𝙸𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴. ➪ 𝙴. 𝙿𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚎

𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎

When the group arrived at the ford, it was filled with men hard at work. They appeared to be building some form of bridge. They crouched behind a pile of thick logs. Phillis felt Edmund pull her down at the sound of horses passing by. She nestled her head into his chest to steady her breathing. When they were gone, he squeezed her hand tightly. After waiting a split second, they peeked over the logs once more. There were hundreds of men and no way of getting past them, let alone through them. Phillis sighed quietly - everything seemed to go wrong. She was waiting for Peter to say something stupid like 'if we unite, and if Aslan is on our side, as I know he is, and we fight with everything we have, there can be no way that we cannot get past them'. But alas, even Peter wasn't completely out of his mind. "Perhaps this wasn't the best way to come after all," Susan whispered.
Peter sent one last glance at the working men, before scurrying away. One by one, the rest of the group followed him.

Soon enough, they were back at the spot where Lucy had spotted Aslan. The youngest Pevensie was nestled into Phillis' side. The Opal girl offered her a great deal of comfort. "So, where exactly do you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asked.
Lucy turned to glare at her older brother, "I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grown-ups. I don't think I saw him, I did see him."
Lucy stepped away from Phillis for a brief moment, turning to the spot she figured she'd seen him. Lucy hugged the youngest Opal in an attempt to not feel so alone.
"I am a grown-up," Trumpkin muttered, causing Edmund and Phillis to share a silent look of amusement.
"It was right over..." Lucy said, the ground beneath her giving way, dragging both Lucy and Phillis down.
The two girls screamed as their names were called. The fall was much shorter than Phillis had expected. When she opened her eyes, she found Lucy nestled in her arms and her back planted firmly on the ground. They'd only fallen a meter or so but it was enough to knock the wind out of Phillis. Lucy sat up, looking up at the older children. "Here," she laughed.
They let out relieved chuckles, noticing a narrow passage leading down the the river. They all climbed down, Edmund held his hand out to Phillis. She smiled gratefully at him as he tugged her up.

Once they'd set up a fire to keep them from freezing to death in the chilly Narnian nights, they all lay down to sleep. Elmer's snores echoed through the woods, keeping Phillis wide awake. "Lucy, Phillis. Are you awake?" Susan's hushed voice came.
"Hmm," the two younger girls hummed in response.
Phillis lay close enough to Edmund to feel his body heat. His breaths were spaced apart, so she knew he was asleep. A simple fact she'd remembered from their first visit to Narnia. "Why do you think Phillis and I didn't see Aslan?" Susan asked, sitting up.
Fully awake now, Phillis and Lucy both sat up too.
"You believe me?" Lucy whispered.
"Well, we got across the gorge," Susan shrugged.
Lucy sighed, "I don't know. Maybe you didn't really want to?"
"You always knew we'd be coming back here, didn't you?" Phillis said, turning to face the sisters.
Phillis forced her eyes to remain on the girls, and not Edmund's adorable sleeping figure. Sometimes, his eyes would twitch and his head would turn. She knew his dreams would turn dark whenever he did this. And whenever he reached out for her, she knew they'd turned into nightmares, for he always did that back at Cair Paravel. When he'd sneak into her sleeping quarters after having a bad dream, he'd doze off in her bed, and hold her close if ever his dreams got to be too traumatic for him.
"I hoped so," Lucy said.
"It's just frustrating, though. I'd finally settled back into life in England. Accepted that maybe we weren't coming back. But here we are," Phillis sighed, staring up at the stars.
The sparkling constellations above.
Susan nodded, "I'd finally just got used to the idea of being in England."
"But you're happy to be here, aren't you?" Lucy glanced between the two girls.
"While it lasts," Susan muttered.
"It's not the same as when we were last here," Phillis whispered, "everyone's gone."
And with that, Susan and Phillis lay back down. Phillis closed her eyes, wishing sleep would swallow her whole. She felt someone's fingers wind their way around hers. She opened one eye to see Edmund's hand by her side, but he was still in a deep sleep.
So, she smiled to herself, and quietly slipped into a world of memories and what could have beens.

Phillis lay back in the copper bathtub, the warm water heating her up nicely. She listened to the flames licking at the firewood in the fireplace. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet moment of bliss and peace. A faun, Sybil, sat on a stool beside the bath. She hummed quietly as she braided the Queen's soft hair. The dear little faun had been reading a book to Phillis whilst she bathed. "There you go, Phillis. You're sure to impress at dinner," Sybil smiled.
Sybil was one of the few Narnians who was close enough with the Zealous Queen to address her by only her first name.
Sybil had littered Phillis' chocolate hair with daisies and lavender and cherry blossoms. The water she soaked in was filled with only the strongest smelling lavender to ensure Phillis smelt lovely for the next few days. "Thank you, Sybil. You're a blessing - what would I do without you?" Phillis smiled.
"Your hair certainly wouldn't look as good, Your Majesty," the sweet faun joked, causing Phillis to laugh quietly.
She heard the door open, but assumed it was merely a servant coming to drop off Phillis' nightgown or her dress for dinner. However, she felt icy cold hands on her bare shoulder. The Queen jumped and snapped her eyes open, only relaxing when she saw Edmund Pevensie. Instinctively, she went to cover herself up - specifically the scar on her lower abdomen from the Battle of Beruna, because it made her feel self-conscious and she knew Edmund always felt guilty when he saw it. "Why cover yourself, love? Nothing I haven't seen before," he whispered in her ear, sending shivers racing down her spine.
Sybil merely turned her attention to something else. She knew of Edmund and Phillis' curious relationship, but didn't feel the need to sit back and watch an intimate moment between lovers. "Didn't Peter ever teach you not to walk into a lady's chambers?" Phillis replied.
"Oh, he did. But I couldn't resist the urge to see you," he said.
"I see. And did it not occur to you that you shall see me in less than twenty minutes at dinner?" she raised a brow at the dark-haired boy.
"Oh, it did. But did it not occur to you that twenty minutes is an awful long time when you're waiting for something. Someone," he smirked.
"Well, Ed, patience is an important trait to have. Especially as you're a King," she told him.
"Of course, of course. But I'm here now," he shrugged.
"That you are," she sighed. "But I need to get dressed. You'll see me at dinner in no time at all, Eddie."
"If you say so, Queen Phillis," he nodded, kissing her forehead before leaving the room completely.