He Came from Narnia: Chapter 9

Jess awoke to smell of lilacs and lavender in the room, she slowly opened her eyes and looked around to see where she was. She had no recollection of being in her room and very quickly sat up strait when she noticed the blood on her pillow. She looked around frantically for someone who might have answers and there was no one to be found. Jess pushed the covers off and climbed out of bed only to fall because she couldn’t feel her legs. She began to weep and then wail loudly because she couldn’t stand and didn’t know why. Matilda heard the screams from Jess’ room and ran to her:

“What’s wrong Jess?” Matilda asked.

“I can’t feel my legs!” Jess’ yelled, “What’s wrong with my legs?”

“It must be the pain killers the Doctor gave you,” Matilda said, “He came yesterday to make sure you were OK and gave you some medicine.”

“What did he say?” Jess asked frantically, “Am I OK? My head hurts so badly! Why does my head hurt but I feel numb almost everywhere else?”

“I’m not sure, Dear,” Matilda said reluctantly. “You’ll be fine in know time. Let me fetch you some water.”

Matilda helped Jess back into bed and went to the water canteen to help Jess get re-hydrated. All the medications the Doctor had put Jess on made her sleep for days and also made her very weak. Matilda’s conscience was getting the better of her and she wanted to tell Jess everything the Doctor said despite him saying that it was best to not say anything to Jess until she was physically and more mentally stable. Any sudden excitement could damage her body and she could lose the baby. Matilda brought the water to Jess with a shaky hand and Jess noticed this:

“Miss Matilda, are you ok?” Jess asked, “You’re trembling!”

“I am OK Miss,” Matilda lied through her teeth, “Just worried about your health, that’s all.”

Jess gave her a funny look, “I think you’re hiding something from me Miss Matilda. But, I have in good faith that you will tell me when you’re ready.”

Matilda smiled and re-filled Jess’ cup and Jess smiled back knowing she could trust her new hand maid with her life. As much as she enjoyed her last hand maid, Matilda seemed more genuine and pure. She wasn’t corrupted by the castle staff yet so she would be a loyal confident to Jess.

“Miss, are you feeling better now?” Matilda asked calmly.

“Yes Miss Matilda, I am feeling much better now,” Jess said, “Would you help me up so I may walk around a bit?”

“Yes Miss,” Matilda agreed, “Take it slow Miss, you have not been well.”

Matilda helped Jess out of bed and walked her around the room to strengthen her legs again. The medication the Doctor had given her drained the potassium from her body and made her calves tighten and her thighs weaken so she couldn’t walk well. After 30 minutes of walking Jess needed to take a break, her legs ached and pain shot up through her spine to her head giving her a migraine.

“Miss Matilda,” Jess whimpered, “Will you find me some bananas please?”

“Yes Miss,” Matilda said frantically, “Right away Miss. I will return with a bunch as soon as I can.”

Matilda ran downstairs to the kitchen to rummage for some bananas for Jess. During her frantic search for bananas and other potassium filled foods she ran across a strange object: it was a gilded goblet with a lion’s head on one side and a woman’s face on the other. What is this? Matilda wondered. Why is it hidden in such an obscure place? She tucked the object in her skirts and grabbed the bunch of bananas to take to Jess. Matilda felt slightly guilty for stealing the object but it was so unusual and placed so meticulously in a strange place that she had to find out what it was.

“Here are your bananas, Miss”, Matilda said as she set them on a tray and brought them to the bed for Jess to eat.

“Thank you so much, Matilda”, Jess said excitedly, “You’re a life saver!”

Matilda cautiously removed the gilded goblet from her skirts and showed Jess:

“Do you recognize this at all?” Matilda asked, “They say you are the chosen one so do you know what I am holding?”

Jess stared long and hard at the golden goblet and without warning snatched it from Matilda’s hands.

“This is Aslan’s goblet!” Jess’ said with a mouth full of banana, “This is the goblet he kept near him during ceremonies at the great rock!”

“So it’s true!” Matilda gasped, “You are the chosen one!”

Jess looked at Matilda wild eyed still chewing on a banana, “Not sure how knowing this is Aslan’s goblet qualifies me as the chosen one. But whatever…”

Jess tossed the goblet back at Matilda in annoyance and Matilda clumsily caught the goblet before it touched the floor. Had that goblet touched the ground it would have meant bad luck for the both of them. Matilda had already been living a hard life with her uncle and father both being physically and sexually abusive toward her for no reason. Whether he was drunk or sober, he would beat his her or whomever was within range of his anger at the time. Matilda cried at the thought of this and remembered that she left her old life behind and began working to save money and escape to start a better life. She couldn’t count how many times she’d been pregnant and her father beat her so badly she always lost the baby. This is why she cared so much for Jess and her wellbeing. Jess deserved to be happy because Matilda could see that Jess had also lived a hard life and worked so hard to achieve almost nothing. Matilda wanted to see a happy and healthy baby be born from Jess, so she was careful to not excite her or put her or the baby in any danger since the pregnancy was so early.

♥♥

Yugyeom paced back and forth while Junior licked his paws and sprawled out on the bed. Doodle sat in a chair in the corner sharpening his dagger and building arrows with JB.

“Why are you pacing so much, Yugyeom?” JB asked, “It’s getting annoying…”

“Have you ever been in love, JB?” Yugyeom shot back, “No you haven’t cause you’re a stupid ugly dwarf!”

“Them is fighin’ words,” JB threw down the arrow head he was working on and stood up to Yugyeom. Although JB was a good 2 feet shorter he was still intimidating.

“Don’t pick a fight with me little man,” Yugyeom snarled, “This is not a time when you would win.”

“Don’t be so sure you cocky asshole,” JB snarled back, “I always kick your ass regardless of how passionate you are about something. Sit down before you get hurt.”

Yugyeom took JB’s advice and lie down next to Junior on the bed to calm down. He missed Jess so much he was beside himself about things. He missed undressing her and washing her down after a long day. He missed cooking for her and feeding her breakfast in bed. He missed her soft skin, his face between her breasts and his hands between her legs. He missed the smell of her skin and her hair after a long day of training the archers. He missed everything about Jess and couldn’t get over her.

“I have to go find her,” Yugyeom said, “I can’t sit around here any longer and wonder where she is.”

“It’s not worth the risk to go to the castle,” Junior said stroking Yugyeom’s face with one of his tails.

“She’s at the castle? How long have you known this?!” Yugyeom shouted.

“SHHHHH……they’ll hear you and tell Shareen….” Said JB, “You’re tree may not be evil but the ones around you are. So until they have been plucked, stay quiet.”

“How can I stay quiet when the woman I love it with the man who betrayed us?” Yugyeom flailed, “I have to go rescue her.” Yugyeom scowled and stared out the window of his tree house toward the castle. He pondered on how he would achieve rescuing his true love and bringing her home safely.

“You could take her to the other side of Narnia,” Doodle suggested. “I hear there is some beautiful farm land over there.”

“Don’t be stupid, Doodle!” JB smacked Doodle upside the head, “Don’t fill his head with unrealistic ideas.”

Doodle rubs his head, “It’s not unrealistic, it’s true! They can move to the west side of Narnia and build a farm and live quietly.”

“And what about us, Doodle?!” JB snapped, “We need all of us together in order to break the curse. Aren’t you tired of being a wood elf? I sure am tired of being a god damn ugly dwarf! We need to stay close to Jackson and Mark until we find Bam Bam and break the spell. I want to go home!”

Doodle turned back to his work and stayed quiet while Yugyeom stroked Junior’s two tails and thought of ways to rescue Jess. Junior purred and circled around Yugyeom’s chest and head before curling up on Yugyeom’s side and falling asleep. All of a sudden, Yugyeom sat up straight with an epiphany and unknowingly throwing Junior across the room. Junior hit the wall with a loud THUD and a small whimper:

“I’ve got an idea!,” Yugyeom said excitedly, “We put everyone to sleep and sneak Jess out!”

“That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,” JB grumbled, “How are you going to pull that off?”

“Doodle, you have sleeping powder right?” Yugyeom asked.

“Yes, I might have some left,” Doodle confirmed, “If not I can give you a list of ingredients to make more.”

“Great! Let’s go back to your hut and find it!” Yugyeom said excitedly.

Doodle set down the dagger he just completed and agreed to go back to his hut to find the sleeping potion.

As Yugyeom and Doodle crept back toward the wood elf’s hut they noticed how dingy the place looked. Doodle rushed up to his home and found it had been raided and almost completely gutted. Yugyeom poked his head in to see a crying Doodle because everything was gone. Everything from his dishes to his books, food, furniture and pictures. The only thing left was a broken picture of Doodle and his girlfriend back in Seoul. Yugyeom watched as Doodle’s heart shattered into a million pieces on the dirt floor of his tiny thatch roof hut. Doodle stood in the middle of what used to be his living room, sobbing quietly so the trees couldn’t hear him. The dirt floor slowly soaked with his tears of sadness and frustration of being alone despite still being amongst his friends. Doodle wanted to hold his girlfriend, his lover, his one and only. As Doodle clutched the broken picture frame to his chest, Yugyeom reached to his friend to show sympathy for his lost love.

“Don’t touch me!” Doodle cried, “You still have your true love near you. Mine is back in the real world waiting for me!”

“Doodle, I waited 200 years for her to return to me,” Yugyeom said, “And the Prince is trying to take her away; the Prince whom we once called brother is trying to steal my woman.”

“I’ve waited 200 year too see SooJin again and she’s not even alive now!” Doodle wailed, “I will never see her again!”

“I don’t think that’s true….” Yugyeom said, “Jess looks only slightly older than she was when she left. Almost like no time has passed. If Jess still looks as she did, maybe SooJin hasn’t changed either….”

Doodle dried his eyes and smiled a little in agreement and with optimism but still clutching the picture close to his heart he scrounged for the recipe for the sleeping potion and randomly found it under a pile of rubble near what used to be his bedroom. He happily showed Yugyeom his findings and they collectively decided who would find which ingredients. Doodle firmly believes that his dear SooJin lead him to the recipe and he brought the broken frame back to Yugyeom’s house and carefully placed it on a shelf where he could continue to feel her inspiration.

♥♥

Jess groaned in agony as her body began the slow change from a girl to a woman. A small fever began and she had cold sweats and grew pale. Matilda didn’t know what to do but keep a damp warm cloth on Jess’ forehead and hold her hand to keep her calm. What if tossing the goblet is what has caused her to be sick? Matilda thought. Matilda was an awfully superstitious woman and couldn’t help but worry every time something bad happened to a person, were they cursed for something bad they did in the past? Jess didn’t seem to be a bad person, cautious and unawares of how things work in Narnia, but not a bad person.

“uhhhhh….”, Jess groaned. “Matilda….I can’t see anything….”

“Don’t try to strain yourself dear,” Matilda said calmly, “The fever is bad so you much stay calm.”

“Matilda,” Jess said weakly, “Will you get me some tea please? I really need some tea and water.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Matilda picked up her skirts and went down to the kitchen to get some tea. On her way down she bumped into Jackson:

“Oh! Your Highness, forgive me, Sir I did not see you,” Matilda said in shock and lowering her eyes immediately.

“Clearly you didn’t….new hand maiden,” Jackson said confused upon seeing her, “What is your name? Whom do you work for?”

“I am Matilda, Sire,” Matilda said nervously, “I am Jess’ new handmaid. She’s quite sick Sir, may I pass to get her some tea?”

“I will send someone up with the tea,” Jackson said with a worried look on his face. “You back and don’t leave her side. There is a bell in her room that reaches the kitchen. While Jess is sick, please use that bell to get what you need for her until she is better.”

“Yes Sire, as you wish,” Matilda slowly backed up bowing and almost bumping into a priceless vase on a pedestal. “Ooops!”

Prince Jackson caught the vase before it toppled over to the stone floor, “I hope you’re more careful with Jess than you are out here.” He said scowling.

Matilda quickly turned around and walked quickly back up to Jess’ room watching herself to make sure she didn’t make any more clumsy mistakes. She had never seen the Prince in person before, only in paintings. So to bump into the Prince so unexpectedly made Matilda very nervous; he’s also much more handsome in person, not that he’d ever go for a girl like her. No, Matilda was frail, clumsy, plain and from a poor family. She didn’t has as much beauty and talent as Jess, No wonder the Prince cares for her so much, Matilda thought. She walked to the window to check the giant sun dial in the centre of the courtyard, It’s almost 2pm. Where is that tea? Matilda was getting worried. She picked up the cloth from Jess’ forehead, it had gone cold and the water wasn’t warm enough either. Matilda scanned the room for the bell the Prince told her about, she would need not just tea and soup for Jess, but also a new bowl of hot water to help break the fever. If the fever continues, not only is the baby in danger, but so is Jess.

Matilda spotted the cord for the bell and a few switches that would allow her to ring different rooms. She found the switch for the kitchen and pulled the cord 3 times to let them know it was urgent. Jess groaned again and attempted to sit up in bed but instead fell to the left almost falling out of bed. Matilda quickly ran to the side of the bed to help Jess back up, she propped her up with a couple pillows behind her head and neck for support.

“How are you feeling Miss?” Matilda asked with a worried voice, “Is your eye sight better?”

“Yes Matilda,” Jess said weakly, “My eyes are a little better. Did you get the tea?”

“No Ma’am,” Matilda said looking down, “I met the Prince in the hall and told him I needed tea for you since you aren’t feeling well. He said he would take care of it and for me to stay with you at all times.”

Although Jess’ body was weak, her attitude sure wasn’t. She scoffed as Matilda told her the Prince was taking care of everything. “That’s so like him, always wanting to play the hero when he’s just a big lump on a log throwing he weight around and making people scared of him. He only gets by on his looks and his temper ya know?”

“No ma’am, I didn’t know,” Matilda said anxiously, “And I would never speak ill of the Prince, the punishment is unimaginable I hear.”

Jess coughed, “Yep, this is my punishment. I’m his mistress and his lead archer in battle.”

Matilda looked confused, “That doesn’t sound too bad Miss! Many poor girls in my situation would love to be where you are!”

Jess rolled her eyes, “You have no idea who he really is and when you do, you’ll leave just like my last handmaid did. As soon as I am better, I’m going back to the woods to find my beloved.”

“OH! Your….”, Matilda stopped short as the door opened and a skinny old man walked in with a cart of tea, soup, toast, crumpets and a bowl of hot water.

“Oh, thank you Somner,” Matilda said in awe of all the wonderful things she will need to nurse Jess back to health.

“The toast and crumpets are for you, Matilda,” the little old man said in a shaky voice. “I also took the liberty of stowing away a small pot of coffee for you. I’m sure you will need the energy to stay awake and care for our Jess.”

“Oh, yes Sir, thank you so much!” Matilda said excitedly. This was the first time anyone besides Jess had truly been kind to her since she arrived in the castle. Matilda brought the cart over to the bed and slowly began to feed Jess the soup and some lukewarm water, so as not to disturb her body temperature too much.

“Matilda,” Jess said faintly, “What’s wrong with me? Please be honest.”

“Well Miss,” Matilda said, “you’re….”

Matilda was once again cut off by Jackson storming into the room, rage in his eyes and his fists in a ball.

“Matilda leave us,” Jackson said sternly. “NOW!”

“Yes Sir,” Matilda said frantically and left the room closing the door behind her and leaning her back up against it. As she caught her breath she could hear angry muffles coming from Jackson. She wanted to run back in to rescue Jess from his anger, but it was no use, he obviously knew about the baby and was enraged.

♥♥

As Bam Bam entered the palace to have a word with Shareen about her dragons taking over the kingdom, a guard stopped him short:

“What’s this all about?” Bam Bam asked angrily.

“The Queen does not wish to be disturbed.” The guard answered. “It seems someone has poisoned one of her dragons and it is dying rapidly. She would like to be left alone to send the dragon off in peace.”

Bam Bam bewildered and now confused, went up to his chambers to wait for Shareen’s return, she never came.

Two nights later Bam Bam ordered to be allowed in to the lair,

“We can’t do that sir,” the guard said slowly shaking his head. “I know you’re the Prince but Shareen is Queen and these are her babies. We must obey her orders. She said not to allow anyone in under any circumstances.”

“Someone needs to check on her, “ Bam Bam said sternly. Are you allowed down there? Can you go check on her? She’s been down there for two days! Did she take food and water with her? She could be killing herself for all we know!”

“No Sir,” the guard responded, “I am not allowed down there without her permission. I’m sorry Sir.” The guard, instead of having a stern look on his face had an empathetic caring look about him. He could see Bam Bam’s pain because the woman he loves is also in pain, but so is their village. In Shareen’s absence, Bam Bam must take over and clean up the mess that has been made. He may not have gotten the crown to Narnia but he now has the crown to the Dark Isle and he plans to make things the way the villagers had envisioned it as best he can. Bam Bam understands there is much hardship happening in, his now Kingdom until Shareen decides to return, and he intends to clean it up as best he can. The people are unhappy and this upsets Bam Bam to his core. Aside from the two guards watching the dragon’s lair, Bam Bam sent all guards out to tell the people to meet in the town square for a community meeting about how to make the village better. This could make or break Bam Bam.