Disclaimer: Nope, I'm still ol' me :D
A/N: It's a Monday and it's Update Day! :D Lol, anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Oh, and I have an announcement at the end of the chapter.
Read and review afterwards. Enjoy!
Chapter Four: Saving Queen Lucy
Exactly a week had passed now and Hermione Granger was undeniably bored.
Babbity always left to go to the forest to gather food, leaving Hermione all alone to amuse herself. The Rabbit's unceasing pampering also made her somehow embarrassed that somebody was serving her. It was like S.P.E.W all over again but this time, it was a Talking Animal that was serving her.
Hence, one day, Hermione decided to volunteer herself to gather the crops needed for Babbity's salad.
"Oh, don't bother, sweetheart," the Rabbit said, hopping around to prepare her things. "And besides, your injury still hasn't healed completely."
"I'll be fine, Babbity," the brunette interjected, standing up and limping towards the Rabbit. "I may still be limping but I can manage on my own. Just please, please allow me to gather our food this time. You've done that for me for an awfully long time already and I feel like I'm becoming a burden to you already."
"Nonsense, I – "
"Please?" Hermione asked, giving her a small smile.
Babbity sighed and hopped towards the young woman. She then smiled, patted her cheek, and said, "All right, all right. No need to look so adorable. Goodness, dear lass, I've never met such an impossibly stubborn being in my whole life here in Narnia!"
Hermione chuckled and straightened up. She wore the cloak which Babbity had given to her one time and grabbed the basket from the table. "I'll be back soon," she said as her farewell. "I promise I'll be careful."
"There are rebelling Telmarines and wild beasts, Hermione," the Rabbit warned, slightly getting worried. "Just be quick and you'll be safe."
Hermione nodded and with that, she walked out of the little burrow.
The forest was beautiful. It greatly contrasted the Forbidden Forest, which was dreary and frightening. This forest she was venturing in now seemed brighter and more cheerful.
The trees stood tall and proud, with bushes and little flowers littering their sides. Hermione remembered that in this world, even trees moved; in fact, she remembered that it had aided them against the attack of the Telmarines. The brunette thought they were probably slumbering or dormant. It was a good sign that Narnia wasn't threatened by any evil forces.
That day was beautiful and clear. It was not too hot, nor too cold. The wind blew gently, caressing her flushed cheeks, and as Hermione looked at this wonderful scenery around her, she could not help but smile brightly.
She had never felt at peace like this before. All her years in Hogwarts were always coupled with fear and anxiety, thinking that evil would be lurking somewhere, waiting to pounce on those who were not expecting them.
Hermione remembered the horrors and pain and it had faltered her smile. She had had nightmares before. One time, Babbity even had to wake her up because she was screaming bloody murder. Even in beautiful Narnia, her past was haunting her.
'How are they?' she mused, bending down to uproot three potatoes on the ground. 'I wonder what happened.'
It did not take a person to be a great wizard to understand that the Dark Side had won in the Second War. Once their hero, Harry Potter, fell, all hope for the Light Side was lost. They had been fighting and fighting, valiantly even, but everything just turned out to be in vain when in the end, Voldemort was still the victor.
As Hermione continued to ponder over these things, she thought that living in Narnia, safe and sound, seemed unfair to the others who were fighting in Hogwarts. The smile completely left her face and huge guilt crashed into her chest.
She sat down on one uprooted tree, not really knowing what to do. Among all of her schoolmates in Hogwarts, she was one of the most undeserving to rest. She chose to be with Harry Potter's side as soon as she met him, not even minding the fact that he was The-Boy-Who-Lived and he would someday battle with the darkest and greatest wizard of all time. She had bargained her whole self with death ever since she saw how dangerous it was to be with Harry at such a young age of eleven.
'I need to go back,' was all she kept on telling herself. 'But how?'
How? It had been a question that had been plaguing her mind. There was something strange in Narnia, albeit its beauty. Hermione retrieved her wand from her pocket and examined it, still frustrated that it did not produce any sort of spell or enchantment.
"Wingardium Leviosa," she said, swishing and flicking her wand. Once again, her spell did not do anything.
Frustrated, she buried her head on her knees and sighed. "You useless twig," she thought, wanting to throw her wand as far away as possible from her sight. But then again, it was still an important material for her. Thus, she controlled her emotions and instead pocketed her wand.
She stood up once again and started perusing the whole forest for more suitable crops for their salad.
Until, she heard a scream.
"And where do you think you're going?"
Lucy jolted and released a small shriek as she turned around and saw Edmund, who was leaning against the door frame of the back door in the kitchens. An accusatory look was seen on his face and Lucy, not really knowing what to do, sheepishly smiled.
"Nothing… just, err, nothing," she said, trying to convince her big brother. It had made her flinch, though, when she herself was not convinced with what she said.
Edmund's eyes narrowed. "What are you wearing?" he asked, eyeing her peasant garb. A basket was hanging on her arm and a cloak was wrapped around her form. Her hood had covered her rich, brown hair. All in all, she looked plain and simple.
"Tsk, come on now, Ed!" Lucy begged, looking left and right. "I know Pete will have my head if he knew I ventured off into the woods, but please, please, please, I'm insanely bored in here. Azelma said they'd be making salad tonight and I thought I could offer myself to gather all the necessary ingredients."
"And Azelma agreed?" Edmund asked, looking around for the head cook, a Bear, in the kitchen. He frowned and glared at Lucy. "I doubt that."
Lucy once again sheepishly smiled. "All right, fine, I forced her to agree," she said, faux guilt on her face.
"Come on, Lu, don't do that!" Edmund said, glaring at her puppy dog eyes. "You're sixteen years old, for goodness sake! Act like a grown up woman."
"Please, Ed, please don't tell Peter," she said, latching onto his right arm and begged. "I promise I'll ask Azelma to make Turkish Delights as our dessert for the whole week."
Edmund licked his lips. "That's unfair," he groaned. Both of them knew that when it came to Turkish Delights, he could never, ever resist anything. "Fine," he finally spat begrudgingly. "But if Peter finds out that you did dress up as a kitchen personnel and walked into the forest, then I don't have anything to do about this, okay?"
"Okay!" Lucy merrily said, standing on her tiptoes to give her big brother a kiss on his cheek.
She hastily walked out of the wooden door in case Edmund changed his mind and then shut the door on his face. She was quite a few feet away from the door when she heard the door opening and the clear and deep voice of his brother, saying "BE CAREFUL!"
Lucy shook her head and smiled disbelievingly. Although she knew that both Peter and Edmund loved her dearly and would do anything to protect her, Lucy was starting to find their overprotection ridiculous.
Sure, it was a dark time. Some rebelling Telmarines were still lurking around, waiting to pounce on the monarchs so that they could have their country back. And there was this new prophecy told about the coming of the White Witch with her reign of terror.
That did not mean Lucy had to stop doing things she liked. She was always fond of venturing into the forest and helping the creatures working in their kitchen. There was something calming and relaxing about going outside Cair Paravel. Lucy still marvelled the time when they were still not crowned as kings and queens of Narnia. There was peace and solitude. Now, royal duties were expected from them. Of course she loves ruling all over Narnia and bringing peace and order to the country. It was just that her own peace and solitude must be forgotten for a while.
It was wonderful that Susan and Caspian were going to marry each other next week. Caspian was of course surprised to see how young they were as opposed to the stories he had heard from his professor but when his eyes landed on Susan, Lucy knew something more would happen between those two.
And that something more did happen. The supposedly farewell kiss that Susan had given Caspian spoke volumes and it somehow warmed Lucy's heart to know that they would be given the chance to live together forever and ever. At least, in this dark time, two people could still be able to have their happily ever after.
Lucy stopped for a while and sat on one of the protruded roots of a huge tree. She started gathering vegetables in her basket and sighed while looking around. She still wished that the trees could start moving again, but then she knew that only the trees would uproot themselves as soon as Narnia needed defense.
She then suddenly perked up upon hearing the sound of a snapped twig. Wildly, she looked around but saw nothing. Lucy then brushed it off and stood up once again, now carrying her almost full basket.
She heard footsteps this time and she froze, her heartbeat starting to race. "Oh, how cliché," she murmured under her breath, remembering all those books she had read about damsels in distress caught off-guard by some murderous beasts or human.
Lucy pulled out her small dagger and looked around. "Who's there?" she cried, watching as a flock of crows flew away in fright. "Show yourselves!"
Still, no one was around. Lucy finally decided that she must have been hallucinating and thought that she should go back in Cair Paravel.
She turned around, only to be faced with two men. One was awfully close to her while the other, the one that was shorter, seemed to be looking around, as if watching for incoming people.
"Rebels!" Lucy exclaimed and the person nearest to her surged forward.
Lucy blindly waved her dagger, meaning to injure the rebelling Telmarine.
"Rolf, help me!" he had said, and the other rushed towards him and held Lucy's hand.
He, Rolf, pinned her hand behind her back and Lucy gasped in pain. "Feisty, this one, eh, Dysseus?" Rolf asked and the man in front of Lucy, the one called Dysseus, guffawed.
"Now, now, little missy," Rolf said, snatching the dagger from Lucy's shifting hand. "Stay stock-still so that you will not get hurt, okay?"
Lucy panicked and stared at her captors with frightful eyes.
At loss of what to do, she screamed.
Hermione half-limped and half-jogged towards the source of the scream.
She ran impulsively, and cursed the Gryffindor in her. She was injured and powerless. Her magic was not working and so, she had no idea how she would rescue the girl in question.
'Oh, to hell with that,' she thought, forcing herself to run faster. There was a girl in danger and she had to help her no matter what.
Her adrenaline was pumping all throughout her body and it dulled the pain in Hermione's right leg. She willed herself to run faster and faster until she saw them.
She instinctively hid behind a tree. She watched as two, gruff men restrained a young girl, probably younger than Hermione. She could see that one of the two men had a dagger pointed at the girl's neck. It was pressed against the girl's neck and because of her constant fidgeting, the dagger was already drawing some blood from her.
"You think this will warn them?" one of the two, the shorter one asked.
"Oh, those monarchs love their subjects awfully too much, eh?" the taller one said, cackling when the young girl glared up at him. "I'm sure High King Peter the Magnificent will finally get the message."
He had said the king's name in a mocking tone and the young girl, enraged, stepped on his foot. He howled in pain and glared at the girl, making a move to slap her on her face.
"OI!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed.
The three of them froze and looked for the source of the voice.
"Who's there?" one of them asked and Hermione tried her very best to hide herself behind the tree.
"I-I'm armed, I warn you!" the brunette added, having no idea what she was up to. Seeing the girl, helpless and a little frightened, made her act without thinking. Hermione had successfully diverted the attention of the rebels. 'What now?'
"Ooh, a girl, Rolf," the taller of the two said. Hermione pressed herself harder against the trunk of the tree. "And what are you going to do?"
"I'm a witch!" Hermione warned, desperately brandishing her wand and stepping away from her hiding place. The two men looked at her in surprise, then to her wand, and then burst out into boisterous laughter.
"A witch!" the shorter one, Rolf, exclaimed. "A witch she says. Any brilliant spell you could do?"
Hermione looked around wildly, trying to think up of a plan. And then, her eyes landed on the dead body of a rabbit, one that was smaller than Babbity and presumably not a Talking Animal. A plan formulated in her mind and was thankful that she was the only one who had seen it.
Pointing her wand at the dead rabbit, she exclaimed a deafening 'AVADA KEDAVRA!' and watched with satisfaction as the two rebels followed her line of vision and saw the dead rabbit.
They looked at her, horrified and at loss for words.
"Unhand the lady, or I could do the same to you," she said, pointing at the rabbit.
Both of the Telmarines scampered away, screaming bloody terror and once they were gone, Hermione fell on her knees and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Whew, I can't believe that worked," she said, smiling goofily as she lifted her face and stared at the young lady. Even she was regarding Hermione fearfully, which prompted the brunette to laugh. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not really a… err, witch. It's all an act and thankfully, that dead rabbit over there made it all the more convincing."
The girl looked at Hermione and soon, she started to laugh. "Blimey, that was brilliant!" she exclaimed, approaching Hermione.
"Blimey?" Hermione mouthed, surprised that the girl was able to exclaim an English expression.
"Thank you," the girl continued. "Thank you very much. How can I ever repay you?"
The brunette brushed off her surprise and merely shrugged. "It's okay. I have to go now, anyway," she said, picking up her basket. "Please be careful next time."
Hermione started to walk away from the unnamed girl when she had stopped her. "Yes?" she asked, looking at the girl she saved.
"What is your name?" she asked.
"Hermione," the brunette said and smiled when the girl smiled back.
"Thank you, Hermione," she said.
Nodding, she turned around and walked back to Babbity's burrow, already rehearsing an apology speech for not filling up the basket today.
Lucy, still a little disoriented, walked out of the fprest back to Cair Paravel. She was still reeling of what had transpired moments ago. Her hand kept on magnetizing back to her bloody wound on her neck, flinching every time she pressed too hard.
And then, the girl who had saved her.
She instinctively thought the brunette she had seen was a Telmarine. Telmarines were human, and the girl looked very human to her. Although, there was something about the mysterious girl that made her think that maybe there was something more about her than what she could actually see with her own eyes.
The rebelling Telmarines had caught her off guard. She was not expecting anything at all. She even assured Edmund that no harm would befall upon her. But those blasted Telmarines came and even had the nerve to threaten her. They did not seem to notice that she was the queen, which meant that her peasant disguise had worked wonderfully.
"LUCY!"
Her name had snapped her off from her stupor and was surprised to see that she was outside the gates of Cair Paravel already. Edmund was the one who had called for her and his eyes were maniacal. He ran down the stairs towards the gate and was the one who opened it for her.
Lucy was baffled by her brother's actions and was further surprised when he pulled her into a hug. "We thought you were dead!" he exclaimed.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "What?" she asked, staring at her brother disbelievingly.
"Oh, Peter will have your head," he said without answering her question. Edmund then pulled Lucy inside the castle until they reached the Throne Room.
Peter was pacing once again and Susan and Caspian tried to calm the High King down. Once Edmund and Lucy walked inside, Peter stopped his pacing, ran towards the door, and like what Edmund had done a while ago, pulled Lucy into a tight hug.
"Can someone tell me what is happening?" Lucy asked, staring wide-eyed at everybody.
Caspian, the calmest of the lot, walked towards the group, Susan in tow. "According to some Narnian soldiers, they had seen two rebelling Telmarines tormenting a young girl," Caspian said.
Lucy sheepishly smiled while Caspian continued. "Turned out it was you and they tried to call for help from the castle," he said. "But when they returned back, you were gone."
"What in Aslan's name had gone into your head, Lu!" Peter exclaimed and Lucy flinched in slight fear.
"I'm fine now," she shot back, pouting when her siblings glared down at her. "Oi, I just had a small scratch but I'm still here, yes? There's no use fretting over it now."
Susan sighed and shook her head. "I knew it was pointless to send a whole troop to search for Lucy, Pete," she shot back and was unfazed when Peter glared.
"There was this girl," Lucy continued, a smile playing on her lips upon remembering her savior. "A very mysterious one, if you ask me. I reckon she's a Telmarine and she saved me." The youngest of the group started to laugh, walking slowly towards her throne. Her siblings and Caspian looked at each other in confusion, but followed her nonetheless. "It was a funny act of saving, though. She pretended to be a witch and scared off those buffoons away."
Lucy turned around and stared at everybody. Her eyes shone with hope and she said, "Can we invite her to dinner, please?"
"WHAT?" Edmund asked, scandalized.
"She said her name's 'Hermione' and she's a really nice girl," Lucy said. "You know, out of gratitude for saving the life of your dear little sister." She walked towards Peter and looped her arm around his own. "Please, Peter, please. I think it's proper and it will do us some good if we have a new company."
"Well…," Peter started. "I think – "
"That's barmy!" Edmund interjected, coming to stand in front of his brother and Lucy. "What if she's another rebel in disguise, trying to loot us or something? Betrayal by the most unlikely. Does that ring a bell to you lot?"
Lucy frowned and shoved his shoulder. "Oh, come on now, Edmund," she said. "I think it's downright rude to suddenly judge a girl you haven't seen yet."
Edmund raised up his arms in exasperation. "Fine, do whatever you want," he said, and with that, he stalked away.
"He does have the flair for melodrama, huh?" Lucy said, shaking her head. She looked back at Peter and asked, "Well?"
"Oh, all right," he finally said. "But if something happens, I won't stop Edmund from saying 'I told you so' to you."
Laughing, Lucy nodded and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, watching as Babbity scoured through all of her cupboards to search for more ingredients for their salad. Only three pieces of potato and one carrot sat on the table.
"Oh, don't apologize, Hermione," the Rabbit said, retrieving a small piece of cabbage from one of her cupboards. "I think it's good that you and the young girl you saved are safe."
The brunette sighed and started peeling the potatoes. "Is it frequent? The attacks of the rebels?" she asked as Babbity sat on the chair beside her.
The Rabbit also started to peel the potatoes and said, "It has been for now. Some Telmarines are still sore about the downfall of their king. I think it makes perfect sense that they're rebelling against the new monarchs. That doesn't mean they could wreak havoc and frighten all those poor creatures away, though."
Hermione smiled and stood up, readying the cauldron to boil some water, when suddenly, a sharp knock on the door resounded all throughout the small burrow.
Both Babbity and Hermione tensed, looking at each other in anxiety.
"Are you expecting someone?" Hermione asked as the knocking continued.
The Rabbit slowly shook her head.
Hermione limped towards the hearth and grabbed a frying pan. "Get behind me," she told Babbity. The Rabbit involuntarily nodded and did what she was told to do so.
The brunette slightly limped towards the front door. She reached for the knob and, with great force, opened the door wide.
"Whoa, whoa, now, Miss," a voice cried and confused, Hermione looked around, swishing the frying pan madly in front of her. "I do not intend to hurt you."
"Reepicheep!" Babbity cried, further baffling Hermione.
"Reepicheep?" she echoed, frowning. "I've heard of that name before."
Babbity hopped in front of Hermione and stooped down, extending her right paw. And then, to Hermione's surprise, a small Mouse clutched her paw and shook her hand.
"Babbity," he had said. "It's been a while."
Hermione poked the Rabbit's shoulder to get her attention. "He's adorable," she whispered, but apparently, the Mouse had heard her for he had pulled out his small sword and swung it around.
"Who said that?" he roared, surprisingly loud for his stature. Hermione gasped, which had caught his attention. "Pardon me, Miss, but I prefer 'strong' and 'mighty' over adorable."
The brunette sheepishly smiled while Babbity ushered Reepicheep inside.
"What brings you here?" Babbity asked, offering him a seat, but the Talking Mouse refused.
"I cannot waste time, Babbity," he had said, retrieving a small parchment from a pocket wrapped around his waist. "It came into my knowledge that you have a guest, a Daughter of Eve, and her name is 'Hermione'. Am I right, Miss?"
The brunette, confused, merely nodded.
Reepicheep then slowly opened the parchment and read, "By Royal Decree, Miss Hermione is hereby requested to attend dinner with the monarchs of Cair Paravel as a way of showing gratitude for saving Queen Lucy the Valiant. Bringing a companion is permissible. Signed, High King Peter the Magnificent."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "I didn't know it was Queen Lucy I saved," she said, flabbergasted.
"Well, sweetheart, you're invited then," Babbity said, holding Hermione's right hand. "I think it's best to go. You do deserve it."
The brunette looked down at the Rabbit. "The High King said I could bring a companion," she said. "You're going with me Babbity" – Babbity's face lit up with joy – "and that's thanks for accepting me here."
"Well, then, ladies," Reepicheep piped in. "We must go. They are waiting for you."
"Let me change first," Hermione said, eyeing her slightly tattered dress.
"I can fix that," Babbity said, hopping towards a small wardrobe to search for a better dress for Hermione.
Once both were set, Reepicheep led them towards Cair Paravel.
A/N: So how was it? Good? Bad? Meh? Eh? XD Tell me in your reviews!
Lol, so the plot is somehow starting to build up and all. Next chapter will finally be the official meeting of Hermione and the monarchs of Narnia and I am so sure a lot of you are anticipating it already.
Anyway, as for my small announcement, I might update Wednesday or Thursday this week! Weeee, earlier update! Eh, on Friday, I have an overnight party blah blah in my best friend's house because it's her 18th birthday so there :D I'm still not sure when but I swear it will be earlier.
Let me also use this opportunity to thank all those who favorited, alerted, and most especially reviewed "When Two Worlds Collide". I honestly was kinda wary of posting this at first, since you know, it's not Dramione and the pairing is not really that famous. But oho, the reviews give me butterflies in my stomach you know :D So yes, THANK YOU MY AWESOME READERS. Without you, I won't be motivated to finish this story.
So, that's it for now! Again, REVIEW! :D
With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe