Down in the river two Telmarine guards were rowing a boat. One was watching the scenery for any threats while the other kept glancing down at the prisoner below them.
"He won't stop staring." The man told his companion nervously. The other man rolled his eyes.
"So don't look."' He answered with a 'duh' tone. However, the man looked back down at the dwarf who was glaring at him. He whipped his eyes back up and continued rowing with a nervous expression. Finally, he was done with all the glaring and stopped rowing.
"Here's far enough." He informed his companion and stood up. The dwarf's eyes widened in alarm as the two men leaned down to pick him up out of the boat and throw him overboard. Suddenly they froze as an arrow lodged itself into the side of the boat.
...
Up on the bank of the river, Susan reached back to retrieve another arrow. The four others raced up to stand behind her. Edmund and Peter drew their swords, standing slightly in front of Raelyn and Lucy just in case things went bad.
"Drop him." Susan ordered, pointing her arrow at the Telmarines threateningly. The dwarf's eyes furrowed and me mumbled out something unintelligible since he was gagged. Raelyn's eyes widened as she realized Susan's choice of words.
"Um Susan, I would rephrase that." She warned quietly. Just as she was afraid of, the men looked to one another before dropping him….into the river bound and gagged. The two boys immediately dropped their swords and dashed towards the water. As they did, one of the soldiers picked up a crossbow and aimed their direction but Susan was quicker. She instantly loosed her arrow, hitting one of the in the shoulder, causing him to fall over the edge of their boat. The remaining man jumped in after him to avoid further conflict. Seeing that they were in the clear, Raelyn walked forward to collect the weapons in the sand while the boys were busy. As Edmund had swum over to collect the boat and bring it to shore, Peter dragged the half drowned dwarf up onto the bank. The siblings gathered around the man and Lucy took out her dagger to cut the man free. Raelyn, having this been the first encounter of a mythical creature hung back, just observing the small man. Once his hands and feet were free, he rolled onto his side and took out the gag, sputtering out water. They all straightened up and patiently waited for the man to compose himself. Raelyn dutifully walked over and handed Edmund back his sword. He took it with a grin and playfully shook out his shaggy hair in her general direction, spraying her with water. She giggled silently and shoved him aside, the grins never leaving their faces. They quieted down as the dwarf finally stood up, shooting a glare at Susan.
"Drop him?!" he shouted incredulously. The group shared a confused look.
"That's the best you could come up with?" he continued with a growl.
"A simple thank you would suffice. No need to be rude." Raelyn piped up in Susan's defense. The man shot her a heated glare, causing the girl to shy away behind Edmund.
"They were doing just fine drowning me without your help." He argued.
"Maybe we should have let them." Peter commented, looking down at the dwarf in shock.
"Why were they trying to kill you anyway?" Lucy gently asked, alleviating the tension between them. The dwarf gave her a look before answering.
"They're Telmarines. It's what they do." He told them in resignation. The siblings looked to one another in confusion.
"Telmarines in Narnia?" Edmund asked. The dwarf shot him a curious look.
"Where have you been the past few hundred years?" he drawled out.
"It's a bit of a long story." Lucy admitted with a grin. The teenagers chuckled in amusement. Peter smiled thankfully down at Raelyn as she walked over to hand him his sword. The dwarf stared at the weapon as it changed hands and his expression dropped in recognition. He stared at the trademark lion on the hilt of the sword before looking up at Peter in shock. Then looked around at the rest of them, recognizing all but one.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me….." he groaned. The humans looked around in confusion at his disappointment.
"You're it? You're the kings and queens of old?" the dwarf asked them seriously. Peter straightened up at the familiar title and stuck his hand out.
"High King Peter….the Magnificent." He introduced himself. The smaller man rose a brow.
"You probably could have left off that last bit." Raelyn giggled, coming to stand beside Edmund, who shared a grin with her. The dwarf laughed aloud at her remark.
"Probably." He muttered in agreement. Raelyn smiled down at him warmly.
"You might be surprised." Peter cut in, drawing his sword.
"Oh you don't want to do that boy." The dwarf warned.
"Not me….him." Peter clarified, gesturing towards Edmund who was surprised. He shot a wink over at Raelyn before drawing his sword for a duel while Peter handed the dwarf his own weapon. Edmund was eager to show the redhead what he could do. The dwarf appeared a bit flustered and hesitantly took the sword offered him. Edmund smirked at the girls when the man's arm dropped at the sudden weight of the sword in his hand. As he was momentarily distracted, the dwarf lifted up the sword skillfully and swung at the boy, catching him off guard. Nevertheless Edmund easily countered the attack and ducked as the swords was aimed at his head. Using his new height to his advantage, the dwarf elbowed Edmund in the nose.
"Edmund!" Raelyn shouted out in alarm but was held back by Peter who was watching the match intently. Edmund grabbed his nose in pain and glared at the dwarf.
"Oh are you alright?" the man asked sarcastically before swinging at him once again. This time Edmund dodged and maneuvered himself behind the dwarf. He swiftly smacked the dwarf's backside with the flat edge of the sword, causing the group to giggle. The man glared at the dark haired boy and whipped around to face him. He growled before lunging again which Edmund parried before taking his own swing at the man's head. The dwarf ducked and swung low. Edmund easily lept over the sword before deflecting another hit. The two competitors parried viscously back and forth until finally Edmund skillfully knocked Peter's sword away from the man, pointing his own at the dwarf's nose. The man stared up at the boy in shock, his eyes wide and mouth open as he fell backwards into the sand.
"Beards and Beadsteads….maybe that horn worked after all." He muttered while looking at the group.
"What horn?" Lucy asked him curiously.
