WAR OF HEARTS ━ prince caspian x

eight

˗ˏˋCHAPTER EIGHTˊˎ-

***

AT EDMUND'S WORD of warning hours later, the royals (excluding Wren, of course, but she was there anyway) stood at the top peak of the mountain, where all of their guards kept watch. In the distance, the biggest army she had ever seen was marching straight to them. Thousands of men in silver and blue uniforms were all about to take over their field. And for a moment, Wren genuinely thought they were screwed. The sound of the Trelmarine's feet stomping against the ground was audible, even from how far away they were. Wren could've swore the world shook from underneath her.

Large wooden weapons that were fifty feet tall were pulled in by horses, and she felt her heart drop. Hopefully their plan was going to be enough to outsmart them, because they were extremely outnumbered, and the Trelmarine's troops were only growing as more men appeared from the forest.

They all shared the same expression at that moment. Panic and worry—and that's exactly how the room's atmosphere felt when they were back inside the cave.

"Cakes and kettledrums. That's your next big plan?" Trumpkin demanded, raising his voice. "Sending a little girl into the darkest parts of the forest? Alone!"

"It's our only chance," Peter reasoned.

"And she won't be alone," Wren spoke out now. "I'm going with her."

Trumpkin scowled. "That's as good as sending her alone-" But he didn't have time to finish, because with lightening fast hand movements, Wren flung one of her daggers, and it zoomed right past his head, nearly cutting his ear off. He froze, looking stunned.

Wren held back from grinning smugly. "Don't ever underestimate my fighting capabilities again."

Trumpkin faltered, looking to Lucy fearfully. "Haven't enough of us died already?

"Nikabrik was mg friend too. But he lost hope," Trufflehunter said. "Queen Lucy hasn't. And neither have I."

"For Aslan," Reepicheep bowed his head.

"Then I'm going with you," Trumpkin insisted, glancing to Wren. "Even with the apparent war expert."

Wren frowned. "I never said I was a-"

"No," Lucy shook her head, cutting her off. "We need you here."

"We have to hold them off until Lucy and Wren get back. Susan is going to be leading the archers."

"If I may..." Caspian began, and Peter nodded, so he stood up. "Miraz may be a tyrant and a murderer, but as king, he is subject to the traditions and expectations of his people. There is one in particular that may buy us some time."

***

Wren quickly packed her things into a newly crafted backpack, which held everything she and Lucy needed for their short trip. She climbed onto the horse behind the young girl with the help of Caspian's hand. He stared up at them with an odd look on his face, one that Wren couldn't read to find out what it meant.

"Destrier has always served me well. You are in good hands."

"Or hooves," Lucy joked, making the prince crack a smile.

After gently clipping the bottom of the saddle together. His eyes met hers again, and for a moment she was completely breathless as she stared into them. "Good luck," he wished, charmingly smiling at her.

Wren refrained from letting the butterflies form in her stomach at his low tone that did more to her than she'd like to admit. She forced out a grin. "Thanks."

She could feel his intense stare on her back as she lightly smacked the reins onto the horse, and rode him out of the cave, and into the back woods.

They didn't make it very far into the forest when the sound of more hooves pounding against the ground could be heard from behind, and Wren spared a quick glance back to see at least six men following after them. "They've seen us!" Lucy told her frantically. The daggers in Wren's belt suddenly made their weight onto her stomach, and she slowed Destrier down long enough for her to jump off. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "But there's no way we're going to be able to get far enough ahead of them without... Just take the reins. I'm afraid you'll be going alone after all."

The anxiousness Wren had felt during her first battle had disappeared completely, as if her mind knew that she'd be the one who would come out of this. It was in her blood, after all. Something that she'd never thought possible a week prior, because the blood she actually knew was a complete deadbeat. But not her father. He was a hero, and it was up to her to carry on his legacy. And as the Trelmarines got closer, she kept that thought in mind just as she threw her first dagger into one's chest, knocking him off his horse.

The next one came rushing in, and she flipped out another knife, this one landed in his abdomen, and he tumbled onto the grass. She mimicked the action thrice more, before a sword nearly collided with her head, and she had to duck. She was quickly knocked to the ground as the Telmarine hopped off his horse to stab her, but she narrowly rolled out of the way just as his weapon smacked against the forest floor, right where she had been only seconds prior.

With as much strength as she could muster, she kicked him hard in the shin, and with the force of her leg, she managed to trip him. Her dagger soon found his stomach, right as another Telmarine cornered her against a tree.

Her last remaining dagger was stuffed in her boot, but her leg was too far away for her to reach it. If she moved one inch, the sword that was held to her could've slashed through her throat. A loud battle cry rang out from behind her, and Caspian appeared on another horse, jabbing the Telmarine with his own sword, and the man fell to the ground. Wren looked up, frozen with shock. She had truly thought she was done for.

He grinned cockily down at her. "You're pretty good, but definitely not a war chief."

Wren scoffed, and allowed him to pull her upright. Her hand lingered in his longer than she realized, and she hurriedly released his fingers, allowing her arm to drop down to her side. "I never said I was."

"Right," he sounded unconvinced and she found it hard to hold back her smile. "You just wanted to prove a point."

Wren bent down to retrieve her fifth dagger from out of another deceased Telmarine, hardly looking back Caspian's way. "So know you think you know me."

"I know a lot more than you think," his shadow fell over her, and she slowly rose from the ground after picking up her last knife. Wren turned to face him, and their chest almost touched. They were so close, in fact, she could've leaned forward to kiss him. The sudden thought made her eyes dart down to his lips, but his remained on the side of her face. He lightly brushed the pad of his thumb against her skin, and she resisted to urge to shiver as he showed the slight red stain in explanation. "You had blood on your cheek."

Wren's face flushed, and she stepped back. "I appreciate the knight in shining armor moment, but we should get back before any more of those psychopaths figure out we're back here. I'm sure they'd be more than excited to go off with your head in private where your body would never be found again."

Caspian blinked, clearly not familiar with the terms she was using, but nodded regardless. "Let's get back to it, then."

authors note

i am bad at writing fighting scenes😐