hiraeth

twenty-five

a/n: idk what picture to put so here's this random guy I saw in the street

xxv. Enne

Enne stumbles after Nia through a black void in the air right in front of Peter, and Nia promptly collapses from fatigue, forcing him to snag an arm around her waist to keep her from crashing to the ground.

"where the did you two come from?" He grunts, pulling Nia to his side as a boy with a scar on his lip helps Peter keep her upright. Her head droops down like a ragdoll, and he tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Is she alright?"

"Probably...not. Ugh." a wave of nausea passes through Enne as she surveys six unfamiliar faces.

"We're demigods," a pretty girl explains by way of greeting, extending her hand. "We're sort of friends with Peter. I'm Piper. nice to meet you"

"I'm Leo." a boy with curly hair walks up to her as she shakes Piper's hand. "How you doin'?"

Piper wrinkles her nose. "stop doing that"

"doing what"

"your flirting face"

Enne steps back. "I'm flattered but you look constipated. no offense"

A boy next to Leo shrieks from laughter. "I like her. What's your name?"

"I'm Enne. That," she says, gesturing towards her bestie and the eldest Pevensie, who's checking her face for injuries, "is Nia, the girl Peter is currently obsessing over."

"first of all, I'm just worried! And second of all-"

"I'm Will," the blonde boy replies, effectively cutting him off.

Peter flips him off. Will blows him a kiss.

"He's whipped," says a girl with a braided crown.

"Agreed," says the taller girl next to her.

"Where'd you learn 'whipped' from?" Enne laughs. She assumes they're Peter's sisters, Lucy and Susan. they both point to Leo.

Peter glances sideways. "Jason, what does whipped mean??"

"Don't look at me. I only know whipped cream."

Leo drops his jaw in disbelief. "Dude, have you learned nothing from our lessons?"

"Sentence example?" Jason requests.

"You're whipped for Piper."

"...I get it now but that was terrible."

"terrible but true!" sings Piper, no doubt having noticed Jason's embarrassed expression.

To his credit, Leo is smart enough to read the situation and smirks at Peter. "secret word, lover boy."

"I hate you all."

Enne lurches forward and pukes, abruptly ending their discussion. Piper rubs Enne's back as strangers outside shoot them disgusted looks.

They lead Nia and Enne back to their stolen car. Peter awkwardly helps Jason put Nia in the backseat, carefully adjusting her head so that her neck won't be sore when she wakes up.

"What happened to you?" he asks Enne on the other side once he's sure Nia is all set. "What happened to Ed?"

"Kidnapped."

"By who?"

"The Lady of the Green Kirtle."

"What the hell is a Kirtle?"

"I wish I knew. How does Emerald Witch sound?"

"Better, I suppose. Where did she take Edmund?"

Enne closes her eyes. "no clue, but I think she was the one who stole our memories."

Lucy goes up to Peter. "Oh! She could be connected to the white witch. remember what we talked about?"

Enne hums, nodding at Peter. "Ed seemed to recognize her. are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I have no qualms about going back home," Peter affirms, "but getting there is going to be quite the trip. we need to go to London."

"like, London, England? that's across the world. we won't have enough money for nine whole plane tickets."

"but the Wardrobe is there," Lucy informs her.

"what wardrobe?"

"the portal that takes us there"

"Okay, but last time, Nia and I just--" Enne stills, everything around her going quiet. "We just..."

"Nia? What's going on?"

"We're in Narnia this time."

"What? How am I here too?"

Enne stares intensely at the back of the driver's seat.

"what is it?" Peter questions.

"I remember something."

"You--what?"

"Nia. She...I don't understand." Enne looks between the three siblings, then back at Nia, who is knocked out. "That's just crazy."

The wheels in Enne's head turn faster now, and she nearly bangs her head on the roof of the car as she sits up. Peter jumps back in surprise. "Yes! Yes, it makes sense somewhat. Peter, you're a character in a book, right?"

"Can we please not talk about that?"

The memory comes to life, and Enne sees Nia standing next to her. Feels the sunlight slicing through the trees. Hears rush of running water.

"I wrote you in?"

"You wha-"

"Let's get this shit show on the road."

her chest tightens. "Nia wrote us into your story." The words sound funny to her own ears, but she pushes on, forcing the words out. "She wrote us into Narnia. I don't exactly know how it would work, but..."

She looks up. "oh don't give me that look. this isn't the weirdest thing you've heard before."

"It's pretty close." Peter schools his face into neutrality. "Alright. Let's say, hypothetically-"

"legitimately-"

"-that Nia wrote you two into my story - our story. Couldn't she fix all of this?"

"That is, if she remembers," Enne replies. "Who's to say if she can do anything about it at this point."

"How long do you reckon she'll be knocked out for?" Peter asks, a certain edge to his tone Enne can't help but smile at.

"Three days if we're lucky and a week if we're unfortunate. Probably. That's my best guess, anyway."

"I hope I'm not irritating her with my prescence," Peter scoffs, eyeing Nia with fake animosity.

"What do you mean?"

"She told me I'm in her nightmares now," Peter complains. He clicks his tongue. "I should probably move away from her lest my...my aura or something stupid like that affects her."

Enne laughs, a smile breaking out on her face. "Oh, that's rich. I can't believe she let that slip."

"What's so funny?"

"You can't be serious." She regards him closely. "wait, you are serious. I thought you were being sarcastic!"

"is this the part where you enlighten me?"

Wow. Nia was right.

"You're an idiot," Enne sighs, done with his inability to take a hint. "A certified, first-class, idiot."

Because Peter isn't some villain in Nia's nightmares, holding her for ransom: he's the hero who fights for her every single time. And Enne thinks she'll be buried six feet under before he finally realizes it.