Accidentally Falling | Narnia

09 | musings

"SHE'S AMAZING, DON'T you think?"

Peter shot Caspian a look as they walked down a hallway to go to their chambers. After all the day's happenings: getting almost killed by a Minotaur, uncovering another doomsday prophecy, and meeting an insufferable girl, all Peter wanted was to get some sleep.

"What?" he asked Caspian.

"Susan Pevensie," Caspian replied, a faraway look in his eyes. "Isn't she absolutely amazing?"

Peter couldn't keep rolling his eyes. Yep, he thought. He's hopelessly lovestruck with that daughter of Eve. And to think Peter had thought it was only his imagination when Caspian got that lovesick look in his face when he first introduced her to Susan. Peter didn't know if he should laugh or puke.

"And brave," the black-haired King continued.

Brave? Peter couldn't help but think with a snort. Yeah, right. If only his brother heard how Susan screamed when that Minotaur advanced on her, he wouldn't think her so brave anymore.

You couldn't blame her, Peter's conscience seemed to counter that thought. She's not from this world.

"Yeah, well," Peter said instead. "The prophecy said that Narnia's future is in her hands. She needs to be brave."

They reached the end of the hallway which faced a big curtained window, illuminating the hallway with moonlight. The hallway split to two more hallways with two doors on each ends. Their bedchambers, exactly opposite to each other.

Suddenly, Caspian's eyes brightened as if he had just realized something life-changing. He turned to Peter. "Our birthday!"

"What about it?" he replied. Their eighteenth birthday was on Saturday the next week. And after a long day of persuasion from the palace staff, Peter and Caspian finally consented to have a ball and let the palace staff do all the arrangements. Said that it was the least they could do to repay the brothers for being the best Kings the country could ever hope for. Neither Peter nor Caspian knew what the palace staff were preparing except that, for the past few days, birds and ravens were busy flying back and forth from Cair Paravel, obviously sending out invitations.

"Don't tell me you figured out what they're planning?" Peter said. "You won't have any food for the rest of your life if Freesia finds out."

"I didn't," Caspian promised. "It's just... we'll be eighteen next week."

"Yeah, so?"

"We'll be of marriageable age!"

"Okay," Peter dragged the word slowly, still not getting what his twin brother was trying to imply. "So?"

His eyebrows crunched together when Caspian got that faraway look in his eyes again.

Then it hit him.

Uh-oh.

"Caspian," Peter's voice showed a hint of warning. "Don't rush it, okay? You've just known her for, like, two hours! Just--"

"I'm not rushing anything!" Caspian held up his hands.

"Good," Peter exhaled, relieved. "For a moment there, I thought--"

"--I'm planning to propose to her on our birthday?" Caspian couldn't help but laugh. "I may be head over heels for her, Pete, but I still want to court her properly first."

Great, Peter mentally grimaced. Nothing like seeing my beloved brother together with that annoying raven-haired lady.

"I'll get to know her," Caspian promised. "Starting tomorrow."

He gave the blonde-haired King a smile. "We should get some rest. Especially, you. You look terrible, brother."

Caspian patted Peter's shoulder then walked away towards his bedchambers. Peter couldn't help but shake his head as he headed to his own.

He went to his bedchambers and shut the door close behind him. He took off his swordbelt and hung it by the headboard of his bed. Then he took off his tunic and shirt, leaving him bare-chested, then his boots. He left the huge windows leading to his balcony open but shut the curtains close. He went to his bed and laid down with his arm behind his head.

Peter stared at the ceiling, thinking about all the things that happened to him that day. Most importantly, he went over the prophecy again and again on his head. The prophecy that said Susan would make a choice that would either bring the downfall of Narnia or save it.

Somehow, Peter had the feeling that "downfall" meant the White Witch. Who else could it be? Now that the Tree of Protection was dying (no doubt by her doing) and her minions were more active than before (he has the Minotaur as proof of that theory) he knew it would only be a matter of time before she'd strike his kingdom again.

Then Peter's thoughts drifted back to Susan and that not-so-subtle look on her and his twin brother's face when they met.

Well, Peter thought, if they really end up marrying each other, I won't care the slightest.

With these thoughts in his head and the cool, gentle wind caressing his cheeks, Peter fell into a dreamless sleep.

***

A hallway away, Susan was thinking the same thing as she stared at her bedchambers' ceiling.

Her bedchambers was ao enormous that she couldn't help but feel very lonely. She wasn't use sleeping in a huge room on her own. Back at England, even though her room was small and nothing compared to this one, she got to share it with Lucy.

But now, unfortunately, her little sister was with Edmund in a room few doors from hers.

She couldn't get the prophecy out of her head either. How it foretold that she would decide the fate of Narnia. But it wasn't that that really troubled her. It was what Aslan had told her just a few moments ago.

She had asked Aslan what would be Lucy's and Edmund's role in the prophecy. And the Lion answered that they would be the reason why she would be given the choice.

Now, lying on her bed, those words kept replaying on her mind. How could they possibly be the reason why she would be the given the choice? Would it because of something they would do? Or worse, would something happen to them? Would they be kidnapped or something of that sort? Could that be the reason why she would be forced to choose?

If that would be so, if something would happen to Edmund and Lucy, she didn't know whether she would have any strength to continue. Even though they are annoying sometimes, they are the ones that she loved the most. They are all that she got.

No, Susan, she told herself, don't think about it.

She shook her head and willed those thoughts away from her mind. She thought about the feeling that came to her when she first stepped into Narnia, the coolness of the Narnian air on her cheeks, and the warmth of Mr. Tumnus's cave. Anything she could think of to take her mind off the prophecy.

Which brought her to the moment when she met Peter. How he saved her from that Minotaur. Though Susan didn't feel guilty anymore because because she had already thanked and apologized to him, it still didn't change the way how she looked at him. He would always be an annoying psychopath to her. Nothing could change that.

And then there was Caspian, Peter's twin brother. That boy literally gave her the shivers. She couldn't shake those warm, chocolatey, brown eyes from her thoughts. The feel of his lips on the back of her hand...

Susan's eyelids were starting to get heavy. Before she knew it, she fell asleep.