Edmund again

"King Edmund! 'Tis Sir Giles!"

I twisted about at Celer's shout. The Faun would not have called out like that in the middle of a battle unless he had excellent reason. Sir Giles Fox was with him and without being told Phillip dashed over to where they sheltered behind one of the rock formations.

"A band of about fifty Ogres broke free of the fight when Methalain died and they circled around over the hills to the southeast," the Fox said without preamble. He was so anxious that he shifted from paw to paw. "They're headed right to where Oreius awaits Queen Lucy with your brother."

"I told him to get Peter out of here!" I yelled uselessly, cold fear gripping my breast. Peter needed Lucy's cordial now.

"Your brother could go no further!" Giles said above the clash of battle. "Queen Susan is already heading that way with a brace of archers, but they aren't heavily enough armed to stand against so many Ogres."

Susan. Oh, Aslan...

I turned to Celer, confident he could deal with the remnants of the enemy troops."Take the Bears, give me the Cats, and I'll take the royal guard. Sound the alarm! Move! Giles, with me!" Celer dashed away. I leaned over towards my Horse's ear. "Can you make it, Phillip?"

"No," he said without hesitation, "ride Flisk."

"Help Celer. And be careful!" I ordered and freed myself of the saddle, dropping to the ground as Flisk came running over. We neither of us hesitated, but Flisk was taller and broader than Phillip and I'm afraid the Unicorn sacrificed a handful of mane as I swung onto his back. I leaned far over, reaching for Sir Giles, knowing pitched battle was no place for an animal his size. "Up!"

He jumped onto my hand and I scooped him up, holding him between my legs. By now I could hear the horns of the Centaurs and I saw the select troops of the royal guard break free of the battle to follow me. Celer's Fauns and Satyrs filled in the gaps automatically. For all his greater size than Phillip, Flisk was light of foot and swift as the wind and he moved through the remains of the battle with amazing ease. The royal guard, comprised mainly of Centaurs, Gryphons, Fauns, and Satyrs, fell in behind us, joined by Sharet and her big Cats.

"Show us where, Giles!" I cried.

"Straight back to the main camp on the clearest path," he responded loudly enough for Sharet and the lead Centaur to hear.

"Shall I wait for them?" asked Flisk, meaning the guards.

"No," I said firmly, thinking of my brother and sisters.

Flisk ran so quickly I had trouble seeing in front of me and I had to duck my head to breathe. The royal guard did their best to keep up, but few beings in Narnia can match a Unicorn for speed and finally the Gryphons rose high in the air to spot for the troop. Even Sharet fell behind, forced to dart between the rocks that Flisk jumped. I held Giles tightly, afraid of losing him and confident that Flisk would not let me fall. We tore past the racing archers, past Susan on a Horse, plunging through the tall grass. If I hadn't been so anxious I would have been exhilarated at the speed, but at that moment all I wanted was for the Unicorn to run faster still. I had seen people die before and I knew Peter had been close, very close, to death. I knew now what he had felt at Beruna, why he suffered from such horrible nightmares.

I refused to accept any possible outcomes of this nightmare but one.

"South!" shouted the Fox. "Look south!"

I saw them, the huge, ugly, brutish Ogres. None were as large as Methalain had been - he would never suffer a threat to his power, of that I was sure. Since size equaled authority with Ogres, I supposed we were in luck since most of the Ogres were no larger than Horses. There were a few exceptions in the ranks, but Methalain clearly was taking no chances and few of his followers rivaled his scale. They were spread out in a long, lumbering mass across the plain, all of them headed towards a small knot of Narnians. The largest and fastest of them were almost upon Oreius and his party.

"Set me down, Majesty," said Giles, knowing he would only hinder me from here on.

I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and Flisk slowed just long enough for me to safely drop him on a clump of thatch. He tumbled to a halt. With a burst of speed the Unicorn made up for those lost seconds and I tightened my legs as I drew my sword.

"Cut them off!" I shouted, and leaned to the right as Flisk angled towards the Narnians. Overhead I caught a glimpse of Gryphons diving down to attack from the sky. I could see everything with perfect clarity, every movement, every actor, and it was as if I could sense everything that needed to be done to protect my family. I raised my sword and shield and let lose a battle cry I swear they must have heard in Anvard.

"NARNIA!"

Flisk smashed into the Ogre soldiers midway through their ragged line. Head down, the Unicorn skewered the first Ogre on his indigo horn before I even had a chance to swing. I slid forward at the impact and almost tipped off, unused to battling bareback, but Flisk twisted and I righted myself. Right now the ground was not the place to be. We cut through the line and turned back upon them, distracting the nearest ones from the group of warriors around Peter.

They ran at me and Flisk and we charged again. I laid into them with sword and shield as Flisk slashed with his hooves and horn and teeth. It was very different from fighting atop Phillip, who takes no initiative besides the most obvious attacks and I missed the leverage a saddle gives. I also had to reach further to connect, though the height allowed me to use the sharpened bottom edge of my shield to maximum advantage.

I needed to grow taller.

The Gryphons swooped down with deadly accuracy, their shrill voices mingling with the screams of the startled Ogres. From the direction of the main camp I caught a glimpse of several Bulls and Dogs heading towards the band of Narnians protecting Peter. We had brought no Bulls to the battlefield, leaving them to guard the wounded, and I knew instantly that they had come as escort to my little sister. Lucy was here with Peter. From the other direction I heard Xati screaming orders for the archers to fall in so they could pick off the straggling Ogres. I directed Flisk with my knees to turn and head for Oreius.

The Unicorn was a formidable fighter. I had never fully realized his might or ferocity, but he was well suited to Peter because I know of nothing to match my brother on the field of battle. He carried me now into the thickest part of the struggle as I fought for my kingdom and family, knowing that for Peter's sake, for Narnia's sake, I dared not fail.