Prodigy & Prophecies ? Peter Pevensie [1]

Chapter XIV - The Road to Tash is Paved with Good Intentions

Ashton guardedly sticks one foot in the water, withdrawing it twice as fast, "Nope. That's it. We are going now."

Before she can get back to the rock that held shoes, I ran out of the water, wrapping my arms around her. She instantly starts wiggling around making it hard to keep ahold of her.

"Stop! You have three seconds to let go of me before I cause bodily harm!" She screams at me, latching her arms tightly around my shoulders as I head towards the water, covering her eyes from her horror with the crook of my neck as I step into the water.

"One!" She declared and a faint rumble of thunder in the sky filled my ears. "Two!"

"Okay, I'll put you down." I give in, starting to lower her. She unburied her head from my neck, only to see the water below her as I stood with the water a few centimeters above my knees.

"No! Stop! Don't you dare let go of me, Peter!" She screams again, gripping onto me as if her life depended on it.

"Bring me back now." She orders, not bothering to try to hide the thundering booming above our heads.

"Breathe," I attempt to calm her.

She looks wildly at me for a second and for the first time since the night that she discovered her powers, I saw the tint of fear in her eyes. It takes her a minute to paces her breaths with the rising and falling of my chest, putting us in sync. The thundering from above disappears as well.

I keep my eyes locked on hers, "We're just going to take this slowly, I'm right here."

I carefully unhook my arm from under her legs, letting her cautiously put her feet in the water. I couldn't manage to hold in a little chuckle as see her make strange faces.

"Not a word, Cupcake. Not a word." She warns, not taking her eyes on the water.

Ashton reaches for my hands for stabilization as she detaches herself my shoulders to step down on a rock. I take a step down onto another rock that's lower in the water, she hesitates before stepping down next to me. One by one, we gradually make our way into the water together.

When we reached shoulder depth, Ashton stood on a rock that made our heights equal.

"How does it feel?" I ask, not hearing any more thunder and noticing no sudden change in temperature.

"I'll tell you once the adrenaline wears off," She chuckles, still looking down at the water.

Her smile lingered as she turned towards me and her gaze met mine. The sunlight reflecting off the water seemed to heighten the capturing characteristics of her eyes, making it impossible to look away.

At this moment, the world seemed to stop turning. And for the first time in a long time, the pending war drifted from my mind, making this the most important thing. Here in the middle of the river, soaking wet, I only had one thing on my mind.

Ashton's light-hearted smile faded distractedly, focusing solely on me. The air between us seemed to grow thicker, I know Ashton sensed it too as her breaths became shallower. I couldn't fight the tingling in my stomach as I caught myself glimpse down at her lips.

A part of me felt like she leaned in as well. That it might have just been the flow of the river pushing from behind her before she turned her head, disconnecting us.

"We should probably get back," She mentioned, shakily.

"I suppose so," I agree, looking anywhere but at her.

We make our way out of the water, keeping a careful silence. Once out of the water we dropped our hands, due to Ashton no longer needing the security. The quietness continued as we returned to our things, redressing and looking for the direction we came. I decided to take a sip of water in advancement for the long walk back to camp.

I really do hope I didn't do something I will regret. I believed that I had stepped out of line. I would be the one to blame for an uneasiness between the two of us. That... event was not something professional of me. It was not right as the leader of a rebellion against someone that could be considered the enemy. Just think about the reaction of the Free-Narnians. It would cause mayhem. But at the same time how could something so peaceful and sweet be the spark of a full civil war? Why did it seem like war always came down to Ashton and me?

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After leaving the scene, Ashton and I walked through the forest, enjoying the simple beauties of Narnia.

Ashton tucks a fallen piece of hair behind her ear, "Ya know, after today, I realized we never really talked about what happened at the waterfall. I just um- I just wanted to say that..."

I interrupt her rambling, knowing what she trying to say, "You're welcome."

Ashton grinned softly, appreciating my understanding. I smiled to myself as well, thanking myself for jumping in after Ash when I saw the ice fall from above. I would not be where I am today without her. Sure, she was extremely difficult in the beginning, but now she seems to be the only one treating me... normally. Everyone is expecting me to be born ready for this Kingship. Susan was practically built for the role of Queen and Lucy knows more about this land than all of us combined.

For once I am thankful for Ashton originally having no expectations of me. It gave me time to be free from the pressure. I believe Ashton has grown to admire her training time as well. I've only had this stress for a month or so, but she has had it her whole life, not to mention in a much more hostile environment. Being away from her old home has given her back a small amount of adolescence. She makes me forget all the rumors I've heard around camp. I only see her as both humorously and unwelcomely sarcastic, and incredibly stubborn with annoying nicknames but I understand now that it's just part of her playful nature. And as she slowly reveals little bits of her childhood with the witch, I've never once have thought of her as weak. I'm pretty sure she would prove her strength by kicking me around if I ever thought otherwise.

Our peaceful and nonstressful escape was interrupted by an extremely loud noise echoing through the air. It filled my ears, making it impossible to not hear. My first instinct was to look to Ashton to see if she was the creator of such a sound.

She, herself was looking down at her hands needing confirmation before meeting my eyes, "That's not me."

Her face changes only increases with shock, "Was that Susan's horn?"

By the panic on my face, she already knew the answer.

"Go. No one knows of our agreement, they think I'm still in the tent. I'll catch up." She instructs me. I didn't stop to think before bolting the direction of the sound. The worry for my sister growing my every second.

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This chapter is so important to development, even more important than you may think. Consider this your emotional warning.

And I seriously hope you guys didn't miss the part where Peter discarded his shirt ;)

B

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