Born For Better (A Peter Pevensie/ Narnia Fanfic)

Chapter 21- Trees That Don't Talk and Animals That Don't Speak

Lucy's POV

The red haired dwarf, who had introduced himself as Trumpkin, rowed down the Glasswater river. I watched the trees as we floated by in our boat, waiting for for at least one to bend down and greet us. 

"They're so still." I murmured. Trumpkin looked over at me then followed my gaze. 

"They're trees. What do you expect?" He said gruffly. 

"They used to dance." I told him. Trumpkin let out a sigh. 

"It wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded. Those that survived retreated to the woods. And the trees have retreated so deeply inside themselves that no one has heard from them since." He explained. Peter leaned forward slightly. 

"Do you know what happened to Lady Annabelle?" He asked. The rest of us looked at Trumpkin expectantly. Trumpkin eyed us all. 

"You mean Queen Annabelle?" He inquired.

"Queen?" I exclaimed. The dwarf nodded. 

"She was crowned the night after you all left. Then three years later, she was killed in the Battle for Cair Paravel." He explained. Peter's face fell and he sat back. 

"She's dead?" Susan asked, tears in her eyes. 

"I'm sorry." Trumpkin said.

"I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?" I asked. 

Aslan? I thought he abandoned us after you lot did." Trumpkin scoffed.  

"We didn't mean to leave, you know." Peter spoke up, wiping his eyes of tears. 

"Doesn't make much difference now, does it?" Trumpkin asked.  

"Get us to the Narnians and it will." Peter said, crossing his arms. We finally reach the shore and climbed out of the boat. Trumpkin tied the boat down, while everyone walked further up the bank. I wandered away from my siblings, spotting a bear grazing the grass silently. 

"Hello there!" I said brightly. The bear looked over to me, its face blank. "It's alright, we're friends." I reassured. The bear stood up fully. 

"Don't move, your majesty!" Trumpkin shouted from behind me. I turned my head to see his eyes wide in horror. Looking back at the bear, I saw that it had charged. I sprinted back towards my family. 

"Stay away from her!" Susan shouted, drawing an arrow back into her bow. 

"Susan, shoot!" Edmund shouted. I tripped over a rock as the bear got nearer. I closed my eyes and screamed as it rose up of two legs, ready to attack, but the attack never came. Looking up, I saw an arrow lodged into the bears neck. I fell over in front of me with a loud thumb. I looked back to see Susan still stood with an arrow notched in her bow. Behind her, Trumpkin held a bow, the string still moving from having just released an arrow.

"Why wouldn't he stop?" Susan asked, confused as she lowered her bow. 

"I expect he was hungry." Trumpkin said, walking passed Susan. Peter ran over to me, sword drawn as he helped me up

"He was wild." Edmund murmured. 

"I don't think he could talk at all." Peter said.

"Get treated like a dumb animal long enough and that's what you become." Trumpkin grumbled, drawing his knife. "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember." He began cutting into the bear. I turned my head away, burying my face into Peter's chest. 

****

We continued our journey through the forest, Peter leading the way. 

"I don't remember this way at all." Susan said, looking at our surroundings. 

"That's the problem with girls. You can't carry a map in your heads." Peter called back. 

"That's because our heads have something in them." I shot back. 

"I wish he'd just listen to the DLF." Susan told me.  

"DLF?" Edmund questioned. 

"Dear Little Friend." I explained, watching Trumpkin grimace. 

"Oh, that's not patronizing, is it?" He grumbled. Peter stepped into a rock passage and stops. 

"I'm not lost." He insisted, looking over his shoulder.  

"No... you're just going the wrong way." Trumpkin said. 

"You said you last saw Caspian at the Shuddering Wood, and the quickest way there is to cross at the river rush." Peter explained. 

"But, unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing in these parts." Trumpkin told him.  

"That explains it then. You're mistaken." Peter snapped, leading the way until we came to the gorge. Far down below, the water rushed below.

"Over hundreds of years, water eroded the earth's soil..." Susan began to explain, sounding like one of my teachers at school.  

"Oh, shut up." Peter snapped. "Is there a way down?" 

"Yeah, falling." Trumpkin said, stepping away from the gorge. "Come. There's a ford at Beruna. Any of you mind swimming?"

"Anything's better than walking." Susan said. We all began to walk way, when I dared to look back. And there, standing on the edge of the gorge stood a magnificent golden lion, basking in the warm sunlight.

"Aslan? It's Aslan! It's Aslan over there!" I looked back at my siblings, pointing at where I had seen him. They all looked, confusion written over their faces. "Well,can't you see? He's right..." I looked back to see the light had faded and the lion was gone, "there..." 

"Do you see him now?" Trumpkin asked slowly. 

"I'm not crazy. He was there. He wanted us to follow him." I explained. 

"I'm sure there are any number of lions in this wood.Just like that bear." Peter said gently, laying an arm on my shoulder. I pulled away, glaring up at him.

"I think I know Aslan when I see him." I snapped. 

"Look, I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist." Trumpkin groaned. 

"The last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid." Edmund murmured, sending me a slight smile. Peter looked back at where I had pointed. 

"Why wouldn't I have seen him?" He asked me. 

"Maybe you weren't looking." I whispered. 

"I'm sorry, Lu." He said, shaking his head then walked away. Everyone began to follow, with me walking in the back. I stopped for a moment and looked back. 

****

We hid out in the bushes next to the ford, watching the Telmarines building up a bridge. Soldiers were crawling the beaches on either side, giving us no way to get through unnoticed. 

"Perhaps this wasn't the best way after all." Susan said. Trumpkin nodded and we turned back silently, heading back to the gorge. As we came to the spot we had been, Peter turned to me. 

"Where do you think you saw Aslan?" He asked me. 

"I wish you'd all stop acting like grown-ups. I didn't think I saw him, I did see him." I insisted. 

"I am a grown-up." Trumpkin muttered as I walked forward. I inspected the area around the gorge, hoping to see some kind of footprints in the dirt, or a sign that Aslan had indeed been here. 

"It was right around..." I started, coming to the edge of the gorge. Just as my feet stepped in the exact spot that I had seen Aslan, the ground collapsed underneath me and I screamed. Though my horror was short lived as I had landed safely in soft grass just a few feet below. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Trumpkin appeared above me, looking down in concern. 

"Here." I said with a smile. Looking down, I noticed a steep and narrow path goings slantwise down into the gorge between rocks. We began our trek down to the water and crossed safely.