Chapter Fifteen: Return of the Aslan

//Tell me who you think you see
When you look into my eyes//

They all returned to the How, with Aslan, there were just so countless things to do there. Collect the wounded – treat all that they could with Lucy’s cordial – and others that had been left behind, round up the weapons, bury the dead – both sides – and so on. After many of the responsibilities had been assigned and/or completed, the Pevensies and Caspian wanted to show Aslan what had happened using their battle map and Buffy took a well deserved and necessary break from them.

Her slayer senses were still prickling and not in the way they frequently did. Aslan was causing a not precisely pleasurable sensation within her. He was not evil, but he radiated such power and presence that it was excruciating for her to be near him for too long.

She sat down on the stone table and relaxed; she knew that she would be Aslan free there as it was the one room he had requested they not show him. The sensation was endurable now that she was farther away from him and she momentarily wondered what kind of creature he was to have provoked such a tremendous reaction.

“So this is where you’re hiding?”

Buffy looked up and spotted Trumpkin lurking in the doorway. She smiled at him, “I’m not hiding… exactly.”

“Don’t you like Aslan?”

“What’s not to like…”

“So?” he pushed.

“He affects me,” she admitted grudgingly.

The dwarf walked over towards her, “What do you mean?”

“As a slayer – I sense things - Vampires, demons, danger… things like that. Not one being in Narnia has triggered it, but Aslan…”

“You can feel him?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It’s a painful thing.”

He sat down next to her, “Oh well… maybe he’ll just bugger off again.”

“Somehow I doubt it.”

When night finally fell, she could no longer hide from view – not because she didn’t want to, but because Trumpkin was blackmailing her. The Narnians were throwing a triumph celebration and everyone was supposed to be present at it, or in the dwarf’s words ‘If I have to go, you do… or do you want me to tell the High King and Aslan where you’re hiding?’

She wandered outside and was flabbergasted by the sight in front of her. The battlefield seemed to be lit up, there was music playing and people dancing – including Susan and Caspian, as well as Lucy and a discontented blackmailer called Trumpkin. The outstanding food stocks had been used up to create a feast and all in attendance seemed to be having a good time.

Pushing past the distressing feeling in her gut, she moved into the crowd of merrymakers. Over to one side she saw that Peter and Edmund were engaged, stood in conversation with Aslan. She was happy to have the opportunity to avoid two out of the three of them and walked off in the opposite direction.

Over the next couple of hours, she ate, she danced and she had a convincingly excellent time. Until Reepicheep cornered her and went into remarkable detail about his new tail and the great wonder that was Aslan. She had ultimately escaped the mouse’s clutches, when she found herself grabbed from behind and whirled into Peter’s arms.

“If I didn’t know any better… I’d say that you have been avoiding me,” he said with a smile.

“Really? You – uh – haven’t been talking to Trumpkin, have you?”

“No... Why?”

“No reason,” she replied.

“So… do you want to dance or go for a walk?” Peter asked her. “I believe that we have something to discuss…”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders, “Discuss?”

“No, you don’t. I survived and now you have to tell me the truth… You agreed.”

“Yes, but at the time I kind of thought one of us wouldn’t be here to discuss it.”

“Tough,” he answered staring into her eyes. “Make your choice.”

She sighed, “If it’s not too dark out… a walk might be nice.”

He let her go and vanished for a minute or two, when he returned he held a torch in one hand. With his free one, he grabbed hold of her hand and they set off, away from the party goers. They walked in stillness for quite some time before Peter in due course spoke.

“So… are you going to tell me?”

“Peter…”

“Yes or no, Buffy. Do you love me?”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “No.”

“Look me in the eye when you say that,” he demanded.

She looked in his eyes and went to speak, at the last minute her eyes darted away from his, “I don’t love you.”

“You’re lying,” he told her. “I told you I could tell when you were. Why are you lying to me?”

“Because it doesn’t matter anymore. Aslan is here and we will all be going home and never see each other again. Why is it so damn important to know?”

Peter threw down the torch, sending them into darkness and grabbed her by her arms, wanting to shake some sense into her. “Maybe I don’t want to live my entire life wondering what might have been. If you did love me or were simply trying to distract me? If you were the love of my life or some catastrophe I was lucky to escape? If my feelings were real and were returned…”

“Pete…”

He pushed her away, “Just leave me be.”

As he walked away she grew angry, he got to have his say and bellow at her, well now it was her turn. She stalked up to him and swivelled him around so that he faced her once more. “Where do you get off? It’s not always about you or how you feel… Other people have feelings too and they are real and scary. You have no right to just demand answers and… and…” She sank down her knees and tears started to fall. “You were right. Just go away and leave me be.”

He knelt down nest to her, “Buffy… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed…”

She sniffled and looked at him, “I do love you. It’s real and it scares me to death. I fought so hard against it… it just cannot be.”

“You don’t know that. Last time we were here, we got to stay until we were adults…”

“And you eventually still had to go home. If we were given that chance… had a life… a family... Wouldn’t it just be worse than if we parted now?”

“I don’t want to lose you or what we have.”

“I don’t either.”

He pulled her into his arms, “We can work this out… I could look for you in the future.”

She looked at him incredulously, “Oh, my mom would love that. A man in his seventies trying to date her seventeen year old daughter…”

“I guess that wasn’t my best idea,” he admitted ruefully.

“Why does this have to be so hard? What could possibly be the great benefit to having this feeling only to have to lose it in the end?” she asked.

He looked into her green eyes and kissed her as though he was trying to make the pain and the circumstances just fade away. When they in the end broke apart, he rested his forehead against her own as they both attempted to regain control of their uncontrolled emotions.

They sat together for a while and in the end Peter suggested, “We should go back.”

“I guess they’ll be waiting for us.”

He let go and stood up, once he was ready he helped her up to her feet and they walked back to the How, hand-in-hand. When they were almost there he asked her, “Sleep with me?”

“Excuse me?”

Even in the darkness of night you could see Peter’s blush, “I mean... sleep next to me. Just sleep…”

“Okay.”

When they arrived back the social gathering was still in full-swing, except for one individual, Lucy. She was fast asleep in close proximity to one of the food tables. Buffy watched as Peter tenderly scooped her up and carried her inside the How.

She followed him to the vicinity that he and his siblings had been using to sleep and laid Lucy down. He found himself a spot, lying down and then patted the unfilled space next to him, to which she went willingly. Once she had lain down with him, Peter pulled her into his arms and rested her head upon his chest where they without delay fell asleep.

Waking up in the early hours of the next morning, she found herself still in the identical position she had fallen asleep in and so she just lay there listening to the beating of Peter’s heart and thinking about how radically different he was from the previous male she’d had feelings for – and not just the whole vampire thing or the dissimilarity in looks. Angel was never one to really divulge his feelings, keeping them locked up so he could brood over them and Peter… well, he just couldn’t suppress or most of the time keep under control his.

She would have simply continued to lay there if it had not been for the giggling. Opening one eye, she could see that Lucy was standing over them with a rather large smile plastered across her face. “Good morning, Lu. Sleep well?”

“Obviously not as good as you…” Lucy replied. “Su is till asleep and so are Caspian and Ed.”

Buffy tried to move and found herself thoroughly held in place. So she spent the next few minutes endeavouring to wheedle out from his hold. “He sure has on heck of a grip.”

“Once Peter has a hold of something, he doesn’t let go. When I was little he had this old teddy bear and I wanted it. He just held on tight and wouldn’t give it to me.”

“You got it in the end, Lu,” Peter’s voice drifted up. “Now go away and disturb someone else.”

“I hate brothers,” Lucy announced but did as he had asked.

“You were rude,” Buffy told him.

Peter smiled at her, “So were you… trying to sneak away while I was asleep.”

“Sorry, I don’t exactly know the manners for waking up with someone.”

“Sneaking isn’t part of it,” he assured her.

“Please tell me that you two still aren’t at it,” Edmund’s sleepy voice drifted over. “I don’t want to be sick before breakfast.”

“We’re not doing anything, Ed,” they chorused.

Edmund sat up and stared at them, “Now you are speaking as one… Help! The world as we know it is ending.”

“It’s times like these I wish I were an only child,” Peter mumbled.

“Luckily for me… I am an only child.”

Unenthusiastically they broke apart and got up, leaving to join Lucy for breakfast – and were soon followed by Edmund and his hollow stomach. Buffy had to admit she was most impressed when Peter managed to take no notice of – for the most part, there was some clenching of teeth – that Susan and Caspian had fallen asleep holding hands.

They ate the leftovers from the feast for breakfast with the Narnians that were up and about and most of the conversation centred on the events of the celebration. Buffy noticed that a particular lion was yet to show his face, but refused to be anxious about what that might mean for all involved.

Peter went an intense pink – an amalgamation of fury and mortification – as Susan and Caspian joined them, still holding hands, at the end of the meal. Buffy took hold of his hand in a gesture of support, but at Lucy’s silly laugh she dropped it again and rolled her eyes at the young girl.

Caspian, Peter and Edmund brought up to date the others of what they had discussed with Aslan the previous day about returning to the Telmarine castle. It was agreed upon by nearly everyone that it was good proposition and that as soon as was achievable they – together as a group – would make their way there.

The Narnians and the others had concluded their responsibilities by the first part of afternoon and so Caspian led everyone towards his new castle. When they at long last arrived it was just after nightfall and looking at the daunting structure it brought back some excruciating memories of the night raid and lost friends.

They were welcomed at the entrance gateway and led up to the castle. As they were allocated rooms, Buffy noticed that whoever had chosen where to put people had the females down one end and the males down the other – which she thought was humorous, although certain other people did not.

Her room was pleasant – considering what the outside of the place looked like – and contained all the essential furniture, like a double bed. A few moments later a woman strode in took some measurements and left, perplexing Buffy until a few minutes after that a maid came in with a few night dresses and a selection of gowns which were hung up. Thanking her, she changed into one of the night dresses, climbed into bed and promptly fell asleep.

End Part

Lyrics:

LeAnn Rimes/Bon Jovi – Til We Ain’t Strangers Anymore