The Muster of Cair Paravel

"And we do swear loyalty to our Kings and Queens," the dryad kneeling before the four thrones was finishing off his oath, "To defend this realm and that of Archenland against any insurgence."

Ellen stood to the left and slightly behind the throne of Queen Lucy. After they had arrived back at Cair Paravel her head had been seen to. Luckily it was only a shallow cut which had just happened to bleed copiously.

After the shock of the Dryad rebellion in Archenland, the Pevensies had quickly responded, mustering as many of their people on their way back from the west. The Dryads were understandably the last to join. It had been Mahlirra who had managed to persuade them before she had vanished. She had disappeared in such a way as to cause as little disturbance as possible: it would have been unnoticeable had it not been for Peter.

As soon as the High King had realised that she had disappeared he had spent hours searching for her, riding off on his own to search the surrounding land, to no avail. He had been distraught, and quite unable to lead, until his brother had taken him aside. No one quite knew what King Edmund had said but now the High King had seemingly put Mahlirra out of his mind as he and his siblings prepared for battle.

"Thank you Cedrus," he said to the kneeling dryad, "Assemble your brethren: we march for Anvard tomorrow at dawn." The dryad stood up and bowed before exiting the throne room.

"I hope Anvard can hold out," Edmund said, "Or all our strength will be nothing. Salix has sworn to have Lune's head as soon as Anvard falls."

"I just don't understand what could possibly have turned him so violently against his own King," Queen Susan said, "It's terrifying."

"I'm sure we'll find out," Peter said, "But I don't suppose it'll be a particularly pleasant reason."

"You'll have to send word as soon as you do," Edmund said, "For I shan't be going: we still have werewolves to deal with here."

"It does all seems to be happening at once," Lucy said sadly before turning to Ellen, "You'll come with us though? Won't you, Ellen?"

"No she won't." Edmund answered before Ellen could even think of her response, his tone sounding both final and determined.

"Excuse me?" Ellen asked, affronted by Edmund's words, "But why won't I be going?"

"I need your help tracking down the five werewolves still at large in Narnia," he answered, "You've already killed one."

"Oh." Ellen said. His answer had thrown her slightly; she didn't think he had thought that much of her; she who was incapable of even getting onto a horse behind him. She looked at him and for a second their eyes made contact. His gaze had an intensity behind it that almost scared her, but it was he who finally looked away, turning to talk to his sister, Queen Susan.

The next morning, Ellen got up as early as everyone else. The army was camped just outside Cair Paravel in fluttering tents of gold and red which were being taken down by the time Ellen made her way to the courtyard where the High King and his sisters were being seen off. As soon as Queen Lucy saw her arrive, she hurried over to her and gave her a hug.

"Look after yourself," she said, taking her hands in her own, "And Edmund too – don't let him do anything too dangerous. He wouldn't risk anyone's life but his own, yet when it comes to his own life... Well... he's not as careful as he should be."

"I understand," Ellen said, "But you're the ones who need to be careful – you're going into battle!"

"Well if we arrive in time we should easily put down the rebellion," she answered, "It's just if we're too late. It'd make so much difference if Mahlirra was coming with us – she could talk to her father – dissuade him from this madness."

"Lucy," called Susan from atop her palfrey, "Come on – we need to get going: we need to be in front of the first company."

"Alright I'm coming," Lucy called back to her sister. She gave Ellen a final hug before hurrying over to her horse.

"Good luck!" Ellen called as they began to move towards the gate.

Suddenly there came a clattering from the bridge and a wild horse came galloping into the courtyard, holding the whole procession up. Astride it was Mahlirra, looking weatherworn with her hair long and tangled, flying out behind her. As soon as her horse stopped she leapt off and looked around frantically.

"Peter?" She called, "Peter!" The High King dismounted and hurried over to her, turning her gently round to face him.

"You came back." It was a statement. Mahlirra nodded and neither of them seemed to notice that everyone was watching them. "I'm glad you did," he said, a tear in his eye and a smile on his face. Then he leant down and kissed her, taking her face in his hands as he did. She responded avidly, her arms entwining around his neck, pulling him in towards her.

Finally they broke apart and Mahlirra lowered her voice a little to tell him something. Ellen was too far away to hear what she said but it made him smile all the more. He looked up and called for a fresh horse to be brought for her. Mahlirra looked around and saw Ellen. She came over to her.

"I'm going with them," she told her, calmly, "My father – he's made a mistake – I can talk him out of what he's doing."

"I don't think it's going to be that simple," Ellen said, "No one knows what's ignited this but your father... He wants blood. The messages we've received have said as much... Mahlirra..."

"That's why I left," Mahlirra said, "I needed time to think. But I've decided – I can help peaceful talks, diplomacy."

"If anyone can sort this out peacefully," Ellen said, smiling a little, "It's you."

"You be careful," Mahlirra added, "With King Edmund and his werewolf hunts. Don't do anything stupid."

"What do you mean by that?!" Ellen asked, indignant.

"Like going off on your own into a dangerous part of Narnia – like you did before."

"My horse spooked! I had no control. I -"

"Ellen please," Mahlirra said, cutting across her, "Remember that your life matters too. Don't risk it unnecessarily."

"Mahlirra!" The High King called; they were waiting for her, her horse standing ready.

"Please Ellen just promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"Mahlirra," Ellen said incredulous, "You're the one going to stop a rebellion."

"Just promise me!"

"Ok," Ellen said, confused by this uncharacteristic outburst from Mahlirra, "I promise not to do anything stupid. Happy?"

"Thank you." Mahlirra smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek before hurrying back to the procession. She leapt onto her horse beside the High King and then they were trotting out of the courtyard, leaving Ellen standing alone, feeling more than just a little confused.

That was when a brown rabbit came up to her, hopping along the cobblestones. It stood up on its hind legs and gave its ears a scratch before introducing itself.

"I'm Russell," he said, "Queen Lucy said that you were a friend. Apparently you killed one of those werewolves."

"Yes," Ellen said, slightly taken aback by this to-the-point introduction, "Can I... er... Can I help you?"

"Well," the rabbit wrung his paws nervously, "You see I was hoping you'd be able to escort me to the Western Marches – I want to find my friend Marcus. He's a Satyr. He promised me he'd join me at Cair Paravel, but he hasn't."

"Oh," Ellen said and then realised who the rabbit was, "You're the one who warned everyone about the werewolves."

"Well... yes –in my own way." He paused before looking directly at her, "So can you?"

"What?"

"Take me to find my friend Marcus? We could get to his cave and be back at Cair Paravel before dark if we left soon."

Ellen thought a moment. It was that or stay at Cair Paravel with the stern King Edmund; "Alright," she said, "Wait here whilst I ready a horse."

"Thank you," Russell said as Ellen hurried over to the stables.

She got the stable hand, Tom, to help her saddle up a grey dappled mare; she had lost Silver the night of the werewolf attack, and the white mare still hadn't made her way back to Cair Paravel. After Ellen had slipped onto the horse, using the mounting block, Russell hopped up and sat nestled between her and the horse's neck. She dug her heels into its flanks and they rode out of the palace, heading west.

King Edmund watched from the gate as the grey horse cantered over the bridge. He smiled to himself at Ellen's attempts to stay in the middle of the saddle before calling for his own horse to be saddled up. He had overheard her promise to Mahlirra and thought it a pity that she had broken it so soon. Then again, he thought to himself, he had promised something very similar to all three of his siblings. Yet here he was, about to follow an escaped slave to a known werewolf infested area out of pure curiosity.

Before mounting his horse, he paused a moment. Was this the right thing to do? It was dangerous and more than a little risky. He pushed these doubts aside and leapt onto his horse before cantering out of the gates, over the bridge, and away from the safety of Cair Paravel. Soon all he could hear was the thrumming of his stallion's hooves against the ground and the whistling of the wind in his ears.

There was no way he was letting Ellen head off into certain danger without him.

A/N: Hello! Well now there is lots going on. Mahlirra and Peter are... :D. I really like them together now even though they weren't originally planned. But Mahlirra's father - what's going on there? I mean what possible reason could there be for him suddenly rebelling against poor King Lune? ;) All will be revealed in time...

Also I've written a little drabble with Peter and Mahlirra. It's about where they were when they found out about what happened with Lucy and Ellen and the werewolves. It's just a little fluff which I wanted to write but it gives more meat to Mahlirra and Peter's relationship so I'd recommend checking it out. It's called 'Sand and Kisses' which pretty much sums it up ;) and you can find it via my profile page.

I feel sorry for Russell the rabbit. He doesn't know, as we do, what happened to Marcus. Though they'll be fining out soon enough I'm sure. Those pesky werewolves - what are they planning though? It's not like they're unintelligent beasts. They're cunning. I wonder what Ellen and Edmund will discover...

This is so much fun to write! I hope you enjoyed that chapter and I'll update as soon as possible though my updates may be a little slower from now on. I must admit though - for me I've think I've updated quite frequently. Hopefully not too frequently...?

Anyway, have a nice day and thank you for reading and reviewing. :)

SHS

:D :D :D