Ok so I was freaking out that this chapter was going to be the raid and that I ran out of pre raid stuff but then I woke up at 2 am and was like "Oh My Gosh! There's still a lot of stuff I still need to add!" So yeah hence this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 12:

After a few minutes of practicing on her own, Susan's new group of students finally approached her. She noticed that half of them were the recruits from the previous night. After training Narnians for the past 13 centuries, she was by now used to the routine and had the patience of a thousand men. Of course first came the evaluation, to see how they could do on their own. This particular group, just by assessing how well they did the first time without help, was going to be a tough one. Next, demonstrate. Then, re-demonstrate because sometimes it's just too fast for them. And lastly, improve.

This particular group was somehow more difficult than the past few. When she finally showed them the routine and had them do it on their own, the still somehow couldn't get it. The longest it ever took her to teach a class and have them do it perfectly was only an hour (five minutes was her record, but the fact that at the time she was training soldiers with experience may have benefitted…but only a little). She had been going through the same routine with the same people for almost two hours now. For some strange reason, they just couldn't get it. In hers and Edmund's system, one of them had to evaluate the new Narnians to see where they fit best. While she was gone, Edmund had done that with their new recruits. She was starting to doubt her brother because the group he had sent her was clearly not getting it.

She had them shoot one more time with Trufflehunter on the opposite side holding the stuffed Telmarine dummy/target. Within three seconds all arrows had flown simultaneously and also missed simultaneously.

Trufflehunter looked at her. "Nope, not a scratch."

Susan sighed greatly. She looked at her group. "It's alright." She then whispered but mainly to herself. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

A satyr whispered to a faun. "How long did it take?"

While the faun replied back confused, "What's Rome?"

Susan heard and looked at them sympathetically. "It's just a phrase." As soon as she finished that sentence, an arrow flew right past them at a fast speed. She gasped. She heard Trufflehunter nearly scream, "Hey!"

She looked at the dummy and back at her group. "Nice shot. Which one of you…?"

Before she could finish she heard the voice of Prince Caspian behind her and she turned to see him holding a crossbow. "Good afternoon, your majesty." He moved closer to her to speak with her. "I thought you could use some help."

Although Susan somehow knew that he wasn't intentionally making her feel bad, she was still slightly insulted that he would doubt her teaching skills when she's been doing it as long as his descendents have been in Narnia. "Things are well in hand, thank you."

"I didn't mean to suggest otherwise." Susan felt slightly guilty. She didn't want him to think that he had offended her.

"I suppose you could do better?"

He looked at her as if he felt that she doubted him and that he wanted to show off a little (might as well when it's a pretty girl). "Pick a target."

Susan knew where this was going, might as well have some fun. She looked around for a worthy target. "Do you see that pinecone?"

Caspian looked at it and smiled knowing that wasn't that hard. "No problem." He was aiming but before he knew it, he felt the warmth of Susan's body near him and her hands helping his on the crossbow. She was adjusting the area the crossbow was pointing to.

"No, that one." She was helping him and although she knew it was probably awkward for him, she felt a familiar comfort when being close to him. It wasn't the fatherly love she felt when near Aslan, the brotherly love she felt with Peter, and it wasn't even the best friend love she felt with Edmund. She just couldn't place it. Was it a new kind of love? No, she refused that to be the reason, not in the middle of a war.

Caspian broke his gaze from Susan and looked at where she had now re-aimed him. He could barely see what her chosen target was, yet he still saw it. "Are you sure that's not an acorn?" He nearly scoffed at the fact that she must have been wrong.

She now looked at him as if she was challenging him. "Too far for you?"

Caspian now knew the challenge that lay before him. He returned her challenging look, aimed, and shot missing by only inches. He smiled, proud at the shot he made.

Susan looked at where he shot, clearly impressed. "Not bad."

Caspian was clearly proud of himself. "Well I was trained by the finest in the Telmarine Army."

Susan had a teasing smile on her face. "Well if that's the best they've got, we might stand a chance after all." She then notched her bow with an arrow and shot the same pinecone, hitting it with perfect ease. At the same time, Caspian stared at her as if he couldn't comprehend her joke against the Telmarines.

Before they even had a chance to praise her skills, they immediately saw a Telmarine spy just a few feet from where the arrow and pinecone landed. Susan and Caspian looked at each other and both notched an arrow ready to shoot. Susan shot first and perfectly hit the reigns of the horse and attached it to a tree. Caspian shot three seconds after her and killed the man who was frozen from Susan's arrow trapping the horse. Susan looked at her group. She looked at one of her students and quickly told him in Narnian to warn King Peter or King Edmund of the Telmarine spy and to make sure that they get guards around the How.

Susan and Caspian ran to the man they caught. Caspian looked at the man he killed while Susan un-notched the arrow that attached the horse's reign to the tree. She gave the reigns to Caspian but rubbed the area of which she shot the tree. Caspian knew that she didn't mean to hurt the tree. He saw what the tree cutting did to the Narnians who lived within the trees, mainly the dryads. He put a hand on her arm to comfort her. She returned it with a smile.

Meanwhile:

Inside the How, Lucy and Peter were adapting well with Susan and Edmund's system. At the moment, Lucy was learning how the female Narnians were using berries and herbs to make healing medicines. Lucy was always one to make Narnian friends fast; her socialization skills when it came to her people were the best of the business (even if she's been gone for 1300 years.)

Currently, she was mixing a bowl of herbs and paste for a bottle of healing ointment while learning what she missed during her time gone with one of the female centaurs who happened to be Glenstorm's wife. For the most part, the conversation was pretty casual.

"What's it been like living here for centuries?"

Glenstorm's wife paused for a while, thinking up a good answer. "Living here brings me more peace than living in the woods where Telmarine soldiers can choose to go in and out and kill anything and anyone in their paths. Your brother and sister also provide us comfort and protection. We have not been failed by them yet."

Somehow that last sentence was a stab to the heart for Lucy. "I know they're different and great protectors by why has Aslan not returned yet?"

Glenstorm's wife paused even longer than before. "That is a question that needs to be brought to the queen." She left straight after that leaving Lucy alone in silence with a few of the other healers. She started thinking even deeper. Two of her siblings were living in Narnia for centuries so why hasn't Aslan been seen at least once? She continued mixing her herbs, trying to remember to ask Ed or Su later.

With the Boys:

Edmund and Peter were training soldiers in the art of sword fighting in the back of the How at the same time Susan was training her archers in the front of the How. Peter and Edmund were fighting each other to show as an example. After about an hour of training, the Narnians went inside to sharpen their weapons or to eat something. Peter and Edmund stayed outside. Peter thought now would be a good time to get reacquainted with his brother. Peter felt uncomfortable but he tried to make as much small talk as he could.

"It's good to see you again, brother."

Edmund looked at his brother smiling. "It's good to see you too. It took me a year to figure out exactly how much I missed the two of you."

Peter laughed lightly at the semi joke. "And why wouldn't you miss us? I mean Lucy and I do make up the fun group."

Edmund lightly punched Peter in the arm. The two boys were laughing lightly, glad to be back together again. Peter looked at the How then looked back at his brother seriously. He had the same question Lucy had earlier. "Ed, why have you allowed the Narnians to live this way for so long?"

Edmund's smile quickly fell. He knew the meaning behind the question. Where's Aslan? Edmund didn't know how to answer. He tried proposing the same question to Susan at one point and she came up with a fast excuse to avoid the question and leave the room. Afterwards, she didn't speak to him for a few hours and just stayed isolated and avoided him also. Before Peter could ask Edmund again, one of the fauns from Susan's archery class came up to him, breathing deeply and trying to choke out the message that a Telmarine was found spying.

Before Edmund could make any orders, King Peter quickly stepped up and had fauns and satyrs guard the How and gave out specific times of when one should be guarding the How. Edmund didn't mind that Peter was stepping up, he just hoped it wouldn't go too far.

When the faun left to deliver the orders, the centaur child from earlier came out and tried wielding one of the swords found on the ground. Peter and Edmund were already moving to help the child but stopped when they saw Caspian approach the centaur. Peter and Edmund were too far to hear what was being exchanged but they could see perfectly well what was happening. Caspian was helping the child centaur to wield a sword and to fight a little.

Edmund smiled while Peter stood sony faced. Edmund looked at his older brother. "You know he really is a good guy." He looked again at Caspian who was smiling at the child.

Peter looked at Edmund, unchanged expressions still glued to his face. "You've known him over the course of a few hours. I've known him longer than you have and I still don't fully trust him. Why would you?"

Edmund looked again at Caspian and the centaur. "Because, he holds traits only a true Narnian holds, traits I haven't seen since the Golden Age. Besides that, there was only one person in all of Narnia from the Golden Age that he reminds me of."

Peter looked at his younger brother confused. "And who would that be?"

Edmund looked his brother straight in the eyes. "You." He put an affectionate hand on his older brother's shoulder just like Susan did to him and walked back to the How.

Peter just stared silently but eventually followed Edmund back into the How, where he also noticed that Caspian and the child centaur also entered. The second Peter set foot into the How, he saw Narnians frantically racing past him to the area of which the stone table lay. Caspian stood next to him with the same confused expression. Susan or Edmund must have called a meeting. He quickly grabbed the arm of one of the fauns who past him. "What's going on?"

The faun was breathless but quickly replied. "Another Telmarine soldier was found but this time he got away." Peter looked at Caspian and both quickly ran to the stone table room. The time to strike was soon at hand.

Ok so some stuff in this chapter didn't come out the way I expected it to but that's ok. I just hope it came out well. That's up to you so tell me how I did because most of the stuff in this chapter was a quick idea that just came to me. Here are a few notes: when Peter says the thing about the "fun group" it was a reference to one of the Narnia interviews, Georgie and Will say that their interview room is the fun room while Anna's and Skandar's wasn't. Last note: the whole Aslan thing in this chapter is forshadowing. Please think of that.

Hope you enjoyed. Review please!

-tin2lo

(ps no songs…couldn't find matching ones…sorry)