The Royal Rescue

< The Show >

The hails were of course big blows of wind but they brought no harm with them . No cold, no heat, no nothing. They were pretty usual around here and we had grown accustomed to them until Peter suggested we trek towards the cliffs in the eastern direction of the hails. Around that time, it was a splendid idea. "Peter's a genius." , " Peter saved us, Aslan would've wanted this." 

Yes , the last one was from Lucy. Edmund and I made no comment but secretly I know Edmund was as pleased as me. But the truth was : Peter was an Idiot. 

We went along with idea obviously. And trust me, it was the most important trek of our lives.

                                                 ___________  

" Can you go any faster, Riva , you're always so slow ! " Edmund moaned from ahead. We had been treking upwards for around thirty minutes now and although I wasn't tired , technically I can't get tired , I felt bored of the idea of just treking up , up and well , up . 

" Sorry ! I can't help it , my weak future legs can't compare to the lot of you aliens . " I huffed and caught up to Edmund , hanging onto his arm for dear life because now if i fall down , its quite a fall . I looked back down and my gaze landed on the black ground. Not coal , not carbon. Its just black, soil and earth.

" Oi ! That was offensive. " Susan shouted from way ahead and I could hear her laugh with Lucy and Peter. How did they get ahead so fast ? I guess I am slow and I'm dragging back Edmund with me . But that's what I've been doing for the past week. Walking, running, jogging and trailing behind Edmund and the lot. I've come to terms with my mind that this place is real and I'm not mad. Not yet anyway.

Still clinging to Edmund I trudged along in silence. Things weren't awkward between Edmund and I because I didn't show it, I'm sure it was all an illusion what happened a few hours ago. It was getting harder and harder to trek upwards, we were almost to the top of the cliff. The hails were getting stronger and Edmund struggled against me so I let go of him and tried to walk on my own. Key word : Tried.

I fell back onto the ground so hard ( and mind you , on my face ) that my nose started to bleed and the pain , like I'd known , was ten times worse than what I would've felt on earth. I'd learned that the hard way when I scratched my hand on a sharp rock and it felt like my hand was literally cut off from my body. I guess it has something to do with our systems changing. While we're not eating or drinking , our body must've grown accustomed to perfection and when that's triggered , it hurts like bananas. 

I tried standing but the hails were getting even more stronger. I could hear Lucy screaming something ahead but couldn't make anything out. Two figures loomed ahead of me but my vision was blurred by my tears of pain. The usual. I couldn't see, I couldn't stand , I couldn't hear and I was dying of pain. Yup , definitely the usual. Suddenly a hand shot out in front of me and even in my blurred vision I could make out a body attached to it. Genius me. I grasped it and the person half carried and half dragged me out of a hail storm to peaceful ground.  The hails were still blowing but me and the person lay face down on the ground covering out ears until the shrill wind toned down into a whistle. It was Peter, i later discovered. I was still bleeding and when I got up I could see the black earth absorbing my maroon blood. That wasn't natural. I quickly looked around to find Peter , now sitting beside me and Susan, Lucy and Edmund stirring up , ahead. 

" You're cute when you're bleeding. " Peter said looking tiredly at me with a broken smile. Laughing I offered him a hand and he started getting up. But then I let go and he hit the ground with a thud. 

" Oi, that hurt . " He said grumpily. 

" Yeah ? Well , I'm cruel when I'm dying. " I said and tore off a piece from Peter's fabric and held it to my nose which was still bleeding and I wasn't feeling nauseuos at all but cranky due to the pain. Peter patted me on the back as he stood up and helped me clean up my face. With all the black soil and blood , I must've looked far from cute.

" Riva ! Peter ! If you both are done flirting you should come and have a look at this. " Edmund shouted from ahead. Lucy, Susan and Edmund were standing on the edge of the cliff. Atleast I thought it was the edge. I suspected Lucy or Susan would've snickered or giggled at Edmund's remark but they were just standing and staring down below. Edmund motioned us to come forward. We did and then what we say was out of this world. Really , this kinda thing only happens to be on earth, what's it doing here ?

It was familiar. Rides, tents, small stands, bigger tents, displays, a miniture railway line and cart and a sign board that said , 

                                               " Votre côté sombre" 

I suspected it was French but couldn't work out the translation momentarily. Although I wish I had. As for the place, it had a word, It was on the tip of my tongue. A fair ? No.. no. Um, A ... Ci-

" Its a Circus. " Lucy whispered and looked at me. Yes ! Yes ! That's what this is , the rides, the tents and all of this made sense. Except, this circus was deserted. Not a soul in sight.

" You do know what a Circus is , right ? Because you're from the future and all maybe you don't . So basically, its kind of travelling entertainm- " Edmund rambled on beside me until I cut him off. 

" I know what a circus is , Edmund. " I said plainly. I was freaking out inside. I was terrified. Glued to my place. All of the others were quietly discussing whether we should go down or not but I wasn't listening. The tents, there were shadows inside of it. Inhuman shadows. But I could be wrong. Or I could be right. The hair standing on the back of my neck were telling me I was right. Goosebumps sprouted up my arms and I shivered. I lowered my hand from my nose. It had stopped bleeding suddenly. 

" Lets go. " I said to him. He looked at me and made a face.

" Are you alright ? You look kind of - " Edmund said.

" Freaked out ? I am . But I'd be an idiot if I don't go down there when I've come this far." I said to him. 

" Okay we'll go down if you stop cutting me off. " Edmund mumbled. I laughed nervously . 

" Lets go then . Lets go watch the show. " Peter said humoursly . We all smiled at his little joke. But being human had never been such a disadvantage. Never had the urge to discover been so deadly. Curiousity will kill the cat.

We humans.

Stupid, stupid humans.

Onwards we went to our damnation.

Author's Note :

Hi again. As promised, a chapter updated !  Things are gonna get serious from now on. Thrilling even. Atleast i hope they will. 100+ reads ! Haha, how did that happen ? :p I'm just writing this for the fun of it but I am going to complete it, I take my writing seriously. So thankyou everyone who has read this. Please do share your thoughts on this ! I would love that. It really helps, actually. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :) 

xxShortHairedLunaticxx