Awaiting Redemption

"When my father died, it was a surprise. The Telmarin people loved him for his generosity, his understanding heart... no one would have thought it to be murder. But my uncle, of all people, was capable of killing his own brother, my father, just so he could have the throne."

He looked over at me and into my eyes before saying, "I got over my father's death a long time ago. But the knowledge I've recently gained, about Miraz, is still fresh in my mind and still boiling in my blood."

"Karma caught up with him though, so there's really no use in mourning over what's passed," I stated, standing up and kneeling in front of him, placing my hands on his knees to keep myself steady. "Sure, what he did caused you more pain than I could ever imagine, and quite frankly, I'm sure he's paying for his mistakes in the afterlife as we speak, but that doesn't mean your life isn't still going on. As a Dame, I know that life is short. So I'm telling you now, as a friend I'm hoping to be, for you to enjoy it, or else you'll regret it."

Caspian smiled slightly before saying, "I'll try to, m'lady, just for you."

"Good. Now, I want to go see old Cair Paravel today before our nightly session... is that possible?" I asked, standing up.

Before answering, Caspian gave me his hand so I could help him up from the bench. After he was up, he replied, "Yes, I've just got a few coronation details to attend to and I'll be at the stable in a few minutes."

Letting go of his hand, I immediately reached for the necklace that was now resting against my chest. How did I dare to almost forget about Peter, and all that we had stood for? Without saying another word, I turned towards the stable, ready to saddle the unicorn that was set aside for the only female rider in the Castle.

After I reached the stable, I found the unicorn and led him towards the doors. I mounted the horse with ease and sat on its back, staring down at the necklace I was wearing faithfully.

I guess I should have been asking myself why I bothered to clasp the delicate chain around my neck. I mean, would I ever even see Peter again? The chances were slim, and I knew it. I still do know it.

Peter Pevensie lived in Great Britain, a whole country and ocean away from the small beach town of San Diego that I call my home. I don't know his address or even a telephone number. How would I reestablish contact with him outside of Narnia?

I knew my chances were slim. I know it. But a girl could hope that her knight in shining armor will come back to her, right?

Suddenly, my horse reared into action.

"Woah, boy... steady," I murmured into the creature's ear, catching sight of a snake outside the stable doors that may have startled him.

"My name is Marty."

...right.

Five minutes later Caspian appeared and mounted his horse. I gently clasped the pendant in my hand as I kicked Marty to start him towards Cair Paravel.

***

From a distance, I heard the ocean waves crashing against the rocks before I even saw the remains of what I once knew as Cair Paravel.

I stopped Marty in his tracks and surveyed the building, taking in the decrepit walls of the building and the trees surrounding it, how they twisted and bended with old age. After the reality of my absence had sunk in, we galloped along to the entrance of the castle.

"So Andy, this is the infamous Cair Paravel, home of the Old Kings and Queens of Narnia," announced Caspian, proud of what this once noble palace had become.

"You do realize it was your people who did this, right?," I said, with an unsure smile.

Caspian sadly chuckled and responded with a, "Yes... I know. And I'm sorry."

I sighed.

"Don't be."

I dismounted from my horse once we reached what was once the dining hall and tied Marty's reins to the remains of a broken down pillar.

The only sounds I heard as I walked down the aisle were the rustling of leaves as wind passed through the branches and the waves of the ocean clashing against the shore below. When I reached the platform at the end, I ran my hand along the stone thrones that were now just pedestals of rock. With my throat choking up as the sights sank in, I counted the four thrones and took a mental picture of them, assuring myself that this was real.

I walked on to the still balcony and marveled at the view of the ocean. This was something that had stayed the same, give or take a few trees. I stood still for a few moments, taking in the cool breeze and hum of the birds, and then I reached over and picked an apple from the nearest blooming tree.

I turned around and walked back towards the inner layout of the castle, wondering where Prince Caspian had went. Suddenly, I recognized something in the distance that was still almost completely in tact.

I let out a shaky sigh and moved on to the stairwells, dazed by the sight of the steps and their wholeness. If I remembered correctly, these were the same steps I had my first kiss on. I cautiously sat down on the second to last step and closed my eyes, trying to remember that night.

It was late at night, a few nights after the coronation ceremony inducting the Pevensie children had taken place. I couldn't get any sleep so I left my room and roamed the castle halls, looking for sheep to count or any other method I could use in order to get to sleep.

Back in San Diego, warm milk always helped me get to bed, so I wandered towards the kitchen, which was at the complete opposite end of the palace.

"Mmph!" I managed to exclaim through a hand that stuck itself out from around a corner. I let out a sigh of relief once I saw that it was only Peter. His hand moved from my mouth down to my own hand and we walked the halls together, waiting until my breathing had returned to normal to talk.

"So what are you doing up this late," I asked him quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace that was nighttime.

"I couldn't sleep, you?"

"Same."

As we walked along, our hands were swinging slightly and our eyes catching each others' briefly. For a moment, I had forgotten why I left my room in the first place. Peter sat us down on just one of the many stairwells, and we just sat, looking up and out of the glass roof at the stars. Moments later, I rested my head on his shoulder and continued to look up at the various constellations in the sky. My gaze to the sky was broken when Peter shifted his shoulder from under me, causing my head to lurch to the side. Luckily, I caught myself before my head collided with the hard floor.

When I looked up to Peter to give him a playful glare, all I saw were his eyes trying to capture mine. As our eyes locked, our bodies slowly lowered to rest against the stone stairs. As my back came into contact with the cold stairs, Peter moved his left hand to my waist and his right hand to prevent the back of my neck from digging into the edge of the stairs. When our lips touched for the first time, it felt as if the world had stopped. Time stood still and nothing else mattered. But what I was feeling when we broke apart is what I would always remember. After that first kiss, I felt as if Peter and I had been destined to be together. Time would bend at our command and nothing else in the world mattered when we were at each other's side.

Needless to say, I liked that feeling. A lot. So it didn't just stop at one kiss...

"M'lady?"

Startled, I opened my eyes and shot up in the air. It took me a moment to realize that I was re-living my past, and in the midst of my nostalgia I had laid back on the crumbling stone steps. Caspian had reappeared and was leaning against a column to my right.

I looked down at my clasped hands and tried to shake the memories from my head. Wait... didn't I pick an apple to eat?

I glanced around and noticed that it had somehow rolled towards a vaguely familiar headless statue of a centaur.

"Come over here and help me with this." I muttered to Caspian, trying to remember the significance of the statue. Caspian offered his hand to help me up from the stairs and we both walked over to the statue.

No matter how I squinted my eyes, no matter what angle I looked at it, the statue remained still. The head of the poor thing was blown off so I couldn't even tell where it's eyes would've been leading me too, and its hands weren't pointing in any obvious direction. I stood back and took in the bigger picture.

The statue was located in a groove, but from what I remember, there were no triggers in the groove. The groove was connected to a wall that had a sliding door, so the sliding door would be- oh.

I smiled to myself and pranced my way over to the edge of the wall, ready to push it out of the way. However, it was heavier then it looked.

"Well, hello? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help this damsel in distress?" I questioned of Caspian, who was just standing there, nibbling away at an apple core.

He took one last bite before he rubbed his hands off on his clothing and came over to my side. As I turned around to begin pushing on the door again, Caspian leaned against my back while pushing at the top of the door. The proximity made me blush, I'm not gonna lie...

Once the stone door was out of the way, I noticed that the wood door behind it had already been opened. From closer examination, I was able to conclude that the Pevensies were the last ones to be here, seeing as Narnia didn't exactly know about this entrance to the hidden room. Yeah, I'm a smart one.

Step by step, Caspian and I carefully descended the staircase and found ourselves in the room that held the personal belongings of the Kings and Queens of Old. In front of four statues of the grown versions of the royal house were chests holding some of the personal effects of each throne holder.

I walked to the Peter statue and looked at the hand holding the sword. Nothing. I wiped at the hand and removed some of the topical dust. I could barely make out the outline of a heart. Then, I went to blow on it.

"What are you doing?"

I froze mid-blow.

"You'll see," I said, before going to blow off the rest of the dust from the shallow grooves. Finally, the bold imprint of a heart could be seen on the hand of Peter's designated statue. I smiled and looked up at the statue.

Never before did Peter look so damn... reassuring. I guess this was the closest I would get to Peter for a long while. A moment of silence passed before Caspian said, "So you were acquainted with His Majesty?"

I sighed. If I wanted to get on this guy's good side, I might as well be his friend. I turned to face him and noticed that he wasn't looking at me, but at the statue of Susan.

I scoffed and answered him, "Yeah. And you?"

He turned and looked at me with a puzzled look on his face but I wasn't buying his cover.

"I saw the way you were looking at her statue... you liked her, didn't you?"

Without a word, he turned towards the stairs and ascended them two at a time, leaving me to smile at uptight Suzy finally getting some action!

After I mentally rolled my eyes at myself, I followed Caspian up the stairs and back to Marty.

"I'll race you back," he challenged.

"You're on," I said, after noting that the sky had changed from a bright blue to a mixture of orange and pink.

"On the count of three," he began, "one..."

"Two," I continued.

"Three!" We simultaneously yelled, kicking off our horses and cantering towards the sun, chasing down the day and welcoming the night.