Chapter Text
It was a regularly damp day, and you had this week’s soggy groceries in your arms. You’d just returned home to the small flat that you shared with your Aunt Blanche, who hadn’t bothered to buy groceries once in the 3 years you’d been living with her. And so, you alone heaved the bags down onto the table and began to cook dinner. You were just enjoying your solitude when you heard quick clicks coming down the hallway, and as your aunt turned the corner she pounced straight for the bags on the table.
She rummaged through them frantically before glaring back up at you. “You’ve forgotten to get my blush, you selfish moron!” As you opened your mouth to respond, she whipped towards the stove. “And what on Earth are you making? I’m going out for dinner tonight.”
You huffed angrily. “And what will I eat?”
“As if I’m meant to bottle feed you every evening. Go back and get my blush now! I need to be ready by eight.” She turned on her heel and marched back down the hall in a frenzy.
You angrily slammed the lid back down on the pot you were cooking with and turned off the stove. As you stepped back into the chilly night you thought of your time on the bay. To avoid the blitz bombers, your mother had moved you both out to the coast, and although you hadn’t been there long you missed it like home. It was on the days that Aunt Blanche was particularly severe that you longed to be back on the sand with the wind in your hair. Your mother remained on the bay with her new husband, who was a sour and incompetent man. Nothing like your father had been. Soon after the ceremony, your mother had you return to Finchley to finish your schooling, promptly leaving you to Blanche.
You paused as you approached the corner shop. Something down the alley caught your eye. Something with a warm, golden shimmer. The type of shimmer that you’d only seen reflected on waves. Except it was coming from a singular point, like someone had used a needle to poke a hole in the world. Against your better judgement, you began down the alley towards it. Your boots echoed hollowly off the bricks and somehow the night’s chill faded away as you got closer, like a miniature sun was warming the alleyway. You squinted through two bags of trash and realized the light was a small golden necklace, with a single blue iridescent pendant reflecting in all directions. You reached down to pick it up, wondering how much you could get for it. Maybe you could pay the fare to visit the bay? Buy new school clothes? Maybe you’d just wear it in front of Aunt Blanche, who could never afford something so nice.
It was as your fingers were clasping around the chain that you knew something was wrong. The bricks under your feet began to shake, and a warm gust of wind pushed you onto your back. Your hair tangled around your head as you tried to push yourself back up, but the ground had become so malleable that you couldn’t get footing. You reached for one of the brick walls to lean on and fell flat on your face as you abruptly realized it was gone. The night’s mist turned warm, and your thick sweater was now damp and suffocating. The bags of trash around you lifted into the air from this alleyway tornado, and you tucked your head down beneath your arms.
Then it was over. The air was hot and still, and you placed your hands on the ground to push yourself up. You gasped in confusion as you looked down at fistfuls of sand. Slowly, you raised your head up, pushing your long hair out of your eyes, and jerked back as you saw the landscape before you. Blue shining ocean spread out for miles, and for one fleeting second you were back on the bay. But something wasn’t right. It had never gotten this hot on the bay, and there were no fishing piers stretching from the coast. You clumsily wrestled your body on the sand to face the opposite direction. Endless trees. Definitely not the bay. And definitely not Finchley.
You weren’t sure how long you’d sat there looking around, but at some point, you spotted the necklace in a tangle on the sand a few feet away. You stood delicately and approached the jewelry like a wild beast. It had brought you here, surely it could take you back. With a shaking hand, you grasped the necklace.
Nothing. The pendant shone back at you mockingly. You threw it back on the sand in fury. This must be a dream, you thought, but the heat around you felt so real. You slipped off your thick sweater and wool tights, leaving you in your white collared shirt and skirt uniform. You must be having some sort of psychotic break, then. Surely due to Blanche. Even a part of you now was thankful to be in this hallucination, away from her. There were only a few months left before you finished your 13th and final year of school, but maybe losing your mind institutes graduating early. And moving out of Blanche’s flat. Dusting the sand off the pendant, you resolutely decided to wear it on the off chance of it transporting you out of this dream. It fell right below the collar of your shirt. Only a few options remained: stay on the shore to try and wake up, or look for someone to help you in this dream world. There were hills and mountains beyond the woods, and after some contemplation you decided that was the direction you must go.
After an hour of walking, the sun had begun to set. Your stomach was protesting since you never had gotten around to eating dinner, and your boots were killing your feet on the sand. The mountains now stretched upwards in front of you, and you decidedly walked into the woods to try and find a path up. You immediately regretted this decision. The forest was covered with oddly stretched shadows and haze. But you continued onwards; you couldn’t just stay on the shore, sweating and starving.
The hollow crack of wood bounced off the trees to your right. You couldn’t shake the feeling of being hunted. Creeping forward silently, you hugged onto the trunk of a large tree. Another crack. Slowly, you turned to peek around the side. There was something that you could only describe as a standing pig, lanky and wearing torn rags, about 20 paces away. The creature began taking long strides towards you, quickly closing the gap. Running as fast as you could, you searched frantically for a clear path out of the forest. Heavy strides sounded behind you. A sharp pain erupted from your side as the creature’s club knocked you onto your back. Its contorted face sneered at you while you scrambled on the ground. In this moment you knew you weren’t dreaming - the blood and pain covering your side was definitely real. Grabbing a large branch off the ground with strength you didn’t know you possessed, you knocked the creature back far enough to give you time to stand. You held the branch, which was about the length of your legs, like a sword. The creature swung wildly at you, and you threw yourself clumsily to your right to avoid it. Swinging as hard as you could, you hit its legs. It fell backwards onto its elbows, and you quickly swung hard enough at its head for it to lay, knocked out and spread eagle, in the dirt.
It was then that you heard the galloping of hooves and swirled around in every direction to try and pinpoint the source. When you couldn’t, you bent down to pick up the creature’s club before running deeper into the forest. Dusk had now fallen, and in the darkness you stumbled over the hazardous roots of a tree, falling forward. You could hear hooves getting louder behind you, and you whipped around and forced yourself back up onto your skinned and bleeding legs. The horse slowed as it approached you, and as you gazed upwards at the rider you were shocked to see the faint outline of knight’s armour. You couldn’t make out a face in the wood’s shadow, and you froze on the spot.
“A Telmarine? This far north?” Said a man’s voice atop the horse. You remained silent, the only sounds being your panting and the snorting of the horse. The knight angled his head suspiciously, glancing at the club you held limply at your side. “Why did you run from a Narnian soldier? Are you in league with the ice witch’s followers?” He unsheathed the sword at his side. You swallowed nervously before speaking.
“I… seem to be lost.” The knight froze when you spoke.
“You’re British.” It wasn’t a question.
“Uhm… yes.”
He was silent for a moment, staring at you in the darkness, before putting his sword back at his side and jumping down. You instinctively held the club out in front of you.
“I’m not going to hurt you, but I have to get you out of here. It’s not safe,” After a moment of staring at his shadowed face you relented, your adrenaline waning and the fear of the forest taking full control of your senses. He bent down to grab your sides and lift you onto the horse, and you gasped sharply at the contact. His gaze trailed down to the blood on your side.
“Shit… you were attacked?” He stared up at you.
You paused before answering, trying to place where you’d seen those eyes before.
“Well, yes… some sort of angry pig. But it’s fine, I’m fine.”
“A goblin,” He cursed to himself angrily, “We’ll get it sorted back at the castle.” He helped you gently onto the saddle, and climbed in front of you while you found your balance. His hands wrapped around the reigns, and you quickly grabbed his waist as you took off deeper into the forest.