Oh my goodness. I have to admit, I nearly cried when I read all the reviews I've been receiving for my story! Special thanks to Emily (.narnia.) for your review! My eyes genuinely watered! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Also special thanks to Stormie (LuLu14168) and pixie dust for your reviews! Just because of all these reviews, I've decided to post two chapters today!
When I awoke, Mrs. Beaver and Merie were in my room fretting about. They held bundles of red and gold cloth in their hands and pin cushions full with needles.
"Oh! It's good to see you finally awake, Mistress. You've nearly slept the entire morning away!" Mrs. Beaver exclaimed as she rushed towards me, pulling me from bed.
"Truly, Lady Ashlynn, you should learn to rise sooner. The queens arise with the morning sun and not a moment after, unless they take ill. Surely if you wish to act like a lady you should follow their stead." Merie scolded as she helped Mrs. Beaver drape the silk material across my body.
"Well, good morning to both of you as well." I grumbled. Merie smiled at me before measuring my waist and bust.
"You have a decent figure, Miss Ashlynn. But you are too firm! A lady ought to be soft and allow the man to revel in muscles." She scolded me again. I rolled my eyes at her. I wasn't that toned. I didn't even have hard abs or arms. I just wasn't pudgy. My parents had been sticklers about exercise, always requiring me to do so every day. Since I had been in Narnia, I had not exercised. It felt good to not have to worry about overbearing parents forcing me to work out three hours a day.
After an hour of being measured, poked, and nearly suffocated in fabric, Mrs. Beaver thanked Merie and bid me farewell. She took off with all my measurements and all of the fabrics, promising to create one of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen. I thanked her and, when the door shut behind her, turned to glare at Merie.
"I truly despise you at times." I informed her. She giggled at me and ushered me towards the bathroom. She put a bath together and perfumed it with a delightful flowery scent. I climbed in and washed myself thoroughly. As I was bathing, she washed my hair with delicate tenderness.
"As you know, Miss, the ball is tonight." Merie started. I actually didn't know, but I didn't say anything to her. "You will have your gown later this afternoon, but you aren't allowed to leave your room before then. Susan created the rule sometime last year. She stated that Narnian women must be pampered and preened so that they are the most beautiful women at the ball." Merie stated with pride.
I grimaced. "That seems so material."
Merie gave me a strange look but said nothing more.
I found myself then being pulled from the tub with a huge towel being wrapped around my shoulders. Merie led me to the vanity and started brushing my hair for me.
"I can brush my own hair, Merie." She smiled at me and handed me the brush.
"You are not to leave the room today, Miss. Please don't forget. I'll go fetch you some lunch." She flitted away quickly, leaving me to brush my hair.
I sighed and ran the brush through my knotted and damp hair, worrying not necessarily about the ball itself, but more about the people at the ball. I had been to school dances before, and I had even been to some clubs, not to mention all the bars I had played at with my band. I was positive that the Narnian ball was going to be unlike anything else I had attended. I was excited in the sense that I was curious about the ball, but I was nervous because the only people in Narnia I knew were the Pevensie's, Merie, and Mrs. Beaver.
I shivered when a breeze rustled my hair and turned to see my balcony door open. I walked over to it and stepped outside. It was noon. I sighed, realizing I was stuck in my room until night. I looked over to the door, contemplating how long it would be until Merie returned.
I smiled mischievously and ran to my closet, pulling on trousers and a shirt. I watched the door a moment longer before running back to my balcony.
There was a tree a little to the right of my balcony. The branches of the tree reached over and gently caressed the decorative railing I was leaning against. The drop from my balcony to the stone ground below was about fifteen feet, so it wasn't that terrible a fall. Basically, I wouldn't necessarily die if my plan didn't work.
I reached out and took hold of the tree's thickest branch and climbed across it to the trunk. It actually took me several minutes to do so, but nothing memorable about the climb truly comes to mind. I reached the trunk of the tree and slowly lowered myself to the ground, before taking off running. I reached the garden and found it not surprisingly empty.
I meandered around the garden for several minutes or so before plopping down on a stone bench. I inhaled the scents of the garden deeply and felt a serene calm overcome me. The calm was unfortunately interrupted.
"What in the world are you wearing?" A humorous voice questioned me. I opened my eyes and saw Peter looking down at me with a grin. Edmund was standing behind him with a much smaller grin, but a grin nonetheless. My heart raced. I noticed both of them were wearing red and gold tunics.
I smiled back at them. "Where I come from, girls wear pants and look damn good in them." I stood up and twirled for the men, whose eyebrows shot upward.
"Aren't those trousers a little small?" Edmund questioned, blushing as he did so. I looked down and noticed that they were the smaller pair of trousers Mrs. Beaver had sewn for me.
"I've worn tighter." I explained with a nonchalant shrug. Peter laughed and shook his head.
"I don't see how, milady. It was a pleasure seeing you." He bowed and Edmund followed suit.
"And you two as well. Where are you heading off to?" I asked.
"We were on our way to the practice field for a duel." Peter explained with a proud grin.
"Peter's pride is sore from our last duel and he thinks it necessary to risk his ego even more in another." Edmund explained with a smirk. I couldn't resist the urge to smile at him.
Peter turned and glared at Edmund. "I will win."
"You've said that every time, and it's never become truth."
I laughed at the bickering boys.
"May I come along?" I asked, excited to watch a sword fight.
"Have you ever used a sword?" Peter asked.
"I mean to watch, not participate, and no. I haven't."
"Sure. Peter needs to be humiliated in front of someone for a change." Edmund said, smiling good-naturedly at his brother who glared at him mockingly.
"We will see who is humiliated, Brother." Peter retorted with a smile.
I grinned at the two of them and followed them to the practice fields. I sat down in the grass and leaned against the fence surrounding the dueling area when we arrived. Both Edmund and Peter were warming up with their swords, doing nifty spins and moves at very fast speeds. I was a little worried that one of them may get hurt.
"I know it may look dangerous, Milady, but you needn't be worried. We men know how to handle our swords." Peter stated dramatically. I threw my head back and laughed loudly.
"Wow. That was a "that's what he said joke," if I ever saw one." I commented, laughing some more.
"That is what I said." Peter stated, confused. Edmund looked confused as well.
I looked at them disbelievingly for a few moments before explaining to them the "that's what he/she said" joke. They were both embarrassed at first, but after a few moments of mad blushing, they started laughing along with me.
"Alright Pete," Edmund started, "Let's get on with it."
It happened so suddenly that I flinched. In a flash of red and metal, the two brother leapt at one another without warning. They were moving so fast it was almost as though they were a blur. I was so engrossed in watching them fight that the world around me began to disappear, save for their mad dance.
Peter was a lot thicker than Edmund, so it was obvious that he was physically stronger. If he and Edmund's swords became locked, Peter could push down on Edmund effortlessly. However, every time he would bring his sword towards Edmund, Edmund would dodge it or counter attack with lightning speed. Peter couldn't use his strength against Edmund because Edmund was too cunning to let that happen.
The fight continued for a few minutes before Edmund disarmed Peter in an incredibly sly and quick move. The look on Peter's face was so amusing that I burst out laughing. Edmund smiled over at me as Peter frowned.
"It's not funny." Peter said angrily.
"It is. Your face is priceless." I remarked, still laughing. By now, Edmund had joined in as well.
"Well, I'd like to see your face when he destroys you like he did me."
"I assure you, my face would not be of shock. I am well aware that he would destroy me in a lot less time than he did you. Though, it didn't take as long as I expected." I regretted adding the last part at the look on his face as his brother burst out laughing louder than the first time. Peter was fuming.
"You think you're funny?" Peter asked menacingly.
I couldn't resist. "Sometimes. Your brother obviously agrees with me." Edmund and I shared a smile as Peter marched over to me. He stood over me and glared.
"What?" I demanded.
"Well go on. You may have witty words, but I'd like to see if you can handle a sword as well as you handle your words." Peter demanded.
I rolled my eyes. "We both know I can't 'handle a sword,' as you so fondly call it. I'm just teasing you, King Peter."
"I don't care. Here," He held his sword out to me. Edmund stopped laughing and tried to control his smile.
"Come on, Pete. It's all in good fun. She's never held a sword before.. You know she'll be no good."
I glared at Edmund. "You don't know that."
"You said so yourself not two minutes ago." Edmund retorted with an annoyed look. I looked away from him, ignoring my mistake.
"Go on. Let's see your face when he disarms you." Peter commanded, thrusting the sword in my hands and pushing me towards the arena.
The sword was heavy in my hands and I had trouble holding it up. I walked over to Edmund and gave him a 'what do I do now?' look. He smirked at the way I was holding the sword and turned to Peter.
"Is this really necessary, Pete?"
"Yes. Go on. Disarm her." He replied, gesturing towards me with his hand.
"Should I just throw my sword down now?" I asked sarcastically.
"You could try and hold on to it." Edmund suggested with a smile on his face.
"I can barely hold onto it just standing here. What's going to happen when you bang your sword against mine?" Both boys laughed at me for the way I phrased my question.
"Go on, Ed. Cream her." Peter called with a smile. I glared at him.
"Why don't you..." I started, but didn't finish. Edmund had decided to attack me when I wasn't paying attention.
I'm not quite sure how to explain what happened. One moment I was in the process of berating Peter for being a sore loser, and the next, it was like my world was in slow motion. With reflexes faster than I knew I had, I spun around to face my attacker and my arms, of their own accord and strength, brought my sword up to clash with Edmund's, effectively blocking his attempt to disarm me. It was almost as though it were muscle memory. I didn't even have to think about defending myself or using the sword. My body knew how and did it without being commanded to by my mind.
The clang of the metal swords clashing together reverberated throughout the now silent dueling area. Edmund had stumbled backwards with the force of my block and had nearly dropped his sword. His eyes were wide and his mouth open in shock. I realized that I was crouched in a very defensive and aggressive position, and stood up as quickly as possible. I didn't remember getting into such a position, and the knowledge that my body had done so as though I had been doing so all my life frightened me.
I glanced over at Peter and saw equal amounts of shock on his face.
"How did you do that?" Edmund asked, completely baffled.
"I don't know." I stuttered, looking around the practice field as though I could find the answer to his question in the grass somewhere.
"You said you've never used a sword before!" Peter called, standing up warily.
"I haven't" I replied, dropping the sword to the ground as though the metal had burned me.
"You haven't?" Edmund asked sarcastically.
"No, I...that had to have been a lucky block." I replied with a nervous smile. I had no idea where that had come from.
"You don't get lucky in sword fights. Blocks, attacks, defensive movements, all of that requires years of practice and experience." Peter explained, giving me an odd look.
"I swear, I have never held a sword. I've never even been on a sports team. That had to be luck..." Again, Edmund lunged at me before I could finish my sentence. And, once again, my body reacted accordingly. I dodged his lunge and dove for my sword, flipping forward and turning around in a defensive position to face my attacker. Edmund came at me again, and I met him with my sword.
It was almost as if I were watching a movie. I had no real control of my movements. I mean, I did. But, it seemed so natural for me to be sword fighting. It was almost like breathing. I blocked, defended, attacked, twirled, and slashed. It was like dance, and I was the lead. In the end, I was standing over a weaponless Edmund who was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, while I had barely broken a sweat and was breathing normal. I found his shocked and angry countenance completely endearing and found myself blushing at my thoughts.
I threw my sword away from me yet again and held out a hand to help Edmund to his feet. He didn't accept my hand and chose to stay sitting on the ground.
"That is not luck." Edmund gritted out, as glared at me from the ground.
"I don't know what that was." I replied quietly. I made eye contact with Edmund and watched as his anger seemed to boil hotter.
"You even fight like her!" Edmund shouted, jumping to his feet and glaring hatefully at me. "Can I not escape this torment?"
I gave him a disapproving look. "Torment is an accomplishment. It means what you feel is real."
He faced dropped into shock. I glanced over at Peter and saw his face identical to Edmund's. I looked back at the dark king and saw him looking at me with determination.
"You are Ashlynn." He whispered. I gave him a disbelieving look before responding.
"Yes, but not the one you want." I turned around and saw Peter watching me with a contemplative look. I ran away from the field before anyone could speak again.
Thanks again to all my reviewers! It really helps me a lot to know that I'm doing a good enough job to keep you all entertained.