✲⋅*♚ ,∴°

𝕭𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐈: 𝖂𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝖂𝐀𝐑

𝕮𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝕾𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧: midsummer's eve

THE CLATTERING OF WOOD MEETING WOOD echoed across the training fields. With a smile on her face, Ashara watched from the sidelines as the two Pevensie brothers dueled against each other. Their blows were strong, albeit a bit sloppy at times, but they knew where to aim and their balance was improving with each day. It was already late in the afternoon but Ashara had insisted they finished this duel before they were allowed to eat.

For three days they'd been training together. Edmund had joined them after that first lesson she'd given Peter and she'd shown him the exact same steps. Pretty soon she'd started noticing the difference between the brothers. Peter was strong and preferred to play offense, trying to tire his enemy out before striking the final blow. Effective, but less refined. Edmund, however, was precise. He preferred to observe his enemy and strike when he discovered a weakness or saw an opening.

It had made for some interesting duels between the two. They were actually pretty evenly matched. Peter just had the slight advantage of being older, and thus stronger and bigger. She was curious to see how evenly matched they'd be when Edmund grew older.

"Watch your feet, Peter," she instructed.

He put his feet further apart and immediately found a better balance, which allowed him to block the blow Edmund had delivered to his right. Immediately he countered with a strike aimed at Edmund's shoulder, which the younger Pevensie managed to avoid by ducking beneath the blade.

"Keep holding the sword with two hands, Edmund," she said, watching as he almost dropped the blade because of his move.

Edmund nodded and adjusted his grip. Then aimed his sword at Peter's side, but again his brother managed to block the blow. They both took a step back, only to dash forward at the same time, weapons meeting in the middle.

"Come on, Ed," Peter teased with a grin that set Ashara's stomach aflame. "You can do better than that."

"I sure can," Edmund replied, smiling as he moved to strike once again.

Edmund seemed to have blossomed overnight. The withdrawn and almost hostile attitude he showed when she first met him seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Whatever happened during his stay with the White Witch, which according to Susan he refused to talk about, had changed him drastically. He seemed determined to give his all to protect Narnia and save its people from Jadis' tyranny. He was happy and Ashara could see his happiness was reflected on all of his siblings. Even Peter, no matter how much he tried to hide it in the beginning, was smiling more since their reunion. Now, the brothers genuinely seemed to enjoy each other's company.

With a few strong blows, Peter drove Edmund back. But he blocked them all and still managed to keep his balance. He grinned as he dashed forward and jabbed his wooden practice sword against Peter's ribcage.

"You're dead," Edmund smirked.

Peter grinned. "So are you."

Ashara frowned and only then she noticed he had his sword pointed at Edmund's stomach. Her heart glowed with pride when she saw he'd memorized and effectively used the move she taught him yesterday.

She smiled as she walked up to the two brothers. "Looks like it's a draw. We might be able to make soldiers of you yet."

"All thanks to your teaching," Peter smiled.

Behind him, Edmund rolled his eyes and Ashara quickly looked away from the eldest Pevensie. "Dinner time?" she asked instead.

A mischievous spark made Peter's eyes glow but he was quick to smoothen his features. "Sounds good."

Shaking her head at his sudden weird behavior, Ashara gestured for them to put away their swords before heading down the hill towards the camp. As they approached, soft comforting tunes of cheerful music grew louder and louder. She came to a sudden halt in her step as recognition washed over her like a tidal wave. Only the fauns with their flutes, harps and drums were able to produce such a sound. But it had been such a long time since she heard such hopeful music that it felt as if she'd stepped into a dream.

With wide eyes she turned to look at Peter, who'd come to a halt beside her. This time the spark within his blue gaze was unmistakable.

"What is going on?"

He shrugged. "How should I know? I've only been here for a week or so."

She tore her eyes away from him and rushed down the remainder of the hill. The two Pevensie brothers were right behind her, waiting patiently for her to figure it out. She made her way through the sea of tents and the music only grew louder. Soon she could hear laughter and cheerful chatter join the tunes.

When she finally reached the middle of the camp, a wide green space surrounding Aslan's tent, she once again froze. The scene playing out in front of her was so surreal, so foreign that she could hardly breathe.

Several fauns were playing fast and happy songs while the animals, dryads and nymphs danced around. Others were standing at the sidelines, laughing and chatting or clapping along with the music.

Edmund rushed past her and walked up to his sisters, who were busy tasting Penelope's strawberry cakes. As soon as they saw him, their eyes lit up and Lucy offered him one of the little cakes as well.

Peter, however, remained at her side, watching her with those ocean eyes of his.

She raised a brow.

He looked away from her, suddenly shy. "I know it can't compare to the feasts you were used to but I figured, if summer can come back, why not the Midsummer's Eve festival?"

"You did this?" she whispered.

"I just asked the fauns to play some music," he said with a shrug.

"No," she said with a shake of her head, her eyes taking in the Narnians dancing and celebrating around her. "No, you did so much more than that." Finally her gaze settled back on him, her entire body consumed with warmth. "Thank you."

He nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You're welcome."

"Ash!"

She looked up with a frown, watching as Lucy dashed towards her. The smile on her face was as bright as the fire in the middle of the glade. She came to a stumbling halt in front of the Watcher, grinning brightly. "Do you want to dance with me?"

Suddenly she was no longer standing in the camp, but in the bright halls of Cair Paravel, just a kid during the very first Midsummer's Eve festival she could remember. She'd been standing in the corner when her father approached her, asking her to dance. And that was the moment she'd fallen in love with the magical feeling of floating upon the tunes of a song.

She blinked, tore herself away from her memories and offered Lucy a smile. "I'd love to." Before Lucy could pull her away though, Ashara quickly turned to look at Peter. "Don't think this means you get to sleep in on training tomorrow!"

Peter's laugh made a pleasant shiver run down her spine. Then she was whisked away by the youngest Pevensie. Cheers erupted from the crowd when they saw the Daughter of Eve had joined them and Lucy beamed. Pretty soon they were surrounded by fauns, dryads and nymphs. Taking both of Lucy's hands in her own, Ashara spun her around to the music. Lucy was giggling all the while and the Watcher couldn't help but laugh herself.

The world disappeared around her in blurs of color and light. It felt as though she was flying above the grass, carried away by the music. Ashara raised her arm and let Lucy spin beneath it. Her blue dress made it look like the little girl was moving through water, as if she was one of the nymphs. The music swelled until it came to a sudden stop.

The Narnians broke out in the cheers and the fauns bowed before picking up a calmer tune.

"That was fun!" Lucy beamed.

Ashara nodded. "It was."

"My lady, my queen," a familiar voice interrupted them. Tasmus the faun had appeared at their side, smiling more brightly than she'd ever seen him do.

"Hello Tasmus," Lucy greeted him as one would greet an old friend.

His smile grew even brighter. "I was wondering if I was allowed a dance, your majesty?"

Lucy nodded, seeming giddy at the prospect of more dancing. "Of course."

Ashara smiled at the two of them before making her way through the crowd towards the food. Only now that the dancing was over did she realize she was starving. She headed straight for the strawberry cakes and felt her stomach settle when she took a bite.

"Are you hungry or do you just really love strawberry cakes?" Peter asked as he came walking towards her.

She swallowed before answering: "The only thing you're ever allowed to wake me up for are strawberry cakes. Especially if Penelope baked them."

Peter grinned. "Then I suppose I should try one as well." He reached for the little cakes and took a bite, frowning as if he was really considering the taste. "Mmm, it's good."

"I told you," she said. "So, what kind of food do you want me to wake you for?"

"Chocolate," he replied without hesitation.

"What's chocolate?"

His eyes widened. "There's no chocolate in Narnia?"

Ashara shook her head. "Not that I know of. Maybe they have some in Calormen."

Now it was his turn to be confused. "What's that?"

She pointed towards the south. "South of Narnia there are the countries of Archenland and then, beyond the Great Desert, there's Calormen."

He followed her pointed finger with a frown, as if he could see those lands if only he focused hard enough. "I suppose there's much to learn," he mumbled, his earlier teasing tone completely vanished.

"Don't worry," she whispered, taking a step closer towards him before she was even fully aware of what she was doing. "You have time."

"I tried to send them home," Peter whispered, his gaze still focused on the distant south, as if he hadn't even truly heard her. "I tried to keep my promise to our mother but now I'm leading them straight into a war." He shook his head with a disbelieving smile. "Edmund was the first to protest, saying we can't leave these people behind to suffer. I think that was when I first saw it."

"Saw what?"

Finally he turned to look at her and her breath caught in her throat. "What all of you see when you look at us."

Her hand brushed against his as she stepped even closer, sending that by now familiar shiver down her spine. "I just see you, Peter Pevensie," she whispered. "Someone who is trying to keep his family safe. It's just a bigger family than you probably expected."

He gently pushed his hand against hers once again, but this time he kept it there and softly tangled his fingers with hers. A soft golden glow slowly wrapped itself around their hands as her heart was hammering against her ribcage.

"Thanks," he whispered. Then, with a frown, he gestured towards the golden strings. "You know, you never got the chance to tell me what this is."

She bit her lip, following his gaze down to their hands wrapped in light. "I'm not sure," she whispered. There was nothing to save her this time. No one to interrupt her. This time, she was going to have to be honest. "My father once told me a story about the Deep Magic. He said it tied people together who share the same destiny. And that such a bond could never be broken. But I've never seen it so I'm just...I'm not sure."

Peter was standing awfully still and just watched her intently with those blue eyes that seemed to look into her very soul. She couldn't read his expression and the longer he remained quiet, the more nervous she got.

"I told you once I would never force you into something you don't want," she finally whispered, unable to take another second of silence. "And I won't do so now either."

The smallest of smiles tugged at his lips and immediately her nerves vanished. "Well, I'm starting to learn a thing or two about accepting my destiny."

It felt as though her entire body was set aflame, his hand the only thing holding her steady in the sea of flames threatening to drown her. Whatever this was, it was new and scary to both of them but they would figure it out together. Of that she was now convinced.

Peter took a deep breath and then released her hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to ask my sister for a dance before she gets swept up by someone else again."

A laugh fell from her lips but she was soon caught off by the warning sound of a horn being blown. Immediately the music stopped as everyone fell quiet. The entire camp seemed to be holding its breath when suddenly one of the guards came bursting into the glade.

"It's the Witch! She's demanding a meeting with Aslan!"

✲⋅*♚ ,∴°

Fun fact: I wrote this chapter while listening to the kingdom dance from Tangled. Now I will forever associate Ashara being happy and dancing with her friends with that song. Also a much needed conversation between Ashara and Peter happened! I just love these two to pieces guys. Do we have a ship name yet by the way? Asher? Petara? Let me know your thoughts lol.

It's been a while since I updated this book and still so many new readers came along for the ride! I've had so many people asking me for updates and that honestly warms my heart. Thank you guys so much for your support! Please leave some comments on this chapter. I love talking with you all.

Hopefully I'll see you soon!

xx Nelly