𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡 ♱ ˖ ࣪ . ─────
"YOUR MAJESTY! We have a lead on the whereabouts of Lord Tewkesbury and Princess Katherine," Reepicheep announced, waking Caspian up. The trio had traveled exactly a whole week now, and each day the King's worries grew and the voice taunting him got louder.
"That's amazing, Reep," Caspian groaned, rubbing his eyes. He sat up on the grassland he laid down on and looked around, noticing how Younri is missing. In panic, he reached for his sword, "Reepicheep, where is the maiden?"
"Lady Younri had to find food, my king. She'll be alright." Reepicheep bowed and took a hold of his tail, "I was with her this evening when we heard the wind whisper where the missing Lord and Princess are."
"Wind?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. They say that they're carrying the elf, the Lord, our own Princess, and a pixie." Reepicheep nodded, adjusting his hat now. Caspian did not know how to react, his cousin's group seemed to get bigger and bigger and he feared if the creatures were one to trust, "An elf and now pixies? We must leave now."
"You don't have to get worked up over nothing, King Caspian," Younri walked over to them, carrying a basket full of berries, "Pixies are wonderful creatures."
"They're vengeful, you mean," Caspian narrowed his eyes at her, "I still do not understand why you seem to be calm about this whole situation, Lady Younri. If I were to be asked, I'd say your acting quite suspicious."
Younri visibly stiffened on the King's words.
She was definitely hiding something and Caspian needed to find it out, even if it meant stabbing the answer out of her. "I-I just trust that the Princess can take care of herself." Younri stuttered, taking steps back.
Reepicheep let out a gasp and pointed out, "Lady Younri...your hair..."
Caspian unleashed his sword as he watched with widened eyes as Younri's once dark brown hair turned into a sparkling purple one. Younri let the basket full of the fruits go as her eyes turned into icy blue.
"Who are you?" The King managed to ask out, he and Reepicheep having their swords in the air. Younri, though, didn't look scared. Instead she let out a soft sound of disbelief, then a smile when a small tear left her eye, "T-They found her."
° ° °
"YOU WERE CHEATING!"
"Am not!"
"You were!"
"No-"
"Please do enlighten me on how to cheat in tic tac toe," Kate muttered under her breath, her right eyebrow raised. As usual, Tewkesbury and Jareth are at it again: fighting over useless and simple things. "I don't know! Ask him! He's the one cheating!" The elf accused the lord, pouting and crossing his arms.
"No I'm not! I'm just good at it and you just suck!" Tewkesbury argued stubbornly, also now crossing his arms. Because of their loud voices, Tinkerbell woke up with a yawn, flying out of Jareth's pocket, "W-What's going on?"
"Children." Kate answered simply, smirking when the two glared at her, "You know how children are, Tink." Tinkerbell chuckled and smiled thankfully when the Princess passed her a berry to eat on.
"Well, we've traveled a week and a half now, Kharnia must be close. Are you ready to see your mother?" Jareth pats the empty space beside him in which Kate was more than happy to sit on, "I don't know, I feel nervous? Excited? It's been eight years since I've seen her and a lot has changed."
"You're lovely, so don't be."
Everyone turned to Tewkesbury and the Lord soon realized what he said. His ears turned pink as he stammered out an explanation, "I-I mean, K-Kate's a lovely person, isn't she? S-So it's only given that her mother is lovely too."
"Thanks, Tewky," Kate chuckled at him then breathed out heavily, "And that goes to all of you, thank you so much. I owe you guys a lot." At this, Jareth snorts loudly, "Uh, yeah you do. I deserve tons of gold after this. Tink deserves something too...oh ah! And Tewkesbury deserves a ki-"
"Jareth, are you sure we're not in Kharnia, yet?" Tewkesbury cuts him off, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stood up to his feet towards the blinking blue light on the dark forest. The elf also stood up in pure awe, "I-I mean, I did say the maximum of our travels would be two weeks."
Kate walked from behind the two boys, placing her hands on each of their shoulders while Tinkerbell sat on Jareth's head. The Princess was in wonder, she smiled softly and glanced at her friends. "Together?"
"You couldn't have done all of this alone in the first place," Jareth laughed. Tewkesbury laughed too then lent out his hand, "It's your adventure, your majesty. Your call."
"Our adventure," Kate corrected him, placing her hand on his as they walked towards the blue light.
At first, it was awfully quiet. The four held their breath in anticipation of what was about to happen when the once small blue light exploded. They all closed their eyes and lifted their hands to protect themselves from the bright light.
"Ouh!" A woman with blonde short curly hair, puffy white dress, and a wand stumbled on her feet, giggling in a high pitch voice, "Oh Aslan, It's been so long since I've walked. This is such a new feeling, oh."
Tewkesbury and Kate exchanged bewildered looks before the Princess cleared her throat. The Good Witch of Kharnia stumbled once more before looking at the four teenagers in front of her, "My, my, now who are you cute little dearies?" Kate opened her mouth to answer but the witch lifted her index finger, giggling once again, "Oh! Oh! Let me guess! That one is Elfie, Wingie, you, my dear girl, is...oh Aslan, what an adorable couple!"
In confusion, Tewkesbury and Kate looked down only to see their hands were still connected. Their cheeks tinted in a deep shade of red before quickly pulling away from each other.
"We're not-"
"He's not-"
They both stopped and glanced at each other before looking away awkwardly. "You're not a couple?" The Witch pouts in disappointment, "That's such a shame! You two look good together." Jareth and Tinkerbell snickered from the other corner, both from the names the Witch had given them and what she had said about the Princess and the Lord.
"U-Uh no, ma'am." Kate shook her head and inhaled sharply, trying to stop her hands from shaking. "I-I'm here to learn...where my real mother is. I was hoping you could help me." The Witch squints her eyes, staring at the Princess before gasping loudly. She pulled back and suddenly had tears in her eyes.
"W-What's wrong?"
"A-Aurora?" The Witch stammered, her voice soft and shaky, "Aurora, is that you? Oh Aslan, you've grown so much...you look like Aliana."
Kate's eyes soften as her lips quivered, "Y-You know me? You know my mother?" The Witch nodded her head again and again, "Of course I do, Aurora. I was there when your parents got married and I was there when you were born." If the Princess wasn't crying, she's sobbing right now at the mention of her biological parents, "You...know...y-you met my father?"
The Witch gave her a pitiful look, twirling her wand a bit. A long string of blue came out of the wand before expanding into a huge illusion. "Your father was a good man, Aurora. He loved you and your mother with his whole heart even on his last breath," she explained, guiding the Princess towards the illusion of a smiling woman, "His name was Nicholas and he stumbled in Narnia by an accident. Here, he met Aliana and fell in love."
"Why..." Kate gulped, mesmerized by her father's illusion, "...w-why did he die...?"
"He died by saving you, Aurora." The Good Witch smiled sadly and the illusion changed into another image, "It wasn't only Aliana who fell in love with Nicholas...my younger sister, Jadis, loved him too. In fact, she may have loved him too much. The moment Jadis knew you were born, she was a burning snowflake. My sister did things I never imagined she could, she completely lost sight of Aslan and became Narnia's greatest fear."
"Jadis killed him...?"
"Nicholas died, but he didn't do it in vain. In fact, I'm sure he crossed to Aslan's Country with a huge smile on his face."
Kate wanted to break down. She had never met her father, she had never told him how much she loved him. Tewkesbury placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it as if to remind her that she wasn't alone.
"Aliana, on the other hand," The Witch twirled her wand once again, "She was a star, the brightest of them all actually. She was truly a beauty-inside and outside. Many loved and envied her, just like my two sisters."
"There's three of you?" Jareth asked, now standing beside the Princess. He too, wanted to remind her how she wasn't and never will be alone.
"Me, Giana, as the eldest, Jadis, then Younri."
"Y-Younri? No...that can't be possible, she's one of my ladies in waiting. I haven't seen her use any powers." Kate wiped her tears and shook her head. "My youngest sister was the one who had the closest relationship with your mother. They were inseparable, two heads in one body."
Kate tried to process what she was hearing. It was all too much-too many, and the worst of it all is that everything made sense.
"Aurora...", Giana gently called for her, "When Nicholas died, Aliana did everything in her power to keep you safe. She was able to channel her pain and turn it into an energy that sent the both of you to the world where our Queens and Kings of Old lives. This is why you have memories of both existence."
"I-If I was in London to be safe, then why did I come to Narnia once again?"
Giana kept her lips in a thin line before gently placing her wand on the Princess' head, "You shall see it instead, daughter of Nicholas and Aliana. Aslan would've liked it better that way."
With that, Tewkesbury, Jareth, Tinkerbell, and everything else disappeared. Kate found herself in pure darkness.