Ch.3 – The Nightmares

"She's alive!" Caspian exclaimed to no one in particular as he carefully carried what seemed to be a girl's dead body up to the surface. Once he had her out in the sun he set her down on the soft grass to catch his breath, for Aslan had told him not to bring a horse and the journey back would be a good distance to cover on foot. What had Aslan thought when he said a horse should not accompany them? Perhaps the girl would've been frightened if she had been conscious. But why didn't Aslan stay to see her? There were so many questions swimming in his head that Caspian nearly jumped when the girl made a whimpering noise, drawing his immediate attention. She was awake, her startling deep brown eyes glaring him down as she tried to push herself back, only managing to move with her arms as he noticed how much blood she was losing.

"W-who are y-you?" She tried to sound as threatening as possible but her body wouldn't stop shaking. Caspian quickly pulled off his leather jacket and moved to put it around her. She flinched back, her hand shooting out and punching him in the chest. "G-get aw-way from-m me!" She nearly screamed.

"Calm down, please. I don't mean to frighten you. I want to help."

"Y-You will n-not touch m-me y-you fien-nd!"

"You need medical attention. I must bring you to the castle as quickly as possible."

"I w-will not-t be im-imprison-ned!" He felt something push him back but couldn't see anything physically. "I w-will n-not die at-t th-the han-nds of-f a mon-nster!"

"I will vouch for him my old friend." Aslan appeared, purring as he slowly approached her.

"A-Aslan…" The girl turned her attention to the newcomer. "P-Please… h-he… h-hurt….s-scared…"

"Do not worry. Caspian will not hurt you. He will care for you."

"D-don't tr-rust him…"

"You have been hurt. But not by this human, who carried you up from the well. Try not to dwell on the past for long. I know it will be hard but you will heal. You are strong. I know you are. You attacked me the first time we met and yet we became friends did we not?"

"…" The girl slowly met Caspian's eyes as she tried to hold in tears. "S-sorry."

"You are badly injured. Please allow me to carry you back." Caspian bowed slightly to the injured girl holding onto Aslan like a life-line. She barely gave a nod when she fell unconscious.

-LINE-OF-MOVEMENT-

"Aslan do you know who did this to her?" Caspian spoke softly as he watched the badgers clean the girl's many deep wounds.

"It's also a question of what my friend. But she will tell you when she is ready. You must stay with her. She will have nightmares that only you can help her overcome."

"But why me Aslan? I don't understand. She's not a normal human, she pushed me with invisible magic."

"If you can open yourself up to her she will give you the answers you seek. As for why you have been chosen, that still has yet to be seen my friend."

"But I still dream of the older Queen of Narnia, Aslan and I hardly know this girl."

"It was through one act of kindness that brought you together. Give it some time. She will spend the rest of her life in this world. She will need you."

-LINE-OF-MOVEMENT-

Aslan wasn't kidding when he said the girl would have nightmares. She cried out, lashed out, even in her sleep she packed a lot of force behind her hits, something Caspian felt attracted to. He couldn't deny it when he had finally seen her all cleaned up. Her hair was long and silky, the black strands falling into her face from time to time. Her skin was light but not unhealthily so. Her curves definitely showed that she was a mature woman. At a distance she didn't look out of the ordinary but up close he could see that she was indeed a bit toned, which he also found he liked. She was a fighter and so was he. She had seen horrible things, and so had he. Just when he thought she wouldn't wake from her nightmare, her eyes snapped open. She looked like a startled deer but had a death-grip like nothing else he'd come across. She pulled him across the bed, closer to herself and fell back asleep holding onto his jacket. At first he felt awkward, but then figured out how to detach his jacket without waking her and slipped away from the bed.

The second night was worse. He never thought he'd get a bloody nose from a woman, but damn was he wrong. Too bad it was because she had hit him dead-on and not for a different reason. He managed to pin and wake her and once again she fell asleep with her hands attached to his clothes. He sighed as he once again slipped away.

The third night she managed to pull him over and wrap her arms around his waist, making escape near impossible. Near being that she had a second nightmare and had shoved him off the bed in her efforts to run away. It took a few hours to calm her down enough for her to pass back out.

"Aslan." Caspian walked over to the lion on the 5th day. "She is still having nightmares. What can I do to help her?"

"You must give her something else to think about my friend." Aslan laughed lightly. "Surely you can come up with a good strategy."