All characters and character likenesses are copyright of C.S. Lewis and everyone affiliated with him and his estate. I only own parts of the plot and any miscellaneous characters I may introduce.
This is a heavily alternative universe based on the Chronicles of Narnia series, and I do not intend to offend any purists out there. Again, I own only parts of the plot.
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'Return to Gold' – Chapter 5 – Worlds Meet Pt. 2
"High King Peter?"
"Yes?" The tall golden man asked absently, attention focused on whom Caspian could only guess was Queen Lucy.
"So the horn really worked?" Nickabrick asked, sounding surprised. Caspian wanted to reach over and hit the dwarf on the head and tell him to mind his manners, but he also knew that he was no better, gawking openly at the rulers of the Golden Age.
"Hune has never failed me." Susan returned as a reply. "Every time it touched my lips, help came swiftly."
"See." Trufflehunter spoke to the assembled Narnians. "The legends are true. Help has come in the form of our greatest monarchs."
"So you believe in the tales?" Edmund asked. "Even in our time, there were those that doubted."
"Not only do we believe, but their strength has sustained us these many years." Reepicheep answered with a flourishing bow. "We are honored and grateful to be graced with your presence."
"Trumpkin has told us about the troubles that plague Narnia today." Peter swiftly got down to business and Caspian felt adrift.
He knew that the High King had not only more sovereignty, but experience at warcraft, and that left the young prince in a place of feeling like he had been caught playing a game he wasn't yet ready for. It was in that moment that he decided that he would refer to the siblings until Aslan saw fit to crown him king.
"I just can't believe that Aslan would let things slip so far." Lucy looked around with sad eyes, not really seeing the world around her. Caspian understood.
His sheltered perception of reality had only been recently shattered by the dawning that Miraz really did intend on murdering him. Before it had merely been a passing thought, easily forgotten. Caspian naively thought that once he reached 21, which was in seven days, Miraz would relinquish his hold over the throne as the Lord Protector. Now he knew the truth.
He suspected that Queen Lucy was feeling the same disillusionment about Aslan. While she might share a special bond with the Great Cat that no one else could claim, it did not stop him from letting the course of history take its path according to his will. The lion was their God, and as deity tends to do, people are only told their story, and even then, it is never complete. He could clearly see the past as well as all the probable futures to come. He would only act in a way that would ensure the ends were met and destinies rightly fulfilled.
"Yes, but you are here now." Caspian spoke up, hoping to reassure the woman in red. "Perhaps this has been His plan all along; to bring us together in a destiny we can only guess at."
"I never would have thought it Lu." Edmund interjected. "You have finally found someone with as much faith as Aslan as you."
Lucy flashed Caspian a luminous smile before addressing her brother.
"In a human, maybe, but all the Narnians have faith stronger than mine."
"Not all of us." Trufflehunter nodded towards Nickabrick, who stood with his arms crossed and feet planted apart as if ready for a fight. Caspian's hackles rose; there was something off about the dwarf that didn't sit well with him.
"Don't worry." Lucy smiled, but it wasn't warm. She was as cold and as hard as Susan at that moment, making a chill race down the prince's spine. "He will come to believe. Unbelievers always do. Even the White Witch did when she saw Aslan whole and healthy after His death."
A ripple wove through the crowd.
Lucy normally wasn't given to moments of viciousness without provocation, but the mean little dwarf made her mad. While his ancestors had fought alongside the witch, Lucy had forgiven the dwarves long ago, knowing that they were under the seduction of the woman's power. But this Black dwarf had a look of pure evil about him, and aura of darkness and loathing that she could feel standing several yards away. She felt the eyes of her people on her, surprised by her outburst, but not offended in any way. Especially the young man they were called to help.
Caspian could be called exotic, with his long dark hair, dark eyes and what appeared to be a Spanish accent. He stood almost a full head taller than her, with the lean build of a fighter. She could see the physical traits of stubbornness and vulnerability in his firm chin and plump, shapely lips. Lucy felt a tingle start somewhere behind her heart, spreading to fill the rest of her in a flash. She felt warmth rising in her cheeks at the prince's scrutiny. Then it hit her, he was maybe two to three years older than she was, the perfect age for a romance.
"Really?" The little mouse perked up, cardinal feather in the ring around his ear bobbing. "What was it like?"
"Stories must wait until later, small one." A dark centaur pawed the earth with an impatient hoof. "We must get to the Howe before nightfall."
"He's-" Peter paused, waiting for the noble creature's name.
"Glenstorm, Majesty." He bowed deeply and graciously.
"Glenstorm," Peter nodded, every inch the king of old. "Is right. Out in the open we are too easy of a target. We've risked enough stalling this long. The sooner we can get to shelter, the better off we will all be."
"You are right." Lucy shivered. Caspian's voice poured over her like liquid silk, making her feel luxurious. "My uncle's spies are the best. It doesn't help that his was and is a spy himself."
The party moved out then, moving quickly through the forest. Peter strode along side Glenstorm, conversing about several topics from stargazing to war planning. Edmund walked with Trufflehunter, the two stoic souls rubbing along quite nicely. Susan, a faun and Trumpkin were discussing archery quite animatedly. Somehow Lucy found herself walking beside Caspian, feeling shy and hesitant for the first time in either of her lifetimes.
"Is everything all right, my lady?" He asked her, offering her his hand to help her over a fallen tree. The skin of his palm was rough in comparison with his soft fingertips, the contrast pleasant and a give away that he was a talented swordsman and horseman. That earthiness was one of the things Lucy had missed about Narnia. The world of magic seemed to be more real than her home world.
"Yes, why do you ask?" She slipped her hand out of his, not wanting one of her brothers to witness such a display. If they had, they would feel obligated to uncover Caspian's intentions and potentially scare him off.
"You seemed upset at the result of the events that came after you left us, more so than the other three." He shrugged. Lucy was surprised, normally no one noticed anything about her. They were either intimidated by her brothers, or entranced by Susan's beauty. Little Lucy was almost always overlooked, sometimes even by her own siblings. It was a heady experience to have caught the handsome prince's attention.
"Out of the four of us, I have the strongest connection to Aslan." Lucy confided, glad to have someone to finally talk to. "I've never been sure why our relationship is different that those He has with the others. I've always been the first to see Him, the first to sense His presence and emotions.
"I just feel like it is my fault everything has happened up until now."
"Wait." Caspian stopped her and pulled her aside slightly, to make room for the rest of the party. His eyes were deep and dark as he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. Goose pimples broke out on her flesh at the feel of his fingers brushing her bared skin due to the cuts of her dress and cloak.
"Why would you feel that it is your responsibility?" He asked her. There was no accusation in his tone, only confusion.
"I was the one that remembered that Spare Room and Wardrobe, but at the time the memories had grown thin, and I was curious to see what it was that I was remembering." Lucy sighed, finally voicing her thoughts.
"I ripped us from here, from our home. It's my fault we stumbled back to England and left our lives here behind to crumble into nothingness. It's my fault the Telmarines invaded and slaughtered my people. I don't know why Aslan brought me back; I don't deserve to be here."
"Nonsense." Caspian bent slightly to look her in the eyes, raising her chin with a finger. Lucy saw nothing but compassion in the chocolate depths, orbs tender with sympathetic pain.
"You had no way of knowing that you were going to travel that day. Aslan obviously had a plan. We have no way of knowing what part we have to play in the course of that plan. You were allowed to leave so you could come back. There was a reason for the terror my ancestors caused, a guiding hand behind the destruction they wreaked. Do you think I should blame myself for that they did and Miraz is doing?"
"No." Lucy shook her head, realizing that he was right. At the same time she was aware of his presence, of his warmth and aura settling over her. She wanted to crawl up inside of him and hide away. That shocked her; she'd never felt that way, when she was younger she wanted to hide behind Peter, never inside him. Something was different about Caspian, but something was different inside her as well.
"No." He whispered, leaning closer. "Don't blame yourself. If you hadn't left, then we would have never met. If I had been born you would have been dead over a thousand years. Can you say that you would rather have that destiny?"
Speechless Lucy could only shake her head. Inside she was kicking herself for being such a girl and loosing her mind to the attraction she felt towards Caspian. Susan was the one who had fancies and fell in and out of love, not sensible and stable Lucy. Feeling not quite herself she realized that they were drifting closer, eyes riveted to each other. His warmth turned into an inferno, making the air between them seem to vibrate. Time seemed to stretch into infinity.
"What's this?" Peter's sharp voice made Lucy jump away from Caspian. Even though she had done nothing wrong, she felt as if she had been caught sneaking cookies out of the kitchens. Blushing she looked away from the dark haired young man to face her oldest brother. Only he wasn't alone; Edmund, Susan, Trufflehunter and Glenstorm stood a couple of yards away.
"Nothing." Lucy hurried away and prayed that Peter would go easy on both her and Caspian.