Chapter 15: The Battle

King Rufus was a man of quick and sharp mind. In short order, the King's Army had been assembled and divided to man various posts at the castle walls. His eldest son, Prince Lune, a full-grown man of almost thirty, was to lead the charge out of the portcullis. He took the order with a kiss on his father's hand.

"As you command, Father."

The other elder Princes of Archenland were to lead several of the army's divisions and they accepted their duty without any fuss. However, the younger Princes, whose names were Rum and Rumil and who were only slightly older than Mallory, were ordered to stay put in the castle.

"But Father!" protested the elder, fair-haired one, Rum. "We're old enough to take one division. We really are!"

"Silence, Rum!" said King Rufus sternly. "You are still mere children. A child's place is not in the battlefield."

"Come on, Father!" said Rumil, the dark-haired half. "I promise we won't kill anyone on accident, or, or, lead the men away from Anvard, or anything!"

King Rufus laughed to see their antics. Even Mallory couldn't help a smile. "No, I am sure that you are not daft enough to do that, but it is not safe, do you hear me? You may have done well with the sword or the bow during practices, but I tell you, the real battle is far more difficult, and more dangerous. Please, I beg you, stay in the castle with your sister Rumilia, and be good children."

Suddenly, a small girl slightly younger than Mallory rushed out from behind a stone chair and hugged King Rufus's leg. "Oh, Father, don't go!"

The whole hall burst into merry laughter and Rum and Rumil turned red. "Rumilia!" they hissed angrily together.

"Oho, Rumilia, don't worry, I won't be going anywhere. I'll be here, right here in Anvard."

"Then - " Rumilia wiped her eyes, " – what's all this talk about a battle?"

"An enemy is coming to conquer Anvard," the King said as gently as possible. "So we can't let them take it, can we? We are going to fight back. Can you do me a favour, my dear Rumilia?"

"What is it, Father?"

"Remain in the castle and make sure that your brothers," he winked at them, "don't try anything funny." Rumilia giggled as the boys groaned. "Yes, Father."

"What about me, Your Majesty?" said Mallory. She was as anxious as the men in the hall. Stirring restlessly in her heart ever since the council had begun was a yearning to take part in the battle.

"You?" King Rufus gave her an odd look. Then it dawned on Mallory that he had completely forgotten about her. She was ill-pleased with that revelation, but she couldn't blame him for he had more important matters to acknowledge than her.

The hall, it seemed, was simply astounded to hear a girl speak, for Rumilia was the only princess in the court. She could feel Prince Lune's sharp gaze, as keen as his father's, sizing her up and wondering who she was and what was she doing at the King's side.

"You are a mere girl," he said simply. Mallory felt her cheeks burn, but she remembered Aslan's calm even in the presence of the Witch and she felt ashamed and tried to be as composed as well. "Yes, I am."

"Then you have no place in battle," said King Rufus.

"But I can fight! Look here, is this not a sword around my waist?"

The men erupted in laughter and Prince Lune smiled. King Rufus, however, frowned and said, "You are to stay here with Prince Rum, Prince Rumil and Princess Rumilia. After the battle, you may stay here for a few days if you wish, but after that, we will escort you to Narnia."

Mallory was extremely crestfallen, but the King's words were law. She curtsied a bit and said a little stiffly, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Then the council was over and the men went to fetch their armour and weapons and get ready to meet the Witch's army. A thin, but rather tired-looking woman who was Rum, Rumil and Rumilia's governess led them and Mallory as well to the children's bedchamber, where they were to wait until the fight was done with.

"Not even a good view of the castle gates!" exclaimed Rumil, a distasteful tinge on his words. He let go of the thin, flowery curtains and leapt onto the divan where Rumilia was sitting obediently, reading a book.

"Who are you?" asked Rum, who was standing by the window. His arms were folded in a way that was probably meant to show his authority as a prince.

"I'm Mallory," she answered.

"Hello! I'm Rumilia!" said the little princess. "Come and sit over here!"

Mallory shook her head. Somehow, she felt a bit awkward about being in the same room with princes and a princess. This sort of feeling comes when one isn't a member of the royalty.

"Oh, shucks! This is boring! Let's sneak out, Rum!" said Rumil.

Rum gave him a delighted look. "Come on then!"

"Oh, don't do this, you two!" said Rumilia, wringing her hands. "What will Father say? Oh, what will he say?"

"I don't care at the moment," said Rum gleefully. "He can scold me all he want and smack my bottom but for now, I just can't be bothered. And luckily Nurse is asleep."

Rumil quickly made for the door and he was joined by Rum. They opened the door and Rumil ran out, but Rum stayed and looked at Mallory. "Are you going to come with us or do you want to play doll with Rumilia?"

"Don't go, Mallory!" said Rumilia, looking almost ready to cry. "Please don't! We're going to get into so much trouble if you do. And you heard Father. It's dangerous out there!"

"We'll be all right, Rumilia," said Mallory and hurried out the door with Rum without a second thought.

Rum led her down to the armoury which was next to the stables. Thankfully for them, there were no guards patrolling the corridors to catch them. "There usually are, but I suppose that everyone's busy fighting now."

At the armoury, Rumil was already trying on the few chain-mail and helmets and gauntlets and greaves that were left there. None of them fit for him because the armour was made for men much bigger and taller than him. "These are too – unngh – too big!"

"Forget those, Rumil!" said Rum as he picked up a long sword that was probably too heavy for him because he couldn't hold it up at all. Mallory spotted a short one and gave it to him. "Try this one."

He looked at her in horror. "No, I won't! That's a kid's sword, and I'm not going to use a miniature sword. Anyway, who are you to give me orders? And why can you have that fine-looking sword and not me?"

"Because it's light enough for me. And don't ask me why, because I haven't the foggiest idea."

In the end, they had all picked a sword that suited them (Rum still insisted on carrying a sword that looked manly enough for him even though it was quite heavy). Next, they went into the stable where Mallory found Snowmane and told him that they were going to fight as the boys looked at him, their mouths gaping in wonder.

Snowmane gave a loud neigh and stamped his hoofs. "Then let us go now! Victory, oh, sweet victory!" Mallory laughed and climbed him and stroked his soft mane.

"Oh boy, how I wish I had a unicorn like him to call my own," said Rumil enviously.

"This isn't just a unicorn, this is a Narnian Unicorn," said Mallory rather proudly and Snowmane shook his mane.

A loud, brash horn sounded, trembling the ground and the stable walls. "That's our call!" said Mallory and she spurred the Unicorn into action. The boys quickly grabbed a gelding each without bothering to saddle them and went after her.

There was already a fierce battle at the portcullis by the time Mallory reached there. Snowmane entered the battle fearlessly, pointing its horn forward and stabbed a Minoboar right in the chest. "Excellent, Snowmane!" shouted Mallory and she unsheathed her sword in a rush of adrenaline and deftly brought a Ghoul down. Everything happened so fast; you couldn't keep track of the time quite well when you're busy trying to stay alive, but Mallory soon realised that while it was fun and exciting to be actually a part of the battle; when she saw the whole extent of the grisly scene that stretched all the way from the portcullis to the valley below and saw how quickly men were being taken out by the Witch's ghastly army only did the fear set in upon her. The Witch's men spared no mercy for anyone. They did not fear the King, nor any Prince for that matter. Down in the valley below Anvard, Mallory could make out the gleaming armour and bright red cloaks of the King and the Princes trying their best to drive the enemy back, but their ranks were broken. Snowmane spotted the dire situation and instantly brought Mallory to the scene.

"What? Where are you going, Snowmane?" she yelled as she avoided a narrow swing of a club and slashed furiously at an especially hideous-looking Ogre. The Ogre staggered back but he was not to be taken out easily. He swung his club with ungodly might at Snowmane. The Unicorn screamed with fear and dodged, but he lost his footing and fell, throwing Mallory out of her seat and right at the feet of the angry Ogre. It aimed another blow at her, which she just only missed, and she got to her feet and climbed onto the club which was still on the ground, and while the Ogre swung it wildly to shake her off, somehow, she managed to stick her sword into the one of the Ogre's eyes and the next thing she knew, the Ogre had fallen and she was wiping her blade on the grass. The sight of the Ogre's blood and bits of his eye upset her stomach, but she was determined not to vomit.

"My lady," said Snowmane shakily and nosed her shoulder. "Come – King – trouble." Mallory turned and saw that King Rufus was indeed in trouble. He was being attacked furiously by three Minotaurs that were not only strong but also swift and deft with their swords. One of them carried a mace and another had a club.

Mallory got onto Snowmane's back and clung to him. "Take me there."

Snowmane obeyed, but because he had fallen earlier, he couldn't gallop, but Mallory didn't mind. He was hurt: she wasn't even supposed to ride on him, but she knew the pride of a Unicorn. Snowmane would rather die charging against an enemy than lay there uselessly like a dumb horse.

His legs shook unsteadily when they were only a few feet away. Mallory whispered encouragements into his ear, but she knew, as the hot tears fell from her eyes, that he really couldn't go any further. But he still tried. "Stop, Snowmane, stop!" she said at last. "Don't do it! You're injured! I order you to stop!"

At that Snowmane fell to his legs and Mallory got off him and rushed to see if he was all right. He wasn't. His breathing was heavy and laboured and his sweat was cold. "Oh, Snowmane! I can't bear to lose you!" she kissed his nose and threw her arms around his neck.

"Go, my lady, go. I'll be – all – right."

"Snowmane!"

"Go!"

Mallory went and arrived just in time to stop a sword from meeting the King's body. All at once, the three Minotaurs' attentions were focused on her. They recognised her and remembered her from when she had killed their brethren earlier, and they were angry and they roared with all their might and rushed upon her. She blocked attacks and locked swords and counter-attacked and slashed and struck and dealt blows, but they were more difficult to defeat. Nevertheless, she was determined to defeat them, one way or another. Soon, she had brought two of them down. Mallory felt her strength ebbing away. The sword felt heavier, and every movement more reluctant and clumsy. Suddenly, the rough surface of a club hit the side of her head and the world went swam in little tiny bits and pieces of colour and dizziness and pain until it went mercifully black.