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𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐒' 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍, the light that permeated through the thin fabric of the tent blinding her momentarily. The blur over her vision cleared up again and the eldest Pevensie's face came into focus. 'Peter,' she breathed.
Peter's eyes shot to her when he finally heard her voice. He got off the pillow he'd been sitting on for three days and crouched on his knees next to her. His hands cupped her face and his thumb slowly stroked over her slightly red cheek. 'Alexis, you're awake,' he said and smiled through the tears that stung in his eyes. 'I thought you'd never wake up again.'
'What do you mean?' Alexis questioned as she sat up and grunted because her muscles were sore from laying on the ground for days.
Peter lifted one of his hands to stroke away the plucks of hair that were bothering her eyes. 'You've been out for three days,' he explained to her.
'Three days?!' she screeched, feeling a sense of panic take over her. 'I haven't woken up at all in the meantime?'
'I've been sitting here for three days straight. I haven't noticed you wake up once,' he said and scratched the back of his head as he recollected the past three days.
Alexis sat up a little more and straightened her shoulders, despite the aching of her muscles. She knew that the only way to get rid of the soreness was by moving. 'You sat here this whole time?'
Peter could only nod and repeatedly blinked so his tears would stop clouding his vision of her. His cheeks coloured lightly in embarrassment, he shifted his weight and stopped staring into her eyes.
'That's really sweet of you,' Alexis finally said. She needed something to break the silence so she wouldn't be able to hear her heart anymore. She still hated and loved the way Peter made her feel. She felt alive, but also vulnerable and fragile, so easily broken and yet so strong and determined.
She hadn't even noticed yet how close their faces truly were, until their noses brushed against each other. The urge to lean in further was too great for her to ignore and she let herself do so. Peter stiffened into a statue when Alexis pressed her lips onto his. He snapped out of his rosy-coloured dream from Alexis pulling him closer to her by his collar. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tightened his grip on her until their chests touched too.
Alexis had to suppress her smile as she kissed him, but her happiness couldn't end at that moment. She'd wondered for a long time how it would feel to take things to the next level with Peter as he made her curiosity pique like nothing had ever done before.
Despite Peter's at times arrogant and often brave demeanour, he couldn't find the courage to kiss her. He'd lived in Narnia and had thought about a good suitor that would benefit Narnia for so long, that he'd taken that mentality back to England with him. He'd met girls that made him think they would be beneficial to his family. A girl with hair like red roses that had Alexis' courage though was nowhere near her fighting spirit and connections to help him grow into a good businessman, and a girl with hair as black as the most poisonous scorpion and a personality to match that, who came from a wealthy family.
He'd always thought logically about his future suitor, but he'd never thought about being with someone he could actually be in love with. Someone he truly liked for who she was, who could challenge him and his stupidity at times. Who wasn't afraid to point out his flaws when he was acting ridiculous while also seeing his strengths. Not someone who would drool at the thought of his kingdom and his riches. Not someone who would be a logical choice. Not a suitor, but a lover.
She broke away from the kiss, her breath still not being what it used to be. The two glanced at each other and they smiled so brightly, completely forgetting everything around them until Kiano's voice boomed through her tent.
He was commanding people around to start packing up the camp when he'd heard Alexis' screech from her tent, but the slightly see-through fabric and some light revealed her silhouette entwined with Peter's. So Kiano had thought it was better to not disturb them for the time being and to keep his composure as much as he could.
He made sure Florence and Caspian extinguished the fire over which Erin's small cauldron hung. Lucy had to work with Hermione and Charlotte to clear out the tents while Aiden, Harry, Edmund and Chrys broke off the tents. Though Charlotte wasn't happy with the way she was commanded around, she was also glad that they were finally continuing their journey.
The wait for the Western Wild had been haunting her since the hags had disappeared. She didn't know how to calm Harry and a part of her understood why he was scared. She was scared too, but she couldn't freak out like Harry. The more people would freak out, the less chance they'd have in the end.
She didn't plan strategies like Aiden, but rather wily schemes. Her plans may not always be the best way to get what one needed, but they always worked for her. While Aiden and Erin would loudly discuss their plans, Charlotte's plans were a secret to everyone but Harry.
Raiden was left alone to map out the rest of the route as he and Kiano stopped with their game of chess mid-game once Kiano realised he was inevitably going to lose anyway and he heard Alexis' voice.
Erin and Eustace were still busy with cooking a meal, which would now be taken on their travels. Eustace had plucked a lot of fruit with Lucy the day before as they couldn't help anyone and didn't feel like training with the others. He'd cut all of that fruit, together with some of the Wandering Stars that Erin carried around to make a fruit salad for the much needed vitamins and minerals.
Kiano glanced over to Victoria, who was sitting quite a distance away from the camp. She was the only person he'd not commanded around. He didn't need to and neither did he want to. She was in complete focus as she finished up fixing Chrys' wand. Eustace had gathered the wands before they'd gone on their journey, though after the crushing gravity, the wands had cracked underneath the impossible weight and fixing cracks in a wand was more precise work than anyone could ever realise.
One had to wish that the cracks were only in the wood, because if it would be in its core, there would be no way to truly fix the wand back to its original state. Even when many would believe the opposite after their wand was returned by Ollivander.
Chrys was in luck. Her unicorn hair core hadn't broken or cracked, it was the aspen wood that needed fixing. The wood that is known for tending to choose for revolutionaries and strong-willed individuals. Chrys was the original member of Bellicose to start the revolutionary path they were on. She'd always had a vision of what was right and wrong and she would actually do something about it.
It didn't matter who she had to talk to, she would not see inequality or unfairness and just let it happen. She'd stepped to Headmaster Dippet once when Kiano was suspended, after he'd been endlessly taunted by his classmates and they'd started a physical fight with him. She managed for Kiano's suspension to be withdrawn and for his classmates to get suspended instead.
Victoria had great admiration for her determination to stop Grindelwald's own revolution and for the way she went about it.
The auburn-haired witch had kept herself busy since they'd set up camp. She had her own thoughts about what could be awaiting them, but hadn't voiced them like others such as Harry and Peter and Florence. It was obvious to her that everyone had formed a picture about what could be in the Western Wild, but many wouldn't share their thoughts with the group. Instead opting to share it within their closed circle, but Victoria had decided not to do that either. Making assumptions wasn't going to get them anywhere.
She straightened her posture as her eyes scanned over the camp. Edmund was talking to Florence and the two of them slowly moved towards the edge of the camp. Victoria narrowed her eyes towards them to see the seriousness on their faces. They seemed to be in a deep conversation that they didn't want anyone else to hear. Victoria scrunched her nose together before she continued on Chrys' wand.
'Don't think I forgot about your nightmares,' Edmund said to Florence, who huffed in response.
'Neither have I forgotten about your nightmares.'
Edmund let out a long sigh and composed himself before he spoke again. 'What's going on, Flo?' he asked her, his voice not much louder than a mere whisper as his own nightmares flashed in front of his eyes.
Florence ran her hand through her hair and settled it differently as she paced back and forth, trying to get clear in her head what she should tell him. However, they'd been friends for a long time and so far, she'd never lied to him. She felt like lying to him was wrong and could never make herself actually do it.
'As you know, I've been here before. . .,' she began and started twisting her plain, silver ring on her finger to calm herself and sort through her thoughts. 'With Jamie and Stevie. The Calormenes had invaded a part of Narnia and the three of us helped aid Narnia to its victory. I felt incredibly triumphant afterwards and I wanted to stay to fight against the White Witch, but. . . Aslan said it wasn't our battle to fight.'
She rubbed over her arms to get rid of the horrible goosebumps that were spreading over her skin. 'Back then we fought together, however now, they're off to a battle which I'm not even allowed to fight.' She looked up into Edmund's eyes, her own tearing up from the guilt she was feeling. 'We were never supposed to come back here, but it felt like home to me. It still feels like home. . .' Her voice broke as she sniffed. 'In my nightmares, no matter what I do or choose, I always end up all alone with my brother's corpses and the whole world hating me for who I am. . .'
'Florence. . .' Edmund trailed off and pulled her in an embrace. 'You are never alone and I will never hate you. I knew from the moment I met you that you didn't feel at home in England. I've seen you getting torn down, but I've also seen you flourish here in Narnia. James and Steven must've seen the same thing when they were here with you, they are your brothers after all.'
He gently stroked her hair and laid his head on her own. He started doubting whether or not he should tell her about his own nightmares, though he couldn't imagine going to sleep every night and seeing your brothers die in front of your eyes over and over again while the world would hate you. It made him feel like his own nightmares were so insignificant in comparison.
'My nightmares are about the White Witch,' he said carefully. He took his time to tell her the story of his first meeting with the White Witch and how he had betrayed his own siblings. He revealed how miserable and selfish he used to be as a child and what he'd actually done during their first time in Narnia.
Florence listened with her jaw dropped. He couldn't look at her, even when she tried her hardest to make him look at her. She could tell he regretted what he'd done and seeing how Peter and Lucy treated him now, he seemed to have more than made it up to them.
'If I can give you one piece of advice,' he said to her. 'Don't take your siblings for granted, because they will always support you for who you truly are. . .'
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𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 guide the group through the remainder of the Telmarine forest and towards the Western Wild. The group had new energy after resting for three days. It had given Aiden and Erin some time to map out a ton of possibilities that would face them in the Western Wild that a few of the people had mentioned or discussed.
Even now, they were eagerly discussing together about the different strategies that they'd come up with. Aiden never liked to work together, but since Erin was training Chrys in archery, it was the only way to be close to Chrys in a way.
He'd watched her train with Erin as discreetly as he could. He would often glance up from his paper to see her trying to hit a target that Erin had placed on a tree and would hide his smile whenever she did hit the target.
Her celebrations made Aiden happier and he felt so proud of her quick progress. They had yet to talk, but things still had to settle a bit more for Chrys. She wasn't necessarily angry at him anymore, but she had quite some questions that she wanted him to answer. However, between the hours of training and regularly checking up on Victoria, Kiano and Alexis, there hadn't really been much time to talk.
'We're here,' Raiden announced to the group and came to a short halt. 'The Western Wild.'
The forest that had spread for miles and miles was slowly dying into fields of flowers and unruly grass. Towering over the plains were mountain ranges, its peaks shining like dew drops in the early morning sun, despite it being late in the afternoon.
The mountains cast long shadows over the plains that lost its green the closer it came to the foot of the mountains. Their snowed-over peaks had a ghostly mist surrounding it, which floated skyward into the ether. A tall tree stood on top of the mountain, its silver leaves mirroring the sun rays so they looked like silver stars reaching for the sky.
The plains that seemed so grand when they'd entered the Western Wild didn't seem so vast anymore as the distance between them and the first mountain grew smaller. Everyone was on high alert which caused Chrys to startle when she heard the screeching sound of a bird's cry.
A Phoenix flew over the group, its wings spreading far to each side. Some of its feathers were as dark as thick blood that morphed in a gradient manner into fire-coloured feathers. It flew with such speed towards the mountain with the seemingly silver stars atop that it made Harry's stomach rumble with mixed feelings.
That Phoenix looked an eerie lot like the one Dumbledore owned. If that was indeed Fawkes, did that mean that Dumbledore was here too? Or had he sent his Phoenix only to aid and left the biggest fight for Harry himself to conquer?
The Western Wild seemed to be playing tricks on their minds as the distance kept changing and altering that wasn't consistent with reality. One moment they were miles away, the next they were mere yards from the foot of the mountain. Everyone stopped walking when the Phoenix landed on the arm of a man that they were now standing eye to eye with.
'Grindelwald,' Alexis spat at the man.
His blonde locks had darkened and greyed over the years which fit his strong posture and stern facial expressions. His lips were pursed together and while his eyes seemed dangerously calm, there was a hint of pain that most could relate to and that made one feel an unspoken sympathy for.
'Alexis Kingsley,' another voice spoke.
Abernathy's nasty smirk revealed from the dark shadows of the foot of the mountain and the pine trees. The dried out flowers and grass crackled underneath his heavy boots that made the way he walked feel out of place. It didn't fit his slim figure and it was obvious he lost all his agility and speed because of it. His dark green vest and brown trousers made him resemble a tree and his sturdy boots most definitely caused him to stay rooted to the ground more than he should.
A woman stepped forward into the light as well on Grindelwald's right, where she usually stood. Chrys had recognised her immediately. Vinda Rosier was wrapped in Ravenclaw House's colours, her black hair slicked back into a bun that was partly hidden by her hat. Her high cheekbones and sharp jaws were all focused towards her pouted lips. With her shoulders arched backwards and her straight back, there was truly nothing about her that wasn't perfectly in place.
'I hope your journey wasn't too tiresome,' Grindelwald said in a manner that was charming and yet condescending. It reminded some of how Victoria would speak when she was angry.
Kiano's jaw clenched together as he bit down hard on his lip. 'Listening to you has been more tiresome already,' he sneered.
Grindelwald simply let out a chuckle and gestured somewhere else. 'He had already warned me about you.' He patted Abernathy on his shoulder as he took his handkerchief out of his pocket to dry the corners of his eyes.
'Abernathy—'
'I wasn't talking about Abernathy,' Grindelwald interrupted Kiano before he could scowl another sneer.
From the shadows, another figure emerged. He appeared much younger than the other two men. He had many handsome features; a good complexion, strong and healthy black hair that was neatly parted and combed, eyebrows that framed his face perfectly. However, there was such emptiness in his deep, dark eyes.
He was nothing like Grindelwald. Whereas Grindelwald was charming and open and friendly in a way, he had nothing but anger and darkness about him whenever he didn't pretend or try to weasel his way into people's minds. Harry almost choked on his breath when he heard Alexis call him Tom underneath her breath.
It made him more human than he'd ever deserved to be thought of and then he'd ever been. Horrible nightmares taunted Harry's mind as soon as he came face to face with him, though to his surprise Tom didn't look at him at all.
He looked right past him to Victoria. He opened his mouth to speak and despite everything Harry knew of him, it was hard to hear any tone of kindness or pretended sincerity in his voice. 'Victoria, my love, we finally meet again. . .'
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Hii everyone!
One week of *tun tun tunn* the virus and one week of moving later and boom, you're 17 days further from your last upload-
Just a little reminder to my applicants that you're all mega slacking on reading and/or letting me know you need extension. So please, pay more attention to it, that would be great :)) We're 17 days past the last upload and I only got one request for extension. Be aware that you have 10 days to read the newest upload. If you can't make it and need a month, lemme know so I'm aware of it.
Also I'm stressing, cause there's so much I still want to write, but I don't want to make this book too long. So I was thinking around the thirty chapters. What are y'all opinion on this? Non-applicants/voters/(ghost)readers, your opinion is more than welcome too! <3
As always, thank you so much for reading!
xx Theresa
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