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✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩👣Moving Forward👣✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩

"Charlotte," a mellow, mellifluous melody echoed.

Charlotte surveyed her blurred surroundings, which gradually sharpened with concentration. She could make out the familiar shores of Cair Paravel, as she had arrived in Narnia in the first place. Then, her eyes fell on two orphic, familiar figures by the shoreline, hand in hand.

They greeted her back with sweet, saccharine smiles on their faces. The more she concentrated on the mysterious mirages, the more she could make out their faces. Charlotte was awestruck, a wave of euphoria washing over her in a moment of epiphany.

They donned majestic medieval robes with their respective crowns, gazing at her endearingly. She glanced at the lady who reached her arms out. She could not care less if it was a dream, she was staring at the very people she had yearned to meet again.

"Mum... Dad...." A gigantic grin grew on her face, and she took a few steps forward hesitantly.

Steps soon shifted into leaps. Bursting with energy, she broke into a sprint towards them, repeatedly calling out to them.

"I can't believe it!" She leaped into her mother's arms, embracing her tightly.

Her father encased them in his arms, and they all lowered towards the sandy ground. The deafening silence was sufficient to convey her emotions, and her eyes flooded with tears.

"Oh, princess," Queen Audrey sighed, "you've been so strong."

"And very courageous," King Simon added, sounding very assured, "you've made us, and Aslan, proud."

But Charlotte did not feel the same. She glanced up at them with tears, simply shaking her head in shame.

"But bad things have happened, and I don't know what to do. I'm stuck."

"Trust in Aslan, child," King Simon's gentle voice soothed her, "all the answers will continue to unfold. He will never leave you in the dark, as long as you keep moving forward."

"I miss you so much..."

She felt a warm kiss placed on her forehead before her parents rose on their knees. The evanescence of their warmth left her empty, yearning to feel their touch again. Their fingers intertwined before they glanced out at sea.

"Mum, dad?" Charlotte attempted to hold her mother's hand, only for her own hand to suddenly fall right through. "Huh?"

They were just in an embrace moments ago, yet they were completely invisible to her touch. Charlotte stared at them, gradually gaining consciousness of her own dream.

The couple set off towards the shores, much to her horror. She chased them, desperate to bring them back. But with every step Charlotte took, it seemed that they only gained in speed, the gap between them only increasing.

"Wait, no, don't go!" She dropped to her knees amidst the waves, "Mum! Dad! Stay with me!"

They never once glanced back, getting further out of her reach.

"Don't go! I'm stuck! Please, help me!"

"Don't go..." Her awareness slowly stirred her awake from her slumber.

"Careful now!"

"We spent days building these catapults, only takes one imbecile to mess things up!"

"How many arrows do we have?! How come we're short of some?"

Many barking instructions and commands sounded in Charlotte's ears. Every second she was brought back to reality, she noticed an excruciating headache. She lifted her hand with a groan only to gain awareness of her paralysis. She forced movement, then realised her limbs were restrained. Frowning to herself, she glanced down, noticing her limbs bound by ropes.

"Oh," she moaned in agony, surveying her surroundings.

She was moving. Not quite on her own, but on some sort of vehicle of wooden texture. She lifted herself upright, immediately making out a poorly manufactured wooden wheelbarrow. The bumpy rides on the uneven ground shook her from side to side, eventually dragging her back down. A horse pulled on it, also underpinning a soldier on his back.

"What the- Hey! You!" She called out, recognising him from the back, "You're the General."

"Rise and shine, princess."

"Where are you taking me to?" She demanded to know, her eyes darting around every corner.

"We're marching through the forest to the Narnians' hideout."

"General Glozelle! You do not answer to our prisoner!" Miraz's commands bellowed across the troops, before he slowed down on his horse, matching their pace.

The general mumbled something inaudible under his breath. Charlotte raised her eyebrows, picking up on his sour behaviour. She was mildly amused, and unafraid of them, considering they were too cautious to kill her and supposedly seal the prophecy.

"You must get along with your leader," she pointed out dryly.

"I am loyal to whom I serve," his tone was neutral, though poorly effective in concealing his disdain.

"So if Caspian sits on the throne, you'd be loyal to him, wouldn't you?" Charlotte prompted curiously.

"Silence!" Another voice hushed her, and she glanced at an unfamiliar face on a horse riding behind them.

"Pardon me, but, who're you?" She questioned, faintly unimpressed by the sight of him.

Miraz abruptly cackled with laughter.

The shorter man vaguely took umbrage to her question, scoffing in repulsion. In comparison to Miraz, he was short and stout, seeming less in power.

"You know, you're funny," he remarked, "that, back there, is Lord Sopespian, one of the Council members."

"And therefore, I deserve some respect!" Sopespian bellowed, his hot head fuming with flames.

"Oh sorry," she apologised, half dryly and half genuinely, "I never formally met the Council. I mean, I assumed Miraz was the only important figure among the Telmarines."

"Don't take it personally Sopespian," Miraz beamed proudly, "you are a highly ranked member of the Council. But whatever I say goes, making me the most significant member of the Council."

Charlotte remained silent, feeling the temperature rising between the two. Verily, a tyrant like Miraz was unworthy of his own servants. It was only a matter of time before their Telmarine Council crumbled.

"Right, my Lord," Sopespian grumbled under his breath.

✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩

As Caspian sat on the edge of a cliff on the How, overlooking the empty field before him, he pondered to himself. Susan avoided him ever since the incident with the White Witch, which he greatly wish he could undo. He was out of options, perched on the edge without any solution to their predicament.

Remorse consumed his heart, sending him into a depressed state as he reflected on the truth about his father's death. His ears perked as footsteps drew closer, and he sensed Dr Cornelius plopping his bottom beside him. Just the man he needed to see.

Caspian seized the opportunity to break the silence. "Why did you never tell me about my father? All those times I questioned you, and you never told me the truth."

Dr Cornelius glanced at him, following his gaze out on the field. "My mother was a black dwarf, from the northern mountains."

Caspian's ears perked in shock. All this time, even his own professor had been a Narnian and he never knew! The guilt in him heightened at the thought of his professor concealing his identity to live among them and impart knowledge to him, or he would have been sent into exile like the others.

"All these years, I risked my life," the professor continued with a flicker of hope in his tone, "so that one day, you might be a better king than those before you."

"Then I have failed you," Caspian replied glumly.

"Everything I told you, everything that I didn't," the professor explained, "it was only because I believe in you. You have a chance to become the noblest contradiction in history."

"The Telmarine who saved Narnia."

Caspian pursed his lips together.

"It still hurts. My father was murdered, and Miraz got away with it. My father was like the other kings, sitting on the throne while the Narnians were forced into hiding. But he's my father. And I wanted Miraz to pay that night for what he'd done."

"He will be satisfied if you killed him, because then you'd be just like him," Cornelius advised, "ruthless."

Getting up, he added, "Be better than them both."

For a moment, Caspian was in solitude again, reflecting on the professor's words of wisdom. His train of thought was then interrupted again by footsteps. This time, he shifted his gaze to see Edmund emerging from the dark tunnel.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," he quickly apologised, halting in his tracks.

"No, it's okay," Caspian shook his head, gesturing him to come forward. "I was just thinking."

"I was looking for you," Edmund explained, observing the barren field before them.

"What for?"

"Well, I wanted to see how you were doing, after the terrible thing that just occurred."

"Your sister's mad at me," Caspian sighed, "because of it. She refuses to speak to me."

"I don't blame her," Edmund agreed, taking a seat beside him, "it was a reckless thing to do. You were seconds away from unleashing a terrible nightmare."

"I never really learned about the White Witch," Caspian explained with guilt, "she didn't seem so bad, compared to Miraz. She actually seemed nice and promising."

"Oh, on the contrary, she is really bad," Edmund sighed light-heartedly, "she showed you what she wanted you to see, and tempted you using your desire for revenge. The closer you get to her, the deeper you find yourself in a hole. Suddenly, everything seems dark and there's no escape. Only Aslan can pull you out of it."

His jested expression was soon replaced by misery. "I would know."

"I'm really sorry I ever considered it," Caspian shook his head in disappointment, "I wish I could undo it."

"I know you made a mistake," Edmund empathised, "and I'm glad you realised that. She'll come around soon."

Silence overcame the two as they pondered over their conversation. Edmund could sense that the prince beside him was severely overwhelmed with guilt. He knew the emotion all too well.

"Peter told me you didn't stick to the plan."

Caspian refused to meet eyes with him. His forlorn gaze was fixated over the grass. His chest rose and fell deeply at a steady rate as if trying to recollect himself.

"What happened?" Edmund prompted, sounding more gentle this time.

"When I went to rescue my professor, he warned me about Miraz, telling me that my father suffered a terrible fate."

"I... I had to know the truth," pain and despair lingered in his voice, "So I went and confronted Miraz. I needed to seek answers, how he died. I found out that.. Miraz... He's the reason.."

He trailed off, leaving Edmund hanging to piece the puzzle together.

Edmund pressed his lips into a thin line and furrowed his eyebrows together. He saw in Caspian the same desperation and despair he saw in her. She, too, wanted to know about her parents when they bonded by the lake. The desperation in her voice was clear.

"Charlotte would forgive you," Edmund spoke, gaining the prince's attention, "you didn't stick to the plan. But you needed answers. Aslan let you do that, otherwise he'd already have come to our rescue."

"She'd understand that too," he elaborated, "She's lost her parents too."

"I know," Caspian sighed, "but now we've lost her to them."

They sat in silence. A minute passed as Edmund recollected his thoughts.

"You know, our troops were saved," he spoke in an attempt to shed a positive light, "if it weren't for her, we would have lost half of our troops."

"I was so frightened to let her join us in battle," he added, "and I was upset to know she'd gone back in. I'm only grateful that she's alive, but who knows for how long that might be?"

His head sunk slowly, "I just wish there was another way. I miss her."

"We all made mistakes some way or another," Caspian nodded, "and she paid the price."

"We'll just have to learn from them and do better," Edmund suggested, "we can rescue her this time if we listened to each other more and strengthened our faith."

"Edmund," Caspian called, his eyes locked onto the field.

"No, I'm sure Peter will listen," Edmund continued, "We can get her back, and reclaim Narnia in a second battle."

"Edmund," Caspian insisted, a little louder this time, gesturing towards the forest.

Edmund's gaze followed his finger, his eyes landing on Telmarine soldiers marching at the end of the fortress, across the empty battlefield. Their army slowly emerged in large formations, their numbers evidently gigantic in comparison to the Narnian troops in hiding. Edmund gulped in fear, turning to the Telmarine prince.

"I'll get Peter."

*****A/N: OMG IT'S BEEN SO LONG!!! Thank you dear reader for sticking with me up to this point, I genuinely appreciate you and am glad that this story appeals to you! ❤️

I've been committed to other areas in my life, my family, friends, etc, hence the inactivity for a while. But I swear I'm working on the story's ending. It's just slow updates from here to the end, so please bear with me!

Feel free to vote and comment if you enjoy this story so far!! It would mean so much to me ☺️❤️