"Oi! Look over here you lot!"

Eliza turned at the sound of Edmund's voice, gaze hardening behind the stray locks that had fallen into her face as she spotted two foreign-looking men holding a small dwarf over the water. She shoved her hand into the belt that was locked around her waist over a pair of tan riding breeches, yanking one of her throwing knives from its holder and flicking it with immense force towards the strange men. It hit it's mark with a dull THUD; both men looked down at their boat in surprise to see the knife trembling at its impact with the worn wood. Beside Eliza, Susan had an arrow drawn, face calm, but eyes blazing furiously.

"Drop him!" she yelled at the two men. The foreigners exchanged a glance before the one holding the dwarf slackened his grip and their captive hurtled into the crystal water. One of the men snatches a crossbow to shoot at the Pevensies, but Eliza was faster. A knife dug itself into his chest, and the man fell to the water. His companion watched for a split second before hurtling his body into the water, and swimming away frantically.

Eliza decided not to waste another knife, and instead hurried toward where the shore met the water to assist Peter, who had dove in after the dwarf and was presently pulling him to shore.

Lucy got to the two before Eliza, and, yanking out her dagger, released the dwarf from his bonds.

"'Drop him?!'" sputtered the dwarf in outrage, now able to speak. "That's the best you could come up with?!"

Susan looked offended, and Eliza's defensive older sister nature immediately kicked in.

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice," she snapped angrily, narrowing her piercing eyes at the dwarf. The dwarf scoffed.

"They were doing a perfectly fine job at drowning me without your help," he countered rudely. Eliza opened her mouth to snap back-and with no doubt draw her sword, seeing as her hand was already gripping the hilt-but Peter pressed a hand to his sister's shoulder reassuringly, turning his eyes to the dwarf with slight frustration.

"Perhaps we should have let them," he said calmly and softly, though the dangerous note underneath was evident to all the Pevensies. Lucy, however, was the only one who seemed alarmed at this and immediately asked the dwarf, "Why were they trying to kill you anyway?"

The dwarf turned to her now, dark eyes still cold. "They're Telmarines," he explained, though he seemed surprised at the question. "That's what they do."

"Telmarines? In Narnia?" Eliza heard Edmund ask from behind her, but kept her eyes on the dwarf coldly. He rolled his eyes underneath her gaze, and a light growl made its way past Eliza's lips, making him eye her warily before responding rudely, "Where have you been for the last few hundred years?"

Lucy, Susan, Peter and Edmund all exchanged a glance before turning back to the dwarf with sheepish expressions. Eliza just stared down at him still. "It's kind of a long story," Lucy said slowly. Eliza glanced at Susan and took Peter's sword from her sister before handing it to her twin. Peter gave her a thankful smile before sliding his sword back in its dwarf paused a moment, allowing himself to study the five children before him, his eyes widening suddenly in recognition.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," he groaned. "You mean you're it? You're the kings and queens of old? And the guardian of the crown?" His eyes slid over Eliza as he said this last, surprising her.

Wasn't she a queen as well?

The three younger Pevensies seemed shocked at this as well, but Peter seemed to ignore it and instead held his hand out to the dwarf with a slight smile. "High King Peter the Magnificent," he greeted, chest puffed out slightly. Eliza shook her head in disbelief, pushing her way between her twin and the dwarf.

"Hold on," she cried, turning on the dwarf with a questioning gaze. "What's this about a guardian of the crown? Who is it?"

The dwarf looked confused, not to mention a little offended, but he answered nonetheless. "Well it's you, innit?" he asked bluntly, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.

Eliza's heart stopped, and her vision blurred at the realization.

She wasn't a queen.

She wheeled now on her brother, enraged. "Did you know about this?" she demanded, feeling her face heat up; no doubt her cheekbones were scarlet by now. Peter held up his hands, as if to ward her off, and spoke calmly.

"Liz, I was going to tell you-." he began.

"TELL ME WHAT, PETER!?" Eliza interrupted in a shout, chest heaving.

Peter's eyelids slid over his blue irises and he let out a weary sigh. "Elizabeth, you're not a queen," he whispered to her gently. "You never were. You're our guardian. Someone who's supposed to protect us. You were never meant for the crown. I'm sorry."

Eliza felt all her anger woosh out of her as if she had been punched, and she almost doubled over. "You...why would you keep that from me?" she questioned in a soft voice. Peter took a tentative step forward, like he was approaching a wounded animal in the wild. "I didn't know how," he answered, still whispering. "I didn't want to hurt you, Liz."

The anger came back slowly, waves that crashed over her one after another-hurt, betrayal, sadness.

"Hurt me?" she repeated, looking up at her twin, her own flesh and blood; the one who had lied to her, betrayed her. "Peter, you've hurt me more by letting me find out like this than you would have if you had been honest with me in the beginning. You've let me believe that I would be a queen beside all of you; help rule a country. Now I learn that I'm just a protector? What am I supposed to do? Make sure there are no monsters under your bed or in your closet? Perhaps I should search every noble who enters the halls. Or stand in the corner during parties to make sure there are no suspicious characters." Eliza's voice returned to its normal level, dangerously calm-something that she had taught her twin brother.

"And here I thought I was going to live a life of luxury with you all," she continued in a brittle voice. "To be able to rule a country with you all by my side, gain experience and wisdom that I can't learn behind a desk in a classroom." Eliza hadn't noticed the hot tears gliding down her cheeks until she tasted one on her lips. She didn't make a move to brush them away, only continued to stare at her twin's petrified expression of pity and sadness.

"I had hoped to stand beside you all, like I haven't been able to this past year. But now I'm the outcast-like I always have been."

She looked around at the rest of her family, seeing the tears on her two sister's faces and the pain in her younger brother's eyes. They stared straight back at her, and Eliza had to suppress the urge to reach out to them and pull them against her-to protect them. The thought pulled at her heart.

Perhaps I'm just a guardian after all, Eliza thought grimly.

"If I'm to be an outcast," she murmured. "Perhaps I should act like one." She turned away from them for a moment, looking back over her shoulder at her family. "I know you will all be perfectly fine without me; goodness knows you four don't need a guardian or a protector of any sort. Win back Narnia, you lot. Rule it without me. After all, it's what you did before, isn't it?"

With that, the guardian of the crown turned and walked away without a single backwards glance.

Peter stared after her, wanting to chase his sister, to pull her to his chest and insist that she wasn't an outcast, that she meant more to him-to them- than any crown that sat upon their heads. But his feet felt bolted to the sand, and he could do nothing but watch Eliza disappear into the trees.

Silence fell over the beach, with the water rushing against the sand. The dwarf Trumpkin looked between the remaining Pevensies to the forest. He opened his mouth slowly, and a single question spilled out:

"I take it she didn't know about her role in all this then?"