"I honestly don't see anything wrong with you..." The doctor said. I had no clue where they had taken Peter.
"I can't explain it sir..." I said simply.
"Is she healthy enough for me to sell?" The main guy, who's name was Droriin asked.
The doctor motioned to him, thinking they were out of earshot.
"Physically she's in great shape... I don't know about mentally though."
I glared at him.
Mentally... I was fine...
"I think this disease is of the mind..."
"But she was coughing the whole way... And she threw up... Twice."
The second time was because after the first time my stomach was uneasy.
"Again sir... I think it's all in her head." The doctor said.
"So, she's well enough to sell."
The doctor nodded.
"Great." He smiled as he walked over and pulled me to my feet. He pushed me through the door of the shack and into a house. Pushing me into the basement, locking the door behind me.
"Peter?" I called.
"Vy." He sounded relieved. I ran down the steps and hugged him.
"What happened?" He asked pulling away.
"Well, I am mentally ill." I smiled, touching the fresh scar on his right cheekbone.
"I know but what happened."
I rolled my eyes as I pushed him. "They're gonna sell me too."
"So we need to get out of here...... It looks like the only way out is that door..." Peter said.
I shook my head as I walked to one of the brick walls and stared walking along them.
"You need to think out of the box my king..." I mumbled.
"Found it." I smiled, kneeling down next to the drainage grate. "this is our way out..."
Peter walked over and crouched down next to me. "Why?" He asked.
"Because it leads to the sewers... We can get out that way." I said.
"But what about them? They'll be on us minutes after they realize we're gone."
"Not if we reach Tashbaan first." I said.
"You got a point..." He mumbled.
"I saw a bunch of ale and wine up there... If we wait a few hours till they're drunk we can make our escape..."
Peter nodded as I walked to the wall, facing the stairs and slid down it, sitting on the cold floor.
He soon joined me and I rested my head on his shoulder.
"This is my fault..." He started, "You wanted your father to come... Some sort of protection... If he and Oreius had come we could have taken them..."
"Don't blame yourself..." I mumbled.
"You should sleep... I'll keep watch." Peter said.
I deiced to appease him and I closed my eyes, keeping my head on his shoulder.
I actually did fall asleep. When I woke up a few hours later judging by the cracks in the foundation it was still night out. Peter was sleeping too. I shook him awake as I walked over to the grate. He rubbed his eyes and joined me.
I took a pin out of my hair. I never traveled without them because a good courier is always prepared. I started picking the lock while Peter watched.
"Got it." I whispered as I took the lock off.
I went first. There was just enough room on the sides for me to squeeze through. I felt Peter behind me, as I heard the grate close.
As we crawled through the confined smelly grate it widened.
About ten minutes later I was able to sit up, although it was still confined. And that's when I saw a light.
"I think I see something." I said, relieved.
That relief quickly vanished as we approached.
"no." I said as I half fell into the shallow pit. "It's a dead end!" I said.
"Yep, and you aren't getting out..." We looked up at the sun creeping over Droriin's ugly face.
"You thought you could outsmart me, didn't you?" He laughed as we heard the crash behind us as the opening we had come from closed.
"You're not even worth selling. So as a punishment... For trying to pull one over..." He nodded over to someone. Suddenly, water started to flood in around our ankles.
"Nice knowing you... Your highness." Droriin laughed as he walked off.
"Peter!" I yelled as the water reached our ankles rather quickly. He looked at me and grabbed my arms.
"Vyla I love you... I loved you since that training session all those years ago... And that's why I've been acting weird... Back when we were helping Oramythh, she and I had a talk... and part of me didn't want to admit it but... It true... She was right. I love you."
The water was to just under our knees now.
I placed my arms around his neck, looking in his light blue eyes.
"I love you too Pete... And I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
"Getting too invested... I felt this huge honor to be your personal advisor and I let it go to my head..."
"You have nothing to apologize for... Without you I don't think I would be on time for anything."
I chuckled as I held his face.
"Vy if we get out of this... will you marry me?" He asked.
I could feel the tears dripping down my face, mixing with the moisture in the air as the water level grew to our chests.
"Of course, I will." I smiled. Then he leaned down and kissed me. He tasted salty from the water that was now to our chins.
"I love you Peter." Was the last thing I said as the water rose over my face.
Holding his hand, I opened my eyes under the water. As did Peter. It was dark but I looked down. That's when I noticed the grate again. I let go of Peter's hand and swam down. Taking another pin from my hair I started to pick the lock. That was one thing Droriin didn't account for.
I could feel my chest start to hurt. I wanted to look up to see if Peter was alright but there was no time.
I got it unlocked and glanced up and watched Peter close his eyes. Pushing the grate open, the water started draining and I swam up, grabbing Peter and getting his head above water as the water started to lower.
I was breathing heavy as I laid Peter down. His chest wasn't moving as his blonde hair matted to his forehead. I pressed my ear to his chest before I started hitting him, trying to get the water out of his lungs.
Then all of a sudden, he spit up the water.
"You had me terrified." I said hugging him as he groggily sat up.
Then we saw another shadow cast over us. Looking up into the sun we saw the unknown face of a man.
"High King Peter?" They asked.
"Yes?" Peter replied.
"You missed your audience with the Emperor... We were growing worried." He smiled as they lowered a rope down.
Peter told me to climb up first. Taking the rope in my hand and looking at the fifteen-foot-high climb. I slipped once, feeling my ankle twist. It hurt. Taking deep breaths once I reached the top. I sat down, anxiously waiting for Peter.
He rolled over as the Calormen Soldiers helped him up.
"Who are you?" Peter asked as he walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder to steady himself.
"I'm the captain of a brigade of soldiers of The Tisroc... When you didn't arrive, he grew concerned... So, the first place we thought to look was the biggest slave trade town. And we caught one of the biggest slave traders... we've been tracking Droriin for months."
"Well we can't thank you enough... I was foolish not to listen to my advisor, and bring protection... And it's because of her good and fast thinking we're still alive..." He said looking down at me.
"Well... You must be tired. We need to get you to Tashbaan." He said.
Peter nodded and took a step, before turning around and holding his hand out for me.
I took it and tried to stand but my ankle buckled under my weight and Peter hurried to catch me.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
I nodded but Peter didn't look convinced. He put his hand under me and lifted me up, carrying me bridal style to where the soldiers were standing with the horses. He lifted me into the saddle of none other than Seanie... And I knew it was him because of the Narnian saddle.
"We found this on Droriin..." One of the soldiers said, holding Peter's unmistakable sword out to him.
Peter gave him a look of thanks as he took it and buckled it around his waist.
"did you find my dagger?" I asked.
"Sorry my lady... That's all we found." He replied.
I was a little disappointed. That dagger was a birthday gift from Peter.
"I'll get you a new one." He mumbled as we started off, Peter walking beside Seanie and I.
We arrived at the emperor's castle without any more setbacks.
"The emperor would like to see you right away." The captain said.
"I can't leave her." Peter replied, not looking away as he lifted me carefully off Seanie's back.
"She'll be in the best hands." The captain explained.
"Peter..." I whispered as he turned his head towards me. "I'll be waiting for you when you're done... It's not like I can go anywhere." I smiled touching his face.
"Fine." A solder walked over to us and offered to carry me into the castle for him.
Peter was reluctant but he handed me off and the soldier carried me inside as I looked back over his shoulder at Peter, who was pushed towards another entrance of the castle.
The soldier brought me into a room and laid me on a bed and then left.
I looked around. Besides the bed there was a table filled with a bunch of vials and glass bottles of liquids and plants.
A few moments an older man walked in.
"Hello there... What can I do for you?" He asked.
"I sprained my ankle." I said simply.
The, I assumed Doctor, walked over as I took my boot then sock off.
"Definitely swollen... Definitely sprained. Try to stay off it for three weeks and..." He cut himself off as he selected a few plants and a vial of clear liquid from a shelf. He mixed them together in a mortar. Spreading them on a cloth he walked back over to me.
I was hesitant and he could tell.
"It's just a salve..." He said as he wrapped the cloth around my ankle. He tied it securely before finding some longer bandages.
"Thank you." I smiled.
"Of course." He replied.
"So care to tell me how this happened?"
"It's a long story." I chuckled.
"Neither of us are going anywhere." He replied.
I shrugged. "I'm the advisor to High King Peter of Narnia. While we were traveling to here... We encountered some bandits and... Long story short we ended up almost drowning and had to climb out of a well. That's how that happened. And I guess the story wasn't as long as I thought."
"Sounds like you've had an interesting past few days."
I chuckled nodding.
Then there was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in." The doctor said.
I saw his smile first. "How is she?" He asked before he was even fully in the door.
"Your highness." The doctor bowed his head slightly. "She'll be perfectly fine within three weeks... I suggest keeping her off it though." He looked at me.
"I guess I'm carrying you everywhere." Peter smiled. "Thank you."
"My pleasure..." The doctor replied as Peter walked over to me and sat down next to me as the doctor left the room.
The second he closed the door behind him, Peter put his hand on my face and kissed me.
"I've been wanting to do that since the well." He whispered, pressing our foreheads together, his hand still cupping my face. I placed my hand on his.
"How did your audience with the emperor go?" I asked.
"The treaty's good still."
"Good." I smiled.
"We'll rest here a few days... I'm not quite ready to go back yet." He said taking my hand in his.
"Your highness, your rooms are ready." A servant said walking into the room.
"Thank you." Peter smiled standing up. He bent down and was about to pick me up but I stopped him.
"I can walk... Just... stabilize me?" I asked.
He nodded as he reached for my arm. I babied my right foot as Peter put my arm around his neck, wrapping his other arm around my waist. We followed the servant out and to our rooms.
"the lady's is this one, and your highness's is the one right across... We'll fetch you for dinner at six."
"Thank you." Peter replied as he reached for the door of my room.
~ ~ ~
I was laying in my room... Trying to read but totally not thinking about my book. I was thinking about Peter... My Peter... I felt I could call him that now... I wanted to talk about certain things that had happened the day before... So, I got out of my bed and limped over to my door, and across the hall.
I was just about to knock when it opened, and Peter almost ran into me but stopped when our faces met.
All my thoughts left as I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. He pulled me into his room and closed the door behind me.
I felt the warmth radiating off his body.
"Peter." I mumbled between our lips meeting.
"What?" He asked picking me up and carrying me over to his already messed up bed.
"Peter." I chuckled as I landed in the soft blankets. They felt like silk. Calormen Silk.
"What?" He said again, looking down at me.
"I came in here to talk to you." I said simply, brushing his messy hair off his forehead.
"About?" He asked.
"What you said in the well... It's been on my mind since." I said simply.
"What about it?" He asked.
"Did you mean it?"
"Of course, I meant it... And if it wasn't convincing enough..." Peter knelt down as I sat up to look at him.
He took my hand in his and took the ring off his right middle finger, holding it up.
"Vyla Dennor... Will you marry me?"
"Are you sure?" I asked, looking at him.
"I'm not sure about a lot of things... But this isn't one of them... This is one thing I've never been more sure of in my life.
"I love you." I whispered holding his face in my hand.
Then he took my left hand and put the ring on. It was a little big because he had bigger hands but it was perfect.