to eat or drink? I have some fresh grubs or insects if you like," she offers.
"Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Badger, but my wife and I must really get some rest if we're to rescue our babies tomorrow," Peter explains. I grimace, but agree with him anyway.
"Okay then. If you need anything, just give me a shout," she tells us before curtseying and leaving. As soon as the door is closed, I lay down on the bed. It's a lot more comfortable than those beds in the sick room and I feel myself already starting to dose off when Peter suddenly speaks.
"So what are the plans for tomorrow? I'm guessing you know every square corner of this country. Where do you think rebels would hide out?" he asks as he wounds his arms around my waist and pulls me into him. I think about it for a second.
"Probably the mountains are our best shot. A lot of the rebels hide in the caves or underground caverns that are hidden in the mountains around the country. I think our best shot would be to start off somewhere remote and work our way in," I reply as I feel my eyes close of their own accord. I feel Peter shift underneath me before I'm cuddled up fully in his embrace.
"Thank you for telling me. Now go to sleep. I love you," he whispers in my ear. I smile.
"I love you too," I manage to mumble back before I fall into a deep slumber.
