Chapter Three
Narnian Wilderness
March 23, 1015
Rayna glanced around at the devastation around her. There was blood everywhere. The grass and trees were covered with the sticky red substance that left an awful smell. Rayna could feel her stomach churning as she looked around herself at the severed body parts. The battle was over…barely. The surviving Calormenes had run off in search of backup, leaving the Archenland army with a handful of survivors.
Rayna saw her captain standing in the clearing with a bloody leg ordering his recruits around. He caught her eye and waved her over. Rayna took one look at him before lifting up her visor and heaving out the contents of her stomach where she had been standing. The captain came over looking sympathetic, yet menacing at the same time.
"I wish I could say it gets easier, but it doesn't," he muttered softly.
Rayna wiped her mouth with the back of hand, before letting the visor fall back down to cover her face. She had never met this captain before, but it was very likely that he knew of her father, and she really didn't want to give him a chance to put two and two together.
"Then how do you do it?" She asked, deepening her voice.
"I do it, because there is a lot more than my life to lose if I don't," he replied.
Rayna gave him a nod, before he walked away. She followed behind at a slower pace. She wasn't sure that this was what she wanted. Sparing with someone was completely different than killing another human being. She had gotten no pleasure from committing the acts that she had committed, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to do it again.
Rayna followed the small group as they continue to diverge deeper and deeper into the Narnian wilderness. The battle had gone on all night, causing everyone to spread out and move around. By the time the last of the Calormenes had run off, they had found themselves deep in the forest, away from the trail they had originally been following.
The captain had everyone moving soon after battle, not leaving any time to rest. He was intent of reaching Narnia before they were attacked again. The numbers on both sides had fallen considerably, but the Calormenes were capable of replenishing their numbers faster in the Archenland battalion was. Rayna was exhausted from fighting all night, but adrenaline kept pounding through her veins giving her the ability to not focus on the pain.
It was nightfall, though the moon was shining brightly in the sky providing the battalion with enough light to get around. The goal was to reach the gates of Cair Paravel by the time the sun came up. Traveling in the dark was a risk, but not traveling was riskier.
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Narnia, Cair Paravel
March 23, 1015
"Edmund, please stop whispering curses under your breath," Susan said as she buttered her toast.
It was breakfast time, and yet there was no Archenland battalion. Edmund was on edge, whispering curses under his breath every few minutes. He wasn't a patient King, so waiting was never easy for him.
On his other side sat High King Peter, who looked unmoved by everything around him. He was worried, but he didn't show it. He was the High King for that reason alone. Peter had an uncanny ability to hide his feelings, showing only the emotions that his Kingdom wanted to see. There may have been four monarchs, all with equal footing, but the High King was…well the High King.
Across from him sat the youngest Queen, Queen Lucy. She looked deep in thought, a frown on her usually jovial face. She worried about the people in her Kingdom a lot, since she had been the one to stumble across it years ago. She was also the one with the most amount of faith, and no matter how much trouble they were in, her faith stayed stable.
Last but not least was Queen Susan, the only one making an attempt at carrying a conversation. She was just as disturbed as the rest of them, if not more so, since she felt as if this were all her fault, but she was determined not to let it bring her down. Calormen was not get away with trying to destroy the kingdom that she had worked so hard to build.
"For Aslan's sake, the food is going to get cold," Susan said with a hard voice.
"Sorry, Su, I'm just not hungry right now," Lucy muttered, poking at her eggs.
"Susan is right, Lu, you need to eat something," Peter said as he took a drink from his goblet. "That goes for you too, Ed."
Edmund's eye's darkened slightly at the command, but he didn't object. He picked up his fork and grabbed as much food as he could before shoving it all into his mouth.
"I meant eat like a human," Peter said incredulously, watching Edmund with a look of disgust.
Lucy couldn't help but laugh, and soon Susan had joined in. Peter managed a grin, while Edmund scowled at his siblings, but the darkness in his eyes was gone.
"Your Majesty's," Oreius said with a bow.
The four monarch's sobered up immediately, sitting up straight with a look of curiosity.
"What is it, Friend?" Peter asked, getting to his feet.
"I apologize deeply, Sire, for intruding upon your breakfast, but your counsel is urgently required."
"What is the matter?"
"The battalion is here, and the captain requested to speak with you."
"Tell him I am on my way."
"Yes, your majesty," Oreius said with a bow, before turning on his hooves and galloping out.
"I'm coming with you, Peter," Edmund said, standing up.
"As am I," Lucy said with a determined look on her face.
"Considering this is entirely my fault, I will come too," Susan said in a soft voice.
"Very well," Peter said to his siblings. He turned his gaze onto Susan, grasping her shoulders and shaking her softly.
"None of this is any fault of yours Susan. Do not hold yourself accountable for the actions of others," he said sternly, looking his younger sister in the eyes, trying to make the message clear as day. He released his grip on her when she gave him a small nod of understanding.
"Meet up at the pavilion in ten minutes," Peter said as started to walk towards the armory.
Rayna was exhausted when they finally arrived at Cair Paravel. Her feet were sore, her back was aching and she was starting to feel dehydrated. It had been hours since her last meal, and the fact the she had thrown it all up hours prior wasn't helping her cause.
"Here," one of the soldiers' said, handing her some water. She drank the whole canteen and wiped her mouth afterwards. She left the visor up, so that she could see her surroundings better.
"You did well today, boy," the soldier said, giving her armor a hard pat. It was easy to see that he was one of the more experienced soldiers. He didn't look as distraught and shook-up as some of the other new recruits did. She was sure she looked the same as they did, if not worse. She nodded her had at the man in thanks. She noticed a cross bow clenched tightly in his hands, which told her that he was a long distance fighter.
"I'm Larsen," he said, glancing at her.
"I'm Ray—"she cut herself off before she could finish, hoping she didn't just give herself away.
"Well nice to meet you Ray," Larsen said with a grin.
Internally Rayna was relieved that she had just managed to avert that disaster, but externally she kept a blank look on her face. Rayna was hoping that whatever they were doing would be done with soon. All she wanted to do at the moment was lay down and sleep for a week.
Rayna felt Larsen nudging her. She gave him a questioning look before she looked ahead. It seemed like something was happening. She stood up on her tip toes and she could have sworn that she heard Larsen chuckle from beside her. She ignored him, moving around until she could make out what was going on.
At the front of the battalion, the captain was shaking hands with a young man dressed in gorgeous military clothing. He had a crown on his platinum blond head, and looked quite imposing for someone so young. It took her a few seconds to figure out that she was looking at the High King.
She had never seen the Narnia monarch's before, not even the previous year when there was a battle in Archenland. Her father had kept her well out of the way for that. She knew they were young, but this man couldn't really be that much older than she was.
Behind him stood three more people, all dressed just as finely as him. Rayna would guess that these were the other Narnian Monarch's. They all seemed to encompass just as much authority as the High King did. Her eye's landed on the second King however. His hair was darker than the other three, and something about the way he stood just shouted dangerous. He looked intimating, like someone who could command respect with just a look. Rayna could feel chills running down her spine as she looked into his dark eyes.
"How many are left in your battalion?" The High King asked his voice cutting through the air like a steel blade.
"Forty-one, Sire," the captain responded. Rayna shivered slightly, realizing that more than half of her battalion had been killed.
"How many of these men are untrained?"
"I'd have to guess around twelve or so. The rest were killed in the surprise attack."
Rayna's eyes were once again drawn to the dark king standing further back. His face was unreadable, but from where she was standing she would have to guess that he didn't look happy. Then again, the situation was wasn't exactly a happy one.
"Queen Lucy has notified King Lune about the situation, and we are still waiting for a reply," King Peter said to the battalion, "and until we receive word confirming continuing allegiance, we cannot ask you to continue to participate in this war."
It made sense, since they were Archenlanders and not Narnians. They would not have to fight unless King Lune decided they he wanted them to. The attack in the woods may have made him wary of sending in more recruits. Rayna looked at the captain, hoping to see how he felt about this, but his face remained impassive.
"I can offer your men places to stay in the castle until a decision is agreed upon," King Peter said to the captain.
"I must humbly decline your offer, King Peter, seeing as I have strict instructions to have our soldiers follow standard protocol."
"Very well then, feel free to set up camp where ever you please."
"Thank you, your majesty."
Rayna tried not to look upset about the fact that the captain had just denied them hot showers and mouth-watering meals. She peeked at Larsen, who wore a blank expression on his face, much like the rest of the soldiers. If they were upset about the turn of events they didn't show it at all. Rayna held in a sigh as she turned her attention back to the front. The dark king had taken a step forward, speaking to King Peter quietly as their sisters looked on. She watched King Peter nod before turning his attention back onto the Captain.
"King Edmund would like to ask for your permission to continue with the training of the new soldiers. Even if King Lune wants' you back in Archenland, there is no promise that you will get back unharmed by the Calormen soldiers. You have shed much of their blood, and they are out for revenge. The decision, however, is up to you."
"I will accept the offer, sire," the captain said, turning to look at his battalion. "New recruits, up to the front."
Rayna stood frozen in her spot. The idea of training sounded fine to her when half the battalion was going to be trained, but most of those men had been killed on the way here. Larsen nudged her hard, making her take a step forward. She kept her head down as she walked to the front where the captain was standing. She finally mustered up the courage to look up and found herself staring into the eyes of the Dark King, King Edmund. She looked down at her feet nervously, praying that she wouldn't be discovered. She could feel the immense weight of his eyes on her, looking through her.
"Everyone else is dismissed," King Peter said from somewhere nearby. Rayna managed to peek up at the blond king, who looked a lot friendlier then his brother. She could hear the rest of the soldiers leaving, talking in hushed whispers among each other.
Rayna glanced around at her fellow recruits, surprised to see only about nine or ten people. She felt a sudden pang for the ones they had lost. Her previous adrenaline rush from the battle had died down by this point, and the feelings of what she had done had overwhelmed her. She had killed. It didn't matter if the person was bad or not, she had taken a human life. Rayna could feel herself start to shake in her amour, knowing that she was starting to fall apart. She tried to clear her mind of the images of blood, but it was hard considering a lot of it was now caked on her amour. Blood of the men she killed. Rayna could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, though she tried to stop them. She did not need to be discovered. She had come too far, only to break down now. With all the strength she could muster, she forced her panic attack down. She could cry about this when she was alone, until than, she had to be strong, she had to channel a man of war.
"You made it this far without getting killed," King Edmund said, his voice sharp as a steel blade, "are you proud?"
There was murmur of voices, but she couldn't make sense of it, and neither could the king, because he repeated his question.
The "yes" was more audible this time.
King Edmund walked by each solider, asking them individually if they were proud of making it out alive. Each one had answered yes.
When King Edmund had stopped in front of her, she was shaking, though not as badly as before. His eyes looked into her's, as he asked her if she was proud. She said yes, but her voice wavered, sounding hesitant. He looked at her for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face as he nodded slightly before making his way to the next person. Rayna let out the breath she didn't know she was holding as he continued the process of asking the soldiers.
When he was done, he came up to stand in front of them. His face impassive, his arms crossed over his chest. Rayna couldn't help but admire the way this man stood in front of her. He seemed so sure of himself, so in control of everything. He was young, but he was confident. His whole person seemed to demand respect, and it was obvious that he got it.
"Every single one of you is proud of making it out of that forest alive. But what was the price of making it out alive?"
No one responded.
"You had to kill, you had to murder in cold blood, and you are proud of yourselves for it. You have left a women widowed, you have left children without a father and you have left a family with no income, yet you are proud."
Rayna could feel a shiver go up her spine at his words.
"Don't be proud of taking another's life. This is a war, and pride can get you killed."
Rayna stared up at the dark haired man, her heartbeat quickened as she could feel the panic attack slowly returning. She had just managed to shove her feelings into a box and put them in a dark place in her mind, and with a few word he managed to open the box and intensify the feelings tenfold.
"First day of training will begin tomorrow," King Edmund said as he walked back towards the giant castle, leaving Rayna glued to her spot.
I love to know what you thought of this chapter. Leave me a review and I'll give you cookies…XD
Also, for your viewing pleasure, I have put up a picture of both Rayna & Rayden as I kind of imagined them. The pictures are on my profile, so check it out.
Once again, I want to say thanks to DayDreamerGirl4life, MegElemental, dear heart, raindropsX, Lexi, cuttiecuttiecool & chocodrizzle for their reviews. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.
