A/N: So I had to belay this authors note until now because I posted the introduction this morning and was in a rush to get to work, and now I have a bit of free time before the Pirates 4 premiere to update. So I would just like to say that because of the good reviews from my first story I have decided to do a sequel and also venture into Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I have added a lot more magical elements to this and a lot more other references. I don't want to have it be like other stories where the OC is completely written out of context and just doesn't seem to flow with the story...I really want my characters to have that presence in the story where you believe they belong there. Thank you so much for your support for Into the Wilde and I really do hope you enjoy The Wilde Wars. Happy Reading.
Chapter One: The Guardian
Driving long distances in cars were not Kristen's thing. It was hot most of the drive and the air conditioner spout out stale smelling artificial air. Soft music played in the background, at least Kristen was thankful her mother and herself had similar tastes. Kristen's head leant against the window and her feet propped up on the dash as the scenery changed, the trees becoming more dense, and five and a half hours later they stopped at a little town in Redding to get gas. It was a small little station, hot and dusty and Kristen sat in the car looking out at the plain town.
It was quaint and there where people walking about with their children or friends shopping at the little dinky stores. She spotted a clothing store, and something vaguely familiar to a Pottery Barn and then an old antique shop.
Kristen opened the car door and unbuckled her seatbelt, somewhere in the process stepping out onto the dirt, and she stood on her tippy-toes looking at her mom over the hood of the car.
"Can I have five bucks to get a drink please?"
"Sure sweetie, here's ten, can you get me a Sprite?"
"Yeah, sure." Kristen took the ten dollar bill over the hood of the car and then walked with her hands in her pockets towards the station store. Opening the door she walked in, and dull elevator music was playing in the heavily air conditioned place. She spotted the back refrigerators and walked towards them trying to avoid the stare the creepy old man cashier was giving her.
Reaching the beverages of a non alcoholic nature, she opened the doors and pulled out a Snapple and then a Sprite as she looked at each of them contemplatively and then walked to the register. She set them down avoiding eye contact with the cashier and she only watched his hands ring them up.
"You're not from around here are you missy?" the man asked and Kristen pursed her lips and shook her head awkwardly. "Yeah I can tell, always can when new folk run through here. There you go, seven dollars and sixty seven cents plus tax. Want a receipt?"
"No just the change." Kristen said lowly and he handed her the change and she grabbed her drinks and muttering a small thanks headed for the door.
That was just a example of how it was when she first came back from Narnia. People would just sometimes stare at her like something was off. It unnerved her that they could somehow tell she went through this crazy experience but...how could they? It was her secret, and she had told no one.
Returning to the car she got in and set the drinks in the cup holder and handed her mom the change. Her mother looked at her strangely and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Something wrong sweetie?"
"Nah, the store owner just kind of freaked me out. I'm paranoid."
"Did he say something?"
"Nope, don't worry." Kristen said changing her tone to that of a nonchalant nature. "Like I said, overly cautious of people sometimes."
"Well alright." her mother shrugged too and then started the car and once more they where back down the road.
Her mother had changed the station sometime later to a more of a popular culture station playing all of the new hip songs. Dianne tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and sang along with some of them trying to urge her daughter to sing along too. Kristen only laughed and shook her head at her youthful mother. She looked good at thirty-six.
The ride progressed like that until they reached their destination the following day having switched off at certain stops to take turns driving. Seattle was a bustling city full of people, buildings and worst off was the traffic. Kristen could see the skyline from where she sat in the car staring out the open window and the smell of salt and sea washed over her. She could swear she could almost see Cair Paravel over the horizon.
"Do you want to go out to dinner tonight? Wade wont be home until tomorrow evening from his buisness trip."
Wade, her step father helped managed the Seattle Mariners. They did well for themselves which is why they could afford to live in such a divine city.
"Yeah sure, why don't we go to a sushi place. Somewhere downtown."
"Sounds good to me. There's a new place that just opened up that we can try. I haven't been there and I keep bugging Wade to take me but you know, he's always so busy. But maybe next week when he has a vacation break we can take a trip to Disneyland for a day or maybe New York–,"
"Mom, I came to spend time in Seattle, remember?"
"Oh yeah...well I just want you to have fun is all."
"I always have fun at either house."
"I know sweetie." her mom lent over kissing her head and then returned to watching the road.
Traffic was just horrible, it always was.
They finally made it to the restaurant and found themselves seated outside in the nice cool Seattle air. They browsed through their menus and ordered drinks as they sat there talking small talk as they hadn't seen each other in a year. She had officially turned nineteen again in this world...it was strange since she left when she was about twenty-three. She had grown up in Narnia.
"Sweetie you look so sad sometimes when you think. What are you thinking about?" her mother asked in a much airy and lighter tone.
It was the only different besides age between her and her mother. Her mother spoke without awkwardness, very forward and bright. Kristen had to say it was a mixture between Susan and Lucy...dear Aslan she missed them so much!
"Nothing just, thinking. You know how I am."
"Yes, always dreaming. Ever thought about writing it down?"
"Excuse me?" Kristen was brought back to a similar conversation with Susan.
"You know like a dream journal, or an idea journal. Turn it into a story or something, I'm sure Candice my friend, who works at this publishing company could publish something for you."
"No thanks mom, it's okay." Kristen shook her head and her mom shrugged.
"So how is school? Your father tells me your grades are better than ever."
"Yeah it's going good."
"And he even said you made some friends, and that you are in the fencing club at school. Wherever did you get the interest to take fencing?"
Kristen smiled to herself as she reached over plucking at her straw in her raspberry ice tea and swirled it about making the ice cubes dance in a circle.
Her original reason for gravitating towards it, was because she didn't want to lose the skill. She didn't want to have that part of Narnia be false...and she found that it was comfortable to have a lance in her hand and spar with people. She was far more impressive than her instructor even. She had even become a little graceful, running into things less, or tripping over the slightest crack. Granted she still had her moments but they where becoming less and less.
"Dunno, read about it in a book. Looked like fun."
"Going to take archery next too?"
"Don't think they offer that course at school mom." Kristen laughed and so did her mother. Though if they did have archery she would take it up in a heartbeat.
As their food came Kristen plucked at it with a pair of chop sticks and just looked about the city. People watching she found is what she did when she was stationary. There wasn't much forest in Seattle so you had to drive a bit aways to get to seclusion. So people where the next bit of entertainment.
People walking dogs, people walking with their kids, teenagers laughing and dressed in their best chic clothes with their scarves and heels and large hand bags, and all of them so unaware of each other. But Kristen found as she stared, someone was staring at her and very aware of her. At a café across the street sat a man, with familiar blonde hair, eyes the color of rain and a tall statuesque figure. He wore a black shirt and a nice pair of jeans and on his head was a simple blue baseball cap. He looked very simple as he held a glass of water in his hand and from the corner of his eyes he caught Kristen's glance and merely smiled.
Kristen near about choked on the own air in her throat and she looked away staring down at her plate frozen. It was fear to be sure, this man looked exactly like the one from her dreams.
"Kris, you full?" her mother asked and Kristen merely nodded. "Want to take it home for later?"
"It's only a couple bites left, you have it."
Kristen shoved her plate to her mom and her mom shrugged finishing off the four rolls of sushi. Kristen sat there frozen thinking, and thinking possibly if she dared to look back what would she find?
She braved it and chanced it and looked back over her shoulder to find the man no longer there, but the only remains was his glass of water. She looked around hurriedly but found no trace and soon the waitress' voice brought her out of her shock to find her mother paying for the bill and the two of them about to leave.
Kristen stood up clumsily and followed after her mother as they got in the car in the side parking lot and started for home. They sat in traffic once more as Dianne was humming to nothing in particular looking about with a content look on her face. Kristen stared out the window her stomach twisted into knots. She couldn't shake the man she had seen out of her thoughts.
The light had just turned green and her mother stepped on the gas pedal as they began to go through the intersection when time sped up, or slowed down. All Kristen knew was that it definitely didn't happen like in the movies.
It's kind of surreal, seeing several things at once, and getting caught in a life altering situation. Her senses became hyper-aware as she saw everything and her heart sped up her fingers grasping onto her seat in fear.
A homeless man dressed in rags, started walking right out in the middle of the street out of no where. There where thousands of them in Seattle, and Kristen always wondered how so many ended up there. But this was bad, very bad.
She suddenly heard the honking of horns but there was one in particular that was extremely annoying. It sounded familiar, and it seemed like it kept getting louder.
"Mom look out!" Kristen yelled grabbing for the wheel to make her evade around him.
Her mother screamed, breaking, and the car behind them rear ended them and pushed them as suddenly a oncoming car clipped the back end and they where sliding towards the light pole. The scraping of metal is never a pleasant one and when you're adrenaline is going fast heightening your senses for survival it sounds even worse. Kristen felt the car wobble and found that they had come to a stop. She looked over to see her mother thankfully conscious and only the back end of the car got the brunt of the impact not the drivers side. But they were practically wrapped around the pole.
"Mom you okay?" she asked blearily her eyes out of focus.
Her mother looked over at her and her eyes widened.
"My baby...y-you're bleeding." she said shaking and Kristen raised her hand to a itch on her head and found that when she pulled it away her hand was coated in blood. Indeed her head had been split open by having cracked against the window.
"Mmm." Kristen winced as she held her hand to her head again and then more creaking noises where heard. "Mom?" she said wide eyed and scared and her mother looked at her shocked. "Get out of the car."
Kristen didn't need to say it twice, in fact she didn't wait for her mothers protest. She reached over pulling on the door handle and forcing it open before she unclipped her mom's seat belt in a rush as she basically kicked her mom out of the car. She then made for her own seatbelt when she realized that the car was impacted on her side and her seatbelt was jammed into the lock. Tugging at it furiously her eyes brimming with tears in fear she tried to worm her way out of the binds but it was too tight.
"Mom!" she screamed but it was deafened by the sounds of a horn and the light from the pole fell crashing into the car.
It wasn't completely the last thing Kristen remembered, but she felt arms around her pulling and a face underneath a baseball cap. His face...the man from her dreams, the same one at the cafe.