The Forgotten Princess: A Narnia Story

Chapter 10: An Unwanted Visitor

I haven't spoken since the strike. My face stings where my mother clawed me, but my expression remains emotionless. Caspian had to carry me back like a child and tuck me into bed. I didn't stop crying the whole night, it must've driven Susan and Lucy mad.

We are gathered in Aslan's How, the place of the ancient Stone Table. Everyone seems to be sitting together, but I've isolated myself in a corner.

Edmund sits next to me. I start to get up, but he takes my hand.

"Please talk to me."

His voice cracks like he's about to cry. I look away.

"Melanie, please," he says, "We're all worried about you." I can tell by his voice that he's crying now, but he conceals his sobs.

I shake his hand away and stare at my feet in silence for a few minutes.

"I killed her."

"Who?" Edmund asks.

"My mother," I say, "She tried to kill me. She said it was the one thing she always wanted to do."

He puts his hand on my back. "You did what you had to do."

Tears spring into my eyes. "I really don't know why you're all treating me like some sort of prophet."

"What are you talking about?"

I push his hand off of me. "Don't you get it? I don't care what the bloody prophecy says, I'm at fault. All of this happened because I wasn't a boy. If I was, I'd be next in line for the throne, my father wouldn't have tried to kill Caspian, nobody would've died last night, and maybe my family would've loved me!"

Edmund stares at me, speechless. I sigh.

"I'm sorry, Edmund," I say, "but I'll never understand it."

I start to walk away, but a cool presence fills the area. I turn around and see Caspian being held by two creatures in front of a newly formed ice wall. Curious, I move closer to see a woman inside the ice. She's beautiful. She has snow-white skin and piercing blue eyes, along with gorgeous blonde hair.

"Caspian," she says in a hypnotizing voice, "I've been waiting so long to meet you."

"No," Caspian trembles before her. "This isn't what I wanted."

The woman smiles. "My dear, of course it is."

Caspian shakes his head, but the woman continues to speak in her enchanting tone.

"You want your throne back, don't you?" she smiles.

Caspian struggles against the two creatures, but he can't look away.

"I can do that for you," the woman whispers, "I just need one drop of Adam's blood to be set free."

One of the creatures slices Caspian's hand open and he cries out in pain. It's a gruesome sight, but for some reason I can't look away either. Suddenly, Peter jumps in and pushes Caspian out of the way. In my trance, I had hardly noticed the scene going on around me. Peter draws his sword.

"Peter," the woman beams, "It's been so long, it's a shame you aren't King of Narnia anymore."

Peter's gaze becomes softer, as if he's forgetting why he had his sword out in the first place. He looks down at his own hand and makes a small cut.

"That's it," the woman grins, "just one drop."

Who is she? I had certainly seen her face in one of my history books. I rack my brain trying to figure it out until the ice abruptly shatters. I gasp and see Edmund with his sword above his head, standing over the shards of ice that brought the White Witch back for a brief moment.

"I know," he says to Peter, "You had it sorted."

***

"Can I come in?" Caspian says, poking his head through the curtains of our tent.

"Well, you're already here, so I suppose you may," I say, "Why aren't you training with the others?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," he chuckles, sitting on the end of my bed, "What's the matter?"

I sigh. "They all hate me."

"Are you kidding?" Caspian shakes his head, "Part of the reason I came back here is because Lucy kept asking where you were." He puts a brotherly arm around my shoulder. "If they hate either of us, it's definitely me."

"Why?" I ask, scrunching my eyebrows together.

"I didn't follow the plan last night," he says quietly, staring at the floor. I can tell he's embarrassed.

"That makes two of us," I say, "But what'd you do?"

"I went to find Miraz myself," he replies, "We lost half the army because of me."

"That's not true," I say.

"I'm also the reason Jadis came back," he continues, "Those creatures offered me a faster way to get my throne back." We sit in silence for a few minutes. "What were you doing?"

"I wasn't exactly given instructions," I say, "Other than fighting off guards, of course. But Prunaprismia found me."

"That would explain why I didn't see her," Caspian nods, "What happened?"

Do I tell him? I know she wasn't a great mother or aunt to either of us, but how would he react if he knew I was the one who ended her life?

"She's dead," I say, a bit too flatly. He was going to find out eventually.

"Dead?" he sits up, "Are you sure? How-?"

"I'm sure," I sigh, "I did it. It was more of a self-defense thing, but I did it."

"I'm sorry," he says, visibly shocked.

"Don't worry about it," I say, "I'll be okay."

"I don't doubt that," Caspian hugs me gently, "Let's go see the others, I believe you have a few fans that would like to know you're okay." He winks playfully and escorts me out of the tent.

***

"Edmund?" I say hesitantly.

It's been hours since the incident with the White Witch, and I can't help but feel awful for everything I've done. Not to mention the way he must feel after dealing with someone who haunted his dreams almost every night.

Edmund looks up from his conversation with Trumpkin. "I gotta go," he tells him.

Trumpkin rolls his eyes and wanders elsewhere. Edmund approaches me and stops a few feet away. We stare into each other's eyes, knowing what the other is thinking. I lose control of myself and rush into his arms, he holds me tightly.

I'm not quite sure how to describe my feelings for him. In a strange, vomit-inducing way, I feel at peace in this moment; his arms wrapped around my waist and my face buried in the spot between his neck and shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for snapping at you like that," I say, "You were just trying to help me and I should've appreciated it."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he mumbles into my ear, "Let's go somewhere else, though. People are staring." He lets me go and nudges me with a smile.

"I hate to interrupt," Peter says, "But are you two packed? We're leaving soon."

"I have everything I need," I pat the sword that hasn't left my side much since the strike.

"Me too," Edmund says, putting his arm around my shoulder.

I blush. "Shut up."

Peter forces a laugh. "Just making sure. Let me know if you need anything, Melanie."

He walks away and Edmund raises an eyebrow. "Someone's acting bitter."

"Wouldn't you be if you had to lead an entire army?" I laugh.

"I suppose," he smiles, "Go get some sleep, okay? We have a war to win."