Soldier's Heart (a Narnia novella)

Chapter 7: Rose Garden

Lucy paled.

"No." She shook her head. "No, no, no." She thrust the bow into Peridan's hands and took a few stumbling steps backwards, crashing into Edmund behind her.

"Woah," He said, catching her by the shoulders to steady her.

Regaining her footing, she turned to look at Peter.

"You knew about this?" Betrayal edged her voice.

"Lu-"

She looked from one face to the other. The faces she loved better than any in the world. The ones she trusted more than any in the world. They were all here, staring back at her. But she could find no mercy in their eyes. She turned to run, but Edmund caught her thin wrist in his hand, pulling her back.

"Let me go!" She screeched.

"Not until you listen to us," Edmund said, his voice void of any emotion.

She stopped squirming and silently began to cry.

Peridan knelt down in front of her.

"Hey," he whispered. "Queenie. Look at me. Let me explain, okay?"

She didn't give any indication that she was listening, but Peridan continued.

"If anything goes wrong, you'll use your cordial on me. Edmund has it in his belt. You're just going to shoot my arm. I'm not going to die."

"Why do I have to?" She asked.

He chose his words carefully, tiptoeing around mentioning Ahmit. "Because you got sick after the battle. So we have to recreate the battle. I know it doesn't make sense to you right now, but I'll explain when you feel better."

"I'm fine, I don't need to feel better."

"Lucy," Peter said. "Please."

"You tricked me," she spat.

"I didn't trick you. I didn't say anything to you that wasn't true."

"You didn't think I needed fresh air, you just wanted to get me out here for this. And you knew I wouldn't come if you told me what it was for!"

"Lu, calm down," Edmund cut it.

"And you!" She turned on him. "You couldn't take my side either, could you? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You never could."

"That's quite enough," Peter raised his voice.

Everyone fell silent. The High King never raised his voice. Not at Lucy.

But this wasn't Lucy.

"We're making you do this because you aren't well, dear. You haven't been well for weeks. You have to let us help you, or you'll get worse."

Lucy was quiet for a moment. She looked from Peter, to Edmund, to Peridan and then back to Peter. She locked eyes with him. They were the same color as hers, the blue they borrowed from their mother. Only Peter's was a deeper blue. Lucy's danced like sea-glass, sometimes blue, sometimes a wild green. But Peter's eyes were steady. Clear. Like the Northern sky for which he was titled. She hadn't really focused on them in days. When was the last time she had looked him in the eye and noticed?

Her mind reached back, sifting through the hazy memories of illness, trying to find something to hold on to. And then she saw them again, those deep blue eyes. This time, flickering with relief and suppressed joy, as she ran up to him after a battle. But something in the picture flickered. A man in the distant nocked an arrow.

"Lu?" Edmund's hand was firmly on her shoulder now, as she shook herself back to reality. She glanced around, confusion muddling her thoughts. "Are you okay?"