"Stay safe." Lucy whispered as Corin slipped into his armor. He smiled gently down at her, one hand resting protectively over the slight swell of her stomach.
"I will be." He assured her.
He, her siblings, and Caspian were to make a surprise raid on the Telmarine Castle with a small regiment of their army. Lucy would be staying behind because of the baby.
He pulled her into a soft, lingering kiss before pulling back.
"Don't worry about me," he said quietly. "I'll be fine, you're safe, and the baby's safe…we're going to win this, alright?" Lucy stared up at him with large, trusting eyes.
"Alright." She murmured.
As he went to join the others, riding a magnificent talking horse with a glossy chestnut coat called James, he looked back at Lucy. She was standing at the entrance of the How, next to a female Centuar. She gave one last smile and a nod, and he nodded back before turning and hurrying to catch up.
Caspian was a fool.
He had wanted to retrieve his old professor, who just so happened to be in the dungeons, and of course he missed a guard while they were busy distracting everyone else.
The guard managed to alert Miraz and the soldiers.
So now it was a bloodbath.
Lucy was going to kill him. And then Peter and Edmund would resurrect him and kill him again for making her upset.
Efficiently taking down another two Telmarines, Corin spun around in time to see Caspian's uncle, Miraz, shoot down the weights holding up the iron gates. Luckily for the Narnians, Telchar, a Minotaur, managed to catch them before the gates fell fully, but it was only a matter of time as arrows struck him in the arms and legs.
"Retreat! RETREAT!" he heard Peter bellow. Then he came running by leading three horses, the old Doctor Cornelius riding a fourth behind him.
Tossing one horse's reins to Corin, he continued running, searching for Susan and Caspian. Edmund had a Griffin, Keres, who was ready to take him back to the How at any moment.
Corin swung up into the saddle just as Glenstorm came thundering by, Susan on his back.
She barely spared him a glance, but when she saw Peter, she screamed.
"CASPIAN?"
'Right….worry about the fool who's going to end up dead if he's not careful, don't bother with your family,' was Corin's sarcastic thought.
They quickly rode out, under the gates the Minotaur was now straining to hold up. Just as Peter and Caspian made it through, Telchar collapsed, leaving many of their soldiers behind, including Glenstorm's brother. Peter hesitated, wanting to go back for his men while Caspian charged forward, looking only to his safety. This troubled Corin greatly, for the mark of a great king is his care for ALL his subjects, even down to the lowest Mouse.
Just then the drawbridge began to go up.
"Peter!" he shouted. Peter turned, and upon seeing the drawbridge, spurred on his horse, and cleared the widening gap between drawbridge and safe ground with nary an inch to spare.
Edmund and Keres swooped by as the sad shadow of what had only just been a proud regiment of Narnians fled back to the How.
Lucy waited. That was not a thing she was unaccustomed to; before she began to secretly practice swordsmanship and archery, when she used only Father Christmas' dagger, her siblings had forced her to stay behind when battle occurred.
So Lucy knew how to wait.
But somehow it was different this time. Perhaps because she had not had to wait for a very long time. Perhaps because she was afraid for more than just her siblings, but Corin, and Narnia, and her baby. Perhaps because Aslan wasn't there. For whatever reason, Lucy was finding it very hard to wait.
So when the first signs of the returning fighters appeared, she rushed to the entrance of the How, eager to see her family and her people again.
The bedraggled band of survivors—thankfully including her family—was a sight she did not expect.
"What happened?" Lucy asked fearfully.
Peter, strong, noble, brave Peter, just scowled.
"Ask him." He snapped, jerking his head at Caspian.
Lucy turned cold eyes on Caspian. "What did you DO?" she asked harshly.
He didn't answer. Lucy had a hand on a dagger in an instant, and to his credit, though he knew her skill, he does not break.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" she roared, much like the lioness she turned into with Aslan's blessing.
Before he could answer, Edmund came running up, a short, red-headed Dwarf in his arms.
"Your cordial, Lucy. Quickly!" he urged.
She neatly uncorked the diamond bottle and dripped some of the fire flower juice into the Dwarf's mouth. He took a rattling breath and sat up.
Upon seeing the cordial in her hands, he inclines his head in a respectful nod.
"Thank you, my Queen." He said softly. Lucy nodded and put the cordial away.
"You are most welcome, Master Dwarf." She replied.
She then turned back to Caspian.
"Now, one more time. What did you do?" she asked frostily.
"Nothing that concerns a woman." He muttered. In an instant, multiple swords, arrows, and daggers were aimed at him.
"How dare you speak to my wife that way, you—" snarled Corin.
"She is your Queen, foolish—" snarled Glenstorm.
"Do not speak to the Warrior Queen that way, arrogant—" yelled multiple people.
Caspian cringed and broke through the angry throng, running inside the How.
Lucy turned to Corin, her eyes solemn.
"I fear for what would become of Narnia should he be allowed to rule, Corin." She said quietly.
Corin looked at their people, who were still scowling at the way their most beloved queen had been spoken to.
"So do I, love." He murmured.
As dawn broke, the sky was washed with red, the color of blood.
Lucy feared what it foretold.