Disclaimer: I do not own The Chronicles of Narnia.

First of all, I've gotta say thanks for sticking with this story. I feel so bad that I didn't update quickly!!! I've been faced with a lot of unexpected things these last couple months and they have been slowing me down. But everything is better now, which means I should have more time to write!!! :) And my birthday was a couple days ago so I was busy with that, too. But I apologize all the same.

kaye- hmmm... You'll just have to find out... :)

Azula- Thank you so much for reading!

kutlessgurl90- I'm glad you're looking forward to this chapter... I'm looking forward to seeing what people think of it. :)

teke- I'm happy you liked the twist!

may- Thanks for reading and I'm glad you like it!

Okay, well here is chapter 18 and I hope it's worth the wait!!! :D

Chapter 18: Of War and Prayers

My eyes widened to twice their size. Telula?! Their leader was Telula? But she saved my life! She didn't let me drown in that river… and she was so sweet… and she… My mind trailed off as I tried to make sense of the situation. This just didn't add up. I opened my mouth to say something, but Edmund beat me to it.

"Telula? How could you betray us like this?" He sounded just as surprised as I felt. The dwarf only laughed, but it wasn't the sweet and cheery laugh that I had remembered. It was cold and shrill, and the look in her eyes was dark and sinister.

"Betray you? I was never with you in the first place!" she scoffed.

"Then why did you save me in the river? Why did you let me live if you wanted to take over Narnia? Wouldn't it have been easier for you to just eliminate me then?" I questioned, trying to keep my tone composed as my mind raced out of control. She pretended to ponder on that for a moment.

"Oh, I just thought it would be more, let's say, satisfying, for me to see you die like this. You'll watch all your soldiers perish for a lost cause. Besides, I had to get close to you to figure out your war plans. You were just a pawn in my game, feeding me valuable information every second you spoke. Don't you see the beauty in that plan? And do you honestly think you can beat me and my dark creatures? We will defeat you in a matter of minutes, Peter. And you'll sit there and watch them die, watch your siblings die, and then you yourself will die. And where's Aslan at now, Peter? He isn't here to save you this time, is he?" she explained. A cruel grin covered her once innocent face. My hand involuntarily tightened on Rhindon. How dare she speak of Aslan like that? How dare she threaten the lives of my siblings and people? She stared at me, waiting for me to respond.

"I feel awful for you, Telula. I truly do. You have betrayed us in a way that is unforgivable. Now we see where your allegiance lies. I pray that Aslan will have mercy on you after this war is over and we have kept what is ours: Narnia. You will have a tough battle ahead of you, and you will bear heavy losses. But don't forget that this is your fault. You are killing those around you, those that you don't even know, and you are forcing me to do the same." I declared. She only laughed it off, just like I knew she would. I began to pray silently.

Aslan, I know you're listening to me as I cry out to you. I don't know where you are, and I don't understand why you aren't here, but I know you have your reasons for what you do. But please, Great Lion, don't forsake us. Keep the Narnians safe; keep my siblings safe. I don't care what happens to me, but keep those around me away from harm. If it is in your will that we shall continue to rule Narnia, then we shall. But if it is in your will that we don't… well then I wouldn't understand but I know that what you do is for the best. I love you, Aslan, and please watch over us.

I didn't know what was going to happen as I eyed the enemy. They were all standing still-incredibly still- almost as if a curse was set upon them to never move again. I couldn't even see them draw breath. Edmund gave me a nervous glance but I kept my gaze stone hard. My hands were trembling and I was sweating in my armor. I was scared… unbelievably scared. I couldn't let Edmund see me like this… it would just make him feel even more ill at ease. I would be ashamed if anyone saw me like this, whether if they were my siblings or not. I couldn't let their hope falter just because I appeared frightened. I kept my eyes locked on the enemy even as my soldiers looked at me with pleading eyes. The whole 'Peter-Pevensie-English-schoolboy' thing was creeping back into my restless mind. I stole a quick glance down at Rhindon but this time I didn't see Aslan staring back at me. I could feel my heart beating rapidly against my chest and my ribs hurt from the force. And then the first arrow of our horrid war flew, piercing one of our fauns straight in the forehead.

"For Narnia!" Edmund yelled. I rose up Rhindon, and our battle had officially begun.

Aslan, be with us.

Bill rushed forward and I was already in combat with a wolf, one that looked a lot like Sir Farnin. Rhindon slashed straight against his chest and the blood was already beginning to leave a stain on the tip of my faithful sword. I winced. I hated killing, whether it was people… animals… followers of the White Witch… I didn't care who they were. The sheer fact that I was ending a creature's life was enough to drive me into deep disappointment in myself and my actions.

I turned my head in the opposite direction and came face to face with a werewolf who was smiling deviously, his sharp, pointed fangs dripping with saliva. He pounced, nearly knocking me off my horse. I drove Rhindon into his stomach and he let out a strangled yelp before taking his last breath. His blood spilled all over my armor, leaving a metallic smell as a reminder.

I looked around for Telula, but she was nowhere to be found. It was almost as if since the battle had started she had disappeared into thin air. That was either a good thing, or very dangerous. But I had other things to be concerned about at the moment… like the harpy that was diving straight down at my head. I thrust Rhindon up as quickly as I could and caught him in the neck. The creature fell on top of me, keeping me from seeing my surroundings and crushing me with its weight. I pulled it off my body and pushed it to the ground, even more blood staining my armor.

My eyes searched the perimeter for my siblings. I had to know that they were all right and not out there lying on the battlefield injured… or worse. I caught sight of Lucy first. She was high up in a tree with a bow and quiver. She was almost undetectable. If I had been in any other position in the general area, I probably would not have seen her. Saydin was below her on the ground, killing anything within ten feet of the tree.

Next I saw Edmund. He was battling a hag and winning, I might add. There was blood staining his armor, too. Phillip looked relatively unscathed except for a scrape on his left shank. Nothing appeared too serious, and I prayed it stayed that way. Susan was about twenty feet away from me on the hill with some of the other archers. She was in front and shouting out orders, and she looked satisfactory.

Thank you, Aslan.

Just then a wolf appeared out of nowhere and pounced on top of Bill, looking me straight in the eyes, teeth bared. He lunged at my face, but not before Rhindon nearly cut him in half. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my foot, but it was nothing I couldn't handle for the time being. I looked down and saw a dwarf's knife protruding from the top of my boot. I pushed the remains of the wolf off of me and removed the blade with a wince. I didn't know where the dwarf had gone, which either meant he lost interest in me or someone else had taken care of him. I was guessing the latter.

Bill suddenly veered to the left, leaving me holding tightly onto the reigns. I turned, and where my head would have been merely seconds before was a very angry looking harpy. It had just been shot down by one of our archers. I patted Bill's neck. He was such a trustworthy steed. Suddenly something wrapped around my midsection and I was forcibly pulled backwards. The impact knocked the helmet off of my head; these days I wondered why I even bothered to put it on. Somehow it always seemed to end up on the ground rather than stay where it should… but that didn't matter at the moment.

I couldn't breathe. Strong arms were wrapped around me, literally squeezing the life out of my body. I looked up into the face of a Minotaur, a large smile taking over its features. My ribs were burning and there were tears forming in the corners of my eyes from the pain. I could feel the bones cracking for a second time in the past week, something I wished I would never feel again for the rest of my life. Black dots were staining my blurred vision. And then I came to the realization: I was going to die in the arms of a Minotaur. I hoped that my siblings weren't watching this. I couldn't fight back; its grip was too strong. I was getting lightheaded. I knew I didn't have much time left.

Aslan, lead me to your Country. Be with my people throughout the remainder of this fight. Don't let more have the same fate as I, I prayed. Suddenly the grip on my midsection loosened, and then went away altogether. I found myself falling backwards and lying on the Minotaur, who had an ax lodged in its head. My lungs screamed for air as I desperately breathed it in. Each inhale killed my ribs. The Minotaur had just ruined my last few days of recovery. My entire body was sore. I rolled over onto the ground and looked up into the eyes of Oreius. He nodded, and I knew he had been the one that had saved me. I nodded back, too deprived of air to form a word. I stood up shakily, barely able to fend off a dwarf that had charged at me. Every movement erupted a new pain in my side. But at least I was still alive.

Thank you, Aslan.

I shook my head, trying to clear it of the confusion and pain. I looked around for Bill, but he was nowhere in sight. I hoped that he was all right. Just then a werewolf appeared in front of my face, almost as if he had been drawn out of thin air. He wielded a sword about the same size as Rhindon. His eyes narrowed and glinted with challenge. His weapon aimed the first strike at my chest. I parried and drove Rhindon up. But he had anticipated my strike to his head and jumped backwards, easily missing the blow. He laughed, quickly circling around me. I was having trouble keeping up with him due to my injury; my ribs were really slowing me down.

The werewolf dove deep, appearing to slash at my legs. But I knew better than that. He was really trying to throw me off guard so he could drive his sword into my stomach as I bent down to stop his blow. (I knew what he was doing because I myself had successfully used this method before.) So instead of bending over to parry his sword, I jumped over him at the last second and sunk Rhindon into his back. The werewolf went limp as I removed my sword from his dead body.

I stood there for a moment, assessing the visible damage around me. Countless numbers of creatures – both Narnian and Telula's followers- lay motionless on the ground. I closed my eyes for a quick second, not wanting to look at the destruction. I could feel a silent tear rolling down my cheek. My people were dying. My people were dying, and I was still here, very much alive. It just didn't seem fair. Nothing about this war was fair; nothing about war was ever fair. But at least they were in Aslan's Country now… away from this pain… away from this devastation…

I was brought out of my thoughts by something nudging my shoulder. I drew Rhindon up, but breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that Bill's nose was incredibly close to my face. I hopped back on him with a wince and he galloped quickly in the direction of more soldiers. His actions seemed to be urgent, like I needed to see something as soon as possible. After a few seconds I realized what that something was.

About twenty feet in the distance was Edmund battling a Minotaur and a dwarf at the same time... without a sword. The dwarf was closing in on him and pushing him closer to the grasp of the Minotaur, who was smiling deceitfully. I urged Bill to go faster. When we were about five feet away I jumped off of Bill and ran to my brother, who looked relieved to see me. I tossed him a dagger I had in my belt and we stood back to back; I was facing the Minotaur. I felt Edmund lunge at the dwarf and I prayed it would end well. I held Rhindon out protectively in front of me, the blood from my last kill still gleaming on the end. The Minotaur swung his ax at me. I dived to the left and rolled on the ground, avoiding the blow but killing my ribs. I gingerly rubbed them. Before I knew it the creature was standing right above me, its blade just inches from my head. I kicked his legs out from under him and rolled away before he could crush me with his weight. I pulled myself up as quickly as possible and stabbed the Minotaur in the back.

The pain in my ribs was really catching up with me. I clenched my teeth and looked around for my brother. The dwarf had just fallen and my dagger was stuck in its side.

"Edmund, where's your sword?" I called out.

"I dunno! I lost it somewhere back there!" he shouted, pulling the dagger out of the dwarf's skin. I hopped back onto Bill and started riding in the opposite direction. Suddenly I heard Edmund yell out to me.

"Peter, look out!"

I turned around but it was too late. A harpy swooped down and struck me in the chest with its body. The force of the blow knocked me off of Bill and I lost my grip on Rhindon. I fell and the ground came to meet me very quickly. The back of my head collided with a rather large rock and the rest of my body slammed against the hard earth. All my breath left my lungs with a whoosh. I felt like I couldn't move. Pain coursed through every inch of my body, and my head was spinning. The edge of my vision was rimmed with black. And then the harpy jumped on my chest, whatever air I had retrieved leaving my body once more.

The last thing I remember was a flash of gold fur leaping over me, pouncing on the harpy. And then Telula was rushing towards me, a concerned expression on her face. After that, everything went black.

A/N: What do you guys think? Did you like it? Hate it? Please review and let me know what you have to say! :)