~By the Lion's Mane~ >A Narnian Fanfiction<

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

We stayed for three days at the castle, waiting for Shasta, or Cor, as was his real name, to go and fetch his companions from the Hermit that they had found refuge with. When he arrived back, he brought with him two Talking Horses named Bree and Hwin and a Calormene Tarkheena name Aravis. She was to stay in the castle and the Horses would come back with us to Narnia.

Soon after they arrived, we had to decide what to do with Rabadash. He had been locked into a nice little apartment and treated very well, but by the way he acted when he was brought out, you would have thought we had kept him in the very worst of dungeons. He kicked and sputtered and screeched curses of Tash upon us, and I found it very hard not to draw my sword and run him through with it. I suspect I was not the only one.

When Aslan entered the room, Rabadash's face grew white. He screamed that Aslan was the enemy of the gods and other such nonsense. Aslan warned him that doom was near, but he continued his curses and threats.

"The hour has struck," Aslan said quietly, and we all began to burst with laughter.

Rabadash's face and ears seemed to stretch, growing a soft coat of gray fuzz. He fell forward on his hands, which were now quickly becoming hooves.

He tried to cry out, "Oh no, not a Donkey! Please! Not a donkey-hee-auh-hor-ehh-auh!" and his voice became a bray.

Aslan explained to him that he could change back into a man if he stood before Tash in the temple in Tashbaan at the Autumn Feast. But if he ever went more than ten miles from Tashbaan again, he would return to his donkey form.

And so he was taken back to Calormen. That night we had a feast out on the lawn with silver lanterns in the moonlight, and King Lune's poets sang the story of the Giant Pire and Bree told his battle stories and Lucy told the story of the Wardrobe. I sat quietly at a table, not speaking much, not enjoying myself at all. Edmund had avoided me as best he could, and when we did pass, he never spoke to me or acknowledged me. We had had our fights in the past, but this one was different.

Finally I excused myself and went up to bed. I was glad at how everything had turned out for Cor and Aravis and Bree and Hwin, and how the battle had been won. But I wanted nothing more than to have Edmund forgive me and to be back in my bed at the Cair.

I had my things packed the next morning, and at first light, I was on Andy with my packs and we were winding our way through the mountains toward home.

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When I arrived back at the castle that evening, I found that Peter had come home from Ettinsmoor when he heard about the battle at Anvard. He was very concerned about my arm, as was Susan, and both were angry at me for going into battle and disobeying orders and risking my safety. But they forgave me when I explained why I had done it, unlike their grudge-holding brother.

I moped around the castle for the next few months, my arm in a sling. The gash healed nicely under Susan's care, but left behind a white line that snaked all the way down my forearm. It was slightly raised, and it reminded me of Calormen and the battle at Anvard. My sore shoulder healed up, but I had to be careful with it for awhile. If I wrenched it again it could be permanently damaged.

Edmund and I continued to ignore each other. But finally, when I celebrated my twenty-ninth birthday, he broke the silence.

"I feel so old!" I said at my birthday dinner.

Peter laughed. "How do you think I feel?" he asked.

We joked about our ages and laughed and had a good time. After dinner, I went outside to the stable. The cold winter air made me shiver, and I could see my breath cloud in front of my face. Snow covered everything, and the landscape looked so smooth and perfect, like something off of a postcard. It reminded me of winters long ago with Bauchan, and I felt gloom rising within me. I didn't want to get older. I was almost thirty, and already I felt that my body was a bit rustier than it used to be.

I wandered about the stable, talking softly to the horses, feeding them a few lumps of sugar. Then I heard footsteps behind me, and looked up. Edmund was casually walking down the aisle towards Phillip's stall.

"Hi," I said, not really expecting an answer. But I was surprised.

"Hey," he answered softly. "Happy Birthday."

He smiled a little as he stroked his chestnut stallion's nose. Even though Phillip was a Talking Horse, he still enjoyed being petted and getting treats like any other.

"Thanks," I said, smiling back.

We didn't say anything else for awhile, and I was turning to leave when he spoke again.

"Rose? I'm sorry I've been such an ass lately. I forgive you for not listening if you'll forgive me."

I grinned and nodded.

He cleared his throat. "Well, goodnight then," he said as I left the stable.

My heart felt lighter as I dressed for bed. Finally Edmund and I were on speaking terms again, and he had forgiven me for my disobedience.

But we weren't the same as we used to be. There were awkward moments when we couldn't think of anything to say, and none of our conversations were as loose and intimate as before. Now we mostly talked about neutral things, like the weather or the state of the country's economy. I slipped back into the perpetual bad mood that I had been in since the battle at Anvard. It seemed that I had ruined any chance of him ever falling in love with me.

I decided that it was time for me to move on. I didn't want my life to be like that forever. I didn't want my mood to be based on the level of familiarity of my conversations with Edmund, or how much we said to each other. I made up my mind to find someone else, or at least change my feelings for Edmund. So I jumped for the chance to prove myself and get out of the castle.