"Margret Rose. The time is coming." Aslan's voice rings in my ears. "Find the Prince. He needs your help. Trouble is coming. Your family needs you." He warns.
I feel the warmth on my chest and sit up gasping. The light was shining bright but starting to fade. I look around and see a sleeping Edmund next to me. This brings a small smile to my face and calms me down a little bit. It seems in the middle of the night we had moved so that my head was laying on his chest. I ran a hand through his hair and let out a content sigh.
I look just past him and see that Lucy had disappeared. I look around and see Peter was missing as well. That's when I remembered Aslan's words.
"Edmund," I say, shaking my fiance.
"Five more minutes." He mumbles, readjusting.
"Edmund," I repeat, shaking him harder.
"Come back to bed, darling." He says sneaking his arm around me and pulling me back to his chest. He lets out a content sigh and snuggles closer to me. I feel myself blush but let out an annoyed huff.
"Get up you lazy muk," I growl as I elbow him in the side. He groans in pain and releases me. "Oh shush. I didn't hit you that hard." I inform him as I stand up and gather my stuff.
"What's going on?" the the same asks groggily.
"I swear if I was woken up because you two are being… affectionate. I swear…" Trumpkin growls at us.
"Lucy and Peter are missing." I interrupt him, blushing.
"You could have led with that." Edmund informs me, rushing to grab his things, a slight blush still on his face as well. I roll my eyes and grab my swords and run down the path I believe they went.
I hear the others following closely behind me as we race down the path. The four of us reach a fork in the road and stop looking around in frustration.
"Shhh." Trumpkin hisses. "Listen." We all stay silent for a minute and hear what sounds like swords clashing together.
"Oh no," Edmund utters. The four of us book it down the left path as we hear the clagging get louder and louder. I stop suddenly.
"Your Majesty, what is it?" Trumpkin asks me, as he and the middle two Pevensies stop behind me. I turn to them and I feel the blood drain from my face.
"The noise stopped." I inform them grimly. This causes Susan to run head the rest of the way down the path. We come along a bend and hear two men talking.
"Peter!" Susan exclaims as we turn the corner. We were not expecting the sight we were met with. An admittedly attractive boy with long dark hair was pointing Peter's sword at said high king. Lucy looked startled and emerging from the woods was a plethora of Narnians. I stand between Edmund and Susan and look at the coming army in awe. Edmund, however, looked at them skeptically.
"Brillant." I mutter under my breath with glee. The man pointing Peter's sword looks at us and then down at the lion on the hilt of the sword.
"High King Peter?" He asks in astonishment, looking the blonde boy in the eyes.
"I believe you called," Peter says stubbornly. I roll my eyes at the comment. What's been with him lately?
"Well yes, " The man who must be Prince Caspian says in shock. He then looks Peter up and down. "I just thought you would be older." He states hesitantly.
"Well, if you would like, we can come back in a few years," Peter says, starting to leave. I make eye contact with Edmund and we both shake our heads. Caspian quickly stops the boy from leaving.
"No!" He shouts stopping the blonde boy. "No, that's alright. It's just…" He takes a look at all of us. "You're not exactly what I expected." He says giving one last glance to Susan before turning back to Peter. She smiles shyly and looks down. I raise an eyebrow at this and I reach for Susan's hand and give her an excited squeeze.
"Neither are you," Edmund informs the Prince, seeming to have missed the moment between the handsome stranger and his sister. Instead, his gaze was focused on the minotaur in front of him.
"A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes." A badger says, stepping forward.
"That is a very wise way of thinking." I praise him. He gives me a bright smile and I think he would be blushing if badgers could blush.
"We have anxiously been waiting for your return, my liege." A small mouse with a sword strapped to his hip and a feather cap on his head stepped forward. "Our hearts and swords are at your service." He says dropping in a low bow in front of the oldest Pevensie.
"Oh my gosh, he is so cute," Lucy whispers to Susan and me. However, the little mouse didn't like that.
"Who said that?" He yells, pulling out his sword and twisting around trying to figure out who mocked him.
"Sorry," Lucy says hesitantly. The mouse looked taken aback.
"Oh… Uh, your Majesty. With great respect, I do believe courageous, courteous, or chivalrous might better befit a knight of Narnia." He said, trying not to disrespect his queen.
"An old friend once told me that it is not the size of the warrior but their might that makes them stronger than the rest," I inform the mouse giving him a stern look.
"Your friend is very wise, your majesty." The mouse agrees.
"Well, at least we know someone can handle a blade." Peter says, eyeing Caspian from the sides of his eyes.
"Yes, indeed!" The mouse says proudly. "And I recently put it to good use acquiring weapons for your army." He looks at all of us almost waiting for our praise.
"Good," Peter states, drawing the attention to him. "Cause we are going to need every sword we can get." He says turning his whole attention to Caspian in an almost threatening way.
"Then you will probably be wanting yours back," Caspian says, not backing down.
"Ohh I like him," I whisper to Edmund. My fiance scoffs.
"Ya you like him now but I think Peter will be even more of a prick with him around," Edmund warns me. We turn back and look at the two of them having a staredown.
"If you two are done trying to establish dominance I believe we have people to lead," I inform them, taking the lead.
"Of course your majesty!" The badger answers me.
"Follow me, I will lead the way." The mouse says running ahead. I follow him with the badger by my side. I give the two older boys a pointed look. I see Caspian hand Peter, his sword who just scoffs in return. "I hear you are quite formidable with a sword, your Majesty. Rumored to even possibly be the best." The mouse says, gaining my attention.
"Well, so I've been told. However, my fiance will argue that he is." I tell him, letting out a small laugh.
"Fiance? You mean after all of these years you and king Edmund never married?" The mouse asks me confused. I feel a blush grow on my face.
"Reepicheep! That is not an appropriate question to ask her majesty." The badger scolds.
"It's all right. King Edmund and I love each other very much but the place where we are from frowns on people marrying at our age so we are waiting." I inform them. "Also it's nice to meet you Reepicheep. Or did you forget to inform us of your name noble mouse?" I quipped the rodent. He looked back horrified.
"Majesty, I am horrified. No, mortified that I have shown such disrespect as to not give you my name." The mouse scrambles.
"I jest." I say calming the small soldier. "I, however, don't believe I got your name wise Badger," I say turning to my other traveling companion.
"My name is Trufflehunter, my lady." He says, giving me a slight bow.
"Nice to meet you Sir Trufflehunter," I say, giving him a polite nod.
"Yes. I met Trufflehubter…" The mouse tells as he keeps leading the way to camp.
"He doesn't stop talking, does he?" I whisper to the badger.
"Never." He affirms me.
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The mouse went on and on for a while. At some point Trufflehunter had left us to catch up with Trumpkin who I learned lived with him and another dwarf. I started tuning Reepicheep out and looked at my surroundings. I look up ahead and see Peter and Caspian talking. Peter says something and then walks away leaving the Prince looking annoyed.
"Reepicheep," I call interrupting the rodent. He looks at me questioningly. "Why don't you go tell King Edmund about your ideas for battle strategy," I tell him, still looking at Caspian.
"Splendid idea, Your majesty." He tells me before he skerries off to my fiance. I watch the two of them interact for a minute before Edmund sends me a very ungrateful look. I smirk a little before I turn and head towards Caspian.
"Penny for your thoughts?" I ask gaining his attention.
"It's nothing, Your Majesty." He says, giving me an unconvincing smile.
"Maggie, please." I urge him, giving him an encouraging smile.
"Maggie." He says he's looking at me thankfully. He then turns and looks at where Peter was talking to Susan. "Is King Peter always like this?" He asks me, his voice sounding distant.
"A prick?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. This causes Caspian to let out a laugh. "Not always but more so as of late." I say stepping off so that we were walking again. The prince follows my lead.
"I don't think he likes me very much," Caspian says grimly.
"That's because he is threatened by you," I tell him, shrugging. He gives me a double-take.
"The High King threatened by me?" He asks in shock and disbelief. I let out a big laugh.
"Well it makes sense, doesn't it! You are a strong male that seems to be able to hold your own in a fight. Not only that but you obviously have some leadership skills." I tell him pointedly.
"Well, thank you. I appreciate that someone acknowledges the fact that I have ideas." Caspian says frustrated.
"To be fair Peter doesn't like to acknowledge anyone's ideas but his own. The key is you have to stand up to him." I stop and put a hand on his shoulder. "But if you need someone to talk to I'm here," I say to him seriously.
"Thank you, Maggie." He says, giving me a kind smile and squeezing my hand on his shoulder.
"Anytime. I'm glad to have another person to pass all of my Pevensie knowledge to." I laugh as he releases my hand. He smiles and starts to walk away. "Oh and Caspian," I called, causing him to turn around. "If you really want Peter to like you I would stop staring at Susan so blatantly. Or else you'll have both Peter and Edmund not liking you and trust me you want my fiance on your good side." I say before walking off and smirking at the blush on his face.
I walk down the path some more and feel someone come to stand next to me.
"What were you talking about with Caspian?" Peter asks me sternly.
"Hello, Pete." I say sarcastically. He looks at me deadpan.
"What were you talking about with him?" He asks me again more aggressively.
"Nothing, I was just introducing myself." I scoff at him.
"Ya well, I don't trust him," Peter says glaring in Caspian's direction.
"Lay off Pete. He is not that bad." I reprimanded him. Peter then looks at me weirdly.
"What did you say to him that caused him to blush that much?" Peter asks me in almost an accusing tone. This made me stop in my tracks.
"What are you insinuating?" I ask fuming. My hand itching to grab one of my swords.
"I'm not insinuating anything?" He says in a passive way. "But I want you to know that you and Edmund are both very important to me. I don't want to be put in the position where I have to pick between you." He says, giving me an intense look. I march forward so that we are almost nose to nose.
"Peter Gregory Pevensie," I growl in his face. "I love Edmund with everything in me and I don't appreciate you acting like I don't. Just because I am friends with a male that you are not related to and that has a difference of opinion from you doesn't mean I am or ever will be a cheater." I say staring him down. We only break apart when Lucy calls for us.
"Maggie! Peter! Look! It's the base." She squeals excitedly. I turn and look and see that across a large field was a building built into the side of a hill. I turn back to Peter and send him one last glare before following Lucy and putting an arm around her.
"Is everything alright?" She asks me, concerned.
"Men are stupid." I simply state. She looks at me to continue but when I don't she lets it go.
The rest of the walk was silent. As we approach I see the centaurs lining the walkway into the fort. They hold their swords up and make an archway for us to walk through. The four Pevensies and I walk forward taking our proper places as The Kings and Queens of Narnia. I feel bad that Caspian was left out but knew it was not time to fight about it.
It was time to lead our people.