Sorry this is late! I've been super busy! Since the last chapter is so short, I'll post 19 and 20 together tomorrow. So tomorrow will be a double update and the finale of this story! :)
And please don't hate me for the end of this chapter! :) And again, sorry for not replying to reviews! I read them all and thank you, but I have had only a few minutes of free time in the last 72 hours, and I probably will only have a little more tomorrow. I have my first AP Calculus test tomorrow, so I need to go study...
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. Poop. Please enjoy and review! :)
Chapter XVIII – One Light Still Shines
Edmund and Rapunzel lived in Lantern Waste at Mr. Tumnus' cave for several weeks, trying to gain reinforcements from those dwelling in the Western Woods. As this area was his domain, the Just King felt obligated to pull an army from those parts. Two months passed and Narnia grew darker and darker. It was as if even the sun had gone away, literally. Since the day when Narnia fell, the sky had been cloudy and rain had drizzled. Even Rapunzel couldn't find the light within herself anymore.
The Narnian Resistance, as Edmund had so aptly named the small army of Narnians living in the Western Woods, consisted of approximately one hundred Narnians, including fauns, dwarves, dryads, centaurs, satyrs, and many other creatures. The Resistance trained, fighting as if they were fighting the Telmarines. Edmund was convinced that fighting realistically would help them get ready for the inevitable fight to the death with the Telmarines. There were injuries, but Rapunzel took care of them. She had formed a sort of hospital in Tumnus' cave, with a private area for herself (Edmund had insisted that he remain with the army).
They sent scouts out around all of Narnia and to Cair Paravel, as well as past Narnia's borders. Scouts and diplomats were sent to Archenland, Corona, the Lone Islands, and even Calormen and Harfang, to try and get help for Narnia, and also to find Peter and draw him back to his land. Edmund himself was going to go to Archenland, but Rapunzel insisted that he stay and help train the troops.
Slowly, a vast army began to grow. There were enough Narnians to siege Cair Paravel, as awful as that sounded. Edmund couldn't believe that he was going to attack his own home.
Several times throughout the two months, Telmarine spies were sent to the woods, only to be captured and questioned for information. If they were helpful, they were kept as prisoners; if they were not helpful, they were killed. Edmund's reasoning was that it was a time of war and desperate times call for desperate measures.
Upon saying this to Rapunzel, the Princess had said, "Then we should blow Susan's horn! She said that it could only be used in the time of most desperate need! I think we're in our darkest hour, Edmund."
"It wouldn't do any good. Who would it summon? I don't even know if Aslan himself would come to our aid at this time."
"Don't say that," Rapunzel had pleaded.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know if it would do any good to blow the horn. Even if we did, nothing might happen and it would only alert the Telmarines to our whereabouts. Susan knows that you have the horn, and I'm sure the Telmarines now know that, too."
"We have to try, Edmund," she pressed. "I think that help will come. I have faith in Aslan, and faith that He will help us."
Her harsh words struck deep in Edmund's soul. His stomach felt empty and his knees felt weak. Edmund thought for a brief second that he was going to pass out. "I have faith in Aslan," he said quietly. "Blow the horn."
Slowly, Rapunzel raised the horn to her lips and blew. A melodious noise resounded, echoing throughout the area. After a minute or two passed, she looked downhearted. "It didn't work."
"It doesn't always work immediately, but help is coming," Edmund said, assuring himself more than her. He hugged her and said, "Aslan will help us." Releasing her, Edmund walked out of the cave and to the training grounds, but before he left the Princess' presence, the Just King turned to her and softly said, "I'm sorry."
"Me, too," she replied, staring at the ivory horn in her hands. Both knew that they couldn't fall apart at a time like this, not when Narnia was depending on them.
Edmund intended on training the army and practicing for battle, but instead, he took a stroll through the woods. Wandering aimlessly through the trees, some in dryad form to prepare for battle and some in their wood state, Edmund nodded and smiled at the Narnians he passed. They were doing so much to protect their country and their Kings and Queens. Edmund almost felt guilty for enlisting them to put their lives in danger. These Narnians were peaceful, but loyal to their land.
After walking for twenty minutes or so, Edmund pushed aside some branches and was surprised to see a light up ahead. Puzzled, the Just King continued through the trees until he reached a strange looking tree. Except for the vines that surrounded it, the odd, yet somehow familiar, tree seemed to be made of a sort of metal. And then it hit him. "Spare Oom," he said aloud, memories returning to him. He had seen this lamppost before, when he first came into Narnia and met the White Witch. "I wonder if I could find the Wardrobe…" He poked around in the trees for a while, but eventually decided that it would be better if he didn't stumble across the Wardrobe because he might accidentally pass through and not be able to return to Narnia. After all, when Lucy first journeyed into Narnia, she had come back through the Wardrobe, which then sealed itself off until later. And then again after Edmund and Lucy returned, the Wardrobe closed the portal to Narnia, only to reopen later when they were running from the Macready.
Returning to the lamppost, Edmund sat down and stared at the light. It was strange to look at a lamppost. It wasn't as if they were common in Narnia; this was the only one as far as Edmund knew. And Edmund thought it was interesting how the flame never seemed to die out. It was always burning, even if Edmund had only seen the lamppost three times. Shouldn't normal flames die out eventually? Maybe this one was magical…
The everlasting flame inspired Edmund. It shone brightly on the area around him, and brightened the gray skies. Call him deep, but Edmund felt like the lamppost was telling him something, telling him to cling onto hope that they will win in the end and not to give up and allow the Telmarines to take over Narnia.
Edmund stayed at the lamppost for several hours, staring at the never-ending flame and hoping and praying that Aslan would come to the rescue.
Peter walked through the streets of Narrowhaven, the main establishment on the Lone Island of Dorn. The sun was shining, but it was a cloudy day. He felt that something was wrong. He had been gone from Cair Paravel for months. Why hadn't his siblings responded to his letters? The High King was only going to stay in Narrowhaven for a few more days before heading back to Cair Paravel. The only reason he had stayed so long in the first place was because he heard a rumor that a Telmarine ship had gone missing. This certain ship was rumored to have some very important cargo on it, though no one knew exactly what. Peter had hoped to encounter this ship because the Lone Islands were the largest port for miles and miles. It would be utter insanity to not stop here because no one knew what lay past these islands.
Peter watched as the ground grew shaded as a cloud covered the warm sun. He walked out of the city and toward the bluffs, where he would spend his day. This was where Peter hid most of the time. He didn't want to spend a lot of time with the other Narnians or even with the Lone Islanders. They were kind people, but a little odd.
Upon reaching the cliffs over the sea, the High King sat on the dirt and tall weeds and watched the sea. It pained him to think that Lucy was out there somewhere. He could only hope that she was on that missing Telmarine ship.
Peter's brow furrowed. Did the Telmarines kidnap Lucy? Why would they? It wasn't as if Telmar and Narnia were enemies. Prince Khalil had seemed kind enough. He had come and gone and that was that. Another thing that bothered Peter was the lack of communication from Narnia. No Narnian ships, other than the Splendor Hyaline, had come through the Lone Islands, which meant that they weren't going anywhere. There hadn't even been a ship sent to the Lone Islands for supplies or resources or to give the Lone Islands any news of what was going on in Narnia. This confused Peter to no end. Something had to be wrong; he could feel it. Surely Narnia hadn't been attacked…
And then something appeared at the edge of the horizon. A small black dot. "What in Aslan's name…" Peter breathed. It was obviously a ship, but it was coming from the opposite direction of the mainland. There was supposedly nothing out there except the end of the world…and Telmar. Something in Peter's heart flared. Could it be the missing Telmarine ship? Could it be Lucy?
The ship was still a few hours out, but Peter could barely control his excitement. He tried to rein it in, telling himself that it might be nothing that concerned him, but somehow he just knew that this was going to be life-changing.
Peter sat on the cliff for hours, watching the speck grow larger and larger, until he could see the ship clearly as it grew closer to Narrowhaven. Finally, the High King stood and ran as fast as he could to the docks. He just knew that this would be important!
As soon as the ship laid anchor and one small dinghy was sent ashore, Peter knew that this was the Telmarine ship. He could tell by the design of the vessel itself. There appeared to be only two people in the dinghy, but they looked too pale to be Telmarine. The small boat got closer and closer, until Peter could see long, reddish brown hair and brown hair. A man and Lucy!
"Peter!" a feminine voice cried as the little boat pulled up to a dock! The teenage girl scrambled ashore and ran into Peter's arms. He picked her up and whirled her around, never wanting to let go.
"Lucy!" he breathed into her hair. He looked up at the man who was climbing ashore, and Peter immediately put Lucy on the ground. "Flynn Rider!" the High King growled. Unsheathing his sword, Peter approached the man. "How dare you kidnap my sister?" Peter screamed, pointing his sword at the thief's throat.
"Hey!" Eugene exclaimed. "It wasn't me! It was the Telmarines! They kidnapped her, and I helped her escape. We escaped together. I helped to bring her home."
"He's telling the truth, Peter," Lucy said pointedly, pulling her brother's arm down and forcing him to put his sword away. "Eugene and I were prisoners together, and once we reached Telmar, we took control of the ship and sailed back here immediately! We're…we're friends now, Peter."
Breathing deeply though his nose, Peter bitterly stuck out his hand toward Rider. Eugene took it and gave it a firm shake, showing that they were allies, albeit unwilling. "So the Telmarines took you, eh?" Peter asked.
Lucy gave a firm nod. "They're the ones who have been attacking Narnia, too. And Peter! I heard one of them say something about attacking Cair Paravel and taking over! What happened?"
"I have no idea," Peter said. "I haven't been in Narnia in months. I've been searching for you."' "We need to get to Narnia as soon as possible," Lucy said worriedly. "I'm letting the Telmarine ship head back to Telmar, as long as they don't dock here."
"Why would you do that Lucy?" Peter asked angrily.
"Because they're really quite harmless. And if they don't dock here, they don't really have anywhere else to dock that I know of."
"That's…ingenious. And evil. I didn't know you had that in you."
"It was Eugene's idea, actually," Lucy said, grinning malevolently.
Peter wrapped his arm protectively around Lucy's shoulders. "Let's go back to Narnia."
"Back to Narnia," Lucy repeated, smiling widely.
The brother and sister headed back to the small boats, followed by Eugene Fitzherbert, where they would sail to the Splendor Hyaline, and home to Narnia.
Susan sat on her balcony, staring at the stormy sea, with her chin resting on her fist. She was so angry with herself! Why did she surrender? Everything was her fault! Angry tears flowed down the Gentle Queen's face as she glared at the waves. Why did this have to happen? Why? Why? Why?
The Queen was a prisoner in her own home, her word the only thing keeping her in her room. Well, her word and a securely locked door. Her only means of escape were the balcony, but how was she supposed to scale a one hundred foot wall? The best she could hope for was to reach another balcony below and make an escape from there, but how could she leave the Cair undetected? There were guards checking up on her routinely, not to mention the guards patrolling the castle for unwanted visitors. Too bad the guards were the ones who were unwanted.
She had no idea what happened to the Narnians in Cair Paravel. The best they could hope for was an escape somehow. And where were Edmund and Rapunzel? Were they even alive? If they had returned sometime in the last two months, they could've been killed! But what if they escaped or didn't even return? And what of Queen Julia? Susan had been informed that Corona lacked a King by Khalil, but she had no news of the Queen. Maybe she was still alive…
Her Gentle mind was racing fiercely. Why wouldn't anyone tell her anything? Perhaps there was a way that she could find out. She could take a prisoner. She could take whoever brought her next meal captive. But what would that accomplish? They probably wouldn't even know. Susan's meals for the last week had been brought by a dryad. She had no idea how the woman would even know anything.
There was really only one thing that Susan could do: escape or die trying. She made up her mind, gave a resolute nod, and stood to walk inside. The white drapes billowed in the open doorway as Susan searched for her carefully hidden bow and arrows. Khalil had confiscated them, or at least what he thought were her weapons from Father Christmas. The Queen was lucky that she kept an extra bow and arrows in her room, just in case. She had given him the extras, and watched him destroy them, thankful that she didn't give him the real ones.
The Gentle Queen reached into her wardrobe and pulled up a hidden board, opening up the secret compartment that she had discovered years ago. Cautiously, Susan pulled up her bow and quiver of arrows. She strung the quiver around her back and closed the wardrobe. Just to be sure, Susan walked over to the door and jiggled the handle. Locked. That was good and bad. Bad because that made escaping that much more difficult, but good because no one would know she was gone until her next meal, which was not for another hour or two. And if the person who brought her meals was the dryad, then her absence might go unnoticed for a little while longer, if that dryad was still loyal to Narnia.
Susan walked back to her bed, and stuffed the pillows under the sheets, so that if anyone looked, it might look like she was sleeping, but she couldn't count on that. Susan then walked back onto the balcony and shut the doors behind her. "Now, how do I do this?" Susan asked herself quietly.
She looked over the railing and saw the long drop until the next roof, which should be above the throne room, if she had her calculations correct. Susan had heard stories of how people were able to scale walls using arrows, but she knew that it was much more difficult going down than up. If only she had seventy feet of hair…
Well, there was no other way down, so Susan pulled two arrows out of her quiver and sat on the balcony, swinging one leg over. This was going to be difficult. She leaned down and stuck one arrow into the white wall. It was easier said than done, but not impossible. As she made sure the arrow was firmly in the stone, she whispered, "For Narnia!" And as she repeated the process with a second arrow, she breathed, "And for Aslan!"
And she swung herself down.
It was frightening. Thank Aslan her arms were strong enough to support her weight. Susan hoped that her arm muscles were strong enough to support her weight for the whole time. Aiming to strike where there were cracks or weaker spots in the stone wall, Susan jammed the arrows in the castle, slowly lowering herself.
It took a very, very long time, but Susan eventually found a system with only a few slips and near-death moments. She chanced a look down and saw that she was only about ten feet from the roof. She pulled one arrow out of the stone and placed it expertly in her quiver. Susan took a deep breath before pulling the second arrow out of the wall and free-falling to the roof.
Rolling her foot, toe-ball-heel, and bending her knees upon impact, Susan hoped that her jump was silent, or quiet enough that no one would notice the thud above them. She winced as she heard the thump on the roof, and prayed that no one would come and check anything or walk out onto the balcony. Susan placed the other arrow in her quiver and gingerly walked to the edge of the roof. She peered down to the balcony below. It was empty.
"Here goes nothing…" she muttered to herself as she jumped down to the next balcony. She repeated her earlier motions to silence the fall, but immediately stood back up to gather her surroundings and find out who was in the throne room. It was empty. Susan let out a breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding.
The Queen walked into the throne room and left it immediately, slinking through the halls as silently as possible in order to not attract attention to herself. After a few close calls and an encounter with Khalil himself, Susan reached a side entrance to the castle. She left through the door and breathed in the fresh air. How nice it felt to be free.
Susan snuck around the Cair and through the grounds until she reached the stables. She was glad to see that her horse, Emmalyse, was still there. Susan didn't bother saddling the mare, only sneaking her out of the stall and out of the empty stable. But then she encountered trouble.
Two soldiers were walking away from the stables to the practice field. They hadn't noticed her, but Susan could tell that they were Telmarines and not Narnians. She quickly drew her bow and an arrow from her quiver and placed the arrow to the string. The Gentle Queen hated killing people, but it was sometimes necessary, especially if she needed to escape from Cair Paravel unnoticed. She released the string, and the arrow lodged itself in the back of the man's unprotected head. His companion immediately turned, but an arrow soon lodged itself in his hamstring, causing the man to fall to the ground in pain.
The Queen immediately kicked her horse into motion and the two raced past the men and into the trees, deliberately heading east to send the watching Telmarines off their trail. Susan knew that it would be too good to be true to get past the guards, so she decided that creating a false lead would be beneficial. After racing through the woods for about twenty minutes, she turned her horse and they immediately headed to the west. If she knew her brother, Edmund would most likely be in the Western Woods, where he was duke.
Bow and arrows in hand, Rapunzel marched to the practice field. From the reports that they had gotten back from their scouts saying that Narnia had surrendered, a battle was inevitable. And since they had formed a Resistance to the Telmarine rule, Rapunzel figured that she might as well use her resources and practice so she could fight and defend herself.
As soon as she was a good distance from the targets, Rapunzel raised her bow and placed an arrow to the string. Pulling back, holding, and then releasing the string, Rapunzel heard the sharp sound as the arrow split the arrow, and then the thud as the arrow hit the target. It was a little off center, but it wasn't bad for the distance. Rapunzel released a few more arrows, and then retrieved the arrows she had already shot.
She was soon bored, so Rapunzel put two arrows to the string and let them both fly at once, just to see what would happen. Not as accurate as just one arrow, but still good results. She tried again with three. Pretty much the same outcome.
But she was bored of that, too, soon, so Rapunzel aimed at a pinecone high in a tree. It was swinging slightly in the breeze, but Rapunzel knew that shouldn't affect her shot too much. Carefully, Rapunzel aimed her arrow at the pinecone, and shot. It missed the pinecone by about two feet, and arched over the branches and into the grass. She sighed, frowned, and headed to the arrow to pick it up so she wouldn't forget about it later. But before she could reach the arrow, someone else grabbed it.
"Susan used to do this," Edmund said, handing the arrow back to his friend. "She was quite good at it. I never knew how she did it. I could shoot a crossbow pretty well, but was never good at shooting a bow like this. I'm much more comfortable with a sword."
"I see," Rapunzel said. "I think I'm too afraid to use a sword. I might cut my hair accidentally." She paused for a few seconds, thinking. "Do you think I should?"
"Should what?" the Just King asked, puzzled.
"Cut my hair off."
He gasped. "Why would you do that?"
"It would solve a lot of problems," she said. "I mean, it's so long and always getting in the way. Not to mention the fact that the Telmarines want it. And it's not as if I'm locked in a tower anymore and have to pull anybody up. I don't know. It might just be more convenient."
Edmund was surprised. He never thought that Rapunzel would ever willingly cut off her seventy feet of hair. "But…but…but you're hair is what makes you you!"
"I don't want to be remembered as the Queen of Corona who had extremely long hair, Edmund. I want to be my own person," she pressed, firm in her belief.
"That makes sense, but I can't see you with anything but long, blonde hair."
"I can't really, either," Rapunzel laughed. She continued, her voice soft and contemplative, "It makes me think of Eugene."
"Your hair makes you think of Eugene?" She nodded. "Why?"
"I just think of how he called me 'Blondie', and how it helped me save his life. And how he took me to the Snuggly Duckling and to the lanterns and how we got trapped in that cave. And it reminds me of Gothel, and why she kidnapped me in the first place. Do you understand?"
Edmund nodded. "Is it what you really want?"
"I don't know!" Rapunzel cried breathlessly. "If it weren't for the healing powers, I would have cut it weeks ago. I don't want to get rid of my ability to heal people, especially since we don't have Lucy's cordial."
"We'll get that back, Rapunzel," the Just King said. "Don't worry about that. But…this is a big deal, Rapunzel. You said it won't grow back."
"But I think I really want to!" she exclaimed. "If I'm never going to see Eugene again, I don't want to forget him, but I want to stop the—the pain. That doesn't even make sense."
"Yes, it does," Edmund argued, and pulled the confused Princess into an embrace. He held her for what seemed like forever, but then let her go. "You're just hurting. It makes perfect sense. Are you ready to forget him completely, though?"
"Are you listening, Edmund?" cried Rapunzel. "I don't want to forget him; I just want to stop the heartache I'm feeling! I don't want to hurt anymore! It's getting worse and worse every time I see—" She stopped herself abruptly, fearing that she said too much.
"What?" Edmund asked. "Every time you see what?"
Rapunzel was hesitant to tell him. Would he think her silly and naïve? "You," she mumbled. "You make me forget about Eugene, and I hate that."
Edmund's heart soared and broke at once. He was rejoicing because she admitted (albeit accidentally, unwillingly, and not exactly) that she did have feelings for him. He was depressed because she didn't like how he made her forget the man he loved. What was he going to do? What was he going to say in response to that? What could he do to assuage her feelings and his own? Edmund felt confused. "I…I don't know what to say, Rapunzel, other than you should do whatever will make you happiest."
"I'll have to think about it some more," Rapunzel said. She stared at him, and then her eyes lit up as she remembered something. "Oh! Edmund, it seems like everyone—well, my…father, and then my mother—everyone keeps saying something about my father speaking with you. What was it about?"
"Nothing important," Edmund rushed. He realized his mistake just as he answered too quickly. Rapunzel could tell that he was very obviously keeping something from her.
"Please Edmund," she said, raising her eyebrows and sticking out her lower lip slightly. She looked like she was having trouble keeping from laughing and her ridiculous expression made Edmund want to laugh as well. He sighed and rolled his eyes, letting Rapunzel know that he was going to cave in to her requests. "Lucy taught me that," she explained.
"I should've known," he realized. That seemed like something that Lucy would do to Peter, who was the only person it would really work on. Edmund and Susan would just laugh at her. The Princess looked at him expectantly and the Just King sighed. He really didn't want to tell her this. It would make things between them even more awkward than they already were. But he didn't think he could put up with her—and Lucy's—stupid expression and her complaints. He really didn't have a choice, other than to say, "You remember how you and Peter are sort of 'betrothed', I guess you could say?"
"Yes…" she said slowly.
"Well," he continued, taking a deep breath so he could stall and avoid telling her the truth, "I told your father how good of friends you and I are, and he seemed to think that it was a better idea that you and…that you and I were married instead."
"Oh," she said softly, looking at the ground. Rapunzel wasn't expecting this.
"Not right away, of course," he said rapidly. "I mean, we don't ever really have to at all! I mean, technically, we're held to the arrangement by law, but people are always breaking the law, right? And—"
One look from Rapunzel got him to shut up.
"Are you alright?" he asked her tentatively.
"Yes," she said. "I'm just surprised." Edmund was a little downcast by her reaction. He hadn't expected her to be pleased, per se, just a little happier than…well, this. "Don't get me wrong, Edmund!" she exclaimed after seeing his shoulders sag the slightest bit. "I would much rather marry you than Peter, but...Oh, that sounds so strange. You and I are going to be married! We're going to be married… Isn't that a weird thought?"
"Yeah," he said, raising his brown eyes to meet her green eyes. "Look, we don't have to…I mean, we can put it off. You can go through with your plans to find Eugene…and then if you don't find him…we can…" He stared into her eyes and was growing extremely distracted. "We can get married if you…if you never…"
And then before either of them knew it, they were kissing, this time more assuredly and confident than ever before. Rapunzel subconsciously wrapped her arms around Edmund's neck and he tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Somewhat hesitantly, Edmund deepened the kiss, unable to stop himself. Rapunzel was shocked, but responded to his actions. Finally, they parted, breathless, and stared into each other's eyes.
The first thing Rapunzel realized was that she wasn't plagued with tremendous guilt and heartache or the urge to run away as fast as possible.
The first thing Edmund realized was that Rapunzel wasn't crying or pulling away or running from him as fast as she possibly could.
They were both ecstatic.
Rapunzel took a deep breath and then laid her head against his chest. It was a strange feeling. She didn't really have guilt in her heart, but she could feel it in her soul. However, the emotions she were feeling for Edmund at the moment were so strong, she was not surprised that she couldn't feel her love for Eugene.
The couple merely stood there for several moments, closing their eyes as they leaned against each other, supporting each other and holding each other, until they were rudely interrupted by the sound of a horn.