Corin definitely knows how to get around grownups. He's completely right about being able to keep quiet in the rear guard and remain unnoticed. As we move off towards Anvard, he shows me how to hold reins properly. If only I could find that one horse again. I'd show him a thing or two.

But we're crossing through the pass now, with wild wind blowing all about and chilling me to the bone. It's hard to believe that I did this unknowingly just a few days before. But I remember the piercing, sorrowful, beautiful eyes of that Lion, and I hold the reins a little more firmly. The word coincidence has all but faded from my vocabulary.

The line comes to a stop, with much jingling and snorting. A soft murmur begins, as airy as the wind, but dies down. I crane a little to see down to the plain, but it's no use. Corin glances my way. "There'll be plenty to see, once we start the charge."

The word charge reminds me of just how serious this is. He hasn't asked me to go a-maying with him, after all. We're about to fight a battle. My mouth instantly dries; simultaneously, my hands become slick with sweat.

Birds are passing over in swarms. I must look startled, for he says nonchalantly, "Preparing for a feast, they are."

I cringe.

The king's authoritative tenor echoes slightly as he gives final instructions to Lord Peridan. The blood courses through my skull so loudly that I can't make out a word of it.

"Get on, King Edmund," Corin grumbles. I stare at him, taken aback. How can he be so flippant? Is he actually excited by the thought of killing people? Is he crazy?

Am I –

My last thought is stolen by the wind and wafted far away as my horse begins to move, faster and faster. We're picking up speed as the Narnian army heads unswervingly toward Anvard's gate.

I'm sick at heart; I don't want to do this at all. I want to pull up and ride out of there as fast as I can. I don't want to fight. I don't want to die.

The Lion promised…

Corin's face is aglow. Mine is turning pale. The jarring motion of my horse's trot equals the hard thumping of my heart.

We're closing in. The large cats go leaping ahead. The giants are immediately behind. There's no turning back now.

I can see the surprise on the faces of the men holding the battering ram as the panthers and leopards plunge upon them, a crystal clear etching of utter surprise and terror. I remember that image the best. The next best one is the one of the mace coming my way that I caught on my shield, nearly breaking my arm. The horse is ducking and dodging and I can hardly hold on. I try to draw the sword that hangs at my side, only to entangle it in the reins as I do so. The horse makes one more frantic twist, my balance is completely unequal, and I fall.

"Boy, get up."

Warm fur brushes against me; whiskers tickle my face. For a brief moment, I think that the Lion has returned. But the voice that speaks is deep and bass, soft and low, and belongs to a lesser cat. I open my eyes and am confronted by a large, graying panther.

My voice is not steady. "Is it over?"

"Yes. How long would you have lain there, child? Was this your first fight?"

I need not answer that, nor have I time. Corin is there immediately, dragging me away and shouting, "Father, Father!" He takes me directly to King Lune, who is wearing a frown. It seems immensely misplaced on his visage. "Father, look!"

"Look at what?" his father asks. "A disobedient son covered in battle-marks! Hardly the sight for sore eyes! I'm sure I instructed you to do otherwise, not find new ways to wring your father's heart!"

Corin's mouth quivers into a wry smile, and the Narnian lords all chuckle. This is an old routine, one they are well acquainted with. King Lune cuffs his son playfully before turning his attention on me. "Well, now. Whom have we here?" he asks more of himself as he approaches.

A bear hug takes my breath away, as does the man-sized clap on my back. The King turns both myself and Corin to face the crowd, and speaks loudly. "Is anyone yet in doubt?"

There is much cheering, and much wiping of eyes. And for the first time ever, I feel as though I'm somewhere that I belong.