Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.
Summary: You know the story of the Horse and his boy. But what was happening in Narnia? A northern campaign. Trouble on the homefront and a prince's invitation. Will anything be as Peter left it?
A/N: If you have not read the first ten stories in the A Light in the Darkness main story arc (Awakened, Shadowed, Revealed, Concealed, Rekindled, Refracted, Reflected, Veiled, Unveiled, and Eclipsed), I highly recommend you do so for the full experience. However, I have included a quick summary of the previous stories so if you want to give this one a whirl on its own, you can.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Last Charge
"Narnia!" Oreius forced himself to raise his sword high, ignoring the pain in his shoulder the movement caused. "Narnia! Remember Aslan! He remembers you!" He reared, bellowing over the Giants' taunting cries, "For Aslan! For Narnia and for Aslan!"
"For Aslan!" came the thunderous reply. The soldiers' voices gained more strength as they roared, "For Narnia and for Aslan!"
The Giants only laughed. Oreius galloped to the center of the ridge in front of his soldiers and swung his sword to point at the barely detectable shapes of their Giant foes. Again he shouted, "For Aslan!"
"For Aslan!" Those soldiers who were not archers or badly wounded reformed the lines.
One last charge. At the very least, they would ensure that far fewer opponents remained for Peter and the rest of the army. Oreius reared once more, swords held steadily. He would not give the Giants the satisfaction of knowing they had wounded him or even begun to hamper his ability to fight. The Giants had begun to edge closer, no longer hurling boulders and various bits of debris. The Narnians' defiance had broken the careful control of the Fell. It would be a long battle, had already been a long battle, but it would be worthy.
Oreius glared through the blinding snow, silently defying the Giants to search out any sign of fear in his soldiers or himself. They were edging closer. Just a few more feet and they would be well within the archers' range. Alambiel, forgive me. He shook his head, clearing away the thought…the regret. A promise couldn't always be kept in war.
The horns sounded again. They were closer now. The Giants cheered and mocked. Oreius cast a silent prayer to the Great Lion. He could only hope that more of his soldiers would survive than not. One last charge.
Oreius reared. "For Aslan! And for Narnia!"
"For Aslan! And for Narnia!"
He leapt forward, galloping straight into the Giants. He heard the soldiers behind him crashing into Giants. The Giants' laughter turned to cries of pain and frustration. Oreius barreled into a Giant, ending the Fell creature's miserable existence, and then galloped to the next Giant. He darted to the side as the Giant buried his short sword in the icy soil. Ducking under the Giant's extended arm, he drove his left sword into the Giant's exposed midriff and then slashed the Giant's throat.
The snow and wind picked up speed as the storm raging around him worsened. It reminded him of the resistance's battles with Jadis' forces when she had turned the weather into a weapon. If the Giants had allied with a witch from the far North, things would go very ill indeed.
A looming shadow was his only warning. Oreius shook away the distracting thoughts as he dodged a spear thrust. The horns sounded again and the Giant before him laughed. Leering down at him, the Giant boasted, "Now we feast on you, horseyman! We feast!"
Oreius batted the spear away and darted forward to score a gash along the Giant's thigh. He missed the hamstring. He bit back his frustration and instead shouted, "For Aslan!"
"For Aslan!" the rally echoed among his troops.
"For Aslan!"
Oreius hesitated in his attack as he realized the faint cry had not come from any of his own soldiers. The move would have been fatal had not his opponent also hesitated. Then the cry came again, stronger now. "For Aslan!"
The horns blared but they were so close now that the near blizzard no longer distorted their clear tones. Not the harsh horns of the Ettins or Harfangers or even the Ogres, but the sweet, clear horns of Narnia!
The Giants faltered. Oreius gave a shout of triumph as he pressed his advantage. The Giant he had been fighting fell back several steps. He caught a glimpse of Peter astride a Unicorn as the Narnian reinforcements harried the Giants who had been closest to victory over the soldiers.
Then a harsh voice called through the storm, "Harfangers, take your prize!"
A group of three Giants burst out of the snow and dark, bearing down on the golden colt. Oreius crippled the Giant he had been fighting and then galloped toward Peter in a desperate attempt to intercept them. He wasn't fast enough. Peter and the Unicorn were fighting against one of the Giants. Bast and Babur charged out of the darkness to claw and bite at the second Giant. But the third remained unchallenged. There was none close enough to interfere. None save Oreius himself.
The terrible knowledge that the Harfangers had yet to give up their foul intent to force his colt to revive their bloodline swept over Oreius and gave him strength to gallop faster. He leapt over a fallen Giant, dodged the spiked club of another, and sliced through the hamstrings of two more as he neared the colt. The Giant Bast and Babur were fighting let out an oath as arrows cut through the air and embedded themselves in his thick skin. The other Giants were still undeterred although the one Peter and the Unicorn Firenze battled was beginning to weaken and drag one of his legs.
Oreius saw the second Giant pulling his arm back, hefting a pikestaff. He hacked through the haft before the weapon could pierce Firenze. The Giant shouted curses as Oreius continued his attack. He sliced through the Giant's left wrist, severing the tendons then he darted forward and slashed the Giant's thigh. The Giant stumbled but he did not fall.
Oreius remained between the Giant and his colt. The Giant leered. "Morrigan will have her prize and her revenge."
He did not deign to respond with words. Instead, he permitted cold steel to form his retort. The Giant collapsed to the ground, dark blood already covered by fresh snow. Oreius turned to check on his colt. The other Harfanger had also fallen. The colt seemed unharmed. All around them Oreius could hear the shouts of triumph from Narnian soldiers as the Giants continued to fall back.
Then a shadow broke through the swirling snow. There was no time to shout a warning. Oreius threw his whole weight against Firenze, forcing the Unicorn to carry his colt to safety. Something struck him. He vaguely heard Peter shouting. His thoughts flickered to Alambiel and how disappointed she would be just before darkness swept over him, snuffing out his awareness of the hot pain and freezing cold.
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A/N: Please Read and Review! Muwhahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!