Rosemary had never felt more uneasy than she did in that moment. She had dreamed of returning to Narnia, to be able to breath in the air and feel at home for the first time in years, but this was not what she had expected.
Learning that the Telmarines has taken over the land, that all of her friends were dead, that Cair Paravel had fallen, and that they had only been summoned because some boy named Caspian had blown Susan's horn signaling for them to come back. . .it was nothing that she could've dreamed of.
When she imagined returning to Narnia, she had envisioned returning to the castle where their friends and family would be awaiting them and would rejoice for their return. She imagined Aslan greeting them and saying that he had been the one to bring them back.
It was heartbreaking to know that that was nothing but a dream. It was even more heartbreaking to know that Narnia was less and less like the home she remembered.
The trees were what had really gotten to her. They were still, quiet, and cold. It made Narnia even more foreign to her than it already was and she hated it. The silence was killing her.
"They're so still," Lucy commented as she looked up at the trees. They were currently in the boat that they had stolen from the Telmarines which Peter was rowing. Rosemary sat next to Edmund who kept glancing at her worriedly, but she pretended not to notice.
"And so quiet," Rosemary whispered as she nervously fiddled with her necklace, the same necklace that was supposed to summon the trees. It hadn't been working despite her attempts and that only made her more worried.
"They're trees. What'd you expect?" the dwarf asked. Rosemary's face fell even more and she let out a shaky breath.
"They used to dance in the wind," she whispered as if she were in some sort of trance. Everyone's eyes fell on her and they could all clearly see the sadness and hurt that was on her face. "They would talk too, even sing. They had such sweet voices."
Edmund's hand brushed against her own before he intertwined their fingers together. He rubbed a thumb across the top of her hand comfortingly and she let out a sigh and leaned her head against his shoulder while he rested his head on top of hers.
"Wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded," the dwarf finally said. Rosemary's eyes flickered up to look at him and he looked back at her with what seemed to be a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Those who survived retreated to the woods. And the trees. . .well, when they found out that their queen had vanished, they retreated so deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since."
Rosemary's eyes filled with tears slightly as she listened to that. "This is all my fault," she whispered the words that she had been saying in her head ever since they left Narnia.
Everyone's eyes flickered over to her and Edmund squeezed her hand and kissed the top of her head. "Don't say that, love," he whispered, but Rosemary didn't listen and instead stared off at the trees which were so quiet that it made her want to cry.
"I don't understand," Lucy muttered. "How could Aslan have let this happen?" "Aslan?" the dwarf questioned and they all looked at him, confused by his tone. "Thought he abandoned us when you lot did."
"We didn't mean to leave you know," Peter told the dwarf. "Makes no difference now, does it?" The dwarf asked. Rosemary looked down and Peter glanced at his best friend.
He frowned before putting on a brave face. "Get us to the Narnians and it will," Peter said.
- - -
The rest of the boat ride was silent, all of them too sullen to say anything. Edmund kept Rosemary close to him throughout the whole ride and would kiss the top of her head every once in a while before holding her tight in an attempt to comfort her. It worked a little, but Rosemary still felt awful.
When they finally reached the shore, they all went to help get the boat on land while Lucy wandered around. Lucy was walking when she noticed a bear a little ways away. She smiled. "Hello there," she called out, grabbing the attention of the other Pevensies and Rosemary.
Lucy began walking over to the beat who turned to her and stood on its hind legs. "It's alright. We're friends," she assured the bear.
The dwarf finally seemed to notice what was going on and he tensed up. "Don't move, your Majesty," he called out to Lucy. The girl turned to look at him confused and that was when Rosemary noticed that the bear looked agitated.
Rosemary's eyes widened and she was quick to rush forward. She was pulling her sword out in no time and Lucy gave her a confused look until she turned to see that the bear had started running towards her.
Lucy's eyes widened and she started to run towards the others. "Stay away from her!" Rosemary yelled and she felt her protector instincts start to kick in which made her run even faster.
Lucy tripped and the bear roared at her. She let out a scream and with a finally burst of energy, Rosemary leaped forward and plunged the sword into the heart of the bear as a scream left her mouth.
The bear let out a roar of anger and as he started to fall, he swiped one last time and clawed Rosemary's arm. Rosemary let out a cry of pain while the bear fell to the ground dead.
"Rosemary," Lucy whimpered from behind her and the girl quickly turned to see Lucy staring at her with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" Rosemary asked, her hand over her wound which was now bleeding.
"I. . .I'm fine, but your arm," Lucy whispered. "It's fine," Rosemary assured her. "I'll be fine. All that matters is that you're okay." Lucy nodded and Rosemary let out a small sigh of relief.
"Wait, we can use this," Lucy said as she pulled out her bottle that contained the juice of fire-flowers. "I'll be fine, Lu. Save that for something important," Rosemary insisted. The girl reluctantly put the bottle away.
The others all walked up at that moment and Edmund looked to Lucy. "Lu, are you okay?" He asked. Lucy nodded and pointed to Rosemary who was inspecting her arm.
Edmund's eyes widened and he was quick to rush over to Rosemary's side. "You're hurt," he whispered as he gently grabbed ahold of her bleeding arm and looked at it. "I'm fine," Rosemary assured him, but Edmund wasn't having it.
He went to tear off a piece of his clothes, but Rosemary stopped him and ripped off a part of the sleeve that was already torn from the claw marks. "No use ripping up your shirt when mine's already torn," Rosemary muttered. She went to wrap the cloth around her wound, but Edmund took it from her hands and did it for her.
"Why wouldn't he stop?" Susan asked. "I suspect he was hungry," the dwarf said.
Edmund finished wrapping up her wound before looking at her. "You sure you're okay?" Edmund asked. "I'm positive," Rosemary told him, despite the aching of her arm.
Rosemary looked back at the dead bear which still had her sword stuck in its chest. She frowned and walked forward before yanking it out. "Thank you," Lucy whispered and Rosemary turned to the little girl and gave her a small smile and a nod.
"He was wild," Edmund said in confusion as he walked forward and looked at the bear. "I don't think he could talk at all," Peter muttered.
"You get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become," the dwarf told them. Rosemary frowned and looked at the dwarf who walked over and bent down in front of the bear.
"You may find Narnia a more savage place then you remember."
He then plunged his knife into the bear's face making Lucy turn grip onto Peter and turn her face away. Rosemary had a blank look on her face, but Edmund was still able to read the small amount of hurt and sadness in her eyes.
Before anyone could talk to her, she had turned on her heels and was walking back towards the water. They all watched after her before Peter sighed. "I'll go talk to her," Peter said.
Edmund went to protest, but Peter was already walking after his friend. The boy frowned at that. Susan and Lucy gave him amused looks to which he only rolled his eyes and looked away.
Rosemary sat by the edge of the river and was attempting to scrub the blood and guts off of her sword with the end of her clothes when Peter got down next to her.
He was silent as he watched her until her sword was clean, but she continued to scrub it despite the ache in her arm. "I think it's clean," Peter told her as he let out a small laugh. Rosemary didn't laugh and instead let her hands go limp as she just stared at the water.
"This is all my fault," she whispered. "Rosemary," Peter started, but she cut him off by looking up at him with tear filled eyes. "It is! Don't lie to me and say that it isn't, Peter. I was the one that found that stupid book. I was the one that got us back into the wardrobe. I was the one that made us leave Narnia. I was. . .I was. . ."
Rosemary broke down at that and started to cry. Peter took her sword and set it down before pulling the girl forward and in for a hug. "Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault, Rosemary. You didn't know any of this was going to happen and you weren't the only one that went into that wardrobe. We all did. So stop blaming only yourself, okay? We are all to blame," Peter told her.
He was trying to make her feel better and Rosemary was grateful for that, but nothing seemed to be making her feel better at the moment. So Rosemary just remained silent and waited until her cries had hushed down before gripping onto her friend.
"If you two are done now, we really must be going," a voice said in annoyance. The two pulled away and turned to see Edmund standing there with his arms crossed. He didn't stand there long and was walking away and back towards the others just as quickly as he had appeared.
Peter chuckled before looking to Rosemary. "Come on. Let's go before Edmund blows a gasket," Peter told her. Rosemary chuckled softly and wiped away her tears as she stood up. She put her sword back into its sheath and the two friends walked back over to the group.
Edmund was standing off to the side with an angry expression on his face, but when he saw Rosemary walk over to him, he instantly softened. "Are you okay?" He asked. "I. . .I wanted to go over and talk to you, but Peter beat me to it."
"Not really, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," Rosemary told him. Edmund frowned. "That's kind of hard seeing as you're one of the most important people in my life," Edmund said. Rosemary blushed at that and looked up to see if Edmund was being serious.
Despite his face being red from embarrassment, his serious look did not waver. In fact, he looked more serious about this than he had about anything in his life. The fact made Rosemary blush even more and a smile broke out on her face.
Rosemary reached up and pressed a small kiss to Edmund's cheek as she grabbed ahold of his hand. "You're one of the most important people to me too," Rosemary told him. Edmund smiled down at her before squeezing her hand.
"If you two are done now, we really must be going," Peter teased, as he said the same words Edmund had said to them earlier. "Oh, shove off," Edmund muttered. The Pevensies just laughed while the dwarf just looked between them before shaking his head.
"They're kids," the dwarf whispered to himself in disbelief. "Who would've thought?"
- - -
"I don't remember this way," Susan said as they walked through the forest and around some of the huge rocks. "That's the problem with girls. You can't carry a map in your heads," Peter told them.
"Oh, really? I'm pretty sure I was the navigator whenever we went out patrolling," Rosemary said while Edmund chuckled and squeezed her hand. Peter glanced at his friend and sent a smile in her direction. "Okay, besides you then," Peter corrected himself.
"That's because our heads have something in them," Lucy retorted making Rosemary chuckle. "Rosemary here is just lucky enough to have both a brain and the skill of remembering a map."
"I wish he'd just listen to the D.L.F. in the first place," Susan muttered. "D.L.F.?" Edmund questioned. "Dear little friend," Lucy explained as her and Susan walked faster to keep up with Peter.
That left Rosemary and Edmund with the dwarf and they looked to him to see that he had stopped waking. "Oh, that's not at all patronizing, is it?" the dwarf asked.
Rosemary chuckled and Edmund smiled down at her before taking the hand he had been using to hold her own and placing it on her back. "Come on, love. We've got to keep moving," he told her.
She nodded and continued forward with Edmund and the dwarf next to her. They walked for a little while longer before coming up behind Peter who had stopped to look around.
"I'm not lost," Peter muttered to himself. "No, you're just going the wrong way," the dwarf told him. "You last saw Caspian at the Shuddering Woods. The quickest way there is to cross at the River Rush," Peter insisted.
"Unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing in these parts," the dwarf said. "That explains it then. You're mistaken," Peter told him in a bit of an aggressive tone.
Rosemary watched her friend continue forward and she sighed. "I'll be right back," she muttered to Edmund. He nodded and Rosemary picked up her step until she was by Peter's side.
Peter glanced at his friend before looking forward. "How is your arm?" He asked. Rosemary glanced at her arm and faintly felt the small throb that had been there since it happened. "It's fine," she assured him.
"Peter, what you said wasn't very kind," Rosemary said. "I don't need a lecture from you," Peter argued. "Yeah, well, obviously you do," she said.
Peter glanced over at her and remained quiet, allowing for her to speak. "I know you're upset, okay? We all are. I mean, you just saw me break down by a river, so I think you know that," she said making the two chuckle.
"Listen, that dwarf is being kind and helping us. Might as well be kind back," Rosemary told him. Peter gave her a look. "Okay, so maybe he's not the kindest. But think of it this way, okay? He didn't believe that we are who we are, right? He laughed even." Peter scoffed at that and nodded his head, obviously remembering that conversation.
"It's time to show him who we are," Rosemary said as she put a hand on his shoulder, "but if you keep acting the way you are, then you are just adding to his argument that you aren't King Peter. King Peter was a leader. He was kind, he was the magnificent."
"And all you're being right now is a magnificent jerk."
Peter winced at that and looked to his friend. "I guess that was kind of harsh," he admitted. "You think?" Rosemary asked with a laugh. Peter gave her a small smile. "Thanks. I kind of needed that," he said.
Rosemary smiled back and wasn't paying attention to the point where she almost walked right off a cliff if it hadn't been for Peter stopping her. "Idiot," he muttered. "Jerk," she shot back.
The two laughed before looking down. "Well, there's the river," Rosemary said. Peter sent a small glare in her direction.
"See? Over time, the water erodes the earth's soil, carving deeper-" Susan began. "Oh, just shut up," Peter muttered in frustration. Rosemary gave him a look and the boy sighed before glancing at his sister. "Sorry," he whispered.
"Is there another way down?" Edmund asked. "Yeah, falling," the dwarf responded.
"Well, we weren't lost," Peter pointed out. "There's a ford new Beruna. How do you feel about swimming?" the dwarf asked. "Rather that than walking," Susan muttered. Rosemary nodded in agreement and they all started to walk after the dwarf, not noticing Lucy who was standing near the edge of the cliff looking out.
"Aslan?"
They all froze at that. "It's Aslan! It's Aslan over there!" Lucy exclaimed and they all turned to see that she was pointing at nothing. "Don't you see? He's right-" She trailed off once she had turned around to see nothing. "There?"
"Do you see him now?" the dwarf asked. Rosemary sent a glare in his direction and the dwarf took a step back and away from the girl who had a hand on the hilt of her sword.
"I'm not crazy," Lucy argued. "He was there. He wanted us to follow him." "Sure there are any number of lion in this wood," Peter told her. "Just like that bear."
"I think I know Aslan when I see him," Lucy spat. "Look, I'm not about to jump off a cliff for someone who doesn't exist," the dwarf said.
"The last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid," Edmund muttered. They all looked to him while Lucy smiled softly at her brother.
"Why wouldn't I have seen him?" Peter asked. "Why wouldn't any of us have seen him?" Rosemary questioned, confused and hurt that she hadn't been able to see Aslan herself.
"Maybe you weren't looking," Lucy said.
"I'm sorry, Lu," Peter told her before he walked away with Susan and the dwarf. Rosemary started to walk away as well, but found herself looking back. She watched as Lucy looked out before looking to her brother.
Edmund gave Lucy a small smile and nodded towards the others. Lucy sighed and walked over while Edmund wrapped an arm around her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.
Lucy accepted her brother's touch for a moment longer before giving him a small smile and walking away from him. Edmund watched her sadly before looking over at Rosemary.
She held out a hand for him. "Come on," Rosemary told him. Edmund smiled and took her hand in his before the two began the long walk back through the forest.
- - -
Rosemary bit her lip nervously and looked at the view in front of her. "I don't know about this," she muttered as she shifted in place and put a hand to the wound on her arm.
Before them stood an army of Telmarines who were all working on some sort of bridge. There were so many of them compared to their tiny group of six and with Rosemary hurt, she honestly didn't think it was the best idea to try and cross the river with them there.
"I agree with Rosemary," Edmund said. "Surprise, surprise," Peter muttered under his breath causing the two fifteen year olds to glare at him. They didn't get a chance to say anything because the arrival of some horses and their riders had them ducking behind a pile of logs.
"Perhaps this wasn't the best way to go after all," Susan whispered. "You think?" Rosemary asked as she looked over the logs again. "We need to go back. Now."
They all nodded and quickly made their way back to the forest. It was a little while until they had arrived back where they last were, where Lucy had claimed to have seen Aslan.
"So, where exactly do you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asked. "I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grownups," Lucy said in annoyance. "I didn't think I saw him. I did see him."
"I am a grownup," the dwarf muttered and Rosemary had to put a hand over Edmund's mouth to stop him from laughing. Edmund had to do the same for Rosemary and they were silently thankful that they were standing behind the dwarf so he couldn't see them trying to hide their laughter.
"It was right over. . ." Lucy began, but she never got to finish for the ground beneath her broke away causing her to fall down with a scream.
"Lucy!" Rosemary exclaimed as she rushed forward along with the others. They all looked down to see that the little girl had landed on a ledge. She looked up at them and smiled nervously. "Here," she finished. Rosemary chuckled and shook her head at the girl who only smiled.
The path that Lucy had landed on seemed to lead down, so the group decided to take it. Rosemary was the last to go down and Edmund helped her, so that she wouldn't hurt her arm more.
They then walked along the path with Lucy at the front until they made it down to the river below. Lucy and the dwarf went first before Susan followed after.
Edmund gestured for Rosemary to go first and she walked forward carefully only to slip on a rock halfway through. She started to fall, but Edmund was quick to wrap is arms around her so that she fell into his embrace instead.
Rosemary looked up to meet the smirking face of the boy she had feelings for. "Be careful there, love," he said. Rosemary blushed slightly and quickly stood up. She went to step forward again, but before she could, Edmund grabbed onto her hand. The two then made their way across the river hand in hand for support.
After that, they only walked for a little while longer before they decided to stop and find a place to rest for the night. Rosemary didn't get any sleep that night.
Lucy and, more specifically, Edmund had convinced her to use some of the fire-flower juice to heal her arm, so she didn't have that dull thrown bothering her all night. However, not even that could stop the thoughts and guilt from eating her alive, forcing her to stay awake.
It was only when the sun and started to rise that Rosemary knew she needed to get away fro a few minutes. She glanced over at Edmund who was sleeping a feet feet away from her and she smiled softly at the sight of him.
Rosemary then let out a small sigh and got up from her spot on the ground before grabbing her sword and shield. She wanted to get away for a bit to think, but she wasn't dumb and knew it was best if she had some sort of protection while out there.
She walked a little ways into the woods until she knew the others wouldn't be awaken by her voice. It was then that she walked towards the nearest tree and put a hand on the bark.
"Hello," she said before she continued walking through the forest. As she did, she looked around and calmly started talking to the trees, hoping that maybe they would wake up when they heard her voice. "I. . .I'm sorry it's been so long."
"I didn't want to leave," she told them. "But I'm back now and the others and I. . .we're going to fix things around here. I just. . .let me know that you all are alright, that you're awake and can hear me. Just show me a sign."
Rosemary stopped and looked around to see if the trees were doing anything, but nothing happened. The brunette frowned and placed a hand on the nearest tree before whispering out, "Please. Wake up."
"I don't think that's going to work," a voice said and Rosemary turned to see Edmund standing there with a sympathetic look on his face. Rosemary let out a small sigh and looked back at the tree.
Edmund walked up behind her and gently took the hand she had been holding against the tree and brought it back down to her side before he intertwined their fingers together.
"You need to stop blaming yourself," Edmund told her, already knowing what was running through her head at that very moment. "It's hard since I'm the reason we left Narnia in the first place," Rosemary admitted.
She took her hand away from Edmund's grip and sat down on the ground. Edmund joined her and watched her in silence, knowing that she had more to say.
"I hadn't wanted to leave," Rosemary whispered. "I. . .I tried to get back into that wardrobe every night after we left. I wanted this life back so badly. I wanted our friend. I wanted Cair Paravel. I wanted you."
She looked up at Edmund at that and he gave her a small knowing smile. He knew exactly what she was talking about.
"When I imagined finally getting back to Narnia, I imagined finally getting to be with you, Peter, Susan, Lucy, and all of our friends. But where we are now, this isn't what I imagined would happen," she whispered.
Edmund sighed and reached over to take her hand in his. Rosemary leaned her head against Edmund's shoulder while he looked up at the sky above them. "It's not what I imagined either," Edmund told her. "I thought we would spend the rest of our lives here, but that's not what happened. And I don't believe that it's your fault, Rosemary."
"But it is," she said. "But it isn't," Edmund shot back. "We were brought here for a reason, weren't we? That means that we had to leave for a reason or we wouldn't have been able to be here when Narnia needed us most."
Rosemary nodded, knowing that Edmund was right. She pulled away to look up at him and she smiled softly. "I've missed you," she whispered.
Edmund's face grew pink and he let out a small chuckle. "You've already said that," he said as he looked to her. Rosemary just smiled and whispered, "And it's true every time."
Edmund smiled at that and looked down bashfully. "I've missed you too, you know," he admitted. When he looked back up, his breath hitched in his throat at how close they were.
His eyes flickered over the girl's face and he found himself absolutely mesmerized by Rosemary and the way that her eyes seemed to sparkle as they stared back at him. He didn't even realize he was doing it, but his eyes flickered down to her lips before they turned back to her eyes.
"Listen, Rosemary," he muttered as he nervously scratched the back of his neck with his one free hand. "You remember the day we left Narnia, right? And how I was about to tell you something?"
Rosemary chuckled softly before saying, "Yeah. You never did tell me what you were going to say, did you?" Edmund looked at her and a wave of confidence washed over him. His face got serious and neither of them seemed to realize that they were getting closer and closer with every passing second.
"What I was trying to tell you," Edmund began as their faces grew close enough that their noses brushed against one another's, "was that I-"
But he never got to finish what he was saying, for the sound of a familiar voice yelling "Aslan!" had filled the air, instantly making the two part with blushes on their faces.
They were on their feet in no time and Rosemary felt a wave of panic wash over her. Lucy was in trouble. The sound of sword against sword then filled the air and Rosemary felt another wave of panic hit her. No, Peter was in trouble. She could feel it.
Without a second thought, Rosemary started running through the forest as she pulled her sword out. Edmund's eyes widened and he quickly ran after her.
"Rosemary!"