Hey everyone! I am happy to announce that my hands/wrists are 98 better!
Thanks to Terra for reviewing-Terra, you will just have to wait and see!
Chapter 13: Shock
A few weeks passed, and life went on. Then one especially bright morning, one of the servants came into the Great Hall while the five Monarchs were eating breakfast.
He bowed. "Good morning Your Majesties and Your Royal Highness. I apologize for interrupting your meal, but I have been informed that a transport bringing both our messenger and on from Arcadia has been spotted. It should be here in a little over an hour."
The servant left, and Lucy clapped. "Oh Nerina, isn't it exciting!? You will finally be able to go home, not that we want you to. Nerina, are you all right? You don't seem very happy."
Nerina simply sat staring at the floral centerpiece. She looked up and smiled, but it was evident that she was not happy. "Oh, I'm fine, just surprised, that's all. I mean, I came here in May and it's now July. I wonder what took them so long?"
"I'm sure it was nothing bad," said Susan. She hesitated, then spoke again slowly. "Um, Nerina, I think it would be better if we met with the messenger first, to talk with them, and then you come in. Just so we can make sure everything is well."
"Sure," Nerina nodded. "I will wait up in my room." She finished her breakfast and left.
"What's going on Susan?" asked Edmund.
"Yes, why did you send Nerina away, when she is finally going to see someone that will take her home?" Lucy inquired.
"Peter and I discussed it one night," Susan explained, "We want to be able to prepare whoever it is for Nerina's appearance. How would you like it if someone you hadn't seen in a long time came before you, looking like Nerina does, with no preparation?"
"Good point," the younger two agreed.
NTMNTMNTMNTM
And so they waited, and when word came that the transport was very close, the four went outside and waited in front of the castle.
They did not have to wait long, for soon a large blue and silver carriage arrived, pulled by four white stallions. The carriage was enormous, and filled with many trunks of all shapes and sizes.
The rider halted the horses and leapt out. He looked to be about Susan's age, with short, dark hair, and green eyes. He was tall, and walked with a confident stride toward the Pevensies.
"Greetings from Arcadia," he said. "I hope you don't mind that I dropped the Narnian messenger off at his home, since we passed it on the way here. I have a message for the Monarchs of Narnia. Am I to assume that you are the Kings and Queens?"
"Yes we are," said Peter, stepping forward. He introduced everyone. "And who, may we ask, are you?"
"I am Adelphos," said the young man.
"Adelphos?! The Adelphos!?" exclaimed Lucy. "You mean Nerina's best friend?"
The Arcadian's eyes twinkled as he smiled. "I take it then that she has spoken of me. And that she is alive and well," he added, pointing to the statues behind the group.
"Well, not exactly," said Susan.
Adelphos' face fell. "Why? What happened?"
This question lead into the story of everything that had happened thus far. Adelphos listened intently. When the Pevensies were finished, he spoke.
"Well by the sounds of it she is doing well," he said. "May I see her?"
"Of course," said Susan. They all went inside, but not before making sure that the horses would be brought to the stables and the trunks carried into Cair Paravel.
Edmund sent a servant to find Nerina, and soon after the large doors to the sitting room they were seated in opened, and Nerina timidly entered.
Adelphos immediately stood up. For a moment all the two could do was stare at each other. Adelphos was the first to speak.
"Nerina," he said in disbelief.
"Adelphos?! You're the messenger?!" asked Nerina smiling. "I can't believe it. It's so good to see you." She walked to him and hugged him.
Watched my life pass me by- in the rearview mirror
Pictures frozen in time- are becoming clearerI don't wanna waste another day- stuck in the shadow of my mistakes
He pulled back, still staring at her. The Pevensies told him not to say anything about her appearance, and he didn't but he did silently raise a trembling hand to her face, gently touching her scars. She responded by pulling back like he had burned her, but he grabbed her and hugged her. He began to sing.
"I never thought I would see your face again." He had a beautiful and strong tenor voice. He continued to sing, and tears came down his face. He sang about how he thought he had lost Nerina forever, but here she was, in his arms. Finishing, he began a more up-beat one.
"Together again, we're together, again," he grinned and gestured toward Nerina, who just smiled back.
He looked concerned. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I am perfectly fine," she responded.
"Aren't you going to sing the next part?" he asked with uneasiness.
Nerina just stared back.
"Nerina?" he tried again. "Don't you want to sing?"
"No," was the response.
"Why not? I feel so happy I could fly! Don't you feel the same?"
"No, should I?" she asked.
Adelphos took a step back. He was silent for a bit, thinking, then he spoke. "I brought you gifts from everyone back home. When Arcadia learned I was going to bring her Princess back home, everyone brought things for you and the Narnian rulers. That's what took me so long. That, and the ice in the cave. It's slowly melting, so it was dangerous and time consuming, but worth it in the end." He grabbed her hand. "Come and see what Arcadia gave you." He turned to the others. "You too Your Majesties."
They all followed him to the foyer. All the trunks had been brought in, and Adelphos started opening them, looking for something.
"Ah! Here we go. This trunk is for High King Peter."
Peter came forward and looked inside. The trunk was filled with goblets, capes, bed sheets, and many other wonderful things.
"Thank you," replied Peter in awe.
There were trunks for Edmund, Susan, and Lucy as well. Each trunk was filled with similar things, except the girls each received a jewelry box.
"Please accept these humble gifts as a thank you from Arcadia to Narnia and her Monarchs."
"We are just happy we could help." Lucy smiled.
"And now for you Nerina," said Adelphos with a flourish. "All the gold trunks are for you. The blue ones are mine."
He opened the first one. "I hope you have not grown in your absence, dear friend, for your people do not think you have." He laughed. "They sent so many clothes, but they were tailored to your old sizes. The people were so joyous they forgot you probably grew."
"That's alright," said Susan. "Our seamstresses are wonderful and can fix any problems."
The trunks were filled with a whole new wardrobe for Nerina, complete with evening gowns and nightwear, all done in the Arcadian style. There were trunks filled with shoes, capes, and the last and smallest one contained jewelry. The Pevensies were amazed at the jewels in the trunk. Adelphos found a tiny box and opened it in front of Nerina.
"I believe these belong to you," he said, smiling.
Nerina looked at him confused, and looked in the box. She stared at its contents for a moment, then blankly looked back up at Adelphos.
"Don't you remember these?" he asked sadly.
She just stared at him.
"These are your bell rings," he said gently.
"Oh! Of course," Nerina responded, but she did not sound too enthusiastic.
"You can put them on," Adelphos said, the disappointment showing in his voice. He watched as his friend took out the ten silver rings, each with a tiny silver jingle bell and charm hanging from it. Adelphos put down the box and put the rings on Nerina's fingers. Every finger wore one except the thumb, and the ring finger received two.
"These rings are traditional wear for an Arcadian Princess," he explained to the siblings. "They ring when-"
He stopped for Nerina was shaking her hand, but no jingling was heard.
"They ring when she is happy," he finished in a rush.
The trunks were brought up to their owner's room, and Adelphos went to a large guest suite.
After lunch the Pevensies let Adelphos spend time with Nerina. When Adelphos came onto the veranda that night to talk with the siblings, he looked very distressed.
"Nerina went to bed," he explained, sitting down on a bench. "However, I have something urgent to discuss with the four of you if you will permit me."
"By all means," Peter said.
Adelphos took a deep breath before beginning. "I cannot bring Nerina home in her current state. She is not herself, and is still very sick."
I've been dying inside -- little by little Nowhere to go -- I'm goin outta my mind An endless circle -- runnin from myself until You gave me a reason for standing still"But she has been well except for her voice, head, and wounds since she first played the piano," said a confused Susan.
"With all due respect Your Majesties, you are all mistaken. The Nerina you see is acting normal, because compared to what she was like when you first found her, she is a lot better. However, the Nerina I talked to today is nothing like her real self. She hardly remembers anything about Arcadia, save her family, friends, and a little of the castle. She does not remember the races, sledding, dances, and even worse, the theater! That story she told you- the one about Princess Betha? That is not just a story. That is a musical our group performs. Arcadians are separated into groups, and each group performs in their theater. Nerina and I are in the same group, and she and I always play Desta and Trevet. That explains why she acted strange while telling the story- because part of her knew there was more to what she was saying. I don't suppose she has sung, danced, or flown for you?"
"Flown?!" the Pevensies exclaimed.
"I will take that as a 'no'," Adelphos said sadly. "Perhaps I should explain something. After Aslan created Narnia, he walked on the beach. While he was walking he heard a beautiful melody come from an undeterminable place. He loved the joyous melody so much that he decided to combine the beautiful ocean and music into a new people. He created the first Arcadians and gave them the power over water, their Queen power over ice, and placed them in what is now Arcadia.
"So you see, Arcadians are part of the ocean, and part pure music. Because of this, Arcadians all have musical talent. We can all play every instrument, sing, and dance, but there are certain things that connect with us. That thing becomes our specialty. For example, the King concentrates on opera and the trumpet, while the Queen simply concentrates on the harp. The heir to the throne and his betrothed dance mostly, and I sing, dance, and play the guitar. Whenever an Arcadian is filled with extreme joy that they cannot contain, they fly. Flying only happens when they are filled with a special joy, a joy that is usually caused by extreme emotion while we are doing something musical."
Fallin' faster -- barely breathing
Give me somethin to believe in
Tell me it's not all in my head
Take what's left…
Make me whole once again
"Oh, I wish we could see a show! Arcadia sounds so wonderful!" sighed Lucy.
"You should come visit sometime. Arcadia will always welcome you all for saving Nerina. Now, I've done some thinking, and I think I have figured Nerina's sickness out. I did a lot of studying after Nerina's kidnapping. I studied and read books on other countries and the history of Arcadia, so that I would know everything about anything that could happen to Nerina. Every Arcadian knows that they must make music and drink water to live. My guess is that the first time Nerina's wounds went away was because she was in water again, meaning that she had been deprived of it before. The same thing with the pool as well. However, music is more vital to an Arcadia, and I believe that that, that, guy," Adelphos spat, "did something to Nerina that made her forget music, and that water really isn't what she needs to fully get better- it's music. Her lack of water was not the major problem, which is why the wounds came back- because the water only healed them for a little bit. She needs time for those to heal, and music to help the rest of her heal. We have a stronger bond to music, and being away from it so long is what caused Nerina to start dying. An Arcadian can only go so long without music. I just thank Aslan that she remembered she played piano before it was too late.
I've been dying inside you see
I'm goin outta my mind
"That brings us to the present. With your permission, Your Majesties, I wish to devote tomorrow to getting Nerina back to normal. I propose that the six of us spend the day doing things that will help Nerina remember everything."
I'm just runnin' in circles in my mind
"Please do, you know her better," said Peter.
Will you take what's left?
Adelphos grinned. "Thank you Your Majesties, thank you. And now, I must take my leave and tell the cooks what to prepare. I simply need to be shown the way to the kitchens."
Will you take what's left?
After being given directions, he left. Peter stood up a few moments later.
"Well," he stretched, "it sounds like tomorrow is going to be a long day. We'd all better get some sleep."
Will you take what's left?
And that they did.
Will you take what's left of me?
Song Used-What's Left of Me by Nick Lachey
Please R&R
Haras