The Golden Witch || Peter Pevensie x OC

13. Returning Home

Valera hadn't felt at home for a century.

Being passed between village to village, house to house, it became easy to feel alienated wherever she went.

It bought back her memories of living in Irondale.

The way the Dryads would wake her up in the morning with a gentle breeze entering through her open balcony doors.

The way she would host evening meals for any creature that was welcome, dancing around raging fires until the sun came up.

The way she would spend hours atop the roof staring out at the ocean, listening to the calming sounds of the waves falling over each other.

The way she felt at home for the first time since leaving Charn, and her family.

But as she walked into Aslan's camp again, she had that same feeling.

She had returned home.

It wasn't a total coincidence that she felt that way in this place.

Summer had officially returned and had been spreading on a wider scale thanks to the rings she had acquired from her sisters.

Nature there felt welcoming, like a warm hug after reuniting with a loved one.

It was very unlike the way she felt in the winter.

Rejected, iced out, confused.

As she gracefully walked across the vast green field towards the red and golden tents ahead, her dress started to morph into one much more graceful.

Her cream, silk dress had taken quite a beating throughout their journey, and so it was needed before she met with Aslan.

The grass around her extended upwards, covering her dress as she walked forward.

It left behind a corseted white dress with laced off the shoulder sleeves hung down on her arm. There was a golden pattern of the sun and the moon on the centre of the corset which glistened in the sunlight, as well as small green leaves on thin vines sitting around her waist.

Her crown of small white Gypsophila had been replaced with one made of white roses, her golden curls falling around her ears and back like wild waves.

As the grass retreated, Valera took in a deep breath of the crisp air around them, the scent of fresh grass filling her lungs.

"You don't think you could give us new dresses like that one, do you?" Susan asked as the Pevensies all stared at her in awe.

Valera smiled at the two girls who were looking at their own tattered clothes before promising them they will be given new ones as soon as possible.

It seemed to satisfy them for now, as both Susan and Lucy returned their bewildered gaze to the approaching camp.

Peter, however, kept his eyes firmly placed on her.

The sound of a horn snapped him out of it as the group all glanced around at the variety of creatures all walking out of the tents to see just what the commotion was about.

Valera saw, out of the corner of her eye, a whisp of cherry blossoms falling and accumulating off a cherry tree to her left.

She turned to see Lucy waving to two Dryads that were, in turn, smiling and waving back at the young girl.

"Hello, Mira", Valera greeted with a soft smile as she walked up to Lucy.

"It is good to see you again, my lady", Mira said back as she bowed.

The last time Valera had seen Mira had been the night of Jadis' attack on Irondale.

The feeling of seeing an old friend in such a time of hope and change was uplifting to say the least.