𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐀𝐍 || 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 [ I ]

Chapter 35

The next day had come all too soon.

Muriel was awake the minute the sun had shone through the gap between her curtains. She tried to stay in bed for as long as she could, but there was no escaping the conversations she was going to have today. When a groan had escaped her after turning over and feeling her back muscle scream in protest, she got out. There was no point in staying in bed -or in her room for that matter.- Muriel's plan was to talk to Killian and Darrin today. They were two of the most reckless people she knew, but they gave good advice. Well, sometimes they did, but Muriel felt obligated to tell them about her struggle. It wouldn't be fair to keep such an important decision to herself and not ask their opinions.

Opinions they would most definitely have.

Muriel sighed for the fifth time that morning. Her feet were dragging over the floor, an action her father would definitely have scolded her for had he been there. But Muriel couldn't help herself, her feet were simply taking her where her conscious was leading her. It didn't take long to figure out where that would be, her garden was the only place Muriel could think of. The old apple tree, which branches and leaves had always moved with the wind and creaked under the weight of its own apples once every few seasons, felt like a beacon of light in the midst of all her thoughts. She could picture the tree in all its glory, her feet picking up their pace as the growling of her stomach intensified.

Reaching the garden Muriel did her best not to dwell on everything that still lay destroyed on the ground. She hopped over a broken fence and moved past the remains of a stone wall. She stopped only inches away from the tree and let her hand rest on the thick bark as she glanced upwards, looking for the particular food that she never grew bored of. Muriel smiled at the beauty of the rays of morning sun that fell through the branches and leaves as she reached for one of the red apples. The sight gave Muriel the shimmer of happiness to get through her day.

Munching on the sweet fruit, noting how different they tasted to the ones in Narnia and how she missed those, the Archenland princess leaned against the low stone wall and took a long look around. Her gaze had swept over the ravage a few quick times, but now that she was alone, without a quest to heal her father, Muriel let her eyes take in everything.

It had something sad, but also something so serene. Like the calm after a raging storm, not a cloud to obscure that still sky. She bit in her apple to try and wash away the bitter feeling this garden left behind. She did no longer recognise it, the savoury juice did nothing to help that.

"You're up early."

Like most times, his voice appeared before he did. It carried through the garden from a distance away. Muriel looked away from a set of smashed wooden chairs to the owner of the voice. It came to no surprise to her that it was Killian, crouching slightly as he moved through the entrance of her garden.

The sight made her head tilt a little. When her friend had jumped over the wooden fence and approached her she greeted him with a smile and a question. "You fit through the door before I left, didn't you?"

Killian met her questioning gaze with a soft laugh of his own. "Is this your way of asking if I've grown in two years? Because the answer is yes." He gestured to his legs and walked over to her.

He gave her a side hug, which she gladly accepted, before leaning on the stone wall besides her. A wave of nostalgia hit her as she felt the warmth of his arm beside hers and the smell of her garden, or what was left of it, fill her nostrils. This is what they'd always done; sneak some snacks from the kitchen, see the horses in the stable, feed Ava, sit down in her garden, talk about, mostly flowers, and life...

Muriel could hear their breathing now that they were so quiet. A lot had changed, her garden symbolised that. Killian seemed to think so as well, she could sense his frown as he took a good, long look at her beloved garden.