THE PEVENSIES quickly get to their feet, a muttered curse falling from Peter's lips as he buckles his sword belt on.

"I was hoping to wait until tomorrow before we started planning a war," Susan says dryly, brushing the dust from her dress as she follows her older brother out of the war room. I step back, allowing the three eldest siblings to exit in front of me before trailing behind with Lucy.

Head tilted, the young queen looks up at me with questioning blue eyes as we descend the carved stone staircase. "Where have you been?" She asks, her voice curious.

"Making arrows," I reply, stretching out my cramped fingers. "After three days of travel, I thought you'd all appreciate a break from me."

"I could've used a few more hours of peace," Edmund jokes over his shoulder.

"Oh, don't listen to him," Lucy declares, waving off her brother's teasing. "We've missed you. Will you be at the meeting?"

"Yes," I laugh. "We have to make sure these boys don't decide on anything too foolish, don't we?"

"Absolutely," Susan agrees, making Lucy giggle.

Peter shoots us all accusatory stares from his place at the front of the group. "Have some faith, would you," he mutters. "I have a plan."

I pray to Aslan and all the stars that Caspian will approve of it.

We reach the main chamber and head straight into the tunnel leading to the Stone Table. Hoofsteps and low voices echo against the stone walls, growing louder the closer we get to the end. I can hear more Narnians entering the tunnel behind us, claws and hooves and boots clopping and clicking against the ground. I grip the hilt of my sword tighter, nervous for the outcome of this meeting. I have a terrible feeling having two, teenage boys unwilling to compromise in the same room will not end well. Peter returned to Narnia expecting everything to be the same — to be the undisputed High King — and Caspian is not the sort of person to step down and take orders from someone else, especially now: fighting for his rightful place on the throne. There's bound to be friction between the two of them. I can only hope and pray that it won't be the cause of our downfall.

When we reach the Stone Table, the chamber is already full of chattering Narnians, waiting to hear whatever reason their prince has gathered them. Most of the faces in here I recognize from my days spent in the woods, learning from my many teachers and friends. One especially is Thrisnon, who's perched atop a large stone pedestal with his wings tucked in and his tail swishing through the air. The gryphon's sharp eyes come to rest on me, ears perking up in interest.

"Arryn," he greets merrily. "I'm glad to see you well."

A wide, excited grin forms on my face. "It's good to have you back, Thris."

From within the shadows of his perch, Luzleil and Aknen blink their bright, yellow eyes at me in greeting, their sleek, black bodies nearly indiscernible in the low light. I offer the two panthers a smile before following Edmund to the foot of one of the columns where he claims a spot on the stone steps. Lucy climbs atop the Stone Table, positioning herself near Trumpkin and Peter while Susan sits down next to Trufflehunter. I catch Caspian staring at her with a stupid half-smile on his face and wonder why I never taught him to flirt properly.

"Caspian is completely infatuated with your sister," I mutter.

Edmund's head shoots up. "What? No way." He watches the two of them closely for a moment, eyes widening when Susan finally looks over at the prince, meeting his gaze with a smile. "No way," he breathes.

I choke on my laughter and lean closer to Edmund. "Don't worry," I say reassuringly. "He probably won't do anything more than smile like an imbecile." I shake my head as I watch the prince do just that. I'm going to tease him about this forever.

"Is that Thrisnon you were talking to?" He whispers, looking at the gryphon across from us.

I nod. "Him and Idris helped teach me to fly."

Edmund's eyes scan the council of Narnian beasts, inquiring about each of them. While we wait for everyone else to gather I whisper their names to him, though there are a few dwarves and satyrs I've never met.

When the last of them enter, Caspian clears his throat, silencing all the quiet, side conversations. "Now that we are all here," he begins. "A Telmarine scout was spotted in the woods outside the How only a few minutes ago. We have to assume they now know our location." He pauses to allow them to take in the information, murmuring nervously amongst one another.

Peter takes this as his opportunity to step in. "It's only a matter of time. Miraz's men and war machines are on their way." He addresses each of the Narnians within the room, turning in a slow, deliberate circle. "That means those same men aren't protecting his castle."

Reepicheep pipes up, voicing what everyone is thinking. "What do you propose we do, your majesty?"

Caspian and Peter begin talking over each other, falling silent when they realize the mistake. The torches flicker and crackle while an intense staring match ensues. It hasn't even been thirty seconds and they're already disagreeing.

Caspian relents under the High King's intimidating presence, allowing him to continue with a tiny nod.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us."

"But that's crazy," Caspian protests. "No one has ever taken that castle."

Peter shrugs indifferently. "There's always a first time."

From his place behind the king, Trumpkin leans forward, seeming to like this idea. "We'll have the element of surprise."

"But we have the advantage here." Caspian's eyes are full of desperation, like he already knows the argument is lost.

Susan gets to her feet, coming to his aid. "If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely."

Caspian gives her a grateful look, the room filling with a thick, stuffy silence once again. And even though I can't see his face, I know for a fact the High King is glaring at his sister for taking the opposing side. I'm annoyed that he's being so arrogant and close-minded, but I can't help taking his side on this. Before I can voice my opinion, however, Trufflehunter stands up to support Caspian.

"I, for one, feel safer underground," he declares.

Peter sighs and turns to Caspian. "Look," he says, trying to approach the matter a little more level-headed. "I appreciate what you've done here, but this isn't a fortress...it's a tomb."

"Yes," Edmund agrees vehemently. "And if they're smart, the Telmarines will just wait and starve us out."

I nod, putting in my bit before I lose the chance. "We can't sustain an army of a thousand from down here, we'd have no way to maintain food and water stores — it's not feasible."

"We could collect nuts!" Pattertwig offers.

"Yes!" Reepicheep agrees sarcastically. "And throw them at the Telmarines!" He stares incredulously at the squirrel. "Shut up."

Pattertwig recoils from his sharp response, though doesn't seem upset about it for long. The mouse straightens his stance, returning to the situation at hand. "I think you know where I stand, sire."

I smile, glad to have the support of the fierce knight and his warriors. "It won't be easy," I add, waiting for the room's attention before continuing. "It will take them by surprise, but we all know what they're capable of."

The Narnians grumble and mutter their agreement. Everyone here has witnessed the Telmarines' ruthlessness firsthand. Miraz does not train his men to show any mercy.

With Edmund's reassuring presence next to me, I continue. "The castle works on a very tight schedule, and it's built to withstand a siege. There's one way in and out for our troops, and the inner courtyard is a bloodbath waiting to happen. We'll need to plan everything out very carefully — mistakes on a mission like this aren't an option. But...if we stay focused and coordinated, we can pull it off."

I know my words have undoubtedly just made everyone nervous, but there's no use keeping the harsh truth from them. This mission Peter is proposing is not without risks; Caspian and I know this better than anyone. And I would side with my friend if I wasn't positive this was doable. We have a better chance of winning this war bringing the fight to an unsuspecting, unprepared king than we do facing his machines and the entirety of his army, severely outnumbered.

Rainstone catches my eye and nods his approval, making me feel a little better about what I've said. Though I still avoid looking in Peter's direction for fear of him getting upset and starting an argument. To my relief, he doesn't sound any more pissed off when he addresses Glenstorm.

"If I get your troops in, can you handle the guards?"

He glances at Caspian for a moment, his expression solemn and unreadable. Tyrus, Rainstone and Starlock carefully watch the centaur beside them for his decision, and when he returns his attention to the High King, I already know what he's going to say.

"Or die trying, my liege." He bows his head respectfully to Peter, who copies the action.

"That's what I'm worried about."

I turn my head to her voice. Poor, young Lucy has been sitting through all of this, watching her brother argue and listening to talks of war, battle, and death. As the youngest of her siblings, it can't be easy for her.

Peter frowns and takes a step toward her. "Sorry?"

"Well, you're all acting like there're only two options," she points out. "Dying here...or dying there."

"I'm not sure you've really been listening, Lu." Peter actually seems annoyed with her. Although that doesn't surprise me, it doesn't make me want to hurl something at his irritating face any less.

"No," she insists hotly, "you're not listening. Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter?"

The blond-haired king stares hard at Lucy, causing Edmund to tense beside me. At this point, I'm not sure how many times Peter has silenced the room with his fury. Why is he such an ass?

"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough," he declares. Lucy — ever the brave, strong queen — remains unyielding beneath her brother's heated glare, staring after him as he marches back to the central chamber with an unimpressed expression mirroring Susan's.

Caspian casts me a brief, disheartened look before looking at the floor. "Council is dismissed," he announces to the Narnians. "Strategies will be determined tomorrow; prepare for a raid."

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author's note

yikes i did not want to end the chapter so soon but it kinda seemed like a perfect spot so i just went for it. also never really understood why they held a council at the stone table if there's literally a war room lol i guess the minotaurs couldn't fit up the stairs? idk

sorry for the wait on this chapter and i hope i didn't exaggerate peter's jerk attitude in this scene too much, but it is being viewed from arryn's perspective and she doesn't take any shit lmao honestly tho, rewatching it a dozen times while writing this chapter was getting me real mad at this boy lemme tell ya

fact time! in the scene where caspian is running from the telmarines and reepicheep makes his first appearance, the 'fern forest' they're in was created using about 18,000 potted ferns, which made it very difficult for the actors to run. so the crew covered the entire forest floor with potted plants and had to go in and fix them between takes because they'd constantly be falling over. apparently you can see some of the ceramic pots if you look hard enough. but yeah, it was actually cheaper to bring in all the ferns than to send the crew across poland to film in a real fern forest! go figure haha hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!