Disclaimer: I do not own The Chronicles of Narnia.
Thanks again to all of my reviewers; you all are so awesome! :) I really appreciate hearing what you have to say so please keep reviewing. If you haven't reviewed yet and you would like to, please do! I would love to know what you think! :) I hope you all are enjoying this story as much as I am! Okay, well here is chapter 5!!!
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Chapter 5: Lucy?
I urged Bill to keep moving. We had been riding for hours and hadn't found Lucy yet. Lucy- I flinched- oh Lucy. I couldn't think about her without feeling a harsh inner pain. Was it something I had done? Something I had said? What could've made her run off like that? Then it hit me. Had she felt… guilty? Did she feel so overwhelmed with the ridiculous thought that she had caused these things to happen to me that she ran away? I shook my head and closed my eyes. No, this wasn't my fault. Blaming me for what was happening was not the right way to handle this situation. I had to keep my mind set on finding Lucy and making sure she was safe.
I sighed, trying to clear my head. But what if she was kidnapped or… or worse? That couldn't have happened with all of us sleeping so close to her, could've it? Peter, shut up, I told myself. I could not let myself keep thinking the worst, what would that accomplish besides fear? I had to give this situation to Aslan; he would never abandon us. I had to trust in him and have faith that he would fix this problem. I turned my head back to face Susan and Ed, who were behind me. Neither of them appeared to be tired, which was good. I wasn't stopping unless I absolutely had to.
I faced frontwards again and patted Bill's head. He was a good steed; he barely slowed the whole time we were riding. My ribs were aching tremendously, though, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to subside the pain. Well, resting would be one, but for what it was worth I wasn't stopping. Susan rode up so she was parallel to me.
"How are you holding up?" she wondered. I shrugged.
"I'm holding, but under the circumstances I'm not exactly sure what that means. I would be much better if Lucy were here," I answered truthfully.
"Wouldn't we all be," she added, gazing off into the distance. Edmund piped in.
"I say, let's break off and search, shall we? We would cover more ground that way and could possibly find Lucy faster," he proposed. I thought it over for a minute. Leave it to Ed to come up with a reasonable idea.
"I'm up for it, as long as you two promise to stay together. If something were to happen to either of you…" I trailed off, not even able to think about something so unpleasant in a time like this. Susan, of course, opposed.
"No, Peter. I'll go alone. You're already injured; what if something were to happen to you while we were off somewhere else?" she reasoned, her gaze hard and unchanging. When she looked at me that way, I knew she meant every word. I shrugged.
"I would deal with it. And I'll be careful. You'll just have to trust me, Susan. I will manage alone," I declared. Susan gave Ed a disapproving look but Edmund just brushed it off.
"I trust Peter. He has Rhindon if anything would go wrong. And Bill is good, too," he said, trying to persuade our sister. Susan sighed but reluctantly agreed.
"Fine, just… stay safe," she put in half-heartedly. I knew she was worried, but I wasn't going to risk my sibling's safety when I could perform the task myself. I nodded, fully understanding. They didn't want anything happening to me just as much as I didn't want anything happening to them.
"We'll go to the east, you go to the west. We'll meet here in an hour or so," Ed explained.
"All right. If anything happens, yell as loud as possible. I'll get there as soon as I can," I pointed out. They nodded.
"Same goes for you, Pete. We'll be there whenever you need us," Ed mentioned. I nodded, already riding in a west-ward direction. All I could see were trees, and lots of them. I'm sure they went on for miles, each one the same shade of green as the next. I wasn't quite certain what exactly lurked out here, but I had Rhindon which gave me a better sense of security. My eyes scanned the collage of browns and greens for any sign of my youngest sister. Of course, all I saw were leaves and bark but then… what was this? A waterfall? In the middle of this wasteland? Huh, I'd have to explore past the Narnian limits more often; one never knew what could be found out here. Bill must've seen the refreshing liquid too, for he was heading in that exact direction. I patted the side of his neck; I was lucky to have a horse like him.
We reached it in a few minutes time and Bill halted to let me off. There was a small river flowing past; it must have ended somewhere close by because it was not large enough to be charted on a map. I lowered myself and put my hands in the icy current. Bill joined me, his left shank very close to my face. I took a sip. I must say that it was extremely tasty. Though water does not necessarily have a taste, this particular liquid seemed as if it was flavored with a heavenly zest. I splashed some of it upon my face. It felt refreshing to have the temperature of the water spread across my warm skin. I took in a deep breath, only relaxing for a moment. Then my muscles tensed. Something was wrong; I could feel it. I turned swiftly and examined my surroundings. Nothing but trees. Huh, I was sure there was something out of place here. I faced the cool water again. I leaned in to take another drink. It was then that I heard it. A twig broke behind me, the sound ringing throughout my ears. A small hand braced my shoulder. I turned around.
"Lucy!" I exclaimed. A smile of relief spread across my face, but her eyes narrowed into slits. I raised my eyebrows quizzically. The hand on my shoulder tightened, as if she was trying to displace my bone. I gently brushed it off and her lips curled up over her teeth.
"Lucy, what's wrong?" I questioned. My tone was slow and cautious; I didn't want to say anything that could possibly upset her. But I couldn't help but wonder if she was angry with me. Had I done something to push her over the edge? She just growled-if that's what you'd call it- in response. Okay, Lucy was certainly not acting normal. This whole situation was making me feel quite ill at ease. I began to stand up, but she wouldn't let me get completely vertical. She lunged at me, ramming me straight in the ribs.
I lost my balance, rocking back on my heels. My side seared worse than it had all day. I tried to catch myself but Lucy pushed me even farther, forcing me to fall into the river's depths. I felt the cold water cover every inch of my body. I had no time to take a breath before the current took me in its grasp and pressed me downwards. I kicked myself back up and gasped for air, coughing and sputtering. I sucked in a breath and then the current swept me under again. I submerged and frantically searched for Lucy. I spotted my sibling and yelled,
"Lucy, help!" I was a strong swimmer, but this current was too fast to go at alone while injured. I saw her smirk and then the water forced me down once more. The current was moving too swiftly. I thrashed, my head finally breaking through the surface. I tried to swim against it, but the water smashed into my ribs, making it painful and much harder to breathe. I kept at it anyway. I didn't live through all those ambushes for me to just give up now. And Lucy needed help, serious help.
Oh Aslan, please keep Lucy safe. Whatever you unfold for me I can handle with your help, but please be with Lucy, I silently prayed. The wind stung against my face and the current picked up, moving much too quickly. I fought desperately and tried to find a foothold. My feet dug into the dirt beneath me as I tried to stop from being thrown about in the water again. It worked, but only for a moment. A wave then crashed against my body and I was flipped backwards. I flailed my arms out, trying to grab onto anything possible. There was nothing. My leg suddenly kicked something hard and smooth, followed by the rest of my body. Before I realized it was a rock I could hold onto, my head collided with the hard surface, tearing me from my consciousness.
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A/N: Wow, I've written a lot of cliffhangers so far, haven't I??? :) Sorry this chapter was a bit on the shorter side... I hope you liked it anyways! All right, well please review! :)