Narnia Ch.8

Prelude to Battle

While the Narnian camp was resting for the night, Miraz was planning his attack. In some way he had to strike at the Narnians harder since they attacked the castle and then came and took back their Queen right under his nose. He felt embarrassed and he knew the only way to get his image back is to take down these heathens and monsters. There was either a sneak attack of to just walk to the camp and do a blunt attack. He sat up all night with his generals and the other Lords to make out an attack plan. Due to tradition the Lords and the generals were more prone to the idea of attacking head on and not sneaking around then that was Miraz had to do. Miraz told his generals to get the troops ready for they will march in the morning. Miraz also had scouts go out and see what the Narnian camp had and where they are setting up. Miraz was going to take down these barbarians and his nephew was definitely not going to make it out of this war if he had anything to say about it.

Queen Susan went to sleep dreaming about a beautiful and gentle Caspian but that dream soon became a nightmare. Miraz replaced Caspian's face in her dream. He was taunting her and she remembered the pain that he inflicted on her. In her dream she cried out for Aslan to save her but he never came. Suddenly her nightmare changed back into a dream where she was in the woods and it was bright and homey. The trees were alive and moved so that Susan could see Aslan standing in the middle of the forest. Susan's eyes welled up with tears at seeing the royal lion. Susan ran to Aslan and buried her face in his mane. Aslan gave a good-hearted chuckle and nuzzled her right back. When she finally settled down they both sat on the ground facing each other.

"Susan, my daughter, you have been so brave through all of this. I am so proud of you."

"Oh Aslan, I don't understand. I called for you and you never came. There was so much pain and anguish but you never came, why?"

"My dear girl, I wish I could have done something but there are just something's I cannot do. I know it's hard to hear but there are some things I just can't explain. You have to understand that things happen for a reason and those reasons are not usually known right away but in time you will understand it all."

"I'm really not mad just disappointed. I thought that you would save me. You are supposed to come when we need you most. I needed you and you never came." Susan cried.

"That is because I knew there would be a time that you would need me more and I can only save you all once this time."

"I understand Aslan. I know you can't tell me everything but can you tell me if we are all going to survive this war against the Telmarines?"

"I can only tell you that if you have faith then all will turn out the way it should. There will be some rough times and even when you think all lost, good will come as long as you, your family, and Caspian have faith."

"Thank you Aslan. I do have one more question for you if you don't mind?"

"Anything for you my daughter."

"Do Caspian and I have a chance of having a future together?"

"All I can say is that in time you will have to make a choice and I hope you make the choice that is best for you. I only want you to be happy and after what happened with Miraz I will do anything to see to it that you are happy."

"Thank you Aslan. I guess that is all I needed to know. I am sorry I doubted you. I know there is a reason for everything but at the time I didn't want to believe there was a reason for such torture."

"Well just so you know this was as much of a lesson for your brothers and Caspian as it was for you."

"I hope to one day see the reason behind all of this."

"You will my dear, you will. Now I suggest you wake up. You have a lot of training to do before Miraz's army shows up and be aware that it will be sooner than you think."

"We will see you soon, right Aslan?"

"Yes my dear, soon."

Susan was suddenly pulled from her dream and woke up. At first she was disoriented but then she remembered and she immediately got up and dressed. She went out to the main area and got something to eat. She walked around the area, checking on the Narnians who were preparing weapons and armor and practicing with their weapons. As she was going around Caspian joined her.

"Good morning Susan."

"Good morning Caspian."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Sort of."

"Okay that doesn't sound too good. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well right now I don't really want to until I get it straight in my head but I can tell you that at first it was a great dream and then it became a nightmare and then Aslan came to me and we talked."

"That's quite interesting."

"Yeah so I'll tell you more once I get it all figured out in my head."

"That's fine. I'll still be here when you are ready."

"Thank you, Caspian."

"So what are your plans today, My Queen?"

"Well I plan to continue training but I actually wanted to ask you something?"

"Anything, my Queen."

"Well my brothers never wanted me to train with the sword so I was hoping that you might consider it? I know I can be good with the bow but I want to know how to handle a sword in combat. A bow and arrow can only do so much. I want to be on the ground fighting with you guys if I need to and I want to be prepared."

"You're completely sure about this?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. Just come find me when you are ready." He paused. "Are you going to tell your brothers?"

"No. Not yet. They wouldn't approve. They think that I should stay with the archers and out of the main fight but I was in the raid which was pretty bad and even though it turned out bad I did pretty good on the ground. I just wish I could do more."

"I understand. I shall find a place that is private so that they won't ever know."

"Thank you, Caspian. I really appreciate it.

"Anything for you, my lovely Queen."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled but turned to him and grabbed his head and kissed him on the lips. At first he was surprised but he immediately fell into the kiss by wrapping his arms around her waist. It was not a passionate kiss or a long one but it was enough to satisfy them both.

Susan left Caspian to do his work for the day and went to find her siblings. She got them to gather in the stone table room. She told them of her dream but only the part where Aslan showed up and spoke to her. Lucy was ecstatic over Susan's dream but Peter and Edmund were still confused. They tried to interpret what he said to Susan and what it all meant.

"So why did he come to you only? Why didn't he come to us all?"

"I think it's because I had called for him when Miraz had me but he never came. I was having a nightmare of what happened and was calling out for him. I was losing hope in him and needed to be brought back into faith in him."

"So what do we do now? What did he mean? Is he going to help us?" Peter asked.

"I think he is, but he didn't say when. He said that the only reason he didn't help me when Miraz captured me was because he knew we would need him later. Apparently we would need him more than. I didn't understand that when I was in that dungeon but I understand now." Susan explained.

"Oh, Susan, with everything going on we haven't asked you how you are doing." Lucy said.

"It's okay. The nightmares aren't as bad. I've been dealing with it."

"Have you talked about it? Do you want to talk to us? We're here for you always. Maybe if you talked about what happened and how you felt it wouldn't be so bad." Edmund asked.

"I know that I should talk about it but I'm not sure I'm ready just yet. I will eventually but not right now."

"Just remember we will be here and will listen when you're ready." Edmund laid his hand on her shoulder gently.

"Thank you Edmund. Well I think we should get to training. We can't expect Aslan to come save the day in the beginning. We are going to have to work and fight to survive."

"Susan's right." Peter said. "Time for training."

They all went their different training spots. Lucy went with one of her siblings usually. Today she was training with Susan. Susan knew she had to find a way to get a way for a while to do her training with Caspian. The first part of the morning was Susan's training of the Narnians. Lucy was very skilled in archery so she was able to assist as well. Lunch time came around and as everyone was taking a break. Susan was given a letter from Caspian. It said to meet him at his sword training area during lunch. Susan asked Lucy to cover for her and take over training if she wasn't back in time. Lucy agreed and Susan went to find Caspian. All of the boys had their own training ring so they could teach as many Narnians as possible. Caspian was teaching them how the Telmarines will fight and how to overcome them. When she approached the ring Susan saw that Caspian was exercising with his sword.

"Wow, Caspian, I have to say I like how you handle a sword." Susan said and startled Caspian. Caspian gave a soft chuckle when he saw it was her.

"Uh, Thank you, I guess!"

"So do you always practice alone?"

"No but it is good for exercising certain muscles. That way I don't pull anything while training."

"Oh, that's good to know."

"Let's get you started on a sword. I asked the fauns for a sword that was light but could have as much power as a regular sword."

"Why can't I use a regular sword?"

"Umm… because they are extremely heavy. You can try with mine but it's heavier than you think." He handed her his sword that he was holding. She took hold of the sword but he was right, it was too heavy for her. She was able to lift it up but it took some effort.

"Ok now move it."

She was able to move it but not with the force needed to make it effective.

"See, it's hard. Even for most men they have to work towards the bigger swords. This lighter sword would be easier to use and move but it won't be any less powerful than a sword my size."

Caspian took his sword back and then gave Susan the lighter sword. It was much easier to pick up and move around.

"We will go slowly at first because we don't want to get any injuries. Now to start off you have to learn how to move. Your feet should always be sturdy on the ground but able to move fast and move quickly." Caspian led them to the ring and started to point out how her feet should move and be placed. They did this for at least a half hour and then sat down for a quick lunch that Caspian had wrapped for them in his pack.

They did this training everyday around lunch time and sometimes right after dinner. Susan was getting much better and stronger. They took notice though that the Telmarines were getting closer. Some scouts have seen that the bridge was done and troops were crossing the river. Finally the Telmarine army were right outside Aslan's How and setting up camp. The Narnians gathered in the stone table room to plan what they were going to do next.

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait. I just got through school and a busy summer. Please read and review and I promise to update really soon.