I'm baaaaaaackkkk. And with a whole new back of tricks up my sleeve! This one's pretty open-ended right now so I'm still hammering out the details, but since I have the first chapter all written anyway I figured I might as well post 'er up! So now, without further ado, I give you chapter one of Eclipse of the Stars!

Full Summary: It's been a year since Izzy left Narnia, and this summer Dana and Jo are visiting to try and help alleviate her feelings of being torn apart and, at times, more than a little self-destructive. But the night of their arrival it's pouring rain and, staying true to the usual cliché, the precipitation brings more than just a little mud.

I'm unsure about this one. I hope you like it! I don't want to disappoint. xD

Chapter One: Pretty as a Car Crash

One year. Twelve months. Fifty-two weeks. Three hundred and sixty five and one-quarter days. Eight thousand seven hundred and sixty-six hours. Five hundred and twenty-five thousand, nine hundred and forty-nine minutes. Thirty-one million, five hundred and fifty-six thousand, nine hundred and twenty-six seconds. All of them agonizing.

Ducking down to look through the top of the windshield, I could see the London airport rising in front of the dark clouds rolling in. I was on my way to pick up a little piece of my home. Well, a little piece of my other home. Actually, if you wanted to get real specific, I'd have to say my other, other home. Perhaps I should explain.

One year and three days ago, I fell through my closet door and into an amazing world that I never knew existed. You probably think I'm crazy, right? Well, I'm not. At least, not all the time. I know that Narnia is real and I know that I was there. No amount of therapy or psychoanalysis is about to change my mind. I have to believe it was real. If I can't, my heart will shatter into a million pieces, because if Narnia isn't real that means the one person I ever really, truly, undeniably loved isn't real either. I had to leave him behind, and come back to my own world, and since then I've never felt the same.

I know, I know, everyone suffers heartbreak every once in a while, but this was something more. We share a much stronger bond than some teenage puppy love relationship. He is my Compositus Animus, my Matching Soul. The connection we have, which can only be achieved in Narnia, because it's got some weird complicated magic to it and magic doesn't exist in our world, is called Animus Vinculum, or Soul Bond. A centaur named Haybra told me that it is the rarest bond two people can have, in which two separate souls are so compatible that they merge together completely.

And so, when I left, it was like ripping one soul in half and not only sending the two pieces in opposite directions, but also putting them in two entirely different worlds. Doesn't that sound terrible? That's because it is.

As soon as I arrived back in the darkness of my closet where almost no time had passed while I was in Narnia, I knew something was wrong. I don't think I really believed what the centaur said until that moment, but there was really no other way to explain why I felt like something was just missing.

I won't say that I felt empty, because that's far too generic and cliché. Though, I probably would've preferred feeling empty because when you're empty there's nothing to feel, and what I felt was agonizing. Anyway, I felt more like a glass that was half empty (or half full, whichever you prefer- I personally prefer empty). The pain of missing half of your soul is almost unbearable at first, but once whatever half is left has filled the void with a rough outline of what used to be there, it lessens to a dull ache.

Now, it's pretty annoying to have to carry that around with you all the time. It's a constant reminder. Even when you try not to think about it, it's still there. Plus, it was a little foreign. I guess when two souls merge together they mix up, so when it's split there's no telling which pieces were going to who. It was a little comforting, knowing I was carrying little pieces of him around with me, but only a tiny bit. But I made do, did my best to enjoy things, went to school, learned things, ate, slept. The usual. All the while I was wondering when and if I would be going back.

I think the biggest clue that I took some of him home was my increased interest in history. Suddenly, it was my favorite class. I also took up an interest in astrology. When I started at Montclair State University in the fall (back in New Jersey so I could go to school with my best friend, Dana), I'd be majoring in military history and my minor was going to be English literature (in honor of my hero, William Shakespeare), but I also signed up for an astronomy class. Unfortunately, they didn't have a fencing team or club. That was another thing I'd taken up when I came back. Out of nowhere, I really wanted to be able to handle a sword. Maybe I wanted the exorcise. Maybe I wanted him to be proud of me.

Him. My stranger. My prince. My Caspian.

I pulled up to the front of the airport in my dad's old, beat up pickup truck with the steering wheel on the wrong side (for England, which was where I was currently residing). Leaving the truck to idle in the drop off/pickup lane, I jumped out (almost getting run over by a taxi) and ran around the hood to embrace my little piece of home- both of them at the same time. My best friends in (this) entire world, Dana and Jo, had spent their well-earned money on plane tickets just so they could come and spend the summer with me. Amazingly, the ache in my chest was overpowered with happiness when I saw them. I knew that if anyone could make me feel better, it would be them. The only other person who could was kind of in a different world, so, there you go.

"Izzy!" they cried in unison as we broke apart.

"Jona!" I yelled in reply, putting their names together. We laughed, and I helped them pile their stuff into the bed of the truck. I pulled the canvas top over their bags and hooked it in place. "I'm so glad you guys are here. I've been feeling kind of Lex-y lately." Lex was the alternate version of myself, the terrible person I become whenever I sink back into my sociopathic tendencies. Before I'd gone to Narnia, they had no idea about my history with the psychiatric system. I was always afraid that they wouldn't love me anymore. I learned a lot about love in Narnia. The first thing I did when I got back was tell them everything via a very tearful three-way phone call.

"Well, we'll just have to kick her ass," Jo said as she slid into the cabin after Dana, who was squished between us in the middle seat. That's the down side of pickup trucks, there's only one seat in the cabin.

"Yeah, yeah." As I pulled away from the curb, I looked up at the clouds again nervously. "Tut tut, looks like rain!"

"Let's hope this hunk 'a junk can handle it," Dana said.

"Six, six, six," was all I said in response. They both laughed, and Jo reached over to turn on the radio. "You're not going to find much. Put a CD in. The case is on the floor." She followed my directions, flipping through the book until she found one that caught her interest and slid it into the player. I groaned. "You've got to be joking."

"Nope!" Jo replied. "I haven't heard this album in a long time."

"It's Good Charlotte," I muttered.

"I like it sometimes!"

"It's Good Charlotte."

"Why do you even have it if you hate it that much?"

"I don't hate it," I replied. "It's my guilty pleasure. I try not to advertise it by playing it in my car." I pulled out of the airport zone and started weaving my way through the twisting streets.

"So roll the windows up!"

"We probably should anyway," Dana said. "It's starting to drizzle." We rolled the windows up, which was quite an experience since we had to do it manually and I was so not taking my hands off the wheel so Dana had to reach across my lap to roll mine up.

"How far away is your place?" Jo asked.

"About two hours," I replied. "Most of which is traveled on dirt roads. I live in the boondocks."

"I want to see John Lennon's grave," Dana said.

"We'll get around to it, but it's already coming down pretty hard and it's almost six. It'll be getting dark soon."

As the drive wore on, we settled into our habit of alternating between conversation and obnoxiously loud karaoke along with the radio. The CD was switched over and over again, so by the time we turned onto the last long stretch of deserted country road the speakers were blasting Superchick.

"Are we there yet?" Jo whined just to be annoying.

"We have like, a half hour drive left," I replied, unfazed.

"Boo. I have to pee and the friggin' rain is making it worse!"

It hadn't stopped pouring the entire drive. I was afraid my poor windshield wipers would snap off and go spinning into the darkness, they were moving so fast. "I have to pee too, but unless you want to go pick a tree in this rain, you're going to have to wait a half an hour."

"Is there even anything to do within a twenty mile radius of your house?" Dana asked.

"We have a pond. My dad had it dredged so it's good for swimming. He even built a dock."

"Sweet. Too bad I didn't bring my bathing suit."

"Neither did I," added Jo.

"You guys are totally useless, you know that?" I asked. I looked over to raise my eyebrows at them. "We can always just go skinny dipping."

"Izzy!" Dana yelled.

"I was just kidding!"

"No! Look!" She grabbed my head and turned it so I was looking through the windshield, and I saw what she was yelling about. A figure, obviously a person, was standing in the middle of the road a few yards ahead.

"Shit!" I screamed, slamming on the brakes. Unfortunately, the road was muddy, so even when the wheels stopped turning the truck kept skidding. My reaction was too late, and all I could do was watch in horror as the front of my truck careened into the person and they disappeared from view. "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. I just hit someone with my truck. Oh my God."

"Izzy, breathe!" Jo ordered. I did as I was told, taking several deep breaths.

"I'm going to go see if they're okay," I said after a tense moment.

"Good idea!" Dana said. "Go check on the shadowy figure on this deserted country road surrounded by trees in the nighttime and the rain. When you're done, we'll knock on a crazy stranger's door and ask him to kill us with his cork screw!"

I stared at her for a second. "What the hell are you talking about? I just hit the guy, I can't just leave 'em there!"

"Okay, let's go then," Jo said. "We all better go, just in case it is a homicidal maniac."

I rolled my eyes at my friends' dramatics and unhooked my belt, then threw the driver's side door open. Jumping out into the mud, I had to squint to see through the rain. I slammed the door closed as they other girls slipped out of the other door, and started to the front of my truck. "Oh, shit," I mumbled when I realized I'd hit the person hard enough to send them sprawling outside the illumination of my headlights. I splashed over to the motionless body and fell to my knees, leaning down to pull them into a sitting position. The stranger responded to my touch and put effort into sitting up, signaling that they were still conscious. "Are you all right? Does it hurt anywhere? Is anything broken?" I asked urgently, yelling over the sound of Dana and Jo sloshing over to us.

"I don't think so," a man's voice replied.

"Are you sure? I hit you pretty hard. I'm so sorry about that. I didn't expect anyone to be on this road so I got careless."

"Yes. I am only a little…confused." His voice was muffled by the rain. I stood up, pulling him with me as I did.

"Let's get you into the light so we can make sure you don't have a concussion," I said. He didn't reply, only leaned heavily against me. The strange material of the shirt he was wearing rubbed against my side uncomfortably, but I guess that's a small price to pay since I hit him with my truck and all. When we got him in front of the light, Jo and Dana helped me lower him to the ground so we could check his pupils for dilation. The sudden light caused him to flinch and put a hand up to block it from his eyes, but even in the shadow I could make out his features. Features I recognized. Dark exotic eyes and burnt caramel skin.

No way.

No fucking way.

I could only stare while Jo and Dana both dropped down to inspect him for any wounds. There was no way this person could be here. It was simply not possible. I must be getting even crazier than usual and casting images onto strangers. And yet, suddenly the ache in my chest wasn't there anymore. For the first time in over a year I felt complete. I had to see his face in the light. I had to know for sure.

I unceremoniously shoved Jo and Dana out of the way. Ignoring their complaints, I took the man's face in my hands and angled it towards the light. He squinted, but even so my heart stopped, because that face unmistakably belonged to-

"Caspian!?" I shrieked, hurting even my own ears. My heart started again, going three times the normal speed.

He flinched. "You know me?"

"Of course I know y-" I stopped myself, realizing that I was bent over him in such a way that the light didn't hit my face. I dropped to my knees in front of him, ignoring the way the sudden illumination burned my eyes.

His jaw dropped, and he reached out a hand to push my sopping wet hair back from my face. "I can't believe it," he said softly. "Isabella?"

"Caspian!" I repeated, my voice portraying a million different emotions at once. I was suddenly sobbing, my tears mixing with the rain on my cheeks. Caspian could tell at once, and he instantly pulled me against him. I didn't know how to react. My body started moving on it's own, my arms wrapping around his neck and clutching at his dripping wet hair. I just kept saying his name over and over again until I no longer had enough breath to. He leaned back so he could look at me and traced my features with his fingertips and then pressed his face into my neck, mumbling my name the same way I had done with his.

"Um, what the hell is going on?" Jo's voice interrupted our reunion. I jerked away from Caspian, surprised. I'd completely forgotten they were there. They were both on their knees next to us, looking incredibly confused.

"These are your friends," Caspian stated.

"Yes, but uh, I don't think here is a good place for introductions," I replied. "Can you stand? Oh my God I can't believe I hit you with my truck."

"You are here. I can do anything now." I stood up first, then along with Jo and Dana pulled him to his feet.

"Is he wearing chain mail?" Dana scoffed.

"Um, yes," I replied.

With an extra person, the cabin of my truck was even more cramped and uncomfortable, and with the added conditions of being soaking wet and covered in mud, my best friends were not pleased (especially because Dana had to sit on Jo's lap with Caspian between us). I had a lot of explaining to do when we got to the house.

The urge to touch Caspian was unbearable. I wanted to hold onto him, make sure he was real. He seemed to feel the same way, keeping his arm around me and playing with my hair while he stared in wonder at the lights on the radio. I tried to focus on the road, but kept looking at him out of the corner of my eye just to check, make sure he was still there.

"Is that a sword?" Jo asked, pointing across Caspian's lap.

"Yes. It is Rhindon, the sword of High King Peter that he passed on to me on his departure," he replied. I inwardly groaned. Maybe I shouldn't let him answer any more questions.

"Riiiight," Jo said. "High King Peter…"

"Um, Caspian?" I spoke up.

"Isabella," he said to signify I had his attention.

"Maybe you shouldn't…answer…any more questions, kay?" I advised.

"If you think that is best…" He didn't understand why. Once again, he was distracted by the radio, and he started asking questions about it and the truck, which Dana kindly answered in a sweet voice. Great, she thinks he has Down's Syndrome or something. I tried to concentrate on the road rather than what was going on. I swallowed every question I had for him, deciding to save it for later- after hot food and hot showers and dry clothes. I thought of the spaghetti and meatballs my mom was making in honor of our guests' arrival. Apparently we had one more guest than we planned… Oh, shit. How was I going to explain Caspian to my parents?

"What's wrong, querida?" Caspian's voice interrupted my contemplation.

"Huh?" I replied.

"What's wrong?" he repeated.

"Nothing's wrong."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"You're chewing on the inside of your cheek. You only do that when you're lying." Stupid soul-sharer.

I groaned. "I'm trying to figure out how to explain your existence to my parents. Oh, and my friends for that matter. Oh God I'm going to be committed again." I hit my head against the steering wheel, causing us to swerve momentarily.

"Izzy calm down!" Dana yelled. I took a deep breath, focusing back on the road, keeping my eye on the left-hand side, looking for the turn into my ridiculously long driveway.

"Sorry, guys," I said. "I'm just freaking out right now because Caspian's here which makes me incredibly happy but incredibly freaked because it should be impossible for him to be here and you guys are here and my parents are going to flip because there is no way I can possibly explain how I met him without going right back to the mental institution." I breathed heavily after I finished.

"So…don't…tell them?" Jo suggested.

"What should I tell them, then? I obviously can't tell them the truth!"

"That actually isn't obvious because we don't know the truth yet, but if that's how you feel then…tell them he's my cousin," she offered.

"From where? Mexico? Which side of the family would that be, your English dad or your Australian mom? He's like, seven shades darker than you." Caspian looked at his hand when I said this and shrugged.

"Oh, that is a problem…"

"Why don't you just tell them he's your boyfriend from New Jersey?" Dana suggested.

"That would work…if my dad wasn't in the military!" I replied. Visions of my father pulling an AK47 on Caspian filled my mind. I shuddered.

"You're eighteen. What's your dad gonna do? It's not like he'll be sleeping in your bed or anything."

I spotted the turn into my driveway and took it harder than I needed to in my agitation. "Fine. But if he pulls out a gun you get to be the shield."