A/N: AYYY whaddup friends. Sorry this is a week late, but i worked quite hard on it so I hope my effort makes up for my tardiness in updating also thank you so much to all those that reviewed and followed and favorited this story so far, you guys are the best 3

The Calm before the Storm

Lucy's POV

"BULLSEYE!"

I couldn't help but express my excitement at my achievement as my dagger protruded from the very core of the crimson circle on the target canvas further away. I beamed in pride, after all, not everyone could get a bull's-eye 7 times in a row!

"Oh okay, great, but you know it doesn't show much dynamism to keep hitting the same spot over and over again."

I smirked at the clear jealousy in Lorenzo's voice as we waited for our attendant, Pegry, who was positioned near the targets to remove our daggers .

"Oh I'm so sorry, obviously I'm not as great as you. Please oh please, teach me your ways!" I dramatically exclaimed, feigning awe and adoration.

Obviously my façade went straight over Lorenzo's head, as he puffed out his chest and gave a look of complete arrogance and pompousness.

"It's all in the wrist, my good friend!" He frivolously replied, and with his eyes closed, flicked his dagger towards the target, a smug smile on his face.

"Aaaaaah!"

We both simultaneously turned to the source of the shout, only to find Pegry paralysed with the most terrified expression, and Lorenzo's dagger a mere few inches away from him on the ground.

I raised my eyebrows and turned back to Lorenzo, who was grimacing sheepishly at our poor traumatized attendant.

"So sorry my good man!" He called out with a wave, to which Pegry promptly replied, "n-no harm done Sir!"

"Watch out Lorenzo, one of these days you might just kill someone!"

"Yeah, hopefully you first."

I chuckled and shook my head, going to pick up my next dagger when I heard galloping hooves getting closer to us from behind. I turned to find Glenstorm racing towards us, his face crinkled in concern and desperation.

"Your majesty! Hurry, something terrible has happened!"

Lorenzo and I turned to each other and shared a worried look.

Oh no.

"Oh my…"

I could not even finish my sentence, I was in far too much shock to be able to.

Alighting from my horse, I looked around at the devastation that pierced my heart.

What used to be a village of charming little huts that were adorned with lilacs and white roses was now a shamble of burnt wood and collapsed rocks. All around, slabs of rock, timber fragments and bricks lay scattered, but that was not the most horrifying part.

What made me sick to the stomach were the bodies.

Throughout the entire village that was now nothing more than a burned facade, countless bodies lay motionless, distorted into weird positions, covered in blood, soot and dirt. There was a woman who lay right in front of me, her eyes wide but blank, blood trickling from the side of her mouth. Ahead, there were 2 men who lay beside each other, sticks still in their hands as if even in death, they did not relent. There were so many bodies visibly sprawled around, and I just knew there were many more in the ruins of the huts.

I had seen many atrocities in my time as Queen, violence and death beyond imagination. But this…

This had to be the most horrific thing I had ever seen.

Perhaps it was due to the soot and ash still in the air from some of the fires that continued to burn, or my emotional instability from the overwhelming reality I was standing in, but I felt light-headed for a moment which caused me to take a shaky step back, and step on something.

I looked down and felt the bile rise in my throat.

A doll.

It was not too fanciful, mostly made from straw and cotton. The doll was a fairy, the wings made from leaves, and it had a simple drawing as the face. The back of it was torn, and it was covered in black patches, but nonetheless it was still quite intact.

I bent down and picked up the toy, tears stinging my eyes as I noticed a small body not too far away in my peripheral vision, but I refused to look at it. I knew I was not strong enough.

She could not have been older than 10.

She was just an innocent little girl.

She should not be dead.

I clutched the doll to my heart, letting my tears run freely. Over the years I had tried to train myself to be tougher, to not let my emotions get to me so easily, as a monarch needs to be able to keep her cool.

But in this moment, I was not Queen Lucy the Valiant.

I was Lucy, a human, mourning the death of a child.

I felt an arm envelope me and I did not bother to look up to see who it was, I knew it was Lorenzo from his minty smell. I lay my head against his chest, trying to overcome the unbearable ache in my heart. No matter how hard he hugged me as I sobbed, the pain still remained.

"Oh my god."

I was too in shock and horror to realise that the rest of my family had arrived as well, and they were as shaken as I was. Susan maintained her straight posture, but I could see her fists clenched tightly and her eyes wet as she looked around, trying to control herself. Ella on the other hand, had tears flowing freely down her face, but she looked more livid than upset as she scanned the area in disbelief. Serena had her hands over her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably as she must've been reminded of when Darluga was destroyed. Edmund and Peter were talking to some of the guards, and Caspian was walking around the wreck, though all the boys looked very distressed as well.

"Any survivors?" Peter asked, though we all knew the answer to that already.

"None, my liege. The ambush was in the darkest hours of the night, the guards were completely caught unaware and were greatly outnumbered. No one survived." Our Chief soldier replied solemnly.

"I knew Jadis and Jadin were evil, but to kill an entire village…" Edmund shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, looking around as his jaw clenched.

"Look, a letter."

We all turned to find Caspian pulling out a parchment from a slit in a burnt tree bark.

"Tomorrow. Dawn. Beruna."

As Caspian finished speaking those 3 words, there was a moment of silence as realisation dawned upon us. This was no random ambush, nor was it a mere act of intimidation or terrorism.

Peter finally broke the silence, voicing out what was in all our heads.

"This is war."

Ella's POV

"When she starts crying, it's usually because she is hungry, so there is some of her mash I prepared and put in the haversack."

"Yes Your Majesty."

"And don't forget to change her nappy, especially before she sleeps, or else she will become really irritated and will not stop crying."

"Yes Your Majesty."

"And she likes to be stroked on the back gently when she's being put to sleep. Also, hum a song to her whenever she starts to get cranky, she likes soft humming."

"Ella…"

I turned to find Serena approaching me, a sympathetic look on her face.

"I'm sure Miriam will take good care of her. Besides, she'll also have the Professor and Karina to help her." She said, referring to my other mid-wife and Talina's usual caretaker when Edmund and I were busy.

I bit my lip and nodded my head, trying to believe Serena. But when I turned back to my baby, sound asleep in Miriam's arms, I could not help but feel my heart sink.

I stepped forward and kissed her gently on her forehead, stroking her little brown curls softly as she slept peacefully; unaware of just what reality she was in.

And I was glad of that.

"Goodbye my love," I whispered, unable to pull myself away from her. The thought that I may never see her again was killing me slowly on the inside, and I wanted nothing more than to take her back into my arms and hold her, protect her, forever.

But I had to protect Narnia too.

I had to fight.

And with every fight, there was always the element of uncertainty, of possibility, that you would not come back alive.

"What if they attack the castle?" I muttered just as the question entered my head, feeling the panic rise in me as I thought about the possible danger my baby could face.

"I have some of my dragons guarding all sides of the castle, no one we don't want will be able to enter it. Also, remember, there will be guards outside the nursery. Don't worry Ella, Talina will be safe."

Serena put a hand on my shoulder and I tried to smile back in thanks, but I was still too upset to do so sincerely.

This was one of my greatest fears after I had given birth to Talina; that a war would come and I would have to fight, unable to protect her.

"Ella, it's time."

No matter how hard I tried, I could not pull myself away from her. I just could not bring myself to leave her and go into battle, not with the recurring thought of what would happen to her if someone managed to breach the castle security, or if I die in the field and never get to see her again.

But I was more than a mother now. I could not forget that.

I was Queen Ella, and right now I had to fight for my land, for my people.

So, I took a deep breath, and turned away from Talina. And as I walked through the door, every step that I took was like a stab to my heart.

No, I had to be strong.

I had to have faith that Aslan would protect Talina, and that I would survive the war to see her again.

In fact, I was all the more determined to fight and win and live, I had to, for Talina.

Edmund's POV

"Are you ready?"

I glanced at Peter who was currently helping me to tighten my armour.

"Do I have a choice?" I replied, trying to lighten the mood but quite obviously failing as he looked back at me in concern.

"We've fought many wars Edmund, but none as big as this. They're 10 times stronger than they were before, and we have no idea what to expect."

I gulped as he spoke, recognising the truth in his words, but I knew this was not the time for him to psyche himself into a defeatist mood, as he sometimes did whenever he was really scared, though he would never care to admit it.

"Stop it Peter. We're stronger too. The strategy we just discussed with our troop leaders is a solid one. We have the dragons on our side as well. We can win this."

I was never really good at encouragement, but I knew that Peter understood where I was coming from.

"Talina?"

I felt my heart twist painfully as he spoke her name. I hated the idea of my baby girl having to be in this war, and all that mattered to me was that she was safe. If anything were to happen to her, I would not know what I would do.

"Ella took her to the nursery, the Professor and 2 of the mid-wives will be looking after her, together with the guards outside."

Pete smiled, which was nice to see considering his face up until this point was just perpetually in an intense frown.

"She's well protected Ed, don't worry."

I nodded but did not reply. I did worry, but I did not want to show it. I had to focus on the battle ahead now, I could not afford to lose focus and make myself vulnerable.

"Done."

"Thanks."

Peter took a step back and gave me a look, a look I had seen often before- the look that he gave me as if it could possibly be the last time he ever looked at me.

And I did not like it one bit.

He opened his mouth to speak and I just knew he was going to say something sentimental that would come across like a goodbye message, and despite him knowing that I hated it whenever he spoke like that; I knew he would still go on.

I was certainly not going into war with an emotional hangover.

"You know, whatever happens, you should know…"

"Save it for after we win."

A/N: This was so hard to write I'm sorry if it isn't that good!

But yeah, I still worked quite hard on it so I hope you still somewhat liked it!

Also, someone mentioned in a review about a trailer. I would love to make a trailer for this story but to be honest, if I do, it's going to take some time because I'm honestly so busy. So that is why I'm calling out to anyone who's good at making videos? If you don't mind helping me make my trailer that would be great. Just PM me if you are kind enough to be willing to help me out haha, then I can provide you all the details (that's a little incentive/prize I guess? You help me make my trailer, you get to find out the whole story in advance, maybe even have a say in how it goes!) So yeah...

Don't forget to review my lovelies!

Cheers! And remember, live nice :)