I'LL COME BACK: A Narnia Fanfiction

Prologue - A Girl & Her Secret

***

"You must be wondering about your filthy lover..." Miraz mocked. General Ignatius just glared at him.
"Just if you are curious: she is locked up, in heavy chains in the depths of our dungeon" he paused for awhile a looked up towards the council room door. "Guards! Bring in the Narnian!" He announced, his voice echoing throughout the room.
Carmelya's ears perked up at the mention of her father's name and she stopped in her tracks. Then she heard the clanging of chains and the groans of a lady - someone was coming.
She darted behind one of the huge pillars along the corridor and observed quietly.
A middle-aged lady was locked in metal across her chest and legs and was dragged helplessly across the floor, leaving a trail of blood and dirt behind her. It wasn't a pleasant sight, and yet she found familiarity in the lady. I mean, the lady was Carmelya's mother, but she had no idea who her mother was exactly and how she even looked like, but she possessed the same deep violet eyes Carmelya had. Soon, the lady and the two guards dragging her disappeared into the council room.
She crept towards the door and peeked through the huge crack between them.

***

"Madeline!" Ignatius gasped as his love entered through the doors. He observed her blood smeared skin and bruised arms and felt tears coming to his eyes.
"Ignatius" she mouthed, using the little energy she had left to do so.
Miraz pointed his sword at Carmelya's father, just an inch away from his face. Carmelya felt her hand clench into a fist.
"Such a great reunion, I must say. Now, if you don't mind, I want to get on with the sentence. Any last words, Ignatius?"
Ignatius exchanged glances with the lady, Madeline, who smiled sadly at him.
"I for one, know very well your plans to take the throne for..." he started.
"Kill them"
A soldier walked over to Madeline first, blocking Carmelya's view.

"You're planning to kill his Majesty aren't you? Your own brother!" Ignatius continued, a kind of madness in his voice.
Unsheathing his sword, the soldier brought it down in two swift motions before backing off, revealing two lifeless bodies lying in puddles of their blood.

Carmelya clasped her hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp at the sight of her dead parents (she was an intelligent girl and figured out the lady was her mother). Miraz's gaze shot up at her instantly. "Looks like we have a guest" he snickered.
Carmelya's eyes widened with fear.
"Catch her! She's half Narnian!" declared Miraz.
She ran, soldiers on her heels, her long dress billowing put behind her. She passed endless corridors and turned into unfamiliar areas, praying that she would never stumble upon a dead end.

At once a strong grip pulled her into a room, stifling her screams. She struggled and kicked wildly, but the person wouldn't let go. Finally he loosened his grip and Carmelya was brave enough to open her eyes. She realised it was Doctor Conelius, Prince Caspian's professor. They were in a dimly lit room with the prince seated on his quilt covered bed in one corner of the room. They were in Caspian's room.
"Caspian!" she breathed between her panting. Conelius held a finger to his lips.
"Find her!" a guard's voice echoed from the opposite side of the door.
"What's going on?" Caspian questioned.
"No time to talk Caspian. Here, take this" Cornelius passed Carmelya a dagger, carved intricately with golden swirls and patterns. She looked at him questioningly before accepting it.
He then opened the wardrobe and grabbed one of Caspian's oversized cloaks, throwing it over her shoulders. Shoving her into the wardrobe, Cornelius whispered, "Take this secret path all the way till you reach its end. Run into the woods. Narnians will help you when they see your dagger. Now go!"
"No!" Caspian yelled as he reached to stop the closing door.
"Sorry Cas" whispered Carmelya.
They stole their last glance before Cornelius pulled his hand away and Caspian reluctantly let the wardrobe close shut. And that, was the last he saw of his best friend.

***

Carmelya emerged at the edge of the castle and ran as fast as her short legs could take her into the woods. She was a surprisingly fast runner for her age.
"There she is! Get her!" Someone boomed overhead.
Thundering hoovebeats could be heard in the distance, getting louder and nearer with each heartbeat. The soldiers were catching up. She could make out the shadows of the woods in the distance and picked up speed, her feet thudding against the soft grass and mud. Finally, she made it into the woods.
She was panting by then, her legs felt numb and sore, yet she continued sprinting, turning and escaping in the darkness of the night.
Images flashed in her head - the times spent with her father and Caspian. She felt herself calm down. Thinking about and being with Caspian always made her happier.
"Think Carmelya, think" she thought to herself.
She gazed around before noticing a low hanging branch from a nearby tree. She sprinted towards the tree and climbed it, just before the soldiers spotted her.
Once the soldiers were gone, she got back onto the ground again. Then, hoovebeats sounded. They were heading back towards the castle. She tried to clamber up the tree again but fell with a thud.

A strong arm pulled her up onto a horse galloping horse from behind her suddenly. She bit the arm, causing her captor to release his strong grip. She stumbled onto the ground before standing up again.
The soldiers surrounded her, so she pulled her dagger out and pointed it at them.
She knew she was trembling. She knew she was afraid.
"Come with us and no one gets hurt" the soldier cooed.
"I'm not stupid" replied Carmelya, holding her dagger higher and squeezing her muscles in an attempt to stop her shaking, trying her best to conceal her fear.

The soldier closed in.

One step back.

Two steps.

Three.

"Not so daring, aren't you?" He taunted.
She glared at him through her violet eyes, fire buring in them. Then, with all the courage she could muster, she slashed her dagger across his face, creating a deep wound near his jaw. She regretted it at once.
"So this is how you want to play, huh?" the man shoved her backwards.
She screamed as she stepped over a ledge and stumbled down a hill, before hitting her head with a stifled thud.
"She's most probably dead" said a gruff voice.
That was the last thing she heard. Then, there was darkness.

***

She woke up at dusk, vaguely making out a lion-like figure against the ghostly blue sky.
"Aslan?" She breathed. The figure shook it's mane.
"You're real!"
"Of course I am, dear one"
"Am I...dead?"
"Certainly not, my child. Your time is not yet up. You still have important things to fulfil"
"What do you mean?" Carmelya asked.
Aslan just smiled at her and roared lightly at her face.
Slowly, darkness closed in on her again.
"Aslan...please wait..." she whispered, but her vision became black and she felt herself drift off to a deep sleep again...

***

"She's quite a beauty, isn't she? Can we keep her?"
"She's most probably a Telmarine for goodness sake!"
"Nikabrik, she does have a dryad's dagger" Trumpkin pointed out.
"She must have stolen it!"
Carmelya's eyes fluttered open to inspect the commotion.
"She's awake! In the name of Aslan she's finally awake!"
"Where am I?" she questioned.
"Who are you?" they chorused. She looked around with curiosity, glancing at her palms and dress, observing the strange creatures around her - a talking badger and two dwarfs.
"I don't...remember" she muttered, shcoked at her own reply. She could not collect any of her memories. She remembered that she was a girl, had parents and that she lived in Narnia, but what was the point of all this when she could not remember most of the important details?
"Poor child!" Trufflehunter exclaimed. "We shall keep her till she remembers!"
"But..."
"No buts Nikabrik." Trufflehunter snapped.
Carmelya tried to stand up. A gush of pain overwhelmed her and she was pulled into darkness again.

***

8 years passed since this girl was accepted to live with the trio. She grew to be a beautiful girl with dark brown and wavy hair that flowed behind her which each step she took. She is known by a new name now, Amethy, in which Trufflehunter had came up with due to her deep violet eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned from all the time spent in the sun exploring and training.
She was like any other Narnian, a professional in fighting. She was rather skilled with a selection of weapons through the many training sessions with Trumpkin and Nikabrik, and she had the heart of a warrior.

What was very odd was that she had a rare ability. She could control the movement of water. In other words, she was a water bender. That confirmed that she was of Narnian blood, but her species was the one that was shrouded with mystery. It was impossible for someone to have such abilities and yet still resemble a human, well with the exception of her of course.
She was kind and warm, hence making her well loved by many of the remaining Narnians, except Nikabrik, who still had negative feelings towards her. He had opened up towards her considerably since they first saw her though.
Amethy loved nature. She cherished the scent of spring, the soil and the rain. Most of the time, she was either reading on trees, swimming in lakes or busy healing plants and animals. Yes, she had the ability to heal too. All that she needed was a drop of water and her own magic.

However, little did she know who her parents were or how she ended up in the woods. Nor did she know that she was half Telmarine, driven away by a cunning man and that everyday, a Telmarine royal was missing her and waiting for her return.