As promised! ;)

Disclaimer goes for all chapters.

x Camilla


Goldenflower 2: The Prince From Telmar

Chapter Eight:


Cornelia squinted her eyes, trying to take in her surroundings while holding on to the feathers of the griffin for dear life. It was way past sundown, nearly pitch black and a heavy fog had claimed the night sky, making it even more impossible for Cornelia to see anything. She hoped and prayed that the griffin beneath her had a better sight than she had. Cornelia didn't dare to look down. She had to admit that coming into the Telmarine castle on a griffin would be something the Telmarines probably wouldn't expect, but did they really have to be so far up into the air? She could feel the air was thinner up here, and as she almost never had been flying anything this high before, she naturally felt a little faint. It was even worse than that time Andrew had taken her on a merry-go-around when she was very little - let's just say that her older brother had to change into extra clothes afterwards, and that he had been wary of going with her on a merry-go-around since. The memory brought a smile to the twelve-year-old's face despite the seriousness of the current situation she had chosen to be in. This was the night where they would attack the Telmarines and see what they were really up against. Peter had been unusually set on wanting her to stay back at the How with Lucy right up until they left the How earlier. She had noticed him looking at her like she was going to break any minute, and sometimes he looked at her with a thoughtful, faraway look in his eyes. Cornelia didn't know why she suddenly remembered now, of all times that Andrew had held her oldest cousin a little longer when they said goodbye at the train station a year ago where Peter had, when Andrew pulled away, nodded once with a serious, determined look on his face.

Cornelia heard wings flapping on either side of her. Edmund, Susan and Trumpkin were to her left, and Peter and Caspian to her right. She looked at them all as well as she could in the dark; all of them looked grimly at the darkness in front of them, brows furrowed deeply in concentration and anxiousness. Cornelia too felt the nerves building up as she sat there helplessly with no other opportunity than to go through with it. Her small body was as tensed up as her bowstring. Her quiver with her arrows and her bow on her back and her small daggers placed in a belt around her waist on her right side, along with Omega in its sheath to the other side made her heavier than she was. Cornelia frowned as she suddenly felt sorry for the poor creature carrying her.

She let out a small gasp as a cloud of fog was whisked away, and Miraz' castle appeared. The castle itself was placed on a cliff well above the ground, its towers went far into the air and a narrow stone bridge was the only way that led away from the castle and into the village. Cornelia could scout around five light dots from the castle, which was a good sign - they would take the invaders by surprise.

Cornelia looked to Edmund to her left. He was the first going in, being the one to signal to them about when to approach and to their ground troops when they were supposed to approach and attack. The tween thought with a smirk that Edmund must have been very satisfied with being able to put his new torch to good use now when he had brought it with him all the way from England by accident. She had to stifle a giggle as she thought about how up-giving Edmund had seemed after having tried to explain the Narnians that the torch wasn't magic, but a very ordinary object in the world he came from.

The unease about the attack came back immediately, though. Cornelia met Edmund's gaze; the latter sending his cousin a comforting smile before he nodded and looked over her head, probably at Peter who gave him the go-ahead. Edmund's eyes met Cornelia's once more, Cornelia being immediately calmed by her cousin's determined and calm gaze. Cornelia blinked once, as the griffin's wings flapped with a powerful source, flying ahead with her cousin on its back.

She watched the majestic creature fly around to get in at the right angle as the rest of them stayed back and awaited Edmund's first signal.

Cornelia looked to the remaining persons on her left; Susan sending her a comforting, almost motherly smile and Trumpkin who with a nod and the smallest hint of a smile told the tween indirectly that they were ready. The twelve-year-old then looked to her right and immediately locked eyes with Peter, who looked pale but deeply concentrated and tense as he always did before a battle. She didn't know if her oldest cousin could sense her discomfort, but Peter mustered quickly a soft smile, which warmed Cornelia's heart slightly. Cornelia met Caspian's gaze next. The Telmarine prince looked highly uncomfortable and sat completely stiff and tense upon his griffin. Cornelia sighed sadly. It was a big challenge for him to go up against his uncle and compatriots, but he looked determined to go through with it as well. He was nervous, she could tell, and perhaps also a bit annoyed with how Peter had managed to take over and convince the rest of the Narnians that this was the best way. There was a lot of…what was it Susan called it? Oh yes, testosterone in the air.

"Boys." Cornelia thought, inwardly rolling her eyes.

Suddenly, Cornelia thought she saw a white dot alternately appear and disappear just like they had agreed. That was the signal. The coast was clear - and Edmund was all right.

"Pete." Cornelia said as she met the older boy's gaze and motioned to the dot with her head. Peter's eyes followed the direction of her head and saw it too immediately. He sent a nod in Cornelia's direction as a signal to follow him. And so she and the others did.

Cornelia couldn't help but feel a bit nauseous until she got used to the rush in her stomach every time the griffin flapped its wings and they flew forward. A few strands of hair had found its way out of the very tight braid Cornelia had made to keep her hair out of her face as they came closer. Cornelia looked down as they flew past Ed, then looked back up and watched the exchange of nods between Peter and Caspian. The latter then locked eyes with her and sent her a small smile before his griffin flapped its wings before beginning to dive. Cornelia looked to Peter, who nodded at her. She nodded back at him before her griffin too began diving, following closely behind Caspian.

Cornelia grabbed a bow and put an arrow on the string, trying not to shake too much. She could see in front of her that Caspian had pulled his sword out, as they began flying between the stone towers. Cornelia noticed a guard up ahead and aimed at him, but Caspian had already seen him and cut him down before the guard could alarm anyone. That made Cornelia take the lead along with Peter and Susan before they rounded a corner of a tower, finally seeing where they had planned to land on one of the outposts on the long side of the castle. Cornelia instantly saw the two guards and one of them had a crossbow aimed at where Edmund was standing in one of the higher towers. Peter was in the front, but Cornelia trusted her aim and let go of the string on her bow - at the same time as Susan. The Telmarine dropped dead with two arrows embedded in him. The other guard turned around, just as Peter landed. It didn't take much effort for Cornelia's oldest cousin to cut the other guard down as Susan and herself landed, bow and arrow at the ready. Trumpkin landed right behind them and Caspian after that. They held their breath for a minute to see if they had alerted anyone else.

Cornelia walked to the Telmarine her arrow had hit. She frowned as there was nothing inside her that reacted. No cringe, disgust or guilt as she remembered she felt many times before whenever someone had fallen by her hand. But there was nothing. There was just this emptiness inside her that felt so wrong and alarming, yet at the same time so satisfying and relieving. Her arrow, which feather was a yellow, golden color, had embedded itself near the neck. Susan's was red and had embedded itself in the back of his neck. Susan just never missed her target, which Cornelia thought sometimes was really annoying during practice.

"Nice shot, both of you."

Cornelia looked up at Peter's low voice. He looked back at her, having Susan stand beside him. Cornelia merely nodded, suddenly not knowing how to react.

"Come on." Peter called in almost a whisper. Trumpkin walked past Cornelia and sent her an encouraging look.

Cornelia instantly followed, not wanting to seem any more out of place than she already felt. She couldn't let the others think there was something wrong with her. It would ruin the focus and could get them all killed.

The only one noticing the tween's hesitance was Caspian, who quickly caught up with the twelve-year-old, walking by her side. Cornelia pretended not to notice the looks the Telmarine prince discreetly sent her way.

They stopped walking after a short while, Caspian having led the way to the office of Professor Cornelius. Along the way, Caspian had picked up a rope they had to lower themselves down with. Cornelia couldn't help but feel puzzled at how little the castle was guarded. Of course, the castle lay high compared to the village and town, and she guessed that they didn't think that the Narnians dared to attack them.

After having made sure that the rope would hold, Caspian went down first and then Peter. Cornelia looked down as it was her next. She couldn't help but gulp a bit. It was a long way down. Suddenly, Peter looked up, having his feet firmly planted on the small platform by the professor's window. Caspian must have been able to open it, since he was nowhere in sight. Peter then met Cornelia's gaze. His features softened as he knew heights really weren't his youngest cousin's favorite thing. He smiled encouragingly up at her, holding the rope still for her.

Cornelia sighed and looked at Susan, who too sent her a sympathetic look before helping her over the small terrace, and made sure her cousin had a firm grip on the rope before she let her go down the rope slowly. Cornelia gritted her teeth, as her arms was hurting already.

"Nice and easy, Cor. You got this." Came Peter's encouraging whisper beneath her as he warily looked around.

Her palms was beginning to become sweaty, so she also tried to relieve some of the pressure from her arms by using her feet to go down faster.

Cornelia finally felt safe, when she felt Peter's hands around her waist as he lifted her the rest of the way down with a grunt. The tween was sweating slightly by then. Peter gently ruffled her hair before putting his hand on her back pushing her forward lightly. Cornelia looked up to see the professor's room where his things had been tossed around. Documents were flying around everywhere, open books lay scattered all over, and some things had even been damaged beyond repair. Clearly someone had been looking for something, and it was also very clear that the professor wasn't there either. Caspian looked up as Susan and Trumpkin finally entered the room.

Cornelia felt bad for him. He looked sad and unsure what to do.

"I have to find him." Caspian spoke calmly, yet you could sense that he was concerned.

"You don't have time." Peter said calmly yet a bit exasperated. "You need to get the gate open."

"You wouldn't even be here without him." Caspian argued quietly. "And neither would I."

Cornelia smiled sadly at the prince as he looked at her with his begging eyes.

The twelve-year-old couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend. Professor Cornelius obviously meant a lot to Caspian and seemed truly desperate to find him.

"Cor?" Peter questioned his cousin with an uncertain gaze at Caspian. Cornelia's heart fluttered the tiniest bit at the sound of Peter finally looking for her advice again. Her calm blue eyes met Peter's stormy blue eyes.

"I'll go with him, if it helps." She offered.

Peter looked uncertainly back at Susan, who briefly looked hesitantly at her cousin before looking at her brother. "You and I can deal with Miraz."

Susan then looked softly at Caspian, who placed a hand on Cornelia's shoulder. "And we can still get to the gate in time."

Cornelia nodded determinedly at Peter, telling him to trust her that they would get it done. Peter's gaze softened at his cousin's determination and finally gave the confirming nod. The oldest Pevensie then looked at the Telmarine prince, his features soft and his voice firm and begging. "Look after her."

Cornelia felt the urge to roll her eyes at her cousin's protectiveness yet felt warm by the thought of him caring so much.

"I will." She heard Caspian reply before feeling him giving her shoulder a squeeze. With a final nod at the others, the duo turned around and left the room silently.

Cornelia and Caspian managed to get through the corridors of the castle without much trouble, mostly thanks to Caspian who knew all the small shortcuts and secret passages in the castle. The duo hadn't said a word to each other since they had left the professor's office. And they didn't need to. And probably shouldn't either. Cornelia followed the prince faithfully and would at times grasp the hand the Telmarine held out behind him. The contact made her feel grounded and calm. Yet, she was alert and wary about walking through the castle of the enemy, so far unseen and unharmed - a tiny detail that might as well end around the next corner if they weren't careful and sensible. They were walking down another long, dark corridor when they heard a clank further up ahead. Caspian stiffened, yet immediately reacted by grabbing Cornelia's hand, dragging her with him into the shadows. He practically forced her up against a wall, leaning as close to her as he could without crushing her. Cornelia's heart felt as if it would jump out of her chest any moment. She looked up at Caspian with a slight worried look. Caspian met the youngster's gaze and felt something turn in him. He himself was scared to death. He thought going up against his kin would be easy for all the things that had been done to him, but found it hard and much surreal to be sneaking around the place he used to call his home instead of simply walking around it. Yet a sudden rage filled him thinking of the looks of Professor Cornelius' office. He had no doubt about who had done it, and that gave him the strength to look down into the young girl's eyes with a calm, yet determined look in his eyes. He hoped it would comfort Cornelia and in that way comfort him. It wasn't only his own life and freedom at risk right now. It was also Cornelia's. He couldn't explain how or why he was so attached to this girl as he was, but it seemed extremely natural.

Caspian listened as the sound of clanks, turning out to be a couple of guards passing by, slowly became lower and lower, in the end disappearing completely. First then, he dared to slowly step out from the shadows, keeping Cornelia hidden until he had made sure that the coast was clear. He made a gesture with his hand to Cornelia when he deemed it safe enough, and the young girl stepped out of the shadows, alertness and wariness clear by her body language.

"She looks exhausted." Caspian noted concernedly, but tried not to let it show on his face. He had noticed that the tween became rather irritable and flustered when someone tried to read her and looked concerned her way.

"But she is so little." He mused. He couldn't even wrap his head around the fact that she technically was older than him.

Suddenly he felt a tug at his sleeve and he realized that he just had been standing and staring at her. His ears flushed a light pink as he looked down at the tween, who was observing him with a puzzled and slightly concerned look, her eyes flicking around quickly then returning to his gaze, quietly asking him if they should continue. Shaking his embarrassment off him, he quickly looked around before gently grabbing the twelve-year-old's hand, slightly tugging at it as a sign to follow him.

He led the way towards the only place imaginable for Professor Cornelius to be if you looked at the state of his office, and if Caspian unfortunately knew his uncle as well as he did - in the dungeons. Caspian had only been down there a limited amount of times before when he was younger, with both his father and his uncle, but remembered the way fairly quick in the dark.

The long walk down the flight of the spiral staircase unnerved Cornelia. They didn't know what was down there, other than the assumption of it being where Doctor Cornelius was at, as it was him they were looking after. She was getting slightly anxious. She had no idea at all of how long they had been walking around. And she promised Peter that she would get them to the gate in time. Cornelia followed a slightly more careless Caspian who quickly and very noisily descended the staircase. She herself followed at a steady but more hesitant pace. She was surprised at noticing how well lit the dungeons seemed to be. She imagined Miraz wouldn't bother using resources on making his prisoners the slightest amount of comfortable.

They reached the end quickly and immediately saw who they sought. Caspian quickly grabbed some keys hanging on a nail by the stairs and opened the door to a cell where a small, light chubby, man lay with his back towards them. He was almost as short that Cornelia could suspect that Caspian's professor was of dwarfish descent. Cornelia stayed out of the cell, looking around warily, ears sharp for any sounds while Caspian knelt down next to the sleeping man and gently shook him.

The man woke with a startled grunt.

"Five more minutes?" Caspian questioned softly.

Cornelia guessed it had to be an inside joke.

Caspian used another key to release the professor from his chains while his teacher questioned, "What are you doing here? I didn't help you escape just so you could break back in."

Caspian helped his teacher up with a grunt. That was when the older man noticed Cornelia standing there, recognition sparkling immediately in his eyes, much to Cornelia's confusion.

"You have to get out before Miraz learns you're here." Professor Cornelius then chided his student while having a gentle grip on the prince' upper arms.

"He's going to learn soon enough." Caspian spoke and gave his professor a pair of glasses Cornelia assumed belonged to the professor. "We are giving him your cell."

The prince then took ahold of his teacher's arm, about to lead him out of the cell when Professor Cornelius rather desperately took ahold of Caspian's arm, backing him up against the bars, the Telmarine prince eyeing his teacher confusedly. Cornelia tensed as the professor eyed her before returning his gaze to his student.

"Don't underestimate Miraz as your father did." Professor Cornelius warned.

Cornelia tensed again as she saw Caspian stiffen completely. She could only guess what his facial expression looked like.

"What are you talking about?" Caspian's voice was confused yet dangerously low.

Professor Cornelius looked down sadly. "I'm sorry."

Cornelia gulped. It didn't take much to put two and two together, having learned about how Caspian's father had suddenly died when his son was really young.

Caspian suddenly ripped himself out of his professor's grasp and almost passed Cornelia who grabbed his arm.

"Caspian." She spoke shakily, trying to sound comforting.

"Let go." The Telmarine prince practically growled. Cornelia immediately obliged, shocked as he had never spoken to her that way before.

"Wait for me." She begged softly, but she didn't know if he heard her.

Sad, as she heard Caspian storming up at the stairs, Cornelia's gaze immediately softened as her gaze landed on the sad-looking professor.

"Are you okay, professor?" She questioned quietly.

The short man smiled sadly. "I am quite all right, lady Cornelia. Thank you. Now, go get him before he does something he will regret. Miraz is not to be underestimated."

Cornelia's brow furrowed. "You recognize me?"

Cornelius nodded, a soft smile on his lips. "There may be many things that has changed about you, my lady. What hasn't changed however is those strong and kind blue eyes."

Cornelia's features softened, her heart warming at the compliment.

"Now go. I'll take care of myself." The older man ushered, Cornelia hesitantly obeying, storming up the stairs.

Surprisingly, Cornelia found the seething prince quickly as he had been sensible enough not to just storm through it all in his rage. She also thanked whatever part inside her that made the decision of going this specific way that she had. Or else they would have been separated, and she would be utterly lost.

"Caspian." Cornelia called quietly. "Caspian, wait."

"What?" She heard him huff, the anger and grief clear in his voice as they were walking briskly through the corridors. It was a miracle they hadn't met any guards yet.

The tween took a deep breath, cursing herself for having to say this, knowing it would sound utterly unsympathetic. "I know you're hurting, but this isn't the right time."

"Cornelia, he killed my father. I can't just ignore that." He didn't even look at her. Yet the thing that hurt Cornelia the most was the hurt and confusion in his voice. Which made her next words even more difficult and mean to say.

"You have to, at least right now. We have to get to the gate. You have a responsibility." Cornelia whispered, her voice lightly more firm.

She noticed Caspian tense, his shoulders then slumping but he didn't answer and just continued walking.

"Caspian, please." Cornelia begged softly.

"Stay out of it." He snapped. She shut up after that.

Cornelia didn't notice how far they had been walking, having had to hide for a couple of guards a couple of times, but those events had passed rather uneventfully. Caspian suddenly slowed when nearing a door at the end of a corridor. There he pulled her into the shadows.

His gaze softened visibly while gazing down at the young girl and he relaxed the tiniest bit. "If you don't want to go in, just stay here by the door."

His comment was said softly with no anger or hostility, only consideration.

Cornelia's gaze however hardened as she chided the young prince. "How many times have I told you that it's my job to protect you?"

Caspian smiled softly, mirth playing in his eyes, as he placed a hand on her cheek.

"I swear you are going to be the death of me one day, little one." The Telmarine prince sighed softly before removing his hand, only to place it on the hilt of his sword.

"Are you ready?" He questioned her softly.

Cornelia sighed, grabbing her bow, putting an arrow carefully on the string. She looked up at Caspian softly.

"Always am." The tween commented, not knowing whether it was to comfort Caspian, herself or simply because she thought that sarcasm would lighten the mood.

The dynamic duo then stepped out from the shadows, Caspian turned the doorknob quietly, and the door went up slowly.


It surprised Cornelia greatly how homely Miraz' sleeping quarters seemed when you thought of him being a tyrant and now a possible murderer. Miraz and who Cornelia assumed was his wife, was fast asleep in a dark woodened bed to their right as they snuck inside. Caspian's face softened a bit at the sight of his aunt, but hardened as soon as he saw his uncle. His sword glimpsed in the light coming from around lit candles that lit up the room fairly much. She noticed Caspian's hand shaking lightly but subsided as his grip on his sword tightened. Caspian looked back at Cornelia with a questioning look. Her own grip on her bow and arrow tightened as she nodded, managing to give the prince a small reassuring smile.

Cornelia knew this wasn't wise. Granted they were equal in numbers, but there was no guarantee that Miraz wouldn't somehow escape and alert the rest of the castle, and then they would be in big trouble. But she couldn't drag Caspian out of there, not just because he was much stronger than her, but also because she had seen that look on his face. There was nothing that was going to stop him from confronting his uncle.

The tween kept a safe distance and watched the couple in the bed as Caspian quietly neared his uncle's bedside. Caspian's aunt lay on her side turned towards Miraz. She had the same dark hair as Miraz and wore a pale purple dress that Cornelia wouldn't say looked like a gown that was common to sleep in. And Miraz wearing a pale blue tunic, with the same dark hair like Caspian, rested with a relaxed hand on his wife's legs.

Cornelia held her breath as Caspian brought the tip of his sword up to his uncle's throat. Cornelia kept a firm watch on both Miraz and his wife. Miraz woke with a start, looking frantic for a moment before he recognized who it was. Then a smile formed on his lips that made it run cold down the tween's back.

Miraz chuckled. "Thank goodness..you're safe."

"Get up." Caspian hissed.

Miraz smirked and threw the covers off himself, giving his wife a gentle slap on her shoulder and waking her up before standing up himself, the tip of Caspian's sword still glued to Miraz' throat.

"Caspian?" Caspian's aunt questioned concernedly.

"Stay where you are." Caspian replied. "Cornelia."

The tween nodded. "I'm here."

"What are you doing?" Caspian's aunt questioned.

"I should think it's obvious, dear." Miraz commented, the smile vanished from his face, his voice low before turning sarcastic. "You know, some families might consider this inappropriate behavior."

"That doesn't seem to have stopped you!" Caspian seethed, putting a bit of pressure on the tip of the sword.

"Caspian," Cornelia warned. "He's trying to distract you."

"Ahh, this young lady must be the infamous Goldenflower then. I like what you have done with your hair." Miraz glanced right at Cornelia, a smirk lurking in the corner of his mouth.

Cornelia glared at the tyrant with icily blue eyes. "Spare me for your hilarities, Miraz. It's not me having the tip of a blade at my throat."

Miraz then smirked at his nephew. "She is feisty. It would be a shame should anything happen to her."

Caspian pressed the blade more towards Miraz. "Don't even think of threatening her. "

His uncle shrugged as he set his full attention on his nephew. "It's sad. The first time you've shown any backbone…and it's such a waste."

Cornelia caught movement from the corner of her eye and whipped around to see Caspian's aunt holding a crossbow.

"Hold it right there, or I'll swear I can fire quicker than you can fire that crossbow." Cornelia warned, her voice dangerously low. That made Caspian's aunt stop in her tracks, but instead of pointing it at Caspian, she was pointing it at Cornelia.

"Put the sword down, Caspian." Caspian's aunt told a little shakily. Cornelia noticed Caspian's eyes widening at the sight of his aunt pointing the crossbow at her instead of him. "I don't want to do this."

The door then went up with a bang, Susan and Peter storming in, the former speaking first. "We don't want you to either."

Susan had her bow drawn at Caspian's aunt who suddenly panicked at who to point the crossbow at before settling on Caspian.

Caspian's gaze returned to his uncle after having been distracted by the newcomers, though never faltered in the hold of his sword against his uncle's throat. Said uncle briefly put his hands on his hips and looked at the newcomers. "This used to be a private room."

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be in the gatehouse!" Peter's voice questioned, sounding very frustrated. Cornelia couldn't help but cringe at Peter's frustrated and disappointed tone. She couldn't help but think he was frustrated with her as well.

"No!" Caspian exclaimed, his sword still pointed at his uncle. "Tonight for once, I want the truth."

Caspian then stepped closer to Miraz at the same time backing him up against a window, having a hand on the blade itself, his voice dripping with hatred. "Did you kill my father?"

Nephew and uncle stared into each other's eyes for a moment without anything else being said. Cornelia kept a close eye on both Caspian's aunt and Miraz.

"Now we get to it." Miraz said slowly.

"You said your brother died in his sleep." Caspian's aunt commented to Miraz, faltering slightly on her hold on the crossbow.

"That was more or less true." Miraz replied dryly, without emotion. He made Cornelia's stomach churn.

"Caspian, this won't make things any better." Susan commented, trying to reason with the young prince.

"We Telmarines would have nothing had we not taken it." Miraz addressed Caspian. "Your father knew that as well as anyone."

"How could you?" Caspian's aunt accused her husband, lowering the crossbow slightly.

"For the same reason you will pull that trigger." Miraz replied angrily. "For our son."

"Stop!"

"Stay right there!" Susan warned and pointed her bow at Miraz. Cornelia kept her focus on Caspian's aunt.

"You need to make a choice, dear. " Miraz sneered, slowly beginning to walk forwards, forcing Caspian to take a few steps backward still with the tip of his blade at his uncle's throat.

"Do you want our child to be king?"

Cornelia met the eyes of Caspian's aunt. She looked conflicted, causing Cornelia to feel sympathy for the woman. Miraz continued, "Or do you want him to be like Caspian here? Fatherless!"

"No!" Caspian's aunt screamed. It all went by so fast that Cornelia barely registered what happened next, other than Peter calling for Caspian and she and Susan releasing their arrows, both missing their targets. The next thing she registered was Caspian's groans while he held a hand on his left arm and Miraz tumbling out of a hidden door. Peter rushed past his cousin in pursuit of Miraz but found the door to be closed off while Susan went to Caspian. Cornelia's eyes then landed on the form of Caspian's aunt who was lying face down on the bed, crying out hysterically.

Not long after, Cornelia jumped as bells started ringing loudly that very well could be heard throughout the castle.

"The alarm." Caspian hissed and stormed out of the door, the three Pevensies in close pursuit without much hesitation. With the boys in front with Cornelia and Susan trailing behind, the two boys suddenly went in two different directions.

Susan stopped abruptly. "Peter!"

Caspian came back to stand briefly by Cornelia's side at the sudden change of direction, having a firm grip on his arm.

"Our troops are just outside! Come on!" Peter called desperately.

Cornelia immediately took off in a run after him, calling, "Peter, please consider this!"

Almost immediately after she could hear Susan and Caspian following her.

Up ahead when Cornelia finally could see the court yard, she could hear Peter call for Edmund and after that the sounds of metal against metal. When she, Susan and Caspian finally ran out into the court yard, they could already see two Telmarines having fallen at Peter's hand. Cornelia watched, as they ran towards her cousin, how Peter ran to the machinery getting the gate up and down.

When they reached Peter, he was groaning as the machinery were very heavy and tight.

"Peter!" Susan exclaimed desperately, trying to reason with her older brother. "It's too late. We have to call it off while we can."

Cornelia looked nervously around as Peter insisted, "No, I can still do this!"

Hearing the sound of shouts from Telmarine soldiers behind them, Cornelia's head turned sharply.

"Help me!" Peter begged.

Seeing no other option and though Cornelia's stomach was churning with anxiousness, she immediately went to her cousin's side, helping whatever little she could as the machinery, in fact, was very heavy and tight. Caspian and Susan soon joined them, Caspian to Cornelia's right and Susan to Peter's left, making the pushing much easier.

"Exactly who are you doing this for, Peter?" Susan questioned in a disapproving and disappointed tone that only Susan masters. Cornelia noticed Peter meeting his younger sister's gaze with a labored, tired but withholding gaze.

"Enough." Cornelia said quietly, gaining the attention of the others, meeting Susan's uncomprehending look. "We can't afford to fight among ourselves, especially not right now. All we can do is lead."

Cornelia tensed as more and more shouts, from what she guessed were Telmarine soldiers, erupted behind them, and it didn't make it any better that they now also were able to hear their footfalls.

"Cor." Peter said beside her. "See if you can use your powers and give us some extra time, blow out their torches."

She noticed Caspian's shocked expression but ignored it and met Peter's gaze. The two of them nodded, a mutual sign of agreement and respect passing between them. Cornelia let go and turned around to face their enemies. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw how many full grown men, who were already approaching them, but her panic began ceasing when she felt the power building up inside her, but she couldn't help but notice how cold she quickly became.

"We're under attack!"

She began focusing and soon noticed icy blue sparks erupting from her fingers tips. She aimed for the Telmarines with torches first, blowing them out and knocking their owners off the ground, sending them backwards with speed. She couldn't help but feel the chills down her spine when she noticed the color of her magic; a cold, icy blue color. But for every time she had knocked someone down, it felt as if more replaced the unlucky creature that had just been knocked down. It all went by so fast for the twelve-year-old to register.

"I can't hold them off for much longer, Pete!" She called, allowing herself to look behind her for a second before sending an unfortunate Telmarine soldier, who had tried to sneak up on her, sideways into a stone wall.

Cornelia cringed inwardly. "Oooh, that must have hurt."

"Hold on!" Peter's reply brought her back to reality.

"Pete!" Cornelia retorted desperately as the Telmarines got closer and closer the more that suddenly turned up in the court yard.

Soon Cornelia heard clatter from hooves and shouts from vengeful Narnians behind her and almost jumped when she felt a strong arm take a hold around her waist, lightly lifting her off the ground, carrying her backwards. She relaxed immediately however when she realized it had been Peter, who simply had moved her out of harm's way as the Narnians stormed into the court yard. She came to stand between her two cousins as they each drew their weapons, Cornelia drawing her two knives as a start.

"For Narnia!" Peter's voice was fairly unclear to Cornelia's ears as if she was underwater. They charged, running together side by side. It was as if time slowed, like in slow motion. Cornelia could hear her heart beat, and she screamed out a battle cry at the top of her lungs with whatever her little voice could muster. It was her first fight after they accidently left Narnia. It was the first time in a new world it seemed, a new Narnia which Cornelia didn't recognize as much as she wanted to.