A/N: Hello, I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this, but here is the fourth chapter of EA! I hope you guys enjoy it! Please review if you like it, to say hi, to ask me to read one of your stories, or to offer constructive criticism. I don't care which, I just want to hear from you! Well, I hope you guys appreciate the way I have written Annelise here. Honestly, I think it's a sane reaction when in a strange place alone. Enjoy!
Entwined Arrows
~Chapter Four~
I'm Certainly Not In Kansas Anymore
Pounding footsteps.
Fast, winded breathing.
Alert, searching eyes.
Carefree, nearby snickers.
The footsteps stop abruptly as the owner bends over to catch her breathe, eyes never straying from their relentless searching. The snickering has stopped, but she has a fair idea from where it could have come from. Perhaps from behind that big oak tree to her right or maybe the thick foliage just beyond the oak tree…? Either way, she is going to make sure she finds him. If one thing, she is stubborn and determined to win, to beat him at his own game.
Whose bright idea had it been to play hide n seek in the forest anyway? His, definitely his idea. She had not wanted to but he had been able to convince her quite easily, despite her insistence that they not venture away from the beach. She had plead and whined but he'd convinced her nonetheless with his persuasive tone and that boyish, lopsided smile. And who is she to deny such things from her other half? Even if such activities included running through a creepy forest searching for him. Only for him is she willing to endure the discomforts of the forest. Only for him did she dare stride out of her comfort zone, for he had a way of making her feel confident and independent. He is the sun as she is the moon, polar opposites but at the same time two halves of the same whole. Together they are unstoppable, or as she tritely likes to think, in spite of his good-nature teasing.
She spots the messy ends of his auburn brown hair, suddenly breaking into a sprint in an attempt to capture him once and for all. However, the strangest thing happens: no matter how hard she is running, he is always just out of reach! It is as if he is eluding her on purpose, taunting her by refusing to turn around at her instant pleads of his name. Each time she utters his name, it echoes as if they are in a canyon. Frustration and fear strike her, hard and fast, as a crocodile would to its prey. The grip painful and all burning as she continues to call his name. Still he refuses to slow down or answer her. And just as she is prepared to give up, abruptly, he swivels around violently and charges at her. She lets loose a blood-curling shriek, stumbling back just as he pounces on her and—.
The early morning sun glistens on the surface of clear, blue waters of the Eastern Sea. Seagulls fly over head, squawking and honking as they circle around and look for their breakfast. The sea's foamy waves advance forward only to recede back into the sea after a few moments of drenching the beach. The fresh morning breeze ruffles my pony tail as I stand there, soaking in the warm rays of the sun. The calming sound of the waves moving soothe my frazzled nerves briefly. I swallow hard, vehemently pushing and shoving my dream to the furthest corner of my brain.
I'm finally starting to slowly accept that I am no longer on Earth but rather a different world. Hence the keyword: slowly… All these customs and facts are so much to take in. It seems that every waking moment I am learning something new about this world. It feels like my identity has been stripped from me and I'm left with trying to hastily assemble a new one. I shift with unease, trying to quell the headache threatening to form.
Clearing my head of unwanted thoughts, I take in a deep, cleansing breathe before I break into a brisk jog, which is thankfully leading me temporarily away from Cair Paravel. I haven't been here not even a month and I'm already starting to feel like I'm suffocating in there. Like I'm drowning on dry land and no one is able to save me, despite how much they want to. The beach has become my much-needed safe haven from all the unwanted pitiful, sympathetic looks I have been receiving from the Pevensie siblings. This is where I go when the castle walls suddenly feel as if they are closing in around me, trying to incarcerate me within their cobblestone grasp. This where I retreat when it starts to get overwhelming seeing all those mythical talking creatures that are only supposed to be in fairytales I use to read as a kid. And this is where I run when nightmares plague my sleep and the only cure is the soothing presence of the sea. After all, the sea is the only connection I have to him, despite it being a different world. Here I can shove my problems to the deepest and darkest corner of my mind. Here I can forget where I truly am and pretend that everything is normal. Here I can feel whole again if only for a while.
After an hour or so of mindless running, I unwillingly turn around and start heading back to Cair Paravel, albeit at an unenthusiastic pace. I'm going back to the fantasy world I use to worship as a kid. I'm go back because I know that I'm most certainly not in Kansas anymore and trying to think otherwise is not helping the situation much. That and if I'm not back by the time someone comes knocking at my door, then the cavalry is going to come looking for me, with Peter—or rather High King Peter the Magnificent—leading the way. I roll my eyes at his title, still having some difficulty accepting that the Pevensie siblings are the "rightful" rulers of a country inhabited by talking beasts. It seems that I'm having a lot of trouble accepting things nowadays, much to my frustration.
I nod politely to the pair of human guards before I walk through the gates. As soon as I'm within the castle walls, the feeling of suffocation comes back at full force and the sudden urge to turn around flee the opposite direction becomes very tempting. I swallow hard, trying to shove down that feeling as I quicken my pace. Walking down the familiar corridor that leads to my chambers, on the second floor, I nod stiffly at Stella the faun who greets me with a cheery voice and a warm smile. I may no longer wince visibly or yelp whenever I cross paths with a Narnian, but that doesn't mean I'm not still discomfort by the abnormality of them talking and acting disturbingly like humans.
Once I reach my door, I quickly scramble inside, kicking off my shoes and shrugging out of my shirt and shorts as I make a beeline for my bed. It seems that sleep is starting to look inviting after all.
"Ahhhhhhh," I scream bloody murder as I wake up to find the face of a grey wolf staring at me.
His ears flatten against his skull, as he leans away from me with annoyance. I roll away from him to the opposite side of my bed in a tangled mess of blankets and flailing limbs, heart hammering painfully against my chest. I gasped, struggling to get away. The grey wolf sighs exasperatedly, taking pity in me by yanking the sheets away. I tumble to the floor with a pained yelp, landing hard on my left side before the door. The grey wolf sits nonchalantly by the door, raising an eye brow expectantly.
"Don't do that," I snap hoarsely, glaring weakly.
"You missed breakfast again," he says, disregarding my words. I make a face at his words, rubbing at my face tiredly. When he sees I'm not making any movement to get ready, he looms over me threateningly with his ears against his skull. I blink, undaunted by the large grey wolf. Yellow eyes continue to stare at me, trying to unnerve me. I sigh and give up without a fight, standing shakily on my tired legs. I'm not in the mood to fight with him.
"Fine, Fenris. Wait outside," I mumble tiredly. Fenris eyes me curiously, surprised by the fact that I'm not fighting him tooth and nail like usual. I frown at him and escape into the restroom, away from the observant eyes of my bodyguard. I am no longer afraid of Fenris and the rest of the wolves. They have proven that they are harmless. That and they sort of remind me of my Siberian Husky.
Half an hour later, I emerge from my chambers dressed in an emerald huntress dress. I wrinkle my nose distastefully as I pull at the collar of my dress. Fenris looks up and nods with satisfaction at my choice of wardrobe. He leads me down a flight of stairs, through a long corridor before we arrive to a garden where Susan and Lucy are gathered for lunch. Susan greets me warmly while Lucy springs up and hugs me. I pat Lucy's back awkwardly and sit down next to her once she releases me. Fenris excuses himself politely with a bow of his head and leaves to patrol the surrounding area with two of his pack members. I glare at his retreating back when I see Lucy and Susan are not looking at me.
Traitor, I think bitterly.
"Peter and Edmund are going to be late. It seems their weekly meeting with the lords is running later than usual," Susan informs me. The Gentle Queen takes a delicate sip from her tea and a dainty bite from her biscuit.
I nod wordlessly, staring down into my lap with concentration. No one asks how I slept because they know I haven't been able to properly sleep since arriving to Narnia. Lucy had suggested a natural remedy to help with my insomnia but I stubbornly refused and that had been the end of that. Lucy chats excitedly about the upcoming visit of Mr. Tumnus while Susan listens intently. Left to my own devices, my mind drifts back to the remnants of my dream before I can register what has happened.
His body collides with hers, causing her to topple over. Panting rapidly, Terror-filled blue-green eyes glance up into the lifeless, vacant green eyes of her other half. His hair is a complete disarray, with matted clumps of dirty hair falling into his pale, gaunt face. She can tell he's sickeningly thin by the way his bony rump pokes into her stomach unnervingly as he straddles her. His face gets undesirably close as his eyes bore into hers. She is unable to look away from the abyss that is his eyes.
"It's your fault," he hisses dangerously through clenched yellow teeth, puffs of stale, sickening breathe slapping her face. Her eyes water and her stomach lurches at the smell. She shakes her head at his accusation, a feeble protest falling from her dry lips. "Your fault!"
He jumps away from her, a demented cackle coming from him. She shakes her head again, an apology bubbling from her lips. Just as sudden as he appears, he disappears back into the thick shrubbery and trees, his taunting laughter and wounding words echoing around her from all sides. She sobs, clamping her hands over her ears to shut him out, but he grows louder and harsher.
"I HATE YOU!"
"It's about time! I'm starving," Lucy exclaims, tugging me back from my dream. I shakily brush a strand of hair from my clammy forehead, my eyes stinging painfully. I bite my lip to stop the trembling. The vividness of my dream has left me shaken. What scares me the most is that it, at first, started as a memory and then it ended as a nightmare. What does it all mean? Why did I dream about him that way?
Drugs. Drugs stole something from me, I think somberly. Took something…
Blinking away my bleak thoughts, I look to see who she's talking to. Peter and Edmund are greeting their sisters with an affectionate kiss on the cheek before taking a seat in their respective chairs. I look away, finding my plate of fruit more interesting than the sibling affection going on in front of me.
Peter's soft voice causes me to meet his eyes. "How are you feeling, Lady Annelise," He asks genuinely, gentle ocean blue eyes glancing at me.
I risk a peak in the direction of the others and find that they are not paying the slightest attention to us. I sigh with relief, my eyes flickering back to Peter's. I swallow, suddenly feeling unnerved by his understanding eyes. I plaster a fake smile on my face that doesn't quite reach my eyes. "I feel great," I lie with forced cheerfulness.
Peter's eyes flash with disapproval, but he's too polite to call me out for lying. He squeezes my shoulder briefly before returning his attention to Susan and Lucy who are laughing at something silly Edmund had said. I frown, picking at my plate of fruit halfheartedly. I hate that look of understanding that had passed across Peter's face. And I hate the sympathetic looks I have been getting as of late from the Pevensie sisters, excluding Edmund. The last thing I want is their sympathy; I don't need it. But I can't help but feel that it's my fault since all I have been doing recently is being short and despondent with everyone. I'm sure I haven't been pleasant enough to be around. I grit my teeth. The Pevensies may think they understand what I'm going through since they were too shove unceremoniously into Narnia, but they don't. They have each other and I have no one; I'm alone.
I shove my plate of food away from me, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. The fruit no longer looks appetizing. I push away from the table rather quickly and bow my head politely. The Pevensies cease talking and look at me, with looks varying from curiosity to concern. I wince inwardly, silently willing Peter to stop looking at me like that.
"Sorry. I'm not really hungry anymore," I say, straining to keep my face blank.
"Are you sick," Susan asks, worry pinching her pretty face. "Would you like to see the healer?"
My face pales. I shake my head as calmly as I can muster. The last thing I need is Susan and Peter fretting over me. Right now I wish to be alone. Peter seems to sense the route my thoughts have gone because he nods.
"Of course. We understand, Lady Annelise," Peter says, shooting an encouraging smile at me. I nod gratefully and take that as my cue to walk swiftly away.
Peter stares after her retreating back with worry. Peter sighs, tearing his eyes away to meet Edmund's questioning look, Susan's equally concerned look, and Lucy's curious look.
"I don't think she's coping well," Peter observes. "And that worries me. We need to do something."
"What should we do," Susan asks.
"Perhaps we can take her to see the statue of Aslan," Lucy suggests. "That always seems to calm me down."
"No, leave her be," Edmund states somberly, drawing everyone's eyes to him. He clears his throat, ignoring the slight discomfort of being the center of attention. "The last thing we need is her retreating further into her shell. And stop giving her those looks of sympathy; it's counterproductive! Don't go offering help where it's not wanted. Allow her to cope with this on her own terms. If she needs help, then she'll come to us. Besides, I know from experience that it does more harm than good." Edmund finishes with a bitter tone.
Everyone goes quiet with shame. The other Pevensies are thinking of the time when Edmund had sided with the White Witch two years ago. There's not a day that doesn't go by where Edmund is reminded of his careless mistake. He may have salvaged his image for the most part, but some Narnians still think of him as the traitorous king who sided with Jadis. Hell, there's probably a secret society bend on dethroning him. On most days Edmund feels like the Just King, but on difficult days, he still feels like a traitor. Nothing will ever undo what he did, but by the mane, that doesn't mean he's going to give up making up for his past mistakes.
He still remembers how ironic it had been when Aslan had announced his title. Just king? The mere titled had almost made him scoff at his coronation. Everything that he had done with Jadis had been anything but just. Edmund did not feel satisfied with his titled like the rest of his siblings, meaning that he felt inadequate, unworthy being referred to as just. It had taken him awhile to get used to it, but he finally learned to accept his title by doing everything in his power to live up to it.
In a way, Annelise reminds Edmund of himself during the first year of their reign: somber, quiet, and depressed. He knows it is hard to claw one's way out of the black hole one has fallen into, but not impossible. In his darkest days, Edmund remembers finding solace in the form of honing his swords skills. After all, it is only on the battlefield where he does not feel inferior to anyone since he had been able to fuel his frustration and helplessness into sword fighting. Here he had been able to control the outcome and that had made all the difference. Edmund knows that Annelise feels inadequate and helpless being here. For Edmund, those feelings never did truly go away because they always seem to come back with a vengeance whenever he's having an unpleasant day. However, sometimes its good to remind oneself that when you fall, you just have to learn to get back up. And that's what Annelise is slowly but surely doing in the only way she knows how to.
