26

A REUNION BUILT FOR A KING

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It was at the crack of dawn that the army scattered from the safety of the clearing, the embers of the morning sun beaming down upon them as they started their journey. It was uneventful to begin with, nothing but light chatter stringing up the line of the dispersed soldiers as they stalked through the Narnian woods. Stories of battle, years of hiding and their hopes for freedom seemed to be the most common topics.

Caspian had been towards the head of the group upon Alex's orders, it was vital to their troops that they saw him as a powerful leader. In contrast, Alexandra stayed right at the back to secure the safety of them from behind. She travelled slowly at the back with Reepicheep directly at her side, them both engaging in detailed discussion of battle triumphs and losses or their strategies.

At the front of the formation, a lone minotaur caused much more noise that anticipated - just enough to wake a sleeping royal or two. Queen Lucy emerged from behind a boulder just as her oldest brother, the Magnificent King Peter, covered her mouth with his hand to drag her back behind the coverage.

Peter drew his sword and prepared to defend himself over the minotaur that he assumed to be as wild as the bear that had attacked his youngest sibling on the beach merely a day ago. Within the hours the Pevensie monarchs had been back in Narnia, they had found that the land had changed much more than any of them initially thought. Castles had become ruins, animals reverting back to their primal states but more importantly the thought that they had lost yet another friend - Alexandra Dawson.

All four of the royals had been led to believe that their closest friend and fallen alongside Cair Paravel. The resting body of the girl had been kept within the walls of the castle which is why it only made sense that their thoughts were swamped and plagued with mourning.

But as Peter unleashed the silver blade of his sword, it was met with a cry and slash from Prince Caspian as he retaliated to protect his new army. The two royals partaking in a short lived fight without knowing who they were indeed trying to harm. The grunts of pain and slashes of the swords echoed all throughout the forest invoking fear.

"What-" Alex muttered as the noise filled her ears, her thoughts immediately assuming the worst. What if Miraz had decided to strike early and take out their forces before they got too large? But then again, Alexandra had heard a battlefield and this didn't sound like a planned attack. Miraz would have brought at least a hundred or maybe even two hundred soldiers for an ambush in a forest, but the ground was not shaking with their march.

Before she knew it, the girl was sprinting through the woods with her silver axe in one hand with her skirts from her gown in the other; mentally cursing Susan for dressing her in such a way. But it wasn't long until she reached the scene of the fight, even with the nuisance of her dress.

But nothing could have prepared her for what she saw with her own eyes.

"Prince Caspian?" his soft voice asked to the boy in front of him, it was exactly how she remembered it. Soft yet harsh enough when called for. The two words managed to send a weightless shiver down her spine - igniting each hair on her back.

"Yes. And you are?" Caspian replied as he held Peter's sword in his hand, completely ignorant and oblivious to what was right in front of him.

A soft gasp ripped through the stiffness in the air. Everyone's attention was drawn to Queen Lucy who stared in shock behind the two boys and towards one of her closest friends. To many, Alexandra was the Crimson Knight or Alex if they knew her well enough. Yet to Lucy, the Dawson girl was Lexi - the girl who would listen to many but fought those who needed it. Her idol.

Nobody knew how Peter would react to seeing Alex after sixteen years - both the time they had spent in Narnia and in their home in England. But more importantly, how she would react to seeing him.

No one besides Alexandra knew what she had seen during the 1302 years of her slumber; all the pain and suffering she would face constantly. Though many assumed that it was just as quick as blinking for her, it wasn't. Every day was worse than the one before.

"Alex?" Peter whispered out as the tears started to fill his sibling's eyes, even a few gathered under his own lashes. He quickly realised that the girl in front of his barely processed what was going on, she didn't make a move to run towards him as he had so frequently dreamed of. He had seen the state of shock well enough in the battle field that was England.

Behind him, Lucy made a move to run to the girl only for Edmund to block her path with his arm so that Alexandra and Peter could reunite in peace; knowing that his older brother needed this more than anything. But Peter couldn't take it anymore, he refused to stand and watch the girl continue to stare in shock at him so he decided to run to her instead.

Oh how he yearned to feel her warmth in his arms and smell the soft glint of lavender in her white hair. And as soon as her presence was wrapped in his arms, he felt complete; much how she felt when she was wearing armour or holding her axe. This very moment had caused much anticipation and hope within his dreams, each second was leading to their reunion if there ever was one.

With a heavy hesitation, Alexandra enveloped his body within her own arms. She would have felt happier if she didn't know what was going to happen next.

Lucy had waited long enough, she waited until the two bodies pulled apart before shoving Edmund's arm away from her and practically attacking the girl and pushing her over. Alex managed to stay standing and pulled Lucy's body up so she could wrap her legs around Alex's waist. Lucy looked exactly how Alex remembered her; sweet and innocent.

"Oh, I missed you so much, Lexi," she sobbed into the white hair as Alex just stared at the sight of what was behind Lucy. Susan and Edmund held back their grins and tears but Peter... That was something else.

There was no denying that her cheeks felt hot and flushed when he was around, butterflies swarming in her stomach when he looked up at her. But when she felt his touch... It was as if her whole body felt like gunpowder igniting and sending sparks up her muscles and nerve endings. He was the fire she she craved, the air that her lungs needed. He was the one to put the puzzle of her life together. He was pure desire and captivation.

"I missed you too, Lucy. You've gotten taller and even more beautiful than I last saw you," she remarked and let her stand up once more as she welcomed the last two Pevensie children. Susan went first, not able to hold herself back anymore as she pulled Alex into a hug and uttered words into her ear to express how much she truly missed the girl.

"Alex- I don't even know- I've missed you. More than you could ever imagine. I'm so happy. oh, we have catch up! We can train like we used to. I don't even know where to begin-" Susan had whispered, her mouth barely able to keep up with all her thoughts.

Then it was Edmund, he had been the one to hold onto her the tightest to make sure that she wouldn't leave again. He had spent a year paying the price of her fate in the form of restless nights and almost no appetite. But to hold her now, it meant that the pain of the last 365 days had been for nothing - for she was here, and she was breathing.

"Wow, you all look so... different," she laughed and backed up once more to look at the four siblings, Peter still staring at her as if something was wrong. He was the only one to pick up on the way she was almost afraid of their arrival and what it meant.

"Yet you haven't aged a minute. How old are you now? We should start calling you a relic and not a warrior," Edmund smirked playfully, his old self coming back in a matter of seconds. What a sight it was to his siblings who watched him wallow in self pity.

"High King Peter," Caspian muttered out in disbelief of meeting not one but five of the fable figures of his childhood. He even had the famous sword of the royal within his own palm - one that he would have to admit had grown rather clammy in embarrassment.

"I believe you called," his voice was just as sassy and flippant as she had remembered. The only one to notice how his blue eyes shifted between Alex and Caspian but more importantly how closely they stood to each other. How his feet seemed to point her way; this was something he had heard the girls in his school talk about. That when a boy would like a girl, he would point his body towards them.

"Well, yes, but I thought you'd be... older."

Peter's smirk was back on his lips, "Well, if you'd like, we could come back in a few years?"

"No. That's all right. You're just- You're just not exactly what I had expected," his eyes wondered to Alex once more to see that she had an arm hanging around Edmund as she rubbed a fist over his onyx hair playfully, "None of you."

Edmund pushed her hand away from his hair that had become knotted, "Neither are you."

It was silent once more until the wise words of Trufflehunter ripped through the stiffness, "A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes."

"We have anxiously waited your return, my liege," this time the words came from Reepicheep who looked as of his tiny heart could go into shock at any second from meeting more of the warriors he idolised with a little bow, "Our hearts and swords are at your service."

Alex could make out the faint whisper from Lucy to her older sister, a wide grin almost making it to her pale lips, "Oh, my gosh, he is so cute."

No one could have predicted out the Narnian would react, his sword thrashing around threateningly to find the source of the compliment that he had not been fond of. "Who said that?"

"Sorry," Queen Lucy looked down though she couldn't quite hide a tiny smile.

"Oh, uh. Your majesty, with the greatest respect, I do believe 'courageous', 'courteous' or 'chivalrous' might more befit a Knight of Narnia."

"Well, it's nice to know that some of you know how to wield a blade," Peter remarked, the slight jab at Caspian was evident in his voice regardless of how much he tried to cover it up.

In all her time spent with Peter, he had never been jealous. Not once. That was a surprise to her. Had something happened during his time in England that caused him to be this way? Why was he acting to different all of a sudden? Alex wasn't sure if she liked this new Peter or the way he was acting.

"Yes, indeed," Reepicheep would have blushed if he was capable of doing so, "And I have recently put it to good use securing weapons for your army, sire."

"Good. Because we are going to need every sword we can get," Peter turned to face Caspian once more, the hint of jealousy burning like a forest fire behind the sea of blue that were his eyes.

Caspian offered the blade back to the owner with no smile or tell of emotion, "Well, then you will probably be wanting yours back."

Peter shiethed the sword without a word and turned to start the journey with the rets of the army, not even sparing his siblings, Caspian nor Alex a final glance as he did so. His actions hurt more than he intended to, leaving Alex a mess behind him.

Caspian and Susan were the only two to spare her a worried glance but they couldn't quite see through the walls that had been built within a matter of seconds. The warrior turned with her axe and walked beside Lucy with an arm draped over her shoulder, "So, tell me little P, what did I miss?"

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Sorry not sorry