╔══════════════════╗

WALKING IN THE WIND
v. SKINNY DIPPING BEFORE NOON

╚══════════════════╝

  THEY WALKED IN SILENCE, though the tension between them was unbearably loud.

  Hope was insistent on ignoring the princess as much as she possibly could; however, she had somehow forgotten that Odette was the biggest blabbermouth on the planet. It was probably more difficult defying gravity than it was getting her to shut up. Every time Odette tried to speak, it resulted in more arguing. Over and over and over again, they bickered until Odette eventually realized it'd be in everyone's interests if she just kept her mouth shut.

  The longer they hiked through Narnia, the more Hope questioned the note of advice Edmund once gave her a lifetime ago. She was certain Cair Paravel lied in the most eastern point of the kingdom, but which way was east again? Does the sun rise in the east and set in the west, or does it rise in the west and set in the east? Perhaps it was north? No... south? Oh, who knows! Who cares? Honestly, all Hope wanted to do was lay down and scream for an hour. Or ten.

  Nonetheless, relief greeted her once the ground turned into an ocean of white. Grains of hot sand clustered together, subduing the dirt and grass. They'd arrived at the beach, so that must mean they'd been going in the right direction, after all. Now that they were near the Eastern Seas, locating Cair Paravel shouldn't be too difficult. As much as Hope didn't want to go back, it was their only other option. They were starving, exhausted, and their injuries probably needed further inspection by a professional.

  A narrow cove escorted them toward the bay. An archway made of the earth stretched overhead, providing them with shade. The breeze shot through the opening, bringing chills down Odette's flushed skin. She sighed, weary from this morning's antics. She wasn't used to traveling this long, never mind on foot, with countless injuries, and on an empty stomach. The circumstances were far from ideal, to say the least. But for that moment, Odette allowed herself to relax. Her eyes fell shut as she walked forward, only to loudly gasp when she walked directly into Hope's back.

  "Oof, hey!" Odette groaned, stumbling backward. "Why'd you stop walking?"

  Hope's eyebrows were pinched together as she pointed to something in the sand. "Look."

  Littered across the sand were crumbled up articles of clothing. They were tossed aside carelessly, falling in such a way that they created a direct pathway to the shoreline. Footprints were stamped in the sand, too. Odette only stared at the ground for a few seconds before irritably asking, "You stopped walking because of some clothes?"

  Hope rolled her eyes. "Look at them. What Narnian or Wysterian would wear that?" she emphasized. "They look like they're from London."

  She was right. The clothes looked like something she'd find in an advertisement for school uniforms. There were shoes, socks, a navy newsboy cap, and even a scarf with some sort of logo embroidered into it.

  "Ohh..." Odette nodded. "But... who else would be in Narnia that just arrived from London beside us? The driver?"

  "Yes, Ode, the driver magically disappeared, ended up on the beach, and decided to go skinny dipping before noon."

  "I was joking," Odette grumbled. "Well, there's no use standing here talking about it. Might as well see who's waiting for us." Nonetheless, her nose crinkled with dismay as she thought about their cranky driver splashing away in the water, butt-naked. "...Maybe they can help us out?"

  Hope didn't have any better ideas, so she shrugged and continued to lead them onward. Sea-salt was abundant in the air, stinging their noses and their eyes. The roar of the ocean echoed against the cove's walls and lapped at the soft sand. The waves were gentle, tamed. The sun was brighter than either girl was used to. Back home, in Wysteria or London, the sun never shined so intensely. It greeted them with a blistering kiss on their cheeks.

  As they followed the trail of clothes, Hope's nerves made her stomach churn (that, or she was facing the repercussions of skipping breakfast). She wondered if whoever they were about to encounter would immediately arrest her for her crimes against the royal families. Adrenaline began to rush through her again. Her heart pounded in her ears at the same volume as the Eastern Seas.

  Her nerves quickly dissipated, however, once they saw that the beach was empty. Like the taxi earlier that morning, not a soul could be found. Even the skies were cleared. There were clouds, sure, but they were more like moles than freckles on its face. There was only sand, the ocean, and two extremely puzzled girls.

  "I... guess they must've left?" Hope suggested, except her words sounded more like a question than a certain statement. She turned aimlessly, searching for any sign of life, but it was futile. The beach was vacant.

  Suddenly, Odette asked, "Do you see that?"

  Hope peered back at the blonde as she pointed toward the sky. Rising toward the heavens was a massive hill, acting as a throne for what sat upon it. There was a destroyed building of some sort, which seemed to have been weathered and eroded by the elements. It looked like an ancient castle or something you'd find in the pages of a storybook.

  "Did you know there were ruins in Narnia?" wondered Odette.

  "Mm, can't say I did," Hope replied. "Unless..."

  "Unless?"

  "Unless we're not in Narnia."

  "What do you mean?"

  Still staring up at the ruin, Hope proposed, "I mean, what if we're in Wysteria? It's been a while since we've been there, you know? And I can't think of anywhere else that'd have ruins like that. Can't be Calormen. It's all desert there. And Archenland's supposed to have a bunch of mountains."

  But Odette shook her head. Her lower lip was jutted out as she contemplated it. "But it's always cloudy in Wysteria, and the beach is never this calm," she countered, motioning to the water. "I'm fairly certain this is Narnia, though it doesn't feel like it."

  "Huh?"

  "What, you haven't noticed it?" Odette asked, surprised. "It... I don't know, it feels different. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

  "No, I haven't. I've been too busy being mad at you," Hope bluntly said. Before Odette could reply, she suggested, "Well, why don't we go check it out? It's not like there's anything interesting here. Maybe we can, like, scavenge the place for supplies or something."

  Odette didn't understand. "Scavenge? Supplies?"

  "Well, when you're lost in the middle of nowhere, you have to figure out how to survive until you get help," Hope impatiently explained.

  "And you know how to do that?"

  Hope paused. "Why'd you say it like that?"

  "Well, you've lived in a castle just as long as I have," Odette replied. "I wasn't expecting you to know what to do if I'm being honest."

  "Oh, now you think it's a good time to be honest," Hope retorted before deciding to move forward. "I've read stories about characters getting stuck in these kinds of situations. We just need to find shelter, food, and water."

  Odette raised an eyebrow, half-impressed. "I didn't realize those silly books of yours would ever prove to be useful," she muttered, following after her.

  Though they didn't leave before either girl had a moment to think about drowning the other in the Eastern Seas.

  This was going to be a very, very long and terrible trip.

○ ○ ○

  "I can't believe this is how I'm spending my day off," whined Odette. "If only we'd walked to the market instead of taking that taxi... I'm starving!"

  Hope felt her eye twitch. "I'm sure you can find a worm to eat if you're that desperate," she suggested as they climbed further up the hill, reaching the top. They had arrived at the ruins much sooner than she was anticipated.

  Odette cringed. "That's disgusting! I'm not eating a worm!"

  "Oh, so you're not as hungry as you say you are," Hope remarked, her eyes landing on an apple orchard in their path. She plucked one of the red fruits and attempted to clean it by rubbing it on her shirt. "Here, princess." She passed it to Odette, except she didn't do so without licking it just to annoy her.

  "Very mature," Odette jeered. She took the apple and bit into it to show that she wasn't grossed out by the act. When Hope turned again, she spat out the contaminated chunk before munching on the rest of it.

  The ruins were much bigger than either girl thought they would be when they saw them from the ground level. They took up the entire hilltop; however, despite this, there wasn't much to see. Ragged and damaged pieces of cobblestone were scattered across the ground. Bushes, dirt, and sand that'd been carried upward by the wind replaced what should've been the floor. What used to be columns were demolished. Long pieces of ivy wrapped over and around them, binding them in place. Every piece of granite that should've been part of a wall was nothing more than a pitiful survivor of whatever happened on these grounds.

  "Geez," Odette muttered. She pressed her hand against one of the many thick tree trunks that had grown through the wreckage. They invaded the ruins, and soon, they would swallow them until there wasn't a hint of evidence that these ruins ever existed. "You think someone pissed off Mother Nature?"

  "I feel bad for whoever must've lived here. It must've been beautiful," Hope empathized. She wandered ahead, having to project her voice a bit. She gazed out at the world from where she stood. She had a perfect view of the beach and the cove where the clothes from before still laid. She wondered who they belonged to.

  Hope glanced to her left, spotting what remained of a staircase. Weeds and grass sprouted through the cracks. Something about these ruins was hauntingly beautiful. It was something straight out of a dream.

  Theories shot through her mind of all the things that could've happened to this castle. Well, she was assuming this was once a castle. It was too large to be anything else. She pondered what could've happened to this place, though nothing she thought of made enough sense.

  If Odette said anything else to Hope, she didn't hear it. They must've gotten separated, though Hope wasn't concerned. She knew it was impossible to entirely escape the princess. For now, she would wander until she found something they could use to get them through their journey. But Hope had an unfortunate feeling there wouldn't be much for them to take. This place was a wasteland. It didn't hurt to keep looking though. The flame of hope burned faintly within her. It was small, but it was enough.

  "Hey, Odette!" Hope called as she turned past a corner of a tall pile of debris. "Make sure you keep an eye out for—WOAH!"

  She gasped as she immediately walked into a person.

  Yes, you read that right. A person.

  Hope braced herself to fall onto the ground, simultaneously anticipating another raging headache that would come with it; however, it never came. Seconds ticked by, and alas, she remained upright, only the difference was that the person she walked into had caught her before she fell. The person gripped her arms tightly, most likely out of surprise, as she kept her eyes squeezed shut.

  "Oh my God," Hope mumbled. "Holy shit, that was really scary."

  "...Hope?"

  She faltered. She prayed that whoever seemed to have recognized her was an old friend, preferably a servant rather than a knight. "Uh... yes?" she squeaked. "I'm kind of... kind of having a moment, hold on."

  "Are you... actually here right now?" the stranger asked. He sounded puzzled and somehow even a bit more startled than she was.

  Finally, Hope opened her eyes, finding a pair of familiar brown eyes staring back at her. They belonged to a boy with a pale, freckled face, cheeks tinged red from the sun, and messy raven hair. She sharply gasped. She knew exactly who this was, and despite her heart skipping a beat, dread consumed her.

  "Edmund?"

  Of course, of all the people to run into, Hope had to run into Edmund Pevensie, the Just King of Narnia. It hadn't fully hit her that it'd been a year since she last saw him until then, and it was only because of how surprised he was to see her. His grip on her arms tightened.

  Then again, it certainly didn't feel like a year had passed. Edmund looked almost exactly the same. His black hair was fluffy and messy, and his eyes were still warm and filled with something she could never quite put her finger on. He was a bit taller than she remembered him being, and there was a new scar on his face just beneath his eyebrow. But somehow, he looked a bit younger, not to mention he was dressed in clothes he didn't usually wear as a Narnian King, and for someone who was always cool and collected, he looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

  "Hope?"

  "Y-You said that already," she nervously stammered. She cleared her throat. "Uh, good to see you! It's... It's been a while, huh!"

  Edmund wasn't budging. Eyebrows pinched together, he continued to tightly grip her arms, almost as though he was afraid she wasn't really there. "Are... Are you real?"

  Hope stared at him, dumbfounded. "...Are you real?" she fired back. "You're the one that just came out of nowhere! What are you doing here anyway?"

  "I could ask you the same thing," Edmund argued. Finally, he released her arms and took her face in his hands, running his thumbs over the long cuts on her cheeks. "What the hell happened to you?"

  Sighing, she said, "It's a long story—"

  "No, where have you been?" Edmund demanded. "How do you still look so... young?"

  She was a bit concerned by his question. It had only been a year, after all. Then again, Edmund was unaware of the gritty details concerning her disappearance and how she ended up in London for a year with his fianceé. She supposed this kind of reaction was warranted and even expected.

  "EDMUND?" a new voice shouted. "WHERE'D YOU GO?"

  Ignoring the voice, Hope asked, "Young? It's only been a year! Did you expect me to be old and gray or something?"

  Edmund shook his head. "You've been missing for over a decade!"

  "Hold on, what? What are you talking about?" she quickly demanded, taking a step back and pushing his hands away.

  "HOPE?" Odette beckoned in the distance. "WHY'D YOU SCREAM? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

  Edmund's gaze flickered from Hope's to the direction Odette's voice came from. "Is that—?" he started.

  "There you are!" the same voice from earlier called. This time, it was closer, and it came from behind Edmund. "What were—?" Hope and Edmund turned to find Susan Pevensie standing before them with Peter and Lucy by her side. The Gentle Queen faltered. "—you... doing?"

  Susan, like every time Hope had seen her, donned a furrowed brow and a heavy pout. Her hair was shorter than it used to be. It didn't touch the ground as it once did, but it was still rather long regardless. There was an unsettling expression of shock on her face, except Hope was too busy trying to process the fact that she was standing before the High Kings and Queens of Narnia alone.

  Peter stepped forward. He hadn't changed much either. He stood tall with that usual intimidating stance of glorious purpose, though she noticed that his hair was shorter and he no longer had any facial hair. "Hope?" he said.

  Finally, Odette went walking around the corner. "There you are!" she greeted. She suddenly halted when she saw Edmund, then Susan, then Peter, then Lucy. "Oh! Oh... Shit."

  "Odette?" greeted a very mystified Lucy. She was a bit smaller than Hope remembered her being, but her cheeks were still rosy and her bright eyes were filled with boundless curiosity.

  The Pevensies hadn't changed much in the last year, give or take a few changes to their hair and physique. Yet somehow, they seemed different. Everything about them looked the same, but they weren't as familiar as they once were. It was like they were the same, but in a different way.

  Hope took in a sharp breath. "Right. Now that everyone's had a chance to dramatically shout someone's name, can someone please tell me what's going on?"

  Odette glanced between the four siblings, vexed. "Er... what are all of you wearing?"

  Indeed, the Pevensies were dressed in odd apparel. Well, odd apparel for Narnians, especially Narnian Kings and Queens. They were dressed in school clothes. The boys wore sweater vests, ties, and button-down shirts that were once tucked into tapered pants. The girls wore white button-downs, too, except Susan wore a knee-length skirt with a red cardigan tied around her waist, and Lucy wore a dress. Each of them was barefoot. It was then when Hope realized the clothes on the beach belonged to them.

  "I could say the same about you," Susan retorted.

  Hope and Odette looked just as out of place as the Pevensies died. They wore casual blouses, pleated skirts, and loafers that'd lost their shine ages ago. Though, with their messy hair and all sorts of injuries layering over their skin, they looked like a trainwreck in comparison to the High Kings and Queens.

  Lucy was more concerned about their wellbeing than anything else. "What happened to you two? Are you alright?"

  Odette seemed to have forgotten about what they looked like because she quickly looked down at herself, trying to figure out what was wrong with her appearance. Meanwhile, Hope casually excused, "Well, we sort of had to jump out of a moving car earlier."

  "A moving car?!" blurted Lucy.

  "It's a long story," Hope insisted. "But can someone tell me why Edmund thinks it's been over a decade since you last saw us?"

  "A decade? That's impossible," Odette declared.

  "It's a long story," Edmund mocked.

  Hope shot him a look. "Good thing I have all the time in the world."

  "Great, then we'll start with where the hell you two went!" Edmund decided. His gaze was intense. "I thought you were dead!"

  Odette was perplexed. "Why would we be dead?"

  "Because you two just disappeared out of nowhere!" Peter exclaimed. "No note, no goodbye, nothing. We looked for you for years! Of course, we thought you were dead!"

  "But... But it's only been a year since we left!" Hope argued. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?!"

  "You first!" Susan shot back, folding her arms over her chest. "Starting with what happened after King David accused you of marrying Edmund!"

  Immediately, Hope choked on her spit. "W-What?" She glanced back at Edmund. "They know?"

  Edmund hesitated. "Everyone knows," he revealed. "I told you, it's been 16 years. The truth came out a long time ago. Time moves differently here than other places."

  "If it's been 16 years, then why do you all look the same, hm? Shouldn't you all be grown-ups?" Odette smugly inquired. She held her chin high, convinced she had said something correct.

  But as the Pevensies and Hope went on to exchange stories, Odette would quickly learn that she didn't know as much as she thought she did.