Lord Darius swept into the study in a flurry of black robes. He eyed the sorcerer, Laric, who stood facing the wall of bookshelves, with disdain.
"You promised me a queen." Darius ground his teeth as he spoke. "I don't see one." Laric slowly turned.
"I promised to bring the kings and queens of old back into Narnia. I've done that. You just have to go out and find them."
"You just be sure to have my potion ready when I get them here." Laric rolled his eyes when Darius finally left the room. Sitting down Laric pulled a gold chain out of his pocket. A large green amethyst was fastened to the chain. Laric started to chant while focusing on the amethyst. He began to feel light-headed as a green mist spilled out from the gem.
"Laric," a voice whispered. A face formed in the mist.
"Jadis." Laric answered.
"Are they here yet, Laric?"
"Yes my Lady. All four of them have returned. All is going as planned. Once Darius gives one of the queens the potion… She will fall in love and he will be able to control her."
"She must order the execution of Caspian. If the order comes from one of their beloved queens no narnian will oppose it."
"Yes, then Darius will be made king."
"And we will have him right where we want him." The mist was pulled back into the gem. Laric tucked it gently back into his pocket. He dare not put it around his neck. Jadis had forbidden it.
Down in the dungeon King Caspian looked at the five men around him and sighed. Darius had been executing his men one by one for days now. Was it days? Caspian didn't know anymore. He hated himself for eating the bread that was brought in but his stomach had overruled his stubbornness. He didn't know if Darius knew that the air vent in the dungeon led straight to the sorcerer's study. Did he want Caspian to hear his plans as a way to rub it in? Did he even care. Caspian had a feeling he wouldn't live to find out. But Peter and the others were here now. That had to change things. 'Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy.' He thought to himself. 'Be careful.'
Edmund sat down next to Alyssa on the soft ground. They had traveled for several hours before the sun finally began to set. They had made good time and Edmund could already see the mountains over the trees.
"We should be there by mid-day tomorrow." Peter said as he passed by. Edmund could tell Lucy and Peter were trying to give them some privacy as they sat on the far end of the little camp they had set up. Using rope and leather hides strung up on tree branches they had made a makeshift tent just big enough for the four of them to sleep in. A small fire cracked and popped a safe distance from the tent. Lucy and Peter were close to the tent opening sharing a basket of fruit. Edmund set down his own food basket and offered Alyssa a pear.
"Thanks." She smiled but her voice sounded a million miles away.
"Anything wrong?" It didn't occur to Edmund what a stupid question he has just asked until she looked right at him. Her eyes were full of tears that hadn't quite fallen. He put his hands on her cheeks and touched her forehead with his. His eyes caught something glinting in the moonlight. Dangling from Alyssa's neck was her mother's watch necklace. He pulled away but kept his hands on her. "You miss your dad."
"I never could stand for him to worry about me." She pulled away and took a bite out of the pear. "He has enough to worry about."
"You'll see him again. Remember what I told you about Narnia time?"
"I know… I just can't stop thinking about it." They both ate in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Alyssa started packing away what food was left while Edmund made sure the fire was put out.
Edmund took Alyssa's hand to lead her back to the tent. She pulled at him until he was right up against her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. She brought her face up and kissed his chin. Then she kissed his cheek. He wanted to kiss her lips but his mind screamed at him to hold back. Alyssa shifted her head trailing light kisses along his neck. He shuddered and nearly lost his footing. She lifted her head again and kissed his lips. Her touch was soft but Edmund pushed harder. He sucked on her bottom lip and she moaned. He quickly grew bolder and tried to part her lips with his tongue. Her mouth tasted sweet like the fruit they had just eaten. She returned his kiss with equal eagerness massaging his tongue with hers. Then she was pushing him away. Her eyes were wild and unfocused. She took a small step back but still held him.
"We need to stop." Edmund knew she was right but still wasn't very happy about it. "Are you mad?" He met her eyes and saw the fear there. It made him want to kick himself.
"Of course not." He said a little too loudly. She jumped back another step. "I'm not mad. I swear Alyssa I wouldn't want
you to do something you might regret." She let him pull her close again. "Let's get some sleep." They walked to the tent still holding each other.
The next afternoon found Alyssa feeling dizzy in the hot sun. It seemed the closer they got to the rocky terrain of the mountains, the dryer and hotter the air became. It was just a little bit more than she could handle. Alyssa had already shed the outer tunic of her dress and packed it away. Lucy had done the same on their first rest stop. Both girls had tied their hair up so it was off their necks.
The lush grass of the forest had given way to loose dirt and rocks. Peter had been right about reaching the mountains by mid-day. But they still had a ways to travel until they found Caspian and his men. Alyssa hadn't really taken the time to wonder how hard it would be to rescue them. Edmund however, had been worrying all day about the fight he knew was coming. Lucy had always been in the back of the battles they had fought. He knew she was good enough with a sword but it was different when fighting an entire army. And Alyssa… He didn't want the battle to touch her at all. But knowing her, she would run into the thick of it if she felt she had to. One look at Peter's face told him that he was thinking the exact same thing. Peter and Edmund were both so preoccupied with keeping the girls safe that they never saw what was coming their way.
Without warning seven giants came storming over the hill in front of them. Lucy, Peter, and Edmund quickly drew their swords and took a defensive position. Alyssa whipped her bow out and docked an arrow ready to fire. Behind the giants over forty men came running.
"Stay back!" Edmund shouted to Alyssa before he charged in. "Cover us from here!" Then he was off trailing just behind Peter. Alyssa stayed on her horse looking for good shots. One giant swung a mace that barely missed Lucy's head. The giant tried to swing again but Alyssa shot and arrow right through his eye. He fell backwards crushing three men as he went down. Lucy paused just long enough to send a look of relief to Alyssa. Peter was on his horse but Edmund got thrown off just as he reached the army. Edmund's red tunic stood out against the black clothing of the other men. Alyssa could see him flailing his sword. Peter was near him covering him from above. Alyssa got off four more shots taking men down with each one. She was taking deep breaths with each shot, keeping her mind focused.
Suddenly a brown blur passed in front of her face. She could feel a sharp wind pass by her face. She turned to her left and saw one of the giants throwing huge rocks her way. She took aim at him and shot off an arrow. Just as she did, the giant threw another rock. She felt a sharp pain in her chest and was knocked from her horse. She stood and tried to reach her bow but she felt another sharp pain in the back of her head. She went down again and saw black rush at her. The last thing she heard was Edmund screaming her name.