The Chronicles of Narnia: The King and The Servant

~ Chapter 2: Coronation ~

Aslan died exactly six hours, twenty minutes, and forty-six seconds ago; forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine. The plain, barky ceiling is staring back at me; its dark colours tormenting me. I can't get the picture out of my head. The blood. The Great Lion. Dead. My eyes blur over again, a new round of tears are on their way it seems. I wipe another one off my cheek; my fingers only feeling the stickiness of old ones. I should stop crying, but I can't. Narnia is doomed! I pull my body up and cross my legs. My eyes land on the sunny curtains. The sun is already up; bright and happy. I slam my head back down against my saturated pillow and let out a loud groan. I'm late for work – again. I sit up, my legs stiff, and wipe the tears away from my eyes with my wet arm.

My legs whack themselves against the edge of the bed as I find my feet. Shakily I waddle over to the closet and pull out my servant dress. I grab my silver shoes and slide them on before glancing at my parent's, old, pure-silver sundial that's hanging on the wall. It reads seven am. I'm hungry. Time for breakfast. Trudging tiredly down the hallway, I find myself at the cooling station within a minute. I can feel fresh tears welling up in my eyes again as I open the large container and pull the fresh peaches out of it. The tears run freely down my cheeks again as I close the lid. This is so stupid. Stop crying!

I open the cupboard in the opposite side of the room and pull out a glass bowl. It's almost empty, so I pour the rest of the container into the bowl. The sweet smell of the peaches is beautiful. I sit down at the dining table slowly. The first thing I see is the vase of fresh flowers. My eyes go back down immediately. Bad idea! Aslan has been killed which probably means that the Witch is going to be setting up for battle. This also means that Oreius is probably going to be fighting soon. I finish eating and get up off the oak chair I'm sitting on. I put the bowl away and take another glance at the vase. I do hope Oreius is going to be okay. I don't think I can handle losing another dad.

"Bella, I'm going to work!" No answer. She must still be asleep. I walk quietly up the stairs and wipe some fresh tears away before opening up my little sister's door. The door opens with a creak and sure enough Bella's cuddled up in a ball on the bed. Her long, black hair's spread widely across her cotton pillow. She's cuddling up happily to Mr. Snuggles. She'll be fine. The smile on her face says it all. I walk silently towards her and give her cheek a quick kiss before I feel her shuffle around. She yawns loudly as she slowly and tiredly opens her big, brown eyes. "Good morning, Bella." She smiles sweetly up at me before sitting up in her bed and stretching all her limbs.

"Hi, Ashy," she greets before yawning again. She leans against me and wraps her arms around my waist in a hug. I smile.

"I have to go to work. Are you going to be okay for the day?" I ask. I already know the answer.

"Yes, I'll be fine." I nod my head and release her arms from around my waist.

"Okay then. I love you and I'll see you tonight," I tell her before giving her forehead a kiss and leaving her alone.

"I love you too," she adds on before I close the door. I run down the staircase and am instantly hit with thoughts of the battle.

Stupid White Witch! Why did Aslan let her do it? I just don't understand! If she hurts Oreius I swear I'll track her down and stab her multiple times in the heart! I really wish I didn't have work. I don't know how much I'm going to be able to handle today.

"You seem awfully distracted today." Hmm? Oh right, Crystal.

"Just a bit. I'm not in the mood for jests though." I grab onto her reigns and jump up onto her back, just as she starts running. We ride through the bustling woods to Cair Paravel, dodging dead trees and pedestrians as they all walk around with a spring in their step.