Author's note: I'm terribly sorry for not updating any sooner: I just had a grueling month-long exam and now, thankfully, is a well-deserved two-week holiday! So for those who are still following this story, thanks lots for your patience! Cookies for all of you! And mucho mucho thank you for the great reviews as well!
Disclaimer: What the heck, you guys know the drill.
Chapter 9: Rescue Mission
Rumilia did not even see where her horse was heading. She did not even bother to direct it. The lights were out in her world. Everything was bleak. Not even the happiness of Narnia, nor the handsome face of Peter, could brighten her sullenness. Everything was dark.
Tears brimmed in her eyes, blurring her vision, and so the world dissolved into a mass of throbbing light and shadows. Soon she was lost in a forest. Trees flashed by and suddenly she was aware that the light was getting very faint. Very soon it became hard to peer out into the darkness. Rumilia realised her folly. She tried to pull on the reins of the horse, tried to make it stop. At first she was half-successful; the white mare slowed down, but the deafening crunch of trees and bone-rattling roar loomed somewhere in the darkness to her right. Startled, a scream escaped her lips. The horse, also panicked by the noise, reared up on its hind legs, unseating her.
Rumilia fell onto the ground, her cheek hitting the grass, close to a tree. The frenzied neighing of the horse faded away together with the stamping of hoofs. The woods fell mercifully quiet again. Her joints ached; nevertheless she tried to push herself up. She sat up against the tree, trying to gather her thoughts.
A crackle-and-snap again, and Rumilia saw the tree falling just before a colossal black shadow with a thump to match emerged from the darkness. She scrambled away from the plummeting trunk and escaped, the tree landing just a few inches away from her. Another deafening bellow was joined by another and Rumilia picked up her skirts, and ran for her life.
Her heart had never beat that quickly before in her whole life; she wound in and out of the trees, unaware of where she was heading for and heedless anyway; until her ears picked up the sound of rushing water. Could it be? She ran in the direction of the water and spotted the glimmer of a river just beyond the border of the woods. Should she make for it?
The din was approaching, and more trees were felling. Rumilia yelped and decided that she would rather take her chances with the river. She raced down the slope, almost tripping over roots and the like, and the beast; or rather beasts were getting no further. If anything, they seemed to be closing in. She ran and ran like she had never ran before, and just as she burst through the trees, a massive foot dropped onto the ground just several feet before her. She knocked against it and fell to the ground. Looking up, she could barely make out the shape of a human body . . . and a face that was peering down at her in the dusk; only this human was a hundred times bigger than she was . . .
She screamed and got to her feet fast and sprinted for the river. The Giant let out a howl as well, frightened by her piercing eruption, and it, if anything, only served to attract the attention of his comrades. Rumilia dared not stop, let alone look back, but thankfully, the river bank was not too far away. Just as the Giants came to see what was the matter with their friend, she had jumped into the water.
The howl of the Giant attracted not only the attention of the other Giants, all of whom had just crossed the northern border by following the river Shribble in a bid to assuage their hunger; but also that of Prince Rum, Prince Rumil and Lady Mallory.
They had ridden for a good five hours or so, scanning the country all around Cair Paravel for their missing sister. Prince Rum was the most vexed. He was, after all, the eldest and thus the one responsible for her well-being. Mallory tried to think of something to lessen his fear, but she knew that, if anything, her efforts could bring out the opposite effect.
When they heard the roar, they unsheathed their swords and halted simultaneously. "Giants," whispered Rum. Mallory gulped and tightened her grip on her sword. "We need to be careful," he continued.
"Perhaps we should go on foot," suggested Rumil.
"I don't think that's a good idea," she interjected, "we can make a quick exit on our horses." Snowmane grunted and she patted his flank to calm him down. Rum cast her an odd look, but he nodded.
They searched amongst the trees, winding in and out, sometimes coming across fallen trees, testaments of a Giant's strength. Rumil shook his head as their steeds gingerly stepped over the defeated trunks. "Peter won't be happy to know that these Giants are no longer confined to Lantern Waste."
"I don't think these came from Lantern Waste," said Rum, stopping and pointing his sword to the west. "The forest to the west is still untouched. It's unlikely that they came from there. Furthermore, the Great River is wide, wide even for a Giant's stride."
"They could jump," said Rumil.
"They could have," agreed Rum solemnly.
"Let's keep on moving," said Mallory, pulling her cloak tighter around her body, "it's eerie enough not knowing when or how the Giants can ambush us without the chill wind."
"Aye, aye," said Rumil. "Let's get a move on."
Suddenly the trees in front of them were knocked down. As they creaked and fell in their direction, the horses screamed and reared on their hind legs. Snowmane cried aloud, "By Aslan!" Mallory gave his reins a vicious tug. "Run! Come on Snowmane! Run or we'll die!"
The trees came crashing down by just a breadth of an inch of them. The crash was quickly ensued by a bawl that didn't sound friendly at all. Rum and Rumil's horses bucked, throwing the princes off their backs and galloped wildly into the night, their frightened neighs fading away into the distance. Snowmane was trying to keep calm and refrain from kicking, as a result he was shaking madly. Mallory tried to soothe his jumpy nerves by stroking his mane, but as Giant stomps grew ever nearer, she had to give it up and urged the Unicorn to run.
"Mallory!" yelled Rum. "Mallory, come on! Come on or we'll be flattened!"
"Rum!" she cried. A giant foot slammed the earth next to her, crushing the fallen trunks and that was the limit. Snowmane shrieked and threw her off his back. She fell on her back and hit her head for the second time that day. Rum and Rumil dashed for her just as the Giant leaned down to examine the little specks that were running about his foot.
When he saw that they were humans, he grinned and clapped his hands together. The sound might as well have been thunder itself.
"FOOD!" he beamed and reached down to pick them up.
Rumil quickly fitted an arrow to his bow and fired it at the Giant's right eye. The arrow hit directly on the pupil of the eye, causing the Giant to yowl in agony and take a few steps back, covering the injured eye with his hand. Finally, he tripped over a boulder near the river and, howling, fell right across the wide body of water.
"Good shot, Rumil!" said Rum, helping Mallory up. The second blow on her head caused her to stagger a bit when she stood, but Rum caught her just in time. "Can you stand, Mallory?"
"Mmm . . ." she replied, touching the back of her head. "It hurt lots though."
"Do you think the Giant's out for good?" asked Rumil.
"We'd better not take our chances," said Rum. "Mallory, come on, I know just the thing to clear your head up." They made for the river and stooped by the bank. Mallory, now being able to think more coherently, splashed her face with the water and they each scooped some of the deliciously cool water to quench their parched throats.
Abruptly, Rumil exclaimed, "Look! Down the river! There's somebody hanging on to the fallen tree!"
They looked and Rum yelled, "Rumilia!"
The person's head turned.
"Rumilia!" they shouted together and ran towards the fallen trunk. Rumilia was struggling to maintain her grip on one of the branches, the lower half of her body was in the river, its strong current threatening to whisk her away downriver if she loosened her hold on the branch. Her face looked tired and pale; nevertheless she gave them a relieved smile.
"Rumilia! Are you all right?"
She nodded a slight nod.
"All right; Mallory, you'll have to try and reach her: the trunk looks fragile and we're too heavy."
Mallory climbed onto the trunk and crawled on the wood towards Rumilia. For fear of overturning the tree, she moved slowly, inching slowly forwards. "Hang on, Rumilia!"
At last she was perched just above Rumilia's hand. She leaned and grabbed her fingers. "I've got you, Rumilia! Don't let go!"
