𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑟, 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗍𝗐𝗈.

III. collision

I paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. He should be here by now. Cornelius had told me to be there by midnight. Dessa whinnied, tethered to a nearby tree.

Come on, I whispered, Come on, Caspian, please...

Please, please, remember me.

Then there he was. Racing away from the castle on his horse, was Caspian the tenth, now eighteen years old (by my guess). I ran to Dessa, untied her, and rose into my saddle. Pulling up next to him, I got my first good look at his face. Though his face was pallid white and terror-stricken, he was still handsome. He would make a lucky lady very happy one day, but that wasn't what made me gasp.

He looked just like his father.

"How are you, Caspian?" I asked quietly. My words seem to startle him as if he had forgotten that I was there. His eyes met mine: two pools of dark brown filled with fear, yet still sparkling with the thrill of the adventure. Yes, he was handsome. But I would never feel for him---that way...

Would I?

Could I?

Would He?

His voice broke me away from my thoughts. "Fine...yeah. No, no, not really." Our horses cantered through the forest, our hands off the reigns. I was grateful that Caspian was a good rider. I wasn't afraid we would get lost---Dessa knew the way.

"You'll be fine. The people you're about to meet are...ah uninformed of the situation, but I'm sure they'll be very welcoming...well, besides Nickabrick...and on the rare occasion, Trumpkin...well, that's not the point. Everything's going to turn out fine."

"I guess so...I guess I had just given up on the stories for so long---and then Cornelius told me that he was half-dwarf, and everything just sort of fell apart. I had just---I don't know, stopped believing." He then turned to me, a smile on his face. "But I never forgot you. Or Jessop. Will...will he be there?"

"Of course. I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you. C'mon, let's get moving."

We spurred our horses into a gallop. It must have been an odd sight, an eighteen-year-old boy and a fourteen-year-old girl on horseback, riding through the forest at midnight. 

Suddenly, voices could be heard behind us. Turning, I saw several horsed mounted by Telmarine men heading towards us. I gritted my teeth and spoke to Caspian in hitched breaths.

"Don't speak. Telmarines. Go. Faster!" We kicked our horses and sped into the darkness. No matter how fast we went, the Telmarines stayed close behind. We gained a bit of a lead after the last turn. Soon, the cottage came into view.

"Go!" I screamed at Caspian, no longer caring about my volume. We dismounted our horse and ran for the door. Opening the door, I shoved Caspian inside. I heard four voices. I caught a glimpse of Jessop, smiling at me, beckoning me in, and I had almost made it too--before a Telmarine soldier grabbed me around the waist. He hoisted me onto his back and rode away, towards the castle.

Not exactly how I planned my day going.

...

Edmund's POV

"Act your age!" the policeman screamed. I staggered away from the scene, heading up the platform. Why did I always fight Peter's battles for him? 

I sat down dismally, watching as if from afar as Susan and Peter and Lucy bickered between each other. However, my attention was drawn back to reality as Peter's voice rose.

"-I'm tired of being treated like a kid!"

"We...are...kids?" I chuckled quizzically? What exactly was he getting at?

"We weren't always." was his reply.

The comment pierced me like a knife. The last thing I needed today was a thought about what we had lost.

Who I had lost.

A woman in a purple coat walked by at a leisurely pace, humming a tune. I listened in... it was something I recognized.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green...When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen... my mind subconsciously sang.

No. Stop. Not now. Please.

Please.

"It's been a year." Susan's voice sounded. "We need to accept that--"

"Aslan wouldn't lie," said Lucy quietly. "Not about this."

God, I hoped she was right. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Lucy jumped up. "Ow!"

"Wha--"I began, but soon I felt something. A sharp pinching at my back, as if someone with very sharp nails was trying to grab me. "Ouch! Who did that?" 

"Not me!" said Peter and Susan in unison as they, too jumped up. The train was moving a bit faster than normal--it was a bit scary, really. It looked as if it were going to fall off the rails.

"Grab hands!" screamed Peter. None of the other people at the station seemed to notice this activity, which meant it could only be one thing.

Magic.

Grabbing Peter's hand, I felt the cool wind on my face. Holding onto my hat with the other hand, I watched as the train sped by, the walls crumbling before my eyes.

If I were supposed to be a brave king, then why was I so scared?

Opening my eyes wider, I saw that we were now on a beach, white sand sprawling out before us, met by the crystal blue ocean. The sky was blue, sometimes punctuated by white clouds.

Something struck me, then. I knew it would hit my siblings eventually, but the feeling now was so strong I nearly collapsed. A memory.

"Come on, slowpoke!" she ran up the beach ahead of him, barefooted and laughing. "We're going to miss it!"

He followed her up the beach, laughing as she skipped and jumped and twirled. August 1st...she was turning 18. He had asked her time and time again what she wanted, but had only ever answered with 'I don't know'. Now she had brought him here.

He heard her singing, her breath heavy as she ran: "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green...when I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen."

She stopped by a boulder and climbed to the top. Following, he finally knew what she wanted.

To watch the sunset.

The pang hit me. The memory, the feeling. I could still hear the tune in my ears, beating with my heart.

We were here.

She was here.

I was here.

In Narnia.

Not exactly how I planned my day going.

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WOW! Sorry, that took so long--I just had writers' block for FOREVER (all we see is sky) but I'm back now! I really hope you like this and I will upload again soon!

Stay weird!

Au Revoir,

Z