The Narnian numbers were dwindling, and the Telmarines seemed to be coming from nowhere. Peter glanced around the field, taking in the battle around him.
He easily spotted Edmund, fighting a group of soldiers, where every time one was killed, it seemed that two more appeared.
He then searched and found Prince Caspian in a similar situation as his brother, fighting his way through a swarm of Telmarines.
And finally, knowing that Lucy was somewhere off in the forest, hopefully fairing well, his eyes rested on Susan. She stood perched with the rest of the archers, an arrow strung on her bow waiting for the opportune moment to shoot.
Peter watched as several catapults launched huge rocks towards their base, many hitting above or below the balcony where the archers stood. Each time one hit, the rocks would shake and a few archers would lose their balance.
After a split second of thinking, Peter realized there was one option, and he called retreat back in to their base. He repeated his order a few times until the Narnian army had turned in their tracks and were racing for the stone opening.
As Peter headed towards the entrance, he found his brother and friend by his side with the other Narnians close behind them. He felt that this time, things might actually work out.
But, when Peter felt as if a certain victory was at his fingertips, something terrible occurred. The Telmarine catapults fired at a rapid speed and were aimed straight for the base. Almost all at once, at least five huge boulders smashed against the front wall of their base, and the ledge and walls began to crumble.
The Narnians froze in their tracks as sections of their base crumbled to pieces and crashed down to the ground…right in front of the door and blocking their entrance. Peter's heart began to race as his previous hope was slowly beginning to dwindle.
His mind was racing to think of ideas, trying to find a way that this might all work, but everything halted when he looked up at his sister.
More and more catapults were still launching their loads and the Narnians, and after a few had hit the ledge where the archers stood, part of it gave way, falling to the ground and adding more to the pile blocking the door.
Peter's racing heart suddenly stopped as he noticed that the section of the ledge that had broken off was right underneath Susan. She automatically lost her footing, and began plummeting towards the ground.
By a stroke of luck, Trumpkin managed to grab hold of her hand, and Peter felt a wave of relief wash over him, but only for a split second. It was obvious that Trumpkin would never be able to keep a hold on Susan, despite his efforts.
Peter's breath hitched in his throat as he watched his little sister begin to slip from the dwarf's grip and he felt Edmund stiffen beside him. It was the worst feeling, having to watch Susan dangle above the ground, about to face a fall that wouldn't turn out well. He wanted so much to rush forward and prepare to catch her, but his body simply wouldn't move.
The next few seconds seemed to move in a slow motion. Trumpkin finally lost his grip on Susan's hand and the two Pevensie brothers had to watch in horror as she fell to the ground. As she fell, her body hit the barricade of rocks below and they heard a sickening crack as she landed on the ground.
It seemed like at that point everything froze. Even the Telmarines had halted as they watched the Narnian queen come crashing down the ground. The field was still as both sides watched the two Kings rush forward and fall to their knees by their sister.
Edmund reached her first and took obvious note that she was unconscious. He also noted with horror that some of her limbs were in unnatural positions, making her look completely broken. He removed her quiver from across her shoulder, being sure to do it carefully so he wouldn't cause her anymore damage.
Peter had also appeared on the ground next to them, taking in the extent of her wounds. She looked so fragile and broken, and Peter felt his heart stop beating. He watched as Edmund carefully lifted her head and placed it on his lap, but as he looked at his hands, he gasped.
His head lifted to look at his older brother, tears forming in his eyes. He lifted his hand to show Peter that it was covered in blood; Susan must have hit her head when she fell.
Peter's eyes widened, this couldn't be happening. Where was Lucy when you needed her?
"We have to get her inside somehow, now" Peter said, his voice trembling and filled with desperation.
The two boys looked up to see that a group of centaurs had worked to remove some of the rubble and exposed a small hole in the rock, just big enough for them to get through. Peter took his sister carefully in his arms and maneuvered them through the opening and in to the base, Edmund close behind.
As soon as they had entered the relative safety of their base, they heard all hell break loose outside. From what they could tell, the Narnians had turned on their heels and charged the Telmarines, outraged at what they had done to their queen. Sounds of battle rang throughout the chambers of their base as the brothers took their wounded sister deep in to where the broken Stone Table sat. Peter laid her down carefully on the larger half of the table and turned to his brother.
"We need to take the best care of her that we can until Lucy gets back, then the cordial should take care of everything" he said, his voice sounding slightly panicked.
"Peter…" Edmund started, looking down at his big sister, "she doesn't look good at all. That was a big fall. What if Lucy doesn't get here in time?" he hated to even say that, be he couldn't help but speak what was on both of their minds.
Peter ran a hand through his hair, "we can't think like that Ed. She'll be fine. Su's a fighter, she'll make it. She has to make it". He looked over to her still form and noticed that the stone beneath her was beginning to tint red. Peter shuddered at the sight as he ripped part of his tunic and moved to his sister. He placed the cloth against the wound, pressing carefully, attempting to stop the bleeding.
The two sat in silence, each taking turns in tending to Susan in anyway that they could. Edmund had managed to stabilize both her arm and leg which had broken when she hit the stones. He also guessed that at least a few of her ribs had broken, for when he listened to her breathing, it sounded ragged and strangled.
They sat next to her on the corner of the table, looking up at the carving of Aslan, praying that he would be able to help them. They also couldn't help but think of the battle outside. The Narnians would understand without a doubt that they had to leave to help Susan, but they each felt terrible for abandoning their army. It was uncharacteristic of them to just up and leave, but of course, they had a justifiable reason.
"She'll be okay, right?" Edmund's small voice broke the silence between the brothers. Peter turned to see him looking at Susan, his eyes portraying fear and vulnerability and his hands fiddling with her bow. Peter hated seeing his brother like this, and it was a rare sight indeed. But he had come to learn that Edmund's weaknesses were his siblings, and whenever one of them was hurt his strong façade would melt away. And for one of them to be injured like this, Peter could tell it was just tearing his baby brother up inside.
It wasn't any easier for him either. He always felt it his responsibility as the oldest to care for his brother and sisters, so whenever one was harmed, he felt like it was his fault. Especially since just a year ago he had come so close to losing each of them; Edmund to the Witch, Lucy to the river and Susan to the wolves. This was beginning to become to close of a call, and there was nothing he could do to help her.
"I…I don't know Ed. All we can do is pray to Aslan that Lucy comes back soon" Peter said, speaking the truth. It was worthless to lie to Edmund and guarantee that Susan would make it out just fine.
But as Peter spoke those words, they gained reason to have unbelievable faith that everything would work out. They heard a might roar that shook the foundation of the room and sounded as if the might lion was right there with them.
The brothers looked at each other, their eyes now portraying hope. Aslan was helping their army without a doubt, which meant he would probably help Susan too. Or at the very least, if Aslan was near, it meant Lucy was as well and she'd arrive with her cordial soon.
Edmund turned his body so he was facing Susan and took on of her limp, bruised hands and ran his thumb over it.
"Everything is going to be fine, Su. Lucy and Aslan are on their way and you'll be just fine. Just hang in a few more minutes.
At that moment, Prince Caspian came rushing in to the chamber. His eyes landed on the queen and he looked over at her brothers.
"How is she?" he asked cautiously. Peter met his gaze, taking note of the worry in the prince's eyes.
"Not great. I think she hit her head on the way down, and she's got a broken leg, arm and a few ribs" Caspian nodded solemnly, his gaze returning to Susan. "How'd it go out there?" Peter asked in return.
"We were victorious. Your sister arrived just in time with Aslan who wiped out half of the Telmarine army and scared off the other half", he reported happily. Edmund and Peter sighed with relief. They would have felt awful if they had lost after abandoning their army. At least that was one matter out of the way and they could focus on their sister.
"Have you by any chance seen Lucy?" Edmund asked, somewhat desperate.
"She was right behind us when we returned here, she should be…" Caspian was interrupted when Lucy came bounding in to the room.
"Edmund! Peter! We won!" She told them happily, a huge smile gracing her features. However, her smile dropped to a frown when she took in the sight before her.
Susan was lying across the Stone Table, Edmund pressing a bloodied cloth against her head and her limbs trapped in splints. Edmund and Peter sat protectively beside her, each looking very weary and each with desperation in their eyes. Caspian also stood nearby, worry evident across his face.
"What happened?" Lucy asked quietly, making her way towards her sister. She sat on her knees on the table and brushed a piece of Susan's dark hair off of her face.
"The Telmarines were firing boulders at the archers. The ledge they were on gave way and Susan fell, hitting the barricade in front of the door as she came down" Peter explained solemnly. The three that had seen the event shuddered as the event came back to their minds. It was sure that they wouldn't soon forget the crack that they all heard as she hit the ground.
Wordlessly, Lucy took the vile from its place on her hip. She unscrewed the crystal stopper and held the bottle above Susan's lips. Edmund carefully took her chin in his right hand, and the back of her head in the other, gently opening her mouth so Lucy could get the Fireflower juice past their sister's lips.
Lucy tipped the bottle carefully, allowing a single drop to escape the bottle and into Susan's mouth. Peter took his index finger and brushed it down Susan's throat slowly, a trick he had learned a long time ago that provoked a person to swallow.
Caspian watched this process with fascination. He remembered from Doctor Cornelious's stories that the Pevensies were incredibly close, but it was quite something to see their bond in action.
They all waited, holding their breath unconsciously, for the medicine to take action. After a tense moment, Susan breathed in deeply and began to cough. Edmund helped her to sit up and rubbed small circles in her back, getting her breathing to calm down. The three siblings shared a relieved look before turning back to Susan.
Once her breathing had calmed down, Susan looked up to the four others in the room, "what happened?" she asked.
Peter smiled down at his little sister, relief having washed over him, "you had a bit of a nasty fall from that ledge above the entrance" he explained to her. Susan's face scrunched up as she thought about what he had said, muttering a small "oh yeah".
"Wait, did we win?" she asked, biting the bottom of her lip. They all nodded, and Susan smiled.
"I'm really glad you're okay, Su. You had us worried to death" Edmund said as he pulled his sister in to a tight hug; Peter and Lucy quickly joined in on the hug.
Caspian smiled fondly at the four children. He could tell that their bond was one that was unbreakable and that they would always be there for each other.
Saw Prince Caspian yesterday and absolutely loved it! Being a Susan fan as I am, I had kind of wish her fall had been a bit more dramatic, so I decided to take it in to my own hands. Reviews are greatly appreciated and thanks to my new inspiration from seeing Caspian, expect more fics :o)
-Erin