AN: Sorry if some parts seem a little rushed. It dunno, I thought of dragging it out but I thought it worked the way it was somehow.
"How many of you know how to handle a bow and arrows?" Peter asked them as they sat on the lounge chairs in Max's back yard making plans. "I'm looking for a show of hands here."
Susan was the only one who raised her hand.
William mentioned something about trying archery once in school, accidentally getting an arrow stuck in his butt and getting sent to the nurse while the other children all laughed at him.
Louise smiled as if she found that somewhat amusing although it was quite sad. "Poor thing." She suppressed a laugh of her own and gently placed her hand on top of William's.
Poor old William had never-not in his younger nor in his older years- had a woman express any interest in him. He'd fallen rather hard for a girl whom he'd thought was called Phyllis, but she was in love with his cousin. And also her name was not Phyllis. But here was Louise. He thought she was very beautiful even in her old age. And the thought that she might-just might-have feelings for him made his old wrinkled cheeks turn the colour of an over ripe cherry-tomato.
Susan and Peter exchanged a glance of amusement at the possible couple. They both thought that the two would be very sweet together.
"Edmund taught me a little bit of fencing but I don't know much about that or archery." Julia admitted rather sadly.
"Alright then." Susan said in a very matter-of-fact, no nonsense voice. "Zane, Ash, and Lewis." She pointed to them. "Peter will teach you how to use a sword. Cleo, Rikki, and Emma." She turned to them now. "You're with me, I'll teach you how to use a bow and arrows."
"I'd rather use a sword." Rikki protested in an almost sulky tone.
"I have one question." Zane said looking rather smug. "My dad's got a gun, you can't use a sword against guns."
"That's what the archery is for, Zane." Emma pointed out. "They shoot off a bullet, we shoot off an arrow."
"It seems like a pretty uneven match doesn't it?" Ash said as Peter handed him a sword.
"He's right." Cleo sighed, "We have no chance."
"It's all we've got." Susan shrugged. "What else can we do?"
"Alright then, let get shooting." Rikki grabbed a hold of quiver full of arrows that Susan had set down on the ground.
Max and William set up a cardboard target and then got out of the way.
"I don't think we're far away enough." William whispered to Max.
"What are you talking about?" Max asked him. "They're all the way over there."
"We'll see how safe you feel in front of a bunch of people with weapons when you're pulling a harpoon out of your behind." William retorted.
"Arrow, William, you were hit with an arrow." Max reminded him, with a slight eye roll. "That was years ago and these kids don't even have harpoons."
"Whatever, I'm just glad I'm not wearing white pants like last time." William shuddered at the old memory.
"Girly guy jokes?" Max looked at him with more sympathy now.
"Oh yeah." William nodded his nose wrinkled up in disgust and his eyes very wide as he spoke. "I do recall being hit on the head by a few cotton pads over the course of that week."
"Tough brake, mate." Max patted him on the back.
Susan showed Rikki how to stand when you were holding a bow. "Fingers here, no there...like this." She reached out and moved Rikki's fingers to the right spots.
"Alright, now what?" Rikki asked.
"Line up with your target." Susan told her. "Feet apart...make sure you're on exact eye level..."
"And then?" Rikki looked at her expectedly.
"You let it fly." Susan gave her an encouraging smile.
"Good! Finally, the fun part." Rikki let the arrow fly. Unfortunately it didn't go anywhere near the target and it hit the neighbor's trash can.
"Hey!" an angry looking old man stuck his head out over the fence and glared at them.
"Sorry." Rikki waved at the furious-faced man.
"This is the part where I get sued." Max commented dryly.
"Hey Rikki, think you can get on the same planet as the target?" Zane teased sort of meanly.
"I dunno." Rikki glared at him, getting another arrow ready on her bow and pointing it at him threateningly. "Let's use you as the target this time."
"Okay..." Ash stepped in between them before a full blown fight could start. "Let's just try it again."
"Can I try it this time?" Emma asked.
Susan sighed. "Why not?"
Rikki handed her the bow and arrow.
Emma followed Susan's instructions and actually managed to hit the side of the target. It wasn't anywhere near the bull's-eye but it was at least in the same yard.
"Way to go, Emma!" Ash clapped for her.
Emma smiled at him and shot another one, it hit a little further in this time.
"Good job, Em." Cleo said, trying to be cheerful in spite of the fact that she was quite afraid.
"Your turn, Cleo." Emma handed her the bow.
"No, not me." Cleo took a step back, turning a little red in the face. "I can't do this."
"Sure you can." Rikki told her. "We all know you can handle it."
"I can't." Cleo gulped. "I just can't. I'll mess it up, I know I will."
"It's alright to be a little nervous at first, Cleo." Susan told her kindly. "I was a bit uncertain myself when I was first given a bow and arrow as a gift in Narnia." Susan held out the quiver and made a motion signaling for Cleo to take one out and use it.
"Alright, but don't blame me if Max get's sued." She forced a smile did what the others had done and let the arrow fly. As soon as it was air borne, Cleo closed her eyes tightly expecting disaster at any given moment.
But rather that the doom she anticipated, she saw heard clapping. Not just Lewis either. Everyone was clapping. She must have done pretty well. She opened one eye just slightly. She could just make out the shape of the target, and the arrow-her arrow-that had somehow hit the bull's-eye.
In Aslan's country, Edmund Pevensie sat by the bank of a stream looking, wondering when his brother, Peter was going to return. He'd left three days ago (In our world it had been quite few months). He wondered if Peter had found Susan or not. Even if Peter did find Susan could they really work everything out. Closing his eyes and leaning back on the soft green grass, Edmund remembered what had happened that day, the day of the crash that threw them into Aslan's country.
He had been sitting at the train station dressed in workman clothes, waiting for Peter to arrive so that they could go ding up the old rings professor Kirke had buried so long ago.
Looking up at the clock, Edmund wondered why Peter hadn't arrived yet. He was almost five minutes late. Finally, he saw him walking up towards the platform dressed in the same sort of workman clothes that he was wearing. But there was something wrong with his face. It was all red with a mix of anger, sadness, lost, and bitterness. He'd been crying. Anyone could see that.
"Peter, what's wrong?" Edmund asked him in a bewildered voice.
"Ed..." Peter choked back a sob and his voice broke. "Susan and I...we...I...I mean...I broke up with her."
"You what?" Edmund gasped. He had figured they'd fight. They'd fought quite a bit as of late but he'd never thought they'd end their relationship. Especially from Peter's end. Secretly, Edmund thought Susan might break up with him to be with someone more 'mature' and less 'controversial'. He'd heard her idiot friends telling her that she should find someone else. Susan usually just laughed it off but Edmund felt like he barely knew his sister anymore. And he barely knew what she would and wouldn't do now. Did she still love Peter? He assumed such, but he couldn't say will real conviction that he was sure of it, the way he could have only a year or so ago.
"I had to." Peter swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "You were right, Edmund."
"It's not something I wanted to be right about." Edmund told him sadly. "I know how you felt about her."
"Felt?" Peter shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever stop feeling that way about her."
"I'm sorry." Edmund didn't know what else to say.
"It's not your fault." Peter forced a smile.
"It's not yours either, you know that, right?" Edmund asked to be sure. "You didn't make her stop believing."
"I don't know anything anymore, Ed." Peter said softly. "Let's just go get those rings and let's not talk about this anymore, alright?"
Edmund was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when he felt someone trip over him falling flat on their face, and a muffled, "Ow!"
He opened his eyes and turned around to see a pretty young woman with dark hair brushing herself off and trying to stand up.
"Sorry." Edmund tried not to laugh. He held out his hand and helped her up. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She told him laughing a little. "I didn't see you there."
"It's alright." Edmund told her, he shook her hand. "I'm King Edmund."
"My name's Gracie." She smiled at him. "Gracie Watsford."
Edmund's jaw dropped. "I know you!" He looked very excited. "I mean, not personally but, you're...you're Julia's friend, right?"
"Wait you're the same Edmund that..." Gracie seemed to be in complete shock over this news. "No way!"
"Way?" Edmund laughed again.
"You're a king?" Gracie couldn't believe this was happening. Not that it was any weirder than having a large Lion come to you on your death bed after your family had left the room and take you to his own country where you suddenly turned young and healthy again but it was pretty out there all the same.
"Yes." Edmund wasn't sure what she was getting at.
"I think we have some catching up to do." Gracie told him.
Harrison Bennett walked around Mako searching through the bushes as if expecting someone to be hiding in there. Charlotte stood a few feet behind him.
"When do I get paid?" She demanded. "It's hot out and we've been wandering around for hours. I'm telling you, Peter and Susan left already."
"But I took their boat." Harrison pointed out.
"She's a mermaid, Mr. Bennett." Charlotte tapped her foot on the rocky surface near the bush he was searching. "She probably just swam away."
"But what about Peter?" He said. "She wouldn't just leave him here."
"She could have figured out a way to take him with her." Charlotte willed herself not to add, "Duh, you're such a moron." No insults until she had a paycheck in her hands and the sweet feeling of revenge in her heart. Then she could say all the mean things about him that she wanted to. For now she had to act like he was a lot smarter than he actually was.
"Tell you what." Harrison said with a slight sigh. "You go check up there on top of that big hill and if you don't find them, we'll stop looking and have lunch."
"No." Charlotte folded her arms across her chest. "No way I'm climbing that. You said all I had to do was help you catch the mermaids. You said nothing about climbing."
"Oh come on, please?" Harrison nearly begged. "Lunch will be on me."
"It had better be expensive." Charlotte spat at him as she started climbing up the slippery slope.
"Is there any other kind of lunch?" He asked in a cocky voice.
"This is so stupid." Charlotte muttered to herself. "I don't even know why I agreed to...Whoa!" She found herself falling down the opposite side of the hill. Harrison could see that side it was too tall and steep. He couldn't see that she had fallen or if she was hurt or needed help. He just waited for her to climb back up and checked his watch occasionally.
Charlotte had the vague sense that she was rolling. Rolling faster and faster. At any moment a small stone might strike her. At that speed, it could kill her. Thankfully she felt nothing but grass and mud. If she'd had the time she might have wondered why it was so soft. why all the rocks were on the other side. It didn't make much sense.
Finally, the rolling came to an end and she could breathe freely and sit up. She heard the faintest suggestion of a growl. Looking around she saw that barely a foot away from her, stood an enormous golden Lion. His big red mouth was opened just slightly and his red-gold mane blew slightly to and fro in the breeze.
AN: Please review.