By the time Alex managed to finally stop Destier's desperate race through the forest, she had left Caspian behind a good few hours away and she had no idea where she was. Groaning, she pulled sharper than was necessary on Destier's reins.
"This is all your fault." She muttered. "If you'd just stopped sooner, I'd still have Caspian and found, not brother-less and lost!" As the words left her mouth, she bit her lip. Brother-less… no. She refused to think about it. She looked about as the sky began to lighten. Swallowing, she realized just how tired and hungry she was. Tightening her grip on the reins, she tried to ignore her fatigue and growing hunger as she attempted to go back in the direction that she'd come from. After a few more hours, she gave up, acknowledging the fact that she had absolutely no idea where she was. Hearing the sound of the river, she moved towards it and stopped when she reached the water's edge. She hesitated but need overrode caution and she heaved herself off Destier. Slowly she approached the water, leading Destier. Together, they leaned down and lapped the cool liquid. It soothed her parched throat although it did little to alleviate her hunger. By now, the sun was already rising in the east, and she was feeling dead on her feet. Pulling Destier away, she lead them a little ways into the woods for cover. Tying Destier's rein onto a nearby lifted root, she lay down and soon fell into a restless sleep.
By the time Alex woke up, the sun was high in the sky, and she struggled up. Watching the river, she decided it would be best to start moving upstream. As she was turning around Destier perked her ears. Alex tensed and slowly turned around. There on the shore where she'd drank earlier, a boat was docking. But she frowned when she saw its passengers. There was one smallish figure, clearly Narnian. But the other four… they looked human. Her eyes were drawn to the dark-haired boy before she quickly turned her eyes away.
"Hello there!" Alex looked up alarm as she heard a soft voice call out. She relaxed as noticed the youngest girl in group was staring in a different direction. "It's alright, we're friends." The girl continued encouragingly, and Alex frowned when she saw the girl was approaching a black bear. The bear stood up as the girl approached. Alex's eyes widened, and she quickly mounted Destier.
"Don't move, your majesty!" The dwarf cried out, and Alex urged Destier forward in a run as the bear started charging at the girl.
"Stay away from her!" Another female voice shouted, but Alex ignored it, her focus solely on the little girl.
Edmund P.O.V.
"Susan, shoot!" Edmund yelled as he and Peter ran for Lucy. Lucy screamed as the bear charged and Edmund despaired of reaching her before the bear attacked.
At that moment, a figure burst out of the trees, racing towards the bear. The bear turned to look at this new threat as a female voice yelled out. "Run, girl, run!" The bear roared a reared back onto its hind legs as Edmund realized the newcomer was a young girl, maybe around his age, riding a horse dark as midnight. She whistled, keeping the attention from Lucy and the horse swished its tail frantically. The bear raised its paw and Edmund tensed when an arrow flew through the air, piercing the bear. It fell over, lying inches away from Lucy. Edmund watched as the girl on the horse also took a shaky breath, brushing long, dark locks out of her face. Suddenly she looked at him. Dark eyes locked and the two stared at each other. Edmund studied this new face: slim, with a hint of baby fat that suggested she was maybe a year or so older than Lucy, dark hair that hung to her waist, and large dark eyes that glittered and seemed to reach Edmund's soul.
He was startled out of his staring competition when her attention got distracted and he saw her tense as she looked to his left. Glancing over, he saw that Peter had reached Lucy and was holding her safely in his arms, his sword pointed carefully at the bear. But his eyes were glancing every so often at the girl. Edmund saw her glance briefly at his siblings but her gaze was focused slightly behind them. Looking back, Edmund saw that Trumpkin had his next arrow notched already, and pointed at the girl.
"I expect he was hungry." Trumpkin responded to whatever Susan had said, as he moved slowly closer. Susan also looked up to look at the girl. Glancing between Trumpkin and the girl, she gently pushed Trumpkin's arm down and she called out: "We won't hurt you." Edmund looked back at the girl and saw her shoulders tense even more, if possible. She appeared to be fighting the urge to turn and run. "Come on." He called encouragingly, taking a step closer to her.
Immediately her eyes were back on him, and Edmund felt a jolt run through him as their eyes met once more. Swallowing and ignoring his hammering heart, he smiled encouragingly. "We aren't looking for trouble. Please, don't run." Her lips pursed before she slowly urged her horse closer. Once they were a little ways apart, she paused, before slowly dismounting, although she stayed close to her horse. Edmund offered her a small smile, when Peter returned their attention to the bear.
"I don't think he could talk at all." Peter said in disbelief as Lucy hung onto her brother.
"Get treated like a dumb animal long enough and that's what you become." Trumpkin responded as he drew his knife, leaning in for the final kill. "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember." Lucy turned her head as Trumpkin slit the bear's throat, suppressing a sob.
"Now." Trumpkin turned around sharply to peer at the new girl. Edmund also looked at her curiously, noticing her defensive posture as her eyes narrowed taking in the dwarf. "I know that horse, don't I?" Trumpkin asked and the girl's eyes narrowed even further.
"You're the one. The one from last night." She bit out and Edmund was surprised to hear the anger behind her voice. "So it was you, with that dark-haired whelp." Trumpkin snorted as the Pevensie siblings looked on mystified. "He is not a whelp!" She shouted suddenly, eyes sparking in fury as she stepped forward. The horse, sensing her distress, whinnied and pounded its hooves at Trumpkin.
"Hang on," Edmund interrupted, causing both Trumpkin and the girl's heads to snap in his direction. "You know each other?" He asked confused and Trumpkin snorted while the girl's nostrils flared as she glared at the dwarf.
"Sure I know her, she's the reason I was hog-tied in that boat earlier and dropped into the river." Trumpkin said derisively. "And he's the one responsible for me losing my brother!" The girl shouted angrily. "Where is he?" She demanded. "If you've hurt even a hair on his head, I swear…"
"Hang on." This time Peter interrupted. "Who are you?" He asked the question they were all thinking. She glanced at them with pursed lips. "Who are you?" She shot back. Peter raised an eyebrow and he shared a look with Edmund, one she didn't miss. Her frown deepened and she opened her mouth when Lucy piped up: "I'm Lucy, this is my sister Susan, that's my brothers Peter and Edmund, and this is Trumpkin." She announced, and looked at the girl expectantly. Edmund noticed with some surprise that the girl's face drained of color as Lucy announced their names. She stared at them with her mouth agape.
"You…" she struggled to form words. "You are the kings and queens of old?" She finally managed to get out, looking at them incredulously. Edmund raised an eyebrow in surprise, and Trumpkin asked suspiciously. "How do you know about them?" She looked at him, surprise still too strong to allow anger to return yet. "From the stories." She said as though it was obvious.
"Stories?" Susan asked confused, and the girl nodded. "Stories of the Golden Age, when Narnia was great." She confirmed. "Stories like 'When Aslan bears his teeth…'" She cut off abruptly, and Edmund stared at her. How can she know so much? Trumpkin asked the question out loud. "How do you know those stories? It's not like your Telmarine parents would tell you stories about Narnians." The girl shifted on her feet.
"Wait, no, we're going about this wrong." Edmund interrupted. "We still don't know your name." He offered, and the girl looked at him as though appraising him. "… Alex…" she finally said as Trumpkin frowned.
"You said 'Caspian'." He said slowly and Edmund watched as the girl tensed again. "Oddly familiar way of calling the crown prince…" Trumpkin's eyes widened. "You're the Telmarine princess aren't you." Edmund stared at her. This girl… a princess? Edmund's thought's were broken as Trumpkin took an aggressive step forward. "Your lineage is the reason Narnians had to go into hiding! What are you doing here? Gathering information? What's your purpose?"
"Hey, hey, let's not jump to conclusions.." Susan tried to reason as Alex's eyes turned dark and her face flushed with anger. "We're not accusing you." Peter shot a look at Trumpkin, before he continued facing Alex. "It's just, we've been gone a while so we're trying to figure out what's going on."
Alex's look didn't soften as she glared at Trumpkin so Edmund stepped forward, blocking her view, reclaiming her attention. "If you're the princess, why are you out here? It's not likely they'd send someone like you out into the woods where it's dangerous." He asked, genuinely confused and concerned. Edmund wasn't sure why he was so drawn to this girl, but he just knew he didn't want her upset. She looked up at him, the anger slowly draining off her face to be replaced with a sadder, wearied expression. Edmund was so focused on her, he missed the surprised glance his older siblings exchanged.
"I fled." Their attention was captured by Alex's admittance. "My uncle, the Lord Miraz and current ruler of the Telmarines, was blessed with the birth of his son last night." Alex sighed. "My brother, Caspian, and I are the official next in line to the throne. So Miraz ordered our deaths when he was sure of a son." Her eyes lowered as though she was ashamed, but all the Pevensies could feel was horror. How could their uncle, their direct relative, do something so cruel? Edmund thought. "Our Professor, he helped us escape. But when we reached the woods, we ran into him," she scoffed then at Trumpkin who pursed his lips, "and the soldiers started catching up with us. Caspian sent me away, he hit Destier," she gestured at her horse, "forcing me to leave him behind. By the time I got Destier back under control, we were several hours' ride away and hopelessly lost. That's how we got here." She finished with a shrug.
"Was it you, or your brother that blew the horn?" Trumpkin asked suddenly and Alex fixed her eyes on him, brooding her answer. "My brother had the horn last." She replied eventually, and Edmund had to smile at her attempt at a diplomatic answer. He caught Susan and Lucy also grinning. She's a princess alright, he thought in amusement.
"Look." Peter cut in. "We need to get to the Narnians, and I'm willing to bet that's where we'll find your brother if he was the one who blew the horn. If you want, why not join us and we can go together? Better safety in numbers." He reasoned and Alex's eyes widened. "You'd really help me get to him?" She asked, sounding as though she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"'Course." Edmund said, earning him a beaming smile from her that caused his heart to jolt.
"Wait." Peter cautioned and her face dropped as she looked at him warily. "We will help you. But we need to know whose side you're on. It wouldn't really do us good if you then led the Telmarines right to us." Alex's eyes widened in indignation before she took a deep breath. She pondered what he'd said, and then gave a curt nod in understanding. Edmund had to smile again. Definitely a princess… But also smart. She's been taught to hold her tongue and think things through. She doesn't let her emotions control her.
"I have no more ties to the Telmarines." She said quietly, looking at each of them in the eye, ending with Edmund. "I just want my brother safe. But I also know that what happened to the Narnians wasn't fair." Her eyes bore into Edmund's and he found himself unable to look away from those deep chocolate orbs. "I will do what I can to help you reclaim what is rightfully yours." She promised them.
"Well." Peter raised an eyebrow, noticing the look on Edmund's face. "That should do it." He grinned as she flushed a little, but she offered them a smile that the Pevensies returned.
"Alright. Let's move then!" And Peter lead the way as the six of them turned and entered the woods, Edmund trying to ignore the fluttering in his heart.
