I'm a little nervous about this chapter. Unfortunately, I think some of you won't really like it but please don't grab your torch and pitchforks just yet! This is mostly for a glimpse into the darker parts of Izzy's personality. She's not all sarcasm and rainbows! If she were, I wouldn't be doing my job. I hope I managed this without it becoming too generic though. The last thing I want is an angsty Mary Sue.
My sincere appreciation goes to Sky-Pirate325, Haylee, romantic.dreamer26, Queen O' Randomness, and last but not least, chnoelle! I live off of your support, so a thousand thanks to you! Now I guess it's on to the inevitable… Let's boogie!
Chapter Six: Like Ghosts in the Night
"No. Absolutely not."
I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. Caspian was being completely unreasonable. "Why did you even take me if you want me to just sit back and watch?" I hissed. We were crouched low in the shadows of the forest a few yards away from the encampment. The night watchman was clearly visible patrolling the border of the camp closest to the woods. "If you send someone in to take him out where he is the chance of the other soldiers noticing our presence are too high. If he cries out or even hits the ground a little too hard I'm sure there's at least a dozen soldiers nearby trained to wake up at the slightest noise. If I can lure him into the woods then he can be easily dispatched without the risk of waking anyone up."
"She has a point, sire," Reepicheep agreed in a low voice. "And she does have the best chance of fooling the guard. I am sure a distressed minotaur would not work half as well."
Caspian set his jaw defiantly. "How do you know that he will not kill you on the spot?"
I shrugged. "I don't. But it's worth a shot and I'm willing to take the risk." It wasn't like the thought didn't scare me; I just wanted to be of some use other than taking up space.
"What if I am not?" he snapped. Ugh, here comes that awkwardness again. Luckily we had Reepicheep, who was oblivious to the tension, to keep us in check.
"I too am hesitant to send the lady into harms way," the mouse said, "but it is also apparent to me that there is no other logical choice."
"See?" I insisted.
"What would you tell him?" Caspian asked doubtfully.
"That's easy. I'm a frightened lass from Beruna whose been searching for her little sister who ran off into the woods after an argument. She's stuck in a tree nearby, so I ran for help."
"It is a believable story," Reepicheep commented. "And it is unlikely that even a soldier would expect treachery from a woman."
"Which is why I'm perfect for the job!" I was becoming frustrated with everyone's idea that I can't do anything, and I let it show on my face and in my hushed voice. It appeared that Reepicheep was the only one willing to let me earn my keep.
Caspian closed his eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath before opening them again and studying my determined expression. "I still don't like it," he said, "but if that is what it will take to quench your thirst for danger then very well." I smiled smugly, but he grabbed my arm as I turned to go. "But, Isabella…" I looked back at him over my shoulder. "The next time I advise you not to get involved I expect your cooperation."
I sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're starting to sound like my father." I opted for the more generic term because they weren't familiar with the word "dad" in Narnia. Caspian flinched and released my arm. "All right!" I saluted him and Reepicheep, then winked. "Watch and learn, suckas!"
Deliberately mussing up my hair, I spun around and stumbled out of the bushes and into the moonlight. The watchman's attention was immediately caught, and he gripped the hilt of his sword as he warily eyed my approach. "Oh, sir!" I put my hand over my heart and pretended to be out of breath. "Oh, please, you must help me!"
"Who are you?" he asked in a quiet voice as I approached. When I got nearer, I realized that he was rather young, maybe in his mid-twenties, and he had an attractively rugged air about him with his stubbly cheeks and shaggy hair.
"Please, sir, my name is Anna," I said. "I am from Beruna, and I have been searching all night in the woods for my sister!" I kept my voice low and husky as I spoke, and collapsed against him as soon as I was near enough. "I ran all this way to find help. My poor baby sister is stuck in a tree not far from here."
The soldier shifted uncertainly and grabbed my shoulders so he could hold me at arms length and look me over. "I am not supposed to leave my post," he said finally.
"Please, sir, I will do anything!" I pleaded. This sparked his interest, and his eyebrows immediately went up.
"Anything?"
His expression gave me an idea. I met his gaze steadily and said in the huskiest voice I could manage, "Anything."
He considered my offer, releasing my shoulders. A moment later he turned towards the encampment. "Perhaps I should get someone to help me assist you."
I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "No!" He gave me an alarmed look, so I tried to make up for my outburst by pressing my body against his and toying with a strand of his hair. "I mean, surely anyone you call upon would wish to share in the…benefits of helping me." I traced the curve of his ear with the tip of my finger. "But if you really want to share your reward, I suppose you could go and get someone…"
The man was torn between his duty as a soldier and his human desires. I was surprised at how easily I had won him over. I'd never tried using my feminine wiles to get what I wanted before, but now that I know it works…
"Perhaps," the soldier breathed, "if I had an idea of what this…reward…may consist of, my decision would be more easily made."
I was glad he was young and relatively attractive, because it would have been very hard for me to keep up my façade otherwise. I smiled coyly and traced a line down his jaw with my finger. "Of course," I whispered, leaning in so that he could feel my breath against his mouth. "As I said, to help my sister, I will do…anything." When I kissed him, I tried to pretend he was Nathan, but it was hard to do when the soldier smelled like sweat and rum instead of Axe body spray. Regardless, I let him envelope me in his arms and allowed a little tongue action to keep him interested. I slid my fingers into his hair and tried not to think about how greasy it felt or how badly I wanted to pull away and run. Instead, I slowly broke the kiss, brushing my teeth over his lower lip as I did so.
The soldier looked dazed. It took him a second to collect himself, and when he did he couldn't quite hide his excitement. "Show me the way," he said. I smiled and, taking his hand, lead him back to the forest and into the trees. It was amazing how easy it had been. A few steps into the darkness, he asked, "How far, did you say?" But I didn't have to answer because just as he finished his question the hilt of a sword came down hard on the top of his head and I let go of his hand as he crumpled to the ground. Caspian stepped out of the shadows, looking kind of annoyed, and Reepicheep appeared to tie the soldier's ankles and wrists.
"I hope you enjoyed yourself," Caspian said in a voice so low it was almost a growl.
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. "Excuse me?" He didn't reply. Instead, he turned and signaled through the trees to the other troops that the coast was clear. There was movement in the shadows as the Narnians started to move into the encampment. Reepicheep did what he did best by slipping away into the brush.
Caspian turned back around to face me. "I am going to help. Stay here and make sure your new friend doesn't wake up."
I swallowed a retort and instead asked, "What do I do if he does?" …Which was a mistake.
"I don't care," Caspian snapped. "Why don't you just kiss him again?"
He disappeared before I could reply, which was probably a good thing because if I'd had the chance to I would have been yelling. Who does he think he is? Sure, we've had some weird moments, but it's not like he ever once showed any sign that he reciprocated the slight attraction. He was acting like a little kid. Fine. If he wants to act like a child he can go right ahead. See if I care. Besides, it wasn't like I even liked him that much anyway. I appreciated his appearance as much as any other girl would, but did I actually have feelings for Caspian? No way. My heart already belongs to someone; his name is Nathan Powell and he has lovely blonde hair and green eyes that match mine perfectly (which, of course, means we are meant to be) and his favorite show is Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I love Nathan! Nathan, Nathan, Nathan! I shouldn't even care what Prince Pretty Boy thinks! But for some reason Caspian's reaction still pissed me off.
"Stupid Caspian," I mumbled. "Stupid watchman with his stupid libido. Stupid Freud and his stupid theories." I crossed my arms and sat down pretzel-style in front of said stupid soldier so I could watch him and the silent flurry of activity beyond the edge of the trees. A squirrel jumped out of a bush beside me and cocked its head in curiosity at the crazy human talking to herself. "I hate men," I told it. "All they ever do is annoy women. If you ask me, we should just keep them underground and only let them out once a year for breeding purposes." I nodded my head in satisfaction. "That's exactly what we should do. Then they wouldn't be around to watch movies with their ex-girlfriends, or think with the wrong head, or act like a complete a-hole!" The squirrel jumped at my suddenly heated words and scampered off into the woods. "Good! Run away while you can! And never let yourself fall in love. It's totally overrated and annoying!" I sighed. "Great. Now we're talking to squirrels."
I sat there silently fuming for what felt like hours. Once, the soldier started to come around, so I used my anger as a catalyst for power behind the punch I delivered to the side of his head. He was once again out like a light, but rivulets of pain curled up my arm. I never knew that punching someone could hurt so much. I shook my hand out, growing even more annoyed because of it. The night seemed to be growing darker. A cloud covered the small sliver of moon for a moment, and when it moved I could see that the curve of silver was falling behind the trees on the far side of the river. I looked around. It must've been getting close to three in the morning. It was always darkest at three- the demonic witching hour according to the Bible…and The Exorcism of Emily Rose…but either way it's still really dark.
"What's taking them so long?" I asked the soldiers unconscious form. Obviously I received no answer. "You're boring. And a bad kisser."
"Isabella." I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of Caspian's voice above me. I scrambled to my feet and glared at him.
"Stop sneaking up on me!" I hissed.
"We are leaving," he said blandly, handing me a sack filled with arrows. "Unless you would rather stay with your friend." He nodded to the limp form of the watchman.
I grabbed the bag from him and slung it over my shoulder, opening my mouth to tell him exactly where he could shove his bad attitude, but in the end I thought better of it and, instead of a slew of curses in varying languages, what came from my lips was a curt, "Do me a favor and let me know when you're done being a jerk." I brushed past him, purposely knocking into his shoulder as I did, and hurried to catch up with the group. Caspian stayed at the back of the strange parade to keep a lookout or whatever, so I decided to walk up front with the head minotaur, Rusself. As we marched through the woods, Rusself launched into a long and detailed description of all the ways he knew of to kill an attacker. I'm not really sure what he was saying, because I wasn't actually paying attention. I felt pretty bad afterwards but I couldn't help it. I was still "breathing steam" as my mother would say. That's what she calls the length of time during which I'm still angry about something because I pretty much walk around stiffly, flaring my nostrils and refusing to speak to anyone. It's pretty weird, but Rusself didn't seem to mind. He kept talking anyway. I think he realized at some point that I wasn't listening, because his voice dwindled and faded. All of the sudden he remembered that he was meant to be looking out for danger ahead, and he quickened his pace so he was ahead of me. I was a little relieved. When I'm mad I like to wallow in it by myself.
Sometime near dawn I started to grow tired from tramping all over the place on only the few hours of sleep from the night before, as well as carrying around the exhausting weight of my anger (not to mention the bag of arrows). My pace slowed and I wound up near the back of the party, but by then I didn't care if I was near Caspian as long as he didn't talk to me or walk too close. He was behind me, so I couldn't even see him in my peripherals, which was a plus. Reepicheep walked alongside me, chattering about how sorry he was that he was too small to carry my load for me. I spent a long time assuring him that I was fine before he shut up about it. The mouse was doing great for a small creature, lugging behind him an assortment of foods in a brown sack. His enthusiasm, in addition to the approaching dawn, seemed to curb my bad mood a little. As the sun rose, I stopped to watch the fantastic array of colors streaming through the trees. It was similar to the sunset several nights before, but the way the light shot up to fill the sky instead of slowly disappearing below the horizon made it feel more like a hopeful beginning than a resigned goodbye.
My spirits rose a little more. Who cares what stupid Caspian thinks? I was in this amazing world on this fantastic adventure and I was wasting my time dwelling on the twisted inner workings of a teenage boy. Honestly, I didn't know what was wrong with me. I was still pissed, but a small smile fell across my lips at the heartening revelation. I started walking again, keeping my eyes on the yellow glow spreading across the wood. That was probably why I saw him before the others did.
For a moment I thought I was dreaming, because at first glance I could have sworn it was Nathan crouched and approaching Rusself with his sword drawn. I blinked rapidly and my vision focused and I realized that the boy was someone else entirely, though he had a slight resemblance to my kind-of-boyfriend. Before I could call out a warning, Caspian jumped out of nowhere, delivering a hard blow with his sword. The light haired boy had fantastic reflexes, deflecting the attack with fluid motions. I rushed through the foliage along with the rest of the Narnians, and got to the clearing in time to see Caspian's sword fly out of his hand. The other boy continued his attack, swinging first for the legs (dodged with a jump) and then the head (dodged with a duck). His sword continued until it hit a tree and was embedded deeply into the trunk. He tried to pull it out, but Caspian sent him flying with a hard kick to the stomach and turned around to try and retrieve the sword himself.
Now, maybe I was still pissed off at Mr. Drama King, but that didn't mean I wanted him to die. Or, at least, if anyone did kill him, I wanted it to be me and not this random boy. So, when Blondie picked up a huge rock and moved to bash it against the back of Caspian's head (which was a lot more dishonorable than tripping someone when they're distracted by laughter, if you ask me), I dropped the arrows and dove forward before I could lose my nerve and threw myself, arms out, between the two boys, screaming, "DON'T," at the same time that another female voice yelled, "No, stop!" I'm not sure what I thought I was going to do when that rock came swinging at my face instead of Caspian's, but fortunately I didn't have to because everyone froze at the joint sound of my voice and the mystery girls'.
The blonde boy stared at me in complete shock for several tense moments. I heard Caspian pull the sword out of the tree and then he was putting himself between me and the rock-toting stranger, the tip of the blade forcing him back a step. The boy looked away from me, down at the sword, and then around us, noticing for the first time that we were surrounded by Narnians who were all armed and ready to jump to our rescue if we needed it. Blondie's eyes moved back to mine for a moment and then to Caspian's. I couldn't help noticing what a lovely shade of blue they were. His face changed to one of disbelieving recognition.
"Prince…Caspian?" His voice was laden with just as much doubt as his expression.
"Yes," Caspian replied in an intimidating tone I hadn't heard him use before. "And who are you?"
"Peter!" Yet another female voice called out, drawing our attention to the right, where a girl about my age and a dark-haired boy a little younger than I was came running into view followed by- surprise of all surprises- the dwarf who had run off toward the soldiers on that first night that I had arrived. They drew level with a young girl of maybe eleven or twelve years that I hadn't noticed before. I guessed she was the other person who had yelled.
Caspian looked down at the sword in his hand, then back up at the boy. "High King Peter?" It was our turn to be disbelieving.
"No way!" I exclaimed. They ignored me.
"I believe you called?" Blondie, who as it turned out was High King Peter, said in a British accent. My absolute favorite accent ever. Ah!
"Yes but…I thought you'd be older," Caspian replied.
"Well if you'd like, we could come back in a few years-"
"No! It's just…you're not exactly what I expected."
"Neither are you," interjected the dark haired boy.
"No kidding," I commented, crossing my arms. Both boys suddenly remembered my presence. I was getting pretty tired of people forgetting about my existence. It's awfully bad for the self-esteem. Seriously.
The newly arrived king offered me his hand and a smile. "I'm High King Peter. The Magnificent. I don't think I've met you yet."
"I wish he'd quit saying the last part," the older girl said.
I stepped around Caspian to accept his handshake. "High School Student Izzy," I said. "The Invisible."
"You are certainly not invisible," he replied. I blushed, more because of the fact that he looked so much like Nathan (except his hair was a little darker and his face a little rounder) than anything else. I dropped his hand and allowed Caspian to step between us again.
"If I may," Reepicheep piped up, stepping into the clearing. High King Peter turned around to look at him. "We have anxiously awaited your return, my liege. Our hearts and swords are at your service." The mouse bowed deeply.
"Oh my gosh, he is so cute!" the youngest girl voiced my own opinion exactly.
"Who said that!" Reepicheep drew his sword and hopped around. I giggled behind my hand.
The girl looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry."
"Oh, uh, Your Majesty! With the greatest respect, I do believe courageous, courteous, or chivalrous might more befit a night of Narnia." He put away his tiny sword as he spoke, and my heart swelled with affection. If I didn't know it would greatly offend him, I would have scooped Reepicheep up into a big hug right then and there.
"Well," High King Peter said, "at least we know some of you can handle a blade."
Oh, no he did not! That was definitely a stab aimed at Caspian. In the immortal words of Stephanie Tanner; how rude!
Reepicheep didn't seem to notice. "Yes indeed," he continued. "And I have recently put it to good use securing weapons for your army, sire."
"Good." I was so intent on glaring at the back of High King Peter's head that I almost forgot to rearrange my face into an innocent expression when he turned around to talk to Caspian. "Because we're going to need every sword we can get."
"Well, then," Caspian replied, "you will probably be wanting yours back." Ohhhh! Burn! Game point, set, and match. High King Peter took his sword and sheathed it, looking annoyed. I almost laughed. I mean, he did start it.
We all started walking again. Caspian picked up his sword as he passed it and put it in his sheath. He fell into step beside me as I grabbed my bag of arrows, so I pointedly looked the other way. "Don't do that again," he said.
Okay, curiosity got the better of me. "Do what again?"
"What you just did. Getting involved in that fight was dangerous. You could have gotten hurt."
"He was about to bash your head in with a rock!" I exclaimed.
"And it could have been yours instead!" He raised his voice at me for the first time, which made me angry all over again.
"Fine! Next time I'll just let your pretty little brains get splattered all over the ground! Hell if I care!" I yelled, throwing my arms up. I probably don't have to say that our argument drew more than a little attention. "You are completely impossible!"
"I am impossible? I am impossible?" By that point, he was yelling too. "You are the impossible one! You cannot keep throwing yourself blindly into dangerous situations! Especially since you have no idea what you're dealing with!" Most of the Narnians around us were deliberately looking away and trying to pretend they couldn't hear us fighting. The two girls, who I guessed to be Queen Susan and Queen Lucy, were walking behind us with the dark-haired boy who had to be King Edmund. All three of them kept casting each other anxious looks.
"What is your problem?" I asked desperately.
"My problem is that you keep doing stupid things like jumping into sword fights and kissing strange men!"
"Is that what this is about?" Caspian didn't answer. He looked away, flexing his fingers in aggravation. "You. Are. Ridiculous." My voice dropped back to normal volume, but stayed just as venomous.
His head whipped around. "What?"
"Let me say this real slow so you can understand," I said through gritted teeth. If he'd known me longer, he would have been aware that I was most volatile when I stopped screaming and started talking through my teeth. "You. Are. Completely. Out of your mind!"
"You're calling me crazy now?" he snapped.
"If you're acting like a huge jerk because I kissed some random soldier, then yes, I am calling you crazy." My voice was deadly low.
Caspian's tone matched mine. "You approached an armed man in the middle of the night and seduced him. He could have done anything to you. Who's the crazy one here?" That one hit a nerve. I stopped in my tracks.
"Don't call me crazy," I warned.
He whirled around. "You are right. You aren't crazy. You cannot possibly be anything less than insane!" My hand connected with his cheek before my brain even had the chance to process the possible consequences of my actions. Everyone around us stopped and stared, but they were only static around my vision. All I could see clearly was Caspian, and even his profile was fuzzy because before him I saw all the terrible things I wanted to do, heard all the nasty things I wanted to say, and felt all the ugly emotions exploding in my chest at the same time. This is what it means to truly see red. This is anger. This is wrath. It scared me, but even that couldn't keep me from thinking and feeling the things I was. He doesn't know, said the rational part of my brain. It's not his fault. He doesn't know. She was ignored.
Slowly, Caspian's hand went to his cheek, and then his head turned and I could see the look of complete and utter shock etched into those features I had so admired only hours before. Now, I had to fight back the vicious part of me that desired to rip them right off his skull. I closed my eyes, trying to think of something- anything that would calm the raging beast inside of me. It was a creature I had not had to fight in a long time. I'd forgotten what to do to tame it. I thought of Shakespeare, of Romeo and Juliet. The soft smooth words swirled through my head and slowly I came down.
When I opened my eyes, everyone was staring at me. Some looked frightened, others concerned. Caspian still looked like he couldn't believe that I had actually hit him. All of the anger in me had died and left me numb. I wasn't even embarrassed to have everyone's eyes on me. I was empty. Some doors are meant to be locked and never opened again, and this would-be King just kicked down the worst of mine and let out all of the things I'd spent years learning to shut away.
I locked eyes with Caspian, and something brought the most ugly phrase in the human language up to my lips. I tried not to say it, but along with my anger so went my control. The words rolled off of my tongue, sharp and bitter, as I walked past him and spoke softly so only he could hear.
"I hate you."
They left a terrible taste in my mouth.
There. I did it. It had to be done. I'm sorry. Please don't shoot me! Just remember the story is a romance, so any angst along the way is just a little part of the big picture! Reviews are nice, but I do expect some yelling.
-Hoshiko
