This portion of the attack on Miraz's castle is brought to you by MisticLight. You've already experienced Margaret's thoughts of this bloody invasion, and now it's time for Annette. The journey of these two friends are each different in their own interesting way.
So enjoy! Feel free to leave a review because it'll certainly brighten the day of these two authors. :D
~MisticLight
~.~.~.~.
"Promise me you'll protect Margaret." Annette pleaded to Glenstorm as she finished braiding her hair.
The great Centaur crossed his arm over his chest and bowed his head. "With every fiber of my being."
She smiled her thanks, feeling a little more at ease knowing that her friend would have someone watching over her, before stepping out into the cool, dusky air. She easily located Margaret in the middle of the crowd and stood beside her. Their uneasy eyes briefly met. They would be separating soon, and neither of them was looking forward to that.
"Listen up!" Peter suddenly shouted above the crowd, capturing everyone's eyes. He paused, struggling to find the words. "I know that some of you don't… agree with this decision, but it's been made." He specifically looked at Caspian, continuing to speak to him. "With this decision we have to protect one another and not lose sight of what we're fighting for."
A silence overcame the group. No one had a good feeling about this, but not one person wanted to defy the High King either. "For Narnia." Lucy finally said in her small voice.
Peter glanced over at her, but said nothing. A softer side of him unfolded before everyone, but he simply brushed it off and headed for his Griffin.
"He's trying," Annette whispered. She knew Peter wanted to prove he was still a good king, that he could still make decisions for the benefit of Narnia. "I can tell that he's really trying."
"Trying?" Margaret quickly scoffed. "He's only putting us in more danger. Everyone is just afraid to go against him. I don't know why-" She paused upon noticing Annette's hands shaking. In fact, her entire body was!
Annette had started to think ahead, about what was about to happen within the next few hours. Every one of her thoughts ended with one of her new friends dying, or worse, Margaret. Staring at her friend only made it worse, so Annette embarrassingly shifted her gaze away. She hoped Margaret would just ignore her, but Margaret couldn't. "Annette, are you-"
"Margaret," Kirian, the faun, called out to Margaret. Annette kept her eyes down and pretended not to notice. "Are you ready?" There was a pause; still she did raise her head. "Don't be nervous. We'll protect you."
"Yes," Margaret finally sighed. "I'm coming." Annette refused to look up until she was sure Margaret's back was turned. She played with the tail of her braid as she watched, praying this wouldn't be the last time she saw her. The thought sent a shudder through Annette. She didn't try to fight it.
"Annette?" The familiar voice of Caspian came from behind. She didn't even turn back to look at him. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Well," Her voice cracked and she unsuccessfully tried covering it up with a cough. "No, I-I'm fine." Caspian was suddenly by her side, staring at her still shaking hands. Annette quickly hid them behind her back. "Really."
She smiled, but could tell Caspian wasn't buying any of it. "Annette, if you do not wish to go, I wo-"
"No, Caspian." She held her hand up, stopping Caspian. Her eyes locked with his. "I'm going." Her mind was obviously set, and Caspian just had to accept that.
He nodded before gently grabbing her hand. "Be careful."
Annette's eyes darted across Caspian's face before settling on his brown eyes. "I will."
There was a break in conversation as the two gazed into the other's concern-filled eyes. At length, Caspian regretfully sighed and removed his eyes. "We better get ready. I believe it is time for us to go."
Annette nodded as she removed her hands and walked over to her assigned Griffin. She stroked its soft before looking back at Caspian. Their eyes locked one last time.
"This is it." She mumbled to the creature. "There's no going back."
~.~.~.~.
A small light began to blink from one of the castle's side towers. This was the signal. Annette took a shaky breath. Here goes nothing.
With a power stroke, her Griffin caught up with the others. She knew the raid was about to start, and it wasn't long before Caspian's Griffin dove down towards the castle. Peter quickly followed, with Susan and Trumpkin right behind. Annette and her Griffin rounded up the pack.
Even from her spot in the back Annette noticed the few guards dotted across the palace walls. Her eyes widened. If I can see them, then they certainly will see us. What are we going to do?
As if reading her thoughts, Caspian suddenly dropped from his Griffin while still holding on with one arm. With his free hand, he took his sword and slashed it across one of the Telmarine soldier's neck. "The first kill." Annette whispered, somehow fascinated by what just happened.
The Griffins continued to fly around towers as they searched for a proper place to land. Peter pointed out a spot with his sword, and there just so happened to be two guards patrolling the area. With each swoop of their mighty wings the group inched closer to them. As soon as they were in range, Susan released an arrow and killed one of the soldiers. Peter landed shortly after, killing the second one without any hesitation.
Two kills. Three kills. Annette thought, adding to her tally. Three kills, and all before her feet even touched the ground.
As gently as he could manage, Annette's Griffin dropped Annette's feet and placed her onto the castle. She stumbled forward but was able to catch herself before completely falling over. A hand was then draped around her shoulders. Annette looked over, her eyes meeting Caspian's. They exchanged a nod before he guided her to the others.
"Caspian!" Peter harshly whispered without looking back. His sword was still at the ready "What's the safest way in?"
"My Professor's room." Caspian instantly replied as he ran ahead. "Follow me!" He waved for everyone to follow. Susan and Peter exchanged quick glances before complying.
"I'd pull out my sword if I were you." Trumpkin mumbled beside Annette, making her jump. This was the first time the dwarf had spoken directly to her, and she didn't want to disappoint him. With slightly shaking hands, she took out her sword. The new blade glistened in the moonlight. Never had it taken a life, and Annette hoped it would remain so after the raid.
She then sprinted after Caspian and the two Pevensies with Trumpkin by her side. They said nothing throughout the entire stretch, but then they came to a corner tower. Caspian stopped in his tracks and motioned to the brick wall. "Get back!" He quietly ordered.
Everyone pressed themselves against the stone tower. Annette, who had somehow managed to be at the front, poked her head around the corner. Four guards walked along their path. The two with swords silently talked amongst themselves while the third and fourth guard silently walked along the edge of the castle. The last guard's crossbow lazily hung at his side. With a sigh, Annette sighed brought her head back. "Is there another way around?"
Her spirits fell when Caspian shook his head. "Not unless you plan on walking around the entire castle."
That's what I would do. She grumbled in her thoughts.
"How many are there?" Peter asked.
"Four." Annette informed everyone. "Three have swords. The Fourth, a crossbow."
"Trumpkin," Peter now looked down at the dwarf "You and Susan aim for the one with the crossbow. Caspian, Annette, and I will take care of the others."
Annette tightened the grip on her sword. "As in k-kill them?" She stuttered.
"Of course." Peter replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"No." She quickly shook her head back and forth. "N-No, I… I can't. I can't just… No. I simply can't-" Although she was hyperventilating, Peter's eyes drilled into her. His lips tightened and his jaw clenched with anger.
"Annette, you have to." Susan jumped in before Peter could yell and so blow their cover. "Why else do you think you're here?"
"I don't know…" Annette looked down at her pure sword. Her pale face stared back at her.
Caspian placed a supporting hand on her shoulder and offered a soft smile. He understood what she was going through.
"Beards and Bedsteads! The more the lot of you complains, the more time we waste." Trumpkin grumbled. Annette silently thanked him for not blaming everything on her. "Susan, you can take the archer by yourself. I'll take a different one. Alright?" Peter was about to protest, but the Dwarf cut him off. "Good." Without waiting of anyone's permission, Trumpkin jumped out from behind the tower. Susan, Caspian, and Peter quickly followed.
Annette stayed where she was. If she wasn't willing to fight, then there was no use getting in the way. Instead, she looked to the forest where Margaret surely was. "You don't be like me," She whispered. "I never do anything right. You're the brave one in all this."
"Annette." Upon hearing her name, she spun around with a shaking sword at the ready.
"Oh! It's only you, Caspian." Annette said as she lowered her sword, relief spilling onto her words. "You've got to quit startling me like that."
"I will have to keep that in mind." Caspian laughed before turning became serious once more. "I showed the others where to go. They should have a rope lowered by the time we catch up." Grabbing Annette's wrist, he led her through the once guarded walkway.
Four kills. Five, six… seven kills. She counted each dead body, grimacing at the sixth kill. Unlike the other three, he was facing upwards, and still had blood rushing down his neck. Peter must have killed you.
"It's just up ahead." Caspian said, snapping Annette's attention away from the guards. They rounded the corner and, sure enough, the eldest Pevensies and Trumpkin stood waiting. The Dwarf had fastened one of his small grappling hooks between two of the bricks, granting them axis to the castle.
"This will hold nicely, your majesty." Trumpkin said to Peter as he finished securing his work.
The High King only nodded before directing his attention back to his two companions. "Caspian, you climb down first. Your Professor will probably let us in if you do all the talking." The Prince nodded his agreement. "Good, I'll follow. Annette, you can go next. Followed by Susan then Trumpkin."
No one argued with this plan, so Caspian hopped over the edge with Peter going right after. Annette safely tucked away her weapon before sliding down the rope and entering the Professor's room. Right away she knew she liked this Professor.
Books and papers cluttered the entirety of the small bedroom. Even the bed had piles of books stacked on it! Curious as to what they contained, Annette approached the bed and flipped the page of the top book. There was a beautiful white castle sketched onto the paper. It seemed to be jutting out of the hill, though it may have just been part of the hill. Annette wasn't quite certain.
"Cair Paravel." She heard Susan mutter over her shoulder. "We used to live there… until it was destroyed." Annette sadly nodded, unable to remove her eyes from the drawing. She wished she could've seen its beauty in person.
"I have to find him." Annette peeled her eyes away from the book once she heard Caspian's anxious voice. When she turned, she noticed a pair of spectacles in his hand.
"You don't have time." Peter protested, sounding more apologetic than angry. "You need to get the gate open."
"You wouldn't even be here without him." Caspian quickly argued. "And neither would I." Annette's eyes drifted to the floor.
Peter, unsure of what to say, looked back at his sister. She sighed. "You, Annette, and I can deal with Miraz."
"And I can still get to the gate in time." Caspian added to better secure this new course.
"There's no need. I'll go to the gate with Trumpkin in case something comes up." Annette said, clearing out any other doubts. She made brief eye contact with Caspian before looking to Peter. "I'm sure you and Susan can handle Miraz on your own."
There was pause, but eventually Peter agreed. Caspian dashed down the steps before anything could be changed. Trumpkin nodded at Annette to follow. Please let this work She thought, hoping nothing would go wrong with this small change of plans.
~.~.~.~.
Annette waited with Trumpkin outside the of the gate doors. Instead of having her sword drawn, Annette held her dagger. Trumpkin said he didn't think there would be very many guards inside, especially since Reepicheep and his small army of mice were there.
She impatiently tossed the small dagger back and forth in her hands, loving the small swirls on the handle but irritated with their wait. "What's taking them so long?" She hissed.
"Just give it some time." Trumpkin replied, slowly pushing on the door to see if it was still locked. "They are only mice."
"Fine!" She huffed, crossing her arms. The Dwarf rolled his eyes. Annette envied Trumpkin's patience. He was already ready for action; all he needed was that door to unlock. "Trumpkin?"
"What is it now?" Trumpkin complained. Annette had never heard him speak without being annoyed, so she just took this as a normal behavior of his.
"Thanks." She smirked at him. Except his confused gaze showed he hadn't the slightest as to what Annette was talking about. She nervously scratched the hilt of the dagger. "You know, for taking care of the guards on the roof for me."
"We were short on time, you know." He grumbled, turning back to face the door.
"Yes, I know… I've just never killed anyone, and I don't think I'll-" Annette started before the click of the door interrupted her. Her heart began to pound; the door was unlocked.
Trumpkin readied himself in front of the door. "Stay here until I call for you." Annette nodded right as the second click was heard. She hid behind a wall while Trumpkin burst through the door. One of his arrows could be heard as it flew from the bow, followed by a faint groan from the unfortunate soldier it penetrated.
"Ah!" Annette heard the small voice of Reepicheep. "We were expecting someone, you know, taller."
"You're one to talk." Trumpkin grumbled before signaling Annette to enter with a wave of his hand.
"Is that supposed to be irony?" Reepicheep said, putting his sword away. He looked up at Annette, his nose sniffing the air as he did so. "Still not what we were expecting, but you are taller."
She smiled down at the mouse. "Nice to see you too, Reep." With a twitch of his tail, Reepicheep spun around and scurried off to his fellow mice.
Annette surveyed the damage that had been done in this room. The closest dead guard was lying right by the stairs. Eight kills. When she looked up the stairs, she saw another unmoving guard lying flat on his stomach. Next to him was the torso of a third. Nine… ten kills.
"Close the door, Annette." Trumpkin said in his monotone voice, bringing the girl back to their current task. She shivered before nodding and doing as she was told.
Making sure the castle wasn't alerted to the dead soldiers' groans; Annette stuck her head out the door. She heard the sound of footsteps. With her heart beating wildly, she stepped out into the hallway and readied her shaking dagger. For a brief fearful moment, Annette shut her eyes. When she opened them back up, she nearly fell back with relief.
"Caspian!" She smiled as she sheathed her dagger "Glad you could make it." Without even acknowledging her, the Prince continued to sprint down the hallway, past the gate room, and rounded the next corner. "Caspian?"
Panic took over Annette. Her breathing quickened and she felt as though her heart would pound right out of her chest. Something was wrong. Desperate and confused, she whipped her head back towards the gate room.
Trumpkin, having seen the whole thing, stood in the doorway. He took pity on Annette's pale, wide eyed expression. "Go ahead." He sighed.
"But the gate… what if it's too heavy?"
"Then I guess you wouldn't be much help then, would you?" He raised his quizzically brow. Annette eagerly nodded her thanks at the dwarf and sprinted after Caspian.
~.~.~.~.
She tried her best to keep up with Caspian, but he was just too fast for her. Eventually Annette found herself with an alarming decision: Do I go left or right? As she was muddling over this, she heard a very familiar, irritated voice from behind. "Annette, what are you doing?"
Turning around, she wasn't surprised to see an irritated Peter glaring at her. Susan stood silently next to him, her eyes studying Annette's uneasy face. "What's wrong?"
"Caspian, he-" She didn't have to say anymore. The siblings exchanged quick glances before sprinting down the right hallway. Annette darted after them, hoping they knew where they were going.
They soon paused in front of a doorway. Without any complaints from the two Pevensies, Annette wiggled herself between them to look through the crack in the doorway. Inside Caspian held his sword to another man's neck. Miraz. She glared at him through the doorway until she noticed another woman in the room silently reaching for a crossbow. Annette jolted forward to try and stop the woman, but Peter held her back.
"Peter let go!" She fought without any success. "We need to help him!"
"Not without a weapon handy you're not." He pushed Annette behind him and the siblings entered the room. With frantic hands she drew her dagger before sprinting in after them.
Miraz stared at Annette, his hands on his hips. "This used to be a private room." He seemed not to care about the sword on his neck.
"What are you doing?" Peter said through gritted teeth. "You're supposed to be in the gatehouse with Annette!" He nodded at her with a small glare.
"No!" Caspian said with such force that Annette almost dropped her dagger. "Tonight for once, I want the truth." Caspian, both his body and voice shaking with fury, advanced on his uncle. "Did you kill my father?"
The tension in the room made Annette's hands shake. She tightened her grip on the handle to try and stop them. Unfortunately, it helped very little.
"Now we get to it." Miraz whispered.
"You said your brother died in his sleep." The woman eyed her husband. Susan looked at Annette with such confusion that she knew they were thinking the same thing. Why would Miraz lie to his wife?
"That was more or less true." The false usurper admitted.
Annette took a shaky breath. "Caspian…"
She was covered up by Susan. "Caspian, this won't make things any better." Annette nodded in agreement. She had wanted to say something similar.
"We Telmarines would have nothing had we not taken it." Miraz continued. "Your father knew that as well as anyone."
There was a pause as the two feuding relatives stared at one another. The woman on the bed kept her eyes trained on her husband while her hands lowered the crossbow. Annette began to breathe a little easier. "How could you?"
"For the same reason you will pull that trigger. For our son." Miraz walked directly into Caspian's sword while Caspian, not wanting to hurt his uncle, began backing up. The woman lifted the crossbow and fired off a warning, as did Susan with her bow. The tension was picking up again.
"You need to make a choice, dear." Blood began dripping down Miraz's throat because of the pointed steel. Annette surveyed the room, particularly the crossbow. Things were not looking good. Instinctively, she inched her way closer to Caspian. "Do you want our child to be king? Or do you want him to be like Caspian here?"
Miraz practically drove himself into the blade, causing the woman to shake with fear. Annette knew she would be pulling that trigger any second now, but why wasn't Caspian moving? She screamed warnings at him in her head, signaled with her eyes, moved even closer so maybe he would understand, but nothing was working. "Fatherless!"
"No!" The woman cried with terror. Without even thinking, Annette dashed forward. She heard the click of the crossbow and a shout from Peter, but none of it mattered as she had successfully tackled Caspian to the ground.
I saved him! He's not hurt, I saved him! She smile at her victory until a red liquid began to stain Caspian's now torn white shirt. Her smile faded. "Caspian! Are you alright?" Annette rapidly covered the wound with her hands. "I'm sorry! I wasn't quick enough! I should've said something, or… or acted-"
"No." Guilt overcame her as Caspian winced with clear difficulty. "You are fine." He removed her hand from his wound to replaced it with his own. Annette cringed when she saw Caspian's blood on her hands. She closed her eyes and wiped them on her clothes.
Outside, bells began to toll. The plan has failed.
"Come on!" Peter shouted forcing both Caspian and Annette to their feet. "We need to get out of here!"
~.~.~.~.
Eleven kills, twelve kills. Annette thought to herself as two more soldiers were slain by Peter's blade. The High King had forced the three of them to follow him to the courtyard, determined to go through with his plan. He was confident that since the troops were just outside they could still prevail. The other three, however, saw it differently
"Peter!" Susan screamed at her brother once he started to open the gate. "It's too late. We have to call it off while we can."
"No, I can still do this." Peter cried, determined as ever.
"No, you can't Peter." Annette reproached, trying to pry him away from the gate. "Now stop being imprudent and call it off! We can't do this."
"Yes we can!" He argued as he released himself from her grasp. "Now help me!"
Annette desperately searched the tower above her for Margaret, hoping her face would calm her down. However, she wasn't there. Disappointed, Annette heavily sighed and joined the others to help open the gate.
"Exactly who are you doing this for, Peter?" Susan spat.
The Telmarines were approaching. Annette could hear them: the metal armor clinging together, the footsteps pounding upon the floor, the shouts of soldiers. She was becoming unnerved. Then the Narnians came galloping in with growls and cries of their own. Still she couldn't relax. She pathetically glanced at Caspian, her face drained of all its color. "Please help me." She whimpered despite her best efforts.
"I won't leave you." He promised as he stared into her terrorized eyes. She felt safe under his gaze, but knew she couldn't stay there. At some point she'd have to turn around. Taking a deep breath, Annette unsheathed her sword and spun to face the oncoming army.
"For Narnia!" Peter shouted as he led their charge. It didn't take him long to kill another soldier. Thirteen.
Annette's eyes locked onto an approaching Telmarine. She blocked his attack and flung his sword high into the air. The Telmarine braced himself for the final blow, but she couldn't do it. She was frozen. The solder laughed when he realized her cowardice. He reached for a sword by his feet, but fell dead before his hand could even grasp it.
Confused, Annette looked up to find Kirian with a bloody sword in his hands. Her friend had saved her, and she promised to make up for it someday. Kirian gave her a soft wink and flashed a smile before charging onto his next victim.
"Fourteen." She whispered down at the fallen soldier.
Annette blocked every attacker that approached her and let nearby Narnians finish them off. This way she could help defend Narnia without having to kill anyone. She found some strength within this system of hers, and so forced away her thoughts of aching muscles to face more Telmarines. All the while she continued her count of the dead. Twenty-seven, twenty –eight.
Every time Annette turned to fight another soldier, she found herself locking eyes with a nearby Caspian. He was keeping his promise, but this didn't make her nerves disappear. She was beginning to panic under all the pressure. This only made Caspian evermore watchful.
"Forty." Annette said as a tiger finished off yet another one of her kills. Suddenly, archers began forming along the castle walls. Her eyes scanned the tips of every crossbow pointing down at them, stopping only when she found one aimed directly at her. She silently pleaded with the archer to spare her and the Narnians.
As if her pleas had been answered, that archer suddenly fell from his post. Forty-one…? What? Her nose scrunched with confusion as she lifted her eyes to the spot the man was at.
"Edmund." She thankfully smiled at the boy. Annette's vision then jumped up to the rafters. Her smile only widened when she saw Margaret's blonde hair peeking out from behind. When she looked back at Edmund though, her smile fell. He may have taken out one archer, but now he was standing right next to a small group of them. "Edmund!" She screamed. Luckily there was also a door beside him that he quickly ducked into.
With a sigh of relief, Annette looked back around her. Susan was also gaping at the archers, which is probably why she hadn't notice the Telmarine approaching her. Annette looked around for anyone without an enemy. "Susan!" She shouted, hoping Susan would snap out of her daze and fend for herself. Terror filled Annette's veins when she realized her voice was unheard.
There was only one person who could save Susan now, and that was Annette. She took a deep breath and charged at the man. He had just raised his sword to bring down upon Susan when Annette blocked his assault. The Telmarine's eyes widened at this unexpected attacker, but then they narrowed again. Annette was his new target. He stepped back to swing his sword wildly at her. At the last second, Annette stooped down and plunged her blade right under the Telmarine's armor. The soldier looked down at the girl with shock, the light fading from his brown eyes.
Annette removed her sword from the man's stomach, and he shriveled to the ground in a dead heap. She felt cold as she stared at him. Forty-two… I killed number forty-two. Her sword fell from her hands; Annette didn't try to stop its decent to the ground. Time froze. All she could hear was the pounding of her own heart and the shaky breaths flowing through her chest. Hot tears threatened to fall from her wide eyes the longer she stared at the dead man. Had she really killed him?
Dead Narnians crept into her vision. They were everywhere! Piles of them! Her heart rate picked up. No… no… this can't be happening. Annette buried her face within her hands. I didn't kill… They can't all be… She took several deep breaths. Things will be all better when you look back up. Everything will be just fine, you'll see. But when her hands did drop, nothing was better. It would never be.
Annette heard someone call her name, but couldn't register who it was. She saw a Telmarine charging at her, but couldn't move her feet. Not even to duck away from his blow. The hilt of the man's sword knocked her across the head, forcing her to fall to the ground. A liquid soon spilled from a line of pain near her hairline. The menacing sword of the Telmarine then stared Annette in the face, and still she couldn't budge. She snapped her eyes closed, waiting for the end. But nothing happened.
Cracking an eye open, she saw Caspian holding off her former pursuer. He pushed the Telmarine away and looked back at her. "Annette, snap out of it!" Except she couldn't.
That's when Peter's orders came. "Fall back!" They were losing… badly. The gate was falling, but a Minotaur, Asterius, risked his life to catch it before it trapped them all in.
Caspian lifted Annette to her feet. "Come with me." She wanted to, she really did, but her feet wouldn't cooperate. Being short on time, Caspian grabbed her hand and dragged her into another room.
Inside were three horses, one of which had an elderly man sitting atop it. "I brought you Destrier." He said as he handed the reins of a black horse to Caspian.
The Prince swiftly climbed onto it before holding a hand down to Annette. "Annette, get on the horse." His accented voice softly demanded.
She just stared at his hand, unable to move. Her throat tightened as it tried to fight back tears. "Caspian, I… I killed him… The Telmarine! H-He was going to kill Susan and I… I just…" Her voice trailed off into a quiet whisper before it could turn into a sob.
Caspian wanted to comfort Annette, but there was just no time. "Annette… please." The pleading in his voice overpowered her distraught. She grasped Caspian's hand and he pulled her onto Destrier. He waited until Annette's hands were securely wrapped around his waist before galloping into the courtyard.
The archers still presented a threat, but all their eyes were trained on the main standing next to Miraz. His hand was raised, threatening to kill them all with a flick of his hand. Annette tightened her grip around Caspian and locked eyes with the man. He stared back, a hesitant expression crossing his face. Slowly, his hand started to lower and he mumbled something to Miraz. However, that was all Annette was able to see before Caspian turned his horse away from them.
Something whizzed by her ear seconds later. Arrows flew all around them with dangerous accuracy. Annette pressed her face onto Caspian's back as they neared the gate. There stood Asterius, the bravest Narnian of them all, risking his life to save as many creatures as he could. Tears welled up in Annette's eyes as they passed. This would be the last time she ever saw his kind face. "Thank you." She whispered, hoping he could hear her.
When they crossed the bridge, Annette dared herself to look back. Asterius had fallen, trapping far too many Narnians inside. They were all terrified but only a few of them called for aid. Although most appeared glad their Kings and Queens were safe, Annette saw the terror behind their eyes. Their faces started etching into her memory, and she had to look away. She shut her eyes so she wouldn't have to face their horror any longer. But as hard as she tried, Annette could not block out the Narnians' cries.
"Peter! The bridge!" Caspian's voice vibrated from his chest and throughout Annette's body. She heard horse hooves pounding across the bridge before leaping and safely running across the stone rocks. Only then did Caspian kick Destrier into a gallop.
Annette hugged herself closer to him, and, for the first time, allowed herself to cry.