Where the Sidewalk Ends

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Kristen, my very own, customize as you wish character.

Chapter Nine: Family Matters

((Thanks for the 40 reviews! I'm going for 45 on this one. Thanks for everyone who reviewed and a bigger thanks to those who read this often! You guys keep me writing!))

Although Aslan had told them to go and get some rest after he explained the whole plan, the 4 Pevensie's plus Kristen knew sleeping after finding all that information out was not an option. They all went into their respective bedrooms but after a few minutes, of contemplation and silence, they slowly gathered outside in the hallway.

"Couldn't sleep?" Kristen asked as she emerged from her bedroom. She had laid down in bed and then tossed and turned before getting up and going to check on the rest of them. She wasn't surprised to find them all huddled outside of Peter's door, Edmund quietly knocking on it. He couldn't be asleep. After finding out you were about to go into battle, it was hard to think of anything but that. The 3 of them turned to her and nodded grimly as Peter opened his door, his face returning back to its usual softness and compassion at the sight of his siblings

Lucy ran over to her and tightly hugged her around her hips, the youngster's eyes shut as tight as her arms were wrapped around Kristen. Kristen playfully picked Lucy up and swung her around a few times in the air, her childish giggles cutting through the silence like the knife. They all laughed at Lucy's high pitched squeal before entering into Peter's bedroom. They lit some candles and then gathered on the bed, which was larger then your averaged size. For the first few nights that the Pevensie kids spent in Narnia, they had slept in the same bed out of fear that they'd wake up and someone would be gone. But as they grew more independent and left Peter's room, he'd never bothered to separate the two king sized beds that they had pushed together. They all took their spots on the bed, sitting upright so that their backs rested against the oak backboard of Peter's oak canopy bed. From left to right they sat Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Susan and Kristen. She shuffled forward and sat at the foot of the bed to look at them individually.

"You guys scared?" she asked quietly, biting her lip in nervousness. They all gazed at her with the same expression, that had mixed feelings of 'Hell No' and 'Hell yes. She laughed and then blew some of her hair out of her eyes. She glanced at her fingernails and then looked back up at them.

"I still don't get it...all of this. Narnia. How am I suppose to help you guys defeat this evil-bad guy? I don't know how to use a sword or a bow and arrow" she complained quietly as the sky lightened. The sun was coming up and their adventure would soon begin. Unfortunately.

"But you know how to use your brain. If we're going to finish him off once and for all it's going to take more then swords and arrows Kristen. We need you" Edmund said plainly as his eyes stooped. Kristen smiled and then shuffled back to the end of the bed and one by one, the younger Pevensie's fell asleep, leaving only Peter and Kristen awake. Susan's head softly hit Kristen's shoulder as the Queen fell asleep and she smiled. Kristen already loved everything about this family. Their attitudes, their closeness, their honesty. And they loved everything about her too.

"So what's the game plan for tomorrow?" Kristen whispered across the bed to the eldest King, as he sat at the foot of the bed facing his family. He was the eldest and had the most responsibility of all of them and he couldn't help but believe that maybe, this would be the battle that would tear his family apart. His family was all he had. The 3 other children that made up the Pevensie family was all he had ever known. And he wasn't about to loose all that to some stupid, evil wizard from the west. Not when he had one of the smartest individuals on his side.

"We'll head off and face him. Straight up battle. No beating around the bush" he explained as he slide over the feat of his siblings to sit infront of Kristen. She was now the eldest Queen and they had to plan things out so that tomorrow they had everything synchronised and there would be no fanatical search for the two of them. She might be new in the country, but she had a shit load of responsibilities to up hold in about 10 hours.

Kristen cocked her head to the side as she gazed at the handsome King who was now sitting almost directly infront of her. As she heard the game plan, she couldn't help but pick out it's flaws. Maybe that's what she was here for.

"That has so many loopholes. What if his army is bigger and we get exterminated? What if we get there and it's this huge ginormous battle we can't win?" Kristen asked quietly, keeping her voice down in hopes of keeping the 3 kids in their slumber. She looked at the other Pevensie's and then brought her eyes back to Peter, who was biting his lip. His blue eyes seemed darker in the soft candle light as he stared at the bed sheets. He brought his eyes up and they glistened the reflection of the candles flames. He looked into her eyes softly and shrugged.

"Got any better ideas?" he asked as he got up and went to his window. The sky was light now and almost pink, the sun dawning in almost 2 hours. Kristen slowly slid out form Susan's shoulder and let her head rest against the headboard as Kristen went to join Peter by the window. A cool morning breeze played into the room and Kristen pulled her robe closer to her as she stood beside Peter as they looked out of the window. The horizon was still and perfect. It was hard to imagine that in 24 hours, things could be dramatically different.

"Well...he's supposedly dead right? So he's had to been in hiding for a while. He probably doesn't know that Narnia got a new Queen this week" she suggested as her mind thought back to 1970 history class in Canada. Igor Gucheko or something like that one day walked out of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa (The country's capital) and confessed to a Russian spy ring in the Canadian Government. If the Russian's could infiltrate the Canadians, she could infiltrate Baldur, whoever he was.

"He probably doesn't know, but where are you going with this?" he asked as he looked over his shoulder. The window frame wasn't that wide so they both looked outwards, their shoulders gently touching each other. A bird chirped in the wilderness and it drew Kristen's eyes out. She examined the forest once again, and her plan came together.

"Humans are VERY rare in Narnia right? So if Baldur sees me stumbling around in the forest he'd want me right? So why don't we do that? I'll infiltrate his camp and then the night of the attack I'll give you guys the heads up and we'll crush them" she said quietly but excitedly as she turned to face Peter. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement as her plan played out in her mind. It would be her time to shine.

"Kristen no. Aslan would never allow it. You're a Queen! Not bait to draw out an evil figure" Peter complained loudly. His voice caused Lucy to stir in her sleep and to speak more frankly they left the room and went to the balcony in which they had talked on during the early morning before everything started. So much had changed in so little time.

"What's the worst that could happen? I get killed?" she replied frankly as Peter shut the balcony doors. He walked over to her and faced her dead on, a stern but gentle look on his face. He looked down at her stubborn face and she raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Oh that's the understatement of the year!" he said as he threw his hands up. There was no way the newest member of the Narnia Royal family was going to use herself as bait. It was ridiculous, silly and had the potential for so many things to go wrong. He turned around and sighed, before turning back to look at her.

"Look, Kristen" He said as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. He needed her to hear this all, and to make sure she did he held her in place. The touch of his hands on her shoulders made her shiver, ever so slightly.

"I can't let you do that. To many things could go wrong and Aslan would never approve of it" he said as he looked directly into her brown eyes. He couldn't help but recognize how resilient she looked at almost 4 O'clock in the morning. Her eyes were as bright as they always were and her face showed no signs of stopping it's optimism. She smiled genuinely and then took his hands off of her, holding his strong, rough hands between her gentle ones. She nodded her head up and down before speaking.

"Maybe not, but it's worth a try isn't it? I'm here for a purpose right? I'm not going to let this chance of actually meaning something be normal. I'm not going to fight with a sword. I'm here for a much, bigger reason than fighting some evil bad guy. I'm here to finish off the evil bad guy, and I'm not going to do it normally. It's like this is some fairy tale or something. Girl falls into mysterious land and has to fight a battle. Well I'm not going to be a Cinderella. I'm going to do this and I'm going to do it as best as I can. And not even the cutest King of Narnia is going to stop me" she said as she smirked up at him, finishing off her almost-sounding-like-a-monologue speech. He looked down at her a smiled as she released his hands. He admired her courage. He admired her bravery. He admired her brain. He admired her boldness.

"I'm not going to be able to fight with you on this one, am I?" he asked as she walked over the edge and rested her elbows on it, breathing in the crisp, morning air. She laughed, her voice echoing through the forest and turned around to face him. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking at her wishfully. He had a lopsided smile playing on his lips and his eyes looked at her face.

She laughed again and looked around, searching for her words.

"Not a chance"

((Author's Note: I was thinking about it and I realized how cliched this all would be. So I'm shaking things up, however slight the changes might be. Things won't be easy for Kristen, I'll guarantee that. I wanted to establish a little connect between our star cross'd pair so this was their chapter, no matter how fluffy it is. Thanks for everyone's reviews!))