❁Heart of Pearl❁ 〈Narnia ⇀ Peter Pevensie〉

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight
Aslan's Camp

Word Count: 1.1k

Sure enough, after completely dry every drop of water off Melody's tail, it turned back to her legs. She stood up, with some help from Peter. He and Susan still seemed confused, and Melody couldn't blame them - she was too. 

She got used to her legs again, something she never thought she'd have to worry about, so they headed off into the forest that stood before them. The trees were no longer fully covered in snow. Pastel pink flowers started to bloom from the branches, bringing color to the dull environment.

As they went on further, getting closer to the place Aslan was supposed to be, the snow melted away and was replaced by healthy, green plants. By the time they finally reached the camp, no snow was around, as if it had been untouched by the Witch.

Melody felt anxiety swell in her chest. Almost instinctively, she reached out and grabbed Peter's hand, not really noticing it until a welcoming horn caused her to look around, eyes landing on him and their hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." She trailed off, advertising her gaze from him to his hand. She hadn't held it like this before, where she got to just feel it. It was bigger than hers, but still had the softness of innocence.

He shook his head, smiling lightly. "I don't mind." He gave her hand a light, reassuring squeeze.

Walking further into camp, eyes of all the centaurs, fauns, and creatures that none of them have ever seen or heard of before locked on them. They all seemed to pause the work they were doing to stop and stare. Some started to follow behind them.

"Why they all staring at us?" Susan asked, trying to keep a smile on her face.

Lucy looked up at her sister. "Maybe they think you look funny."

Peter smiled and Melody let out a small laugh, while Susan didn't seem to think it was that funny.

The Beavers still walked beside them, Mrs. Beaver trying to fix up her fur just like when they all first met.

"Oi, stop your fussing. You look lovely." 

They stopped in front of a big tent at the edge of the camp. It was red and gold, decorated with lovely patterns and pictures. A centaur stood out in front of it like he was a guard.

Peter let go of Melody's hand and placed it on his sword, unsheathing it and holding it up high. "We have come to see Aslan."

Whispers broke out from the crowd behind them. Asking for Aslan seemed to be a forbidden question, but these naive children didn't know. All they knew was that that man was their only source of the answers they need. Especially answers Melody needed.

The centaur looked to the tent, an action the four of them followed. Everyone behind them kneeled down, but they were none the wiser.

Out of the tent came a lion, bigger than any lion they would see in their world. He walked in front of them, and they all knelt down like the others.

"Welcome, Peter, son of Adam." The lion started, each person's head looking at him as they spoke their name. "Welcome, Susan and Lucy, daughters of Eve."

Melody felt her heart drop a little when her name wasn't said, guessing she really wasn't really supposed to be here. This thought ceased when the lion spoke again. "Welcome Melody, daughter of the Sea." That confused her, but she looked up at him anyways.

"And welcome to you, Beavers. You have my thanks, but where is the fifth?" Aslan looked from the Beavers to them, their smiles fading slightly.

Peter was the first to stand. "That's why we're here, sir." Susan and Lucy stood as he spoke, Melody hesitantly standing last. "We need your help." He put his sword away and the crowd all rose to their feet.

"We had a little trouble along the way," Susan said.

"Our brother's been captured by the White Witch." Peter continued, that statement earning whispers.

"Captured? How could this happen?"

"He..." Mr. Beaver started when no one else would speak. "He betrayed them, your Majesty." That's when the small gasps started.

"Then  he has betrayed us all." The centaur stated, fists clenched.

Peter grabbed Melody's hand, and she gave it a light squeeze. She couldn't imagine how hard this was for him and his sisters.

"Peace, Oreius. I'm sure there's an explanation." Aslan was being positive, letting some of the whispers to die down.

"It's my fault, really." Peter sounded quiet. "I was too hard on him."

Melody squeezed his hand again and Susan rubbed his arm lightly. "We all were."

"Sir, he's our brother..." Lucy pled to the lion.

"I know, dear one. But that only makes the betrayal all the worse. This may be harder than you think."

----

After their introduction to Aslan and his camp, he had Oreius show the children to where they would be staying - their tents. The girls were in one, boy in another.

They were given time to change out of their clothes to something more fitting for Narnia and to get used to the place.

Melody exited the tent, brushing off her new dress a little. It was simple but held beautiful shades of blue and purple she didn't know really existed. A royal red color was the trim and hem of the skirt, sleeves, waist, and neckline. It fit perfectly, something she didn't know they could do since they never met any of them before. She had her satchel draped over her shoulder and resting against her hip like before. Surprisingly, after they got out of the river, the satchel itself and the contents were all dry.

She wandered around the camp, humming a little to herself. She caught the gaze of a worker every now and then. She just gave them a shy smile and continued on.

She looked up to a hill, spotting Aslan talking with Peter. The hill overlooked the whole camp.

She thought they both looked to her, but her suspicion was correct when Peter waved to her. She blushed, thankful he was far away and couldn't see her face that well, and waved back.

She bit her lip and rushed back off to the tent, afraid someone would notice her looks towards the boy.

She didn't rush fast enough, as two people did notice - Susan and Lucy. They walked on either side of her, smiling.

"Hey, Melody," Susan spoke, looping her arm with Melody as Lucy grabbed her free hand.

"Hi..." She said, a little skeptically.

"We wanna talk to you!" Lucy giggled.

Before Melody could ask about what, the girls skipped off with her to the river by their tent.

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The great Aslan has now become part of the story. That means things really are going to start picking up.

I don't really have much to say after this chapter, as it's a pretty basic one. More will be definitely happening in the next.

But anyway, thank you for reading! The next chapter with be posted Monday.