Peter's POV

I walked up the crumbling stone steps leading up to the ruins. Trees and weeds had taken control of the area, but it was obvious that whatever had been here was huge. We reached the top, overlooking the wreckage. Lucy plucked an apple from the ground and bit into it.

"I wonder who lived here." She commented, looking out at the ocean. Next to me, Susan nudged something with her foot before bending down and picking it up.

"I think we did." She said, revealing the gold chess knight in her hand. Edmund walked up.

"Hey, that's mine." He said, taking it from her. "From my chess set." He added with a smile.

"Which chess set?" I asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?" Edmund retorted. I rolled my eyes and  crossed my arms over my chest, about to spit something back at him.

"It can't be." Lucy suddenly said, running off in the other direction towards and slightly raised platform.  

"Lucy!" I called, following her. Lucy stood up on the platform, looking at four crumbled piles of stone. She then whirled around to look at us.

"Don't you see?" She asked.

"What?" I asked. Lucy ran down the steps and grabbed my hand, leading me up to stand by one of the piles of stone, turning me around.

"Imagine walls." She instructed, grabbing Lucy next, placing her to my left. "And columns there." She pointed along the sides of the platform before leading Edmund up, standing him on my right. She then walked over to the last remaining pile of rubble, making sure we were all facing forward. "and a glass roof."

I looked out, trying to imagine what Lucy had described. And before my eyes, the ruins seemed to build themselves back up. Glass pieced itself back together, becoming a spotless roof. Behind me was a throne and before me was a cheering crowd of Narnians. Aslan smiled at me as a crown was placed on my head. Annabelle stood to my right, lacing her fingers with mine.

Then I blinked and it was all gone. Replaced with the reality of my destroyed home.

"Cair Paravel." I murmured. Edmund suddenly stepped forwards, off the platform and bent down to inspect the ruins. 

"Catapults." He murmured, standing up straight. I followed him down, Susan and Lucy close behind. 

"What?"

"This didn't just happen." Edmund explained. "Cair Paravel was attacked." I looked over Edmund's shoulder, noticing one part of the wall still standing and ivy growing over what appeared to be a door. Edmund followed my gaze and we ran over to it, clearing away the plant growth and kicking open the door. Stairs lead down into darkness. I stepped back and ripped the bottom of my shirt off before grabbing a long stick and wrapping the fabric around one end. 

"I don't suppose you have any matches in there, do you?" I asked Edmund, pointing to his bag. He opened it up and began rummaging around.

"No... but would this help?" He asked, pulling out his new electric torch. 

"You might've mentioned that a bit sooner!" I laughed, motioning Edmund to lead the way. As we reached the bottom, I spotted four large chests lined in a semicircle up against the wall. Statutes of all of us as adults were placed behind our respective chests. 

I can't believe it. It's all still here." I breathed. Edmund, Susan, and Lucy ran over to their chests as I picked up a dusty plate abandoned on a table. Lucy pulled out one of her dresses, holding it up to her. 

"I was so tall." She commented blissfully, spinning around to show Susan, who smiled at her.  

"Well, you were older then." Susan said, looking through her own things. 

"As opposed to hundreds of years later... when you're younger." Edmund sassed, pulling out a helmet from his stuff. I blew the dust away from the plate, revealing the carved image of a lion on it. Looking up, I saw the statue standing proudly behind my chest and walked up to it. My crown sat on top of my head, and a full beard covered the lower half of my face. I had let my hair grow passed my ears then and a smile was etched into my face. 

"What is it?" Lucy suddenly asked. I turned to see Susan looking through her chest, a troubled look on her face. She stood straight, holding only her bow and quiver of arrows in her hands. 

:My horn. I must've left it on my saddle the day we went back." She said. We all fell silent, mourning the loss of one of her most treasured possessions. I then opened my chest, sending up a cloud of dust, and picked up my sword. Drawing it out of it's sheath, I read the words carved into the blade.

"'When Aslan bears his teeth, winter meets its death.'" I read aloud. 

"'And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.'" Lucy finished. We all turned to see tears welling up in her eyes. "Everyone we knew... Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers, and Anna...they're all gone." She whispered. I pursed my lips. 

"I think it's time we found out what's going on." 

****

We changed out of our school uniforms and into our old Narnian clothing. I chose simple leather armor, as did Edmund, while Susan and Lucy changed into some old dresses. I closed the lid to my chest and we headed back out into the open, journeying away from the ruins and further into Narnia. 

Coming to a river bank, I spotted two human soldiers rowing out into the water. In the boat with them, bound and gagged, was a red headed dwarf. I motioned to Susan, who drew her bow back. The soldiers picked up the dwarf, holding him over the water. Susan shot an arrow, sending it directly into the side of the boat. We drew our weapons ran out of the cover of the woods and onto the sandy bank. Susan drew another arrow back. 

"Drop him!" She demanded. The dwarfs eyes widened and he let out a muffled scream as the soldiers dropped him directly into the water. I sprinted forward as one man grabbed hold of his crossbow. He didn't have a chance to load it as Susan had already let another arrow fly, piercing him directly into the chest. The other soldier dove into the water and began to swim away frantically. I tossed my sword to the side and jumped into the river, swimming down to the bottom where the dwarf had sunk to. I grabbed hold of him and pulled him back to the surface, swimming the both of us to shore. Edmund pulled in the boat as Lucy got to her knees and cut the bonds on the dwarfs wrists. He ripped the gag from his mouth.

"'Drop him'?! That's the best you can come up with?" He spat at Susan. 

"A simple thank-you would suffice." She snapped back. 

"They were doing fine drowning me without your help." The dwarf seethed. 

"Maybe we should have let them." I cut in. 

"Why were they trying to kill you anyway?" Lucy asked.  

"They're Telmarines. That's what they do." the dwarf replied.

"Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund asked. 

"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?" The dwarf barked. 

"It's a bit of a long story." Lucy murmured. Susan handed my sword back to me and the dwarf looked closely at it before looking at all four of us. His eyes widened, his mouth hanging open in shock. 

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You're it?" He asked, "You're the kings and queens of old?" We all glanced at each other as the dwarf stared at us. I stepped forward. 

"High King Peter...the Magnificent." I said, holding out my hand. The dwarf didn't move, a look of annoyance passing across his face.

"You probably could have left out the last bit." Susan murmured. 

"Probably." The dwarf chuckled. 

"You might be surprised." I said, drawing out my sword. 

"Oh you don't want to do that, boy." The dwarf threatened. 

"Not me." I said. "Him." I looked to Edmund, who smiled slightly and drew his sword. I passed my sword to the dwarf. The tip dropped into the sand as the dwarf held the hilt tightly with both hands. Edmund nodded to me and took up a stance, planting his feet into the sand. Suddenly, the dwarf ran forward and knocked Edmund's sword away and swung my sword. Edmund ducked and the dwarf hit him in the face. Edmund stumbled back. 

"Edmund!" Lucy called.

"Aww, you alright?" The dwarf taunted. They circled around each other, clashing swords. The dwarf slashed at Edmund's feet, but he jumped over the blade and continued fighting. Their blows got more and more intense as Edmund pushed the dwarf back. Their swords locked together and Edmund swung his sword in a wide circle, sending my sword flying out of the dwarf's grip. He falls to his knees, staring at Edmund. 

"Beards and bedsteads!" He exclaimed, trying to catch his breath. "Maybe that horn worked after all." Susan stepped forward. 

"What horn?"