Disclaimer: I only own Vaslin, nothing more.
Summary: Sequel to Vaslin's Voice. Upon chasing the White Stag with the Kings and Queens, Vaslin finds himself thrown into the world the humans came from- and turned to one himself. After a year, they are called back to Narnia...only to find that things aren't as they'd been left. 1,300 years have passed and a new evil has taken over; the Telmarines.
A New Age
Prologue:
Narnian Time: 15 years post Vaslin's Voice
Another beautiful afternoon was upon the land of Narnia. The sun shone through the green trees, making one feel alive. It was hard to imagine that once, fifteen years ago, this land had been entirely covered in snow and ice for a whole century; hard to imagine that an evil had once ruled this land.
Four horses raced through this beautiful forest, each with a rider. A well aged wolf ran alongside the last of these horses. The riders were humans; not ordinary humans, but Kings and Queens. Specifically, they were High King Peter, High Queen Susan, Queen Lucy, and King Edmund. The wolf was an old friend of theirs since just before their rule. He went by Vaslin. The horse he ran beside was called Philip.
They were chasing a White Stag.
As they raced along after it, Philip- whom Edmund rode on- began to slow down. He came to a stop, letting the others continue without him. Vaslin respectfully stopped to wait for them.
"Are you alright, Philip?" Edmund asked the horse.
"I'm not as young as I once was." The chestnut colored stallion responded, panting.
"I know that feeling." The fifteen year old wolf agreed, stretching his limbs.
A loud neigh came from around the corner ahead of them.
"Come on, Ed." Susan came into sight. The other two were behind her.
"Just catching my breath." The black haired King took Philip's blame.
"Well, that's all we'll catch at this rate." His older sister joked.
"What did he say again, Susan?" Lucy asked pointedly.
"'You girls wait in the castle. I'll get the stag myself.'" Susan mocked lightly.
The two girls laughed, Peter smiling a little. Vaslin merely snorted, giving his pelt a shake. Edmund glanced up at something above him. Peter saw it too.
"What's this?" The High King dismounted his horse. "It seems familiar."
The other siblings did the same. The wolf turned to get a better look, curious.
"As if from a dream." Susan agreed.
"Or a dream of a dream." Lucy murmured.
What the five of them were looking at was an old lamppost. It was lit, the fire inside it burning to give off unneeded light. Vaslin wondered what it was doing there; he'd never seen it before.
"Spare Oom." The youngest Queen suddenly said.
"Spare Oom?" Vaslin echoed in confusion.
Lucy suddenly made a left, hurrying down the path. The others raced after her.
"Lucy!" Peter scolded.
"Not again." Susan sighed.
"Lu?"
"Come on!" She urged.
They started pushing through a thick patch of pines. The leaves began to turn into something much softer.
"These aren't branches." The High King grunted.
"They're coats." One of the girls said quietly.
Then the complaints came.
"Susan, you're on my foot!"
"Peter, move off!"
"Stop shoving."
"Stop it!"
As this was happening, Vaslin vaguely noticed that he seemed to be getting taller. His vision went from the back of the humans' legs up to the backs of their necks. He couldn't remember climbing onto his hind legs. He lost feeling of his tail too, but he didn't think too much of it.
"Am I getting taller?" He wondered aloud.
"It's just your imagination." Susan assured him. But she didn't turn to look. Then she shouted at someone else. "I'm not on your toe!"
Then, one by one, they each broke out from the thin space the coats had left them. They collapsed into the clearing with groans. Vaslin landed on some pale hands and knees that didn't look like his own furred limbs. His eyes narrowed in confusion and he looked up. The Kings and Queens were young again, looking just as how he'd met them fifteen years ago. And all four siblings were staring at him, jaws agape.
"What?" He asked, feeling his face heat up.
"Vaslin…" Lucy spoke, tilting her head in wonder. "You're human."
Suddenly, the door to Spare Oom opened and an elderly human with spectacles entered. He seemed mildly surprised at the sight before him.
"Oh, there you are." His voice was rather high pitched. He seemed to know the four siblings. "What were you all doing in the wardrobe?"
Vaslin forced himself to relax when the Kings and Queens exchanged knowing smiles.
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you, sir." Peter told him.
The man tossed the High King of Narnia a round item. They looked up at him with grins after they seemed to realize something; Vaslin felt rather confused and left out.
"Try me." The man challenged.
*X*
Narnian Time: 1,300 years after the disappearance of the Kings, Queens, and Vaslin
Prince Caspian X could hardly believe it when his professor woke him up that night with the news that Miraz had a son. He watched from the wardrobe as the Telmarines shot his bed to pieces in attempt to shoot him. That was when the real danger of the situation dawned on him.
"You must make for the woods." The professor told him, once they'd gathered the proper weapons and a horse.
"The woods?" Caspian asked, from atop the mount.
"They won't follow you there." Cornelius promised. He handed him something. "It has taken me many years to find this. Do not use it except at your greatest need."
The runaway prince tucked the item away. "Will I ever see you again?"
"I dearly hope so, my prince. There is so much more I meant to tell you." The older man told him sadly. "Everything you know is about to change."
"Close the drawbridge!" Someone shouted.
The horse anxiously shuffled its hooves.
"Now, go." Cornelius said, giving the horse a pat on the side.
And they did.
Caspian and the horse raced through the courtyard. Telmarines snapped alert at the sight of him, shouting orders to halt. He kept going, even stealing one's lance as he passed by him. He used it to whack another over as he went through the gates, lighting a fire in one of the torches. They- him and the horse- hurried across the bridge. As soon as they'd crossed it, the horse reared up, spooked by fireworks booming over the castle.
"A son! A son!" Someone cried. "Lady Prunaprismia has, this night, given Lord Miraz a son!"
Caspian turned back in time to see Telmarine soldiers begin making their way across the bridge. They were on horseback too. He urged his to take off again. He raced across the open plains, hearing them shouting behind him as they followed. Thankfully his horse was faster. He glanced back to see the gap between them had grown larger.
He entered the woods without a second thought.
He heard his pursuers come to a stop at the edge of the woods, one threatening them the rest of the night in a cell if they didn't continue. He heard them continue on after him. His professor had been wrong.
Caspian and his horse raced onto a hill, where he could see more trees, mountains, and the river. He directed the horse back into the trees, down towards the river's edge. They burst out onto the bank and plowed straight into the water. It stung the runaway prince's eyes, but it was the least of his concerns.
Towards the middle of the river, the horse began to slow down, whinnying as the water reached its chin. Caspian urged it on, glancing back to see the Telmarines splashing into the water behind him. One horse lost its balance and toppled over, its rider with it. The others left him.
Caspian and his horse continued on, back into the trees. He dared not glance behind him, knowing how close his pursuers were. The trees blurred past him. When he finally turned to see how far he was from the Telmarines, he grinned. That was until he turned forward and hit his face on a fallen tree. He fell from his horse, but one of his ankles was caught in a stirrup. The horse kept running, dragging him on the forest floor painfully. His leg felt like it was going to tear in two. He groaned painfully, grunting when he freed his leg and fell back to the ground. The horse kept running; it was soon gone.
After he caught his breath, the runaway prince sat up, being mindful of his injured leg. He thought he could hear the Telemarines's horses neighing in the distance as they got nearer. A sudden creaking to his right made him realize there was more than one danger to him. Two dwarves emerged from the roots of a large tree. He couldn't believe his eyes. Maybe I really am hallucinating now, he thought.
"He's seen us." One dwarf told the other.
The dwarves drew swords.
I hope this is a nightmare. Caspian glanced at his own sword, which lay a couple feet out of reach. The red dwarf advanced on him, aiming to kill. He scrambled back when the dwarf spotted something on the ground. The Telmarine prince followed his gaze to a horn. The horn ended in a lion's roaring head. He wondered if this was the horn Cornelius told him could bring back the Kings and Queens of old.
The dwarves exchanged glances. The Telmarine soldiers burst into view, galloping straight towards them.
"Take care of him." The red dwarf told the black dwarf, racing towards the oncoming men.
The black dwarf advanced on Caspian, who quickly grabbed the horn.
"No!" The dwarf shouted at him.
The runaway prince just managed to grab the horn and blow into it before something hit his head and he blacked out.
What he didn't know was that help was on the way.