The Legacy's Return (#2)

Announcement

"Are you nervous?"

I felt squeamish really. I was afraid for a lot of reasons. I took a deep breath and looked up at the person's calm eyes and I could've sworn that I felt confidence wash over me. "Terrified."

My palms started to sweat and I wiped them on my dress. Caspian smirked and I scowled at him. "I apologise." He said as he took my hand in his.

Suddenly, the previous night's dream came into my mind. I politely took my hand away just as the Professor came out of the throne room and closed the door behind him. "Everyone is ready." He informed us.

I knew Caspian felt that something was wrong. But I couldn't talk about it yet. The dream was still haunting me. I was still a little afraid even though I knew that it was just a nightmare. He would never do that to me. Right? That wasn't Caspian. That wasn't his voice and nor were they his eyes. They weren't the same coffee colour. They were....cold.

"Shall we?" He asked me with a comforting smile on his face.

I smiled at him. "We shall." I reminded myself to breathe. I wasn't going to accomplish anything if I didn't. "Let's do this." I nodded at the Professor. He opened the door and I went in first.

The Lords that were seated in the room turned towards the sound of the door opening and looked at me. Déjà vu of my first day entering the throne room filled me. That was the same door that Nina entered through on my first day.

Caspian walked in beside me and walked towards his throne. Or was it my throne then? He stood on the podium and started to make his talk. "Thank you for coming, my Lords. I know it is not the fixed date and I apologise for calling an urgent meeting."

"What was the necessity, your Majesty?" One of the Lords asked.

"Is everything all right?" Another asked.

Some of them were still looking at the Professor and myself near the door but I couldn't move in any further. My feet were glued to the floor near the door. Everything seemed alien all of a sudden. My throat was dry and swallowing seemed hard at the moment. The Professor stood next to me for support in case what he and Caspian feared happened.

"I'm sure all of you are aware about the Forbidden Prophecy." Caspian continued. The Lords nodded their heads and some of them acknowledged that they knew it. One of them said that it was a children's fairy tale. Caspian laughed at that. "I'm sure everyone has a different opinion on the Prophecy." He gave a diplomatic reply. "I'm here to tell you that it is true."

Whispers filled the room. "How do you know whether it is true?"

"The Professor here," Caspian pointed to the Professor. "....found the Prophecy four months ago. I've read it with my own eyes."

Disbelief came over most of the people in the room. I started to bite my lips in nervousness. "How can we believe you?"

"The heir of King Frank and Queen Helen is standing right here in this room with us." Caspian said. He looked so confident and I wished that I could look the same. I started to twiddle my thumbs together and rotate them in circles one over the other. Breathe, Sophie. Breathe.

Then, silence filled the room. "Who is it?" A Lord asked.

Caspian looked at me and I moved forward into the room. "I am." I said and every pair of eyes in the room was on me.

//Flashback//
"What?" I tried breathing but that very basic thing became hard.

"Sophie?" Caspian asked me.

"I need to get out of here." I said, before storming out of the room.

I knew it was rude to do so but I was feeling light headed. The room felt like it was getting smaller and smaller every second I was in it and I felt that the walls were closing in on me. "Let her go." I heard the Professor say as I closed the door.

Caspian wanted to follow me and try to calm me down. But that was something that I had to handle by myself.

I couldn't face anyone as I unconsciously found myself walking to the stables. Mr. Henry, as usual, was working there. I tried to act as normal as possible. He didn't know about me yet and I didn't want him to know. I didn't want anyone to know. I wish that I didn't know it myself.

"Good morning, Sophie!" He was as upbeat as usual.

"Good morning, Mr. Henry." I spoke with all the energy I had left in me. The words got barely out of my mouth and it was hard to put on a smile. Nothing was going to be the same again.

My head was spinning and I really had to get out of the castle. I didn't want the reminder that I should be ruling Narnia in a castle like that of Caspian's. I didn't want to think about what happened to my parents. I only wanted to go somewhere safe where I could be alone with my thoughts.

A place popped up in my head and I knew exactly how I had to get there. "Are you okay?" He asked me.

"Not really. Can I please take a horse out?" I asked him before he could ask me anything else. I didn't want to lie but I didn't want to talk to anyone either.

"Of course." He was really understanding but I really needed to be alone.

He started towards Thomas' stall. I didn't blame him because I did have a connect with that horse, but after finding out exactly what it was, I couldn't face him either. His beady eyes would only be a reminder for every single incident that I had gone through in my life.

"Not Thomas." I said.

He was astonished by that. "Is everything all right?" He looked really concerned.

"I just need to get out of here for some time." Thomas was yet another reminder that I was....I couldn't even say it.

Mr. Henry brought out the horse that I had trained with and fixed the saddles on him. I climbed on and ran as fast as I could from the castle and into the woods.

I took the familiar path towards Beruna but instead of taking a right, I took a left at that arc and went deep into the forest. I went south of Beruna. I crossed some unfamiliar parts of the woods but I knew that I was going in the right direction. Instincts guided me to where I wanted to go.

Actually, it was partly instincts. It was mostly theory that I had studied from books that the Professor gave me and all the stories that Caspian had told me about his past.

I hit many trees and many boughs but at last, I came out to the clearing. Sun shone on the field of grass that lay before my eyes. At the end of the field, several feet from me, stood the hilly mound of earth which was also a rock-built tomb - Aslan's How.