Happy Summer! Yes I know, I'm actually putting out a new chapter less than three months after the last one (which I think may be a new record for this story). I actually wrote this intro over a month ago, but my number of shifts doubled and then I hit a metaphorical wall and then I had all these new ideas for my other two stories and I had to write a bunch of essays for a scholarship application so, needless to say, my writing time has been otherwise occupied. I see once again that my number of reviewers has dropped :(...but you know what, it's okay because two reviews on chapter six is still better than only one review on chapter three :). So, thank you tinkbooklover and Guest for helping me look at the bright side (gotta love how both of you started your reviews started with "OMG you updated!"). Obviously my update habits for this story have been...subpar to say the least, so I'm making a promise that this summer will see at least one more update other than this one.
Warning: massive battle scenes are not my forte
Disclaimer: never have, never will
And with a single jerk of Dyani's hands, every torch in the courtyard snuffed out.
"Who turned out the lights?!"
"I can't see anything!"
"Where are the intruders?!"
Dyani's golden eyes shone in the moonlight, now the only source of light in the courtyard, before she leapt at the first wave of Telmarines.
"Exactly who are you doing this for, Peter?!" Susan barked, her voice strained from the effort she put into turning the wheel.
Dyani looked up from the Telmarine she had just stabbed to the ground. "Oi! Fight now," Dyani flung a fireball straight at another soldier without even a sideways glance, "argue later!"
Unfortunately, lighting up a Telmarine like a human candlestick provided extra visibility for his comrades...meaning they now knew where their target was.
"Cac!" Dyani cursed as she pulled her sword out of the soldier's chest
Luckily, up in the lookout tower, Edmund had gotten his flashlight up and running just in time to signal the troops outside the front gates. That little sequence of flashes sent an army of minotaurs, centaurs, and other Narnians storming into the Telmarine castle. Dyani, who had been holding her blade to a soldier's neck, froze when she heard the sound of a stampede approaching. She glanced behind her, grinned, turned back to her attacker, relit the torches with a flick of her wrist (so the Telmarines could see that it was Narnians who invaded their impenetrable fortress), and then knocked the soldier in her hands out cold with a swift headbutt from her gold helmet.
"FOR NARNIA!" Peter hollered as he, Caspian, and Susan re-armed themselves and followed their army of rebels in their fight for freedom.
A bloody battle ensued with troops from both sides falling down left and right. With their supernatural strength and agility, the Narnians seemed to have the upper hand...but the Telmarines had the numbers advantage.
"ARCHERS!"
Over a dozen Telmarine marksmen raced out onto the ledge overlooking the courtyard.
"PICK A TARGET!"
The sharpshooters snapped their crossbows into place as they each eyed a different victim below.
"TAKE AIM!"
Edmund found his way to the roof overlooking the row of archers and noticed that one had his sights set on a certain blonde king down by the well in the center of the courtyard. Despite the issues he'd had with Peter over the past few days, they were still brothers...and brothers don't let other brothers get shot in the back. Edmund hoisted himself up and rode down the slanted roof like it was a slide until his feet connected with the shoulders of the archer in question, sending the Telmarine tumbling headfirst into the courtyard.
Dyani's gaze snapped up toward the ledge when she heard the enemy soldier's dying scream and she suddenly realized that Edmund's actions, while brave, were practically suicidal. "Ed!" the redheaded fae cried out.
Edmund looked at Dyani and then he looked at the twelve or so marksmen standing just a few paces from where their comrade had been kicked off the ledge. They hesitated for a few seconds to let what just happened sink in, but those few seconds allowed Edmund enough time to jump through an open door and kick it shut behind him before the Telmarines turned him into a human dartboard.
Dyani jabbed a soldier in between the shoulder blades with the butt of her handle and started toward the lookout tower, but she was stopped by a hand wrapped around her left wrist. Instinctively, Dyani spun around and was about to snap her attacker's arm in half until she realized that her 'attacker' was none other than High King Peter.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Peter interrogated before he elbowed a Telmarine creeping up from the back in the nose.
"My job: protecting the Kings and Queens of Narnia!" Dyani panted as she tried to jerk her wrist out of Peter's grasp. "And seeing how one of those kings barely escaped death by a dozen crossbows, clearly I am not doing my job very well!"
"Ed can handle himself!" Peter waved off. "Right now, you have to stay down here!"
Dyani glared at the blonde Pevensie, her chest rising and falling with her quick and shallow breathing.
"That's an order!" Peter snapped when he recognized that the only way to get the fiery knight to listen to him was by banking on her oath of obedience to the crown.
Dyani's eyes narrowed, but she didn't have time to reply before a Telmarine noticed her moment of vulnerability and slashed at Dyani's outstretched arm with his dagger. Luckily, because of her armor, the blade only nicked her. However, the fae still shrieked in pain, and before Peter could even try to play hero, Dyani dropped her sword to the ground, lit her right hand on fire, and grabbed hold of the Telmarine's face. That smell of burning flesh and the feel of the man's bubbling skin underneath Dyani's white-hot fingertips would haunt the girl for years, but Dyani forced her guilt to the back of her mind...at least until after she was out of the bloodbath.
Dyani dropped to the ground to retrieve her blade and whipped her head up to stare at Peter. "Go!"
Peter was so stunned from seeing how horrifically powerful Dyani really was that he actually did as she asked. Plus, with her golden eyes pulsing like supernovas and the tangled strands of her hair stuck to the smears of blood on her cheeks, Dyani had never looked so terrifying. The blonde teenager nodded his head in agreement and returned to dueling with the Telmarine soldiers.
Meanwhile, Edmund had stabbed and wrestled his way back up to the lookout tower. As he used his flashlight to seal the door shut behind him, Edmund was glad to see that Orion was still there and unharmed. However, that relief soon turned to alarm.
"We have to get you out of here!" the dark-haired king insisted.
"What?!" Orion exclaimed. "But, Your Highness-"
"You were too young to come on this raid. I need to keep you safe...for your sister," Edmund argued before he leaned over the edge of the tower and whistled.
Within seconds, a griffin flew up to the tower, awaiting orders from the Just King.
"But...but..." Orion stammered as Edmund pushed him onto the back of the winged creature, the brunette Pevensie boy not noticing the vines the earth fae was stealthily hiding in his fists.
"Take him back to camp," Edmund instructed the griffin.
The creature cawed in agreement and took off into the night sky with the heartbroken boy holding on. Edmund felt regret welling up in his chest, but the sound of soldiers banging on the door and on the chains holding the gates open chased away any feelings other than panic. From their spots all over the castle, Peter, Caspian, Susan, Edmund, and Dyani watched as the battle raged on, the only exit balancing on the shoulders of a determined minotaur.
"Fall back!" Peter hollered in a ragged voice. "We need to retreat, now!"
Susan stared at her brother in disbelief. Why couldn't he realize that they were fighting a losing battle before half of their army was slaughtered?!
"Go! Get the girls out of here!" Peter yelled at Glenstorm in between jabbing attackers.
The centaur nodded obediently and - after taking Susan's outstretched hand and hoisting the Gentle Queen onto his back - grabbed Dyani by her right elbow, which was poised to stab a Telmarine in the neck; pulled her into a sitting position right behind Susan; and galloped off toward the gates.
"Caspian?!" Susan called out to her older brother.
"I'll find him!" Peter promised before running off to spread his commands to the rest of the army. "Go! Get out! Go! Get out! Retreat!"
Glenstorm continued toward the exit, cutting down any Telmarines in his path, and managed to ride out of the courtyard with both girls on his back thanks to the strength of the minotaur keeping the gate open.
At the same time, up on the lookout tower, the Telmarines had finally busted down the door and were now backing Edmund into a corner. The fifteen-year-old, as he stood between two stone blockades, glanced behind him. All he saw was open water...but then he heard the flapping of wings. Edmund looked the two guards directly in the eyes, held up his hands in mock surrender, smirked, and then fell backwards off the tower. The guards scrambled to look over the edge of the tower, but they were knocked back by a griffin's claws...a griffin that was being steered by a thirteen-year-old fae with a makeshift vine harness.
As Edmund and Orion flew their griffin over the Telmarine fortress, Caspian was riding through it on a stolen horse. The former prince glared up at his ruthless uncle, who was watching the whole battle with his general from the comfort of his balcony. However, Caspian knew he had no time to waste on that monster, so, with Professor Cornelius riding at his side, Caspian passed another horse off to Peter. The blonde king skipped alongside his horse for a few seconds, kicking at any obstacles until he had a better opportunity to mount the steed, but his window of opportunity was getting narrower as Miraz commandeered a crossbow from his general and shot the minotaur Atlas in the stomach. The archers followed the lead of their king and proceeded to fire arrow after arrow at the minotaur and any other Narnians trying to escape. The minotaur had just enough energy left in him to hoist the gates high enough for the professor, the prince, and the king to ride through, but once they passed, the minotaur finally collapsed under the metal gates' weight. The only ones who were able to flee after those gates dropped were the tiny Reepicheep and the winged Ivan.
Peter stopped to look behind him at all the Narnians - all his soldiers - who hadn't been able to retreat in time. Despite their cries for the Son of Adam to run, to save himself, all Peter wanted to do was go back and save them. Those who had been fortunate enough to escape were suffering from survivor's guilt, especially Glenstorm who had to watch as his trapped sons swallowed their fears and simply accepted their fate.
"Peter, the bridge!" Reepicheep exclaimed, tearing the blonde Pevensie away from his moral dilemma.
Peter broke eye contact with his doomed troops and charged his horse toward the rapidly rising bridge, soaring through the air before landing safely on the other side as the closed bridge blocked any view of the gates or the loyal soldiers locked behind them. Up in the sky, though, Edmund and Orion flew over the courtyard to the sound of pure silence, the piles of corpses confirming that the battle had officially been lost.
...
Lucy was laying alongside the Stone Table, tracing her fingers over her healing cordial in hopes that she wouldn't need to use it too much when the army returned...which, by the sounds of footsteps coming from above, was happening right about now. The Valiant Queen holstered her cordial and raced out of the underground fortress to see only a fraction of the troops returning from the ambush, all of them with at least some form of battle injury.
"What happened?" Lucy asked sadly.
"Ask him," Peter snapped with a glance toward Caspian.
"Peter," Susan scolded from behind, followed closely by Orion and an unnaturally pale Dyani.
"Me?!" Caspian defended. "You could've called it off! There was still time!"
"No there wasn't, thanks to you," Peter retorted. "If you kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive."
"If you'd just stayed here like I suggested, they definitely would be!"
"You called us, remember?"
"My first mistake."
"No," Peter dismissed. "Your first mistake was thinking you could lead these people."
"Hey!" Caspian shouted.
The volume and anger of the Telmarine prince's voice caused Peter to stop in his step and face the dark-skinned boy.
"I am not the one who abandoned Narnia," Caspian growled.
"You invaded Narnia," Peter corrected as he pointed an accusatory finger in Caspian's face. "You have no more right to lead it than Miraz does!"
Caspian shoved Peter aside and kept walking toward the temple.
"You, him, your father..." Peter continued, "Narnia's better off without the lot of you!"
Caspian whipped out his sword with a guttural cry, and had it not been for Edmund, Caspian and Peter would've dueled to the death right then and there.
"Stop it!" the younger Pevensie boy demanded as he and Glenstorm lowered the unconscious Trumpkin to the ground.
The centaur shared a look with his wife to inform her that their sons had not returned but that they had died with honor, yet that didn't stop her sobs. Meanwhile, Caspian stormed into the fortress, only noticed by the dark-haired dwarf Nikabrik who immediately followed the prince inside. Lucy held back a cry as she ran between the angry teenagers and knelt beside her dwarf friend. She immediately uncorked her cordial and tilted it over Trumpkin's mouth. As soon as the firefly juice touched his lips, Trumpkin coughed and opened his eyes to see the Kings and Queens watching him.
"What are you all standing around for?" Trumpkin muttered. "Telmarines will be here soon enough."
Lucy stood up, grinning slightly as she put her cordial back into her belt.
"Thank you..." Trumpkin added hesitantly, "my Dear Little Friend."
Lucy's smile widened as she trailed behind her siblings back toward the temple.
Dyani smirked weakly in amusement, but she stumbled in her step.
"Whoa, Ani, are you hurt?!" Orion questioned nervously, his hands hovering around his sister in case she fell.
"I am fine, Ri," Dyani dismissed as she shook off her dizziness. "I am just tired from the battle."
Orion did not seem convinced.
"How about you go help Lucy tend to the wounded?" Edmund proposed as he stepped up to the fae siblings. "I can take care of Dyani."
Orion gave the Just King a look of confidence before leaving to catch up to Lucy.
"Aww what's the matter, Sparky?" Ivan teased as he casually strolled up behind Dyani and Edmund. "Did a mean ol' Telmarine give you a boo-boo?"
"Back off, Blizzard-Brain!" Dyani spat back as she removed her helmet. "I am not in the mood for you or your mockery."
"Ooh! Looks like the Walking Candlestick has a temper."
"I told you to go away!"
"Hey, does your hair still light on fire when you get annoyed?"
"I am warning you!"
"I'm so scared! I better run before she burns this whole place down!"
Dyani ripped her arm out of Edmund's grip and, as Ivan expected, her red hair actually lit up. Edmund gasped as he jumped back from the flames, but Ivan remained unfazed.
"I mean it!" Dyani roared.
Ivan glanced at Dyani's left arm and took note of the red stain on her armor. For now, though, held up his hands in surrender, but the smug look on his face proved that he felt no remorse, especially when he started laughing as he walked into the temple with everybody else. "Watch out, everybody! It seems we have a Hothead in our army!"
Dyani breathed heavily for a few more seconds, trying to ignore the suspicious and wary looks she got from the remaining troops who took the long way around to avoid stepping within her reach. Eventually, the fire fae's temper subsided and the humiliation sunk in. Ivan had made a fool of her yet again...in front of Edmund...and Dyani had let it happen! She had played right into his cold hands!
"Your Highness, I am so sorry!" Dyani apologized.
"Why would you need to apologize to me?" Edmund inquired.
"Because a true knight of Narnia would never let their emotions get the better of them, especially not with a brother in arms and definitely not in front of the king!" Dyani sighed as she gazed at her reflection in the golden helmet in her hands. "I do not deserve this armor. I will turn it over to the blacksmiths and leave camp by sunset." The fae turned toward the temple to do just that when Edmund laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"You will do nothing of the sort," Edmund corrected in a soft but firm voice.
"But, my lord-"
Edmund placed a finger on the phoenix knight's lips to shush her. "You took on the first wave of Telmarines all by yourself just so the other troops to get in to protect Caspian and the rest of us. As far as I see it, you live up to your title as fae of fire: strong, passionate, brave...a little bit quick-tempered but that makes you an even better fighter. And if you think that I'll let you just walk away from everything you've trained for just because some jerk makes you think you're a bad knight, well...that would make me a bad king."
Dyani raised her head and locked eyes with Edmund and before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around the brunette Pevensie boy. "Thank you, Edmund," Dyani whispered as she pressed her cheek against the cool leather of Edmund's breastplates.
Edmund breathed in Dyani's scent as he ran his finger's through the fae's hair, which was surprisingly soft even though it had been in flames just seconds ago. How was it that even after spending all night battling Telmarines and fleeing through the woods, Dyani still smelled like cinnamon and campfire smoke. To be honest, it was kind of addictive. "Anytime," Edmund murmured.
Eventually, Dyani pulled away. "So, um, how about we join the others inside and offer up some suggestions for the coming battle? No offense to your brother, but I think King Peter's 'victory-guaranteed' strategies stopped being used a thousand years for a reason."
Edmund chuckled. "That's what I tried to tell him," he replied with a smirk.
The two fifteen-year-olds walked toward the fortress, their fingers accidentally brushing against each other, but this time, neither Dyani nor Edmund flinched.
...
Caspian stood in the passageway to the Stone Table, staring at the drawings of the Golden Age of Narnia, wondering why things had been so right then but so wrong now.
"Are you so glad of that magic horn now, boy?" a voice taunted from the shadows.
Caspian whirled around to see Nikabrik casually leaning up against the wall.
"Your kings and queens have failed us. Your army's half-dead, and those who aren't will be soon enough."
"What do you want?" Caspian muttered. "Congratulations?"
Nikabrik smirked wickedly. "You want your uncle's blood. So do we. You want his throne? We can get it for you." The dark-haired dwarf walked down the tunnel to the room housing the Stone Table, followed by a hesitant albeit curious Caspian. "You tried one ancient power. It failed. But there is a power greater still, one that kept even Aslan at bay for near a hundred years."
Caspian's hand flew to his sheath and he pulled out his sword to defend himself as he watched three silhouettes emerge from the darkness.
...
Dyani gasped as her knees buckled and she fell against the wall of the cave.
"Dyani?!" Edmund exclaimed, immediately wrapping his arms around her to hold her up. "What's wrong?!"
"C-Cold!" the fire fae stammered through her shivers.
"Cold?!" Edmund repeated. "Like when you sensed Ivan?"
"Co-Colder!" Dyani stuttered. "Much, much colder!"
Edmund's eyes darkened in realization. "PETER!"
The oldest Pevensie rushed around the corner with Trumpkin at his heels. Seeing Dyani in his little brother's arms definitely irritated Peter...and he didn't try that hard to mask it. "Edmund, what is it?! I'm a little busy getting ready for a Telmarine invasion."
"Well I'm so sorry to bother you, Your Majesty," Edmund replied bitterly as he helped the trembling phoenix knight back to her feet, "but it looks like an old winter friend decided to pay us a surprise visit."
All of the color drained out of Peter's face. "Ed, you and Trumkin follow me. Dyani, go find Susan and get somewhere safe."
"You expect to defeat ice without help from fire?" Dyani challenged.
Peter grunted in surrender. "Come on."
The dwarf, the fae, and the two kings sprinted down the hallway toward the Stone Table. The four of them arrived just in time to see Caspian standing in the middle of a summoning circle in front of a wall of ice. A hag chanted in some ancient language as a werewolf held Caspian's bloody palm up to the outstretched hand of Jadis...the White Witch.
"Stop!" Peter roared as he tore into the room, his blade flashing in the light of the torches.
The werewolf released Caspian and leapt on top of the cracked table while Nikabrik and the hag pulled out their weapons, but Caspian made no effort to move away from the witch. Dyani's face blanched as she took note of the giant ice block. No amount of witchcraft could channel winter magic that strong unless there was another source of winter magic to help. But the redheaded fae did not have time to muse over her theory before the werewolf pounced at her. Luckily, Edmund had already unsheathed his sword and knocked the werewolf off to the side. And so, it was Edmund and Dyani versus the werewolf, Trumpkin versus Nikabrik, and Peter versus the hag.
Nikabrik slammed Trumpkin up against one of the columns and had his dagger poised for a strike, but Lucy appeared out of nowhere, stole Nikabrik's knife, and held it up to the dark-haired dwarf's throat. Unfortunately, his shortness gave Nikabrik an advantage as he grabbed Lucy's wrist and wrenched it behind her back, causing the Valiant Queen to cry out in pain as he took his curved blade back. Nikabrik shoved Lucy to the ground and backed her up into a dead end, grinning evilly as he twirled his dagger in his fingers. However, before Nikabrik could go in for the kill, strong roots broke through the cracks in the stone floor and wrapped themselves around the dwarf's wrists and ankles. Lucy spun around to see Orion standing at the entrance to the room, his arm stretched out in front of him, his green eyes glowing bright, looking even angrier and more dangerous than he had when Ivan insulted Dyani. Lucy looked back at her attacker and watched Nikabrik squirming in his restraints, but his struggling suddenly stopped with a gasp as the dark-haired dwarf dropped to the floor with Trumpkin's knife in his back. Lucy didn't know which of her saviors to thank first, so instead she just grabbed both of her friends and brought them in for a group hug.
Meanwhile, Peter had sent the hag flying into a column, knocking her out cold after she attempted to knock Peter's sword from his hand, and Dyani and Edmund were just seconds away from taking down the werewolf as well.
As the White Witch watched her followers get defeated one by one, she grew less persuasive and more persistent in her efforts with Caspian. "Come on!" Jadis insisted through clenched teeth, her arm starting to quiver. "Come!"
"Get away from him!" Peter commanded as he shoved Caspian out of the witch's reach. He pointed his sword straight at the block of ice, ready to fend off this ghost of his past.
Most people would be enraged if their chance for resurrection was within their grasp and then ripped away, but Jadis didn't seem enraged. At the very worst, she seemed surprised. "Peter, dear," the witch greeted in a sugar-coated voice. "I've missed you."
Peter glared at Jadis loathingly. However, the witch did not surrender to the teenage king so easily. She extended her hand through the ice, inviting Peter to take hold of it. Even though the White Witch had been dead for over a thousand years, she still knew Peter's flaws...especially his subconscious fear of failure.
"Come. Just one drop," Jadis persuaded as she eyed the blood dripping from the cut over Peter's eyebrow. "You know you can't do this alone."
Peter felt his sword hand quiver as his resolve weakened. By pushing Caspian away from the White Witch, he had landed himself right in the center of the magical circle.
The witch smirked as she seductively repeated the promise she had given Caspian. "I will be yours, my king."
That statement snapped Peter back to his senses. He re-gripped his blade and deepened his frown. "Not interested."
Jadis' grin dropped. What happened? Peter was supposed to cave in at her words. Instead, her charms seemed to strengthen his resolve. It made no sense! Suddenly, realization dawned on the witch. It made no sense unless...
"I see your disinterest in my side of the bargain. That is perfectly understandable...considering your heart lies with another," Jadis replied smoothly.
Peter's breath hitched as his eyes momentarily flickered toward Dyani, only confirming the witch's suspicions. Jadis looked in the direction of Peter's gaze and saw a redheaded, wingless fae battling with the werewolf.
"Does she share your affections?" the witch asked innocently as she turned her attention back to Peter.
The blonde boy stayed silent, but the sadness in his eyes answered Jadis' question.
"Free me, and I can give you everything you desire," the White Witch promised. "The Narnians, led by you, will defeat the Telmarines; the crown will return to your head; and a certain fae's heart will belong to you...and only you."
Peter could feel his determination shrinking as the implications of Jadis' promise churned around in his mind. He would have his crown back and a gorgeous warrior on his arm without any competition from Caspian or Edmund. Besides, Aslan showed no sign of returning to aid the Narnians, so why not look to another magical source as their secret weapon? But before Peter could seal the deal, a crack suddenly appeared in the White Witch's stomach and the entire wall of ice soon shattered into a million pieces around Edmund's sword. Dyani shielded her face from the shards, but the noise of the ice block crashing did not disguise another sound...the sound of a body thumping to the ground.
"I know," Edmund spoke up as he glared directly at Peter. "You had it sorted."
"Actually," a new voice added gruffly from the dark corners of the room, "I had it sorted."
...
Okay if I were a reader, I'd totally wanna beat me up for such a cliffhanger, but this next scene requires the expertise of a real fight writer...who I happen to have on speed dial but I wanted to get this chapter out asap and my fight-writer-on-demand would need at least a few days to come up with the scene. Besides, this chapter is already over 4000 words and roughly 3000 of them are from fights. I love y'all, please leave reviews, and I'll see y'all later this summer.
