I actually have a hard time believing it's been a year since I last updated this story, and cannot apologise enough. My grandad has been suffering with several strokes since September last year, and other problems have made it impossible to update. I have today just finished 2 years of college, and have a 3 month break before I start university. To make it up to you, I have finished all chapters of Echoing a Forgotten Past apart from the last 3, which I am finishing as I type this. Please bear with me, as I will try to get the end of the story uploaded tomorrow.
Thanks and enjoy,
phantomshadow99
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Louise's POV
The plan was so far going well. We had reached the Telmarine city as night settled, taking to the skies as the troops would wait for Ed's signal to start the attack. The Griffins swooped in quietly and succeeded in not alerting the guards below us. By now, Stripes would have noticed Edmund's signal to slowly advance with the other troops on the edge of the forest, and Reepicheep would have gained entry through the sewers.
"Please Aslan, let this work," I whispered, as we began our descent into the castle. Caspian quickly took care of one of the soldiers on look out, and Susan soon silenced an archer who had noticed the strange light coming from one of the towers. Our landing was swift, and Peter was able to silence a guard near where we were without alerting anyone. Susan kept her bow notched just in case as the rest of us kept our swords at the ready. When the coast was clear, we followed Caspian down part of the castle wall, hoping to find his professor.
I jumped down from the window ledge and was shocked to find the room in disarray. Books and papers were strewn across the floor, and I peered at the oak desk to see an image of the Pevensie's on the day they left Narnia. I caught Peter's eye when he caught sight of the book but said nothing. Walking to Caspian's side, I noticed the look of despair he had when he picked a pair of glasses up.
"We have to find him," Caspian said, looking at me. I smiled sympathetically, but before I could answer another voice cut me off.
"You don't have time. We need to get the gate open," Peter replied, not thinking about what the professor meant to Caspian.
"You wouldn't even be here without him. And neither would I," Caspian replied strongly. Peter and Susan shared a look.
"You and I can deal with Miraz," Susan said, finding a way to satisfy both men.
"And I can still get to the gate in time," Caspian promised, before running out the door and down the corridor. I moved to follow him before Peter grabbed my arm.
"Please be careful," he whispered, and I shared a smile with him.
"Always," I replied, and he let go of my arm to allow me to help Caspian. It didn't take me long to catch up to Caspian, and he gave me a small smile of appreciation before going down some stairs into what I assumed was the dungeon. There was only one guard on patrol, and his surprise worked to our advantage as I knocked him out while Caspian snatched the keys to the cells. Caspian raced to the door of the only prisoner while I stood watch.
"Five more minutes?" Caspian teased, and I turned to see him waking the professor up and handing him his glasses.
"What are you doing here? I didn't help you escape just so you could break back in. You have to get out before Miraz learns you're here," the professor told Caspian, standing up with his help. The professor caught me at the foot of the stairs. "My Lady Heart, I can't believe…" he began.
"Let's save the formalities and disbelief for later, shall we?" I smiled, unsheathing my sword as I waited for Caspian to follow me.
"He's going to learn soon enough. We are giving him your cell," Caspian answered him and began to race up the stairs before the professor grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"Don't underestimate Miraz as your father did," the professor said, and I frowned as Caspian did.
"What are you talking about?" Caspian asked.
"I'm sorry," the professor replied, and Caspian wrenched his arm away and shot up the stairs with a new-found energy. I glanced at the professor before following Caspian.
"Get to the stables, ready some horses!" I shouted over my shoulder, not waiting for his reply. I managed to keep up pace with Caspian easily, but nearly ran into him when he stopped in front of a door. He didn't even glance at me as he quietly opened the door, and I saw Miraz and his wife laid sleeping in their bed. I gripped my sword tighter and kept watch outside.
"Thank goodness you're safe," I heard Miraz say, as I noticed the sword Caspian was holding was pointed at his neck.
"Get up," Caspian said. Miraz made a point of brushing his hand against his wife's arm to wake her too.
"Caspian?" she asked, slightly groggily.
"Stay where you are," Caspian told her, and it was then that they noticed me.
"What are you doing?" she asked, glancing between the both of us.
"I should think it's obvious, dear. You know, some families might consider this inappropriate behaviour," Miraz said, smiling slyly towards me.
"That doesn't seem to have stopped you!" Caspian said.
"But you are not like me, are you? It's sad. The first time you've shown any backbone, and it's such a waste," Miraz commented.
"Put the sword down, Caspian. I don't want to do this," his aunt said, and I stepped forward as she pointed a crossbow at him.
"I seriously would not do that," I said, and she nervously glanced at me as Peter and Susan burst in.
"This used to be a private room," Miraz mocked, and I noticed Caspian tighten his grip on the sword.
"What are you doing? You're supposed to be in the gatehouse!" Peter scolded Caspian, and I rolled my eyes.
"No! Tonight, for once, I want the truth. Did you kill my father?" Caspian asked vehemently, digging the tip of his sword slightly into Miraz's neck.
"Now we get to it," Miraz said, not even trying to deny the truth.
"You said your brother died in his sleep," Caspian's aunt asked Miraz, lowering the crossbow a little.
"That was more or less true," Miraz commented, and I felt Caspian's hurt and anger build.
"Caspian, this won't make things any better," Susan said, and I nodded.
"Nothing can change or bring back what has passed, Caspian, I know that better than anyone," I told him gently, but he ignored us both.
"We Telmarines would have nothing had we not taken it. Your father knew that as well as anyone," Miraz told him.
"How could you?" Miraz's wife asked in disbelief.
"For the same reason you will pull that trigger. For our son," Miraz said, pushing his neck into Caspian's sword and drawing blood on purpose.
"Stop!" his aunt shouted, lifting the crossbow again and aiming at Caspian.
"Stay right there," Susan warned, notching an arrow.
"You need to make a choice, dear. Do you want our child to be king? Or do you want him to be like Caspian here? Fatherless!" Miraz deliberately provoked.
"No!" his aunt shouted, shooting Caspian in the arm, knocking his concentration from Miraz to allow him to escape.
"Caspian!" Susan shouted rushing over to him. I sheathed my sword, seeing no threat come from his aunt any longer, and quickly pulled the arrow from his arm.
"This may hurt," I said afterward, to which he frowned at me. I concentrated on the wound in his arm, and imagined the skin healing as I laid my hand over it. In seconds, it was healed. The only trace of there being a wound was blood on his shirt.
"That is amazing," Caspian said, looking awe at his arm. I curtseyed to him mockingly before rushing to the door.
"We need to leave now. Miraz will already have warned his soldiers we are here," I told them all, and they quickly ran after me.
"We're under attack! Sound the alarm! Men! Grab your bows!" soldiers shouted distantly, and I quickened my pace as we neared the stables.
"Peter!" Susan shouted from behind me, and I stopped when I saw him head to the courtyard.
"You can't be serious? We have to leave!" I shouted at him, and he glanced at me as he raced to the courtyard.
"Our troops are just outside! Come on!" he told us. I shared a glance with Susan before following after him. "Now, Ed! Now! Signal the troops!" Peter shouted to one of the parapets as he battled a lone solider.
"I'm a bit busy, Pete!" Edmund shouted down, and I looked up to see him grappling with a soldier himself.
"Peter! It's too late. We have to call it off while we can," Susan begged as Peter tried pulling the castle gate up by himself.
"No, I can still do this! Help me!" Peter said, and I looked at the others before helping him.
"Exactly who are you doing this for, Peter?" Susan asked as we all managed to lift the gate up. I heard the thud of boots as Telmarine soldiers descended around us on the roofs, and several doors opened in the castle , letting a stream of soldiers out like ants.
"This is a very bad idea," I warned, just as our troops entered the castle.
"For Narnia!" Peter shouted, unsheathing his sword as we instantly collided with the Telmarine army. I quickly lost track of the others as I fought relentlessly against the constant wave of soldiers. Combining my sword skill with magic helped a great deal, and for a rare moment I was thankful for my terrible privilege. Sensing something wrong, I turned and saw a soldier cornering Stripes. Gaining his attention, he nodded to me once before laying on the floor in defeat. Before the soldier could kill Stripes, I stabbed him in his side.
"Thank you Louise!" Stripes shouted, before jumping on the back of another shoulder. I shook his thanks off before jumping back into the fray. It soon became apparent that, even though I did not tire during battles anymore, the others did. Glancing around when I could, I could see we were barely winning. After killing another soldier, a noise distracted me and I looked in horror as the castle gate lowered. I managed to slow it with my magic, until a Minotaur stood under it, barely lifting it open. Looking around, I sought out Peter and mentally pleaded with him.
"Fall back! We need to retreat! Now! Go!" Peter said, running around to our troops to get out.
"Retreat! Hurry!" I shouted to the Narnians around me, taking care of the soldiers they had been fighting so they could escape.
"Get her out of here! Back to the gate! Go!" Peter shouted to Glenstorm, pointing to Susan. She managed to be lifted on his back with ease as they raced away.
"Caspian!" Susan shouted over her shoulder. I continued fighting while Peter told the others to leave.
"I'll find him! Go! Get out! Go! Get out! Retreat! Follow me! Draw back! Get out! Retreat!" Peter shouted. It was then that I noticed Savan standing over her brother Aengus.
"Savan? Savan! You must leave!" I shouted racing over to her but stopping when her red eyes met mine. I looked down and saw a sword captured in Aengus' heart. "Oh, Savan…" I said quietly, tears beginning to form.
"I can't leave him alone," she told me, and I shook my head and tried pulling her away by her hand.
"You will die. The gate will close any second now," I told her, and she took my hand, squeezed it, and let go.
"I cannot leave him, dear sister," she told me, and I felt a tear fall.
"But you can't leave me, either," I begged her, and she smiled sadly.
"One day I would have left you, long before you will leave this world. I want to leave still fighting for my homeland, next to my brother," she said, and I sobbed. "Promise me you will make them pay," she whispered to me, and she pulled me into a tight embrace. I held onto her for as long as possible before backing away.
"With all my heart," I told her, before running towards the gate. I felt a presence next to me, and sighed with relief as I saw it was Stripes. A neighing horse on my other side alerted me to Peter's presence, and I didn't hesitate to grabbing his offered hand and riding behind him. We ducked under the gate as the poor Minotaur pushed it up as high as he could before collapsing to the floor just as the horse's tail passed under. Peter halted his horse, as we both looked in pain and anguish at the Narnians who were unable to get through. I saw Savan looking through the gate, smiling despite her inevitable fate.
"Peter! The bridge!" Caspian shouted, and I held on tightly as Peter galloped the horse into a sprint, sending us flying over the bridge to the other side.
"Leave us! Go, brothers! In the name of Aslan!" Narnians left behind shouted to us, and I buried my head in Peter's shoulder as we returned to the How, hiding my tears for as long as possible.