Raven: Daughter of Eve [Edmund Pevensie]

1 - Beach of Mystery

edited 7/27/24

Do you believe in magic? How about unexplained phenomena that make you question reality?

Olivia was a dreamer. Fantasy books were her comfort. She lives by the saying that you get to live several lives by reading. And what better way to live another life than the one from a fantasy book—a book where everything is impossible to happen in real life?

Olivia always dreamed of diving into one of her books—to live as a soldier, a hero, or a queen. But one could only dream so much. So, one minute ago, she was standing inside her room, and then the next, she was suddenly on a beach. She thought it was all just a dream.

She had no idea how she arrived here. Pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, she winced from the sting on her wrist. It only confirmed that this was all real. She was actually standing on a beach, inside a cave, and, to be more precise, in the middle of nowhere. She looked behind her, expecting to see her room, but all that was there was the rest of the cave.

The cave, which had two exits, had a ceiling as tall as two floors. Its length couldn't have been more than ten meters. The two openings connected the beach, and the shore was so long she couldn't see the end of it.

Wanting to know where exactly she was, Olivia took a careful step forward. And another, until she was out of the cave.

The breeze on her skin felt good, the wind softly blowing her dark hair. As she got closer to the ocean, the waves got louder. By the intensity of it, she assumed it was around late afternoon here—wherever here may be.

The sea stack on her left caught her attention. She'd never seen one in person before. The rock formation amazed her. Nature was always a wonder. She reached out a hand to touch it; its warmth was a stark contrast to the coolness of the air.

Olivia looked up, trying to see how tall it was when something else caught her attention.

She let out a small gasp, not believing her eyes. Moving to her left to have a clearer view, she let out a confused chuckle. It was a castle - A castle in the middle of nowhere.

She couldn't believe it. Testing to see if her vision wasn't tricking her, she closed her eyes for a few seconds. And when she opened it, there it was, still there, standing in its magnificent beauty.

"Wow," she breathed. The castle was stunning. The structure was mostly white and gold. Its material was so grand that it looked like it was shining from the sunlight. She had never seen a castle in real life before, and she never expected to.

Oh, what would she do to get a glimpse inside? A building holding so much power. It was perched up in the mountains, and its location was so high that it overlooked the whole area around it.

Before she could admire it more, she heard hooves coming her way.

Without thinking, she dove behind the sea stack, making herself small against the wall. Whoever was coming probably already saw her, as she also saw a glimpse of the horse and the rider before she hid. Though that didn't stop her, she was wary of who this stranger was.

The volume of the waves only made it harder. It muffled the sound of everything else around her. She couldn't tell where the stranger was.

Then a voice came from her right. "Hello there."

Olivia yelped in surprise and slowly turned her head. There was the stranger—a woman—smiling brightly at her. She looked a few years younger than her, her blonde hair waving along with the wind, together with the skirt of her red outfit that Olivia assumed was medieval clothing; which she found weird. Was this woman cosplaying?

She awkwardly waved a hand at her and muttered a hello.

"I'm Lucy." The woman stretched out her hand. "And you are? "Her voice was regal, with an air of formality surrounding it.

"Olivia." She introduced herself, taking her hand and shaking it.

"That's a pretty name," Lucy complimented her as she released her hand. Olivia only gave her a quick smile, unsure of what to say to her. She then crossed her arms and stood straight, waiting for Lucy to continue the conversation.

"Are you from around here? "Olivia didn't know how to answer her. Olivia took pride in being intelligent. A lot of people believed she was smart because she read a lot of books. So she had to keep up with the image people created of her. Which is why not knowing how to answer her was a blow to her ego.

What would she say? That this was probably an extension of her room? Now, that's absurd, yet slightly true. She never really left her room. She was standing in it when a bright light almost blinded her. When she regained her vision, she was suddenly here.

Pretending to know what was happening here, she lied. "I believe so."

"Do you know where you are? "

Olivia winced. Damn, that she didn't know. Regaining her composure, she turned the question to Lucy. "I'm not sure yet. Are you from around here? "

Lucy nodded. "I do. With my brothers and sister. We live there." She pointed to the castle on top of the rocks. The very same castle she was admiring merely minutes ago.

Olivia tried to hide the disbelief on her face, but Lucy caught it. Chuckling, she took a small step forward, careful not to spook her. "I know. It sounds like a lie. But it's the truth. Would you like to come and take a look around? Probably have some tea as you gain your bearings. Or coffee if you prefer that."

It was tempting. Olivia needed to find her way back. And Lucy, the person who knew exactly where she was, could help her with that.

Taking a glance back at the cave, she hoped she would see her room or anything. Even any sign that would tell her she could find her way back through it.

Lucy followed her gaze. "You came through there?"

Olivia's head snapped back towards her, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I did," she answered slowly. "How did you know? "

Lucy noticed the shift in her expression. Trying not to scare her, she explained herself. "I apologize if it sounded weird. It's just that I saw you. From the castle balcony."

Olivia hummed in response. Her whole situation was getting weird at the moment. She was itching to go home.

Then, she realized something.

She tilted her head. "If you saw me, did you see what happened? How did I come here? "

Lucy bit her lip, a crease forming on her forehead. "I'm sorry, I didn't exactly see every detail." Then her eyes lit up. "But I do believe it's magic."

"Magic?"

"Yes. Magic."

Olivia fought the urge to roll her eyes. Lucy was now obviously babbling nonsense. She may be a dreamer, but whatever magic Lucy was talking about was far from possible. This woman may even be delusional.

Seeing that she was not going to get a serious answer from her, Olivia started to walk backward. She really hoped Lucy would be able to help her get home. Though it seems unlikely now,.

"I'm not sure what this whole magic thing you're talking about is." Olivia flicked her hands, dismissing the other girl's weird explanation. "I really need to get back home. It was nice meeting you, though." She turned her back to Lucy and made her way back to the cave.

"You checked your back to see if where you came from was still there, but it wasn't."

Olivia halted in her tracks. Turning around to face Lucy, a confused expression painted her face. "How did you know that? "

Lucy smiled at her mysteriously. "I told you. Magic."