A centaur came to you the following morning to check over your wound. You weren't quite ready for the day. You barely had yourself dressed – not that it mattered because you had to undress so your wound could be cleaned. Once she finished, you thanked her and finished getting ready.
Your first instinct was to find Caspian, but your horrifying attempt to tease him the night before halted you. You wanted nothing more than to forget it ever happened. Sadly, you lost too much sleep over it to simply push it out of your mind. You just hoped Caspian forgot. Sighing, you sought out Trufflehunter.
Avoiding Caspian didn't last long. He found you to tell you it was time to leave. He shifted his gaze away from you a few times but didn't mention your bad jokes. You were grateful. You had to admit that you felt gleeful to see Caspian was just as embarrassed if not more so. You'd need to put calling him king – your king no less – in your repertoire meant strictly for teasing him.
The walk to the How – as the Narnians called it – was longer than you expected, but beautiful. Most of it was through the forest, the sun filtering through the leaves in beams. When it opened up into a field of grassy hills, you paused. It was picturesque.
"That's it," Trufflehunter said. "That's Aslan's How."
A structure stood in the middle of the field with a few trees surrounding it. Vines and ivy grew up the walls of it and over the chunks of missing stone. The How didn't look like much to you, but it was better than having no coverage at all.
In front of it stood an odd formation of stone. Pillars still stood and there looked to be a floor of stone between them, but it was impossible to tell what once stood there.
As ancient as the How was, it was the most beautiful building you'd ever seen. It had character, a history to it. You wanted to know everything about its past.
Everyone walked inside to start preparations. Caspian and Glenstorm gave out tasks for everyone while you walked forward in the large room lit by flames.
In the center stood a cracked table, the Stone Table you heard about in Caspian's letters. On the wall directly behind it was a carving of Aslan's face. You couldn't take your eyes off of it. You were drawn to Him, to the Stone Table. You pressed your palm on the top of the table.
"Y/N."
You jerked your hand away and looked at Caspian who walked up to you. "What do you need?"
A guilty look came on his face. "You to stay here and help the Narnians who arrive throughout the day."
"Stay here? Where are you going?"
"Back to the Dancing Lawn. We're going to look for more help and hopefully the Kings and Queens if the horn worked as it should have."
"The reason I'm staying here doesn't have anything to do with my shoulder does it?"
"It's part of it."
You hardened your stare. "I'm perfectly capable of going with you. You can't protect me from everything, Caspian."
"I'm not saying you are unable to help. I want you to rest and staying here is the best idea for your shoulder. I would rather have you healthy for whatever Miraz has in store for us." Caspian sighed. "Please stay and help out here. Please."
It was difficult to concede, but you did for Caspian's sake. What he said was true. You would be of little help in the end if you couldn't heal up. Biting your tongue and staying put would be beneficial no matter how much you hated it.
"Thank you, Y/N," Caspian said, squeezing your good shoulder before leaving with Glenstorm, a minotaur, and a few other Narnians.
You did your task well while the prince was gone. Every new face that wandered into the How was given a role suited to their abilities. Some made weapons while others gathered food. There were plenty of things to be done and you made sure they were.
When new allies paused their arrivals, you checked your shoulder. As irritated as you were to be left behind, Caspian was still right. Your shoulder would not hold up if you had to fight at the Dancing Lawn. Caspian was always better at looking out for yourself than you were.
A horn alerted you mid-afternoon. You followed a group of centaurs outside, walking ahead while they lined up on both sides of the walkway. The Kings and Queens were back.
Four new people walked beside Caspian up the hill to the How: a tall blond male, a shorter dark-haired male, a female with chestnut brown hair, and the shortest of them was a young female with golden-brown hair. They looked so regal and much younger than you expected.
All five stopped near where you were standing. Caspian looked at you, something off in his eyes, while the centaurs raised their swords to create an archway into the How. The Kings and Queens started walking. Caspian didn't move.
You went to him, looping your arm through his. He was troubled and it bothered you. Once he decided to walk forward, you went with him. Your hold stayed firm to tell him you were going to be there.
Something gave you the impression he felt obsolete next to the Kings and Queens. Maybe it was the way he looked down when they walked forward or maybe it was the reason for the darkness that settled in his stares toward them, particularly the blond king, Peter. Maybe it was how wrong the discussion of what to do next went between the two males.
"It's only a matter of time. Miraz's men and war machines are on their way. That means those same men aren't protecting the castle." Peter's gaze crossed over the many gathered around the Stone Table.
"What do you propose we do, Sire?" Reepicheep asked.
Caspian and Peter spoke at the same time and stared at each other. Caspian backed down, bowing his head slightly. Your gaze fell on your friend and you watched him hide his irritation. His dark eyes shifted toward you.
"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us."
Caspian looked back at Peter. "No one has ever taken that castle."
"There's always a first time."
The air swirled with tension.
The dwarf that came with the Kings and Queens, Trumpkin, spoke up. "We'll have the element of surprise."
Caspian was exhausted and frustrated. He didn't hide it well. "But we have the advantage here."
"If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely," Susan, the brunette, said.
Caspian's attention fell on her and stayed longer than you were expecting. It didn't appear she noticed.
"I, for one, feel safer underground," said Trufflehunter.
Peter stepped closer to Caspian, taking the prince's attention off of his sister. You took a step forward in case the tension broke. "Look, I appreciate what you've done here, but this isn't a fortress. It's a tomb."
"Yes, and if the Telmarines are smart, they'll just starve us out," the younger brother, Edmund, said.
The squirrel from the night before said something about nuts, which caused Reepicheep to snap at him. Then the mouse looked to Peter. "I think you know where I stand on this, Sire."
Your gut churned horribly. The whole situation felt wrong. Something bad was going to happen. "We shouldn't do this." All eyes went to you. "The Telmarines… Miraz… You can't treat them like your enemies before. His is cunning and his people are loyal to him. They were willing to kill Caspian to give Miraz power… to give his newborn son power. Taking the castle will be detrimental to you and the rest of us." You hold your arms out at your sides. "I'm not okay with you putting any Narnian in harm's way."
"Then stay here and keep the ones who don't come safe," Peter said.
Clenching your fists, you glared at the High King. "You're making a terrible mistake, Your Majesty." With that, you left the room before something treasonous came out of your mouth.
You took refuge on the ledge outside the How. The breeze was soothing and muted the dread growing in the pit of your stomach.
What Peter suggested was idiotic. There was no easy way into the castle and if they did get in, it would be harder to get out. Narnians would die – you felt that in your bones. Caspian could be one of them because there was no way he'd sit back and wait for the Pevensies to do it. It frightened you. Losing Caspian wasn't something you were willing to do again. You closed your eyes and begged Aslan to keep him safe, to keep all of them safe.
"Y/N."
You jumped and turned to see a concerned Caspian walking out onto the ledge. "I didn't hear you coming."
"Sorry." He sat down next to you. His eyes scanned the horizon. "There's going to be a large group of us attacking the castle tonight. We're going to kill Miraz in hopes of stopping a war before it begins. We leave at nightfall."
"People… Narnians are going to die tonight, Caspian. I can feel it. You know that castle better than anyone and you know if you make it in, you might not make it out."
"I know… I know. I don't have power here."
You shook your head with a sad smile. "Oh, Caspian. You have so much power here. Peter was High King in their time. You are going to be king in ours. The Narnians gathered because of you. Don't let Peter control this task you've taken on for Narnia. He's here to help you. Instead, he's taking you on a suicide mission."
"What if I'm not meant to be king?"
"You were made to be a leader, to bring Narnians and Telmarines together. Who knows what other kingdoms you'll affect and gain for Narnia! You might not see it yet, but you're supposed to be a king."
Caspian sighed but didn't respond for a few minutes. "Please stay here tonight."
"I don't want to see a slaughter, Caspian. I'll stay with Lucy." You took his hand and held it tightly. "Come back here. Please. Come back alive or all of this was for nothing."
He pulled you into his arms and buried his face in your uninjured shoulder. Caspian nodded against you and your lip quivered.
Caspian pulled away and immediately wiped away the tears falling from your eyes. "Don't do that, Y/N. Please. I'll do everything I can to come back here."
"I-I… I can't lose you again."
The same moment his hand went to the back of your neck, he leaned forward to press a kiss into your hair. You had to tuck your lips between your teeth to stifle the sob that threatened to come out.
"You won't lose me."
If only you could believe it.