Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia. The only thing I own is the plot that you might not recognise, the dialogue that you won't recognise, the OC's you will be introduced to throughout the book, and on occasion Peter and Edmund because they're just so hot ;).
Honour
I looked out from my position in the trees to see fireworks light up the starless, night sky. The Telmarines. Probably celebrating a capture of a Narnian.
"What are you thinking about?" My sister, Hope asked.
"The Telmarines. As usual. How could they have been so cruel to attack Narnia? They're dirty. They're traitors to Aslan. How can Narnia tolerate this?" I asked, as poison laced my voice. I had always hated the Telmarines. For more reasons that one.
"I know you hate the Telmarines for murdering our parents Honour, but you can't hold a grudge for all eternity." She whispered, as she down beside me.
"They had no honour Hope. They killed in cold blood." I whispered.
"Nice of you to use your own name to make a point." She pointed out. There is something that you should know. My sisters and I, Hope, Faith and I, Honour, are the essence of our names. I am the essence of Honour, Faith is the essence of faith, and Hope is the essence of hope. It should not be too confusing I hope.
"The Telmarines do not deserve to rule Narnia." I spat, as I stood up, and walked back inside.
It wasn't long before I heard hoof beats outside. That was impossible. The centaurs never came this close to the edge of the forest line.
"Trumpkin." I whispered. I grabbed my sword, Devona, meaning protector, and dagger, and snuck to the door. I opened it quickly, but it was no use, as it still creaked. Trumpkin and I made our way to the man on the ground, who started in surprise.
"He's seen us." I whispered. Trumpkin drew his own sword, and ran down to the boy on the ground. I followed, Nikabrik followed behind me. Trumpkin took one look at something on the ground, then looked up to the man, then looked back to Nikabrik and myself. The neigh of a horse broke his concentration, and we looked to the left, to see a handful of Telmarine soldiers. I felt my blood boil, as I looked at them.
I took off toward him, and I heard Trumpkin yell behind me.
"Take care of him!" I slashed at a soldier and watched with a smug look as he fell from his horse. There was a loud sound, which sounded like a horn being blown, so I turned back around just in time to see Nikabrik hit the man over the head. I felt pain in the back of my neck, and slumped down onto the ground. Then as soon as it began it ended, with my world being surrounded in darkness.
I felt the horse galloping underneath me, but I thought it would be wise just to stay quiet, as I could probably get myself and Trumpkin killed. Which would end very badly in my favour, because then Trufflehunter would probably kill me. As well as Reepicheep. As well as Glenstorm. As well as Kain. That would be bad.
I felt the horses slow down to a stop, and heard the nickers and whinnies of other horses, so my guess is that we were in the stables of the Telmarine castle. I heard two doors bash open, so I hastily closed my eyes, but kept my ears open.
"Wait, wait my lord. It is not what you think." I heard a thick Telmarine accent speak.
"Then what is it?" Another one, less familiar than the last, asked.
"We're not exactly sure." The other man whispered. The next thing I knew, I felt a cold breeze run through my platinum blonde hair, as the hood was whipped off. I heard someone take a sharp intake of breathe, and then breathed out.
"Impossible." I heard the man whisper. I was petrified. I knew something was wrong. I was in the Telmarine castle, and I was found in the woods, hiding like a Narnian, so therefore, I will be ruled as a Narnian, and therefore sentenced to death.
They threw buckets of water on our faces to wake us up, even though I was already awake; I had to act like I had just gotten the wake-up call of my life. I spluttered around, as some of the water went up my nose. I looked around to see Telmarines everywhere and to play the part, I jumped up quickly, and away from the Telmarines, and my hand instantly went for my dagger that I kept on my waist. I felt around, but it wasn't there, so I went to my boot instead. I fumbled around, and I finally noticed that they must have searched us before they came back to the castle.
"There is no use girl. We Telmarines are your masters now." A man with a pointed beard glared at me. "Bind them." He ordered. Another man came forward; he looked younger, but still experienced. Trumpkin and I were gagged, and our hands were tied in front of us. I struggled, but my efforts were futile. We were pushed through the halls; servants looked at us, in fear and disgust. I wanted to wipe the smug grins off their faces. I narrowed my eyes at a few maids, but stopped when I saw the disappointed look that I received from Trumpkin. I shrugged my shoulders in a manner that clearly said, "WHAT?!", and continued to walk, as not to get a sword thrust into my heart.
I saw a door open, then close slightly. I strained my ears to hear what was being said in the room.
"That is the most disturbing news of all." That voice sounded oddly familiar. More familiar than any of the other voices I had heard. I heard it in the last few minutes. He was the one that ordered Trumpkin and I to be bound. "Our beloved Caspian was abducted. By Narnians." He whispered. Cries of outrage and laughter could now be heard clearly from the room, which we stood outside of.
"You go too far Miraz! You expect us to stand by while you blame such a blatant crime on fairy tales?" Another voice shouted, clearly annoyed. So, the one that ordered the men around is the infamous, Lord Miraz, hmm? Well, I would love to get my hands on him. If he wasn't here, than my parents would still be alive. The door was opened, and I heard the voices getting louder. Trumpkin and I were pushed into the grand hall, as cries of disbelief and even more outrage filled the room.
"What!" I heard a few men cry, as Trumpkin and I were forced to kneel before the loathsome Lord.
"We forget, my lords… Narnia was once a savage land. Fierce creatures roamed free." Miraz started a long speech, and my eyes remained permanently fixed on him, as I tried to throw as much hatred as I possibly could toward him, to let him know that the Narnians would always be my people, and I would die protecting their location. "Much of our forefather's blood was shed, to exterminate this vermin." He pointed to Trumpkin and I, and I fought the urge to kick his legs out from underneath him, and kill him right then and there, as that could cause quite an uproar. "Or so we thought. But while we've been bickering amongst ourselves, they've been breeding like cockroaches under a rock!" Miraz cried, as he spat in our faces. I caught the eye of Trumpkin, who sent me one look, which clearly meant "don't even bother". "Growing stronger, watching us. Waiting to strike!" Miraz cried, as he struck Trumpkin across the face. I had, had enough. I launched forward, and struck him across the face, but I was quickly pulled back by the General, and kicked in the stomach by Miraz. Trumpkin turned his head back to Miraz, and glared at him with a poison, I never thought possible.
"And you wonder why we don't like you." Trumpkin glared.
"Well, I intend to strike back." Miraz spat back down at him. "Even if I have to cut down the entire forest, I assure you I will find Prince Caspian and finish what our ancestors began." Miraz finished, as he turned back to the other men in the room. They all glared daggers of disgust and what looked like fear, as I glared daggers right back at them.
Trumpkin and I were then taken out of the room, and down to the docks next to the river. We were thrown into the boat, with two other soldiers, both with crossbows, and to be honest, all I wanted to do was jump in the river and swim away. They must have thought about that, for no more than two seconds afterwards, I felt them tie a rope around my ankles, which was bound to a rock. Then we started to move down stream. It wasn't long before I recognised our surroundings, and with a look from Trumpkin, I'm sure he did to.
"They won't stop staring." The one rowing the boat whispered to the other. The other soldier, who wasn't even facing us, took a deep breathe that could be easily heard over the unnatural silence in the forest.
"So don't look." He said sarcastically. The other soldier, tried to follow his comrade's advice, but the stares from both Trumpkin and I must have been too much for the man, as he stopped rowing.
"Here's far enough." He stated, as he stood up, the other soldier not too far behind him. The one who was guarding put down his crossbow, as he picked me up, and the soldier that was rowing picked up Trumpkin. I looked at him. Today is the day that I am going to die. Then there was a solid thud in the side of the boat, and both Trumpkin and I looked in the direction that it had come from. A girl in a purple and blue dress stood on the shore line, with a bow raised and an arrow notched. Her long brown hair stood out against her pale skin. That's when three others, two boys and one girl, came up next to her. I couldn't see very well, due to the sun's glare, but the girl that had raced up looked to have brown hair and pale skin also. The youngest boy seemed to have brown hair, and fairly pale skin, like the two girls, but what caught my attention the most was the eldest. He had stunning blonde hair that caught all the right colours when the sun landed on it, it fell in his eyes, but not in the unclean, shaggy sort of way. It was cropped nicely. He had very tan skin, and a sword in his hand.
"Drop them!" The girl with the bow and arrow cried.
"Crows and crockery!" Trumpkin cried. We both shared a look. It couldn't be possible, could it? Queen Susan's horn was supposed to be superstition, there was no way that they could possibly be back. The soldiers both shared a look, and then one of them whispered.
"She did say to drop them." Then they threw Trumpkin and I into the river. The water instantly seeped through my clothes, and to say it was cold, would be an understatement. The water was freezing, and there was without a doubt that I was going to die. I opened my eyes to see a Telmarine soldier, fall into the river, an arrow with a red tip sticking out of his chest, as the other swam away to the bank. I saw bubbles arise around me, and felt two strong arms wrap themselves around my waist. I focused on the boy, the one that took my breathe away. When we got to the surface, the boy tried to help me to stand, but I was beyond luck. He picked me up with one arm around my shoulders, and the other under my legs, as he pulled me up to a dryer part of the shoreline.
The youngest girl drew a small, sharp looking dagger and cut Trumpkin's bonds around his hands. Trumpkin took the gag off that covered his mouth, and spat water out. I waited patiently for the girl to cut through my bonds, and when she did, I took the gag off of my mouth, and did the same as Trumpkin.
"Drop them! That's the best you could come up with?" Trumpkin glared at the girl, as he came over and helped me to stand up. I smiled a small smile of thanks, and then turned to the group.
"A simple thank you would suffice." The eldest girl snapped. She looked out of character, like snapping wasn't something she did. Like she was logical.
"They were doing fined drowning us without your help." Trumpkin spat back, as he gestured to the boat, now on the shoreline.
"Maybe, we should have let them." The eldest boy glared back, as I made my way closer to the youngest girl.
I pulled the girl's arms behind her back and took the dagger from her belt, and held it up against her neck.
"Lucy!" The eldest girl yelled. So the youngest girl's name was Lucy was it?
"Honour! What are you doing?" Trumpkin whispered, as he made forward.
"Who are you?" I asked, as venom laced my voice. "Are you Telmarines?" I asked, as I dug the dagger further into Lucy's neck.
"Leave her at once! She hasn't done anything to you!" The eldest boy called.
"I will ask one last time. Who are you?" I growled. The eldest girl, handed the boy his sword, and I saw the head of Aslan, which only meant. Oh, Aslan. What have I done? My eyes widened in realisation, as I took the dagger away from her neck. I passed it to her, but not before the youngest boy launched at me with all his might and fury. I jumped to the side, and flipped him on his back, successfully disarming him along the way.
"Edmund!" The eldest girl cried. So Edmund and Lucy.
"There is no point in fighting me. I will probably do a lot more harm to you, than you can to me." I whispered, as I gave him a hand up. Lucy, who had now recovered from the shock of having her own dagger pressed against her neck, piped up.
"Why were they trying to kill you anyway?" She asked. I sighed, and looked down to my saturated clothes.
"They're Telmarines, it's what they do." I breathed out. I looked down as I remembered my parents.
"Telmarines, in Narnia?" Edmund asked, as confusion laced his voice.
"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?" Trumpkin asked, as he wrung the water out of his clothes. Lucy smiled and looked at us, then to her siblings.
"It's a bit of a long story." She sighed, as she handed Edmund his sword that would have lied on the ground, forgotten. Trumpkin must have noticed the engraving on his sword, for he looked to me, then to the four, then down at the ground.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." He sighed. The four looked at him in confusion. I walked around Trumpkin to get a better look at the four of them. The eldest boy, name still unknown, had blue eyes that could rival the eastern sea, or even the streams that run deep into the forest. The eldest girl, name also still unknown, had icy blue eyes, which could rival the skies. Edmund, had chocolate brown eyes, like the soil beneath my feet, and Lucy? Lucy had startling dark blue eyes, which could rival the cloak that was wrapped around her shoulders.
"You're it? You're the kings and queens of old?" Trumpkin asked, as my own eyes widened in curiosity. I knew that they were not Telmarines, but I did not even guess that they would be the rulers of Narnia's Golden Age. The blonde boy shook his head slightly, and held out his hand.
"High King Peter, the Magnificent." He introduced. So his name was Peter, hmm? Trumpkin looked at the hand that was outstretched toward him, and I knew it meant that he didn't know what he was to do with it. The eldest girl looked toward him with a small smile on her face.
"You could have probably left off the last bit." She laughed. Her voice was melodic, and her laugh chimed like harmonies within itself. This could only be the legendary High Queen Susan the Gentle, known for her beauty, and calmness in all situations. Let me tell you now, the stories never did her justice. Trumpkin laughed along with her.
"Probably." He laughed sarcastically. This is when Peter drew his sword, Rhindon. I had never seen it before, except for the photos, which did not even relate to what it looked like.
"You might be surprised." Peter said, as he held his sword out at his side. I looked at him like he was out of his mind.
"Oh, you don't want to do that boy." Trumpkin warned, as he looked toward me. I nodded my head, but only slightly.
"Not me, him." My eyes widened in surprise, as I started to vigorously shake my head from side to side. King Edmund had a reputation. He was the best swordsman in all of Narnia, and I am sure that, that hasn't changed in the years that he wasn't here. Edmund drew his own sword and stood poised and ready. Trumpkin ignored my advice, and took Peter's sword. I walked over and stood next to High King Peter. That was probably the smartest thing I have ever done.
Trumpkin swung the sword up, and Peter wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back away from them. I shrugged them off and turned to him.
"I don't need your help." I glared. I then looked away. Edmund ducked to avoid it, but was then hit in the nose by Trumpkin. I turned back to Peter.
"Thank you, your highness." I whispered, as I felt incredibly guilty.
"Edmund!" Lucy cried.
"Oh, you alright?" Trumpkin asked. He swung again, but Edmund dodged to the side and hit Trumpkin on the bottom, while Lucy laughed. This continued for a little while until Edmund overpowered Trumpkin and disarmed him. Trumpkin dropped onto the ground, his eyes wide with fear and appreciation.
"Beards and bedsteads!" He cried his signature cry. I never knew why he did it, and I do not intend to find out.
"Maybe that horn worked after all." I whispered. Queen Susan turned to me.
"What horn?" She asked, reflecting the confusion she and her siblings must have felt.
"It's a long story. The Prince Caspian, blew your horn Queen Susan in the Shuddering Woods, when he was being chased by other Telmarine soldiers. But until then, we need to go to the Shuddering Woods and meet up with the centaurs and minotaurs. I'm sure Caspian will be waiting for us." I whispered, as I walked towards the boat. I searched the Telmarines belongings, and found Trumpkin's sword, my sword, and my dagger. I twirled Trumpkin's sword in my hand, and handed it over to him, hilt first. He took it and muttered a small thanks, as I picked up my own sword, sheathed it, grabbed my daggers and put one in my belt, one up my sleeve, and one in my boot. I left my bow and arrows in the boat.
"Who are you?" Edmund asked in slight disbelief.
"My name is Honour. Although, it is quite difficult to explain…" I trailed off, as I pushed the Telmarines boat into the water. Edmund took the rope, and hauled it up, as Peter laid a hand in the crook of my elbow.
"Try." He whispered. His eyes were kind and generous, the stories of him being a king, did not do him any justice.
"My parents were Guardians of Narnia. They had four children. Myself, Honour, my brother, Pride and my two younger sisters Faith and Hope. Except, our names are not just our names. We are the essence of our names. I am afraid this does not make a fair amount of sense." I laughed slightly, as I tried to make sense of what my parents told me before they got taken away.
"So you are the essence of honour?" Lucy asked me. I turned to her, with a slight smile.
"Yes, precisely my Queen." I answered.
"You do not need to address us with such titles. Just call us by our names." Lucy ignored the formalities with a wave of her hand.
"I shall try, but I cannot make any promises." I smiled at the youngest queen's antics.
"If you do not, we shall have you beheaded." Peter joked, as he smiled towards me. I felt tingling throughout my stomach. What was this feeling? What was happening to me?
I shook my head from side to side to rid myself of these thoughts, and climbed into the boat, next to Trumpkin who sat at the bow of the boat. I listened to the water lap at the side of the boat, even though it was hard to hear. I watched the young queen look up into the treetops.
"They're so still." She whispered. Trumpkin noticed, and looked down to the queen. He took a deep breathe.
"They're trees. What'd you expect?" He asked, as he turned his attention back to the stream in front of him.
"They used to dance." She replied, her accent could be heard quite clearly.
"Wasn't long after you left, that the Telmarines invaded." Trumpkin muttered.
"Those who survived retreated into the woods. And the trees, they retreated so deep into themselves that they have not been heard from since." I whispered, as I finished Trumpkin's thoughts.
"I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?" Lucy whispered. I felt Trumpkin's temper flare up at the mention of the so called "King". I believed in Aslan. Every little girl dreamt of meeting his and becoming a knight. Or maybe that was just me.
"Aslan? Though he abandoned us, when you lot did." Trumpkin spat. I looked toward Trumpkin with a warning in my eye. Peter continued to row the boat, but I saw his strongly built shoulders and muscles move as they rowed the boat.
"We didn't mean to leave you know." He whispered.
"It makes no difference now, does it?" I snapped. I could see Trumpkin's questioning glance, and Peter's shoulders tense at the change of the tone in my voice.
"Get us to the Narnians and it will." He replied just as bluntly as I had.
We travelled for another hour or so, until we got to a shore, which Trumpkin and I recognised to be near the Shuddering Woods. Trumpkin jumped out of the boat with the anchor and buried it deep into the shoreline, as Peter, Edmund and Susan pulled the boat up out of the water. Lucy walked off, and being a sort of Guardian, I scanned the area. That bear was tickling at my senses, so I kept a watchful eye on him, while I scanned the rest of the area.
"Hello there!" Lucy cried, as she walked closer to the bear. He stood up on his hind legs and growled, and instantaneously, I knew that something was off about that bear. "It's alright, we're friends." Lucy cried happily. The bear tensed.
"Don't move!" I cried, as I raced back to the boat. The bear started to growl and race toward Lucy. Susan drew her bow, and notched an arrow, and pointed it at the bear.
"Stay away from her!" She cried, as she tried to take aim. She didn't want to shoot, because of one simple reason. She didn't know if he was a talking animal. A Narnian. Lucy tripped over her long dress and let out one ear piercing scream.
"Shoot Susan! Shoot!" I heard Edmund cry, as both Peter and he drew their swords, and raced forward. I pulled out my bow, and notched one of my own arrows. I let it go, and watched it fly, just as the bear stood up on his hind legs to attack the young girl. The arrow lodged itself into the bear's heart and with a growl of pain, slumped down onto the ground. Lucy laid still on the ground, still in shock at seeing the creature lying on the ground. They all turned around to face me, my face held an unreadable expression, as I lowered my bow.
Peter and Edmund raced toward Lucy and the bear. Peter picked up Lucy by the arm, and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, all the while pointing his sword at the unmoving beast.
"Why wouldn't he stop?" Susan asked. Trumpkin walked past her, and drew his dagger.
"I suspect he was hungry." He muttered. I came up behind him, and looked to Lucy, who was violently shaking in her brother's arm.
"Thanks." She whimpered. I simply gave a nod. Peter caught my eye.
"Thank you, mi protector." I saw his lips move. It was a good thing I knew how to read lips. But I did not know the High King could speak Telmarine.
"He was wild." Edmund whispered. Peter than turned to his brother, and finished his thoughts.
"I don't think he could talk at all." Peter finished. Trumpkin looked to the kings and queens.
"Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become. You may find Narnia a more savage place then you remember." He stated, as he dug the dagger into the bear, to remove my arrow that protruded from the shaggy animal.
"Know this, Lucy." I started as I turned to her. She looked at me, dead in the eyes. "I will always protect you." I whispered.
I am Honour. And I am a Guardian.
So welcome to my brand new fanfic, "Heart of Gold". I would first like to thank anyone who is reading this, and if you could, spare a few minutes to leave a review, because they literally make my day! I'm not one of those authors who go, "I'm not updating until I get five reviews on this chapter", I just want your legitimate thoughts on this book. Thank you :)
And when you have the time, go over and check out my other fic, "The Masked Guardians" please? I will love you all forever and ever!
~Dancer