A king and a princess
Chapter One.
I couldn't sleep; my dreams were bothering me again. Sigh. I climbed out of my bed and swung my legs over the side, recoiling as my bare feet met cold stone floor. My name is Acacia… like the rare tree in the world of the Kings and Queens of Old. A girl of fifteen, you would think that I wouldn't go into my brother's room when I have nightmares, but I do because he is the music that lulls me to sleep.
"Caspian?" I asked drowsily, opening the door to my older brother's room, "Caspian." I said again, shaking him gently. He turned over and looked at me.
"Caci?" that was his pet name for me, "What's the matter?" but one look at my emerald-fire eyes, and he knew, "Your dreams?" I just nodded, "Come here, lie down." So I climbed over him and lay down, curling up next to him.
This was something I had done since we were tiny. And Caspian used to take me out of my crib and take me back into his room. The steady beat of his heart, and the soft in-and-out rhythm of his breathing, that was my lullaby. I could feel my self already falling into a dreamless slumber.
Caspian POV
I was suddenly awoken by a rough hand over my mouth, I jerked awake. It was just his professor, Cornelius.
"Five more minutes." I pushed his hand off and turned over just as he told me,
"You will not be gazing at the stars tonight, my Prince. Come, we must go."
I looked at Professor Cornelius, and then looked at Acacia, who was asleep on my left arm.
"Bring her, as well. She's in grave danger as well."
So I gently shook my sister awake, "Acacia, wake up."
Acacia POV
I blinked my eyes sleepily.
"Caspian? What-" we heard clamoring in my room, next door. Caspian just grabbed my arm and pulled me into his wardrobe. He closed the doors and we heard the door open. Armored men moved silently across Caspian's room, and assembled in a semi-circle, raising crossbows. At the signal, they released the bolts, right where we had been asleep just moments before.
"Children, come!" Cornelius beckoned us through the false door in the back of the closet.
I had only gone two steps, glanced at my door and realized that I was still in my nightgown.
"Wait!" I started back to my false door that through my wardrobe.
"Acacia, we don't have time!" Caspian tried to grab my arm, but I just danced away.
"I'll be fine. Go! I'll meet you in the stables." And at that I went back into my room.
I quickly went through what I needed. I pulled on my dark cotton breeches, a white long-sleeve shirt, a pair of sturdy boots, my corselet (like a corset, but only an accessory), a cloak with a hood, my sword, knives, whip, throwing stars, and my quiver and bow. I very quickly brushed and braided my hair, then went back through the door. I slipped down to the stables and found that Caspian and the professor weren't there yet.
So, in the time it took them to get down to the armory for a sword and knife for Caspian, and got to the stables; I already had my horse, Bésa Mé, saddled and ready.
"Took you long enough! If we're going to get out of here alive, you have to move faster." I helped get his horse, Destrier, saddled. Caspian mounted with me doing the same,
"Make for the woods, they will not follow you there." and Cornelius handed him a small, cloth-wrapped bundle, "Take this; it has taken me many years to find it." He told Caspian.
"Will we ever see you again, professor?" I asked him almost tearful.
"I do not know, my dear. There is so much more that I meant to tell you two. Everything you know is about to change." We heard more clamoring outside, shouting orders, "Go!" So, we rode.
The soldiers were trying to stop us, but somehow we made it out without being made into Swiss cheese.
"A son! A son! Lady Prunaprisma has, this night, given Lord Miraz a son!" A crier yelled as fireworks started going off.
I knew what had happened, our uncle, Miraz, had tried to kill us. Miraz was the brother of our father, who was the king. Our mother had died giving birth to another boy, but neither of them had lived more than 24 hours. King Caspian the Ninth was our father and my brother was Prince Caspian the Tenth. (King Caspian, regrettably, died in his sleep a few years prior to this story.) Now, as we rode for our very lives, I could not help but feel both severely betrayed and, also, a deep anger, red hot. When Caspian came of age, he would become king, but if he died, the throne would pass to me after I got married. It was a completely different story if we both were killed. That would mean that Miraz either got the throne or his new son would, one day.
We had finally entered the woods just as dawn broke, and I looked back to see the soldiers stop for only a moment before coming after us again. Caspian looked back at them and, suddenly, I heard thud. I stopped Bésa Mé and turned right as Destrier went bolting past me… without Caspian on his back. I looked around and saw him lying on the ground about thirty feet away.
"Caspian!" I rode towards him but he stopped me.
"I'm fine. Go catch Destrier, before he gets too far away." I nodded and went after him.
However, I had just caught him when I heard someone blowing a horn. Some random instinct told me that whoever was blowing it, was in serious trouble. But my "sister's instinct" told me that it was Caspian blowing the horn. So, I tethered Destrier to Bésa Mé, led them back to the place where I had stopped the first time, and when I got there I pulled out my bow and notched an arrow.
"Casp?" I called out, "Casp!"
I saw a small sliver of light in a humongous tree stump off to the side. I also heard whispering and had to strain my ears to hear what they were saying.
"What's that?" a gruff voice asked.
"I don't know, but I think it has something to do with the boy." Answered a gentler voice.
"Hello?" I called out looking over to the light.
"Should we show ourselves?" asked the gentle voice.
"Why? It's just another Telmarain by the looks of it."
"Casp, where are you?"
"He seems genuinely concerned about the boy." It whispered, then out loud it called to me, "Who are you?" It was a badger, walking on its hind legs and talking.
"I would ask you the same question, but by the looks of things at the moment, I would guess that you're a Narnian. Anyway, I have a more important question. What did you do with him?"
"The boy is fine, well…sort of. Nikabrik knocked him on the head. He's unconscious at the time. Come in, I need help bandaging his head." The badger ushered me into the tree and I found a Black Dwarf sitting at the small table. He shot up, grabbed his sword (which was the length of one of my daggers) and yelled,
"What did you bring that thing in here for?"
"He has some connection to the other one. I'm not going to ask what it is, because that would be rude at the moment."
I agreed with the badger, though I did not state it. I didn't know these creatures, and therefore I didn't trust them. Of course, the badger had been kind to me, but that was canceled out because the Dwarf had hurt Caspian and didn't want me there.
"Where is he?" I asked again.
"Back here. By the way, that's Nikabrik, and I'm Trufflehunter." He introduced.
"Nice to meet you…sort of." I followed Trufflehunter into the next room and gasped at the sight of my beloved brother with blood trickling down his cheek. "What happened?" I took a damp rag and laid it on his forehead to stanch the bleeding.
"I told you, Nikabrik hit him."
"With what? A rock?"
"Close, but no. With the hilt of his sword." At those words, all my anger, at my uncle and at the Dwarf, boiled over. I stormed into the kitchen and grabbed the Dwarf by the collar, lifting him up against a wall.
"Why? Why would you smash him in the head with your stupid sword? Hu?"
"Trufflehunter, get him off of me." He was calm and that ticked me off.
"Now, now, let's not be hostel."
"Hostel? HA! I'm way past hostel. You could have killed him! Don't you get that?"
"Yes. And I'm starting to think that I should have." He smiled and I threw him down.
"Stupid Dwarf." I muttered to myself, as I sank to the floor with tears coming down my cheeks.
"Son, why don't you come help me get his armor off, then I'll make some soup." I just nodded, too numb to correct him that I was a girl.
