𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐀𝐍 || 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 [ I ]

Chapter 14

The corridors of Aslan's How were dark, the shadows seemed to absorb almost all the light that came from the torches on the walls and a cold air rushed through the halls, the kind of cold that made you feel shivers down your spine.

It was quiet, because quite a lot of Narnians had marched towards Miraz' castle. Only the sound of water running down a wall and the flickering of the torches filled the silence, until laughs echoed down the hall.

The laughs sounded joyful and the giggles that followed made you want to join in on the fun. They made the dark corridors appear lighter, more colorful and less depressing.

The happy sounds came from the end of one of the long corridors, from the Stone Table room. Muriel and Lucy were seated there and couldn't control their giggling.

"You and Edmund destroyed the painting and Peter and Susan never found out?" Questioned Muriel while she tried to hold back her chuckles.

Lucy nodded with a grin on her lips. "Well... They did found out, after a year or so, because Edmund misspoke himself. We had to clean and organize Susan's dressing room as a punishment."

Muriel laughed wholeheartedly, she could only imagine how much time that had cost the two rascals. She smiled at Lucy, who shuddered thinking back about the thousand dresses she'd had to sort by colour, "you deserved that."

"We did..."

The two girls spent another ten minutes laughing at a funny story about Peter but when their giggles finally died down, Muriel let out a sigh in relief, "I thought we would never stop laughing." She thought about that for a minute, "although I believe that wouldn't be so bad."

Lucy wanted to agree but stayed quiet, her thoughts suddenly went out to her older siblings. She felt ashamed and guilty, she and Muriel were sitting inside, kept warm by the fire and enjoying their time together while the Narnians were outside in the cold, ready to take over Miraz' castle. It was not fair.

Muriel noticed how Lucy's smile turned into a frown and put an arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her. The two of them had already spoken about their concerns. Lucy was the one with the most hope, but her two brothers and sister were surrounded by Telmarines at the moment and no matter how brave she was, that thought scared her.

Muriel almost began to regret her decision to stay at the How with Lucy. She loved spending time with the young girl sitting next to her, but Muriel felt useless. She had preferred having to open the gate with Caspian or send signals to the Narnians together with Edmund. There was nothing she could do just sitting here.

"Tell me another story," Muriel looked at Lucy. There was no point in just sitting here, swallowing themselves in self pity. So the thought of telling stories and keeping themselves entertained seemed much more pleasant. "Please?"

Lucy nodded slowly, but instead of actually telling her a story she turned her whole body towards Muriel and raised one eyebrow.

"Why don't you tell me a story."

Muriel was taken aback by her request, "you really want me to tell you a story?" Lucy nodded. "About my boring life in Archenland?" She nodded again.

"Very well then."Muriel put a strand of hair behind her ear and thought for a moment. She did not really know what to talk about first, but mentioning Killian seemed like a good way to start things.

"Uhm... Well, for a start, I'm really good friends with the son of a cook." Muriel smiled at the thought of her best friend, "he's the clumsiest person I have ever met, but he's very friendly."

Lucy, who had almost forgotten her sad mood already because of the mention of this boy, smirked at Muriel. "Is he handsome?"

"W-what?" Muriel's cheeks began to redden at the question, "I have never thought of him in that way... But yes, I suppose he is? His mother was very beautiful, almost prettier than most of the girls at court. Or at least, that's what his father always tells me when we eat cake in the kitchen."