A/N Ahkay, so, I actually am trying to be on time with this story (as some of you may possibly know, I'm not too reliable). So yeah, not much to say at the mo'. Other than that, you know the drill. R&R and enjoy!
After landing, it was just past daylight. Tess followed the Narnians into an underground chamber, which she later realized was the mythical Aslan's How. Everyone was rather tense, she noticed, as nearly half their ranks had been killed. Caspian and Peter had gotten into a fight. This startled Tess; she had never seen Caspian so angry before. Once she entered the tomb, she noticed a young girl, maybe a year or two younger than her. The girl looked up.
"Who are you?" she asked Tess.
"Tesaklara. Or Tess. And you are…"
"Lucy. Are you a Telmarine?"
"Yes, yes I am. But I side with Caspian." replied Tess.
Lucy smiled. "That's really great! Were you in the fight?"
"No. I just watched. I would fight, though. I've practiced in a grove outside the castle. I'm really the only one who supports Caspian and you guys. I found a small old armory behind my chamber wall. Only one set of armor and a sword and shield, but still. And I do have a horse of my own."
The smile faded a bit on Lucy's face.
"Oh. I wish I could fight. I'm just… too scared."
Tess felt sad for Lucy. "I could teach, you, if you wanted."
Lucy's face lit up. "Yes! That would be wonderful. My stupid brothers won't teach me, and Susan is always swooning over Caspian!" she blushed. The both of them giggled. Edmund walked in.
"Tess. You're wanted. Lu, just stay here a bit. Take a nap or something."
Lucy grumbled and Tess got up and followed Edmund.
Once they got outside, he led her towards Peter, Susan, Caspian, and a dwarf called Trumpkin.
"You're to help us spy on the Telmarines," he explained. "If anything goes wrong, our weapons, armor, horses, and warriors are hidden nearby."
Soon, they were near a river. They hid in the brush and watched, silently. The Telmarine forces were building a bridge, war machines, and weapons. The five hid behind a large rock. Little did they know that there was a huge, hungry, wild leopard lurking just behind them. Susan heard something move behind her, and she turned to look. She gasped at the sight of the leopard, and it snarled. She quickly darted away, and it lunged at her. Fortunately, it narrowly missed her left leg, but the ruckus was heard by several Telmarines, who sounded the alarm. In an instant, they were racing after them, with swords and horses. The five turned to run back into the forest, where they met the warriors, who gave them armor and weapons. The mounted their horses, and galloped off. The centaur warriors managed to hold off the Telmarines, but the rogue leopard still raced after them. It lunged at Edmund's horse. The horse fell, Edmund tumbling down with it. The leopard lunged again, this time at Edmund. His shirt was ripped open, and blood began to pour out of his side.
"Aaaghh!" he cried out in pain.
The leopard sliced at his face, arms, and chest. Edmund was nothing but a bloody mass. But all of a sudden, the leopard fell down, dead. Tess stood behind its carcass, holding a bloody sword. Peter leapt off of his bay horse, and helped put Edmund on the back of Tess's horse (since Trumpkin was riding with Susan, Tess took up the least space on a horse. They raced back to Aslan's How.
They lay Edmund before Lucy, who poured her magical cordial down his throat. His eyes fluttered open. He was alive. Lucy reached for a roll of bandages, but Tess held her back.
"I was trained to heal at the castle. My mother is one of Queen Prunaprismia's ladies-in-waiting. So she taught me."
Lucy nodded, and handed Tess the medical supplies. Two centaurs carried Edmund inside, where she ripped off the remainder of his shirt, thinking about how awkward it would be when he realized what was going on. She washed the scarlet blood off of his body, and realized how toned his muscles were. She put disinfectant in his several open wounds, and bound them with sutures and bandages. As Tess was wiping the sweat from his brow, Edmund began to speak.
"What the hell happened?" he said shakily.
"You were savagely attacked by a wild leopard."
"Fantastic," he replied. But then he grinned.
"You'll need rest. Just sleep, now."
"Alright," he said.
As Tess turned to walk out of the tomb, Edmund spoke again.
"Tess… thanks. You've been a great help. Really. I can't thank you enough."
Tess nodded, and walked away smiling.