The four Pevensies, Trumpkin and Amethy trudged through the forest to get to the Narnians as well as Prince Caspian. Trumpkin and Amethy had yet again filled them in on everything that happened, including how the Telmarines invaded and how Caspian ended up at their door. This was because the Pevensies had interrupted them so many times during their first explanation that they could only get the gist of everything and not the details. Trumpkin also shared that in his short stay as prisoner in the Telmarine Castle, he received insider information that Lord Miraz was planning to murder Caspian and steal the throne and that he had a bridge under construction, for he had forgotten to mention this before.
They walked for quite a few hours and Amethy's legs were starting to feel sore. They were following a route led by Peter, who was extremely determined that he was going the right way. But Amethy wasn't too sure.
"I don't remember this way at all" Susan started.
"That's the problem wth girls. You can't carry a map in your heads" rebutted Peter.
"That's because our heads have something in them" Lucy said, emphasising her words.
"I wish he'd just listen to the DLF" said Susan.
"DLF?" Edmund and Amethy asked at the exact same time. They exchanges amused looks.
"Dear little friend" Lucy explained while gigging.
"Oh, that's not all patronising, is it?" Trumpkin complained, rolling his eyes.
Peter, who was in the front, stopped abruptly when he came face to face with a huge wall of stone in front of him.
"I'm not lost" he muttered.
"No, you're just going the wrong way" commented Trumpkin.
"You said you last saw Caspian in the Shuddering Woods, and the quickest way there is to cross the River Rush" said Peter, trying to convince Trumpkin.
"Unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing at these parts" Amethy told him kindly. Peter pressed his lips into a flat line, keeping his temper with some difficulty.
"That explains it then. You're mistaken" he spat finally.
Amethy shrugged and rolled her eyes as she reluctantly followed behind Peter who had began to continue the journey again.
"Hey, about my brother..." Edmund started.
"Is he always like that?" whispered Amethy, her stare still fixed on the back of Peter's head, seeming quite pissed off.
"Well, he's been this way since... forever. But he got worse after we left Narnia" replied Edmund.
"If we are going the wrong way, I'm gonna kill him" she muttered crossly, brushing her hair upwards over her head.
Edmund laughed at her reaction.
"What? Don't tell me you're gonna thank him for making us go the wrong way?"
"Well, why not?" Edmund said teasingly.
Amethy rolled her eyes at him before catching up with Susan and Lucy.
The six of them continued to journey on through the thick forest, until they finally arrived at a gorge. They all looked downwards to the rushing water below, which was originally the great River Rush in the past. However, it was now a drop of tens of metres down. On the other side the cliff rose way higher and unfortunately for them, none of them were good at rock climbing.
"I. told. you." said Amethy to Peter in a monotonous voice.
"You see Pete, over hundreds of years, water erodes the earth's soil, carving deeper..." Susan, the-always-intelligent-girl, started to explain.
"Oh shut up. Is there a way down?" asked Peter, obviously trying to mask his embarrassment. He never fancied to be proved wrong.
"Yeah, falling" replied Trumpkin while glaring at Peter.
"Well there's a ford at Beruna. Any of you mind swimming?" Trumpkin continued.
"Anything's better than walking" replied Amethy enthusiastically. She always loved the water. Well, she is a water bender, isn't she?
With Trumpkin leading the way this time, they started to walk into the forest back to their original path. Just then, Lucy turned and glanced back.
"Aslan?" She paused, "it's Aslan over there!" She squealed in delight at the sight of his mane and those kind and golden eyes. Her expression had changed from disappointment and gloom to happiness instantly, and her eyes were shining unlike before.
Everyone turned around and looked at each other in a quizzical silence. Instead of seeing the great Aslan, the others could only see the normal braken and branches at the opposite side of the gorge.
"Can't you see? He's right... there" she turned back and, of course, saw nothing this time. Her smile faded.
"Do you see him now?" Trumpkin mocked. Amethy punched him in the arm, making him shut up.
"I'm not crazy, he was there! He wanted us to follow him" said Lucy, stamping her foot impatiently.
"I'm sure there are many lions in this wood, just like the bear" Peter said simply.
"I think I know Aslan when I see him" rebutted Lucy.
"Look, I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist..." he was cut off by Amethy's glare and Lucy's eyes had turned red.
"The last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid" Edmund said slowly, looking at Lucy then Amethy.
"Why wouldn't I have seen him?" questioned Peter.
"Maybe you weren't looking. We all weren't" replied Amethy.
"I'm sorry, Lu" Peter said.
Peter turned to walk away, followed by Susan and Trumpkin. Edmund gestured to Lucy and Amethy to follow behind. Amethy put her arm on Lucy's shoulder, leading her towards the rest, while Edmund followed behind.
"You know, I'm sure Aslan will come back. Perhaps now's just not the time" Amethy said, trying to comfort Lucy.
"Thank you" replied Lucy, her lips tugging up into a smile. She looked back one last time, hoping that Aslan could show himself soon once again.
***
After a long walk yet again, they had finally reached the ford at Beruna. However, a disappointing sight greeted them - a large group of Telmarine soldiers were busy cutting down trees for timbre to build a bridge across the water. As they hid behind a bundle of logs to avoid getting caught by the Telmarines, Amethy felt her fist tighten.
"How could they? I mean, the trees are living things" she whispered.
An hand rested on her shoulder, patting her twice. She turned to face the person who had done that. It was - to her surprise - King Edmund.
She instantly felt a warm sensation creep up her neck as her face almost collided with his. They froze for awhile, their faces in close proximity. After much awkwardness, Edmund started with what he wanted to say.
"I... uh... just wanted to help you calm down" he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Amethy giggled softly at his awkwardness.
"Perhaps this wasn't the best way after all" Susan stated.
"Come on, let's go back" Peter said, waving his arm towards the forest.
***
They reached the gorge again where Lucy had seen Aslan, but it was still empty as before.
"So where exactly did you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asked Lucy.
"I wish you'd all stop acting like grown-ups. I didn't think I saw him, I did see him"
"I am a grown-up" muttered Trumpkin.
"It was right around..." Lucy started, taking a few steps towards the edge of the cliff.
The ground under Lucy collapsed at her step and she let out a loud cry. The others rushed over towards her worriedly, only to see her sitting safely on a ledge just a few feet down.
"...here" she finished, smiling up at them.
There was a path going slant wise down to the gorge between the rocks. The path was steep, narrow and made of slippery moss covered rock, making the decent extremely dangerous. They started to walk down the path cautiously to cross the gorge. Peter was in the front, followed by Trumpkin, Amethy, Edmund, Lucy then Susan. To keep along this path wasn't easy, but they made it to the bottom at last, with the roaring of the stream below getting louder and louder with each step.
They crossed the gorge below by stepping on small protruding stones, which didn't help keeping much of their feet dry. Amethy took a step back to let a little frog hop by, as she loved and respected all animals, whether talking or not, causing her to stumble into Edmund who was right behind her. She lost her balance and fell back.
She closed her eyes and let out a soft scream, expecting a splash and her whole body getting soaked with water. She didn't mind though, as I have said before, she loved the water. Instead of coming into contact with a cool and refreshing water, strong arms clasped around her body, carrying her bridal style. She was rather disappointed, actually. She opened her eyes slowly and it met with chocolate brown ones. It was Edmund. Their eyes locked and they froze. Amethy blinked profusely at his intense stare.
"Ahem" Lucy coughed from behind them.
The two recovered from their staring.
"You two are blocking the way" Susan pointed out.
They both blushed. Edmund set Amethy back on her feet roughly and cleared his throat before walking ahead.
Lucy followed Edmund, smirking at Amethy as she walked by. Amethy rolled her eyes. Susan came along from behind Amethy.
"So... what's going own between you and Edmund?" She asked in a sing-song voice.
"Nothing?" replied Amethy awkwardly. "But if you want me to be honest... I think he'll make a great friend" Amethy said truthfully.
Edmund, who was strolling ahead of them, frowned upon hearing her comment.
***
Hi guys,
Yes I know I haven't been writing such parts after each chapter for the previous ones, but I'm starting on it from now on!
Firstly, I want to apologise for the previous chapter (the one before this) as it wasn't very interesting, was it? I'll try to add more parts with Amethy's participation :)
Secondly, I hope that you guys could spare a minute or two to comment on my story so that I know how I could improve on it and make it better. This is my first time writing a fanfiction, so I'm rather unsure myself. Your feedback would really help me a lot.
(Comment below!)
Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead!!
With love,
Tricia <3