~By the Lion's Mane~ >A Narnian Fanfiction<

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

It took us another ten days to sail back to Narnia. It felt longer to me, because I was agonizing over what I was going to say, and I had planned Edmund's every possible response and reply and answer. But finally the white cliffs of Narnia came into view, and we sailed into the harbor.

I unloaded poor Anduril from the bottom of the ship and the first the he did on land was lie down and roll, relishing in the fact that he was finally back on solid ground again. Then he climbed back to his feet, shook himself of all of the bits of grass and dust, and let me mount him. I took my pack of things and set off for the castle.

I reached the familiar courtyard, and swung down from Anduril's back. I was wondering why no one had come out to meet me when we docked the ship, when out came Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and Mr. Tumnus the faun, Lucy's oldest and best friend in Narnia.

I was about to run and hug them when I got a better look at their faces. My heart skipped a beat and then started hammering wildly.

"W-What's wrong?" I asked.

They looked at each other, unsure and sad. Finally, Mrs. Beaver spoke up. She was fussing nervously over her graying fur.

"You'd better come inside, dear. We've got some... news."

Once inside one of the cozy studies with dusty leather books stacked on the shelves and warmed by a crackling fire, I slowly sank into one of the armchairs, but feeling far from relaxed. I sat on the very edge of the seat, hands clasping and unclasping, desperate to hear what they had to say, and yet dreading it. 

At length, Tumnus sighed and spoke into the fire. "The kings and queens are... gone." He barely whispered the last word, but I heard it just as loudly and painfully as if he had screamed it.

I felt the blood drain from my face. "What do you mean, 'gone'?" I choked.

He shook his head. "They went out hunting three days ago, as usual, to try and catch the White Stag, but they never returned. Phillip returned the next day, followed by the other horses, and said that they had been in the Lantern Waste. They rode by the Lamppost, and then Lucy led them into a thick stand of trees. They didn't come back."

I couldn't say anything. I just opened and closed my mouth, making a little croaking noise, the blood rushing in my ears, drowning out all other sounds. My throat constricted and I felt that tightness behind my temples that I feel when I'm on the verge of tears.

Finally I managed to get myself under control enough to speak. "H-have you sent out search parties?" I whispered.

Mr. Beaver nodded. "Yes, we've searched the entire Western Wood beyond the Lamp Post. They've vanished without a trace." He paused a moment, deciding whether or not to say something. "It's possible that... they may have gone back to their own world."

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I barely slept at all that night. I lay in my bed, weeping. All the next day, I sent out more searchers. I told them to search in the areas surrounding the Western Wood, even all the way to Caldron Pool. I told myself, Maybe they're lost, maybe one got hurt and they're on their way back... But days passed and there was still no trace. I began to accept that they were gone, but I refused to believe they had chosen to leave, or that they were hurt. They must have gone back to England, by accident, as Tumnus had said.

And I turned to the next big problem that suddenly presented itself.

I was sitting in Peter's study, staring listlessly out of the window, when Tumnus suddenly burst through the door, startling me out of my trance.

"Calormenes, milady! A Falcon just arrived with the news! They are marching up the western bank of the Rush River! We must prepare for battle at once!"

I jumped to my feet. "What? Why- How? I thought we were on peaceful terms with them!"

Tumnus shook his head. "They must have heard that the Kings and Queens have gone! They are going to try to take Narnia why we are ruler-less." He stared at me, and said, "You must lead us into the fight."

I trembled. I wasn't ready for this. I had never gone into battle without Peter or Edmund. I hadn't ever had to plan a strategy. And we had never had to defend from Cair Paravel before. No enemies had ever made it this far north. But what choice did I have?

I took a breath and nodded. "Send Oreius to muster up an army right away. Everyone he can find."

I called for help suiting up, and then entered the armory. I changed into a red tunic and leggings, pulling on and lacing up my boots. A faun helped me into my heavy chain mail, and then my armor. I selected two swords, a spear, and a shield. I would have my hands full.

I found Anduril ready in the courtyard. I buried my face in his warm, horsey neck, and he reached around and nuzzled me comfortingly. Even when I was an emotional mess, his steadfast presence was always there to ground me. I took a ragged breath and pulled myself up onto his broad back.

"All right, Andy. You're going to take care of me, aren't you? We're going to win this, aren't we," I whispered into his ears, and he snorted and bobbed his noble head. His horn was polished and as sharp as a dagger.

Oreius had gathered a good-sized army of Narnians by the time we could see the glinting of Calormen armor at the edge of the woods. We were lined up and ready to fight, after rushing to get into position and after I had planned out a strategy as quickly as I could.

We both charged at the same time, with me leading our line at the front. I held my sword high in front of me, and we swept forward at the Calormenes. Our two lines collided with the sound of clanging metal, scraping swords, screams of anguish, and the cries of horses. I stabbed and threw my spear, and saw it hit the target. He was propelled backward, the spear protruding through his back. I looked away as I blocked a blow with my shield. I yelled and cursed the Calormenes and Tash. There was noise and confusion all around me, but from what I could tell, we seemed to be winning. Already, the Calormenes were thinning out and we were pushing them closer to the Great River. I grinned, thinking that we really were going to push them back, and put them in their place that quickly.

But my pride was short lived. A jarring blow knocked me from Anduril's back and I tumbled and hit the ground hard, my heavy armor weighing me down. The fall knocked the breath out of me, and I lay helplessly on the ground. I forced a breath into my lungs, and lurched into a sitting position. Andy speared a man with his horn and tossed him away like a flake of hay.

But he was being separated from me. A shadow loomed above me. A bearded and helmeted face leered at me and aimed a kick at my chest. I sliced at him with my sword, but he blocked it and the sword flew from my grasp to stick in the ground a few yards away, out of reach. I quickly drew my left sword, and thrust at him, struggling to get to my feet so I could move.

But his blows reigned down from above me, and I was forced to block strike after strike, which was forcing me down again. Then he got in a hit. He knocked my last weapon from my hand with a clatter. I was now weaponless and defenseless. In a last act of desperation, I screamed and lunged at him, trying to bash him sideways with my heavy shield. It worked, and he fell down, knocked unconscious. I gave a triumphant "Ha!", relieved that I had beaten him.

And then I fell forward as a sword was thrust straight through my body and my laugh was changed to a gasp of pain. I managed a choked scream and agony ripped through my body. The attacker pulled the sword back out from under my arm as I fell to my knees. I trembled as the ground spun before me, rushing up to slam me in my face. Gasping for breath and trying to stay conscious, I felt for my wound. Blood was quickly seeping through my mail. The sword had been pushed through the small hole right under the arms and was through my ribs, but hadn't gone all the way through. But it might be enough if it had struck a vital organ.

I lay sprawled on the ground; my arms crumpled underneath my body as my blood leaked out and stained the grass. I took slow, ragged breaths, fighting off blackness. But it came anyway. My vision grew fuzzy and dark around the edges of my sight, quickly closing in until all I could see was darkness broken by millions of tiny stars, and the sound faded away until all I could hear was the beating of my heart and my breathing.

And then all of that disappeared too.