Chapter 27~ The Battle
Boots stamped, swords clashed, knives struck, arrows flew—the fields of Sillah were alive with the sound of battle. The Calormens and the Narnians had been at it for two days, retreating only during the nights. Every warrior was exhausted, to say the least. It didn't stop them from fighting though.
"Take that!" Rose cried, withdrew her sword from a Calormen's stomach, and met another Calormen's sword in mid air.
Up above her, Lucy was firing arrows right and left, not a scratch on her. The Calormens knew where the archers were by now, but Caspian's troops had the hills surrounded. Lucy often saw him, since she was stationed on the smallest hill. She wished to go down and fight by his side, but she didn't dare go against Edmund's orders.
Caspian, though he tried to focus on the enemy, constantly thought of Lucy. He believed her to be safe in Narnia, and of that he was glad, but he missed her terribly and wanted her at his side as well.
Peter, who was much better at focusing, kept his mind only on battle, even though he desperately wanted to think of his wife, siblings, and friends. As he struck another Calormen down, he lost control of his thoughts and began to wonder when Terebinthia would arrive to help the Calormens.
Edmund was barely tired, but very worried. He had continuos visions of his siblings and friends lying dead on the battlefield, especially Rose and Lucy. He never stopped to rest though; his sword was constantly moving along with his feet.
Damien and Drinian were exhausted, but it didn't stop them from fighting as hard as they could. They fought fiercely, hoping the battle would end soon. They knew it wouldn't; the Calormens and the Narnians weren't relenting.
Rhince, like Peter only had a mind for his sword and where it went unless a fellow soldier went down beside him. If they were alive, he would help them up, and as he held out his hand to a certain soldier, he was shocked to see whose face was under the helmet.
"Rose?" he gasped.
"Sh!" she hissed, and drove her sword into a nearby Calormen. "Where is Damien?"
"How am I supposed to know?"
"You two are inseparable—"
"People tend to get separated in war. What are you doing here!"
"That doesn't matter. I was pushed back into the woods, and I saw the Terebinthian ships. We will never win this war if they come this far ahead of Archenland. We need to do something."
"Into the woods!" Rhince ordered, and they fought their way well into the trees. "How many ships?"
"Ten atleast."
"Any word from Archenland?"
"Last night Skyen alerted Edmund that Archenland will be arriving tonight if all goes according to plan."
"We need to buy us some time, then."
"What are we going to do?"
"Lessen the Terebinthian army."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"Are you alright with danger?"
"Always."
"Then it's simple. Here is what we do."
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'Caspian's army is getting smaller,' Lucy frowned, keeping one eye on her suitor's troops below her. One of her arrows hit a Calormen in the neck. "That isn't good…oh good man, Damien. Hold on; don't bring that many men over to help! Good, that's better…just enough to—hello!' She felt a hand grab her around the neck, but she twisted around and punched whoever it was in the nose.
"They got through!" one of the archers shouted, and 200 or so Calormens came racing up the hill. Lucy drew her sword and swung it at the nearest Calormen. Arrows whizzed by her, and many of the enemy stumbled to the ground. She saw part of Caspian's and Damien's troops break away to help the archers since more Calormens began to flood the hills.
"Hurry Caspian…we need you."
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"How much longer?" Rama asked impatiently.
"Twelve more hours. We'll arrive by nightfall."
"The ships can't go any faster?"
"I'm afraid not, Sire."
"Hopefully they will hold out until we get there."
"Narnia has other alliances."
"But we're the closest to Calormen. Oh Aslan, help us get there in time…" Rama grabbed the rail of the ship and looked down into the water as if expecting to see Aslan there.
He did. Not for long, but the lion's face appeared in the water for about a second until it vanished again.
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"Rhince, this is suicide."
"It's the only way. We can't draw the others away; there won't be enough to keep the Calormens off. Shhhh here they come." Rose and Rhince hid themselves in the bushes as they watched hundreds of Terebinthians march by. When the line ended, the two Narnians snuck in back. They silently killed the last two soldiers in the line, and dragged them into the bushes.
"This one is smaller, take his armor," Rhince instructed. Rose nodded, and they swiftly changed from their bright Narnian colors and armor into the dreary ones of the Terebinthians. "Hurry, we need to catch up to them." They tiptoed silently to the end of the line again, and they nodded at each other. Terebinthians began to fall two by two, something unnoticed by the soldiers ahead. No one ever looked back—the generals would yell at them.
'Thank Aslan their army is so strict,' Rhince thought to himself. 'Of course, it's only a matter of time until we're caught…'
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Caspian slashed his sword into the side of another Calormen, and yet another one fell to the ground. He didn't even know where he was anymore. He fought blindly, aiming his sword at whatever black color he saw. He knew red was Narnian. Anything else, he lunged at.
The next man he met was much larger than himself: atleast seven feet tall. The large Calormen leered at him, and their swords met. It wasn't long before Caspian was thrown backward, but a soldier near him helped him onto his feet. Caspian quickly resumed his fight with the man, but he noticed the helpful soldier stayed with him to help him fight. It was a matter of seconds before the large man was dead, and Caspian turned to the good-hearted soldier.
"LUCY!" he cried.
"I'm sorry!" she cried back, stabbing yet another Calormen. "I know I'm not supposed to be here."
"You're most certainly not! How? Why?" Two men were struck down.
"Rose and I stowed away and—"
"Rose too? Watch out!" Lucy turned her head and stabbed her attacker.
"She's with Damien—Caspian, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, what about you? Are you hurt?"
"Only a scratch on one arm." Five more men fell to the ground. "I didn't want you to find out I was here, but I saw you fall and I needed to help you…" Caspian wanted to grab her and kiss her right there than anything else in the world, but he knew he couldn't.
"Does Peter know?"
"No! And I would appreciate it if he never found out!"
"Lu…"
"Caspian!" He turned and punched his attacker square in the jaw. He began to get jostled away from Lucy. "Don't leave!" she cried, even though she knew it was no use.
"Be safe, Lu! I love you!" he called back.
"I love you too!" she cried, and he was lost in the crowd of soldiers.
"Oh how sweet," one of the enemy jeered. Lucy recognized him as one of the men who had attacked the Narnians during Araminta's stay at Cair Paravel. "Young love…it's too bad it has to end."
"It won't if I have anything to say about it," Lucy snarled, and the man was engaged in a full out sword fight with the much younger, smaller girl, who was beating him senseless. He was dead within minutes, and she turned to yet another Calormen.
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"How many down?" Rose whispered to Rhince.
"234…6." He nodded and they ducked behind the bushes.
"It's a miracle no one has found us yet."
"Aslan is on our side."
"I have no doubt he is behind this." Rhince nodded again and they rejoined the line. They hid every couple of dead soldiers to lessen their chances of being found. The Terebinthians had turned around a few times when Rose and Rhince weren't quiet enough about their murders, but the soldiers had been whipped for doing so, and therefore didn't see the Narnians or their dead mates.
Four more of the Terebinthians silently fell to the ground, and Rose and Rhince hid again.
"How many do you think there are left?"
"Hundreds."
"Then we keep going."
"They will be reaching the battle field soon."
"It is almost nightfall. Archenland should be here soon."
"You're worried."
"Of course I'm worried."
"I am too." Rhince squeezed her hand and they killed six more Terebinthians before they hid again.
"Oh no."
"What is it?"
"One of the generals…he is coming back here."
"It's about time, we've been at this for half an hour and…oh."
"Exactly."
"They will be certain to check the bushes…our safest bet is to rejoin the line."
"I agree." They slipped back into the Terebinthian line just before the general would have seen them.
"WHAT HAPPENED BACK HERE?" the general roared. The army stopped marching, and turned around. Many gasps and whispering could be heard among the faint sounds of swords and metal from the nearby fields. "Check the bushes!" The Terebinthians and Rose and Rhince began to search the bushes. As serious as the situation was, Rose couldn't help but find it a tad bit funny. Atleast until she got caught on a branch and her hair was pulled out of her helmet.
"Your hair!" Rhince hissed urgently, and Rose stuffed it back in, but not in time.
"What is a woman doing in the Terebinthian army?" the general asked in a dangerous, hushed sort of tone.
"Fighting for my country," Rose answered, trying to fake a Terebinthian accent.
"You lie. No women are permitted in our army." The general ripped off Rose's helmet, and her hair came tumbling down her shoulders. "Especially beautiful women like yourself." He grabbed her hair and shouted, "THE CULPRIT, MEN!" Much jeering and stamping of feet issued from the Terebinthians and Rose was thrown into the arms of one of the soldiers. "Take her back to the ship—we'll save her for later." Rhince stepped forward, ignoring Rose's vigorous head shakes and mouthings of 'no!'
"I'd like to see you try."
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Peter watched in despair as Haidar hit the ground. He hated killing innocent people. Not that the Prince of Calormen was innocent, but nonetheless, Peter didn't believe killing was necessarily the right choice. As far as he knew, Valdis was the only last Prince alive as he had also killed Xavier a few hours prior.
In the distance, Edmund saw that Peter's suspicions on Valdis' state were correct. He was still alive, and fighting well. Valdis caught sight of Edmund, and began to fight his way away from him, but Edmund fought his way toward the evil prince. When Valdis realized he wouldn't be able to escape, he tried to mask his fear with a mocking glare.
"Having fun?" he sneered, noticing Edmund's bloody arm and broken shield.
"Now I am." They both noticed the crowd around them began to edge away from the scene they were producing. Thunder boomed overhead and rain began to fall again as Edmund raised his sword. Valdis followed suit, and their swords clashed just as a lightning strike hit the ground.
Edmund's weary face was full of determination and loathing, while Valdis' sneer almost covered up the fear in his eyes. Their swords flashed brilliantly, strike after strike, but both were blocking the other with great skill. Valdis had the advantage since he wasn't hurt, and he had a shield, but Edmund was proving how much better he was than Valdis by matching his opponents level even though he was lacking the two favors Valdis had. In the distance he heard someone shout, "THE TEREBINTHIANS ARE HERE!" But he ignored it for the moment. Valdis was his only focus.
Ten minutes later, their sword fight was still going on. Many Calormens, Terebinthians and Narnians had stopped fighting each other to watch the action of their King and Prince. If Valdis and Edmund had been thinking about anything else, they would have shouted for their men to get back to what they were supposed to be doing. As it was, they only had eyes for each other.
Five minutes after that Edmund was down. Many gasps issued from the Narnian onlookers, and cheers issued from the Calormens. His sword was no longer in his hand, and his helmet had fallen off.
"Say goodbye," Valdis sneered, and moved into kill Edmund. In one swift motion, the King grabbed the Prince's sword with his injured arm, and slid underneath Valdis' legs and out to the other side, in the process stabbing Valdis in the stomach with his own sword. Valdis gagged and Edmund withdrew the Prince's sword.
"That's for Rose," he snarled, and stabbed Valdis again. Within seconds, the last of the Calormen princes lay dead on the field.
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"Rhince look out!" Rose called to him. Only twenty or so men and the general remained with her and Rhince—the others had been sent out to the battlefield. She and Rhince had been fighting the Terebinthians off for ten minutes at most, and were severely outnumbered. The only thing that kept them going was the distant sound of the Archenland trumpets.
Rhince swung around and killed two Terebinthians with one swipe of his sword. He left his side open though, and one skilled Terebinthian saw this. Rose watched in horror as Rhince fell to the ground, blood pouring out of him and soaking the ground. She rushed to his side, forgetting all about the Terebinthians, who were closing in on her.
"I'm sorry…" he whispered, and tears began to flow from her eyes as he lay on the ground, taking his last breaths.
"Don't go," Rose choked. "Don't leave me…"
"Rose, you were like a sister to me. I love you. Tell the others I love them as well…" Rhince never finished his sentence. It was the last he ever spoke. Rose wanted to fall on top of him and sob endlessly but she knew she couldn't. It was her against twenty Terebinthians.
"How touching," one of them sneered. Rose's eyes flashed, and the man who had spoken was dead in an instant. "Who's next?" she snarled.
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"Fifty of you stay here, take care of these Terebinthians!" Rama shouted as he and his Archenland army passed through the spot where Rose was battling the enemy. "The rest of you, go help the Narnians!" Fifty or so Archenlanders descended on the Terebinthians, Rama included. They were all gone within seconds, but Rama saw something that caught his eye.
"Oh Aslan, no…"
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"We're outnumbered!" Lucy cried as she attacked another Calormen.
"Archenland is here!" another archer shouted.
"Good, we need help!" another answered. The Calormens just laughed as the Narnians fought them on the hills.
"Lucy watch out!" Lucy spun around to see a Calormen charging toward her, his sword ready to strike. She would never be ready in time. Out of nowhere a body flung itself inbetween her and the raging Calormen.
"DAMIEN NO!" She shrieked. The Calormen struck her closest friend instead of her, and Damien crumpled to the ground. "NO!!" Lucy plunged her sword into Damien's killer, and he also fell to the ground. "Damien, you idiot, why did you do that?" she choked, and Damien smiled a little.
"That's what you do for the woman you love." Lucy's mouth dropped open, and Damien's breath ceased.
"NO!!!" She shrieked again, and tears began to flood from her eyes. She flung her arms around Damien, and cradled his limp body in her arms.
I cried when I wrote this chapter. I honestly did. Review please.