Threads

Chapter 13

It was a high pitched whistling noise that brought Eirene back to reality.

She saw the sword that was about to hit her at the neck, and she looked at the animal behind her would-be executioner. A lion's tail waved behind the eagle's head as he chirped again. Eirene had seen all sorts of Narnians in the past years, but griffins had always been a rare sight. Only a moment later, the griffin opened its beak and picked at the soldier's head. Dead in a second.

Eirene immediately stood up to her feet. She nodded at the griffin, thanking him. The griffin lowered his head slightly in return. At the movement, Eirene caught sight of its rider, fighting more soldiers off. Although he was turning sideways, Eirene recognized the movement of his dark locks, and his tightened jawline.

Something within her fluttered and begged to call out his name, feeling the sound burning her lips. But she couldn't. Not yet. She needed to find Caspian. She craved Edmund in a way she had never craved for someone who was mostly stranger still, but her whole life had been about finding her brother. And she finally did.

Eirene walked over to retrieve her sword and then made an effort to look at the moving figures within the storm. She took one last glance at a distracted Edmund, wondering if he knew about the rest of his siblings being there. The young king, still distracted, missed Eirene's exit.

Having spotted Susan across the courtyard, Eirene ran towards the tower across her to the left; those staircases led to the royal wing of the castle. Where the Telmarine King usually lived and where Miraz had installed himself.

Eirene fought everyone that came in her way. Telmarine soldiers fought her as much as the Archenlandian's did, and she couldn't seem to find a break. Two soldiers crept around her and lost sight of Susan.

Eirene had disarmed the Archenlandian soldier, but the Telmarine persisted.

"Let me through! I don't want to harm you!" she tried to argue through the noise of the rain.

The soldier didn't seem to listen to what she had said, and carried on lunging towards her. Eirene blocked his moves with unnatural persistence. She needed to find Susan, to find Caspian.

In a fit of rage, Eirene disarmed the opponent and made a cut on his calf. Falling to his knee, Eirene kicked his chin, leaving him unconscious. She turned about, looking for the griffin that Edmund was riding. There was no sign of the creature, and her eyes hungrily searched for the Just King's figure amongst the chaos, but found naught.

Eirene shook him off her mind. She need to find Susan in order to find Caspian. Find Caspian and leave.

Eirene climbed the stairs hurriedly, but didn't see Susan, nor heard her. When she reached the end of the staircase, she realized she was atop of a curtain wall with a parapet. She saw more soldiers fighting one another at the opposite end, which didn't notice her. Sneakily as possible, she looked about. From that viewpoint, she was able to glance at the King's balcony. In it, she saw Miraz being threatened with a sword on his neck, held by a man she did not recognize.

Moments later, Prunaprisma emerged from within the chamber, holding a crossbow directly to the man threatening Miraz. A lightning bolt hit and illuminated the scene; it was only then that Eirene was able to make out the features of her brother.

"CASPIAN!" she didn't hesitate in shouting.

Thunder rumbled after her voice, making heads turn towards her direction: her brother's, the usurper's and the soldiers fighting next to her. She heard footsteps coming towards her and she saw Miraz's head tilt back in laughter. Prunaprisma pointed the crossbow to her, out of instinct.

They stood still for about a second, with Miraz' laughter accompanying battle ground sounds. Prunaprisma was the first to snap out of it, and shot Eirene. She ducked, hiding behind a salient crenellation. When she tried to rise again, Prunaprisma shot again.

The soldiers that she'd sneak past noticed her, and were now running in her direction. Another lighting cracked the sky, and Eirene ran towards the entrance of the tower, her body half ducked. It was there that she settled to confront her new opponents, safe from Prunaprisma's arrows.

She tried to concentrate on the people attacking her, but unwillingly she was more aware of the side-eyed vision of Prunaprisma pointing the crossbow to Caspian again. Noticing new sudden movements, she turned her head completely to the balcony. They were no longer facing her, but were instead looking at Caspian, who was fleeing from one of Pruanaprisma's arrows by running in the adjacent parapet.

Eirene looking intently at the scene happening over there, lost track of what was happening right where she was. With her head still turned over completely, her opponent used the distraction to slit her on the thigh. Eirene staggered back, feeling a sharp pain.

She could feel blood warm tickling down her thigh, as it made its way down the rest of her cold limb. She raised her sword immediately, and wedged it furiously at him, feeling the rage that was directed at Miraz and his wife. She threw her sword over her head, ready to bring it down on the soldier with all her strength, but as she was going to step forwards, she felt a pang on her leg.

She wailed, as her opponent kicked her on the wound. His sword was able to grace her on the right side of her ribs. The best she could do was walk backwards while still bring her sword forward.

The situation seemed dire, but it was then that she heard the loud chirp of the griffin once more. Startled, she watched as the creature pecked at the soldiers furiously. She leaned back on the stone nook, between the entrance of the staircase and the start of the merlons.

She changed the focus of her attention to her injured leg and touched the side of her ribs instinctively. She looked at her hand, which barely had any blood at all. What was at her ribs was nothing more than a paper cut, but her leg…

She looked at the gash; it made the fabric of her dress turn scarlet. Darkness didn't allow her to see the depth of the cut well enough, but judging by the pain she felt when she tried to place weight on it, she guessed it was deep. And judging by the amount of blood, he had probably hit an artery.

"Eirene."

Her eardrums buzzed at her name sounded out in that voice. The sting faded away and her stomach sank and limbs felt suddenly weak. Seconds seemed to last entire lifetimes.

She looked up, and her eyes were met by an empty parapet, bodies on the ground, an alert griffin, and King Edmund rushing towards her.

He was drenched in rain, water still falling from his curls, and freckles almost glistening with the rainwater. She noticed how the fabric he wore under his leather chest plate was soaked and clung to his skin. His toned arms were revealed, and if she had to be honest, she knew she could be hypnotized for hours just by watching him move.

Edmund ran towards her, and while he breathed in relief, adrenaline spiked inside his body when his eyes landed on the growing red stain. Without a second thought he removed his belt for the sheath of the sword. He remembered the time Lucy had taught him how to make a tourniquet back in England.

"Raise your leg," he said, his voice deep and focused.

He knelt down in front of her and he turned his head around, making sure no more soldiers were coming. Eirene turned to the door right next to her, mindful that no more soldiers crossed the threshold.

"I—I can't raise my leg. It hurts," Eirene said lowly.

"Don't worry," Edmund shook his head, "your dress—" he said slowly, "may I pull it up for you?"

Eirene appreciated the question, but secretly wished he hadn't even asked. She nodded weakly.

She felt Edmund's fingertips grab the hem of her dress and begin to raise it, his knuckles slowly gracing her shinbone. He carefully folded the fabric of her dress and she couldn't help but watch him intently. He was deliberate in his movements, trying to maintain as much decency as possible. Lean fingers moving with caution, thick wrists leading to muscular arms.

Edmund's eyes were glued to her olive skinned leg, already damp from the rain, being kissed by the droplets directly. He folded the skirt just over where the wound was located. Eirene sounded out her pain lightly, but took the fabric in her hand as Edmund grabbed the belt. She kept looking at him, and while she was thankful the cut hadn't been further up her thigh, she took note that his eyes didn't trail up her skirt at any point.

Changing his position to having one knee popped up instead of both knees on the ground, she felt his cold fingers wrap around her calf and move it on top of his leg. She realized that she could make out the muscles around his legs too.

"I'm sorry if it hurts," he said and quickly grabbed the belt, and began to place it around her thigh.

Eirene said nothing, and instead focused on the sensations his hands and the graze of his body on her knee perpetuated on her.

Her skin was full of goosebumps, and while everything around was cold; the rain, the air, and his fingers, they brought nothing but warm, dreamy vibrations on her skin. For a fleeting second, she wondered what that touch could do under the right circumstances.

She quickly brushed it off.

"There," Edmund said, returning her leg to the ground.

Edmund said nothing, but he had a preoccupied expression on his face. Coming out of her dreamy trance, Eirene looked at the cut. Now that it was washed clean by the rain, she realized that it was indeed deep. She was thankful for the tourniquet.

As Eirene looked at her leg and lowered her skirt once again, Edmund took the precious seconds of oblivion to take her sight in. Now that she was out of peril, he realized that the dress she wore seemed to be more of a leisure attire; the fabric was white and cotton-like, breathable in hotter days but revealing in colder ones.

As much as he tried to not focus on it, Edmund couldn't ignore the transparency of the garment, and how it revealed her figure. The rain made the fabric adhere to her skin, creating exactly the kind of folds that he wanted to stare at forever—ones that played at revealing, and yet concealing everything at the same time. The shape of her bosom, the curve of her hips.

The feeling that her skin left on his fingers lingered on, and Edmund's heart was racing. He stood slowly from his kneeling position and their eyes locked with each other. They blinked and the slow motion movements ceased. Reality faded back in.

"Eirene, we need to leave," he said as he extended his hand for her to take.

Before she could react in any way, men came through the threshold, chaotic in their fighting amongst themselves. They collided right next to where Edmund stood, one of them separated and charged at the griffin. The other turned to Edmund and fought him.

Eirene quickly grabbed her sword, and before she could think of anything, it was met with another with force. Eirene realized she was then looking at High King Peter, clutching his teeth to block her.

But Eirene wasn't putting too much resistance, and she saw more people running behind King Peter. He was distracted by the movement, and quickly turned his eyes away from her.

"Fall back! Fall back now!" he screamed at them.

Eirene knew she needed to place her full weight on her legs if she wanted Peter to break the block; but her leg hurt.

"Edmund!" she shouted, thinking of nothing else but calling his attention to the scene, "your brother!"

She immediately felt Peter release some of the pressure of the sword, as his eyes turned to look at everyone else in the parapet. Peter released away from the fight completely, and moved away when he saw Edmund.

"Ed!? Is that really you?"

"Pete!"

Eirene saw the siblings recognize one another, exchanging more words that Eirene wasn't able to discern. More soldiers emerged from the staircase and ran towards the opposite end. None of them seemed to mind Eirene.

"Fall back and don't fight the griffin!" Peter shouted at the men a few moments later, breaking away from his brother.

In that instant, the griffin flew away. The men carried on running.

"What of Caspian?!" she screamed across to Peter, who looked at her confused.

"What of him?"

"Where is he?! I'm his sister!"

More soldiers came in, and some with Telmarine opponents.

"We need to fall-back! He knows that, too!" Peter said.

"Where!? Fall back where?!" Eirene demanded, but before she was met with any answer, a Telmarine soldier reeled next to her, and recognized her when he turned his head.

"Ah, princess, I'll sure get a ransom for killing you—" he said and quickly grabbed her arm forcefully. Eirene pushed backwards, pivoting on her good leg, but it wasn't enough to match the soldier's strength. Weak from the pain, she was sliding off the slippery ground, not quick enough to grab her sword.

Edmund made his way in a blink of an eye, ramming the telmarine soldier with his whole body. The soldier let go of Eirene's arm, but she stumbled backwards. She felt half her body flying out of the embrasure. She grabbed on the corner of the merlons, but they were too slippery.

Her eyes searched for Edmund, who was just standing up from the ground from the lunge, unaware of Eirene's situation. He was faster than the Telmarine soldier, and knocked the him unconscious with the pommel of his sword.

"Edmund!" she screamed, her free hand stretching out to him.

His eyes opened wide when he saw her and ran towards her to grab her hand. The foot still on the ground faltered, and gravity pulled her down. With one hand, she grabbed the lower corner of the embrasure, and with the other she held on to the edge, both feet flying.

Edmund reached up to her and squatted down.

"Give me your hand!"

Eirene took a second in deciding which hand she could use to grab Edmund. She opted to let go of the ledge, and hold on to the embrasure.

She grazed Edmund's fingers, but her left hand at the embrasure began to slide.

"I can't hold on!" she said desperately, moving her right hand quickly to that other corner.

"Let go!" Edmund said, looking down at what she thought was the precipice underneath her.

"What?!"

"Let go! Trust me, Eirene!"

His eyes look pleading, but no longer scared. Eirene looked down, and saw nothing but darkness. Her fingers were sliding off, and her feet weren't holding on to anything. Even if she didn't want to let go, there was no other way.

"Trust me!" she heard him say again as she shut her eyes tightly and released her fingers.

Gravity pulled her down for a second, and her stomach dropped. She felt as if she falling down an eternal chasm.

But just as quickly as the feeling of dread overpowered her, relief flooded her body as she felt something against her back. Her hands felt fur, and she turned to realize she'd been caught mid fall by a griffin's back.

The griffin fluttered his wings, holding steady while Eirene sat up straight. Eirene placed her hands at its neck, holding on to the eagle feathers without pulling any of them. The griffin then ascended and landed a top of the parapet. In a second, Edmund mounted the griffin behind Eirene.

"I'll hold on to you," he warned, before wrapping his arms around her waist and grabbing unto the griffin's feathers. Eirene could feel his chest pressing against her back, but groaned when Edmund's arms brushed the other small cut she had at her ribs. He immediately pulled it away.

"What is it?"

"N-nothing. A paper-cut."

Edmund looked at her ribs, and saw a slight scarlet coloration on the fabric.

"Were you hurt here?" he sounded concerned; a wound on the ribs was much more dangerous than one on the leg.

"Nothing to be concerned with."

Edmund took another second, but it didn't seem to be bleeding significantly. He moved his arm around her again, lower this time. His forearm was at the top of her thigh, and both tried to ignore the unintentional grace to her sex.

Despite the pain, despite the adrenaline, Eirene felt her breath quicken a bit and a burn in between her legs.

"Tell me if it bothers you," Edmund said just behind her ear, raising even more goosebumps.

"Yes," she breathed, huskily. She realized the sound she had emitted and quickly cleared her throat as she turned pink.

Edmund would have been a liar if he said he didn't enjoy the idea of having her so close to him, to be able to hug her. He would have been a liar, too, if he said he didn't notice the change in her demeanor. While he wouldn't lie, he had to ignore it. Now was not the time, she was vulnerable and wounded.

"What of the rest?" she said quickly, trying to change the topic and think of something else.

"They've gone—they have a plan," he answered, still breathing down her neck.

"Where?"

The griffin flew off and ascended quickly unto the sky, leaving her question unanswered. As Eirene felt Edmund's body hold on to her with all his strength without hurting her, the griffin picked up speed.

"Don't worry," Edmund said, through the wind colliding against their cheeks, "I know where they are."

Breathing out and looking out to the horizon, she realized that for the first time in Aslan knew how long, she finally felt safe.