Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Dark Angel

11 | Unwanted Vision

The morning was nothing short of anticlimactic. Raven and Peter woke up at sunrise, per Raven's orders, ate a small breakfast of bread and rabbit, and took off immediately after. There was no communication, just like the day before. Raven remained a comfortable distance away from Peter and the disgruntled horse, who still refused to willingly let her near. She didn't mind; it gave her the perfect excuse to stay away from Peter, especially after her slip up last night. There was enough pieces now for Peter to gather up who exactly was walking with him. Stupid! You're stupid! She'd chastised herself the more she thought about it.

Why did she admit to having a love? And being tempted to rekindle it! Raven scoffed, scowling underneath her hood as she continued to internally grumble to herself. She acted impulsively, and part of her couldn't help but to blame Peter's presence for it. The High King was distracting, mudding her usually keen senses with oddly buzzing nerves and growing anxiety. The voices in her head were pulling her in two directions, and all that Raven could do was ignore them. At least that is what she wanted to do, but the words circling her mind nagged her constantly. Peter will never trust you if you tell him your secret, one would say. Peter will love another if you continue to hide your true identity, the other hissed. The multitude of voices uttered similar phrases, some shouting and others annoyingly buzzing like a mosquito around her. Raven now was sporting a migraine, but she didn't voice her discomfort. The less she talked the better.

They stopped once the sun was high up in the middle of the sky, bearing down on the traveling company with its sweltering rays. Luckily they found a small waterfall that trickled into a pond nearby, using the refreshing water to cool themselves down and refill their cantines. Raven hunted another rabbit, skinning and cooking it hastily as to not waste daylight. Peter said something about how he remembered this part of the forest, signifying that they must be very close. The only words he got in reply was, good. Peter wanted to say something to her as they rested, but the words died in his throat once Raven smoldered the fire and motioned for him to get moving.

With a frown pulling on Peter's face, he followed her command and packed up. He was disappointed, to say the least. For some reason he hoped that Raven finally cracked open her hard shell after confessing the truth last night. On the contrary, she slathered a new layer of cement on her shell with razor sharp rocks jutting out of it. Raven was distant and far colder than she naturally was, making Peter question: who did he talk to last night? Where was the woman who loved once? Peter let out a sigh at the thought. Maybe the woman is no longer there.

That thought disheartened Peter for reasons he couldn't risk to share with Raven. She was an angel, and some part of him hoped that maybe she knew something about Crystalline's death. Raven said that when she died, she went to this graveyard for dead angels, so she must've seen Crystalline. Maybe she could help me find her... Peter sighed heavily, shaking his head in response to his ridiculous thoughts. Of course she can't, it's not like Raven can raise the dead. He had already pleaded with Aslan long ago to revive her, but even the Great Lion couldn't fulfill the heartbroken boy's wish. Aslan said that his father is the creator of the Guardian Angels, and only he has power to change their fate. Peter didn't know what he meant by that, but he didn't care. It was clear that Crystalline was gone forever, and he wasn't going to fight Aslan over it, let alone his father.

After a few hours, they paused at a beach. It was a familiar one to both of them yet neither voiced it. Raven couldn't help the sinister grin that grew on her lips when she thought about the terrified Susan shooting an arrow at her. It was such a humorous memory for her, but she knew that Susan would say otherwise. Raven sighed at the thought, kneeling down by the freshwater to refill her canteen again. In some ways, Raven felt connected to the Gentle Queen. Both are lost within themselves, tangled in unanswered questions and bad decisions. At the same time, they are completely different. Raven would kill without blinking, even throwing in a smirk, while Susan avoided murdering as much as she possibly could. Her title was put to good use, Raven told herself.