A/N: Yes, This is sort of a self-insert. If you don't like it, don't read it, and certainly do not review it unless you have some helpful criticisms (which are welcomed). Thanks!

Black And Blue

AllzStar

When Jaxx is accidentally whisked away to Narnia with the Pevensies, she gets more bruises on her body than usual. But those aren't the only things that are black and blue. Jaxx's black eyes might be the only match for Peter's cool blue stare. PeterXOC

I followed the Pevensies around the beach as they marvelled and bathed in the glory of their old home. I was still having trouble believing all this. I was convinced that this was all some sort of crazy dream. Perhaps I'd hit Susan harder than I'd thought and passed out, and now I was dreaming and they were in it because they had been the last people I saw.

We had all silently acknowledged that I had come here by accident, regardless of the reality of it. I hadn't bean meant to come along with these long-lost Kings and Queens of this land called Narnia. It was evident that I wasn't supposed to be here, that nobody wanted me here. Except perhaps Lucy. The little redhead girl was probably the friendliest person I'd ever met. Edmund was nice as well, but the older two, especially Peter, seemed weary of me, for some reason I couldn't understand.

We climbed the rock wall (it wasn't as difficult as I'd expected) and explored some sort of ruined fortress. We passed an apple tree on our way up and Peter picked one, shined it on his shirt, and handed it to Lucy. She munched on it happily as we explored the ruins. I examined the crushed stone walls and the cracked floor tiles as Edmund crouched down to look at the strange plants that were growing everywhere and Peter and Susan just stood and looked out at the view. We had a beautiful view of the sea from here. The water was a perfect turquoise blue, and several forested islands dotted it. I could have stayed up here forever.

Susan stooped to pick up something in the grass. Lucy, who was enjoying the view with me, turned to address her sister. "I wonder who lived here?"

The eldest Pevensie girl turned a golden figurine over in her hands. "I think we did."

"Hey, that's mine," Edmund exclaimed as he approached, Peter trailing shortly behind him. He took the figurine from Susan and caressed it in his hands. "From my chess set."

"What chess set?" asked Peter.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess et in Finchley, did I?" Edmund said sarcastically.

Peter pursed his lips, but Lucy cried out before he could retort. "It can't be!" She pushed past her brothers and rushed over to a stone dais. Her siblings followed her, with me taking up the rear again. The dais had stumps of rock jutting up from it. Lucy positioned Edmund on the far right side of the dais, then Peter on Ed's left, then Susan, and then herself on Susan's left. "Imagine walls, and columns there! And a glass roof."

There was a moment where everything seemed to hold its breath as realization dawned on the other three Pevensie siblings.

"Cair Paravel," said Peter quietly.

*

I had taken to exploring the castle with Edmund since he was the quietest and the easiest to be around. We walked over to some crushed contraption that was half wood half stone and rope. Edmund crouched down next to it to examine it closer.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Catapults." Edmund ran his hand along a piece of rock.

"What?" said Peter as he, Susan and Lucy joined us.

Edmund looked up, the expression on his face listless. "This didn't just happen. Cair Paravel was attacked."

The had explained to me that Cair Paravel was the castle they had ruled Narnia from. Where they had "grown up". I wondered why they hadn't recognized it as soon as they saw it but kept the thought to myself. Instead I said, "How long has it been since you were here?"

The four of them exchanged looks. "We don't know," said Lucy sadly. "One minute in our world could mean a thousand years in Narnia."

"And it's been ten months since we were in Narnia last…" Susan trailed off.

After a silent moment, Lucy gasped and ran over to a half destroyed stone wall with ivy growing all over it. She gazed at it with an expression of joy and disbelief. "I can't believe it!"

The boys pulled the ivy down and began to shove at the wooden door hidden underneath. There was a loud crack as the door gave in completely. Beyond it were some stone steps, and then darkness.

Peter ripped a piece of his shirttail off and wrapped it round a large stick he'd picked up from the ground. He looked at his brother. "I don't suppose you have any matches in there, do you?" He asked, nodding to Edmund's satchel.

"No…," said Edmund, rummaging through his bag, "but would this help?" He pulled a torch from his satchel and held it out to Peter, a cheeky grin lighting up his freckled face.

"You might have mentioned that a bit sooner!" Peter cried exasperatedly as Susan, Lucy and I giggled.

Edmund led the way down the stairs, followed by Lucy, then Susan, then me, and then Peter, who's insisted on taking up the rear. About halfway down I caught my foot on the edge of an unexpectedly large stair and lost my balance. My heart immediately went into overdrive. I yelled shortly as I flew forwards. I shut my eyes tightly. Suddenly I felt a strong arm wrap itself around my waist and hoist me into the air. I didn't open my eyes again until my feet touched the ground. I saw Susan, Lucy and Edmund staring at me, the terror only just dying from their faces. I turned and saw Peter biting his lip.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," I replied, trying to not let my voice shake. "Thank you for saving me, there." I tried to meet his shining blue eyes but he kept looking elsewhere. Who spit in his eye? I thought to myself.

He nodded. "Let's keep moving." He gave me a gentle push.

I raised my eyebrows but said nothing as we continued down the stairs. They eventually gave way to a large chamber. Four huge stone statues stood, untouched by disaster and extremely dusty, around the room. The room was dimly lit by sunlight filtering through holes in the soil above. I gazed around in wonder at the surreal quality of the place. "This somehow avoided the attack," I stated dumbly.

"Thank goodness for that," Edmund said. "All our stuff is down here."

I then noticed the great big iron chests sitting at the foot of each statue. Each Pevensie child approached a statue. It was then that I realized that the statues were carvings of them in their adult form. I was struck dumb as they opened their chests and removed various things: Lucy pulled out a dagger and a glass vial full of red-orange liquid; Susan took out a bow and quiver; Edmund removed a sword and shield and some chainmail.

The Pevensies all marvelled in their memories as they quietly pulled out item after item from their trunks. "I was so tall," Lucy said, holding a dress up to her collar bone. It trailed on the dirt floor.

Susan smiled sympathetically. "Well, you were older then."

"As opposed to thousands of years later, when you're younger," Edmund added.

I chuckled at the irony of that sentence. Susan looked my way and I realized right away she had forgotten I was there. But she beckoned for me to join her, and I did. Susan selected a light purple, corseted dress from her chest and folded it over her arm. "There are so many memories in this room," she whispered. "So many memories everywhere, actually. To us, it was only ten months ago. But to Narnia…who knows how long it's been since we were here?" She looked into my eyes and I finally felt as if she felt at ease with my around. I knew we could end up being very good friends.

Susan rummaged through her trunk and came up with two dresses. One was royal blue with a darker blue bodice that had golden embroidery on it. There were matching designs at the hem of the skirt and the sleeves were a sheen fabric that came to the elbows. The other was emerald green all over except for some silver beads at the collar.

"Which one?" Susan asked me.

I was taken aback, but instantly picked the blue one. Susan tossed it to me. I gaped at it, then at her. "For me?"

"Of course," Susan replied, grinning. "You can't walk around Narnia dressed as a school girl. It wouldn't do!" She laughed and I found myself laughing with her.

Peter approached his trunk. Everyone watched in awe as he opened it. He pulled out a sheathed sword and a shield coated with a thick layer of dust. He blew on it to clear the filth, and underneath it the shield was shiny and silver with a bright red lion engraved in the center. I held my breath as Peter pulled the sword from the scabbard. It shone in the dim light despite the years it had been sitting in this chamber. Some words were engraved at the hilt, but I couldn't make them out from where I was standing. I could tell, however, that the weapon was absolutely magnificent.

"When Aslan bares his teeth, Narnia shall meet its death," he said.

"When Aslan shakes his mane, we shall see spring again." Lucy looked like she was close to tears and it was enough to make my eyes well up. "Everyone we knew…Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers…they're all gone."

A moment of sorrowful silence overwhelmed us all. I didn't know who this Tumnus was or why Lucy cared about some Beavers, but I could tell they had been friends to the Pevensies when they'd been here last.

"I think it's time we found out what's going on," said Peter firmly, sheathing his sword.

The boys went back outside to change into their outfits as Susan, Lucy and I changed in the chamber. I eagerly stripped down and tossed my ugly school uniform aside, glad to be free from its primness. I noticed Susan and Lucy pulling off their hose and did the same. I felt a bit uncomfortable standing around in just my underwear, so I quickly pulled the dress on. The silky fabric felt wonderful on my legs as the skirt slid over them. The bodice fit me perfectly and the sleeves billowed out like clouds around my arms. Lucy and Susan had their dressed on and were gathering their weapons, but I was still star struck about the dress. The slimming magic of the bodice and the silky fabric definitely tickled my girlish fancy. I spun around, watching the royal blue skirt billowing out around me.

"I feel like a princess," I said wistfully as I curtsied to Peter's statue.

Lucy nodded. "You look like one, too." She lowered her voice and spoke through her smile. "I think Peter noticed." She giggled and glanced at his statue.

I blushed. "Oh…what do you mean?"

"You know what she means," said Susan, smiling as she joined us in front of her older brother's sculpture.

"I…well..." I was used to being embarrassed, what with my clumsiness and all that, but I had never been confronted about a boy. And to be honest, I certainly hadn't "noticed" Peter, except for his cold, bitter eyes.

Lucy's smile widened. "I think she noticed Peter noticing her."

I bit my lip. "Um…"

Susan noticed I was getting uncomfortable and saved me. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Me too."

"I'm ten!" Lucy put in. "And Peter's sixteen and Edmund's turning fourteen soon."

I grinned, relieved at having changed the subject. We continued on talking about our dressed and other girlish things I never would have talked about in any other situation. Most of my friends in London were boys. It was nice to have some friendly girls to talk to.

"Untie your hair," said Susan, waving her hand at me. "We can be free here, and so can our hair."

I beamed as I yanked the ribbon out of my hair and my golden locks tumbled over my shoulders in soft curls. I tied the ribbon around the crown of my head as a head band. I sighed. "That feels much better."

"You look so pretty, Jaxx!" Lucy cried, taking my hand and swinging it back and forth. "Wait till Peter sees you."

I was still flustered as the three of us headed up the stairs and out into the brilliant sunshine. The back of my head instantly started to sweat and I regretted letting my hair down. I pulled it all to one shoulder to keep my neck cooler.

A salty breeze tossed itself over me and I sighed in the rapture of it all. I could get used to be here, even if it was just a dream.

Peter and Edmund appeared, wearing tunics and leather belts. The five of us trouped out of the ruined Cair Paravel and found a path that took us down the other side of the rock wall. Lucy skipped ahead with Susan and Edmund close behind her, but I found myself lingering behind with Peter. We walked side by side and said very little. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, and occasionally gave him a full out smile that he returned weakly. I caught him glancing at me a few times, but his expression was only curious, not interested.

I had to admit I did feel pretty, though, what with my hair all curly and shining in the sunlight and wearing that beautiful dress. I wished Lucy and Susan hadn't said anything about Peter because now I wanted him to notice that I looked pretty. As I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye, I finally began to notice him, and I nearly melted.

I made the mistake of turning my head fully to look at him, and met his gaze. We stared at each-other. I looked into his blue eyes and he stared right back into my black ones. The moment passed and I looked away, using my hair as a curtain to his my pink face.

That was when we heard him screaming.