Prodigy & Prophecies ? Peter Pevensie [1]

Chapter XIX - A Thousand Times Goodnight

"Aren't you a pretty little thing? I always had a thing for blondes. I'll make sure to stay away from your face so I have something nice to look at tonight."

Rage boiled in my chest. Even the idea of someone speaking to her like that made me want to defend her myself. I tamed my anger once I saw the grief and anguish that she was trying to hide on her face. I wanted to help her, anything to offer comfort for something that has no doubt haunted her for many nights. As we sat there, I could only think to slide my hand into hers. Giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"He attempted to punch me in the stomach and once again missed. His failures did not sit well, making him get angrier. He pulled an ax that was being used to chop wood. He held the ax over his head, ready to chuck it at me. I took my smallest blade and threw it into his forearm. As a drunken fool, he let go of the ax with both hands, having a direct route to his brain. Ben found me in a shock. Not because it was my first kill," She looked down at our hands, hesitant to continue, "But because I didn't feel sorry about it. After what I saw he was doing to the child and what he said he was going to do to me, I didn't feel an ounce of sorrow."

"The child was delivered to an orphanage in the next town over, called Loxley. Then life when on." Ashton states, "Ben and I refused to talk about the night, but I would sneak out to check on the kids ever so often. But like all decent things, my mother found out. She ordered the secret police to take me back to Loxley so I could watch it burn. The wolves were fast, staying in the shadows so they were not seen. My mother lit the fires with magic. I was forced to stand in the woods. I had to watch the whole town burn as villagers ran for water buckets to save their homes."

Ashton took a deep breathe, collecting herself.

"When all that remained was ashes, they looked for someone to blame. It was just an extra bonus for my mother that the common folk saw me, pinning the whole situation on me. It gave me the reputation she wanted. If I ever spoke the truth of that night, it would ruin the reputation and she would do it again. And that still holds true." She points out, "But the more important reason is the kids; Claire, Izabella, Eliza, Riley, Marcel and Turner and lastly, Theo, the young boy from our story. I'm afraid he might be that young anymore, most likely the same age as dear Lucy."

"Seven?" I ask, keeping a count of the children, making sure I understand every part of the story.

"Yes, the seven. Not six. Theo was still new to the orphanage, no one outside of the orphanage knew he was there. Benvolio and I made the head of the orphanage swear to silence about the mysterious boy. The orphanage was on the corner of town, last the line of the burnings. 'Saving the best for last' my mother called it." Ashton mumbled something understand her breath, calling her mother a bitch, "She lit it with the snap of her fingers, leaving me to watch it burn to the ground in the woods alone. That was her greatest mistake and my only redeeming time. I threw myself through the flames, pulling any child under my cloak. By the time I got the seven, the structure was caving in on itself. I was able to get the kids on the first boat to Archenland at dawn. Not even I have seen them since."

"The saddest part is that the Loxley story was nothing compared to what she would threaten if I failed. Promising to take away anything I bothered to care about, even the simplest of things. And I cared about my home country, all of Narnia. I was afraid she would burn it all to hurt me. If she ever found out about Benvolio, she'd kill him without hesitation. That's why she used Loxley as an example, all to hurt me for caring. Anything I love turns into a weapon."

"Narnia didn't just lose their hope for a prodigy that day, I lost myself. I submitted to being her little assassin. I've done terrible things, things that I didn't even need to be ordered to do. They were decisions I made. I didn't just become my mother's little spy, I wanted it. And I still can't understand why. My actions were inexcusable. I can't ask for Narnian's to forgive me if I can't forgive myself. That's why there is no point in telling the story. Because I am exactly the monster they shape me up to be."