Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARNIA!
A/N: Please review! Hope you like it…okay, I'm done talking.
"Shar, Shar wait!" Araleena panted. "I…I need a walk!"
Shar turned back in the saddle and looked at the princess. Her face was dripping with sweat, and her lips were chapped and dry. After six hours of heat in the hottest hours of the day, Araleena was having second thoughts.
"All right," Shar said, pulling his horse up. "We'll rest."
Tran twitched impatiently on his stallion.
"If we don't hurry," he began, but Shar stopped him with a glance.
"I know, slave driver," he said with a grin, "But we won't arrive in time anyway!"
Tran grinned back, but then kept looking straight ahead. Even at a walk, he was determined to make it to Archenland before Rabadash.
Hours later, when the sun had set and the moon had risen, they still pressed onward, galloping across the sand, and walking when Araleena needed a rest. To be honest, Shar was relieved when she called his name to say she was too tired. He was stiff and sore, and his wrists still ached from the long night in the prison.
When the sun rose, Tran cried out, and pointed to a small ravine to their right. Shar wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't pointed it out.
"Come on!" Tran cried, kicking his horse and going down the ravine.
After a few minutes walk, they found that they were riding toward a small stream, which turned into a river! The three weary travelers jumped in a pool of water, and their horses bent their heads to drink.
Once they felt refreshed, they ate a bit of bread, and then looked about. Shar noticed a worn area in the grass, and touched it with his finger. Then, he noticed a blue ribbon hanging from a tree near the pool.
"Someone else was here," he said as if to himself.
Then his heart leapt. What if it was Aravis! What if she had gotten through after all!
"We need to keep going," Tran said, startling him. "We're not far from the Southern March now. We can rest there."
"The Southern March?" Araleena asked, cocking her head.
Her veil was gone, and her blue dress was wet. Her hair, which had been perfect at the palace, was now a tangled mess. She ran her fingers through it until it straightened a bit, and tied it back.
"Yes," Tran replied, "There's a hermit there. We can stop there."
The three mounted their horses, and continued on their way. The horses, by now, were exhausted, so they walked up the steep bank on the other side. Slowly, carefully, they ascended the hill and kept walking in a northerly direction.
"I see it!" Araleena cried, pointing ahead at the green wall that rested on the horizon.
Shar and Tran galloped their horses the rest of the way, and arrived at the Hermit's home inside the green walls.
"Hermit, sir!" Tran yelled as they approached the gates. "Hermit of the Southern March!"
"Who calls?" came an old voice from inside the walls.
"It is I," Tran replied, "Tran of Archenland!"
The gates swung open with a creak, and an old man stepped out.
"Greetings, my son," he said. "Have you news of Rabadash?"
Tran's mouth dropped open.
"How do you know of Rabadash?" he asked in surprise.
The hermit nodded knowingly, jerking his head over his shoulder.
"Only half an hour ago, a young boy and girl came to this place. The girl was wounded by a lion, and the boy had news of Rabadash. I sent him on to King Lune."
"Wounded?" Shar said, dismounting his horse and stepping toward the gate. "May I see her?"
"My son, she is sorely wounded," the hermit replied, shaking his head.
"Is she…she isn't going to…" Shar's voice trailed off.
Araleena slipped off her horse behind him and touched his arm.
"Who is this girl?" she asked gently.
Shar met the hermit's eyes and said, "I need to see her."
The hermit stared at him for a few moments, and then nodded.
"I have watched you long, my son. Fear not; your sister will live."
Araleena and Tran gasped, as did Shar.
"How did you know that she was…" he began, but the hermit's knowing eyes stopped him.
"Shar, my son," the hermit said, "you and Tran must go to Anvard."
"I'm going with them," Araleena insisted.
"Your highness," Shar said wearily, turning to the princess, "It's too dangerous."
Araleena stuck out her chin and a stubborn look came over her face.
"I'm not afraid!" she replied.
Shar sighed and glanced at the hermit.
"How much further to Anvard?"
The hermit led them in his hermitage and took them to the northern gate.
"I sent the boy through this gate, and told him to run. He will reach King Lune in time, but Aslan has told me to send you on. Doubtless you are needed in some way that I do not know."
"Where is Rabadash?" Tran asked, stepping forward.
"He has crossed the Winding Arrow, but you can beat him to Anvard if you hurry. You must go now."
"But sir," Shar protested, "our horses are spent."
"Are they?" the hermit asked, eyeing him curiously. "My magic does not work on talking horses, but these, I think, are ready again."
Shar turned to his horse, and the black stallion threw back his head and whinnied loudly. It was clear that the horse's weariness was gone.
"Thank you, hermit," Tran told the man. Then, he turned to the other two. "Let's go."
"I must see Aravis!" Shar insisted, turning back toward the house, but the hermit grabbed his shoulder and looked him in the eye.
"Do this for Archenland, my son," he said, squeezing the boy's shoulder.
Shar straightened up, and nodded.
"Take care of her," he said, and then swung up on his horse. "For Anvard!" he cried, swinging round and galloping out the gate.
"For Anvard!" Tran cried, as he and Araleena mounted their horses and followed.
After several long minutes of hard riding, the three came to an open place. Looking down, Shar could see hoof prints in the dirt.
"They came this way!" he cried, pointing up into a mountainous path.
And so they rode onward. After a while more, they saw dust rising behind them.
"Rabadash!" Araleena shrieked in rage, and then, "Hurry!"
Now, it was a race to Anvard. Shar, Tran, and Araleena were only perhaps a minute ahead of Rabadash, and secretly, each knew that they had a good chance of being caught. A dark mist fell upon them. They came to a fork in the road, and Shar caught a glimpse of a dark figure leaving the road. Tran, who knew this part of Archenland, thundered past Shar.
"Is that Anvard?" Araleena shouted after a few moments.
"Yes!" Tran replied, staring through the mist. "That's Anvard! Hurry!"
The noise behind them had ceased, and Shar began to hope that they might make it in time. Finally, they reached the castle gates, which were shut fast.
"Open the gates!" Tran shouted up at the guard who was peering down at them.
"Who are ye?" the man replied, trying to get a better look at them.
"It's Tran, son of Sir Edwin!" Tran cried, glancing over his shoulder.
Rabadash and his 200 horsemen were coming now. Araleena gasped and bit her lip.
"Please, let us in!" she cried, looking tearfully up at the man.
The gates slowly creaked open a crack, and the three riders cantered in. Once inside, Shar sighed in relief and swung off his horse. He turned to help Araleena down, but as she dismounted the horse, her face grew pale, and she fainted, falling the rest of the way off. Shar caught her before she hit the ground, and then looked up and saw five Archenlanders pointing bows at him and the princess.
"Take one step, Calormen," a tall man said angrily, "and thou art dead!"
Shar stood helplessly, holding the princess, not daring to move.
"Wait!" Tran cried, "he's a friend of Archenland! Don't shoot!"
A tall man with a merry face entered the courtyard and took in the situation.
"Eh, what's this?" he asked, many wrinkles creasing his forehead.
The sound of arrows turned everyone's eyes to the gates, but two guards kept their bows on Shar.
"We're under attack, Sire. What shall we do with these prisoners."
"But—" Shar protested, but the tall young man cut him off.
"Quiet, you! Sire?"
The merry man, who seemed to be the king, put his hand on the young man's shoulder.
"Darrin, Darrin! You must not be so quick to judge! For all you know, these are friends of Archenland, and not her enemies!"
"They are, Sire," Tran said, stepping forward and kneeling before the king. "King Lune, we have come to warn you of Rabadash, but it seems we were too late!"
"So it would seem," King Lune replied, a twinkle in his eyes. Then the twinkle vanished. "A young lad found my hunting party and delivered your message. We brought him with us, but in our haste, he was lost behind us in the mist!"
The king shook his head and lowered his eyes, muttering, "And he looked so like Corin. I do hope he got by Rabadash."
"Sire," Darrin said, throwing back his head and looking toward the king, "What shall we do with these…Calormenes?"
"Well," the king said, looking back at Shar, "It seems that this young man is in need of some assistance with—" he stopped, for Araleena was stirring.
The princess' eyes fluttered open, she gazed into Shar's face.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
"You fainted," he replied. "We made it."
Carefully, Shar set the princess on her feet, and she managed to stand up by herself.
"My lady," King Lune said, bowing courteously and kissing her hand, "you are welcome in my house!"
"You are most gracious, my lord, considering what my brother Rabadash has done, breaking the peace."
At this, the people gasped, but King Lune merely nodded as if he had known the whole time.
"That is his fault, not yours," he said, smiling slightly. Then, he clapped his hands. Two young women appeared, and he said, "Will you escort the lady to some suitable rooms and attend her?"
The two maids nodded, and they helped Araleena away.
"And you, my son," King Lune said, turning to Shar, "you must be tired as well?"
"I am, Sire," the boy replied, "but I would rather stay on the walls and help fight than sleep just now."
The king nodded, and turned to Tran.
"And you, Tran?" he asked with a knowing grin.
"I will stay as well," Tran replied, exchanging a glance with Shar.
The two boys went to the armory, and received armor and swords, and then sat back to wait.
A/N: Review, if you please! I'm sorry this took so long to put out, but I was on a vacation, and…yeah. Next time, what we've all been waiting for…the battle.