!!the song featured in this chapter is not mine, all credits go to the oh hellos!!
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Estelle found that she had little to do, and with the ever-increasing nagging of her thoughts, she sought to distract herself. She could hear a quiet song coming from a small voice and had made it her mission to find it before the meeting that Peter had called for that evening. Due to the small size of the main room, she quickly located the singing and pinned it to a young fawn, 'helping' her father as he sharpened his tools. The fawn was failing to hide her anxiety about the upcoming battle, it was unfair that someone so young and full of life had to sit, hiding in fear instead of playing and exploring like a child should.
"It's pretty" the daughter of eve spoke kindly to the Narnian, causing her to jump slightly at the sudden conversation.
"Oh thank you" she muttered shyly.
"What is it?"
"It's an old Narnian song my mother taught me, I miss her"
"I miss my mother too" Estelle said with a smile, hoping that her words would demonstrate to the child that she wasn't alone, not upset her further. When she received no reply, she spoke up again.
"Will you sing it for me? I would love to learn it!"
"Really?"
The girl nodded eagerly and crossed her legs as a sign that the fawn had her undivided attention.
there will come a soldier
who carries a mighty sword
he will tear your city down
oh lai oh lei oh lord
Estelle listened to the sweet voice and let it fill her mind, for the first time in a long time, she felt real peace flood over her body as her thoughts seemed to quiet down. She let her eyes flutter shut.
there will come a poet
who's weapon is his word
he will slay you with his tongue
oh lai oh lei oh lord
Tears pricked at the corners of her closed eyes but she refused to let them spill, the song reminded her of her best friends, the ones that she was eternally grateful for, the ones that made her consider herself the luckiest girl in the world.
there will come a ruler
who's brow is laid in thorn
smeared with oil like david's boy
oh lai oh lei oh lord
he will tear your city down
oh lai oh lei oh lord
the fawn looked up to the girl with a hopeful gaze. Estelle opened her glossy eyes and just smiled at the young girl. What she didn't know was that Caspian, who was a safe distance away from the interaction, was humming that same song to himself.
"It's time for the meeting" Peter called out.
Estelle retreated back to the stone table room, her heart still singing the song that the young fawn had taught her, despite her head knowing the importance of this meeting. She sat herself down on a rock next to Edmund who was confused at the girls elated appearance.
"It's only a matter of time. Miraz' men and war machines are on their way, that means those same men aren't protecting his castle"
"What do you propose we do sire" Reep asked.
"We-"
"Our-" Both Caspian and Peter started, they locked eyes, each daring the other to continue. Eventually Caspian backed down and gestured for Peter to take the lead.
"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us"
"But that's crazy! no one has ever taken that castle!"
"There's always a first time"
Others began to jump in, shoving their input down the King's throat.
"We will have the element of surprise" Trumpkin added.
"But we have the advantage here-"
"If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely" Susan argued, causing Peter to shoot daggers with his eyes, not impressed with the fact that she wasn't taking his side. Caspian on the other hand, only gazed at her in admiration.
"Look- I appreciate what you've done here, but this isn't a fortress, it's a tomb"
"And if the Telmarines are smart they will just starve us out!" Edmund defended. Estelle could hardly keep up with the debate anymore and had decided that she'd had enough of keeping quiet, especially since even Edmund was being stupid. She was known for her lack of thought before doing anything even mildly dangerous, but still she could see that this ignorance from her friends would be the downfall of an entire race.
"If i may, Pete? I understand your rush. However, as even you said, the Telmarine army won't be protecting the castle."
Peter glared at the girl for questioning him and couldn't follow where she could possibly be taking this. She could feel warmth rush to her cheeks at the sudden attention but quickly regained her composure.
"Exactly. That's why we need to-"
"So who are you planning to attack if there are no soldiers? the innocent children? their mothers? anyone just to prove your point? Wether we succeed or not, the army and war machines will still exist outside the castle, there will be two battles no matter the outcome."
"I'm not saying that you're wrong, i'm just saying that maybe we should think about this-"
"Shut up" the boy interrupted.
"You're not listeni-" she tried again.
"No! you're not listening! I know you're trying to help, but you get no say in this Estelle!-"
Her brow and jaw began to ache from the shocked expression fixed upon her features.
"-You've never been to Narnia! I've led armies and fought battles that you could only ever read about! You can't use a weapon, you can barely walk without tripping over your own feet! You're only here by accident, you get no say." he made sure to emphasise the last part.
And just like that, her walls were back up. She couldn't believe that the very same Peter that had beat up a boy for not accepting rejection from Estelle, was the same Peter that just spoke to her like she was nothing. Maybe her aunt really was right, speaking your thoughts only does more harm than good. She made a silent oath to herself that she would keep her walls as strong as she could from that day, swallowing the lump in her throat and not giving Peter the satisfaction of seeing her falter.
"We could collect nuts!" a squirrel named Pattertwig offered, in a desperate attempt to diffuse the tension in the room.
"Oh yes and throw them at the Telmarines- shut up! I think you know where I stand on this, sire"
"If I can get your troops in, can you handle the guards?"
"Or die trying my liege." Glenstorm added
"That's what i'm worried about" Lucy spoke up, her voice seeming soft and gentle in comparison to the riled up shouts of those around her.
"Sorry?"
"You're all acting like there's only two options: dying here or dying there"
"I'm not sure you've really been listening Lu"
"No you're not listening!" she threw his own sly comment right back in his face.
"Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch" Her words penetrated Peter's heart like a sword, his face contorted in horrified anger, then fell completely flat.
"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough" he said, his voice eerily calm.
'she will return again' the same thick voice.
"i'm sorry Aunt Ruth" suddenly Estelle was sat in the car of her only living relative, one just as grey and dull as the house in which she lived.
"please say something-"
"how dare you! how dare you embarrass me like that!" the old woman snapped.
"i'm sorry, he tried to hurt me!"
"And I should've let him!"
They had just returned from a gathering at an old friends house and the youngest son, only a few years older than the 7 year old Estelle, had tried to make an advancement on her. He'd stated that she was awfully mature for her age and that she was beautiful beyond belief. When she'd rejected him, as politely as she could muster, he approached her and grabbed her wrists until she lost circulation in both hands, and spat in her face that she would play along wether she liked it or not. She head-butted him in the nose and ran into the kitchen as fast as she could. Ruth and her friend had found the two before he could try anything, but he still managed to pin the blame on her, claiming that she'd attacked him during a game that they were playing.
By the time that they'd entered the house,
Ruth had lost it completely.
"You're completely useless! how many times have I told you that a girl is supposed to stay quiet and compliant, how hard is that for you to understand?!" Estelle could've sworn that she had felt the walls shake at her Aunts increasingly loud tone, or maybe it was just the shaking from her body as she shrunk into the corner, willing it to swallow her up.
"Look at me!" She grabbed the young girls face and ripped it from her hands, pulling it up to meet her at eye-level. With a loud slam, she had shoved Estelle's head into the nearest wall and stalked off, leaving the girl to cry into her knees alone in the kitchen.
Estelle awoke in the dead of night, the only sounds being the light snoring of the youngest Pevensie beside her and the crickets that had made themselves at home in the How. She clasped her hand to her mouth almost instantly to stifle the sounds of her heavy breathing and soft sobs. If she were at home right now she'd have read herself back to sleep, peacefully dreaming of performing plays with Jo and Amy in the living room. But she didn't have that privilege in Narnia and so she settled for a walk to clear her head.
After deciding against her boots as they were obnoxiously loud, she pushed herself up, ignoring the dull ache of her exhausted limbs, and stepped outside of her makeshift bedroom. Originally, she hadn't wanted to leave the building, yet after a matter of minutes, she'd found herself gently strolling along the field that surrounded the How, purposefully taking extra notice of the feeling of the grass between her toes in an attempt to ground herself. It was soothing at night, the moonlight perfectly capturing her sunken features and perplexing stare. She glanced at the visible constellations and had attempted to recognise a few until she realised that she was a long way from home and it was a pointless exercise. A yelp escaped her lips as her hair was suddenly pulled back and a hand shot to her mouth to muffle her screams, and then it went black.
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"Edmund! you haven't seen Estelle around have you? There's something I need to ask her" Caspian jogged to catch up to the boy.
"No, not since last night"
"Both Peter and Susan said the same"
Edmunds ears perked up at this. It was drastically unlike his friend to venture off without informing anyone at all, sure she and Peter weren't on the best of terms at the moment but she'd have no reason not to tell Susan or himself. Racking his brain for answers, he almost didn't notice the aforementioned siblings (and Lucy) running towards them.
"Lucy hasn't seen her either, she left her dagger and shoes" Susan started, in between breaths.
"Maybe she just went for a walk? to clear her head for tonight?" Offered a frantic Peter, trying desperately to conceal his inner panic.
"Maybe, but I fear there may be more to this"
Piquing the interest of the Pevensie's, Caspian continued.
"There is a tale, about a young girl that I used to know. Her father was a Telmarine Lord and her mother was a daughter of Eve, Miraz feared that the family may be a threat to him, so he made a plan to kill them whilst they slept."
"Right- but what does this have to do with Estelle?" Edmund urged, quite frankly not wanting to waste anymore time incase something bad really had happened to his dear friend.
"The girl's father had caught wind of my uncle's plan and sent away his wife and only child to return to their home in your world, with the help of Aslan-"
"-it was believed that when the time was right, she would return to Narnia and avenge her father."
"And you think that this girl is Estelle?" Peter doubted.
"It's a possibility"
Edmund, being the only one to know the basics of her home life, feared there may be some truth behind this 'tale' and could only hope that it held a happy ending for his second family.
"But you heard how against this plan Estelle is! There's no way she'd just go waltzing in to the castle, unarmed at that" He argued, grasping at any evidence he could find to prove that this theory was wrong and that she was just hiding from them as part of one of her games.
"What if she isn't going there to avenge him? What if she's going to help Miraz? to warn him of our attack?"
"Peter you don't really believe that do you?" Lucy questioned desperately.
If he was being honest, he didn't. After his previous experience with Edmund and the White Witch, he hated the idea that his friend could possibly betray him. Inside, he just prayed that she was safe and unharmed. Even the thought alone that his last words to her could be insults that he wasn't sure that he meant, was enough to make him feel sick to his stomach.
"I'm not saying it's true! just that we can't cross it off!"
"No. She wouldn't do that" Edmund felt like his heartbeat was in his head. He couldn't even fathom why Peter would ever suggest that. Estelle was the most pure and caring soul that he had ever met and would never betray her family, not like he did. However his words didn't do much to clear her name, his siblings seemed to think it was at least a possibility, leaving him with a burning sensation in his stomach.
"I guess we shall find out tonight" Edmund could just about hear Peter mutter as he stormed off back into the How, unable to even look at his brother in this moment.
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word count: 2426
A/N
the argument between Estelle and Peter is inspired by a caspian x oc by notoriousnika
this chapter is very wordy. i'm sorry. there is a shit ton of dialogue just kind squashed into one long word vomit chapter, idek if it makes sense but i'm keeping it anyway :) Estelle is gonna have main character syndrome after all of this i swear-
as i said all credits go to notoriousnika for the argument scene!!! her story 'beautiful warrior' is amazing, you should go read it!!