She stared at him, repeating his words in her mind: Leland was alive. But she knew she could not stay here on the ground. She stood up, still shaking.
Then, she heard a strange sound, a groaning from deep in the ground. She turned and looked at the muddy wall of the crater behind her, wondering where—or what—the noise was coming from.
Then it shot out from the earth, too quick for her eyes to see: a root. It was as thick as a tree trunk and long as tall as a tree-
Because it was a tree.
The root was followed by more, all lashing out at the Telmarine soldiers, knocking them from their feet. Lily looked above her and saw a tree walking. It stepped over the crater and went to destroy the catapults. The whole forest seemed to be alive, chasing the Telmarines.
The Narnians began to cheer, bright smiles appeared on their faces, and they chased after the Telmarines, driving them into the forest.
Lily quickly mounted her horse to ride after them. She heard Glenstorm shout: "Chase them to the river! To the river!"
Lily rode as fast as her horse would go. The Telmarine infantry was quicker with their fear driving them. The forest flew by and Lily had to weave her way through the roots of the furs, the oaks, and the maples that were walking, taking great strides over the Narnians and sweeping over the Telmarines. Lily's horse was agile and leaped and bounded over fallen soldiers and horses.
They came upon the river and Lily saw the great structure of the bridge, thickly made with tree trunks and spanning the width of the river. She saw Caspian and Peter ahead, waving their swords, and she saw Edmund above on a hippogryph. The Telmarines had stopped at the mouth of the bridge, staring.
Lucy, her small figure, was standing in the middle of the bridge, smiling cleverly as she held her knife.
The Telmarines laughed and Lord Sopespian drew his sword and began to cross the bridge.
Lily held her breath as she saw a Lion, the biggest grandest creature she had ever seen, walk onto the bridge and stand next to Lucy. He had a noble face, kind eyes, but when he opened his mouth she saw long sharp teeth. And a roar, louder than any animal's, exploded from him like thunder and shook everyone.
The Narnians cheered but the battle was not over: the Telmarines charged and the Narnians went to face them in the river rapids. Lily dismounted and went after a Telmarine who was attacking Susan, who was standing in the middle of the river. She drew the knife from her boot and stabbed the soldier, making him fall. She looked up at Susan's smiling face.
But Susan's smile faded as she saw something behind Lily.
Lily turned and saw one of Miraz's general's fighting with Caspian. The general drew back with a knife and stabbed the prince.
"CASPIAN!"
Lily and Susan fought their way through the rushing water, the current strengthening, and Telmarine soldiers got in their way. Lily tried to push past them and soon she could not see him.
She heard a voice: "THE PRINCE IS DEAD!"
She heard the roar of the Lion and cries from the soldiers, all falling to their knees.
Susan pulled on Lily's arm, "Get out of the water!"
Lily pulled against Susan but she dragged her to the nearest bank, across from the Narnians. She could not see Caspian.
Susan held Lily tightly, "Look!"
Lily stopped pulling and watched the river.
The Telmarines began to retreat, some jumped into the water. But the water began to churn strangely and Lily thought she saw a hand, then a face in the water…
A figure formed from the water and grew, taller than the trees, his body swirling. The water's face looked like an old wizened man.
The Water God picked up the bridge, the wood snapping, and the river rushed all around, creating massive waves that wiped out a number of soldiers. The Water God lifted the bridge to his watery face and Lily saw that Lord Sopespian was still mounted on his horse, now inches from the water creature's face.
Lord Sopespian stared at the Water God, screaming as the face bent over him. The face swallowed Lord Sopespian and fell in a great wave over the river, washing away the remnants of the Telmarine bridge.
All was quiet and then loud cheers and cries came from the Narnians: the Telmarines that remained dropped their swords and raised their arms. They were surrendering.
But Lily did not cheer; she looked through the water, searching for Caspian. She saw The Lion and Susan's siblings on the other side, smiling and cheering with the Narnians.
Lily ran into the water, her eyes searching the river banks, the forest, the water.
She felt fear seize her heart.
"CASPIAN!"
The Lion and the Pevensies looked up and saw her frightened face. Lucy smiled at her friend.
"Lily!" Lucy cried.
Lily looked up, her wet hair and clothes hanging on her body and blood stains on her shirt. She was tired and weak, not willing to face another loss.
But she saw a dark haired young man, perfectly healthy and smiling at her as he ran to the river's edge, splashing the water as he came towards her.
She stared at him, a smile forming on her lips, and her body carried her forward, deeper into the water. She reached out to him and he took her hands, pulling her to him in the middle of the river, the water up to their waists. She wrapped her arms around him and he lifted her, swinging her through the water.
The Narnians cheered out to them.
Lily heard Susan laugh behind her and she reached out and embraced her, too. She looked back at Caspian's handsome face.
"But you were stabbed…how…?"
Caspian gestured over his shoulder, smiling, "Lucy."
She smiled and shook her head, "When will you stop dying?"
Caspian smiled.