William and the four Palace Guards set off from Cair Paravel on the road west. Two men and a dwarf were riding hard. Their fourth was a centaur. The senior of the Guards, a man named Errel, suggested that they leave the road. "The enemy will surely be guarding the road. Our best chance is to find our own path through the woods and evade them."
William made a sour face. "The Chief Minister sent us on the road west and there we shall ride. Here are four Palace Guards and I—." He could not think of what he should call himself. "No, we are not going to sneak around like criminals while we are inside the borders of Narnia." William noticed a momentary hesitation on the part of the Guards. Then they assented wordlessly and shifted their attention back to their riding. William pulled the hood over his head. It was a dreary, damp day.
William reflected that he once felt inspired by the Chief Minister's call to do great deeds. Now he was driven by fear, the fear of failure and a genuine fear for his life. There was no telling what the centaurs might do if they won and he was captured. This gambit of the Minister's was the last thread by which his hopes hung.
He had grown accustomed to the dream of being ruler of a prosperous, happy country. He imagined himself riding at the head of ceremonial processions while his adoring subjects thronged the streets. He thought of the conquests, the military campaigns, the victorious battles. All had become as vaporous as daydreams.
The road was unsettlingly quiet. William supposed that the rumors, or the sight, of armed soldiers loose in the countryside was enough to deter farmers and merchants from setting out to market that day. This meant there was no opportunity to ask travelers for any news.
After nearly half an hour's ride Errel put up his hand to halt the others. There was no need for him to say anything. They could all see soldiers bedecked in the familiar maroon and yellow colors of Narnia blocking the road. They counted three centaurs and three satyrs.
"We will not try to run from them," William announced. "We will ride at a measured pace to meet them and sound them out." William was thankful that the Guards, trained in obedience, did not remind him, even with a glance, that Errel had been correct.
William felt a sense of calm that overlay his excitement as they made that slow ride to the roadblock. Some logs and branches had been carelessly strewn across the road, more to mark the point than as an actual barrier. The soldiers watched them approach and took no actions.
"Soldiers of Narnia," William at last cried out, "we are on orders from the Chief Minister. Let us pass!"
A satyr replied, "The authority of the Chief Minister does not extend past the end of his big nose. If you want to pass you will have to do it over our bodies."
A flame of outrage ignited within William. "So be it! You are traitors and you shall die like traitors!" he shouted, and drew his sword. His thinking would have sounded ridiculous to anyone who could have heard it. To William it was as if his friends had agreed to play on his cricket team but on the day of the game he found them lining up for the other side. Liars and cheaters, he thought.
The fighting was very even. The crash of sword against shield was kept up like a frenetic percussion section of an orchestra. The soldiers could not get their extra fighter into a useful position before Errel cut down one of the satyrs to even the numbers. After that, each was paired in a grim and unrelenting duel.
William held his own against a centaur. He got his shield in front of each sword stroke although the impact of the blows drew grunts from him. He had no success in getting his own blade past the centaur's shield. He steeled himself for a battle of attrition.
William heard the thumping of hooves and the jangling of a horse's harness. He looked over his shoulder and his heart sank. There was no mistaking the design of silver flowers on a purple background. Rengist and three other Knights of the Silver Apple had come up the road behind him.William flung himself with renewed energy at his opponent even as hot tears blurred his vision. It was so unfair, he thought. This is how I'm going to die.
A spear from one of the knights flew past William. He wondered how it could have missed so badly. Then the answer came as Rengist slashed his sword at the head of an army centaur. Rengist and the knights had entered the battle on William's side. The response from the army soldiers was immediate. They disengaged and ran for the forest. One of the satyrs was cut down within ten strides by a Palace Guard still on horseback. Another was fatally wounded by an arrow from a centaur that accompanied Rengist. William wiped away his tears and recognized this to be Cathiel. He had a burst of joy as if he was seeing a friend again for the first time in years.
In only a few minutes the Palace Guards and the knights were reassembled. Once the army centaurs reached the deeper woods they were too nimble to be chased by the great warhorses. Rengist called them back because he did not want them to waste time in pursuit.
Rengist explained, "We were outside the castle watching the road. To be honest we were waiting for men to approach Cair Paravel, not for you to leave. We followed you from a distance. As for the immediate future, Galoren will miss these men if none get back to his camp and if they do, of course they will report what has happened. He will soon be sending more troops to investigate."
"Galoren?" cried William incredulously.
"Yes." On Rengist's face was something like a grin but it was a shallow and fleeting amusement that created it. "How should I explain. You remember when you saw us together that first time? I had always taken my friendship with Galoren for granted. He told me he had no interest in the Kingship and he would stand by me as a friend even if it came down to sword strokes. I took him at his word. All that time he was busy conspiring with officers in the army. I believe Galoren was the one who startled your horse and killed that other unfortunate fellow, although I'm sure we won't know unless he confesses. I, in the meanwhile, was with the front chase group of the hunt—."
"While Galoren was conveniently near by," William interrupted.
"Yes. Now I think it is time for you to go to the Tree of Protection. That is your intent, is it not?"
"Yes. Does this mean you think I should be king?"
"No, you would make a most miserable king." William stared at him and he laughed. William thought the knight was rather more frightening when he laughed than otherwise. "But you do not deserve to be skewered by the spears of these traitors, either."
"You know, you never did thank me for helping you out with that centaur." William was about to say 'saving you from', a phrase that the courtiers had spoken to him, but stopped himself because he realized it wasn't quite truthful and Rengist might take insult from it.
"Gratitude is not my strong suit," Rengist admitted with a wry grin.
"Why don't your men, I mean, the knights and the Guards, take this chance to flee?"
"I don't think we would get very far unless we tried to leave Narnia altogether. If we leave this spot you can be sure that Galoren and his rebels will be waiting for you to return. Your chances are slim enough with me; do you really want me to depart?" William shook his head. "Then take this opportunity I have created for you. Go seek your destiny."