Born For Better (A Peter Pevensie/ Narnia Fanfic)

Chapter 24- Heartbreak and Anger

Peter's POV

Caspian led us through the woods quietly, the company of Narnian's following behind, whispering excitedly about the return of me and my siblings. We came to the edge of the woods, getting a good look at Aslan's How. We walked under the crumbling columns, coming to a stop. Centaurs lined the path leading down into the How. Drawing their swords, they held them out over our heads.

Susan, Edmund, Lucy, and I walked forward, Caspian following behind. We got inside and were immediately greeted by Narnians running around and making weapons. Susan and Lucy ventured down a dark tunnel while Edmund and I stayed back with Caspian.

"It may not be what you are used to, but it isdefensible." Caspian was explaining when Susan appeared from inside the tunnel.

"Peter!" She called, "You may want to see this." I looked to Edmund before we both followed Susan down the hall. She motioned to the wall that Lucy stood next to.

I ran my fingers along the wall, my eyes scanning the different cave drawings. There was drawing of a lamppost with a faun wearing a red scarf standing under the light. Next to it was a drawing of two beavers leading a boy and three girls through the snow. Then there was a great, golden lion standing proud before an army. A battle was drawn next to it. Then a coronation.

"It's us." Susan murmured. I followed the drawings down the hall, finally coming to an end at the white stag. I looked passed and saw several more cave drawings following after the stag. A coronation of a single girl.

"Annabelle..." I whispered, following her rule through the drawings until they abruptly ended at a battle. And her death.

"What is this place?" Lucy asked.

"You don't know?" Caspian took up a torch and began walking down the tunnel, motioning us to follow. As we reached the end, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. Caspian lit a fire at the entrance, which spread around the room, revealing carvings of Narnians and Aslan. On the other end of the room sat the cracked Stone Table and in front of it knelt a girl with long brown hair that reached her waist and dressed in an old, worn Narnian dress

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were still in here." Caspian apologized. The girl let out a sigh.

"It's fine, Caspian." Her voice was raspy and quiet as if she didn't speak very often. Bowing her head towards the Stone Table, she rose to her feet and turned. My breath caught in my throat, my eyes widening as I looked at her face. She was younger than when I had last seen her, but her eyes held countless years of life.

"Anna!" Lucy called, running forward, but she stopped short when Annabelle sent her an emotionless stare.

"Leave us, Caspian." She murmured. The prince nodded and turned, leaving down the long winding tunnel. Annabelle turned her cold stare back to me.

"Anna..." I managed to choke out, taking a step forward. She took a step back. I tried to read her face, but she kept it blank, her mouth drawn in a tight straight line.

"You left." She finally said.

"I...I'm sorry..." I murmured, tears beginning to fall from my eyes and down my face. Her face contorted in anger.

"Oh? You're sorry? And I suppose that makes it all okay, doesn't it?" She snapped, tears coming to her own eyes. "I was left to rule the Narnia you abandoned, forced to watch helplessly as our friends were slaughtered mercilessly by Telmarines. I was locked away while Narnia forgot Aslan, as our stories, our lives, passed into legends and myths rather than history." A tear slipped out and ran down her cheek.

"We didn't know we were going to be sent back." Susan cut in, taking a step forward. Annabelle glanced at Susan.

"Peter did." She whispered, looking back at me.

"What?" Edmund asked, looking over at me.

"Or have you forgotten so soon?" Annabelle asked me, tilting her head slightly. "Because if I can remember the moment you left after hundreds of years, you sure as hell should be able to recall it after a measly year."

"You knew?" Lucy asked.

"I-I..." I stuttered out, but I couldn't find any words to say.

"I told him what would happen if you all left to hunt the white stag. And he didn't listen." Annabelle said, her eyes remaining fixed on me, her voice remains steady.

"I-I didn't know what you were talking about...I thought you were just being cra-" I stopped short, my eyes going wide. Annabelle's lip curled.

"What?"

"Nothing." I said a little too quickly.

"No, finish what you were going to say." She snapped.

"I-I was going to say..crazy." I winced as the word passed my lips. "But I didn't mean-"

"I've been called crazy by a lot of people, Peter. But I never expected it to come from my King." She said through clenched teeth, tears falling silently down her cheeks. She walked forward, pushing passed me.

"Wait!" I reached out and grabbed her arm. She recoiled, ripping her arm from my grasp, whipping around and slapping my cheek with the back of her hand.

"Don't touch me!" She hissed before turning and stomping out of the room.

Annabelle's POV

I hurried out of the room, running through the tunnel until I reached the main room where everyone was hard at work. Wanting a quiet place to just sit and think, I ran outside. I continued to run until I was deep inside the woods, the sunlight fading into a sunset.

Collapsing against the base of a tree, I curled up tightly and cried. I sat there in my own thoughts and sorrows, trying to shut out the world. Then a hand rested on my shoulder. For a moment, I thought that maybe the trees had woken up, that a drayad had drifted down to comfort me, but when I lifted my head, I found Caspian standing above me.

"Glenstorm said you ran off." He said. I wiped my eyes and looked straight ahead.

"I don't need someone to look after me." I snapped.

"Maybe not." Caspian said, sitting down at my side. "But I thought that you might want to talk." I sniffed and began picking at them the grass, braiding a few of the blades together. "Or that you might want these back."

Turning to asked the prince what he meant, I saw that in his hands were two short swords and a beautifully crafted axe. My eyes widened as he passed them to me.

"Where...?"

"Back in the How, there's an entire memorial for you down one of the tunnels. I found these along with a few more of your salvaged belongings, but I figured these would mean more to you." He explained. I smiled up at him.

"Thank you." I murmured, looking back down at the weapons. Holding the axe up, I ran my fingers along the inscription.

"'Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more.'" Caspian asked, reading the words over my shoulder. "What is that from?"

"It was half of a prophecy spoken by my mother. The other half is on Peter's sword..." My smile faded as his name left my lips. Caspian's face fell.

"I was kind of hoping this would be a distraction." He apologized. I dropped the axe back into my lap and bit my lip. "It was that bad, huh?"

"I have spent 1,288 years waiting for their return. All those years rehearsing what I wanted to say. Longing to hear their voices again as we laughed and cried with happiness..." I whispered, tears falling down my face. "but back there...when I saw them again, I was just filled with so much anger. Angry at the fact that they got to merely go back to living the lives they had before Narnia. Angry that I was left to rot in a prison I had no hope of escaping from. Angry that Peter didn't listen to me, after all we've been through... I'm just so...angry..."

Caspian didn't say anything, but I didn't need him to. We sat there in silence until the moon hung high in the sky, and then walked back to the How together.