The Chronicles of Narnia: The King and The Servant

~ Chapter 9: First Kiss And Other Matters ~

"Ashy!" I hear a very tired voice whisper, panic laced in with the softness. Stopping mid step, I turn back around to face her. Her eyes lock with mine and I find myself walking forward ever so slowly.

"Yes," I reply as I sit down on the side of her bed. She rubs her eyes and sits up, her head almost bashing against the headboard.

"I don't want you to leave me alone. I'm scared that lady is going to come and get me," she tells me as new tears start to form in her eyes. My heart clenches at the sight of my little sister scared and crying. Decisions, decisions...

"Bella, Peter is down stairs waiting for me –" I'm about to add something else on, but looking at her little face almost brings me to tears.

"No, I want you to stay up here," she cries out. I stroke her hair back soothingly.

"Bella, listen to me, the lady is not going to come and get you while the High King and I are down stairs, okay? We will never let anything happen to you," I promise her. She nods her little head before she yawns a huge yawn. "Get some sleep, Bells. I love you," I say before kissing her forehead and making her lay down. I put her soft toy, a teddy bear that my mother had made for her, next to her and stand up.

"I love you too," she says, falling unconscious with sleep before I'm even out the door. I close it halfway like I usually do and pretty much run down the steps and into the lounge room. I stop in front of the sofa and flop down next to Peter. He smiles as soon as he sees me.

"Sorry, I took a bit longer than I thought. Bella woke up," I explain. He nods his head.

"I understand. Little sisters can get like that. Is she okay?" he inquires while wrapping his arms around me in a protective stance. I sigh inwardly.

"Slightly. I think it's shaken her up which is a pretty normal response to almost being kidnapped." He nods once.

"Completely understandable. If something like that ever happened to Lucy..." The venom in his tone is undeniable. He is a very protective person. That trait has just become a lot more obvious.

"Maybe we should take our minds off of it..." Kiss me! Please!

"Well, there is still something I want to try you know," he suggests with a smirk. I smile and move my lips closer to his again.

"Ashy! I want a drink of water," I hear Bella call, before the pitter-patter of tiny feet comes down the staircase. I clench my teeth together in frustration as I reluctantly unwrap Peter's arms from around my body before standing up.

"I'll be back," I tell him through gritted teeth. Keep your calm. I walk quickly to the kitchen and snatch the light-weight glass from Bella's small hands. I hear her start to whimper, but at the moment I'm so extremely frustrated that, as nasty as it sounds, I don't care if she starts having a full-on crying fit. I just simply want to go back to my boyfriend and have my first kiss without interruptions. I fill it up with water hastily, annoyed at how slow the water flow is going. Once it's three-quarters full, I stop the tap. My eyes lock with hers as I turn around, my bottom lip going between my teeth as I take in her sad face. Her eyes are filled to the brim with tears. She has a few escape artists that are now cascading down her cheeks and nose. I close my eyes so I can't look at her face.

"Here, Bella," I say softly while handing her her glass of water. I open my eyes and watch as she grabs it nastily from my outstretched hands. She has a frown on her face and looks up at me angrily. I want to cry. Can't I get my way tonight for once in my life! "Isabella, come here," I say while kneeling down so that I can look her in the eyes. She hesitates and then runs into my arms. I hug her close to me and kiss her hair, a bit like what my mother used to do to me. "I love you and I'm sorry. I was a bit harsh. I'm just frustrated, honey," I explain while pulling her away so that I can look at her directly in the eyes. "Can you forgive me?" I ask pleadingly. She nods her head.