to think about the battle that was about to arise. It was as if a cliff was looming in front of her, begging her to jump and jump. The only thing keeping her was her sheer will and determination that she was not going to let it get to her. She had promised Caspian that she would save them all. He disagreed and said that he would save them all, but they bickered quite a lot as siblings and didn't think it was all that important.

She looked out onto the field, the greenery in front of her outlined by the treeline in the distance that always seemed to be make her feel calm and at home. She found it easy to clear her thoughts as she sat on the top of the How. She mostly thought about Caspian.

Although her brother no longer stared at her with a burning resentment, there was a time where they did not always get along.

After their parent's death, Miraz realized that he would need a new King once Caspian becomes of age, and decided to take the throne. Miraz had always tried to make the siblings resent eachother – believing that they would be much more easy to co-operate if they were separated.

Catherine, of course, thought the whole idea was ridiculous, deciding early not to believe whatever lies Miraz told her were just that – lies. She loved her brother and none of that could change, no matter what anybody told her or how desperate they tried to keep them apart.

It made her upset when Caspian did not feel the same way.

Caspian always looked up to his superiors, finding it much easier to do everything right when he was told exactly what to do and when. So when they told him to not speak to Catherine anymore, he agreed without hesitation. When they told him to take his lessons alone, he didn't flinch. Back then, he didn't pay much attention to her at all. As a six-year-old, his obliviousness bruised her ego a little, and she found it much easier to sulk outside his bedroom door, the wood that barricaded her from her brother, because although he resented her presence and told her he didn't want her in his life, their parents were dead and she didn't have anyone else. She didn't wat to be left alone, excluded from her family and watch as all of Caspian's fun disappeared when she would enter a room.

Then, Miraz asked Caspian if he wanted to play outside with a few of the other Telmarine boys.

It was then that the line was drawn.

Caspian told him no. He felt like he couldn't play with people his age while his sister stayed, silently alone in her room, playing only with inanimate dolls that didn't' speak back when they sang to her, and only smiled when she opened up, crying about her parents on nights she didn't want to share with anybody else. So, Caspian had declined Miraz's offer and all the ones that followed after that.

Catherine began to notice how Caspian would adjust his conversations to include her, who generally found it a struggle to communicate with someone she still believed would rather play alone than with her. She knew nothing of his interests, and couldn't remember what games he liked to play or how to play them.

And so he taught her. And they played together.

Caspian was the one to teach her how to draw a sword, to fight like a true warrior, announcing that girls should know how to defend themselves because thugs wouldn't care if they were kidnapping a girl or a boy, and that he didn't want her to leave him.

He didn't want her to leave him.

He never did.

'Can I join you?'

Caspian was always one to read her mind. She laughed at the thought that she could summon him at her own will; a simple thought of his name and he would come running. He would always run to her, to stop whatever he was doing.

Catherine didn't respond, merely letting a hum escape her lips as she drifted her gaze back towards the stretch of grass ahead of her. Caspian took a seat next to her, their legs dangling over the stone quickly, hovering over death as if they would embrace it like an old friend. It was something the siblings had become quickly familiar with.

'What are you thinking about?' Caspian said, eventually breaking the silence.

Catherine's face remained calm and joyful. She let out a breathy chuckle.

'You know I'm always thinking about you.'

Caspian grinned and played with a piece of grass that had managed to grow between the cracks of the fortress. He tilted his head, amused as he looked down at it, threading it through his hands.

'I am very special.'

Catherine scoffed and playfully hit him on the side, making him rock away from her before resting back in his usual position. He threw the grass forwards, the light weight of it allowing it to drift with the wind, carrying it along the stone and down to the bottom, landing lightly like a feather. Catherine watched it as if it was the most interesting thing she had seen in a while. Everything in Narnia interested her.

'Are you sure you're not thinking of someone else?' Caspian said, a soft, teasing smile on his lips.

Catherine frowned and turned to her brother, matching his expression. 'Like you think of Queen Susan?'

Caspian's smile instantly dropped and a scowl formed on his lips. He looked away. 'It's not the same.'

'You look at her as if she's the only person in the room.' She said with a breathy sigh. 'As if Trumpkin isn't trying to seduce you with his eyes.'

Her brother let out a loud laugh which echoed along the stones and through her ears. She grinned a the sound she hadn't heard in a while, glad that she had managed to achieve such a thing. Caspian raised an eyebrow.

'I would pick that dwarf over Susan everyday.'

'Sure.' Catherine said, raising her eyebrow sceptically.

They heard a sound behind them, turning around to see that the Professor had managed to make his way up the steps and through the narrow viaduct that led to the small landing. He grunted as he sat down beside Catherine, who offered him a weak, polite smile. One of his own spread itself upon his jovial face, grand and walrus-like as he rested a hand on his large belly, protruding over the waistline of his trousers, protesting against the restraint that the tight buttons awarded him. He beamed at them.

'It's truly wonderful here.' He said, grinning brightly. 'Nothing can match the beauty of Narnia.'

The siblings were silent, and Cornelius immediately knew that they had agreed. Catherine grew restless.

'Why did you never tell us about our father?'

Catherine turned to him, intimidatingly while Caspian kept himself trained on the view. The Professor sighed, deeply, and they could both tell he was ashamed and guilty from keeping such a large secret for so long. They waited eagerly for his response.

'My mother was a black dwarf from the northern mountains.' He told them, making Caspian turn in curiosity. 'I risked my life all these years so that one day, you might be a better ruler than those before you.'

Caspian didn't hesitate in his response, a weight appearing on his shoulders so heavy that Catherine was sure she could see it.

'Then I have failed you.'

Catherine frowned at her brothers' tone and the Professor spoke up in his defence.

'Everything I told you, everything I didn't, it was only because I believe in you. You have the chance to become the most noble contradictions in history.' The Professor said, wisely. He reached over to grab Catherine and Caspian's hand, giving them a reassuring squeeze. 'The Telmarines who saved Narnia.'

Catherine squinted out onto the view, blocking the sun's rays from blocking her sight. A handful of Narnians were loitering around, keeping guard on the grass with tall weapons in their hands. Catherine felt herself straighten up with a sense of a poised purpose and Caspian looked over to see the burning resolve in her eyes, a firm and determined look on her face. Typically found with a bubbly smile and a kaleidoscopic personality, his sister was an overall admirable and elegant fighter. And fight she would.

'I am not a Telmarine.' Catherine spoke, loudly. 'I am a Narnian.'

Caspian grinned.

Cathy just wants to be loved :(

Lmao a relatable feeling, I guess. My brother hates me, but unlike Catherine and Caspian, we're not friends and he still hates me, so it's a bit anticlimactic, really.

Do you have any siblings?