Of Story Books and Fairy Tales || E. Pevensie

II

When Olivia managed to open her eyes again, she felt cold and tired. Her cheek was flat against the sand as the water gently washed up upon her. She lifted her head, eyes looking around her. She was on a beach. Not one that she recognised, however. Tall cliffs surrounded her, looming over magnificently. She slowly brought herself up to leaning on her palms. This wasn't Inissheer. It didn't look like any of the other Aran Islands. The sky was clear and the sun bright, looking about midday. How long had she been washed ashore?

Olivia managed to bring herself up to her knees, checking herself for any injuries. She had a few bruises here and there, plus a cut on the back of her head. She sucked in a hissing breath as her fingers grazed it. She'd have to deal with it when the time comes. A breeze swept by, making her wrap her arms around herself as she shivered. 

Well, what's best is to get away from the water and find some civilisation.

When Olivia tried to stand, her legs wobbled beneath her and she collapsed back onto the sand. Her head pounded as she hit the ground. As she tried to get back up, the sound of horse hooves reached her ears. Soon, as well as some voices.

"Ed! Will you slow down?!" 

"You said you wanted to race!" 

Down the end of the beach, Olivia could make out two figures on horseback. They seemed to be getting closer at a quick rate. She tried to stand once again, only to fall back down again. 

Lucy laughed as she galloped after her brother. Edmund held a victorious smirk. The race was from the castle to the beach and Edmund had won without a doubt. He patted his stallion's neck.

"Good job, Phillip," he said. 

"Thank you, sir." Phillip, the horse, replied. 

Lucy finally caught up to her brother, a pout on her face. Edmund merely smirked back. 

"You said you wanted a race," he stated.

"Yes, but I didn't expect you to take it so seriously." Lucy retorted. 

If there was any sibling that Edmund felt he could be himself around, it was by far Lucy. After what had happened with the White Witch and the War of Beruna, Edmund had devoted himself to clearing up his relationship with his youngest sibling especially. He still received backlash as the 'Traitor King' (even after seven successful years of ruling), but it was Lucy who was there to comfort him. Even when he would push her away in times of vulnerability. 

Lucy looked past her brother and down the shore, her blue eyes stopping on a figure quite far down. She cocked her head to the side. 

"Edmund, look." she pointed down the beach. Edmund followed her eyes to a slumped figure on the shore. He squinted his eyes to focus, to realise that it was a person.

"A... person?" he questioned.

"In Narnia?" Lucy wondered. They shared a look and Lucy took the lead towards the stranger.

When Olivia saw that the two horses were trotting towards her, she wasn't sure whether to feel happy to be found or frightened. What if she couldn't communicate with them? What if they were super territorial and would sacrifice her to some rain god or something? As the two got closer though, they seemed like the normal people she'd see every day. It was a young girl with an older looking boy. The girl stopped a few feet away and dismounted her steed, to then which Olivia realised she was wearing some medieval dress and her hair was braided and long. She sent a kind smile to Olivia, which made her feel instantly calmer and safe.

"Hello there!" Lucy greeted as she walked to the mysterious girl on the shore. 

Olivia wasn't sure how to respond as she took note of the accent in her medieval girl's voice. 

British? How did I end up in England? I was on the opposite side of Ireland for Pete's sake!

"Am I in England?" Olivia found herself saying, making the two pause. 

Edmund had just gotten off his saddle when the girl spoke and his actions froze. How did she know about Britain? 

Lucy recovered from her shock and shook her head. "No. I'm guessing that you're not from Narnia then?"

Narnia? That's a country Olivia had never heard of before. As if sensing her confusion, Edmund stepped forward, hand on the hilt of his sword. An old habit of his.

"You're definitely not from here then," he said, seeing her confused expression. "How did you get here? Can you remember?"

Olivia's eyes stayed on where his hand rested on his weapon. If she could take a wild guess, she'd say she was dreaming and all those hours and hours reading fantasy stories had caught up to her imagination. Yet, the pain in the back of her head and stinging nose from the saltwater and bruised up aching body was proving that she was well awake. She raised a hand to her pounding head.

"I... I was swimming... in the sea when all of a sudden... the waves became really harsh. They kept knocking me under the water. I think I hit my head and passed out, then I woke up here just a few minutes ago." Olivia explained and the two listened closely. Edmund looked to Lucy. 

"What should we do?" he asked her. He had a feeling what his sister was going to say but felt that she needed to be asked first. Giving his permission.

"We should bring her back to the castle. Give her some rest and explain everything." The young girl said with authority. Lucy crouched down in front of Olivia. "Can you stand?"

"Not really..." Olivia mumbled. "But I'll give it another go." 

With that, she tried to push herself off the sand once again. Only to have the same outcome. Olivia stumbled forward and it was thanks to Edmund for catching her before she could face-plant the sand again. 

"Alright, clearly not," he muttered, and so put her arm around his shoulder and scooped her up as if she weighed nothing. "You can ride with me." 

To say that Olivia felt a little uncomfortable being held in such a way by a stranger was an understatement. With his help, she pulled herself up onto the horse and he got on behind her. The younger girl had already mounted her steed and smiled over to the two.

"By the way, my name is Lucy and that's Edmund, my brother," she said, secretly sending a cheeky smirk to her brother. She hadn't ever seen him show such chivalry willingly and she found it quite amusing. The behaviour that she expected was that he'd help her up to Lucy's horse and that she'd ride with Lucy. To see him showing such attentiveness that he'd actually let another being on Phillip. 

Olivia began to feel light-headed as she adjusted herself on the saddle. She smiled over at Lucy as her eyes began to droop slightly. 

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Olivia..." She started leaning over one side, almost falling off the horse. Edmund again was quick to catch her and leaned her back against him. It was here he noticed fresh blood streaming down the back of her head. 

"She must've hit her head. She's bleeding pretty bad," he explained. 

"Let's get her back then." Lucy urged and the two took off towards the castle of Cair Paravel.