✲⋅*♚ ,∴°

𝕭𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐈: 𝖂𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝖂𝐀𝐑

𝕮𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝕿𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞: spring

ASHARA HISSED IN PAIN WHEN THE cloth touched the claw marks on her upper arm. She bit her lip as the stinging sensation crawled like a flame through her arm. After holding it there for a moment though, the cold water brought relief to her heated skin. A shaky breath escaped her lips as she forced her body to relax. The wound wasn't all that deep, but it still needed to be kept clean. If it got infected she'd be in for even more pain.

To distract herself from the sting in her arm, she turned her eyes to the trees surrounding the little stream she was seated beside. The change that the coming of the Kings and Queens had brought was on full display now. The snow was melting at a rate that could only have been due to magic. Little patches of green grass appeared from underneath the white blanket. Small flowers were blooming on the branches of the blossom trees. Even the breeze seemed to carry more warmth than a day ago.

Slowly, piece by piece, her beloved home was returning to her and she couldn't help but greet it with a smile. Besides, the coming of spring wasn't the only thing that was changing. She could feel balance returning to the Deep Magic.

After such a long period of overwhelming dark magic, even the littlest piece of light felt as though being warmed by a thousand suns. Her magic had never felt this...lively before. It was writhing beneath her skin, begging to be set free and establish the balance it was created for. Though she knew there was going to have to be a lot of hard work done before the balance would truly return to Narnia.

To begin the White Witch would have to be defeated, which was impossible to do without all four of the Pevensies. And they were still missing one...

The three humans she had managed to keep safe were currently resting in a clearing between the trees a few paces behind her. Crossing the river had taken a lot out of all of them and Ashara had insisted they should rest before continuing the last few miles to Aslan's camp. They were close now and the river would delay the wolves for some time.

Besides, it gave her the chance to take care of her wound. No matter how tired she was, she couldn't give into sleep. Despite knowing Maugrim's pack would not bother them for a while, she still didn't trust the world to be peaceful enough for her to close her eyes. The Witch had more creatures loyal to her than the pack of wolves. They had almost been slaughtered on the river and she refused to let something happen to the Pevensies when they were so close to safety...

She knew she was on her last legs. It'd been at least two days since she last slept and her dive into the stone cold water certainly hadn't helped. The energy it had taken to summon the golden light within her, while also trying not to drown, was like lead had been poured into her veins, weighing her down. She imagined the bags beneath her eyes were as dark as the night sky.

But still she couldn't sleep. And it seemed like she wasn't the only one.

Soft footsteps made her turn around to watch as Peter Pevensie made his way over to her. He offered her a tentative smile. "I could keep watch if you want. You look like you could use some rest."

She returned his smile, though it was careful too. "So do you."

It was the truth. His ocean blue eyes now resembled a grey sky and she couldn't help but notice the way he kept massaging his right arm, the arm he'd held the sword with. His muscles were probably burning from the strength it had taken to point the heavy blade at Maugrim for as long as he did.

"I'm fine," he said, though he was unable to look her in the eye as he said it.

Ashara turned back to the stream in front of her and simply nodded. "Alright, seeing as we are both perfectly fine, let's keep watch together."

For a moment Peter awkwardly lingered, then he seemed to make up his mind and took a seat on the ground beside her, his blue eyes focused on the trees surrounding them.

She returned her focus to binding her wound. First she finished cleaning it, taking a moment to examine the scratches marked on her skin. They were still a little red, but the bleeding had stopped and the skin wasn't swollen which, her mother had taught her, was a good sign. Finally she took the makeshift bandage, a piece of the knapsack Mrs. Beaver had given her, to carefully bind the scratches, preventing any dirt or dust from causing an infection. Carefully she started bounding the white cloth around her arm and as she was doing so, she could feel Peter's gaze on her.

"One of us should stay watchful, otherwise we might as well drop the act and go to sleep," she said without looking up. She could hear him shifting beside her and snuck a glance at him from behind the hair that had fallen in front of her face. His eyes were focused on the trees again, though there was an amused smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

She looked down at her wound again and carefully finished binding it with a small knot. It was going to have to be enough for now, at least until they reached Aslan's camp.

"Does it hurt?" Peter questioned when she was done, her gaze focused on their surroundings again.

"It stings a little," she admitted. "But it's fine."

He nodded, looking as though he wanted to say more but managed to swallow his words at the very last moment. For a moment she studied him in silence before looking away, deciding not to pretend she didn't notice his struggle with finding the right words.

Instead she took out her sword and whetstone and slowly started to sharpen the steel. The sound was familiar and worked calming on her nerves. The movement soothed the last lingering tension out of her muscles and for a moment she could at least pretend there was nothing wrong.

"Can you teach me?" Peter asked, breaking the silence. "How to use a sword, I mean."

She looked up at him and put the whetstone down next to her. "There are much more capable teachers than me. My friend Oreius is a master with the blade."

"But I'm asking you."

An unexpected warmth blossomed in her chest and she fought to hide a smile. "Is this your way of trying to make up for barely having spoken to me the last few days?"

At least he had the decency to look somewhat ashamed. "If I say it was, are you going to refuse me?" A small smile tugged at his lips.

She chuckled, shaking her head. "No, but" -she jabbed her finger against his chest- "you owe me."

He looked at her, blue eyes filled with both guilt and gratitude. "You saved our lives, I owe you anyway."

"You don't owe me for that, it's my duty," she said softly, seriously. She didn't ever want him to think he had to somehow pay her back for saving their lives. She would gladly give her life if it meant she could save the Kings and Queens. It was the very least she could do for what they had to sacrifice to fulfill the prophecy.

He smiled, a little bit uneasy still but thankful all the same. Then a small frown appeared on his face as a sudden thought seemed to cross his mind. "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded. "Anything."

"When we were trying to get down that hill." He wrung his hands as he talked, seeming suddenly nervous. "And you took my hand there were these-" He shrugged, unable to find the words but she instantly knew what he was talking about anyway. "Did you do something with your magic?"

So her thoughts had been correct, he had indeed feared she might have enchanted him somehow. A shaky breath left her lips, feeling a bit uncomfortable having to discuss this since she hardly knew what it meant herself. But she knew she couldn't leave him without answers either.

"No," she said, looking him straight in the eye. "I promise you, I didn't do anything. I would never use my magic to harm you. I don't-" She looked away, turning her gaze to look at the melting snow and blossoming flowers. "I don't know what happened," she finally whispered, finally admitting the truth.

Peter frowned. "What do you mean?"

She braced herself and turned her gaze back to him. The way his blue eyes were staring at her, curious but a little frightened though trying very hard to hide it, made her stomach clench. "I have no idea why that happened. I've never seen it before. I didn't even call upon my magic. It felt more like it was trying to show me something, like that strange courtyard I first saw you." Immediately she shut her mouth, resisting the urge to hit herself across the head for saying something so incredibly stupid. He was doubting her already, there was no need to add her visions to the pile of questions.

For a moment Peter sat motionless, the ocean in his eyes turning a stormy shade of blue. "What courtyard?" He muttered, seeming suddenly terrified.

She put her sword back in its scabbard and folded her hands in her lap. "The Deep Magic works in mysterious ways and even after all these years I don't understand it completely. Sometimes it shows me visions. Like when your sister first entered Narnia. But I had one vision that was not in Narnia. It was this strange courtyard with a huge black carriage and there I saw you and your siblings for the first time."

Peter looked as though he'd seen a ghost and her heart skipped a beat. Some strange feeling told her this wasn't new knowledge to him.

"What?" She whispered.

"I-I," he blinked, as if trying to recall a memory. "I saw you there." Then he frowned and added softly, almost as if talking to himself: "I thought I was dreaming."

It felt as though a bucket with ice cold water was poured over her, freezing her every bone. "What do you mean?" She whispered, even though she knew perfectly well what he meant. But he couldn't possibly have seen her, not unless...

Peter took a deep breath. "We were at the train station, about to go on the train when I felt someone was looking at me. And on the stairs I saw you."

Her head was spinning and she clenched her hands, the golden threads suddenly weren't so strange anymore. But she didn't even want to think about the possibility. Her father always said it was very rare, hardly possible and yet it seemed like it was happening right before her eyes anyway. "Only once since the creation of the earth..."

"Ashara?" Peter questioned carefully and at the sound of him mentioning her name she broke free of her memories, blinking in confusion.

"It can't be," she muttered, shaking her head.

She got to her feet and started pacing back and forth, going over every single thing her father ever told her. The Deep Magic worked in mysterious ways, yes but it also held certain patterns. Prophecies and laws were made to keep a newly created world balanced. But that wasn't the only thing the Deep Magic had ever created to keep the balance. At the dawn of the earth the Deep Magic chose two people from different worlds and connected them through a golden string of fate. A connection able to cross between time even, all because the Deep Magic required the chosen two for a certain task. She could all but hear her father's voice as he told her the story.

"Soulmates Ashara, isn't that the most wonderful thing? The Deep Magic connected two souls from completely different worlds. They never would have found each otherwise, no matter how perfectly they fit together. But the thread tying them together can never be broken, not as long as they have the task they were chosen to fulfill."

But it wasn't possible.

Only few were chosen and the world Peter came from did not even have magic. And besides what possible task could she have been chosen for? The prophecy did not even mention her, she wasn't meant to be Queen or save a country.

She turned around, continuing her pacing but she was stopped by a hand landing on her arm, stopping her in her tracks. She lifted her gaze, meeting two worried blue eyes. Judging by the look on his face he'd been calling out her name a few times but without response. Her eyes drifted back down to where his hand touched her arm. Her heart beat sped up at the sight of the golden strings immediately winding their way up.

Instead of pulling away though, Peter stood as still as a statue, watching carefully as the golden threads began to glow even brighter.

Carefully she moved her arm away and instead reached for his hand with her own. She didn't place her skin upon his, but held their hands very close instead. Even then the golden string appeared, slowly wrapping itself up around their fingers, their arms...Glowing brighter as she brought their hands closer and closer...

"It can't be," she whispered once again.

But there was no denying it, not with the sight glowing right in front of her eyes. Not with the feeling of her heart being warmed by the sun itself. Or with those piercing blue eyes staring straight into her soul...

"Ashara! I'm ready to take over your watch, you should get some sleep!"

Mr. Beaver wasn't even finished speaking before both Peter and Ashara all but jumped away from each other, quickly forming a less dangerous distance. But as the beaver came waddling around the corner, he didn't seem to have noticed anything.

She didn't dare look at Peter again and instead she focused her eyes on Mr. Beaver. "That would be much appreciated. Thank you." She marched over to where the Pevensie sisters were sleeping but halfway through her quick retreat she suddenly came to a halt. Her body was being pulled back by an invisible force, making her throw a quick look over her shoulder.

Her eyes met Peter's as he was being, helplessly, forced to sit alongside Mr.Beaver. And while the beaver complained about the rations they had been living on for the last few days, Ashara felt herself smiling at the human sitting next to him, before quickly shaking her head and continuing her retreat.

She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, but she needed a second to organise her thoughts and she couldn't possibly do so with two ocean eyes staring right at her...

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I'm finally back from my hiatus with a new chapter! Sorry for the long wait but I needed the break. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I've been waiting to reveal this though I don't think it will come as a surprise. I absolutely love the idea of soulmates and Peter and Ashara fit the word in every way, just wait and see. ;)

Next chapter we finally arrive at Aslan's camp. Really excited to introduce the big lion into this story and write a conversation between him and Ashara.

Please leave some comments and votes on this chapter! They really keep me going! Thank you all so much for all the support.

xx Nelly