"Archers, at the ready!"
Susan really should have seen it coming. First of all, Miraz and his men were Telmarines. Ergo, they were selfish, vindictive, ruthless, and did not like to outdone in anything. Secondly, the Telmarines were belligerent people; they would fight anyone they though necessary in order to further their own agendas. Miraz was at least twice the age of Peter, and he had still failed to beat him in the duel. And that was exactly what had happened. Peter had defeated Miraz in the battle, and when given the chance, he had allowed the king to keep his life. Caspian also did this when he was given the chance to make his uncle pay for his actions. Both the men showed true strength, kindness, bravery, and humility in their actions.
It's difficult to say whether these traits were refineries or flaws, for the made significant change to the course the battle would take. Peter's victory and pardon of Miraz should have put paid to the battle, ending it with hardly any bloodshed and no casualties for either party. It was not, however, this simple, due to the previously mentioned characteristics of the average Telmarine. Their hard-to-accept-defeat trait had caused the battle that was now approaching. Susan had seen her arrow in the hands of Miraz's knight, she saw him stab the king with it, and she saw him point to her and call treachery. Surely, everyone in Narnia knew that Susan never would have shot the injured king in a thousand years but apparently the belligerent Telmarines didn't know thus, and they were just looking to wipe out any opposing force that could threaten their kingdom. The fact that only a week ago, the Narnians were "extinct" probably didn't help, either.
"Take your aim!"
Susan waited, her fingers touching the corner of her mouth with her bow drawn. She watched as the Telmarine horsemen bounded across the field, charging the Narnians with all of their might. She waited for a brief moment until she knew that it would be best to shoot. Her adrenaline high and flowing, she waited until she saw the earth crumbling beneath the Telmarines. Peter and Caspian had come up with the idea to destroy the underground tombs, causing the earth to break and fall inwards. She let a small smile pass across her lips; the Telmarines were caught quite off guard and had shocked expressions at seeing the ground fall from under them.
"Fire all!" Susan shouted, letting her own arrow fling into the air. She watched as it lead the others to the Telmarines, striking a large soldier in the throat.
"Fire at will!" Susan commanded after the first group of arrows hit the soldiers. The Narnians now unleashed their arrows at all different times and speeds, hoping that they would reach their targets with great success.
Susan was very satisfied with her archers. They were very skilled and hit almost every Telmarine. In fact, Peter's troops on the ground had little fighting to do until the second flanks of Telmarines came. That was when the battle turned sour.
The Telmarines outnumbered the Narnians by far. They marched on the Narnians, surrounding them and trapping them in. It then began to rain stone on the tomb, for the Telmarines were unleashing boulders from the catapults.
"Retreat to the tombs!" Peter yelled.
But Susan knew, and Peter soon found out, that that was impossible. The Telmarine catapults had thrust stone at the tomb's entrance, blocking it from entry. The only thing that the Narnians could do now was fight for their lives.
"Brace yourselves!" Susan called to her archers as the stone fell upon them.
One boulder landed near her feet and completely demolished the ground from under her. She felt the stone crumbling beneath her feet and she tried to move, but all she could do was jump to hold on to the edge of the part of the tomb that hadn't broken away as the ground fell from under her. She was holding on with one hand, and she didn't dare look down or let go, for she had no idea how far the drop was.
"Susan!" she recognized Caspian's voice calling. "Let go and I'll catch you."
She knew that she could trust Caspian, but that didn't calm her nerves very much at all. As frightened as she was, Susan knew that she couldn't hold on for much longer, so she took a deep breath and let go. She landed after a drop that was shorter than she has imagined safely in Caspian's arms. She looked up at her savior and gave him a small smile, happy that she had landed in his arms and that he was safe. He looked back into Susan's arms, equally glad that his beloved was safe. They would have stood like that for longer, if Peter had not blown his horn. Caspian gently set Susan down on the ground, and together they ran to join Peter.
When Susan joined her two bothers, she understood the look that they were giving her. It was one she had never seen on either of their faces before, a mixture of bravery and defeat. Susan understood that the Narnians were out numbered and that, unless by some miracle Aslan came to help, they were going to die. She nodded at her brothers for one final time, showing her submission to death and a valiant end, to the Telmarines and to defeat, and to dying for Narnia.
"For Aslan!" Peter called, turning to face the Telmarines. He began running towards them, brandishing his sword, his siblings and Caspian charging behind him.
Then, something very peculiar happened. Susan swore she heard the ferocious roar of a great lion. She then felt the earth quake beneath her, and looking around judged that the others had felt too, for everyone was stopped in the motions they were taking a moment ago. Abruptly, catching nearly everyone off guard and scaring quite a few Telmarines, a tree's root sprung out of the ground. It shot across the battlefield and wrapped itself around one of the catapults and, in once forceful and crushing movement, brought it in shambles to the ground. Susan turned around and saw a whole army of trees climbing out into the battlefield, attacking everything Telmarine, save for Caspian, that crossed their paths.
Susan turned to the three that she was running with, who were of course now stopped, with an expression of joy and victory. "Lucy!" she cried to them. "Aslan!" The whole company began to laugh in joyous success as the Telmarines retreated to the forest. They were making for the river, and the Narnians, trees included, followed them.
When Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Caspian finally made it to the river, they saw a sight that none of them could believe. A huge man of water was drawing all of the Telmarines in the river to him, his strong hands crushing and breaking down upon all of the traitors. He then consumed the Telmarine soldier that had lead the country in war, seemingly placing him into his mouth and swallowing, crushing down and become, once more, just a river, as he did so. As the waves cleared, Susan saw Lucy and Aslan standing across on the opposite shore, watching the Telmarines drown and suffer.
A triumphant cheer sounded all around, coming from Minators, Fauns, Dwarfs, and animals alike. The Narnians had won.
Susan and Caspian turned to one another. Neither able to contain the joy that they were feeling for a moment longer, they kissed each other. Susan was overjoyed that the war was over. None of her siblings had died, as she had so brutally imagined, and the Narnians had been victorious. Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Caspian were unscathed, and now Narnia could return to freedom and peace. But best of all, she and Caspian could now be together, loving one another with out shame or fear that they would be torn apart by war. Susan had no fears anymore; they were all expunged. She kissed Caspian even harder, expressing the joy that she felt.
She then separated her lips from Caspian's and turned to face her brothers.
"I knew it!" Peter said.
All Susan and Caspian could do was laugh.
"I'm sure I'll understand when I'm older," Edmund said.
Now all of them laughed.
"Come on," Susan said to all of them. "There's a crossing right there," she said, pointing to a shallow bank in the river. "Let's go and see Aslan."
All four of them grinned hugely at the mention of the Great Lion's name and hastened towards the crossing to greet and thank him.