The Phoenix Archer ∞ Peter Pevensie

ii. | P R O L O G U E

✧

T W O  H U N D R E D &
N I N E T Y - E I G H T  Y E A R S  L A T E R

"Slow down, boy!" His father called after him, "It's dangerous!"

His father's warning had fallen on deaf ears as the young boy continued on his adventure, hopping over the soot-covered rubble without a care in the world.

This was the first time the young boy had gotten the opportunity to experience Narnia first hand and evidently, excitement had won out over safety precautions.

The place was nicer than he had expected, crumbled pillars and burnt ceiling aside. He could almost imagine what it would have looked like before the place was wrecked. He wondered if there were people that had lived here before.

"Caspian!"

Caspian barely had any time to react before catching his foot on what looked like a pile of hardened ash and crashing onto the ground.

"Ow..." He whined as his dad rushes over to pull him to his feet, checking him over for injuries.

Maybe it was because he had hit his head, but Caspian could have sworn that he saw something moving underneath all the burnt ashes. That was impossible, though. From what his father had told him, this place has been abandoned for centuries.

"Dad, there's something in there."

"Don't be silly, boy." His father dismisses, "There's nothing under there."

Caspian's Professor, who had been quiet the entire time, squatted down beside the pile, moving the ashes aside as he inspected it.

"No, my lord. Caspian is right." The older man said, "There is something under here."

His father seemed hesitant at first, but soon, curiosity got the better of him as he joined the professor in his search.

Caspian watched as his father's eyes widened in shock.

"Help me, Professor Cornelius." He requests as he falls to his knees, using his hands to shovel the ashes away.

Caspian could hardly believe his eyes as the ashes started to make way for a prone figure lying lifeless let in the dirt. It was a girl. She was hardly any older than Caspian.

"Is she dead?" Caspian swallowed, unable to tear his eyes off of the girl.

Pulling a towel from his backpack, Caspian's father waddled her up as her eyes finally started to flicker open, showing off the brilliant shade of orange of her irises that reminded Caspian of an open flame dancing behind her eyes.

"Who are you?" His father questioned.

The girl opens her mouth to answer, but no words seem to be leaving her lips.

"My Lord." Professor Cornelius grabs his father's attention as he pulls a sword, a bow, and a quiver of arrows from under the heap of ashes.

He dusts off the soot from the quiver of the arrows, where there was an engraving and read: "From Ashes, the Pheonix rises and bares fire, like how Aslan bares his teeth. Winter shall meet its death." His eyes widen, "The Phoenix Archer...but that's impossible. According to the books, she died here in the fire at Cair Paravel."

"From Ashes, the Phoenix rises." Caspian's father mutters in deep thought, "You don't think..."

"Rebirth." Cornelius finishes his thoughts, "The myths are real."

"What is your name, girl?" His father questions again, "Do you remember?"

"Ner..." The girl starts, pausing for a moment as if she was struggling to recall, "Nerissa."

"I can't believe it," Cornelius lets out an awed laugh, "A Narnian, right before our eyes. What should we do with her?"

"We shall take her back to the Castle." His father picks her up in his arms, cradling her to his chest, "Give her food and a place to sleep."

"But, my lord, she's a-"

"And no one shall know. Do you understand, Cornelius?" His father says, his tone leaving no space for argument, "As far as anyone will know she's Caspian's sister."

"You don't really think people will believe that, do you, Sir?"

"I don't care if they do. They're just going to have to take my word for it." He whirls around, meeting Cornelius's gaze, "No one will find out. No one. They'll kill her if they do."

"Yes, sir." The Professor replies, hanging his head.

*

Having a playmate was still something to get used to for young Caspian, though, it's been a couple of weeks since his father brought the unusual girl back home.

So far, they've been able to keep her hidden, but not for long. He hoped that she could stay. Truthfully, Caspian quite liked the idea of having a sister- perhaps then, things wouldn't be quite so lonely around here.

"Hurry up, Caspian!" Nerissa calls as she ran through the woods.

Somehow, Caspian had managed to let her convince him to sneak out of the castle with her. More flashes of memories of a previous life have been returning to Nerissa as the days went by (hence her want to go out exploring), and although the girl seemed to know the place, as well as the back of her hand, being outside of the castle walls without his father's permission, made him ridiculously anxious.

"We shouldn't wander too far." Caspian cried as he struggled to keep up with Nerissa.

The girl was ridiculously fast, but that was to be expected. She was a Warrior after all- according to his Professor and father. Caspian wondered if she could teach him how to fight.

As if reading his thoughts Nerissa peered at him over her shoulder, "Keep up and maybe I'll teach you how to use a sword."

Caspian grunted in annoyance. How could he say no to that? Picking up speed, he sprinted to catch up with his new companion.

They carried on like this for a couple more miles- with Nerissa leading and Caspian struggling to keep up- before the girl finally came to a stop.

The two emerge from the trees and Caspian's eyes immediately snap to the lone lamppost that stood in the middle of the clearing where Nerissa's gaze was stuck.

Her brows were furrowed, causing a wrinkle to form between them as she stared at the lamppost in deep concentration.

"Spare Oom." She muttered.

Caspian found his expression mimicking hers, but his, more in confusion than anything. What in the world was a Spare Oom? After trying (and failing) to figure out what she meant by that, Caspian turned on his heel, wanting to do a little exploring on his own since Nerissa was clearly too transfixed on the lamppost to go with him.

"Peter left through here." He hears her mumble behind him.

Caspain's brows knitted together as he turns to look at Nerissa once again wondering if it's even worth it to ask. Alas, curiosity got the better of him.

"What's a Peter?"