The green grass in front of her began to blur, not into darkness but into a mix of vibrant colours, that of a palette. With each throb of pain shooting through her veins, she screamed, begging for it to stop.
In a few minutes she was at the edge of oblivion - her body was numb, her breathing hard and despite Edmund crouching over her to help her up, she didn't see his face nor the sky behind him, but the constantly flashing images in her mind. It was as if she was trapped under freezing water, unable to surface at all.
The last thing she could register was the feeling of her body being hoisted up onto Glenstorm's back, and the quick galloping of his hooves echoing in her head.
***
Amethy found herself in the middle of a wood, small and sparse patches of sunlight shone through the thick crown of leaves overhead, and a thin mist surrounded her. There was no sign of a clearing as far as she was able to see. What caught her attention was the sight of two young children not too far away from her.
"Come on!" the boy urged. The boy, who had dark hair and eyes, was seated on a black, maginifent horse. Dressed in the finest, and not to mention handsome, he had a air of nobility around him.
"I don't think we should be going this far," the girl warned as she searched beside the horse, probably to retrieve something she had dropped. She allowed the boy to help her up onto the horse not long after, swinging her leg expertly over the tall back of the horse. Sitting behind him, she squealed a little and tightened the grip around his waist when she picked up a rustle in the grass below, making him grin boyishly.
Amethy smiled at their adorable interaction and proceeded towards them. "Excuse me," she started, "could you tell me where I am?" she asked politely, raising her voice to make sure they could hear her. The two children didn't seem to notice her presence. She jogged closer to them.
"Could we just get out of the woods?" pleaded the girl. Without a word, the boy picked up the reigns and they were off towards the opposite end of the woods.
Rude much? Thought Amethy. Completely confused and lost, she decided to follow them, hoping that they might be able to give her some sort of answer to where she was. Lifting her long dress to her calf and sprinting after the horse who was galloping at top speed, she enjoyed the cool air that teased her cheeks and combed through her long hair, and allowed the scent of pure nature engulf her lungs. Finally, a wave of bright sunlight met her eyes as they reached the edge of the woods.
There, was a beautiful sandy beach. It was a breath-taking sight, a beach more captivating than the most beautiful beach you would ever see in our world, a sea clearer than a glass of pure water.
The children raced towards the sea together, kicking off their shoes as they went. Amethy recognised the place. She noticed the ruins of Cair Paravel, where she met the Pevensies, and Glasswater not too far away, where she almost lost Trumpkin. Amethy took the chance to dash in front of the duo to ask the same question:
"Excuse me, may I know why..."
Amethy's thoughts were cut off when the girl ran straight through her. Then she remembered - the Telmarine Camp, Miraz, the challenge and passing out after leaving the camp.
I must be dead. She told herself. But it all seemed so real. And why was she seeing two children? Okay, maybe I'm alive.
She sat on a rock on the beach as she watched the children play in the ocean for quite a few moments, taking in the calming scent of the sea and enjoying the fresh ocean breeze on her freckled skin, taking the chance to enjoy a break from the mundane routines and stress of war - sleep, eat, practice, practice again, rest.
Soon she found herself hiking up the hill towards the magnificent Cair Paravel, following closely behind the two children who paused momentarily to help each other with the ascent.
They explored the area - the boy took peeks everywhere while the girl climbed up the huge apple trees and picked half a dozen huge, juicy apples for their horse.
The girl tucked into her apple while sitting on one of the low branches of a tree, hanging her legs from the thick structure and looking out at the picturesque view. She sat there all by herself in silence, until the boy ran up to her with something in his hands.
"Look what I've found!" He exclaimed excitedly, showing her a object in his hand. A silver bracelet it was, which had carvings of leaves and vines which encircled a single navy colored stone in its centre - exactly what a Queen of Narnia would have worn. Amethy's gaze trailed off to her own wrist, where an identical bracelet wrapped itself around her wrist. She took a few steps back and tripped, half expecting herself to wake up. But she didn't. In front of her still sat the two children.
"I believe we should put it back," said the girl sternly, tossing the boy an apple.
He took a bite from his fruit and rebutted with his mouth full, "I'm afraid this is yours now. I've carved a 'C' on it!" he told her with a cheeky smile, showing her the cursive alphabet carved on the inside of the piece of jewelry. Amethy reached into the interior of her bracelet and ran her finger over the roughly carved 'C' on the smooth material. "This shall stand for Carmelya, Caspian and Cair Paravel," he declared proudly. The girl stared at him in astonishment.
"If you say so, Your Highness," replied the girl, before throwing her arms around him in a hug. "And thank you, Cas" she whispered.
"Caspian?" gasped Amethy. Then it all clicked. Everything made sense. The girl was herself - with brown hair and deep violet eyes, and the boy was Prince Caspian.
She was seeing everything she had lost.
The throbbing pain in her head began yet again, and the image blurred, allowing a new scene to unfold in Amethy's mind:
Her young self was now hiding behind a pillar, watching in horror as a heavily chained lady was dragged helplessly across a corridor by two armed soldiers. The lady was bruised all over, blood seeping from her wounds and onto the floor tiles. She seemed to be in extreme pain from her groans as she was dragged towards a great wooden door.
Once the lady and the soldiers were all behind the doors, her young self crept up to peek inside and Amethy followed, peeking in as well. Behind the doors was a big airy room, where a man and the lady were kneeling on the ground and another man had his sword pointed at them, threatening to strike. It was then did Amethy realise that the man was Miraz. She remembered the way Miraz pointed her sword at her just minutes before she passed out - the same threatening and menacing gaze used to instill fear in others.
The three of them spoke, before Miraz sheathed his sword and leaned back on his chair, tilting his chin up.
"Kill them," ordered Miraz.
The horrific truth dawned on Amethy - the man was her father, Ignatius, while the woman was her mother. That night was the night her secret was exposed. That night was the night she almost lost her life herself.
Amethy turned away from the scene as soon as a soldier walked up to her parents. She heard the shouting of the familiar voice of her father. Then there was a two whips of the blade in which two soft thuds and came after. And the gasp of the her younger informed her that the deed was done. She had lost them forever.
She turned back around to see herself fleeing from a dozen soldiers. Amethy closed her eyes and buried her head into her hands, praying that she would wake from this nightmare of her past.
When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer standing on the concrete floors of the castle, but on the moss covered forest floor. She looked up slowly, spotting two golden paws a few feet away from her own feet.
"Aslan."
She was distracted by a noise from her left. There lay her younger self, the ends of her dress torn and her cloak dusted with a layer of dirt. A trail of blood ran from her right temple to her cheek. And beside her was a badger, who Amethy knew was good old Trufflehunter. Trumpkin came running along, helping the badger hoist her up and bring her into a tree not too far away from where they were standing. Not too long later, the familiar bickering of Nikabrik and the two others could be heard, and Amethy found herself smiling sadly at the fond memories.
Amethy looked back at Aslan, who gave her a knowing nod.
Then, he roared.
***
Amethy woke up to the orangey celing of the How and the feeling of a pair of furry hands on her forehead.
"She's not running a fever... Oh look! She's come around!" the person, who was none other than Trufflehunter, exclaimed.
She sat up slowly and realised the number of people who were crowding around her - Caspian, Edmund and Lucy on her left with Peter and Susan behind them, Trufflehunter and Trumpkin on her right (it still saddened her deeply that Nikabrik was no longer with them), and Centaurs, Fauns and bears all around the room. They all looked at her, concerned, causing her to look away in slight embarrassment.
"How long... was I out?" she finally managed to ask.
"Almost an hour now," Caspian, who was directly beside her, answered. She looked down and found that he had been holding her hand. Caspian released his grip immediately, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, not to mention the moment when he bit his lip a little.
"Um... you were having a bad dream..." he started.
"And calling his name," spat Edmund, before leaving the room, causing Peter to rush out behind him. Amethy sighed at the hurt she saw in Edmund's eyes, and reached for her forehead, feeling that she had broken out in cold sweat while she was unconscious.
"Do you want to tell us about it?" Trufflehunter asked.
"No... It's alright," Amethy said. Caspian threw her a skeptical look. It wasn't like she wanted to keep it from them, but the middle of a war isn't a very suitable time to rejoice over someone regaining her lost memories, was it? Furthermore, her memories were not at all optimistic, except, of course, the happy times she'd spent with Caspian and her father.
"I'm truly sorry for taking up everyone's time. I believe I should be going off with Queen Lucy very soon," said Amethy in a soft voice before getting up onto her feet beside Lucy, ignoring Caspian's questions of concern. With that, the other Narnians scattered to prepare for battle.
Amethy and Lucy both made their way to the stables to prepare for their journey into the forest, where, let's say the plan worked, they would find Aslan and hopefully attain his help. If not, they would probably die. As Lucy said, it's dying here, or dying there.
They stopped in their tracks as soon as they heard the voices of both Peter and Edmund.
"Ed, please, I'm begging you, give her up," said Peter.
"Stop telling me what to do, Pete,"
"Don't you get it? You and Amethy - it's something impossible! You're from Finchley. She's from Narnia. Even if she feels the same way (which I hope not) you two can't ever be together! So please... just drop it," advised Peter. Lucy reached up to grab Amethy's hand the instant they heard Peter's comment. She gave a small smile to her in the darkness.
"No, you're not getting it. You don't understand what I'm going through," Edmund started, before lowering his volume so it was now barely audible, "it's my first time feeling this way, Pete. I don't know what I'm doing and I certainly do not need you bossing me around till the day die. So just leave me be, would you?"
***
Lucy and Amethy continued their way to the stables, and was greeted by Caspian who already had his horse, Destier, saddled and ready for the trip.
The two girls each wore light armors and Amethy took a bow and a set of arrows just in case in addition to her sword. Caspian carried Lucy onto Destier, before looking at Amethy as she stroked Destier's mane softly. If she hadn't remembered she wouldn't have given much any concern to the horse, but now that she knew how she had once rode on him and fed him almost half a dozen apples, she recognised the sense of connection she felt towards him.
"You're practically drooling, Prince Caspian," said Amethy, not diverting her gaze from the horse. Caspian cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away from her, waiting for her to get up behind Lucy.
"Destier has always served me well. You are in good hands," said Caspian while adjusting the reigns.
"Or hooves," joked Lucy.
Caspian smiled and looked up at Amethy. "Good luck," he said.
"Thanks," replied Amethy, giving him an assuring smile.
Caspian smacked the rear of Destier, sending him galloping out of the How together with the two girls.
***
YAS I'VE BEEN WAITING SO LONG TO WRITE THIS PART!
I hope you liked it as much as I did writing this. I've tried my best to describe what she saw in her visions, but I'm sure there's always something to improve on. Please do comment any feedback that you have!
In addition, I hope I'm not asking for too much but could we get this part to 10 votes? ;)
Thank you for reading!
Tricia ♡