The Forgotten Princess: A Narnia Story

Chapter 5: Discussion by the Fire

There's a voice outside the tent. "Lucy?"

She sits up. "I'm right here!"

The curtain slides open and a boy pokes his head in. "Everything's okay, right? Peter said I missed an announcement." I guess he made it back after all.

Lucy nods. "Yeah, we're finally using the extra bed now." She taps my arm. "This is my brother, Edmund. Ed, this is Melanie."

The boy looks at me. "Hello. You must be Caspian's cousin?"

"Yes. Nice to meet you," I say stiffly.

Edmund smiles. "You too." He turns back to Lucy. "Come outside, we have a meeting in a few minutes."

Lucy slides off the edge of the bed and runs outside. I get up to follow her as Edmund holds the curtain open for me.

"I'm coming too, right?" I ask.

He laughs. "Of course you are. Enjoying our camp yet?"

"A lot actually, your siblings are really sweet," I leave a cautious amount of space between us. For some odd reason, I feel like he can read my thoughts.

"I'm sure they'd be happy to hear that," he says as we walk.

"Oy!"

We both turn around.

"Trumpkin!" I rush over to him and crouch down. "You're alright! Who saved you?"

"This bloke." He jerks his head toward Edmund.

Edmund rolls his eyes. "You never said 'thank you', you know."

"Don't need to. I almost beat you in a sword fight right after," Trumpkin brags.

"Almost," Edmund points out, "I still won."

Trumpkin rolls his eyes. "That's fair."

"You need to work on your strategy if we're fighting the castle guards later," I tease.

Trumpkin's cheeks turn pink. "Let's go, we'll miss the meeting."

Edmund laughs and holds out his hand to help me up as the cross dwarf starts to walk away. I look at it for a second, wondering if I should refuse like I did with Peter, but my brain is telling me otherwise, as if I'm not aware that he betrayed an entire army years ago. I take his hand and he pulls me back up as we walk to meet the others.

"And for the record, I'm a better swordsman than you'd like to admit," Trumpkin shouts after us.

***

"I'm sure you all know why you're here." Peter and Caspian are standing together in front of everyone. "Melanie, can you stand with us please?"

I take a deep breath. I'm not sure if I'm ready to face the comments made earlier, but what choice do I have?

"This is my cousin, Melanie." Caspian puts a hand on my shoulder. "She is one of the bravest people I know, and I believe she will be of great help to us."

I'm slightly shocked at his statement. How was a girl who rarely left the castle she lived in brave? I start to think that maybe I'm not ready for any of this.

But something happens that shocks me even more. One by one, every creature in the crowd kneels down on one knee. The minotaur from earlier speaks up.

"We salute your bravery, fair Melanie."

I'm at a loss for words. I spot Lucy in the first row, and she looks at me with encouragement. I clear my throat, feeling obligated to make a speech.

"I have always admired the courage of the Narnians, and even dreamed of being one myself. Words can't describe how lucky I am to be here today, and I will do as much as I can to help you defeat the Telmarines."

Everyone erupts into applause. I've never felt more appreciated in my life. For so long, I'd felt completely useless, and now I feel like I belong somewhere. Peter takes my hand and raises it up in the air, and I can't help but smile. Tears of joy begin to stream down my face. Caspian puts a hand on my back.

"What's wrong?" he shouts over the noise.

"Nothing," I shout back, "I'm home."

***

"Melanie! Come join us outside." Susan motions toward the tent door.

I walk outside to see Trumpkin, Caspian, and the Pevensies sitting around a fire.

"Tut, tut," Trumpkin says, "it seems we have an odd number."

He's right. Trumpkin and Caspian are seated together, Lucy and Susan, Peter and Edmund.

"It's alright, I can stand," I say politely. I'm used to being left out intentionally, so this isn't too bad.

"No, you can sit here." Edmund stands up and sits on the ground next to his previous seat.

"Are you sure?" I hesitantly sit down.

Edmund smiles and gives a simple nod. "Positive."

Peter raises his eyebrows. "Anyway, we have lots to talk about for tonight's raid."

He proceeds to explain what the Narnians need, with Trumpkin occasionally adding in a snide remark or two. I zone out a few times, thinking of what my father is doing about my disappearance, if he's doing anything at all. I imagine him questioning Doctor Cornelius or one of the guards, but not really caring what happened to me.

Caspian tells Peter the layout of the castle grounds, what parts to avoid, who is the easiest to get past, and those sort of things. I look up at the night sky. The stars are so beautiful tonight, and seeing them from the forest is a whole new experience.

I suddenly get the feeling I'm being watched. I look in the trees around us, but see nothing. Looking to my left, I realize it was Edmund. He doesn't look away though. He just smiles. I smile back awkwardly. I guess he's never seen a Telmarine girl before.

I've never really talked to anyone outside the castle, so the concept of talking to people other than Caspian, Cornelius, or occasionally my parents is new to me. I remember what Lucy said earlier about Caspian and Susan being in love. All I know about love is what I've read in books.

I watch Caspian and Susan interact, you know, to see what love might really look like. Every time she speaks, he watches her like she's the most wonderful thing he's ever seen, kind of how I look at the sunset. When they talk to each other, they look deep into each other's eyes and never break eye contact. I wonder if I'll ever be in love.