Queen of Light (Peter Pevensie)

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

After talking  Aslan, Eveline was directed toward a tent on the edge of the woods. It wa plain, not nearly as magnificent as Aslan's, but then she hadn't expected it to be like his. She stepped inside and nearly collapsed onto the bed, stopping only to strip off her shirt and pull her boots off. She was asleep almost instantly.

A few hours later, Eveline awoke. Rising from the bed, she took a moment to look around her tent. A tree had started to grow right in the center of the large space, and grass had grown around her discarded clothing and weapons. Adrian was in the corner, happily munching away at some of the fresh grass.

"Afternoon Your Highness," Adrian greeted her, his mouth still full of greens.

Eveline rolled her eyes, then spied a chest in the corner of her tent. She walked over to it, examining it. It was a dark brown color with trees carved on its sides. On the lid was an ornate carved dragon with an emerald embedded in the spot where it's eye would be. Eveline became a little choked up as she saw it. It reminded her of Ish, her teacher in Charn.

Opening the chest, Eveline was delighted to find many of her clothes and possessions from before she left Narnia. She pulled out a set of brown leggings, a faded white and blue tunic, and brown lace-up boots, then dressed quickly. Underneath a few more sets of clothes were several other items.

Examining them carefully, Eveline first found a set of small knives. She remembered collecting them during her adventures in Narnia after the collapse of Charn. Also in the chest was a stack of spell books and several vials filled with various substances. Looking closer, Eveline realized there were labels on them.

'Dragon's Blood' read one. Eveline hurried to read the rest of them.

'Faery dust; Phoenix Tears; Stardust

Underneath the vials was a smattering of gemstones; rubies, emeralds and diamonds covered the bottom of the chest. She noticed a small, black object on top of a striking green rock. Reaching for it, Eveline let out a yelp as her hand brushed against the rock. Pulling away her now red hand, she stared at the rock in shock.

"It burnt me!" She said.

"What burnt you?" Adrian said, trotting over to where Eveline was kneeling.

"That rock in the corner. I was reaching for the necklace on top of it and my hand touched the stone and it was like I drank fire or something!"

Adrian carefully touched the tip of his nose to the green stone. Then he looked up at Eveline, concern covering his long face.

"Eveline, it's ice cold, how could it burn you?"

"What? How is it cold?"

Eveline reached for the necklace again. Grimacing as her hand touched the rock, she pulled the necklace up to where she could see it. A tear rolled down her face when she realized what it was.

"Ad, this is the necklace Professor Ish gave me at our last lesson. All of this, it must have been put together by him."

The necklace was an onyx dragon with black diamonds embedded in it. It sparkled in the light as Eveline clasped it around her neck. Turning her attention back to the stone, she grabbed a tunic that had been thrown aside and wrapped the rock in. She could feel the heat of the stone through the fabric, but it wasn't enough to burn her.

The rock was definitely heavy, probably about ten to fifteen pounds. Eveline thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but she thought she felt it move a little. Holding it up to eye level, she looked at it closely. Running around it were sharp, crack-like lines. It was actually very pretty. Keeping it wrapped in her tunic, she decided to ask Aslan about it.

After slipping the fabric-covered rock into a leather bag with her various other vials, Eveline slipped out the flaps of her tent into the sunlight.

It was a beautiful day outside. Sunbeams streaked down to the earth, and there was a soft breeze that loosened Eveline's braided hair. As she walked through the camp, she was met with happy laughter and smiles from everyone. A smile slipped onto her face. She was overjoyed to be back with all of her friends.

Upon reaching Aslan's tent, she stopped just short of entering. Hearing the clash of swords nearby, she peaked around the edge of the tent to see Peter and Oreius practicing. She noted that Peter was weak on his left side, probably because he was right handed. Other than that, he was actually quite good. He was dripping with sweat, making his shirt stick to his skin. Eveline could feel her face turning red at the thought of his body.

She had been experienced with the area of guys. Boys had, of course, come to Charn to court the royal family, but they had always come for Jadis. Eveline had felt a little miffed by this, but she had always thought that her time would come. After all, she had only been about thirteen when Charn had fallen. But Jadis had been receiving proposals since the age of eleven, so naturally Eveline felt jealous.

Watching as one of Oreius' blows caused Peter to fall to his knees, Eveline stepped out from next to the tent and walked over to them. Oreius backed away as she drew her sword and took his place.

"Stand up Peter, let's try again. Oreius, go command some of your other soldiers, I'm sure you've beaten up Peter enough for today," Eveline said.

Oreius bowed, then cantered away, kicking the dust up as he went. Turning to Peter, Eveline raised her sword.

"Alright Peter, swing at me," she said.

"What?" Peter said.

"You heard me, swing at me."

Eveline's eyes twinkled dangerously.

"Oh c'mon," she teased, "You know you want to."

Peter jabbed out at her, and she noticed that he had opened his left side. She swung her sword and left a light cut along the left side of his chest. His free hand went straight to the cut, and he looked shocked as he pulled it back and saw the blood on it.

"You... You cut me!" He said, surprised that Eveline would do something like that to him.

"Your left side is weak and you left it open. If this had been a battle, you would be dead. We have only a few days to get you ready, and we can't let you go in with any weaknesses. I hope that when you sweat into that cut, it stings and reminds you that you left an opening there," she said.

Peter was shocked. He didn't notice he had been leaving his left unnoticed, and he had no idea that Eveline had that much control over a sword. She had seemed so dainty to him back in England, but here she had so much power. She could make flowers appear from nowhere, and she could talk to the trees and control the wind. Eveline was so powerful, and he was nothing. How was he supposed to impress her when there was nothing left that she didn't have?

Eveline didn't know why she had sounded so harsh. She knew it came out like she didn't care that much, but she did. She didn't want to see Peter die for a battle that he didn't deserve to be caught up in. He was perfect, so normal and human. He got along well with others, and was down to earth. To everyone else, Eveline was put on a pedestal, but with Peter she felt normal.

"Let's start again," Eveline said.

Peter regained his balance and lifted his sword again, swinging at Eveline. This time he guarded his left side, and they were spinning in circles as they sparred.

        From behind the tent, Lucy and Susan giggled to each other. It was so clear to them that Eveline and Peter were perfect for each other, even if they didn't know it yet. After spying for a short while longer and becoming bored, they ran off to the edge of the woods with their knives and bow and arrows to practice for a while before dinner.

A/N:

I'm so sorry for how awful this chapter was. I was kind of doing my own thing with it, but we'll be back to the basic plot next chapter! I'm sure you can all guess what is going to happen next! Also, what's up with Eveline's teacher, Ish? And that weird rock? If you're all caught up on your knowledge on Charn, you just might know... 

Until next time my dear reader!