Edited: 9/25/2024

Year 2298 - 5 Years Before

Her fingers delicately brushed the white petunias that were lined neatly in rows. Her long hair swept along the back of her shoulder blades, free of its former braids. Nearby, a book was laid on the bench, left open and completely abandoned.

It was just another day for the girl, walking around in the garden. She ran amongst the dark green grasses, straying off of the path to examine the few young trees planted nearby. All of the foliage and greenery were organized into planters or caged by black fences. None of the flora bore color, except for the deep evergreen of the grass. But alas, even the grass was faded.

To her, she was in a vast wood, with large, ancient trees spread endlessly in every direction. She could hear the foliage crunching beneath her bare feet and smell the dampness of leftover morning dew and earth. Birds would be chirping overhead, the wind rustling the leaves in ocean-like waves. Sunlight would dapple the forest floor through the canopy, golden and beautiful. Vibrant colors would be candy to the eye, wildflowers of every shape, size, and hue dancing across the ground.

And Briar, she would be the Queen of it all, the ruler of this beautiful, colorful world.

"Briar!"

Of course, there would also be a King; her brother, naturally.

"Happy birthday!" A boy with shoulder-length, black hair ran towards her, his tunic billowing in the wind, before he swept her up in his arms. For a moment, the two children looked as though they had merged into one, with their identical ashen hair and olive complexion.

"It's been too long! Uncle needs to give you more time to come see me," Briar complained, although her face was beaming.

"Well, I wasn't about to let him stop me from seeing you on your 10th birthday, now was I?" Caspian took her hand in his. "I skipped fencing today just to come see you."

The two began to walk the path, their hands idly swinging back and forth as they went.

"Hmm." Briar stuck her pink lips out, pouting. "How come you get to go learn to use swords and go riding while I'm stuck learning to hold cups of tea and stand straight?"

Caspian frowned in thought. "I don't know. I suppose it is a bit unfair..." He glanced down at the lithe, young girl next to him. While she was only two years younger, she looked much too young to be ten. Perhaps that was just him, still seeing her as a little girl.

"Professor Cornelius asked for you today," he said. "He sent me to come fetch you."

"Why?" she asked idly, her gaze flitting back and forth like a distracted kitten.

"He wants you to study with him today."

Briar halted in her tracks. "Study?" she exclaimed. "On my birthday? Has he gone completely mad?"

Clearly, the lessons her nurse had given her hadn't dulled her sharp tongue.

"That's what he said," Caspian shrugged helplessly as she stared up at him, her face scrunched in disgust. He clasped Briar's hand tightly, guiding her towards the archway that led back into the castle. He could feel her feet beginning to drag; her expression was miserable.

"Trust me, this will be fun," he tried to reassure her, putting in a note of optimism as he went on, "After our lesson, Miraz had agreed for you to learn to ride."

"Ride?"

At that, Briar sat up straighter. She paused at the archway and grabbed her shoes, which were unlaced on the ground next to her stockings. Without bothering to put them on, she scampered to catch up to him, her doe-like eyes wide and her face glowing. How unladylike she was, and oh, how Caspian loved that about her.

"Yes," Caspian nodded, before adding reluctantly, "but I heard there's also a new lesson book, too."

Her shoulders drooped again, causing the boy to wonder if her nurse's lessons were teaching her anything at all. Given the fact that the nurse was Professor Cornelius's sister, he would've thought maybe.

"Books are the most useless thing in the world," grumbled the girl, "the only thing they're good for is stories."

Caspian desperately wanted to inform her of the truth. The written text was the only thing that Professor Cornelius had to teach him. Without them, he wouldn't be his mentor. Everything that the Professor had worked towards was put into his library; the boy knew that much. The short, old man's life was invested in them, as though it truly did give him life. During his lessons, his mentor had stated that they were among the most important objects in the entire kingdom; why, Caspian didn't know.

"They aren't completely useless," he defended, before imitating the Professor's gruff voice. "'They can be of higher value than gold. No price can be put on information that can save us from a terrible fate.'"

Briar shrugged. "If you say so."

* * *

"So...I'm magic?" There was no hiding the absolute shock in Briar's voice.

"You might be," corrected Caspian, running a hand through his ombre hair. He paced around the room, waving his hands as though he were reciting a speech. "A very, very small portion of our blood is of the Jin. To be specific, it is so miniscule that I don't possess any qualities of our special, half-Jin ancestor."

Briar sat back in her chair, slouching against the cushioned seat. "Jin? Like genies?"

"No," Professor Cornelius sighed from where he was scanning through his shelves of books. "The likelihood of you containing any ounce of thaumaturgic properties is practically none."

The poor man looked like he might break his dry, rough face from the wrinkles. Unlike his study, Cornelius was a clean, neat little old fellow. He reminded Briar of how she'd always imagined dwarves to be when they grew old, with his long, pointed white beard and short, curly silver hair. He had a very comforting, knowledgeable look about him.

"The Jin originated in Charn, a world beyond ours that we know very little about. It was known for its golden age of wisdom and benevolence. The people there were of Giant and Jin blood, the most well-known of them being Jadis, the White Witch. She was the ruler of Charn, and also the one to destroy it."

"Those of royal blood were said to possess magical abilities," Caspian cut in excitedly.

"Ahem." Professor Cornelius gave him a disapproving look, adjusting his spectacles in a way that felt very much like a warning. "Yes, my dear boy. Jadis started a war against her sister for the throne. Through her magic, she corrupted the world with a single utterance and abandoned it to prey upon Narnia."

"Narnia!" Briar gaped at the mention of their neighboring country, and the anchor of her imagination.

"Yes. Before Charn disappeared, however, one of the royal descendants made it into yet another world, one deeply connected to our own history. Can you guess where?" he prompted Briar, a smile quivering at his lips.

Briar tapped her fingers rhythmically against the table, scrambling to recall the countless stories he'd told her. This story reminded her of the War of Deliverance. When Jadis had preyed upon Narnia, she usurped the royal family and encompassed it in an eternal winter for a hundred years. But there had been a Golden Age Prophecy, one that had foretold two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve that would overthrow her. They'd succeeded too, before disappearing back to their world.

Their world.

A thought crossed her mind. "Is it where the Kings and Queens of Old come from?"

"Indeed," Cornelius nodded in approval. "If only your brother had such deductive thinking."

Caspian pouted but hopped up out of his seat to walk around. He paused by the Professor's desk. There were stacks of books that had been toppled over, half-wrinkled papers with quills and ink used to hold them down on the desk, and various other objects. Among them were compasses, bookmarks, empty notebooks, and ones full of scrawled writing.

Briar found herself leaning over to watch him pick up a compass, observing him rotate it to watch the arrow continue to point north no matter where he directed the object.

"So," the Professor went on, clearing his throat so that both children snapped to attention, "one of her descendants were among the first few Telmarines to arrive in our world. They were established as the royal family of Telmar, and ever since then, my ancestors and I have been testing your lineage for, well, special qualities."

"I had mine when I turned 10," Caspian informed Briar, his expression falling as he added, "I did not pass."

"Neither did the rest of your heritage," his mentor said gently, coming over to gently pat the boy's strong, young shoulders. "Briar, however, may yet be different."

"How do you tell?" Briar asked, sitting up straighter at the sound of her name.

"Think back. Has anything strange ever happened? Something you couldn't explain?" Professor Cornelius sounded like he was repeating a question he'd heard a thousand times. "Hiding and never being found, or perhaps never breaking a doll or a teacup."

"I don't play with dolls," Briar said matter-of-factly. "I'm learning how to use a bow."

The old man chuckled. "Was there ever a time when you felt as though someone had read your mind, when you had wished to tell them something but only ever thought of it?"

Briar thought more deeply than she ever had. She recalled time after time of her short childhood, thinking of when she learned to hold a teacup for the first time. Briar wasn't the clumsiest person, but she'd had her share of mistakes in her "lady-like" lessons. Unlike her mother, one of her tutors had said, the girl had not broken a single cup during teatime.

Not only that, but it sure seemed like people always knew what Briar was thinking before she said it. Although her mind was scattered, full of ideas and stories of Narnia, whenever she decided to tell someone something she'd been thinking about, they already knew what it was.

But neither of those things were magic. Magic was closing all of Narnia in an eternal winter and turning living creatures into stone. It was creating sweets from water, or opening doors without touching them. Dropping a whole tea set without breaking any of the china, and living to talk about it, was not magical.

"But that's not magic," Briar objected. "They're just a coincidence."

"Oh, but they aren't. Jadis possessed similar abilities to preserve herself. She lived for maybe thousands of years before coming to Narnia, all by encompassing herself within a sphere of magic. That type of magic requires the strongest of wills, so we will start small." Professor Cornelius waddled over to the table and sat down next to her; Caspian joined too, and he had gone very quiet.

"The White Witch was also able to speak into the minds of others. Unfortunately, I lack the education and proper resources to properly test you," said their mentor, "but what I can do is ask you to try and be open to talking through your mind."

"To whom?"

"You ask good questions, dear girl," he said approvingly, patting her hand gently. "I want you to select anyone, anyone at all to talk to. All you must do, according to my knowledge, is imagine yourself connecting to the recipient, and think the words in your head out and into the air. You are the most promising candidate in your family's history."

"Try to tell me something!" Caspian urged; his raven eye sparkling.

"I'll try." Briar frowned thoughtfully, sitting back in her seat so that her brown hair swished in her face. She tucked it behind her ears, fidgeting with her dress as her mind started to race. How would she do it? Did she have to mouth the words but not utter them? Would she have to think of them, or the words themselves?

"Professor," she started, "I wonder if-"

Bang!

The door flew open, and Briar recoiled, her blood lurching in her veins. Adrenaline rushed down her throat and spread through her body at the sight of General Glozelle, who marched into the room with two armed guards, followed by the wiry-haired, pointy-nosed nurse.

"You," he pointed to Professor Cornelius, "you are being accused of theft and conspiracy against the Seven Lords and will be properly investigated. Until then, you will be held in a private location and your study will be thoroughly searched."

"What?" Caspian and Briar shouted in unison, clamoring to their feet.

Glozelle swiveled in their direction, his narrow eyes settling on the siblings as they watched the guards restrict their mentor.

Briar's nurse stood up straighter, clearing her throat as she eyed the girl's bare feet. "Say your goodbyes, Lady Briar. You've been requested by your aunt to meet in the south wing parlor."

"And riding?"

"It has been canceled for the day."

"This is a false accusation," Cornelius insisted, seeing the distressed look on Briar's face as the guards advanced, and the nurse reached kindly for her hand. "You will see."

"Sure," the General sniffed. His gaze turned to Caspian. "You will resume your lessons by the armory in an hour. You're expected to return to your room until someone fetches you."

Caspian's jaw set, his insides bubbling in rage at the interruption. How dare Glozelle break into the study and arrest his mentor, and then try to take him away from his sister? He rarely saw her as it was, due to Miraz's terrible orders. The boy stole a glance at his sister, and saw, behind a curtain of waves, a look of shock and disappointment.

He reached for Briar's hand, clasping her small, soft fingers in his.

"Let me at least walk her to the parlor," he said, shoving down the anger in his tone. "It's her birthday, after all."

"You will be escorted," warned Glozelle, gripping the hilt of his sword.

Huffing, Caspian stormed out of the study, taking his younger sister with him as the nurse trailed behind, holding something in her palm.

She fell in step with them, a knowing look in her eye. The short, frizzy-haired woman had a stout expression on her face, but through the windows' reflection, Caspian saw pity. Briar, speechless, merely followed behind, trying to keep up with his long strides.

"I have something that will cheer you up, young lady," the nurse said crisply, "but you must hurry along. We aren't going for a stroll." She strutted past both of them, her skirts swishing. The curiosity of the children made them hurry after her.

"What is it, Lady Azur?"

Once they reached the parlor, she promptly turned to Briar. "I know how much you wish you could learn what your brother learns, so I brought you this."

If the woman had been taller, Caspian imagined she would've gotten down on a knee to be at eye-level with the little girl. But given her short , pudgy stature, she merely took out a narrow, small object and handed it to her.

Caspian instantly knew what it was. He opened his mouth to protest, only for Lady to shoot him a challenging glare and silence him. He watched as Briar took the little, leather-bound gift and took the shaft, unsheathing a beautiful little dagger.

The sharp, pointed edge gleamed in the air, the metal as clear as water with small, white bolts woven into what looked like some kind of crystal gem fashioned into a blade. The edges of the blade were refined, smoothened down so that the dagger itself looked like cold glass. Briar rotated it in her hand carefully as though it was fragile, the light refracting off of the small weapon with sharp precision.

"It belonged to your mother," Azur said, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. Briar continued to stare at it, struck silent with wonder. She cleared her throat after a few moments, and when she didn't respond, Caspian nudged her.

"Thank you!" the girl sputtered, breaking contact with the present to smile up at her nurse. "I love it!"

"Think of it as a parting gift," Azur's stiff features softened as the Princess's smile faltered. "Wherever your journey takes you, those who know your heart go with you."

"You're leaving?" Briar whispered.

"I'm afraid so."

"This isn't just," Caspian growled. "Miraz continues to make demands and no one questions his word."

"Don't worry, little king," the governess hummed, gently patting Briar's soft curls as she studied Caspian. "Your time will come."

Just. The word echoed in Briar's mind, and a drawing came to mind of a young boy with black, coffee-colored hair and green robes. A boy who had witnessed water turn into hot cocoa, and sweets come from nothing. The King who had disappeared alongside his family, leaving Narnia to become a myth of magical creatures in the woods beyond Telmar.

The two were silent as they walked down the castle's wide corridors, hand-in-hand. People passed, but by the looks on their faces, nobody bothered to speak to them. It was quiet, quiet enough for Briar to think clearly. She pictured the boy's face, soft features with freckles and warm, caramel eyes, and attempted to grasp it. At the same time, she tried to form the words, imagining them floating away in the air like morning mist.

Hello, King Edmund, wherever you are. My name is Briar.

And for one, short moment, in the smallest voice...or thought, was it...? appeared in Briar's mind. It was a single world - so faint, so miniscule, that she feared she imagined it. But it was one thought, one word that would eventually make all the difference.

Hello.

Hello.

A/N: Ahhh! This is one of my longest chapters so far, but I'm working to condense everything in edits and trying to keep the "pre-Prince-Caspian" movie content to a minimum...but there is a lot of essential context here. So TYSM for bearing with me. ❤️❤️❤️ All updates from now on will be on Mondays.
There was so much Narnia lore in this chapter. If you have only watched the movies, there will be some information that is new, however all of it is strictly kept to canon (except the note that Jadis's sister escaping to Earth is my creative spin on what happened to her...because that was never made clear).