OKAY WOW. It's been forever with this story. I hope people still read it.
I was originally planning on just leaving this abandoned but I decided to reboot it. So here's the next chapter. Sorry for the lack of action so far in Tyran, I'm still planning what I want to happen in there, but something more intense will happen next chapter.
Thanks for reading...
Rarnus lead the pack to the entrance of the Tyran forest. Peter and Orieus stood the sides of him slightly behind him. Peter took a deep breath and started to urge his unicorn forward when Rarnus stopped him.
"Wait, King Peter-"
Peter stopped and looked at Rarnus waiting for him to reveal why he had told him to wait.
Rarnus turned around to face the troops. "Remember what we discussed last night. The entrance to the forest is easy-it's the easiest part of the journey-but if, and only if, you do not think about your worries while entering. Otherwise, the trees will begin to close and we will have to wait until the next sunrise to try again."
Rarnus looked into everyone's eyes, landing on Peter's last, and holding his gaze the longest. Peter set his resolve and nodded. He had been thinking about Edmund non-stop since he had left the Cair. Satisfied that Peter understood, Rarnus turned around.
"Everyone, take a moment to prepare yourself," Rarnus commanded.
A minute later Rarnus took the first step forward.
8888
Lucy looked up from her book briefly to glance at Edmund who was sleeping somewhat peacefully with the help of a calming draught from the healers. She went back to reading for a few minutes before sighing, and turning her attention to her older sister.
Susan was sitting unmoving in an armchair she had pulled up towards Edmund's bed. She sat rigidly staring at the wall. Lucy sighed and walked across the room to her sister.
"Su?" Lucy said softly.
Susan turned to look at her sister.
"How about we go make some tea and get something to eat?" Lucy said gently, taking her sister's hand.
Susan shook her head, leaving her hand limp in Lucy's.
"Su, you're tired. You should go get some rest. I'll send for you if something in Edmund changes," Lucy tried again. She knew this was a low blow but sometimes this was the only way to get through to Susan when she got like this, "Ed...Pete...and I...we need you to be well enough to help. You need yourself well enough too. I'll have someone send some tea and sandwiches to your room. Go nap," Lucy said pulling Suan out of her chair and walking her to her room.
Susan said nothing in protest, dragging her feet while Lucy lead her. Once Lucy was sure that her sister was situated in bed, she walked back to Edmund's room. Susan would talk when she was ready. She needed time to think about things, and rest. She was like Edmund. They needed space and time before talking about all of the things inside of their heads. It took Lucy and Peter a long time to understand this in their siblings since they both instantly wanted to help if something was wrong, and because Peter and Lucy tended to be instantly vocal about their emotions and ideas.
Opening the door, she found Edmund panting and sitting up in bed. She ran over to her brother.
"Ed? What's wrong? Does something hurt? What's going on?"
Edmund shook his head. "I...I'm fine. It was just a dream." He flopped back down on the pillows and steadied his breathing.
Lucy climbed up on the bed and sat cross-legged on the edge, facing her brother. "Do you want to talk about your...dream…nightmare…?" Lucy trailed off.
Edmund clamped his mouth shut and remained silent. "It helps to talk about it, but you already know that," Lucy said. Edmund was the most experienced with dealing with nightmares.
Edmund slowly pushed himself up and looked into Lucy's eyes before staring at his hands. "I...I don't really remember much, Lu. Just the ending."
"That's okay. You can tell me what you remember."
"It was just..her...her face stark in the darkness, and she said just kept repeating 'your time is running out'", Edmund finished in a hushed voice.
Lucy took a sharp intake of breath and found herself at a loss for words. All the usual comforts of it was just a dream, it wasn't real, it's over now, no longer applied. For all they knew, the last remnants of Jadis were actually speaking to Edmund in his dreams. And if even if they weren't Edmund's time was running out.
"We'll just have to pray to Aslan that Peter comes back in time," Lucy sighed, squeezing her brother's hands before hopping off the bed. "I'm going to go check on Susan."
She didn't see Edmund's face go stony at the mention of Aslan. She didn't hear Edmund whisper so lowly he could barely hear himself, "If Peter comes back at all."
8888
Peter let out a brief sigh of relief. They had made it in about a mile into the Tyran forest. Being in the Tyran forest for the reasons he was, was nothing to be relieved about, but Peter was fearful that he wouldn't be able to quiet his mind long enough. The cool water slipping down Peter's throat also brought him a small sense of relief.
Orieus broke his reverie. "Your majesty."
"Yes?" Peter snapped his head around to look at Orieus.
"Remember what I taught you about vigilance. You will especially need it in this territory," Orieus reminded Peter in the tone he used during lessons.
"Right. You're right," Peter smiled slightly at him and worked to bring all of his senses.
"Orieus!" Rarnus called.
"Yes?"
"Fall back to the end of the troops, make sure no creature or thing is following us," Rarnus commanded.
Orieus nodded briskly and fell back.
Once Orieus was out of earshot, Rarnus fell in step with Peter's unicorn. "Orieus is right, you shouldn't let your senses down too much. But, clearing your mind is also a useful skill to have in life. It's good for you."
Peter looked at Rarnus confused. "Those things are the exact opposite of each other."
"Not really, you'll see in time," Rarnus said with an air of wisdom.
"What do you mean by that?" Peter asked, still confused.
Rarnus opened his mouth to explain before stilling for a moment and screaming, "HALT!"
Seconds later a tree fell three feet in front of them.