Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, only my own characters and story line.

"I'm such an awful person! I can't believe I made her do this! Poor Abby! Poor, poor Abby!"

"What?" he asks, clueless as ever as King Edmund's head pops up a few meters away.

"I'm alive! I hope everyone else is too!" he shouts out as he sloshes over to us. I frown.

"Your Majesties, Abigail's missing!"

Chapter 10: Traps

Their eyes grow wide in shock as we all sit here in the tree sap, frozen. She's missing. Although I have been thinking this for the past five to ten minutes, saying it out loud just sounds so…wrong. She can't be missing! Because if she's missing then that means that the chance of us finding her is slim. All of us come out of our trances at the same time, staring, before we all begin shouting out her name.

"Abigail! Abigail! Abigail!" King Edmund shouts out as he sloshes his way around the pit.

"Abby! Abigail! Abigail Hussenock!" I scream as I frantically look around. I can't see anything though, due to the lack of light, which annoys me to no end. What if she's dead?! I begin to cry as I hear the High King shouting out her name. I look up at him sadly.

"Abby! Abigail! Abby!" the High King shouts as he swims about with one hand stuck in the tree sap and the other above his head, trying to stay afloat. If we weren't looking for my little, sister orphan then I probably would've been laughing my buttocks off at the site of him, but this is an imperative mission and if we don't find Abby then we're doomed! And not to mention the fact that Miss Fink will chop me up into little pieces and feed me to the ghouls if I get back to the orphanage without Abigail. Yes, that would not be a pretty sight. "Athalia! I found her!" King Edmund screams suddenly, bringing me out of my reverie. I wipe away my tears, ignoring the fact that I just smudged tree sap all over my face again as I swim over to them.

"How did you find her?" I question as I take her in my arms, hoping with all my heart that I don't start sinking with the weight.

"She was lying on the surface," he answers calmly, or as calmly as someone can in a situation like this. Did I mention that she's unconscious? Yes, just what you need at a time like this.

"Obviously she's too light to sink in this liquid," the High King adds on a few seconds later. I ignore him though and instead choose to focus on the other negative since there are no positives.

"Your Majesty, there must be somewhere safe where we can sit to be able to get out of this sap. Can you look around, please?" I ask the High King. I watch him curiously then as he begins moving around the edges, trying to find a ledge or something. I know the exact moment when he finds something for, even in this darkness, I can see a bright smile light up on his face.

"Athalia, Edmund, I found a place where we can rest for a bit," he tells me as he lifts himself up onto a rock. I can't help the faint smile that tugs at my lips as I swim, or slosh, my way over to him. I pass Abigail up to him and boost myself up before helping up King Edmund. See, it wasn't so bad bringing the High King. I laugh in my head. Please, if it wasn't for the High King then we wouldn't even be in this mess! I settle myself down onto the rock and tap my fingers on the surface impatiently; waiting for her to wake up, or at least move! What if she's not unconscious; what if she's dead?

"Alia?" I hear a little, soft voice whisper. I look down at Abby with a huge sigh of relief. Thank Aslan! I won't admit it, but there are a few thankful tears on my part.

"Abby! Are you okay? I'm sorry for running like that. I don't know what came over me!" I apologise as I wipe some hair away from her face, just glad that she's okay.

"What are you talking about? And where am I?" she asks me as she looks around in a daze. I furrow my eyebrows.

"We just fell into a trench full of tree sap. You were unconscious on top of it," I explain, confused.

"I don't remember that, I just remember running along after you and then nothing," she replies as she slowly sits up with help from King Edmund. How can she not remember that? Doesn't she remember the feeling of falling in thin air? Or the painful feeling of smacking onto the sap?

"She's been unconscious, Athalia. When you pass out you don't feel pain or remember anything. Most people are very confused once they wake up too, so it's completely normal for her to be questioning where she is and how she got here," the High King tells me. I raise an eyebrow. Really?

"How come?" I question dangerously; getting curious is not the best thing to do in a situation like this. He smiles a little as I move some more hair away from Abby's face.

"Because the reason you pass out in the first place is from a lack of oxygen to your brain and with that comes momentary memory loss. Since the whole reason she even passed out in the first place was from, what I assume to be, shock, then it's very likely that she won't remember what happened no matter how much she tries too," he explains. Oh great! Another know it all!

"How do you know that?" Abby inquires, finally coming back to reality. I sigh with relief. At least I don't need to talk to him anymore.

"I want to be a doctor when I leave school. I find medicine fascinating and take joy in saving people's lives; as most people do," he tells us with a sly smile.

"You must love being a king then." He chuckles at the comment and shrugs.

"I suppose so. It can get boring at times, though."

"How so?" Abby asks.

"I find that a lot of the time all I'm doing is sitting down on my throne and just listening to people's complaints about various things or asking a scribe to write down a new law to tell the citizens. There's no adventure; no fun and enjoyment. Not that I was expecting that, but I thought that if I was King then I'd at least get to go to a lot of battles and explore, but it has been quiet. Apparently, I'm good at what I do though, so that tends to make up for the boredom that I feel. Thank you, by the way, for allowing me – us – this opportunity to serve our country in the best way we know how." King Edmund wisely stays quiet during his brother's little speech, to which I'm thankful. I hear Abby "aww" quietly at his story while I just glare at him. Is he trying to soften us up? He lives in a castle, for crying out loud! Sympathy from me is very hard to come by, especially for him.

"Yes, you'd better thank us, Your Majesty, since you've completely destroyed our quest so far! I mean, seriously, who picks a door just because it has a monkey on it?" I reply angrily, my emotions finally deciding to make themselves known. I have to say, I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. The High King's response quickly answers that question.

"Excuse me? Well, I wasn't the one who completely ignored all the symbols because I'm in too much of a hurry to complete the mission. If you would've just let Abby sit down and take everything in, then she would've been able to understand the doors and we wouldn't have had to go with which one looked best!" Yep, definitely a bad thing. Alia, just be quiet. We don't need another figh –

"If I would've known that the writings and carvings were important then I would've let her study them! I thought they were just some old cave markings," I retort. Obviously, my word filter has stopped working today.

"Well, obviously you were wrong."

"I can't see into the future, so how was I supposed to know that –"

"ALIA!" Abigail screams out suddenly. I look down at her with a frustrated look before I catch myself. It's no good to get upset with Abigail for something that she didn't even do. I soften my face up and give her a faint smile.

"What's wrong?" I ask her. She frowns at me, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Please stop fighting with him! For my sake! This is supposed to be fun, remember? But all you've done so far is argue. Please, can we just get on with it! You're taking all the fun away from this adventure," she tells me with a sad smile. She looks down at her lap then while she fidgets with her fingers. Look at what you've done, Athalia! Fix it, now!

"I'm sorry, Abby. I guess I have been a little bit on edge ever since the door incident. Forgive me?" I apologise with a soft, reassuring smile. She smiles back lightly before leaning into my side and giving me a hug.

"I forgive you. Now, can we please try and figure out a way to get out of this trench?" she inquires. I nod once as I stand up carefully.

"Yes, let's g –"

"WAIT! What about Poelliate and Cauim?" King Edmund suddenly shouts out. My eyes widen in shock, suddenly realising that he's right. We're missing the guards. We were so focused on Abby that we completely forgot about the 2 other members of our tribe. "Poelliate! Cauim! Poelliate! Cauim! Poelliate! Cauim! Poelliate! Cauim!" we all shout out almost at once. As the minutes pass, we all begin to get more and more deflated. I suddenly hear Abby gasp after around ten minutes and look over to her with worry. That's not a good sign.

"Sire, Alia, King Edmund, look over there!" she shouts, her voice shaky. I glance over to where she's pointing before my heart sinks. The guard's legs are pointing out of the tree sap, their bodies and heads drowned in the tree sap.

"They're not alive, are they?" I ask in a soft voice. The High King sadly shakes his head, his eyes welling up with tears.

"No. There's nothing we can do now for them either. Once we get home, I'll make sure to give them a proper funeral. I don't know how I'm going to tell their families. They're going to be crushed." I feel my heart break into pieces as I think about those families; the families that have now lost a loved one. A few tears escape and trickle down my cheeks without my permission as I look at the lifeless bodies. Those poor creatures! "Come on, as much as I hate to say it, we need to get a move on." I nod before I look around the rest of the trench, my eyes trying to avoid that area at all costs. Since it's gotten a little bit lighter as we've been on this rock and we can now see pretty clearly – wait, how has it gotten lighter? I look around for the source of the light, but can't see any candles or anything. My eyes go up to the ceiling curiously and grow wide. There's a gaping hole in the roof of the trench that's letting in sun light. Oh, happy day! Now if only we can find a way to –

"Alia, look at the rocks above us. Do you think we can climb up them?" Abby questions quietly while looking up. I turn around to see what she's talking about before looking up myself. It takes me a few minutes, but I eventually see it. There are some very narrow, rock ledges pointing out of the stone wall. When you look closely at them, they look a little bit like large steps. The main problem is being able to get onto the first one. It's quite high and for me, personally, something that's high and narrow is not recommended. I guess you can say that, besides horses, something like that is my phobia. But since they seem to be the only way out, I'm just going to have to endure it. Great, just great!

"Good spotting, Abigail! Now we just have to work out a way to get up to the first one." It's dead quiet for a few minutes while everyone thinks over all our possible options. We could jump, but then that could turn out badly. Ooh, what if we try climbing up to the first one? Oh wait, there are no rocks that we could hold onto. What about –

"What if we hoist each other up?" the High King suggests. That will end so badly! What a horrible idea! What if someone gets dropped?

"What a great idea, Your Majesty!" Really? Is Abby not thinking? Maybe she's still feeling a little bit dizzy after her faint.

"Great idea? Abby, what if one of us falls?"

"Oh, Alia! It'll be fine! The High King can hoist us up, since he's tall and strong and with a small jump will be able to grab onto the edge of the rock. It'll work great!" I sigh.

"I suppose, are you okay about this though, Your Majesties?" I ask out of habit. Yes, since when do you care what they think? King Edmund smiles at me.

"I'm fine with that as long as my brother can be the one to lift us and not me." He raises a challenging eyebrow at his brother, trying to lighten the mood. I glance over to the High King just in time to see him crack a smile.

"I suggested the idea. Of course I'm okay with it!" he answers. I nod.

"Okay then, we'll do that," I agree rather regretfully.

"Sure, so who wants to go up first?" he asks with a clap as he stands up.

"Alia should probably go first, that way she can help King Edmund and I get up," Abby suggests while smiling at me. And who am I to say 'no' to that adorable face? I hate my life sometimes.

"Alright, let's get this over and done with," I say in a hurry. The sooner, the better. The King places his hands together right underneath the rock before motioning to his hands with his head.

"Put your right foot on my hands and I'll push you upwards. Try and stay straight and still until you're able to reach the ledge, then lean forward and grab onto it. I'll try and support you while you climb up to the top of the rock." There's no way I'm doing that.

"'Try and support me?' Sorry, Your Majesty, but I don't feel comfortable with this!" He sighs heavily.

"Please, just trust me for two minutes while we get out of this mess, then you can ignore me and hate me as much as you like. We just need to get out of here. I can't bear to look at the lifeless bodies of those two, good men. You must know that I won't let you fall." I shrug, but sadly give in to him. When did I become so weak?

"Fine, but don't let me fall," I warn mercilessly. Oh yes, there will be Tash to pay if he drops me.

"I won't let you fall, Athalia. Now please jump up." I take a deep breath in while he puts his hands down a little bit lower so that I'm able to boost my leg onto it. He pushes me up then and I can't help but feel nervous. I look down to make sure that he's paying attention to me only to notice him looking sideways at Abby instead.

"Why aren't you watching what you're doing?" I shout at him worriedly. He remains calm and answers in a soft, but frustrated voice.

"I'm trying to be a gentleman. Do you want me to look up your dress?" That idea makes me automatically start fuming and makes my skin crawl. Yuck!

"Don't you dare!" I scream at him as I look back up for the ledge. I hear King Edmund laugh out loud at my response and glare at the rock in front of me.

"And that's why I'm looking at Abby instead of you, now please just grab onto the ledge because you're really heavy." I narrow my eyes.

"Did you just call me fat?"

"What? No! I didn't say that, did I? I mean in general; you're heavy because of your height and age, that's normal, now please grab onto the ledge!" he says between gritted teeth. I can hear him getting puffed out as he holds me up. Thinking about it now, it probably doesn't help that this trench is extremely stuffy and hot. Yes, now I understand why his patience is being tested. Hmm, maybe we should've thought about this more before we decided to attempt it. Well, it is the High King's idea, what was I expecting? "Athalia! Grab onto the ledge! Don't hesitate! My arms are about to give way!" he screams at me, pulling me from my thoughts. Oh right, I'm supposed to be getting onto the rock. Whoops, silly me! I smirk in spite of myself. I lean forward then and reach out as much as I can. I'm just in reach of the ledge, thank Aslan for that, so I eagerly grab onto it in a death grip before reaching out with my other hand and doing the same. I can hear the King sigh with evident relief as I take some of the pressure off of his hands and arms. Now what do I do?

"Your Majesty? Could you please move a little bit more forward?" I ask politely. He does what I say and takes a step or two forward so that I'm practically next to the rock. "Now can you give me an extra boost up?" I feel him squat a little before he pushes me up harshly. I instantly scramble over the ledge and get right up to the wall. I look out over the trench in an effort to be brave. Noticing all the liquid and skeletons that lie below me though doesn't really help my situation. I shut my eyes tightly. Nope, this is definitely not fun!

"Alia! Help me up!" screams Abby for assistance. I take a deep breath in before moving across and leaning down over the edge. Someone kill me now! I grab onto the hand that she's holding up for me and, using all my strength, manage to hoist her up. "Thank you," she replies smartly as she collapses onto the stone floor. I smirk.

"You're welcome, Abigail," I answer her just before another conversation suddenly picks up. Abby and I laugh quietly as we listen to the brothers argue.

"No, don't put your foot there, Edmund! Ouch! You did that on purpose, didn't you?" King Edmund laughs a booming laugh.

"Of course I did! You're just so easy to annoy!" I can almost hear the glare in the High King's voice as he replies to his little brother.

"This is not funny! Golly, Edmund, just please ge – did you just fart?" I hear Edmund laugh some more as the High King begins to make gagging noises. "Edmund! Grab onto the edge! You're almost as bad as Athalia was!" I stop laughing at that last part and narrow my eyes instead. And Abigail wonders why I don't like him.

"Could you help another old chap up, please?" King Edmund asks suddenly as the top of his scruffy, blond hair appears. I laugh a little bit, my previous annoyance forgotten, as I walk forward and tug on his hand, pulling him up as quickly as is humanly possible.

"Thank you, Athalia," he says.

"That's okay. Now his Royal Majesty has to come up. This shall be funny," I whisper to them both as I go back against the wall. I can hear the High King take in a few deep breaths before I hear him jump up. His hands latch over the side of the rock and King Edmund and I immediately go over and help him up, even though all I really want to do is unlatch his fingers and watch him fall. Yes, that would be funny!

"Thanks for your help," he thanks us as he immediately sits down with an exhale of relief.

"No offence, Your Majesty, but can we please maybe get a move on instead of resting? This is putting me a little bit on edge," I ask as I look down again. Why did I look down? Why? I feel beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead as I think about how high up we are from the ground. I wonder if those skeletons got there from people falling off this ledge…I whimper slightly and try to get impossibly closer to the stone wall behind me. Please Aslan, don't let me fall!

"If you'd like to, then yes. May we please have a rest once we get to the top though? This has been a physically and emotionally exhausting day." I nod a yes to his question and carefully begin to shift my way along the wall. While trying to keep away from the very edge, I eagerly jump up to the next ledge. The ledges aren't that far apart and I find myself happily jumping from one to the other like a little grasshopper. There are seven ledges all up and once I reach the top one and discover an opening in the wall, I can't help but breathe out a loud sigh of relief. Finally! I immediately move in a little so that I'm not able to see the tree sap and skeletons that lie far below us. I look up at the hole that's pouring the sunlight into our little trench and shake my head. I don't think there's any way to get up there. How disappointing!

"I've found the entrance back into the cave systems. We'll find a place to rest our heads for the night or day or whatever time it is now," I tell Abby and the kings. I hear Abby's small cheer of delight from somewhere behind me, followed by King Edmund's low applaud from below her, followed by the High King's murmured noise from somewhere below him.

"Fantastic!" I hear Abby exclaim as she walks up behind me and hands me my sack and satchel. I smile at her and grab her hand in mine. I can tell that she's nervous since it looks as if there's no light in this cave again. The poor girl! At least with my phobia I only had to put up with it for a few minutes. But what about the horses, Alia? You had to ride from Cair Paravel to Caldron Pool. No! We shall never speak of those evil creatures again!

"How are you feeling?" I inquire as we begin to walk forward into the small, dark cave. She shudders at the sudden drop in temperature, but still manages to smile at me bleakly; at least I think she does; it's hard to tell in the pitch darkness.

"I'm alright. I am a little scared though, Athalia. You're not going to suddenly leave us are you?" I look down at her dumbfounded. Isn't she supposed to be scared of the dark cave, not of me suddenly leaving her? I stop and kneel down so that I'm facing her.

"What are you talking about? We've been waiting for an opportunity like this for ages! Why do you think I would want to leave?" I ask as I take both of her small hands in mine. She looks down, unsure.

"Because I thought you would get tired of me."

"Oh, Abby! I'd never leave you alone in a cave. I don't think anyone would want to leave such a beautiful, young lady alone with nowhere to go. Relax, this is fun, remember? An adventure! I'm not leaving you, especially not with him, and I'm most certainly not going to make you upset," I encourage with a smile. She nods just as King Edmund races up to us.

"Alright, Alia. That does make me feel better. Thank you." She gives me a hug then and I hug her back happily as King Edmund presently speaks up.

"So where are we going now?" I shrug.

"Wherever this cave leads us," I answer, smirking at him; not that he can actually see me.

"Sounds good. This really is an adventure, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is!" Abby joins in. I can hear the smile in her voice as she switches sides so that she is now walking beside the young King. She told me earlier that she prefers to walk between the two of us since she feels safer.

"Can you three please wait for me? I've still got two ledges left!" the High King's voice echoes throughout the empty space. Abby, King Edmund, and I all start giggling under our breaths as we continue to walk along.

"You have legs, don't you? Hurry up, my King," I say as we turn the first corner, only after bashing into the rock wall at the end of the straight I might add. I vaguely see Abby smirk at me in response to the new way of stating his title, but decide to ignore her. Technically, he is my king, since he rules over the country that I happen to live in. I shrug it off quickly and breathe in a deep, lungful of air. The first things we find when we turn the corner are lanterns, oddly enough, and, thankfully, they're lit. I pass one over to Abby who then passes it onto the High King, who only just decides to join us. Slow poke! "I reckon we should rest here for a while. Is everyone else in agreement?"

Abby, who's tired and couldn't care less where we rest, immediately throws down her sack and sits down. King Edmund collapses down next to her and lies back against the stone wall. The High King hesitates, but ends up sitting down on the dirty floor too. As for me, I'm only too happy to oblige with their final decision. I take a seat next to Abby and pull out the blanket that Miss Fink had insisted we bring. I cover both her and I with it as I pull out a small pillow. I figured it would be nicer to have something soft below our heads other than just rock and dirt. I can already hear snoring coming from next to Abby. Obviously, King Edmund is tired. I glance over to him quickly only to see that he's cuddled up to his sack. I chuckle before I look at the High King. I notice bluntly that he hasn't got anything but the clothes on his back. "Your Majesty? Don't you have a blanket or something in that sack of yours?" He looks up at me, palpably surprised that I'm even talking to him, and shakes his head.

"No, I didn't think to take that sort of stuff," he explains. I get curious now.

"What is in your sack then? It looks big enough to be able to hold a stable; figuratively speaking of course," I ask while sitting up against the stone work. I take a quick peek down to Abby only to find that she's already completely out of it as well. Obviously, the day and a bit has finally caught up to her. The King pulls my attention back to him as he clears his throat.

"I have all sorts of things in here. Clothes, food, drinks, Narnian crescents, a dagger, knife, bow and arrows, and a lot of miscellaneous stuff too, such as ink, quills, and parchments," he answers with a grin. "What's in yours?" I frown.

"A few spare dresses, a blanket, some water, a tiny pillow, a quill and ink, parchments, and a little bit of food."

"No weapons?" I look at him stupidly.

"Your Majesty, carrying weapons in a sack is a dangerous move. Instead, my weapons, if you haven't already noticed, are over my back and wrapped on a belt round my waist. I even have a dagger on my thigh in case of emergency," I reply. You would think the guards at the castle would've taught him a little bit better than that. How does he not know these basic rules?

"May I be so bold as to ask why you don't carry some of them in your sack?" Ahh, it's so obvious that he's new to this kind of stuff.

"Let me explain it to you by using an example. You're hiking through the forest when a group of bandits jump out at you. The first thing you do is drop your sack, since your first natural response would be to release anything that they might kill you over. So then the bandits grab your sack and find the weapons which they then continue to use against you and you'd have nothing to defend yourself with because you had all your weapons in your sack. Do you understand now how dangerous it can be to carry weapons in a loose bag? If you had any brains, you'd take all those weapons out and place them on your body."

"I do have Rhindon attached to a belt that I leave around my hip, but I suppose I see where you're coming from. I'm still learning a lot of tricks and tips when it comes to these kinds of things so I appreciate the advice." It's hard to stay annoyed with him when he says things like that.

"Of course you know where I'm coming from because it's general knowledge," I retaliate back badly. He grimaces and I can see him pulling the weapons out slowly. Perhaps I am being too harsh towards him? I don't let that thought take too much root before I curl up into a ball and fall asleep.

When I awaken, it's not because I choose to; in fact, that's far from the truth. The actual reason I wake up is because I get freezing cold water splashed, or should I say thrown, over my face and to say that I'm angry about it, would be an understatement.

"Oops! Sorry, Athalia. I didn't mean to do that!" Sure you didn't, High King. You just keep telling yourself that…

"That's okay. I don't mind being woken up by cold water being thrown on my face at all!" Sarcasm. Ah, you've got to love it!

"It was an accident, Alia. I saw him do it."

"I did too." I groan.

"Okay, fine then. Let us have something to eat and drink before we head off again." King Edmund's face, and Abby's for that matter, both lighten up considerably at the mention of food as the High King stands there looking apologetic for a few seconds before his entire demeanour changes. I hear his stomach grumble as he chuckles under his breath. I shake my head to rid myself of the thoughts as I turn to my sack and reach in to grab my food and water. I watch Abby do the same as me as King Edmund and the High King sit down opposite us. Just as I take out my ham and cheese sandwich, they take out a feast for a king...pun not intended. Honestly, who carries around a sack of fresh fruit, a container filled with a noodle salad, soup in another container, and another one of cooked bear meat with dipping sauce? No matter what we do, they're going to up us. Why did we agree to let them come along? Why? It does make me feel a little better though as I notice that some of their fruit has gone off due to the stuffiness and heat, but then I get jealous again as I notice the fact that they have spiced wine. You're testing me aren't you, Aslan? After eating our food and having a drink, we pack up and start heading off again. I hear Abby sigh after a few minutes though and turn to her. "What's wrong?" I ask her.

"This is sort of fun, I guess, but I'm a little bored of just walking around," she explains as she sighs again.

"Abby, would you mind telling me what kind of rock these walls are made of?" That does it. She instantly jumps into smart mode, forgetting all about her previous boredom.

"Well, by all the stalagmites and stalactites that are around and by the colour and texture of the rock itself, I'm going to say it's probably limestone, but, then again, it also looks like it could be a form of basalt or igneous rock which, if that's the case, would say that we're near a volcano. Hmm, I don't recall there being any volcanoes in this area though, so it must be limestone. But what if we are in a volcano? Then it would have to be igneous rock! But if we're in a volcano, then it could explode at any minute – with us in it! That's a worrying thought. I suppose it could be a form of metamorphic rock though, which would then suggest that it's slate. That's not very comforting to think of either though since slate tends to split easily, so let's just all agree that it's limestone," she explains quickly. She says it all so swiftly though, that I miss most of what she says. Something about limestone and rock and volcanoes? I hold back a laugh at her quick mouth as I hear something drop. I stop at the same time. It sounds kind of like a lever or chord being released.

"Um, Athalia. I think I just stepped on something. My foot just sunk into the ground."

"What?" I spin around, glaring at the little girl. This can't be good. I hear something whizz past me and look up in time to see a sharp, wood shard whoosh past my face.

"Whoops…" As soon as she lets the word out, wood shards are flying everywhere. Yes, whoops indeed! I look at the walls to see where the shards are coming out of, only to notice that all the shard outlets are up high. Great!

"Everyone get down so that you don't get hurt!" I yell as I push Abby and the two Kings down. I feel something sharp hit my arm before I have time to get down, but don't have it in me to care about it at the moment. Instead, I get down low too and we begin quickly crawling. Just because we're low though, doesn't mean that we don't get hit. After all, what comes up must come down. We come out of the mess after what feels like hours – but I'm sure it's only a few minutes. All four of us are breathing heavily and we eagerly flop down onto the dirt floor. It's now that I remember the feeling of being hit. I look at my right arm cautiously and groan as I see the blood pouring out of the open wound. I mumble to myself, irritated. Fantastic, just what we need. I open my sack and search around for a minute before pulling out a large scrap of fabric that Miss Fink had somehow sneakily put into it. "Abby, could you tie this around the cut on my arm please." It isn't a question, more like a command. Her eyebrows furrow together confusedly, before I show her. I see her face go green. She looks kind of sick.

"I can't do it, Athalia. There's so much blood. It's sordid!" I sigh.

"Abby, can you please speak in English?"

"Sordid means disgusting."

"Oh…well just do it."

"I can't!"

"Athalia, would you allow me to tie it up for you, since Abigail is so opposed to doing it?" the High King asks. I sigh again. We don't have any other choices…

"If you must." He smiles slightly at me before grabbing the cloth from my outstretched hand. He then continues to wrap it tightly around the gauging cut on my arm. I wince in pain before he smiles and pulls away from my arm.

"Done. That should stop the bleeding. Now, shall we go on, ladies…and Edmund?"

"Let's," Abby replies with a smirk in my direction, looking very well indeed if you ask me, as she walks on forward. I lock my jaw. That smirk says everything. She could've tied it. That little, conniving child!

And there we have it! Chapter 10! If you're enjoying the story please feel free to leave a review along with a fav and alert!

See you all next week!

- narnia and beareject fan 1 xoxo