The High Queen Book Two

Chapter 2 - Back Home

Third-Person POV

As the train disappears into the bright white light, the five find themselves in what seems to be a cave looking at the sparkling ocean. Slowly the five let go of each other's hands, walking forward out of the covering. Smiling softly as they take in their surroundings, realising where they are, Lucy grins at Susan and the two sprint off into the inviting water, which makes the other three follow. As they run along the soft sand, pulling off the outer layer of their school uniforms, Edmund sprints up towards Tilly, lifting her up and throwing her over his shoulder, making her squeal as he runs into the water with the others.

"Edmund Pevensie! You put me down!" He does exactly as she asks, making her fall into the warm water. "of, Edmund!"

"Here, Darling." He holds out his hand, pulling her up into his chest, before smashing his lips against hers as if he was a desperate man for needing air. Pulling away, Tilly stares into his boyfriend's loving eyes, but after a moment, he drifts from her up to the top of the cliff.

"Ed! Edmund?" Susan calls after seeing Tilly pull away as his frown deepens. As the others notice what he's staring at, Peter questions him.

"What is it?"

"Where do you suppose we are?" He asks, making Peter break out with a smile and laugh.

"Where do you think?" He replies, thinking his brother has gone mad.

"Well, I don't remember any ruins in Narnia," Ed says, making the others look up at what they can now pick out as ruins of what seems to be an old building.

As they make their way up the cliffside towards the ruins, Tilly can't help but notice the dreadful feeling growing in her stomach. As the five look around the ruins, Lucy heads in the direction overlooking the sea, turning to face Susan, who's coming up behind her.

"Wonder who lived here." She smiles at her sister and Tilly behind the girl, but then Susan kicks something. Bending down, the eldest girl picks up the gold chess piece. Tilly stares at the knight in Sue's hand and gasps realising whose chess piece it is.

"I think we did." She mumbles, taking the knight for Susan as the boys come around the corner.

"Hey, that's mine," Edmund calls, seeing the familiar golden chess piece in his girlfriend's hand, he remembers the late nights they'd have because they were both so competitive, and neither would concede defeat. "From my chess set." He finishes, making Peter speak up.

"Which chess set?"

"Well, I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?" Ed shakes his head at his older brother as he takes the piece from Tilly, who starts to look around at the ruins once again.

A frown creases her forehead as she tries to shake the feeling again, but the closer she looks at the destroyed building, the clearer it becomes.

"It can't be," she says, running off towards the largest block of stone left, with Lucy next to her, as the youngest also figured it out. Slowly memories of Cair Paravel and their time in Narnia come back, and the missing piece of the once beautiful castle return, painting clearly in the High Queen's mind this was their home.

"Don't you see?" Lucy says to her oldest brother pulling him up into the platform.

"What?" The two girls roll their eyes before positioning the three.

"Imagine walls," Tilly says as she makes Peter and Edmund stand beside one another, then she moves beside the older boy.

"And columns there." Lucy point in front of Susan as she moves into place beside her sister on end.