Fauns dancing around fires. Griffins soaring high. Unicorns galloping across wide fields and centaurs battling giants.
These are things Amelia Cromwell sees every day.
She doesn't know how they happen or why she sees them but every time she looks...
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I remember the day Narnia fell.
Fires raging. Narnians falling. Last hope fading.
I remember watching my friends die around me.
Oreius stabbed in the chest. The Beavers poisoned. Tumnus in our makeshift camp after a long life.
New friends came and went. Some died, others were born. I remained the same; fading in and out of time – forever the young Silvanus abandoned by her comrades. When the Telmarines first arrived we fought. I fought. For years we resisted them. We fought them at every corner and lost hope at every turn. Their armies were strong, whereas our people were still divided between those who supported the Witch, and those who did not. I did my best to protect them all, doing as Aslan told me I should. But, soon he too became only a lost hope – a distant memory of a great and powerful being who never came to rescue his dying people.
As the Narnians and their hope faded, so did I. I faded. My powers were soon reduced to nothingness. Only a small spark appeared every once in a while, like a small ember in a dying fire. My fire was dying. I continued with the fight. Those of us who remained took refuge in the woods and ambushed the Telmarines who would walk on our trails, but we could do no more.
It was no surprise when I learnt that the Telmarines thought we were extinct. They stopped coming into the woods and, as a result, had no proof of our existence. We became a lost memory. A lost hope. King Caspian I had children, such as Caspian the II and others. Caspian II had children – Caspian III and others. So on it went, until now... Caspian X
The Kings and Queens became legend and legend became myth in the eyes of most of the Narnians. They didn't know the truth behind Peter the Magnificent, whose sword was broader than the heavens or Susan the Gentle whose aim was as precise as an eagle's eye nor Lucy the Valiant whose heart was more golden than Aslan's mane, not even Edmund the Just whose mind was sharper than his sister's dagger.
To them, these were imaginary figures of hope and strength. To me, they were once family. Now they remain a distant memory of sorrow and lost hope.
Perhaps my broken heart, which has failed to heal for the past 305 years, made me loathe the thought of my 'family'. Can you blame me? I was left alone to rule an unstable country before my people were attacked and robbed of their homes whilst I could do nothing to help them, except protect myself. All I could do was run. I could not save the castle, I could not save the woods, I could not save Narnia. Nothing matters when I am alone. Alone I am weak, by their side, at the side of the true kings and queens, I was strong.
By his side... I was happy.
I was only an empty shell of what the Silvanus was supposed to be. I had no power, no army, no title, no happiness. So I did the only other thing I know...
be human.
I walked through the streets of Telmar with my jade hood hiding my eyes. I watched as each telmarine walked passed me like an eagle waiting to catch its prey. I took each step carefully and quietly, focused on not attracting any attention to myself. The town square was buzzing with life around me, but I moved through it like a shadow – unseen, unheard. The town reminded me of London with its loud inhabitants and busy streets. The thought of London made me wonder about Ed –
