Moonshine

Chapter 4- Vasanistírio

Her siblings had already begun to walk ahead- but at her words, they swivelled around, and stared at where she was pointing.
But there was none of the wonder or giddiness that she felt on their faces- and, slowly, Lucy's joy began to fade. Could they not see Him?

"Don't you see?" She asked, looking wildly at her siblings, "He's right-" she looked back to those two trees to see Him again, there and smiling- but He wasn't. She could only see trees, the leaves rippling in the wind, and nothing else. Her heart contorting- she had seen Him, she had- she ended softly, "there."

"Do you see Him now?"

Trumpkin might have meant the question kindly, but Lucy flared up at once.
"I'm not crazy!" And she hadn't even been drunk in a thousand years, that she would see things that weren't there. "He was there- he wanted us to follow him-"

As though they didn't have enough to deal with- at this rate, they wouldn't reach Caspian and the Telmarines for another thirteen hundred years.
But it was Lucy, his lovely little sister, and Peter was always patient with her.
Reassuringly- though he felt only torn, and confused as to whether what he was going to say was the right thing to say- he spoke, "I'm sure there are any number of lions in these woods. Just like that bear."

Lucy gaped at him, affronted. Peter- Peter didn't believe her? And that too about Aslan?
"I think I'd know Aslan when I see Him!"

"Look-" Trumpkin started, and Edmund was immediately sure he would make things worse, "I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist."

Edmund remembered when Lucy had been to Narnia and back the first time. None of them had believed her, but he had been the only one to be mean, and he'd taunted her- something about a football field in a bathroom cupboard. Lucy had gone red in hurt and she had clearly been crushed- and he wasn't about to let that happen again. He had let a lot of things happen that ought not to have happened- he had caused pain to people who deserved only good, though he had not meant to hurt them- but his sister wasn't going to be one of them, not again. It didn't matter whether he believed Aslan had been there or not- he believed that Lucy had seen Him.

"The last time I didn't believe Lucy- I ended up looking pretty stupid."

His little sister's grateful smile, small as it was, was worth the others looking at him like he was crazy, too.
He knew that, if he had seen Sanya or Jem or Selene- if they had left his dreams and appeared to him in waking hours, she would believe him and she would back him up, no matter how insane it would seem. She was his sister, and he was her brother, and they would always support each other.

Peter shook his head- glad as he was that Edmund had soothed Lucy, he just wanted to set out again- and looked to his little sister again, "Why wouldn't I have seen Him?"

"Maybe you weren't looking."

And his throat burned with guilt, because she was right. He hadn't been looking. Ever since Trumpkin had told them that Aslan had been gone as long as they had- he had, unconsciously, decided to not depend on Him. He and his siblings had been trapped in England- they had had no way back to Narnia, they had had no idea how much Narnia had needed their help. Aslan wasn't encumbered by anything like that- He was powerful, and He could have aided Narnia and saved it in a heartbeat.
But He hadn't, and Peter resented that. He was High King- but he remembered what Mr. Beaver had told him, eons ago. Aslan was the real, Supreme King of Narnia.
Peter wasn't going to look for Him. Peter was going to save his people. No matter what torment came his way, he would do it.
"I'm sorry, Lu." He said stiffly, and without another word, he moved away from her- her and her big, sad eyes- and began on the path to the ford. He'd find the Narnians, and set everything right, and all would be well again. He'd be where he belonged, and every nasty thing he had felt over the past year would fade away, because he would be home and with his people.