Disclaimer: I own Vaslin, but nothing else.
Chapter 10:
Staring up at Caspian's sword, Miraz mused,"Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you do have the makings of a Telmarine King after all."
Then the man bowed his head, accepting his fate. Caspian let out a battle cry, but instead of spearing his uncle's head, he stabbed the sword into the grass between them. Miraz looked up, eyes travelling the arm that held the weapon to the eyes of a noble prince.
"Not one like you." Caspian answered him.
Vaslin and Edmund exchanged glances, the younger boy glancing at Peter too.
"Keep your life." The prince spat. "But I am giving the Narnians back their kingdom."
Caspian released the handle of the sword, met the eyes of one of the generals, then turned his back on the Telmarines. A proud smile curled at Glenstorm's lips and the Narnians behind him cheered. Vaslin and his adopted brothers greeted the prince happily as he reached them.
Maybe you're not so bad after all. Vaslin mused.
Without warning, the man assisting Miraz shoved an arrow into his King's back. A loud gasp came from the Telmarine King as he collapsed to the ground. The general who'd stabbed him leapt back before the armies of their soldiers behind could see what had happened.
"Treachery!" The man screamed, grabbing the sword from the group and pointing angrily at the Narnian archers. "They shot him! They murdered our King!"
Vaslin could tell that both his brothers and Caspian had seen what had really happened.
The other Telmarine generals snapped to action.
"Be ready!" Peter called to Susan and the archers.
"Peter!" Caspian shouted from the top of the stairs that led to the How, pointing behind them.
The High King whipped around and killed a Telmarine general that had attempted to kill him.
"Go!" Peter ordered Caspian, who'd mounted a horse, and a bear.
Two Telmarine generals were racing back towards their men. "To arms, Telmar! To arms!"
The ranks of Telmarines let out battle cries.
Before the Narnians realized what was happening, the Telmarines started launching boulders at them from their catapults. Dirt rose up from the impact zones. A few cries rang out as one boulder landed amongst the Narnians.
"Cavalry, attack!" A cry came from the enemy armies across the field.
The Telmarine horse riders surged forward, galloping across the grass with raised flags and swords.
"Archers to the ready!" Susan commanded as the building shook beneath their feet.
Peter turned and looked at Caspian, signaling the prince to go to his station. Glenstorm galloped after him, the pair vanishing into the How, where a large group of Narnians were prepared and waiting.
Few knew it, but the ground of the field was hollow, held up by pillars of earth. Caspian's group were to knock out the pillars- and the ground- from beneath the Telmarines. Vaslin swore he could hear them racing beneath him even now.
Peter began counting to gage where they were. "One, two. Three, four. Five, six."
"Take your aim!" Susan shouted.
"Eight, nine…" The High King broke off. "Get ready!"
With a loud rumbling, the ground before the Telmarines gave away. Horses and men alike cried out in alarm, though most managed to avoid falling in. Dust rose up from the cave in.
"Now!" The High Queen roared.
Arrows whistled through the air as they flew overhead, a couple getting taken out by incoming boulders from the catapults. The rest hit home in the bodies of the trapped Telmarines and their horses, who were struggling to climb back up onto flat land.
Edmund was quick to mount a horse of his own.
Vaslin drew his sword.
"Charge!" Peter ordered.
With the Telmarines disoriented, the Narnians surged forward. Those that were underground raced up grass ramps, back up to the plains.
"Charge!" Caspian repeated, leading his group out to the battle.
They'd come up behind the Telmarine horsemen.
Vaslin reached the trapped Telmarines, engaging them in battle. He slashed across one's chest, knocking him to the ground. He kicked the legs out from another, the man getting trampled beneath a horse's hooves.
The one thing he liked about using a sword over the claws of his wolf body was the range. He didn't have to throw himself at someone just to scratch them. He could do it from a few feet away. It made him feel a tad safer, he had to admit. But he still missed his canine agility.
The Telmarines on foot began to march forward. Caspian waved his sword forward. Up in the sky, gryphons swooped in, archers in their talons. They fired arrows down at the telmarines, though many of the gryphons fell to the catapults, some of which were fashioned into large crossbows.
"Back to the How!" Peter shouted.
As the Narnian troops turned to race back to cover, the catapults increased their launches. To Vaslin, it nearly felt like the worst was exploding around him. He heard Susan shout something to the archers, but he couldn't make out what she said over the noise of the boulders hitting the ground.
The ground troops came to a halt as the entrance to the How collapsed in on itself under the stress of the impacts.
A tree on top of the How fell, knocking Susan over the edge. Vaslin saw this, watching with horror as Trumpkin grasped her hand and saved her from falling to her death. He swung her atop a more secure ledge, where she landed safely.
Vaslin raced up to Caspian and Peter, halting beside them. Edmund and Susan quickly joined them. The group exchanged glances amongst themselves, preparing for the worst of the battle to come. They swarmed forward, the rest of the Narnians joining them.
They jumped back into the chaos of the battle, slashing and hacking away at the Telmarine soldiers. The former wolf fought with all the ferocity he ever had in his wolf form, using both his instincts and Edmund's training to down the enemy. He wasn't going to give in without a fight.
He gasped as a sword slit the skin of his arm; he hadn't thought about grabbing armor earlier. He'd been too caught up in Peter's plan of buying Lucy time by dueling Miraz. Knowing he'd had worse wounds before, he ignored the pain and redoubled his efforts to fight off the Telmarines.
The bodies on the ground were slowly building up.
A sudden rustling of leaves and creaking of wood caused Vaslin to look up. Coming from the woods, walking on their roots, were the trees! Lucy had got through to Aslan at last!
Vaslin grinned as the Telmarines turned tail and ran back towards what remained of their forces that had yet to join the battle.
"Lucy." Peter told a confused Caspian as the Narnians cheered.
The trees roared in pain as the catapults fired at them. They sank into the ground, their roots shooting across the battlefield through the earth. Telmarines cried out in alarm as the ground shook. Roots tangled themselves around the catapults, squeezing them so tight that they snapped.
"For Aslan!" The High King shouted, hope restored.
Vaslin smirked at the words, raising his sword as his adopted brother raised his.
The Narnians charged after the fleeing Telmarines with newfound strength.
"To Beruna!" A Telmarine general shouted, a horn sounding to back up his order.
The Narnians chased the Telmarine armies through the trees, to the bank of the river. But something caused the enemy forces to halt instead of cross.
Vaslin could only guess what.
Edmund looked at Peter excitedly.
"Charge!" A Telmarine general shouted.
The soldiers began crossing the bridge, though most found themselves wading through the water.
That was when the roar sounded and the Telmarines fell to a silent stop.