Lucy had been wandering aimlessly for days. She kept thinking she recognized where she was, only to see something different. And if this was Narnia, where was everyone? She had seen animals in the forest, but none had greeted her as she had them. A few ran away in fear, others were clearly unable to talk. There was one particularly terrifying moment when she had attempted to talk to a wild bear, but she had run just in time and swam down a river.
And it was by following that river that she found the coast. If this was Narnia, she was sure that Cair Paravel would hold answers for her. If not, she had no clue what she was going to try next. She was tired, thirsty, and starving. She knew enough about the woods to get by, but living in the forest was significantly easier when the trees were dryads rather than hard, unfeeling wood.
As she travelled down the coastline, it was rather familiar to her. And yet, not. It was similar enough to bother her, but not so similar that she would instantly know it to be Narnia. It was the same problem that had been driving her crazy all along.
She soon passed an island where she'd imagined Cair Paravel might be. But her beloved castle had resided on a peninsula, not an island. And only ruins where there, not the majestic castle she had called home long ago.
Nonetheless, she had little other choice. Where else was she going to go? Perhaps these ruins, whatever they may be, would hold answers.
She swam, struggling thanks to her smaller size not being able to resist the current. But when the Valiant Queen had a goal in mind, nothing could ever get her way. Soon she was running around the ruins, trying to make sense of what was before her.
Apple trees. They had planted them just before the Calormens came for Susan. But these were much more wildly grown. But either way, she was grateful for the easy food. It was quite honestly the best meal she had had since she was in England. As she ate apples, she wandered through the ruins.
She then almost tripped over some small object on the ground. She knelt to pick it up and see it more closely. A knight from a golden chess set. Was this not the knight in Edmund's chess set that she had played with many times? She glanced ahead…
Impossible. It… she ran forward and turned around slowly. She closed her eyes and could almost see the walls and ceiling rising around her, the empty space before her filled with Narnians of all species. A feast before her and satyrs ready to begin the dance. There was no doubt in her mind. She was standing precisely where her throne had been before, facing the poor remnants of their once great Throne Room.
A lump formed in her throat as she willed herself not to cry. What had happened? She knew where she needed to go next. She was relieved to find that their treasure room was yet untouched. She knew their loyal subjects would have protected it, but with Cair Paravel in ruins, she had no clue how they had managed this. But there is was, her precious healing cordial. And of course, her trusty dagger. She pulled out a dress, but it was far too big for her.
But of course. She was bigger then… as opposed to now, when she was much younger. The thought made her giggle. She tossed the dress aside. Deeper down, she found dresses that might have a chance of fitting her, but she ignored them for now and opened her brother's chest instead.
There it was, Rhindon. Named for when he had killed the wolf Maugrim. But there was much more history and many more enemies slain by that same blade. She took the sword.
She moved onto Susan's. She was disappointed to find that of all things, the horn was missing. If only the horn had been there! Then she could blow it and some form of help would have been sure to show up and help her understand what was going on.
But the bow and arrows were still there. While Lucy wasn't nearly the expert at archery that Susan was, Father Christmas was serious when he said it did not easily miss. She plucked at the string and by some magic, it still worked.
After this assessment, Lucy pulled out several of the now far too large dresses and piled them on the floor before curling up on them to sleep. The next morning, she scavenged through Edmund's old things and found what she was searching for: his earliest traveling clothes. They were worn, but in surprisingly good condition. She preferred to borrow his outfit as she had no idea what might be facing her. Besides, it was unlikely he would be here to miss them. She sheathed Rhindon and placed it at her side. Her dagger was hidden away and Susan's bow was slung over her shoulder, the quiver on her back. She had to be ready for anything and everything now that she knew this was Narnia, but not the Narnia she knew. Nay, it seemed to be a ghost of the wondrous land she loved. And how many years must have passed for a peninsula to be an island, a castle to be wrecked, the coastline to change?
Suddenly, a boat caught her eye. Two soldiers – clearly human – and a bundle of some sort. Her anger flared as she realized the bundle was a Red Dwarf.
"Drop him!" she shouted, quickly aiming one of Susan's arrows at them. The dwarf began to protest as the two soldiers took her a bit too literally and dropped him in the water before getting out as fast as they could.
But the dwarf managed to somehow have cut his bonds, enabling him to swim to the surface. When he staggered onto the sand, she saw a small knife in his hand which he must have used to cut the bonds.
"Drop him?" he said indignantly. "They were doing a good job of killing me themselves."
"Why?" she asked, choosing to ignore the insult.
"Why, what?"
"Why were they trying to kill you?" she asked patiently.
"They're Telmarines. It's what they do," he grumbled.
"Telmarines? In Narnia?" she asked, alarmed.
"Where've you been for the last– Cakes and kettledrums! You're her, aren't you?"
"Hm?"
"One of the Queens of Old?" he asked anxiously.
Lucy wasn't particularly prone to vanity, but "Old?"
"Your, Majesty, it is what we call you know since it has been 1300 years since the Golden Ages," he said, bowing somewhat reluctantly, although he did seem fascinated by her. "I am Trumpkin, at your service."
"Thir-Thirteen hundred years?" she asked, the shock of it nearly overcoming her. "What happened?"
The dwarf began the tale of the Telmarine Conquest. Lucy listened in shock as he recounted every detail of how the Narnians had been cut down and forced into hiding. He skipped over most of the Telmarine history until the reign of the current king, King Miraz.
"And even by the Telmarines' standards, he is an usurper. They say that he probably killed his brother. Just like a Telmarine too," he said.
"But then who should the throne go to? By their standards, I mean."
"Prince Caspian the Tenth. Now this is where it gets interesting," the dwarf said.
"Interesting? How?" Lucy asked eagerly.
The dwarf recounted how the tutor was a half-halfer and escaped just in the nick of time. Lucy started realizing where this was going once Trumpkin mentioned the horn. But what she didn't expect was the appearance of her brothers.
"You've seen Peter and Edmund?" she exclaimed. "How are they? Are they safe?"
"Well, I suppose so. They were the ones who sent me on this wild chase – although I suppose not so wild since I did find you, quite by accident. And not that I'm complaining about being sent. All humble duty to your majesties, all humble duty."
"They sent you?" she asked eagerly.
"They formed search groups for your royal sister and yourself, your Majesty. I was left behind by mine, so I took a shortcut and what a fool I was! Got caught by the Telmarines like the fool I was."
I shall not give it to you in his words, putting in all her questions and interruptions, because it would be too long and confusing, and, even so, it would leave out many points she would only hear later on. But the gist of the story, as known in the end, was as follows.
Susan managed to find a maid's uniform and grabbed some food from the kitchens. She lied her way past the guards to deliver the food. But more importantly, to deliver the small dagger she stole from the armory and hid inside the bread.
But that wasn't enough for her. Since she knew not when she might see the Mouse again to get a message to the Narnian and seek help, she sought out Caspian again. Even though he was still a threat which must be eliminated, she had to admit, he had been surprisingly kind to her. She rather wished he had been the prince of some other country where they would need not be enemies.
"My prince," she said nervously, bobbing a curtsy. "I… I was wondering if I could ask you something. I fear though it may not be an appropriate question for a female to ask."
"Go ahead. My aunt's not here, so what do I care about propriety?" he said with a cocky grin.
She giggled before turning somber once again. "Well… it seems your uncle simply… arrests? There was a short man arrested by him earlier. I asked a soldier what crime the man had committed, and all they said was he was being arrested for existing! For mere existence? I do not understand," she said, hiding behind the shield of being a naïve young girl.
Caspian frowned. He had never bothered to interfere with his uncle's commands before, but Phyllis had a point. And… he wanted to impress her. Which was ridiculous. She was merely a servant. But all the same.
"I'll see what I can do," he promised.
"Thank you," she said, a sweet smile on her lips, making him instinctively smile back. Something about her was so… compelling. He began to leave with a purpose.
"Caspian! I mean, my prince, wait!" she called.
"Yes?" he asked anxiously, not caring that she forgot his title.
"I have one more question," she said slyly, hoping to plant an idea in the prince's head. "Why was your Highness unaware of this? Shouldn't you hold the power as Crown Prince?"
"Oh, my uncle takes care of such things until I am of age," he said, but he quickly grew less certain.
"But are you not almost of age?" she said, cocking her head to the side in bemusement. He nodded. As he left, Susan smiled. Even if the Narnian was not saved, at least the seed of rebellion against his usurping uncle had been placed in the prince's mind.
He barged into the Throne Room as his uncle was slapping the prisoner and saying, "Well. I intend to strike back."
The doors banging made Miraz look up. He spread his arms and said, "My dear nephew. I am surprised you chose to join us. Delighted, of course, but surprised nonetheless."
"Uncle, what are the charges against this man?" Caspian demanded, ignoring his uncle's false words.
Miraz raised an eyebrow, surprised to see his nephew so interested in politics for once.
"He is a Narnian," he sneered, his lips curling in distaste.
Caspian looked at the prisoner closer and was both elated and scared when he realized his uncle was right. His heart pounded. After losing both his nurse and professor, he was no fool. He may be Crown Prince, but blatant support of Narnia would make that fact negligible. But he couldn't let an innocent dwarf be executed. No wonder the soldiers had told Phyllis the crime was existence. Dwarves were supposed to be extinct.
He forced a laugh. "Uncle, you can't be serious. I think you are simply getting paranoid now. First you think my tutor is a mythical creature, now a random short man who just happens to chose to not cut his beard short? And what evidence do you have for either? None, because Narnians don't exist."
Slowly, some of the lords joined in his laughter. They had been scared before, but the prince's casual, mocking air made the idea of Narnians being alive seem ridiculous once again.
"Who knows," Caspian continued, "Maybe one of the Kings or Queens of Old is living right here in our castle!"
The absurdity of that idea made the lords laugh even harder. But oh, if they only knew how true those words were.
"Perhaps you think living trees are real too? Have you heard any trees talk to you lately?" he mocked, much to the amusement of the council. "I do worry for you, uncle."
Miraz's face turned beet-red with anger at being humiliated. He gestured to Glozelle to take the prisoner away, whispering in his ear, "Make him disappear."
"Don't dismiss the stories so easily, my dear nephew," he said, sounding forced.
"You know, I blame myself partially. As the Crown Prince soon to come to age, I should be taking on some responsibility, not leaving all the burden on your shoulders," Caspian said, the idea suddenly coming to him. He had never thought to take his share of power, but he was soon to be of age, wasn't he? Shouldn't he be acting as a sovereign, not just a prince?
If he had thought Miraz looked furious before, he looked absolutely livid now. "My dear nephew, there's no need to trouble yourself."
"It's no trouble, uncle. Were you not telling me I should grow up?" he said, throwing back his uncle's own words that he had said when Caspian had complained about his tutor being gone.
Miraz was cornered. "But of course. I would love to have my nephew by my side," he said insincerely, inwardly cursing. Caspian felt a surge of power at the idea of beginning to actually rule. Susan's plan had taken root. An undeniable rift had been fixed between uncle and nephew.
"And so," said Trumpkin said. "The guards took me out for questioning, but I needn't tell you they got no true tale out of me, but I was a Dwarf and that was enough. But, lobsters and lollipop! It is a good thing the guards were pompous fools. Anyone else would have run me through right then and there. But nothing would do short of a grand execution: sending me down to the ghosts' in the full ceremonial way. And then you did your fancy bit of archery there – and it was pretty good shooting," the dwarf concluded. "And I used the knife that was in my food to cut the ropes."
"I do wonder how the knife had gotten in your food though," Lucy mused.
"The girl who brought the food seemed to know about it. Her eyes kept darting down to it. But I don't get why a Telmarine would help a Dwarf like me when each and every one of them wants us dead."
For he of course had not recognized the Gentle Queen, dressed as a simple Telmarine maidservant. And with guards around, she could not afford to give him any sign of her identity.
"I do wish we knew were Susan was," Lucy said. "But at the very least, I must find and join my brothers anon."
Now knowing there was much danger, she decided to outfit herself in armor from the Royal Treasury. Thank Aslan much of it was unmarked so no one would know it to be Narnian unless they looked close enough to see the dwarf handiwork.
Soon they set off to Aslan's How, where Trumpkin said her brothers had set up a makeshift court. Lucy marveled at how a cave could have possibly built itself over the Stone Table. It simply made no sense to her. But perhaps Aslan had decided it would be so, for nothing was impossible for him.
They traveled as far as they possibly could until they set up camp for the night, the tired girl quickly falling asleep. Her dreams were vivid, full of dryads waking to dance once more. She joined in their dance, her feet instinctively remembering the steps. Soon, she heard her name being called and followed the voice.
"Aslan!" she cried out, running to him and hugging him excitedly.
"Lucy," the lion growled affectionately.
"You're bigger," she marveled.
"Because you have grown, my child," he responded.
"Why... why couldn't you come roaring in to save the Narnians?" she asked.
"Beloved, nothing happens the same way twice."
Lucy had so many things she wanted to say to him, so many questions, but then she woke up to the sound of someone snapping a branch. She grabbed her sword – well, Peter's sword actually, and slowly stalked to where she had heard the sound from.
Suddenly, a soldier jumped out from behind her. Thank Aslan her reflexes were still intact. She blocked his blow, but only barely. She thought she'd be able to fight him off once she regained her balance, but he was extraordinarily good. His style felt rather familiar to her, which she found strange having never fought Telmarines before. After a minute of sword play, he used a fancy move that unless you knew it, your eyes would not be able follow it, and Lucy's sword flew out of her hand. But she recognized that move. It wasn't the first time it had been used against her.
But there was no time for thinking. She ducked at the last moment before the soldier struck. He was unable to stop his sword in time, and it caught in the tree. While he struggled to pull it out, Lucy took advantage of the moment to find Rhindon.
She grabbed it and ran up to the man, placing it at his throat.
"Reveal yourself!" she ordered. The man slowly took his hands off of his sword which was still buried deep into the tree and hooked his fingers under his helmet to life it. But before he did, another enemy crept up behind Lucy and knocked her unconscious. The last sight she could see was the soldier returning to pulling his sword out of the tree and raising it above his head as he turned to face then everything faded to black as she fell to the forest floor.
Do you think I got Trumpkin right? He's been one of the trickiest because his book version and movie version differ so much. Also, I hope you didn't hate me for not including much of the Aslan plotline! I got a little bit in, but it was difficult to work it in any more than that.
