Fearless • P. Pevensie

Grave News

"I'm tired." I complain, nuzzling myself into Peter's bed. He sits across from me, on Edmund's, as he looks over at me.

"Then sleep. It's been a long couple of days for all of us. You deserve your rest." He nods to me.

"No, no. I've got to get back to my own tent." I yawn, stretching a little but not making a move to leave yet. "I just...the walk is so far. And it'd already nice and warm here...and I..." I trail off, yawning again as I allow my eyes to droop.

"It'll be fine, I'm sure of it." Peter tells me. "You can sleep there, I'll just go get an extra cot. It's really no big deal." He assures me.

"But what will the people think? The High Queen and the High King of Narnia sharing a tent. Hours spent..." I yawn again, fully closing my eyes as I rest my head against his pillow. "...alone together." I finish.

"Edmund shares the tent as well, Rose. And so what if they talk? A rumor is just a rumor. People will say whatever they think. No matter how much you try and tell them otherwise." Peter reminds me.

I can feel sleep calling to me. Each time I blink, I get just a little closer to its calm embrace.

"You'll be here when I wake?" I ask him.

Peter stands, causing me to look over at him. He approaches me before sitting on the edge of the bed. His hand comes to my shoulder, as he looks down at me with a hint of a smile.

"Always." He promises me.

"Think you could tell me a bedtime story?" I half-joke, turning to face him as he smiles.

"Suppose I could. I still have to tell them to Lucy whenever she has a bad dream." Peter tells me. "What kind do you want? I've got ones about pirates, ones about unicorns. I've got-"

"Tell me one about a King and Queen." I look up at him. 

"King and Queen of any particular place?" He asks, a hint of curiosity in his voice as he smiles.

"Mmm- a magical place. Full of creatures far beyond your wildest dreams. A King and Queen who ruled a fair, honest kingdom. Make it have a happy end, yeah?" I ask him. He nods, and I let my eyes flutter shut as I lean my head back against the pillow.

"Once upon a time...there was a boy. Now, this boy was by no means fit to be King. He was stern, and stuck stubborn in his ways. He wouldn't change for anyone. When war broke out in his home village, his mother asked him to run away. He traveled through a forest. A dark forest, full of witches, and werewolves, and all sorts of evil creatures. Until he came across a maiden. A maiden who sat high up in a tower. He heard the maiden weeping, so he ascended the stone wall to go and meet her." Peter tells me.

"This doesn't sound like a happy story." I mumble.

"Oh, but it is. Trust me." Peter says. He takes a pause, before continuing with his tale. "The boy asked the maiden why she was upset. The maiden turned on him, producing a dagger as she held it to the boy. She told him that no one should have been able to find her tower. Not unless they meant her harm. The boy assured her this wasn't the case. He told her of the war in his home, and how he'd run away to find sanctuary within the woods. The maiden found a way to believe him, and she let her dagger down. She looked upon the boy. And noticed he was not too dissimilar from herself."

"Boo! She should have stabbed him." I giggle to myself. "I would've." I mumble.

Peter's quiet for a moment. I can practically feel the smile on his face.

"She told the boy that she was also looking for asylum. A place where she could be happy. That her parents had told her stories that somewhere, within this very wood, was a grove. A clearing, where for as far as the eye could see, there was the most beautiful kingdom you'd ever seen. With a castle, waiting for someone to come and claim the throne." Peter tells me. "So, they descended the tower together in search of the grove. The two walked. Day in, day out. They fought, many times, but they never lost sight of what was important. Hope. No matter how hard they fought, whether it was over their food supply or which direction to go, they always remained together. They continued like this for a long, long time. Eventually, the girl fell sick. A terrible sickness that the boy could not cure. So, he picked up the maiden and carried her for miles. He thought all was lost, until he happened upon a stream. It was a magical stream, but the boy did not yet know this. He brought the girl to drink, hoping it would give her back her strength."