Chapter Nineteen
I woke a few hours later, my arm in a sling and well bound up. Candle light flickered on the wooden planks, casting a comfy glow. I was in my bed, and Edmund, Susan, and Lucy were all sitting or standing around me. "Ah, good, you're up," Susan said. She held out a small cup of cocoa, which I drank greedily. When I finished, she stood and went. She paused at the door, and then whispered, "Thank you," before turning and leaving. Lucy looked between me and Edmund, and then also stood. "Good night, Rose. Watch that arm." Then she also left, leaving only me and Edmund. "Why didn't you tell me you got hurt? Rather stupid of you to come down here alone. You lost so much blood, you passed out," he said, a worried frown on his beautiful face. I remembered those strong, muscular arms around me. So comforting, so safe. I sat up straighter. I wanted to tell him right then, how I felt, how much I loved him. But instead, I had to ruin the moment. "I was fine. I thought I could do it up myself." He gave a short, humorless laugh. "Yeah, obviously you had it all under control." I frowned. "I'm not completely helpless, you know." "I didn't say that, I just said that since you fainted, you probably needed some help, which I provided." I glared at him, and tried to cross my arms. Pain shot up my right. I sucked in air, clenching my teeth. Edmund's smug look vanished as he leaned forward, looking worried. "It's nothing, I'm fine," I said defensively. He nodded once. "Just…careful with that arm," and then he turned and left.
The next morning, I rose and went up onto the deck. I looked to our left and saw a gray smudge on the horizon. I guessed that we were sailing past the huge triangle of land that juts out of Calormen into the sea. It would take at least two more days to reach Cair Paravel. The water here was sapphire blue, and dolphins leaped and cackled in the white-capped waves the ship made. I spent most of the morning watching them.
The next two days passed in the same way. On the third day, I finally saw the white cliffs of the Narnian coast jutting out of the horizon. We anchored in the harbor, and I led a very relieved Anduril down off of the ship. He hated traveling by sea, as most animals do. Corin followed with his pony. But we were startled at the sound of galloping hooves. A handsome stag slid to a stop in front of us. "Anvard," he panted, "Is under attack. Calormenes. You must go at once," I blinked, my mind racing. They must have found the dead guards soon after we departed during the night.
I turned and shouted up to the men on the ship. Edmund and Susan and Lucy raced down the plank. Susan began crying and saying it was all her fault, while Lucy tried to console her. I quietly conversed with Edmund. "What do we do?" I asked. The stag, whose name was Chervy, spoke. "I have already gathered a small army, and more are on their way. If you march right away, you could reach Anvard before it's too late." Edmund nodded. "All right." He called out for a sailor to bring him his armor, and I called out for mine. But Edmund asked fiercely, "What do you think you're doing? You're not coming. You and the queens will stay here." "Of course not!" I said incredulously, "Do you honestly think I am going to sit at home while everyone else is off fighting, not knowing what's going on? You must be out of your mind!" Edmund glared at me while the faun helped him into his armor. "Well then I guess I'm crazy, because you are not coming. You're injured." "I can still fight with my left hand, and you know that! I'm coming, whether you like it or not!" "You're staying here, and that's final!" I opened my mouth to protest again, but he cut me off. "I order you to stay here. You won't disobey orders, will you, Rose?" I swallowed and glared furiously at him. I turned on my heel, and went back onto the ship.
Once inside, I paced my room. I couldn't let him go off to battle alone! I had to watch his back! The Narnians and Archenlanders needed everyone they could to help! Making up my mind, I slipped out of my dress, put on my tunic and leggings and then I called a faun into my room. "Help me into my armor," I ordered. He helped me into my chain mail, followed by the plates of steel. Finally, I was fully armored. I went back up on deck, and found Anduril. My arm ached and burned, but I gritted my teeth and ignored it. I swung onto his back, and he wheeled after the army.
I trailed just far enough behind them that they wouldn't know I was following. The day would have been beautiful, if not for the reason we were traveling. Archenland was a mountainous country, and we had to carefully pick our way through the misty ravines and cliffs and hills. We wound through the country, moving as quickly as the terrain would allow us. Finally, we entered the valley that Anvard was tucked away in, and heard the first noises of battle.
Eagles and vultures wheeled and screeched high above us. I shivered, knowing that they knew a feast was coming. I joined the rest of the cavalry, while the archers fell back behind us. I saw Lucy riding by on her mare, and unfortunately, she noticed me. "Rose!" she whispered fiercely. "What on earth are you doing here? Edmund told you to stay behind with Susan! You can't fight with that arm." I sighed. "Sorry, Lu. I know I wasn't supposed to come, but I couldn't stay behind and let you and Edmund go. I would be worried sick. My arm'll be fine." Lucy chewed her lip nervously, but nodded. "Okay. But if you get hurt, I'll never forgive you, or myself." And then she trotted on back.
In the distance I could hear the thudding of a battering ram and the shouts and voices of the men. We started off again, eerily quiet. Edmund gave the signal from way up front, and then we were cantering over the hill, our red and gold banners streaming out in the breeze.
The little castle of Anvard was down below us. We galloped down the hill, and the dark faced Calormenes turned and came at us. At this moment, I gave a shrill cry and Andy broke out of the ranks of horse soldiers. We tore down after Edmund, because I wasn't going to hang back while he was down there fighting alone. The Calormenes rushed forward, spears and scimitars raised. I reached Edmund's side just as the two lines clashed. I swung with my left arm, knocking a soldier from his mount. Anduril whirled and kicked and tossed men on foot like hay off of his spiraling horn. The sounds of clashing metal and the screams of the enemy filled my ears. Once we had fought our way into the thick of foot soldiers, I leaped down on top of them. Stabbing and blocking, I fought fiercely, never going more than ten feet from Edmund's side. He had seen me right as we met the enemy line, and there had been an expression of shock, anger, and even fear on his face.
The Cats had sent all of the riderless horses into a panicked retreat, leaving many Calormenes unmounted, with no chance of a quick escape. I saw Edmund swing and slash the head off of a Calormene noble. The body fell in a heap, and it made me sick.
Looking round at my surroundings, I found that we had reached the gate of the castle. And now Edmund was facing off with Rabadash. I was fighting several Calormenes, one after the other. I slashed and beat at them, but my sword arm was growing tired. I was sweating under my helmet, and it was hard to see. I yanked it off, and I saw surprise register in the black eyes of my enemy. He paused just long enough for me to thrust my sword through his chest. He fell, and I turned back to see Edmund fall. I gasped and shoved forward. Rabadash was grinning evilly, his teeth white against his olive complexioned face. He was about to bring his sword down on Edmund's head, but he raised his shield and blocked him. Before I could reach them, Edmund was back up and had Rabadash pinned against the wall. I was about to shout out that another was coming, but I heavy blow struck me from behind. Suddenly my eyes were filled with bright, fuzzy colors, and I slumped against the bloody ground. I heard a gleeful cackle as the shadow looming above me raised his scimitar to slice off my head. I raised my arm against the blow, blocking his sword inches from my face as I caught it on my arm plate. I struck out my legs, knocking him off his feet, and quickly pulled my dagger from my boot and stabbed my blade down. I wiped the sweat from my face as I stood and took in my surroundings. Calormene bodies were strewn everywhere. The grounds around the castle were slick with blood, and the metallic scent filled the air. Vultures were already greedily swooping down to the battlefield, hoping for a feast. It sickened me, but I didn't have time for that.
As I stood, excruciating pain shot up my arm. I had used it to block the blow, and the wound had split back open, in addition to me having wrenched my shoulder. I clutched it tightly, clenching my jaw tightly, trying to keep my pain hidden. I spotted Edmund nearby, surrounded by several lords. I limped over, trying to see what it was they were laughing at. A curious spectacle greeted my eyes, and for a moment, I forgot my pain as I laughed. Rabadash was hanging by two arrows imbedded in the wall. He was swinging round, cursing us, and struggling to free himself. "Let me down, Edmund! Let me down and fight like a king and a man; or if you are too great a coward to do that, kill me at once!" Edmund answered with a devilish grin, "Certainly," but King Lune interrupted. He said that since Rabadash had not acted like a true man, he would not be allowed to fight like one. Several men pulled him down and bound his hands, dragging him inside the small castle. And then came very surprising news.
When Corin stood next to the ragged boy called Shasta, we could all see the striking resemblance. And then I learned that Shasta and Corin were twins who had been separated when they were just babies. Shasta, whose real name was Cor, had been kidnapped and lost at sea. Only he had actually been raised by an old fisherman. It was quite a story.
I was given a small but cozy room for the night, and a maidservant came in to help me bandage my arm. It was dislocated, and she had to pop it back into place, which only made it hurt more. As she was cleaning the split wound, which was now nasty and ragged and would leave quite a scar, Edmund entered. He waited silently until the maid was done with my arm and it was bound and in a sling. She curtsied to both of us, and then backed out the door.
We stood facing each other for a minute, neither of us saying anything. I became aware that he was waiting for me to speak. "I…I'm sorry," I whispered, not meeting his eyes. I could feel them boring a hole through my skull with their icy glare. "You disobeyed me," he stated flatly in a cold voice. I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered again, "But…I just couldn't stay behind and let you go alone." "You mean, you couldn't pass up the chance to show more bravery, win more glory and honor." I jerked my head up. I felt like I was a child again, not nearly thirty. "No! That's not it at all!" "Then why did you come? I strictly told you not to follow!" I cried out, the tears slipping out of my eyes, "I couldn't leave you to fight alone, with no one to watch your back! What if you had gotten hurt, or killed? I would have lived with that guilt for the rest of my life, never knowing if I could have prevented it!" Edmund stood as still as a statue, just staring at me with expressionless eyes. Finally he spoke again. "I can't trust you anymore, Rose. You showed me that today." And then he turned and strode out of the room.