Peter walked towards the courtyard where Miraz waited, his brother and wife at his side. Miraz stood from where he sat as Edmund held out Peter's sword.
"Good luck, Peter." Kari said, squeezing his hand for a moment. She made to step back, but Peter her pulled her forward and kissed her once more before the duel began. When he pulled away, Kari reached up to stroke his cheek for a moment, then stepped back to stand next to Edmund.
Peter and Miraz walked towards the center of the courtyard, swords and shields at the ready.
"There's still time to surrender." Miraz said.
"Then feel free." Peter replied.
"How many more must die for the throne?" Miraz asked, taunting him.
Kari stood with Edmund and poured a bit of her energy into Peter, hoping to help him remain calm.
"Just one." Peter said, lowering his visor before making the first move.
Kari and the others watched as Miraz and Peter clashed, the metal of their gear glistening in the sunlight. Their swords clashed against each other, their chainmail clinking against their armor. Miraz smacked Peter's helm with his shield, Peter slashed his sword along Miraz's armor- catching it against his chainmail. They stepped back, then lunged at each other again- this time Miraz's shield knocking Peter's helm loose.
"Peter!"
Kari watched in fear as Miraz narrowly missed Peter's throat with his sword, then as Peter ducked down and sliced through Miraz's leg before rolling passed him as Miraz lashed out at him. Her grip tightened on her staff when Miraz knocked Peter back, bringing his foot down on his shield as Peter cried out in pain.
"Peter, no..!"
Peter managed to knock Miraz over, then rolled under him as he fell and got to his feet. Just as Miraz scrambled to his, Peter looked up to see that Caspian and Susan were joining them.
"Does His Majesty need a respite?"
Peter looked at Miraz. "Five minutes?"
"Three!"
The two kings went their separate ways, Edmund and Kari rushing forward to help Peter. Edmund took his helm from him and Kari took a look at his arm.
"I think it's dislocated, Peter." Kari said, looking from him to Susan and Caspian. "Lucy?"
"She got through..." Susan said, looking to Caspian. "With a little help."
"Thanks." Peter managed, panting.
"Well, you were busy." Caspian replied, trying to lighten the mood ever so slightly.
"You better get up there, just in case." Peter said to Susan, gesturing to where the archers were stationed. "I don't expect the Telmarines to keep their word."
Susan hugged him for a moment, then went to join the archers as Peter raised his sword to the Narnians with a smile- earning himself a hearty cheer from his people.
Kari took some clean cloth and water to clean Peter's cuts and scrapes as her brother helped pull the shield from his armor so that Edmund could relocate his arm.
"What do you think happens back home if you die here?" Peter asked his brother. He looked up at him. "I know you've always been there and I never really- Ah!"
Edmund pushed his arm back into place, telling him to save it for later as he helped gather Peter's gear.
Peter stood, refusing his helm when Edmund offered it to him.
"Peter, wait." Kari stopped him a moment. "Miraz is planning something, I can sense it." She looked at him worriedly. "Please, be extra careful this time?"
Peter nodded, making his way back into the courtyard as their people cheered.
Again, Peter made the first move, lunging at Miraz with his sword and parrying his attacks. They began bashing at each other with their shields, swinging their swords blindly for a moment before they recovered. Peter somehow managed to get both his and Miraz's swords, leaving him with just a shield. They continued at it, going from shield bashing to throwing punches and shoving each other into the ruined columns. When Miraz managed to get ahold of his sword again, Peter narrowly blocked his bladed attacks with his vambraces and when he had an opening, he slammed his fist into Miraz's wounded leg- bringing him to his knees.
Miraz cried out in pain, calling for respite. Behind him, Edmund and the others were calling for Peter to put an end to him, to show no mercy, but Peter stepped back to give Miraz a moment. He started walking back towards where Edmund and Kari stood with the others, but Miraz tried to be sneaky and attack Peter from behind.
"Peter!"
"Look out!"
Peter turned, dodging the initial attack and grabbing the sword with his armored hands, twisting it as he spun around to drive the blade up and under Miraz's armor- piercing his lung.
Miraz gasped and fell to his knees as Peter pulled free the blade, standing poised and ready to strike him down.
"What's the matter boy?" Miraz taunted. "Too cowardly to take a life?"
Peter lowered the sword, glaring at him. "It's not mine to take." He turned and presented the sword to Caspian, waiting for him to take the sword from him. Once he had, he reached down to grab his own, then went to stand by his brother and wife.
Caspian stood, Miraz's blade raised, ready to take the life of his uncle.
"Perhaps I was wrong." Miraz said, looking at his nephew. "Maybe you do have the makings of a Telmarine king after all."
As Miraz bowed his head to accept his fate, Caspian cried out and drove the blade into a grassy patch peeking through the stone floor. When Miraz looked up at him, confused, Caspian said, "Not one like you."
Kari watched as Caspian stood, backing away from their uncle as he told him to keep his life, but that he was giving the Narnians back their kingdom. He turned and walked back towards where she and the others stood as the Narnians cheered. She hugged him, but then when Miraz grunted in pain and fell to the ground, dead, she knew something was wrong.
"Treachery!" one of the men cried out. "They shot him!"
Kari could see one of Susan's arrows lodged in his back, angled up in such a way that there was no possibility Susan could have shot him from her perch. "Liars..!"
"They murdered our king!"
"Peter!"
"Be ready!" Peter called, then turned when one of the remaining Telmarines tried to attack him from behind. He made quick work of him, then turned back to his people. "Go!"
Kari and everyone readied themselves for battle as the Telmarines started firing at them with the trebuchets before sending their cavalry forward. Behind them, Susan called out for the archers to be ready and Caspian and Glenstorm went back into the tomb to gather their troops and sound the charge.
Beside his wife and brother, Peter started counting down, then called out to his people to be ready. He watched with Kari and Edmund as the ground began to collapse beneath the Telmarines and a volley of arrows rained down upon them. Peter sounded the next charge for the troops above ground as Caspian and the troops with him circled around the Telmarines from behind- coming up from beneath.
The Second Battle of Beruna was now in full swing as Narnians and Telmarine lay waste to each other. Peter looked to Susan for a sign of Lucy, but there was none to be had so Peter sounded for the retreat back to the How. The trebuchets fired at the tomb, blocking off their escape and killing those who were trapped beneath the rubble as part of the structure collapsed. Having no other choice, the Narnians turned back towards the fields of Beruna and rejoined the battle once more in full force.
Kari looked around, seeing that they were vastly outnumbered and beginning to lose. The centaurs and fauns launched themselves against the shields of the Telmarines, then behind them, the trees were coming back to life and joining the fight. Kari looked to Peter as he said Lucy's name, smiling in relief that she had succeeded.
The Narnians cheered, their faith in victory renewed, and advanced upon their enemy- driving them back to the ford at Beruna. When they reached the bridge however, they saw Lucy standing on the other side, waiting. The Telmarine in charge looked back at the Narnians, then back to where Lucy stood- a great lion now at her side.
"Aslan..!"
The Telmarines sounded the charge and started making their way towards Lucy and Aslan, but Aslan roared and woke the spirit of the river. The spirit of the river lifted up the bridge, then slammed down on top of the Telmarines and washed many of them down stream while drowning several others- including the one who had taken charge upon Miraz's death.
As the bodies and wreckage washed away, the surviving Telmarines surrendered to the Narnians and the Pevensies, Caspian, and Kari made their way to where Aslan and Lucy waited. They took a knee, bowing to the great lion.
"Rise, kings and queens of Narnia."
The Pevensies and Kari all stood, but Caspian remained knelt.
"All of you." Aslan said, looking to him.
"I do not think I am ready."
Aslan smiled. "It is for exactly that reason that I know you are."
Caspian looked from the great lion to his sister and the others, standing when Kari nodded with a smile.