THE CASTLE is near silent.

After hours of hearing Lady Prunaprismia's agonized, labour-induced cries, the halls are quiet at last. It isn't long before General Glozelle marches past, his bootsteps echoing on the stone as he approaches a figure in the window. I follow without a sound, keeping hidden in the shadows.

"Lord Miraz."

Having waited all day for the news, the Telmarine acknowledges the general's presence without turning around — just a slight inclination of his head.

General Glozelle clears his throat before making the announcement. "You have a son."

My breathing stops. A son. For a moment, that's the only thought that manages to permeate my mind. Then comes another — much more urgent.

I must warn him.

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"Caspian."

I poke his shoulder harshly. "Caspian," I hiss his name urgently, trying to wake him without raising an alarm in the process. A servant girl should not be in the Prince's quarters at this hour.

The Prince, however, sleeps like an utter rock and I smack his shoulder repeatedly until his eyes open lazily, then narrow in disbelief.

"Sefi?"

He expected the professor.

"There's no time," I say, trying not to panic as I tug on his arm. "You have to go, come on."

"What? Why are you speaking with an accent?"

Imbecilic boy. Curse it.

I can hear the guards approaching. They'll be here in under a minute. We need to go now.

"Miraz had a son," I explain. "He has a successor. Now he needs a throne."

"Sef–"

Imbecile. "There are no stars tonight — Cornelius sent me to get you, he's saddling your horse."

That makes him sit up. "He is?"

"Yes!" I cry. "You have to leave now, they're coming to kill you!"

Finally, Caspian recognizes the danger he's in and shoots out of his bed. I throw a pair of boots at him and hurry to uncover the hidden passage in the back of his wardrobe.

I beckon for him to follow as he shrugs armour on over his cotton shirt. Caspian hurries after me, closing the wardrobe doors behind him and descending into the winding stairwell of the castle columns.

Not long after, I can hear the sound of Caspian's bedroom door being opened far above us. Thank goodness I managed to get this lazy log out of bed.

"Sef," Caspian calls quietly. "What happened to you?"

Happened to me? I analyze my appearance carefully, realizing with horror that in my hurry I'd forgotten to conceal the scars and bruises decorating my skin.

Curse it, this night is one catastrophe after another.

"I'm fine," is all I say in reply.

I can't reveal anything yet — not until I'm sure.

"You can tell me," he insists. "Please. You're not well."

I sigh. "You have to trust me, Caspian."

The prince falls silent. Only the noise of our rushed footsteps on the stone accompanies our descent.

He does trust me, I know that. We near grew up together with how much time he spent under the professor's tutelage.

"Are you coming with me?" He asks.

"No." My voice is quiet with the weight of the lie. "You must take refuge in the woods, they won't follow you there."

Caspian is not happy. I knew he wouldn't be. "It won't be safe for you or your father much longer. They'll know it was you who helped me."

"Don't worry about us."

"You know I can't do that."

I do.

We reach the ground level of the castle and exit the passage, sneaking quickly through the halls and across the courtyard to reach the stables. There, Cornelius waits with the prince's stallion saddled and his supplies ready.

The professor hurriedly gives Caspian a rushed explanation as he straps his sword on and mounts Destrier. When he holds up the horn that was once the prized possession of Queen Susan, both of us are rendered breathless in shock.

"Blow this," Cornelius says, "in your time of greatest need, and help will come."

Caspian takes it and secures it on his person.

Then I hear the guards.

"Father," I say, the urgency in my voice conveying the warning.

Cornelius cuts the farewell short, urging the prince to leave before the opportunity is lost.

Caspian turns around once more before taking off through the courtyard to the open gate.

"Follow him," Cornelius advises. "Make sure no harm befalls him. He is our only hope."

I nod. "What about you?"

He smiles and strokes my dark hair lovingly. "I'll be fine, my dear."

Before the guards can find us, I pull the short, bearded man into a brief hug. Then I take a step back and close my eyes, drawing my focus and strength to a place deep in my mind. Immediately, I feel the change. My sore limbs protest, but I don't have time to let them heal. My senses sharpen, body lightening and shrinking to a fraction of its former size all in an instant. The wind buffets my dark feathers in warm drafts, wings beating against the pull of gravity.

Colourful fireworks shoot into the sky, exploding high over the castle as an announcement about Lady Prunaprismia's newborn son is made.

I don't look back as I rise away from the castle, the headwinds at my tail sending me through the night sky after Caspian. From my vantage, I see the guards exit the castle in pursuit. We did not give the prince the head start I hoped for.

Just as I advised him to, Caspian makes a straight line across the plains to the woods, a place actively avoided by the Telmarines for fear of Narnians and sentient trees who may not be as extinct as they believe them to be. I pray that superstition will keep them from following him.

The cavalry, led by General Glozelle, comes to an immediate halt at the tree line, their fear betraying them. The general addresses his men before wheeling his mount around, leading the charge into the woods.

This night is indeed cursed.

Determination settling in my heart, I alter the shape of my wings and feathers for close maneuverability and tuck them close so I fall into a steep dive. My talons lengthen to deadly points, my beak sharpening. I can't allow Caspian to be captured.

I plummet through a break in the treetops, flaring my wings and tail feathers to lurch my talons forward into the first guard's eyes. He topples from his saddle before he has time to scream and I'm gone before the others can land a sight on me, disappearing into the dense foliage to make another pass.

The scream of a horse and its rider echoes through wood followed by the crashing of undergrowth as they fall, unable to avoid the body of my first victim. The Telmarines start shouting in panic, turning their crossbows from Caspian to the trees. Good.

I bank low, hardly slowing my breakneck speed to dodge branches and bushes. The guards' arrows fly high, aimed at what they assume is an archer or typical aerial assailant. Thankfully, I am neither.

The Telmarine guards continue to fire at Caspian's racing figure, their arrows thudding into trees instead of the back of their target.

I take out one of the men in the back this time, soaring into his path and swiping my talons deftly across his throat. Eyes wide, he presses his hands to the gushing incision and rolls off his mount's back.

Quickly, I dive, arrows whistling past as the men lock me in their sights. I start weaving erratically, hoping to shake their aim and disappear once more. An opening in the tree foliage above catches my attention and I don't hesitate to shoot through it, gliding above the cover of leaves they can hardly see past.

A few blindly-shot arrows fly past, but the three Telmarines' focus is once again on Caspian, who charges forward on Destrier towards the Great River.

Realizing what little cover I have is about to disappear, I begin to climb. With only a sliver of moonlight to illuminate the sky, they won't be able to spot me. I'm no good to Caspian if I'm killed so soon in his journey, and I'm confident he'll lose them at the river. Guard horses are never familiar with their riders and will not readily swim across an ice-cold river when commanded. Even if they do, the hesitation from the unwilling animals will give the prince the opportunity he needs to lose his pursuers in the woods.

Destrier leaps fearlessly into the water, swimming them across just as General Glozelle and his men charge in after him. Their horses falter and back-step to avoid the river, neighing uneasily while Destrier gallops into the trees.

Go, Caspian. Run.

Desperate not to fail Lord Miraz, Glozelle forces his mount into the water. I tip into a dive, aiming for Caspian's path and following the noises of him crashing through the underbrush when I get close enough. Though it sounds as if he's being dragged.

I break through the foliage, finding Destrier galloping riderless through the woods.

Oh, no.

I wheel around in the air, turning to head back the way the horse came. Only a moment later, the prince comes into view, laying in the leaves surrounded by two dwarves and a badger.

Suddenly, I can hear the thunder of approaching hooves.

"Caspian!" I call out his name instinctually.

The prince whirls around, his gaze landing on me in a panic. His hand reaches for something as the Narnians protest. I slow my approach and see a flash of ivory, recognizing the item he swings at me as Queen Susan's horn before it painfully strikes my head and all my senses abandon me in a flash.

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author's note

hello hello and welcome to my latest and greatest!

i'm not very proud to say all it took was one look at skandar keynes in prince caspian for this fanfic to happen lol. lately i've been very committed to not publishing any new stories because let's face it i suck at updating lmao but this story and all I have planned for arryn and edmund is so ! exciting! I just had to publish it!

initially, this story was only available on wattpad (i still recommend viewing it there if you can because i put a lot of work into the aesthetics and it looks much better there) but i decided to release it on my other platforms because there are some people who don't have access to wattpad or prefer not to use it, so here's the first chapter of chimæra (finally)! I hope you all enjoyed it!