Hey. Sorry for the long update, I've had alot going on with school and such. Well anyway chapter two is up! I don't own Narnia, just so you all know. =]
Oh, and by the way, Lina Foster's looks are based off of Taylor Swift's. Just wanted you to get a proper visual of her. And the Pevensies are based off of the ones in the new movies. Onward!
I woke up on a horse. I didn't realize I was even on a horse until I looked down at the white beast beneath me. I gasped slightly at the thought of being unconscious on a moving animal that I wasn't steering. I began to struggle but arms holding onto the reins tightened around me to make sure I remained on the steed and didn't fall to the hard ground passing in a blur below us. I tilted my head back and hit a hard chest. The man sitting behind me smiled as his bright golden hair whipped through the wind.
"How are you feeling?" The man asked. I just nodded in response. The scenery around me was strange and unfamiliar. Nothing but forests and mountains... wait I already knew this. I sat up so I wasn't leaning against the man's chest and twisted my neck in every direction around us. The man sitting behind me kept one eye on me the other on the path ahead. "Do you remember where you are?" He asked with a concerned tone in his voice. I nodded once again.
"Narnia," I concluded as the memories from earlier flooded my head. "I am in Narnia," The man, who I now remembered to be the oldest Pevensie, Peter, nodded. He gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed his arms around me tighter. We rode in silence for a bit, the sun started dipping low in the west and I wondered where we were going. I shared my question with Peter.
"Cair Paravel," He answered. I gave him a quizzical look. Cair Para-whata? Peter chuckled as understanding took him over. "Cair Paravel is the castle where my siblings and I live. It is very lovely there Lady Lina, much like yourself. You should like it," I smiled at his complement. If that line wasn't so sweet it would have been a tad cheesy.
"How long until we arrive?" I questioned. Peter's shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. He pointed to the sun in the distance. The king leaned in close to talk directly into my ear over the sound of pounding hooves.
"Judging by the position of the sun we have a few more hours left to go," He explained. I groaned a little. I loved horses, I really did, but being on one for hours on end was a hard task for anyone. I escaped the never ending ride and retreated into my own mind. How had I ended up in Narnia? Why? There was no reason for me to be here. All of these questions I would need answering once we arrived at the castle. Peter and I rode on through the twilight and early into the night. I was dozing off again when I felt Peter's breath on my neck. The feeling of it gave me chills, but in a good way. He leaned in close to whisper once more into my ear "There it is. We have arrived, My Lady," My gaze followed his arm before being engulfed by the horizon. Ahead of us stood a massive white castle resting on a mountain overlooking the endless blue ocean. It was a simply breathtaking view. A smile appeared on my face. Never before had I seen something so beautiful.
"You weren't kidding," I told Peter. He laughed.
Five minutes later we arrived at the front gate. A young boy came to grab the reins from Peter as he dismounted. My head darted around in every direction, trying to take in every sight at the same time. I suddenly felt my body leaving the saddle and falling through the air until I made contact with hard ground. I looked down to see Peter's hands around my waist. I gave the king a smile to thank him. He started to walk and I followed. I made it about two steps before my knees buckled and, like the klutz I was, started to fall. Peter's reflects were faster than the pull of gravity, he caught my waist and stood me up right. His eyes searched mine with a concerned look.
"I'm sorry," I said stupidly. After the words escaped my mouth I felt like a total idiot. What was I apologizing for? For being uncoordinated? I chuckled at myself and so did the blond man next to me.
"That is quite alright, if you are not used to being on a horse for long periods of time it can be hard to get your land legs back. I've been there," He winked at me before heading to the large entrance doors with me in tow. Two... fauns? Opened the doors for us. I tried not to stare at the goat legs attached to the top of a man's body but it was almost impossible. Fauns weren't real.. well not on Earth anyway and since Peter ensured me that I am not there any more I assume I shouldn't be so surprised to see mythical creatures in large castle.... The thought sounded insane. Oh man, what had I gotten myself into?
Peter and I entered a large room which I assumed to be a sort of Great Hall. The inside was as gorgeous as the outside of the castle. The room was light and airy, even in the night's dark moon shine.
"Lina! Oh you have finally arrived! My head snapped down at the youngest queen who hugged my middle with a forceful grip. For such a small thing she was strong. I patted her back confusedly. I was the type of person who enjoyed their personal space, so the whole hugging thing was new to me. With Lucy around I knew that was going to change though.
"Lucy, let her breath," Edmund came up behind his sister and placed a firm hand on her small shoulder. She smiled up at me, slightly embarrassed, and backed away. Edmund looked me in the eye but did not smile like everyone else. He took my hand in his own and raised it to his lips. He pressed a light kiss onto my knuckles and looked at me through his eye lashes. "Welcome to Cair Peravel, Miss. Lina,"
I nodded my head to the younger king to show my thanks. He cocked an eye brow at me but bowed out gracefully. His look stirred something in me. I think it might be intrigue. Edmund seemed way to uptight and serious to belong to this family. What had become of him that made him like this? Yet another questioned added to my never ending list. My attention was now drawn to Susan.
"Come," She took my hand and started leading me to a door located on the side of the long hall. "We must get you ready for the Ball being held in honor of our return,"
"A ball?" I asked. Susan simply nodded with a grin. I looked back at the two kings and Lucy. Peter and Lucy smiled encouragingly and Edmund still only stared. Susan led me through a maze of corridors until we reached a large bedroom. She flung open the doors and led me in. She sat me on a couch while she went through a large wardrobe filled to it's complete capacity with dresses of every color and style.
"This one will do wonders on you!" She exclaimed. Susan pulled a red dress with long white princess sleeves out and held it up for me to see. The neck line was reasonable high with a small slit going down the middle. The whole dress was trimmed with gold fabric and looked... well fit for a queen.
"Oh, Susan. It is really beautiful but are you sure you want me to wear that?" I asked, a little unsure. I loved the dress but I didn't want to wear it if she would feel uncomfortable about lending it to a complete stranger.
She laughed lightly at me, the sound of her laugh was very gentle and elegant, like I imagined a true queen's to sound.
"Don't be silly, Lina. This dress will look better on you than it ever did on me. Come on, let's get you changed and your hair set," I didn't believe that this dress would look better on me than it did her. Susan was more than likely the most beautiful woman ever created. I noticed all the men in the Great Hall staring at her when Peter and I entered. My hair was blond and curly while hers was long, dark brown, and straight. She held the air of a queen while I could barely walk through Time Square without tripping over my own two feet. The truth was she was Dior while I was Walmart.
An hour later Susan announced that it was safe for me to look in a mirror. I took a step toward the full length mirror and almost gasped at the sight of myself. My thick curly hair was piled on my head in an elegant way with little wisps cascading down to frame my face. The dress Susan allowed me to borrow looked stunning, I was surprised that it fit me so well, Susan had to be at least three inches taller than me but the dress fit perfectly none the less.
"Wow," I stated with a shocked tone in my voice, I barely recognized myself. Susan giggled and pulled me to the door. She had gotten ready before Peter and I arrived so there was no other reason to delay our entrance. We went back down the same confusing maze of corridors that led to her chambers before breaking into the Hall.
The room was full of life. The main floor was filled with dancing couples of all kinds. There were fauns like I had seen earlier and centaurs (I recognized them from a book on mythology I had back in New York). I also saw some animals acting as if they were human. This Narnia place was completely strange and foreign but somehow I felt welcome amongst it's people, or in this case, creatures.
Susan and I went up to the dais where four thorns sat, all of them unoccupied. Music filled the room with light and noise making every person present feel happy. The instruments were lovely and played a song that was angelic to everyone's ears in the Hall. I smiled at the scene that lay before me. It looked exactly like a fairy tale. Susan and I chatted for a while as she explained to me how Narnian Balls worked.
"Excuse me," A masculine voice called. I turned to see King Edmund standing before us. Susan smiled at him and gave me a playful nudge in the rubs. "I was wondering if you would give me the honor of this next dance, Miss Lina?" His face remained serious as he offered his hand to me.
I looked at it for a second before excepting it. He led me to the center of the dance floor and took up the traditional dance position. "Um, I'm not exactly sure how to do this," I admitted a little embarrassedly. The dark haired boy simply nodded his head.
"Neither do I," I smiled at his comment at the same time the music began to play. We glided along the dance floor through the maze of couples. I watched my feet until Edmund lifted my chin. His dark eyes locked with mine and I gave him a questioning look. "Keep your head up, it will give the impression that we know what is going on," I chuckled at his joke but still his face remained hard.
I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind me. Edmund shot a look at the figure behind my back and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Mind if I cut in, little brother?" Peter's voice was distinctive now. Edmund gave his brother one stern nod and bowed to me. He disappeared into the crowd in a flash, leaving me along with the High King. Peter smiled at me and took up my hands. He swept me across the floor with more ease than his brother did. Peter looked very handsome in a tunic of midnight blue. He also wore a shiny gold crown on his shaggy blond hair that made me think he was more of a Prince Charming than a King. "You look absolutely stunning, My Lady," He told me.
Scarlett rose into my cheeks and I tried to hide my blush, I was unsuccessful. "Thank you, although I really do wish you would call me Lina,"
Peter nodded "Lina, it is,". I grinned knowing full well he would not call me plain old Lina as he turned me around the dance floor once more. The song ended and everyone in the Hall clapped. The orchestra (which was made up of mostly fauns) announced that they would be taking a short break and the Hall began to buzz with the sounds of laughter and raised voices, all trying to be the loudest. "Would like like to take a walk?" Peter asked. I nodded my head and Peter entwined his arm in mine. We left the noisy room and went to a balcony of sorts. We walked slowly up and down the long stretch of marble and listened to the sounds of Narnia. I stopped along the edge and pointed down to the water. Figures were flipping through the waves like dolphins, I thought that was what they were until I made out that the figures had hair cascading down their backs. "Are those...mermaids?" I questioned. Peter stretched his neck to look over the side where I had directed.
"Yes, they love to dance to the music we play during Balls," He stated matter of factly. I let out a surprised breath of air. Peter cocked an eyebrow at me. "What is it?"
"Nothing. It's just, stuff like this," I motioned to everything around us. "Isn't real," Peter frowned slightly.
"Well, obviously it is," He muttered like a small child. I gave him a side long glance and returned my eyes to the ocean that stretched before us.
"I didn't mean it like that. You are from Earth, aren't you?" Peter nodded his head.
"Well isn't that what you thought before you came here? That this stuff, these creatures couldn't exist?"
Peter thought on it for a moment. "I suppose," I let out a frustrated breath and kept my focus on the blue water that lay before me. I wasn't going to press the young king any further tonight. I rested my arms against the cement railing and leaned into it. I heard a lovely song coming from the sea beneath us now, it took me a while to realize it was the mermaids singing in the absence of the orchestra's music. Their song blended with the crashing of the waves to create an amazing lullaby that seemed to put me to sleep on my feet. I turned to comment on it to Peter but stopped short at the look on his face. His features were hard and serious, much like his younger brother's.
"Is something wrong?" I prompted. One corner of Peter's mouth pulled up to a high smile.
"You do not want to be here, Miss Lina. Do you?"
I opened my mouth several times to tell him something but no words seemed good enough. If I were honest with myself I wanted to stay. I had two parents who cared more about there jobs and social lives more than their only daughter. They were never around, my parents wouldn't even notice if I went missing and I'm not just over exaggerating like some kids do. They actually don't care about me. If I went back to New York I would just be going home to a huge empty penthouse. On the other hand if I stayed here what would happen if I started to miss my old life? Would I be able to get back or would I be stuck here like the Pevensies?
I hadn't noticed that Peter was still waiting for my response until he cleared his throat to get my attention. I shook my head back into the present and gave him the only answer I could give. "I don't know," Peter's face fell at my response, clearly it wasn't the one he was looking for. It hurt me to see him disappointed. Before I knew it my mouth was open and talking of it's own accord. "I think I do, but everything is still so confusing. I need time to process what is happening and get some questions answered,"
Peter managed a small smile. " I understand completely," He rested one of his rough hands over mine. My skin tingled slightly at the sight were his skin touched mine. "So would you like to know?"
I went through the long list that had built up in my mind and began my interrogation of the High King of Narnia. I asked about ten questions in about a minute. I was ranting on so bad that Peter was forced to shush me so he could answer. I started to blush at my excited state. Peter threw his head back and laughed. "I can see this is going to be a long night,"
Please tell me what you think. I am not sure about this story yet and I could use a little encouragement or some wise words, anything like that. Thank you for reading!