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Ch 2: Meeting of the Minds
The air in the meeting room felt charged. At a large round table sat the humans of Narnia, and Peter was speaking.
Caspian and Susan sat side by side. Peter sat across from them, and Edmund and Lucy on either side of him. Peter had a large chart in front of him, and was going over how much man power they would need to make repairs on the castle grounds. Susan only half listened, her brother could be long winded at times, and still she could not shake her bad feeling. Caspian caught her expression and reached for her hand under the table. She gave him a smile and squeezed his hand in return. Thank God Caspian was here. He listened to her, and understood her much better than her siblings ever could.
"Susan, what do you think?" Peter asked.
Susan's eyes bulged. Thought about what? She hadn't been paying attention.
"I think we're both in agreement that the priority is of course, the well." Caspian said.
Susan could have kissed him. Of course! The well by the west gate was all but falling apart. Narnians counted on that well as a back up for water, and with it out of commission; they were starting to get nervous.
Edmund smiled, "Now that we have this boring meeting over…"
"It may be boring to you, Ed, but these are things that have to be done." Peter replied.
"Where's my niece?" Edmund asked, ignoring his brother.
"Cornelius put her down for a nap." Susan said.
Edmund pushed himself away from the table. "Well, I'm going to go practice."
"What about the well?" Peter demanded.
"You've got more than enough people."
"That's not the point, Ed. We live here now. This isn't vacation!" Peter yelled.
Edmund had enough. Here he was day after day, waking in paradise, and it just wasn't enough for him anymore. He wanted adventure, no he needed it. "Maybe I don't want to live here!" He bellowed, and stalked off.
Peter turned his head and began muttering under his breath. Why did Edmund always have to be so damn hard headed? Why couldn't he ever do as he was told? Edmund needed structure and boundaries. Maybe Narnia was wrong for him. But they were here now. They needed to make do.
"Peter…" Susan started.
To hell with Edmund. There was work to be done. Peter balled up the chart and stalked off as well.
Susan watched his retreating back. "Oh boy."
Lucy looked anxiously from Caspian to Susan. "I like it here." She said softly.
"I know you do, Lu." Susan replied. She squeezed Caspian's hand again. She didn't have any idea that Peter and Edmund were so miserable. She just figured that her brothers and sisters were just as happy as she was.
"May I be excused? Trumpkin and I were going to pick strawberries up on the hill!" Lucy declared.
"Of course." Caspian replied with a smile. "Enjoy."
Lucy ran over and gave Susan and Caspian hugs. "They'll get over it." She said, and left the room.
"Oh, Caspian, what are we going to do?" Susan asked.
"Maybe they need time?" He asked.
"It's been three years." She said with a sigh.
"I know it has." He said and kissed the crown of her head. "Would you like to join us at the well?"
Susan shook her head, she was starting to get a pounding migraine. She clutched her head. "Perhaps later. I'm going to lie down for awhile."
"Are you certain you're feeling well?" Caspian asked with a frown.
"I feel fine, just a headache."
"Okay. I'll be back to check on you."
Susan wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "You take such good care of me."
"I know." He said with a grin.
"Enjoy fixing the well." She said.
He eyed her devilishly, but she shot him a grin in return and walked out the door.
XXX
Edmund stalked off far into the forest. He just needed to get away, to clear his head. He had only half meant what he said. He did love Narnia, but he was horribly bored. Why did Peter always have to make a production out of everything? Why did he always have to be right? Edmund needed to get away for awhile, he needed… the Dawn Treader! Yes, the open sea was what would clear his mind. He'd simply ask Caspian if he could borrow the ship. Feeling better than he did in days, Edmund turned and headed back to the castle.
XXX
The wind whistled through the barren landscape, causing naught but the virgin snow to shift on the land. There was an eerie silence to this part of Narnia, where nothing grew, not even a single blade of grass. Just vast mountains of snow in all directions, a carpet of white as far as the eye could see. But there was one fortress that stood out against the white. A purple cave gloomed ominously in the tundra, and inside a man who would soon be free.
Adelio reached out his hand, and a cool breezed caressed his finger. Air! That was air! Adelio reached further, and his whole hand broke out of the ice! He grinned. Oh, this was marvelous! Soon he'd be free of this frigid prison, and he'd be on his way back to the castle to see what had happened in his absence. Who knew how long it had been since Aslan had cast him out? Furthermore, why had the ice began to melt? Was Aslan loosing his touch? For too long Adelio had lived in a frozen solitude. Far, far, too long. And as Adelio wiggled his body, the ice began to crack. Over the years as it melted, it now became icicle thin. And with a sudden movement, Adelio was free. He stretched and grinned, and took his first steps in years. His legs were a little rigid, but in no time he'd be as limber as he ever was. Not wanting to waste any more time, Adelio headed out of the cave and toward the frozen lake. Snow littered his hair. A cold chill stung his cheeks, but he was free! And soon, very soon, he'd see what his little brother had been up to in his wake.