CASPIAN LOOKS so completely lost I almost feel bad.

Almost.

I think it was quite obviously implied by Professor Cornelius that the horn of the Old Queen Susan has magic. And if he didn't use the blasted thing to knock me unconscious I would have told him so before he blew it without a second thought.

"I thought I was in danger," Caspian says defensively. "Is that not what it's for?"

"This," Trufflehunter says, gazing down at the item in awe, "is believed to have the power to summon the Old Kings and Queens."

"And you blew it the moment you saw a blasted dwarf," I mutter, earning myself a sharp frown from him.

"He had a sword," the prince argued, waving a hand at the dwarf sitting on the other side of the table. "How was I to know he wouldn't kill me?"

Nikabrik scoffed. "I was," he muttered.

"No matter," the badger interjects, fixing his friend with a pointed look before turning back to Caspian. "I assume we will need all the help we can get in the coming battle."

The prince nods. "Yes," he agrees. "How do you propose we gather the others?"

"The horn," he replies. "All Narnians know its call. A council will be held at Dancing Lawn tonight. Although, the sound only travels so far. Not much past the edges of the wood, I presume. Definitely not across the river. Word will travel — not as quickly as it used to, but we must hope it's enough."

I know his gaze will fall on me even before it does.

"Sef–"

Immediately, I protest. "Caspian–"

"Sefi, they have been waiting for this just as you have. They need to know their days of hiding are over, and there is a battle to be fought. Someone must tell them."

"I'm supposed to protect you," I argue. "Cornelius asked me to. You need to survive so you can save us like you promised."

Caspian sets his jaw with a sigh. "That is an order, Arryn. I'm sorry; I need you to do this."

Trufflehunter rests his paw on my hand, offering me a smile. "We will protect him."

I return the smile gratefully, realizing how lucky we are to have befriended such a kind soul. "And I'll keep an eye out for your friend."

━━━༻❁༺━━━

The day is clear and bright, the winds strong enough to carry me to the edges of Narnia and back. It is a perfect, beautiful day for flying. Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of enjoying it.

Caspian with his two new companions has set off through the woods to evade the men Miraz has no doubt sent to capture him. I left our refuge in the little tree stump cottage as soon as I could. Trufflehunter stuffed me full of food and ensured I know the location of Dancing Lawn before allowing me to take off, promising once more to look after the prince for me.

That was just under three hours ago. I covered a lot of ground since then: past the edges of the Shuddering Woods, along the western mountains and north to the wood around Miraz's castle. From there, I flew east, where the trees are sparse from the Telmarines' "progress." Though where there are trees, there will be Narnians in hiding.

And so I make my voice heard, shouting about Queen Susan of Old's magic horn and a gathering at Dancing Lawn. Caspian needs an army at his back if he's to defeat his uncle.

At the Lost Rocks, I went north, where there are tree groves until the Great River marking the edge of Ettinsmoor splits the earth. I didn't cross the river, as the other side is a land of cold mountains and moors inhabited by hostile giants few in number. Instead, I followed the river further east to the wood in the Northern Marsh where the Parliament of Owls converges after nightfall.

Now, I ride the headwinds, allowing my wings a brief reprieve from the long journey. The strong winds carry me south to the ruins of Cair Paravel: what was once the great castle of the Kings and Queens of Old during the Golden Age. Now, after the Telmarines, it is nothing but overgrown ruins.

Though I can hardly deny the beauty of it as I fly overhead. My heart catches in my chest, as if I'm connected by an invisible tether to this ancient place. My desire to fly lower and explore the Great River Delta almost clouds my logic.

I can't stop. Narnia needs all the soldiers it can get. And so I settle with appreciating the view before the wind can carry me onward to the grove at Rush River.

One day, I think, gazing longingly at the azure waves and golden sand. One day, when this is over, I will return.

As if drawn by some force of magic, my eyes fall on a strip of beach where four figures are gathered. Or, rather, are running.

Toward a rowboat, I realize curiously. I sharpen my eyesight, recognizing the rowboat's occupants as two Telmarine guards and a dwarf. Without hesitation, I pull my wings in and fall into a tight dive.

I fall fast; the wind coursing sharply through my feathers. One of the figures on the beach shouts something I can't make out over my own roaring blood and the wind. The Telmarines throw the bound dwarf into the water and a moment later I'm upon them.

I slice my talons across the closest guard's throat and dive straight into the water after the dwarf, inhaling a deep breath and shifting into a mermaid a moment before I hit the water. Secondary eyelids slide over my eyes when I open them, finding the dwarf struggling at the bottom of the channel.

I kick my tail, swimming toward him as I hear two splashes travel through the water. Ears popping from the pressure, I loop my arms under his armpits and use my tail to propel us to the surface. I look up at the rowboat's silhouette to ensure no movement comes from it, and to my surprise, I resurface next to two dead guards — one with an arrow in his neck — and a dark-haired boy hauling the boat back to shore by its rope. He glances at me long enough to allow me to note the confusion and curiosity in his eyes before I look away.

Though the dwarf shows little signs of movement and breathing due to his bindings, I can feel his heart beating steadily. Thank goodness.

I swim quickly to the shore, where I saw what I now realize must be four humans. There's splashing in the water behind me; it sounds like one of them coming to help. My long tail allows me to reach the beach rather quickly, leaving the boy in the water with the rowboat. Another man appears at my side, wading through the water to reach me.

"Here," he says, a strange accent coating his words. "Let me help."

He assists the unsteady dwarf through the shallow water to the dry sand. I stay where I am in the surf, catching my breath and taking in the strange group of humans in curiosity.

Two of them are female. The older girl has dark hair and fair, freckled skin. A beautiful quiver of arrows with red fletching rests on her back, a bow held confidently in one hand. She wears a long purple dress and looks as if she's the sensible one and knows it. The other girl looks like the youngest of them all. She has straight brown hair and a soft, innocent face. She wears a red dress and a belt to which a small dagger and glass cordial are secured to. The man who helped the dwarf onto the beach has light hair and looks a few years older than the eldest girl, as he's quite filled out and has a strong air of authority about him.

Once up the beach, the dwarf collapses on the sand in exhaustion. The younger girl kneels next to him while the man accepts an ornate, sheathed sword from the archer. I notice a second, almost identical one, resting in the sand as well.

The other male, who's finally dragged the rowboat ashore, has slightly curly black hair with warm brown eyes and a few light freckles across his face. He wears a loose, blue velvet tunic that's plastered to his body from the water.

My breath catches in my throat in shock when he almost immediately turns around, his eyes falling on me. I stare back, lips parted in confusion when he begins to unbutton his blue tunic and hurry toward me, still in the water. He makes a point to look anywhere but my chest, even though my long hair covers anything that might make him blush.

"Here," he says, shrugging off the wet, velvet garment and handing it to me so he wears only a thin grey shirt.

I smile, a soft warmth flooding my chest as I accept it. "Thank you," I say, threading my arms through the sleeves and pulling it closed across my front. I trade my tail for legs and get to my feet. Thankfully, the tunic is large enough on me to provide decency. "I'm Arryn." I hold one hand out in a Telmarine greeting.

He grins and shakes my hand. "Edmund."

I freeze, realization dawning on me.

He frowns. "Something wrong?"

Edmund. "King Edmund?" I ask. "Of the Old Tales?"

"Old Tales?" His frown deepens, eyebrows drawing together. "Well, I suppose it's been a while since we've been here. Cair Paravel wasn't in ruins, then."

I can hardly believe what I'm hearing.

Eyes wide, I turn to the dwarf I recognize as Trumpkin, who's now recovered and, by the looks of it, has heard our conversation.

He shares my disbelief with equally wide eyes. "I guess that horn worked after all."

▬▬ι══════༻❁༺══════ι▬▬

author's note

I am so confused because there are two completely different maps linked to the prince caspian timeline: one from the book and one from the movie and neither seem to fit. because in the film, peter mentions crossing at 'river rush,' which makes sense according to the book's map, but not the movie's. also, the 'great river' isn't labelled on the movie map so I just made an educated guess lmao. and! based on the movie map, the Pevensies travel super far upriver only to go north and lowkey backtrack when they could've went straight west. so idk what's going on and which map to follow. I'm trying to use the movie's since my story follows that universe but yeah it's not easy lol

the next two chapters are full of arryn & edmund interacting and being cute so get excited!