Mr. Beaver had decided to settle a camp here. Peter had disagreed saying that it would be the first place to look for once they found out the Fox had deceived him. The fox in his weakened state, had assured him that it would take the entire night before the wolves figured it out on their own.
Peter had not complained after that. The fox had saved his sisters and Rory's life, the least he could do was trust him again. So Peter , Susan, Lucy and Mr. Beaver left to recollect woods and branches for a fire. Mrs. Beaver tended the Fox's wounds with Rory as her dutiful assistant. The Browning girl took this as a first lesson in stride. It was a valuable skill she lacked until now and judging by how bumpy their journey seemed, she would end up using again.
Once the Pevensies and Mr. Beaver returned, they built up and lit a fire. The Pevensies sat around the fire on confortable logs that Lucy had found. Rory and Mrs. Beaver tried to step closer to the fire, surely a bit of warmth would make the injured fox feel better. Mrs Beaver damped a small rag with alcohol and attempted to clean the fox's wound.
"They were helping Tumnus," The fox explained weakly, "The Witch got here before I did. Ow! Oh!"
The creature yelped and squirmed away when the alcohol touched his wound.
"Are you all right?" Lucy asked in concern.
"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite," The fox said ruefully before yelping again. This time it had been Rory who had tried to clean the wound.
"Stop squirming!" Mrs Beaver ordered, "You're worse than Beaver on bath day!"
"Worst day of the year," Mr. Beaver said, trying to light up the situation.
Susan and Lucy giggled at his comment. Mrs. Beaver had finally managed to clean the wound. Rory handed her a bandage to Mrs. Beaver but the Fox shook his head. He stood up weakly but determined.
"Thank you for your kindness," the Fox said gratefully, "But that's all the cure I have time for."
"You're leaving?" Lucy said in disbelief.
" It has been a pleasure, My Queen, and an honor, but time is short and Aslan himself has asked me to gather more troops," The fox said as he bowed.
"You've seen Aslan?" Mr. Beaver inquired in awe.
"What's he like?" Mrs. Beaver questioned excitedly.
"Like everything we've ever heard," The Fox smiled. He then turned to the Pevensie siblings who were watching him curiously.
"You'll be glad to have him by your side in the battle against the Witch," The fox told his future monarchs.
The older Pevensies shared one look of panic. They were just kids, how in the hell were they supposed to fight a witch. Rory, on the other hand, tried to make herself scarce. This didn't involve her, so instead she decided to count trees.
"But we're not planning on fighting any witch," Susan declared.
The Fox looked stiken with panic. He turned to the oldest Pevensie who was doing his best to avoid the fox's eyes.
" But surely, King Peter, the prophecy!" The foxs stammered confused.
" We can't go to war without you," Mr. Beaver said.
Peter wanted to help, he really did. He felt sorry for the Narnians who had been under a tyrannical rule for years. A monarchy that froze their subjects, and arrested people just for helping others. It was unfair and it went with all of Peter's principles. But how could he help them when he couldn't keep his own family safe? He wasn't a warrior or a king or a hero. He was just a boy. A boy that was great at failing.
" We just want our brother back," Peter said apologetically.
"What about you my lady?" The fox asked Rory.
The Browning girl was startled at being addressed and nearly jumped out of her seat.
"Me?" Rory asked , surprised. At the Fox's nod, she began rambling nervously playing with the sleeves of her coat. "I just stumbled here by accident. And I was never a sporty girl. Well unless verbal sparring and pranks gone wrong count as sports. Or music but that's not a useful skill in war..."
"I'm sure that's not true," The Fox said sincerely, " Everyone has a purpose, we just have to discover yours and with Aslan's help... Lady?"
"Rory," The Browning girl replied at the Fox question.
"Lady Rory," The fox completed, "I bet you can accomplish great things too. It's Aslan's will."
Rory thanked him quietly before the Fox walked away from the camp leaving the group deep in thought. Mr. Beaver, being a practical creature, stood up.
"C'mon humans!" Mr. Beaver suggested, " Tomorrow will be a long journey, I suggest you sleep."
Everyone seemed to agree as they made themselves comfortable around the fire. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were the first ones to go down. Rory supposed they were used to this climate and their thick fur protected them. Susan was next. Perhaps she was exhausted herself after all thinking rationally and the laws of nature not working in Narnia. She cuddled herself into the log and fell asleep quickly. Lucy was curled into a ball, but even asleep she was still shivering. Rory took pity on her and gave her coat, leaving her in a thin blue sweater.
Of course even in a magical land, Rory still had trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned again before finally deciding to sit up. Once she sat and made herself comfortable , Rory stared at the fire still thinking about the Fox's kind words. Was it true? Did she really have a purpose in Narnia?
Rory was startled when she felt a heavy coat on her shoulders. She turned around and noticed Peter was just as awake as herself. The blonde took a seat next to her quietly. They didn't say a thing, just stared at the fire as if it was going to answer all of their questions.
"We just can't get a break, can we?" Peter asked sarcastically. Rory shifted, adjusting Peter's coat as a blanket to cover both of them.
"No rest for the wicked they say," Rory commented tiredly tucking herself into Peter's chest.
"Probably my punishment for losing my brother to a murderous tyrant and breaking those poor creatures hope," Peter muttered bitterly.
"You can't possibly think that?" Rory asked incredulously
Peter shrugged, letting her know that he wasn't going to verbalize it but he full heartedly believed in his words.
"Peter..." Rory began, but the blonde interrupted her before she could finish.
"I can't do this," Peter said desperately, "Just look at me!"
"I am looking at you," Rory said seriously as she met her eyes. Turquoise meeting cerulean blue.
"I see someone so noble and kind. Brave and arrogantly stubborn," Rory continued, never straying off Peter's strong gaze, "I know if anyone is going to defeat a witch from a magical land and get his brother back, it's only going to be you."
"Rory, I am no king! And I'm no hero," Peter confessed brokenly, " I was horrible to Edmund! I didn't even notice he was gone until it was too late. I broke Lucy's heart when I told her we couldn't save Mr. Tumnus. Susan is angry at me for not controlling the situation. Is that the hero Narnians want?"
There was a pregnant pause. Peter finally looked away; he had never felt so ashamed of himself. He had finally admitted his biggest fears and regrets since he stepped into Narnia nearly twenty four hours ago.
Rory grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers together. This made Peter finally meet her gaze again.
"Heroes make mistakes too, you know?" Rory whispered, an advice only for his ears , "It's how they fix their mistakes that make them heroes."
Peter eyed their intertwined hands and played with her fingers..
"You think I can be a hero?" Peter asked, surprised.
"I know you can be," Rory reassured softly, "I've seen it. You just have to believe in it."
"You really are Rory the wise," he said in awe.
"Think that can be my purpose here?" Rory asked sardonically, startling both at the deep resentment she showed.
"Sorry," Rory whispered.
"No, don't be sorry," Peter said, " You just witnessed me embarrass myself, the least I can do is return the favor."
"Expressing your feelings is not embarrassing," Rory chided.
"All the more reason to tell me about yours," Peter smirked , knowing he had won the argument. Rory gaped in disbelief, someone other than her aunts had out-argued her. After a bit more coaxing, the Browning girl caved in.
"Back at home, Macready usually reminds me how much of a pest I am. I try to do my best to ignore her. " Rory began explaining quietly, "But everytime she says how much of a pain I am, I can't stop thinking about my aunts. They already went through something horrible with my parents' deaths and god knows what else since they never really opened up. And I'm a constant reminder of that painful past. "
Peter squeezed her hand reassuringly. It was a way to show that he was listening and supporting her. Rory allowed herself a small smile that quickly faded at her words.
"I just thought, in my arrogance maybe, that coming here to Narnia was going to give me a purpose and show me that maybe there's a reason why i'm here," Rory started choking up, hating to show so much weakness and to show her emotions to someone else, " And that maybe all my aunt's sacrifice and pain was worth it. But I'm not any of that. I am a liability back home and I'm irrelevant here."
Peter tugged Rory close to him and hugged her tightly. Rory relaxed into his touch and hugged him back. She refused to cry but a few rebel tears managed to fall. She quickly wiped them away, trying to put her feelings back in check. When they finally broke apart, Peter cupped her face.
"Not all heroes know their purpose at the beginning," Peter reminded her gently, "And you, Rory Browning, are the farthest thing from irrelevant."
Rory smiled at him brightly and Peter's breath caught in his throat. She looked so beautiful. Her eyes were still glassy from trying to hide her tears. Her hair was a wilder mess. But her smile , Peter could bet her smile could melt the entire snow in Narnia.
"Thank you," She said gratefully.
"Hey, insomatic partners have to stick up for each other," Peter shrugged playfully, causing Rory to giggle quietly.
A particularly loud snore from Mr. Beaver startled both of them. The pair shared an amused glance before deciding maybe it was time to sleep again. After all, tomorrow was going to be a long journey.
"We should probably," the blonde trailed off awkwardly.
"Yeah," The Browning girl agreed.
They tumbled into the grown together, only now realizing that unless they wanted to die of hypothermia they needed to share the coat. After a billion blushes and accidental brushes, they finally found a comfortable position: Peter with his hands behind his head and Rory nestled into his chest, still sharing Peter's coat. Surprisingly enough, they both were overcome by sleep quite easily.
Hello everyone! I'm finally back. Thank you for your patience, I promise I will updtate as often as I can from now on. This chapter is so precious to me because Peter and Rory's conversation about heroes is something I wrote when I was feeling very down in my life and writing their conversation helped me examine my life choices. I hope you like this chapter as much as I do and thank you so much for reading my book.