WAR OF HEARTS ━ prince caspian x

three

˗ˏˋCHAPTER THREEˊˎ-

***

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD practice with those daggers," Peter advised, eyeing up the nine small weapons that were laid next to her on the ledge. "It isn't wise to walk around here and not know how to defend yourself. Trust me, we would know."

"Right," Wren nodded, twirling one of her knives in her hands. "I'll go throw these at some trees, then."

"I'll come with you," Susan announced, showing her the bow in her hands. "It's been over a year since I've had any practice with this. Need to get a feel of it again." The pair walked back outside, making their way over to where the trees were now surrounding them. "You go first. You've never experienced anything like this before."

Wren nodded, and pulled out one of the daggers that was strapped to her belt. She aimed it at the tree, her hands shaking a bit as she stared directly at the bark on the trunk. Nervously swallowing, Wren flung the weapon out of her hand, and felt her jaw fall open slick with shock when it hit the exact piece of bark she'd been looking at.

"Since when could you throw knives?" It was Edmund who asked, and Wren turned her head to shrug in his direction.

"Since two seconds ago, apparently."

"Give it another go," Peter said. "That was quite extraordinary. You're a natural."

And Wren had to admit that she was. Not once did she miss the tree, in fact, her body seemed to already know how much force to put into her arm whenever she changed the distance of her and the tree. It was odd. Never in her life had she done anything like this. She really was a natural.

After about thirty minutes of practicing, Wren took a break, letting the others get a chance. "Hey," Wren was the first to notice the figure of a boat in the distance, floating atop the water. She stood up from off the broken stairs, gaining the attention of the others. "Who is that?"

"No idea," Peter came to stand next to her. "Let's go find out."

They rushed towards the water, and her heart came to a stop when she realized these people were holding up a small, tied up man, and that they were about to throw him into the water. Susan quickly sprang into action, and shot an arrow at them, hitting the boat so hard it rocked side-to-side.

"Drop him!" She demanded.

"I'm not sure that was the best choice of words-" Wren started to say, but the two men threw the other one into the lake, and he landed with a splash. Peter sprinted over to save him, and Susan pulled back her bow, shooting another arrow that landed in one of the men's chest. While Peter pulled the small dwarf man to land, Edmund lugged the boat. Lucy crouched down to cut off his bindings.

He coughed a few times before standing up, glaring at Susan. "Drop him?!" He repeated. "That's the best you can come up with?"

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice."

"They were doing fine drowning me without your help!"

"We just saved your life," Wren said sharply. "Without us you'd be stranded at the bottom of that lake right now, so shut your mouth."

"Yeah, maybe we should've let them," Peter said.

The small man faltered, his eyes scanning over her. "You...You look oddly familiar."

"Why were they trying to kill you, anyway?" Lucy wondered, cutting off Wren from asking what he meant by that.

"They're Telmarines. That's what they do."

"Telmarines?" Edmund echoed. "In Narnia?"

"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Lucy admitted, chuckling.

A look of realization crossed over his face. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You're it? You're the kings and queens of Old?"

Peter nodded, stretching out his hand. "High King Peter, the Magnificent."

"You probably could've left off the last bit," Susan muttered, making them laugh, but dwarf man still looked unimpressed.

Peter pulled out his sword, offering it to him. "You might be surprised."

"Oh, you don't want to do that, boy."

"Not me. Him."

Slowly, the dwarf took the sword from Peter. They stood in silence, before a battle broke out. Weapons whirled about, and everything was so quick Wren had a hard time keeping up with what was happening. The next thing she knew, Edmund had knocked the sword out of the other man's hands, and he looked completely shocked, and fell to the ground.

"Beards and bedsteads!" He breathed. "Maybe that horn worked after all."

***

The scenery of Narnia was absolutely breathtaking. With water as clear as day, so clear that it actually looked blue, and mountains that surrounded the river they were now rowing on, and the tree branches clouding overhead, Wren never had seen anything so beautiful in her life.

"They're so still," Lucy commented, gazing up at the trees.

"They're trees. What'd you expect?"

"They used to dance."

Great, Wren thought. Let's add dancing trees to the list of Narnia's strange yet wonderful things.

"Wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded," Trumpkin said. "Those who survived retreated to the woods. And the trees, they retreated to deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since."

"I don't understand," Lucy admitted. "How could Aslan have let this happen?"

"Aslan? Thought he abandoned us when you lot did," he muttered bitterly, looking hurt for only a moment before he turned his head.

"We didn't mean to leave, you know," Peter told him.

"Makes no difference now, does it?"

The blonde had that fierce look in his eyes again. "Get us to the Narnians...And it will."

When they finally reached land, Trumpkin laid the anchor down into the rocks as the four older teens pulled the boat out from the water. Lucy wandered off far ahead, but her voice made them all look in her direction out of concern.

"Hello, there," she greeted to a bear that had its head crouched. Wren immediately tensed. Surely, Narnia was a magical place, but speaking to a bear didn't seem as logical in any world. Yet that didn't seem to stop her. "It's all right. We're friends."

"Don't move, Your Majesty!" Trumpkin yelled, and Lucy turned back just as the bear started to charge at her. She shrieked, and started to run back towards the rest of them.

"Stay away from her!" Susan ordered, raising her bow, and Lucy tripped and fell onto the ground.

"Shoot, Susan! Shoot!"

Lucy screamed, and just as the bear seemed ready to bite her, an arrow striked its chest. But it hadn't been Susan who'd done it, it was Trumpkin.

"Why wouldn't he stop?"

"I suspect he was hungry."

"I'm sorry..." Wren interrupted. "Is approaching wild bears here a normal thing? Because I don't think I'm too fond of that tradition."

They ignored her, and crowded around the dead animal. Trumpkin poked it with the edge of his bow. "He was wild," Edmund said. "I don't think he could talk at all."

"Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become." Trumpkin stood up, facing them once more. "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember."

authors note

the name trumpkin gives me anger🙏🏼