Sorry that this one took me so long guys. I spent a week in Newport, then 3 weeks in the New England states. BTW, I highly recommend watching "The Lion King" on broadway if you ever get the chance. Totally amazing!
Mending
It was the happiest night that Miranda had had in a very long time. She sat on the small sofa with Edmund on one side and Lucy on the other. Peter and Susan took arm chairs that were close to the sofa, and it made a comfortable circle. They had turned the lamps down, so now the only light came from the blazing fire in front of them.
It seemed like they had been sitting and talking for hours (but it might have only been 45 minutes) before the question was asked. Miranda had known it was coming.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?"
Miranda turned to Lucy. Though they had not even been talking about it, everyone knew exactly what Lucy was talking about.
"Because in Narnia, I never though about it," Miranda answered, giving Lucy a sad smile. "It never bothered me there, and so, I never worried about it. After a while, I forgot about it."
"How could you forget something like that?" Susan questioned in a frustrated way.
Miranda didn't answer, but gave Susan a bright smile
"For what reason should she have to be reminded?" Edmund asked his sister. Susan had no answer for that.
They continued talking about Narnia for a good while until they heard footsteps in the hall.
"SSSHHH!" Susan quieted them.
The door was opened, and her mom and Mrs. Pevensie looked through the door.
"Miranda. Are you ready to go hon?"
"Whether I'm ready or not, I know we're going," Miranda answered. The Pevensies did not succeed in hiding their laughter.
Mom gave her a small smile, trying to hide her own laughter.
"Well then, come along."
"Yes mom."
With a short good-bye to the others, Miranda left the home of her Kings and Queens.
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Swish. Bump.
Peter shot up when he heard the sound. Instinctively, he put his hand on his side, searching for his sword.
Knock. Knock.
With a knotted brow, Peter picked himself up and out of his bed, and opened his bedroom door.
Edmund stood there, his blue pajamas wrinkled and his hair all tussled up. Tears were streaming down his cheeks.
"Ed!" Peter exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
"Would you keep it down Pete?" Edmund snapped. Then, he said in a quite voice;
"May I come in?"
"Sure," Peter answered, becoming more puzzled by the second. He stepped back to let his brother through, then quickly closed the door. The two brothers jumped onto Peter's bed, and huddled closer together with covers around them.
"Now," Peter began, "What is it?"
Edmund didn't answer for a few minutes. Peter didn't push it.
Finally, a broken sob erupted from Edmund as he began to explain.
"She looked awful Peter!"
Peter was surprised. It wasn't like Edmund to get upset about something like this.
"Edmund..."
"No Peter! Listen to me!"
Peter shut his open mouth.
"Peter. I saw her before she was healed by Aslan. I saw her before any of you did." Edmund broke off for a second, then began again. "She's even worse then before. And did you look at her eyes?"
Peter shook his head.
"Peter,.... Peter, in her eyes, I saw no hope," and Edmund broke off again.
Peter nearly leapt off of the bed.
"What do you mean you saw no hope?"
"I mean that she does not hold hope."
"Edmund, that's crazy. Of all the people that I ever knew, only Lucy outdid Miranda in keeping hope. She would never give up hope."
"Yes Peter. Never give up hope in us. But she has given up hope for herself. If you could have seen it like I saw..." Edmund choked again.
Stretching his arms out, Peter cradled his brother in his arms. Neither one moved for a long time, and when they did, it was to lay down in the bed and fall fast asleep.
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"You can't protect them," the white witch leered at her.
"I will protect them with my life Jadis."
"You have no more life to give, stupid girl. Did you honestly think that you could keep them away from me forever?"
She saw a flash of blue light, and saw no more.
GASP
Miranda bolted up in her bed, cold sweat dripping down her forehead. She reached for the knife by her side. Then she remembered.
"Easy Miranda. Easy old girl. She's dead. She's dead."
But the image of Jadis trapped within the ice reappeared in her mind. If she could come back then, couldn't she come back again?
Miranda lay back down, but no real sleep came to her the rest of the night.
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"Mom. Mom what's going on?"
"Just come on!"
Miranda tried to pull her hand away, but Lynn slapped her arm. She wanted this to be a surprise. Oh, did she owe Helen one.
She opened the last door and pushed her daughter inside. Standing in the middle of the room was an elderly man with merry eyes and a wise face.
"Ah, Mrs. Kellen. I'm so glad that you came."
"Thank you Professor," Lynn answered. Turning her head to her confused daughter, she said;
"Mrs. Pevensie has arranged for you to have a tutor to keep up with your schooling."
The old man stood up and stretched out his hand.
"How do you do Miranda? My name is Digory Kirke."
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Nearly every week, the Pevensies and the Kellens met up with each other. Whether it was for just dinner or a whole day, they always managed to get together. It was soon told to everyone about Miranda's tutor, and there was an even greater delight for the younger ones. And as time went by, there seemed to be an improvement in Miranda's condition. Color came back to her cheeks, and she began to eat more. For weeks on end, she did not have any attacks.
Finally, Lynn approached Helen on this.
"I want to thank you. I think that being with your children is giving life back to my daughter."
"Believe me," Helen replied, "No one is more surprised than I am."
Peter and Edmund began to notice that her eyes seemed brighter, and Lucy and Susan noticed that she seemed more lively.
For two solid months, this went on. By this point, it was well near Christmas time. The Pevensie children got off school for the holidays, and the two families saw each other more often. There was decorations put up, trees trimmed up, and cookies baked (which would actually end up in a full out flour fight).
Finally, at a week before Christmas, the church announced the annual Christmas ball that was to be held at the church hall.
Lucy and Susan were quite a bit more excited at this than the others were.
"Oh, we'll be able to dress up!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Oh, I haven't danced in so long," Susan said. Then, with a swish of her head, said;
"Miranda; I could get you ready."
"I don't think so!" Miranda all but shouted. "The last time you did that, I ended up in a very ritzy dress with about 4 layers of make-up on and so much jewelry on me, I couldn't hold my neck up."
Peter and Edmund couldn't hold back their snickers at this memory. Susan had complained to Miranda that she looked more like a boy than a girl, and had dared her to let Susan get her all dressed up. Miranda had agreed, and had ended up looking hideous. She had gotten her revenge, however, dumping Susan in the ocean when the King of Archenland had arrived. Susan came out dripping wet and looking like a raccoon. Prince Corin had the nerve to fight Miranda after this, but he too ended up dripping wet. King Lune had laughed during the whole ordeal.
"I'll let my mom help me, thank you very much," Miranda growled.
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Three long skirts draped the bed, and clothes were being thrown out of the closet. Lynn had to keep herself from laughing out loud. Miranda was a person that never kept a nice dress for long, and Lynn had warned her that someday she would need one. But Miranda hadn't listened, and now she was wanting one.
With a sly grin, Lynn went to her room and opened her closet door. With a push and a pull, she brought out a red box.
"Miranda. Could you come here for a second?"
She heard a loud bump, and then a much softer: "Coming."
Lynn started to laugh.
"Oh, you think that's funny?" Miranda teased, coming into the room with a hand on her head.
"I told you to be careful about what you put in there."
"Alright then. I've learned my lesson."
"Yes, but you have yet to learn another." Lynn pushed the red box towards her daughter. "Open it."
Confused eyes looked at the box, then back at her. Miranda took the box, opened it, and gave a loud gasp.
Lynn didn't hesitate, but picked up the evergreen fabric and pulled an entire dress out of the box. It was a full length dress. The dark green fabric felt like heaven on her fingers.
"I found this in some of my old things," Lynn explained as Miranda took the dress from her fingers. "I fixed it up and made it a little more modern day. I had a feeling you would be wanting it."
Miranda didn't say a word, her mouth open in a large "O".
"Well go ahead. Try it on."
Still stunned, Miranda went back into her room and closed the door. Eight minutes later, she walked back out. Now it was Lynn's turn to gasp.
The fabric looked perfect against her skin, hair, and eyes. It swished around her like a ballroom gown, and the style was simple enough for her modesty.
"Mom... I can't wear this. This is too... too...."
Miranda didn't finish. But Lynn understood.
"Honey, I want you to wear it. I want you to feel beautiful for once in your life."
Miranda looked up in surprise.
"How did...?"
"Because I went through the same thing," Lynn answered. Then, without thinking, she said;
"You remind me so much of your Dad."
"Really?"
"More than you realize. You have his strength, his courage, his independence. You even have his eyes."
Thinking about him made her feel like crying, but in a good way.
"Well Mom, if I have all of that from Dad, then I have your heart, your faith, and your smile."
Tears were now pouring down both of their cheeks as they held each other in their arms.
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Two weeks later, the Pevensies arrived at the church hall for the dance, with excited eyes and flushed cheeks. All the men (boys) were wearing matching black tuxedos, each one looking quite handsome. Mrs Pevensie was wearing a slim black dress with her hair down in curls. Susan was wearing a dark blue dress with bare shoulders, and her hair was up in a complicated bun. She wore a few layers of make-up, but you hardly noticed. Lucy was wearing a light blue dress with long sleeves, and her auburn hair curled into thin ringlets.
The moment they entered the hall, their eyes met the sight of beautiful candle light. Red and green decorations of holly and berries hung across the entire room, making it seem more like the inside of a castle than a church hall. Soft music began to play, and the Pevensies paired up; Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie were on pair, Peter and Susan were another, and Edmund and Lucy were the last.
However, within two minutes of dancing, someone tapped Peter's shoulder. Peter turned to the face of Benjamin Stew. He was a tall, muscled young man, with dark brown hair and eyes. He was also not in favor of Edmund or Peter.
"If I might cut in?" he asked.
Peter turned to Susan, who was nodding vigorously. He reluctantly gave her hand to Benjamin's, and went to sit down. He always hated it when boys started looking at his sisters. Between Benjamin Stew and Gary Barnes, he had his hands full. He watched Benjamin and Susan carefully, ready to step in if there should be any problems.
But his attention was quickly grabbed by someone he recognized. Mrs Kellen was walking in, looking exquisite in a long red gown that shimmered in the candle's glow. Her blonde hair had been let down so that it reached down her back like a river of gold, and it waved like a river's flow. She wore a light layer of make-up, and cherry red lipstick.
Peter stood up, and gave her a courtly bow.
"How do you do this evening Mrs. Kellen?"
Mrs. Kellen gave a little giggle.
"I am doing quite well this evening Sir. Pevensie. And you?"
"I'd feel better if I knew that my sister was dancing with someone else."
Mrs. Kellen laughed. Both turned when they noticed someone coming towards them.
If someone had come up and took Peter's heart out, he couldn't have been more surprised by what he saw.
Miranda wore a gown of emerald green, which made her look like she had just walked out of a forest. Her hair was in a half-bun, and the half that was let down was slightly curled. She wore no make-up, but she didn't seem to need it. She gave a bright smile, and the effect was complete.
"Well Peter. Are you going to stand there gawking all day?" Mrs. Kellen whispered beside him.
Peter could feel himself give a slight blush.
"I think that I'll go and get some refreshment," Mrs. Kellen continued, then left to get a drink.
Peter walked over towards his friend, still shocked. He stared at her a few minutes before Miranda said;
"For goodness sake Peter! Is it that much of a shock?"
He gave a loud bark of laughter and relaxed again.
"Of course not," he answered. "I just wasn't expecting it."
"Oh, well thanks for the compliment," Miranda replied, rolling her eyes.
Suddenly, Peter saw a group of people that he dearly hoped to avoid. Mary Weston, Sue Barker, and Anna Adams were walking his way.
"Dance with me," he suddenly whispered to Miranda.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me... Dance with me!" He was getting a little worried now.
"Is that an order? Because if it is, you should know that I have two left feet."
"I don't care if you had feet the size of an elephant," Peter replied, training his eyes at the group now coming closer. "Just dance with me. Please."
Miranda noticed his eye movement.
"Well, alright. Since you said please."
Peter took Miranda's hand and led her to the floor. But not before he heard; "his cerulean eyes."
He felt his cheeks flush as he took Miranda's hand and led her through the steps of the dance. She was right. She did have two left feet. But he hardly noticed as he thought of what they had said.
"Calm down your highness," Miranda whispered as she misstepped.
His head jerked to face her.
"What do you mean...?"
"I heard what they said sire. And I know how you hate it."
Peter sighed. That word had been used in too many "love" letters to him for him to enjoy it whatsoever. A Calormen princess, a Terebinthian countess, a Duchesse of Archenland: they had all used the words "cerulean eyes" in their letters. His sisters had said the word for a while, but stopped when they saw how much he disliked it. Edmund used it from time to time to tease him. But all other Narnians knew that they should never mention the word "cerulean" in his presence. His blue eyes would flash with anger, and he would have to leave the room and throw something before he was alright again.
"When are people going to get that my eyes are blue, not cerulean?" Peter growled.
"When the world is perfect my king."
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"My goodness. She does have two left feet."
Lynn laughed at Helen's talk, and Helen smiled.
"I told you she did," Lynn chuckled.
The two turned back to Peter and Miranda. Peter was now patiently showing Miranda the steps to the dance, making her go slowly.
"Peter may have sore feet tomorrow," Helen joked. Lynn laughed again.
"So," Helen began cautiously, "How are things looking?"
Lynn's smile didn't falter.
"Dr. Johnson sees more improvement in her in these last three months than any other doctor has in three years. I think that she may yet make it."
Helen felt her heart leap with joy for her friend. Things might yet turn out alright after all.
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Okay! Tell me what you think.