The Journey Ahead ( A Narnia Love Story)

Chapter 2: The Kings and Queens of Old

When Caspian came to consciousness, he woke up panting. Charlotte was still out. It could have been from blood loss, or the fact she had hit her head. Caspian winced, trying to sit up. He looked around confused. The rustling of trees all around him made him even more anxious. He jumped at every little sound.

"Caspian?" Charlotte said groggily. He didn't respond.

"Caspian?" She looked at him. All he did was hold his finger to his mouth. A universal sign for be quiet. Charlotte watched him carefully. Suddenly panic washes over his face. She followed his sights to see a light flickering from inside the tree. 2, what seemed to be dwarves, came out of the tree. One wielding a weapon of some sort.

"They can't be. Narnians are extinct. Aren't they?" Charlotte thought to herself.

"He's seen us." The shorter of the two said. He had a long dark grey beard and hair covering his head.

Caspian's eyes flicker towards his sword. At the same time the other dwarf draws his dagger. He had blond hair, and was taller than the first. Caspian slides back in fear. Suddenly the dwarf stops. He stares at the ground. 'He must have seen the Queen's horn.' Thought Charlotte. Caspian and the dwarf once again make eye contact. The dwarf looks back, over his shoulder, to the other dwarf in panic. One can only start to wonder why 1, The dwarf hasn't killed Caspian and Charlotte, and 2, why were they so confused.

Suddenly a horse's neigh is heard. All eyes turn to a path to right. Figures come into view. You can tell by the looks on the soldier's faces, they are not happy. The blond dwarf once again looks at Caspian, then back to the grey one and says,

"Take care of him." Then he hobbles over to the clearing, swinging his sword, ready for attack. The other dwarf comes walking over. Caspian sees him, and the impossibility in the situation and dives. He dives for Queen Susan's horn.

"No!" The dwarf says. Caspian pulls the horn up to his mouth, and blows with all his might. Suddenly the call is cut short. The dwarf took his fist, and hit Caspian as hard as he could. Charlotte looks in pure terror as she starts shuffling back. As she scoots she feels behind her for her bow. The dwarf, running as fast as he could, chased her. He takes the weapon from his hand and struck her with the blunt edge of it. This to her was the end. She could no longer complete her mission. If he died she would never be able to live with herself. "Caspian, I'm sorry." She gasped with her last breath before her head fell to the ground.

Meanwhile in London

Susan stands reading a newspaper at the paper stand, killing time before it's time to catch their train. She was reading through "The Picture Post." On the cover was a woman with medium length, curly hair. She has a determined look to her, that must have been what caught Susan's eye. Suddenly she hears someone approach her, on her left. She did not look up from her paper because she was in no mood for interaction. He stopped next to her. He would start to fiddle with some papers, and then look at her. He did this two or three times before Susan felt the urge to look up. She gave him a quick glance and went back to her paper.

When she had looked up at him. He seemed to have wanted to say something, but then would back down. You could see he was having internal conflict on whether or not he could find the courage.

"You go to Saint Finbar's?" The boy in the yellow and black striped scarf said. Susan looked over at him, giving him a courteous smile.

"That's right." she said. She may not have meant it, but her answer came out with a bit of annoyance. She glanced back at her paper.

"I go to Hendon House. Across the road." He said trying to keep the conversation going.

"I've seen you..." She smiled thinking he was trying to flirt with her.