A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR! My resolution is to update more, and now that A levels are over and I only start uni in 10 months, I'm pretty confident I can stick to that :D

I've already planned out the whole story so I really hope you guys will like this, I'm planning to go big since this is the last one of the series ;)

Chapter 8: Mortis Telvol

Lorenzo's POV

"WHAT!"

I winced at Peter's outburst, gulping a bit as I maintained my stance with my hands folded in front of me, mostly to hide how sweaty my palms were.

I briefly looked around at the rest of the royals to see how they all reacted to the news I had just shared. Serena was biting her lip, glancing at Peter who looked like he was about to implode. Edmund looked just as bewildered as Peter, if not more. Ella and Susan were both frowning in utter confusion and Caspian seemed to be in a state of literal shock as his mouth was agape.

"You're telling me, that Lucy ran away and you didn't do anything about it?!"

Pete's voice got progressively louder as he spoke, to the point where he yelled out his accusation at me.

I took a deep breath and quickly thought of the best phrasing for my answer which would not result in the very livid king before me cutting me to pieces.

"Queen Lucy came to me yesterday, while the preparations for the Ball were being made, and asked me for a favour. All she said was that she had some urgent business to attend to and she had to see to it immediately. She refused to reveal anything more. And she made me swear not to tell anyone."

I spoke slowly, careful with my words for I knew everyone was pretty distraught, but at the same time being as honest as possible. I knew Peter had a pretty bad habit of jumping to drastic conclusions so I decided to just answer questions instead of reveal everything at once.

Peter glanced back at the note in his hand, which was now pretty crumpled thanks to him clenching his fist. His eyes scanned the writing again, and I too remembered what was written on the parchment I was instructed to give Peter.

Please do not come looking for me. I will be home soon.

I love you all.

Lucy.

"So…"

I turned to Susan who was looking at the ground and clearly processing everything in her head as she slowly questioned me.

"You're saying, Lucy told you she had to do something, passed you this note and told you to give it to us only the morning after the Ball?"

"Yes." I replied and nodded firmly.

"You didn't ask her what she had to do? Where she was going, why she couldn't tell any of us? Why didn't you inform one of us?!"

"I did ask. I was concerned too, but no matter how much I prodded she was adamant on not saying anything more. As for telling someone, I would have, but…"

I trailed off, remembering Lucy's words and just how much they scared me.

"But?" prodded Ella.

"She told me it would be too dangerous if I did."

I regretted those words the moment I said them, for everyone in the room immediately blanched. I looked down, knowing this was not going well.

"So my little sister is in danger and you KNEW she was going off on some mission alone, but you did nothing about it?"

Peter spoke low but the rage was very clear in his voice. I dared not look up because I knew I would not be able to look him properly in the eye.

I knew he was blaming me for what Lucy did.

"Pete…" Serena spoke softly and I was sure she was holding his arm, trying to calm him down as he breathed heavily.

"Arrest him."

My head snapped up and I looked at Peter in shock, who was in return glaring at me as if he wanted to stick a sword through me right then and there. From my peripheral vision I could make out the guard at the door, my friend Keegan, hesitantly coming towards me.

"Peter!"

"He withheld information from us about a queen being in danger, which is as good as treason against Narnia!"

I could not take my eyes off of Peter, utterly stunned at what he was saying.

Treason?!

I felt Keegan take hold of my arm, and my heart was racing unimaginably. There were so many things I wanted to say, but for some reason my brain could not process them all properly and in the end I just spat out the one very clear thought that was screaming in me.

"How dare you!"

I shook Keegan off and marched up to Peter, but Caspian, who was standing next to Peter, quickly blocked my advance as he stepped in front of me and grabbed my arm.

"Lorenzo…"

"How dare you accuse me of treason!" I yelled at Peter over Caspian's shoulder, ignoring the latter's attempt to calm me down.

No, no way I was going to calm down.

I was a man of honour.

I fought for Narnia, I put my life on the line for the kingdom and for this family, for him!

And he turns around and labels me a traitor?!

"All I am guilty of is actually listening to Lucy, something none of you ever do!"

Peter's glare turned into a look of appalment, but I was too upset to take back my words. No matter how harsh they sounded, they were true. I remembered how she spoke to me that day in the corridor, how upset she was when I asked her why she didn't want to tell the rest of her family.

"Oh, for them to worry over me and baby me and smother me as usual? No Lorenzo, this is something I need to do myself. And if I tell my family, do you honestly think they'd let me go on my own? They think I'm weak, they don't believe I can do anything because I'm the baby of the family. Besides, it's too dangerous if you tell them. So please Lorenzo. Please, for me."

Caspian was still holding my arm so I turned to find him looking at me intently. I knew him since we children, and I knew that look very well.

Enough.

I breathed deeply as I tried to calm myself. The whole room was silent and everyone was just looking at me with the same expression, the very one Peter had.

"Listen, I know all of you are concerned about Lucy. So am I. Perhaps you forget, but she is not just my queen, she is my dear friend. But I refuse to go to jail and be accused of treason because I am guilty of keeping a promise, or believing in her to be strong enough to do something on her own."

By the end of my speech, I was looking Peter right in the eye. He looked hurt and angry, but I knew he could see the truth in what I was saying.

There was a lapse of silence again, and it seemed like Peter and I were having a staring contest. I was not going to look away though; I was not ashamed of what I did. Everyone else seemed to just be watching us wearily, though I knew they were all in heavy thought, reflecting on my words.

Suddenly, a knock on the door broke the pregnant pause.

I turned to find the Professor standing at the doorway, looking a bit hesitant as he sensed the tension in the room.

"Professor?"

Caspian finally let go of my arm, though by that point it had actually slipped my mind that he was still holding me.

"Your Majesties, I heard about Queen Lucy's secret departure." He spoke in his thick Telmarine accent.

I internally groaned at the prospect of word of this spreading around. If this got out of the castle and reached the people, it would certainly stir up confused and worried sentiments.

"Is there something you know Professor?" Edmund asked.

The professor glanced at me briefly before looking back at Edmund.

"Yes," he throatily replied.

Everyone visibly perked at his answer, including me.

"Sir Lorenzo was not the only one Queen Lucy spoke to."

Susan's POV

We were all currently sitting by the fireplace in Peter's and Serena's room, where we usually sat to discuss important, personal matters.

Lorenzo and Peter were sitting on opposite couches and since their feud that occurred a few minutes before and a few feet away, they refused to look at each other. Peter was in fact, still seething a bit and Lorenzo was still scowling. Serena was next to Peter and clasping his hand, rubbing his knuckles to try to calm him down.

Edmund and Ella were sitting next to each other, and while both of them looked worried, Ella had an especially concerned look on her face, her brows in a knot and her gaze on the ground as she bit her lip. Edmund seemed to be aware of this as he took her hand and squeezed it.

Caspian was next to me and a small part of me was actually quite upset with him. I knew there was something wrong the moment I couldn't find Lucy at the Ball, but he just shook it off.

If I had not listened to him, if I had looked for her, if I had found her and talked to her, perhaps…

"Professor,"

I snapped out of my thoughts to my husband's voice, and looked up at the round man in the middle of the square formation of couches, his hands on his belly as he seemed to be in thought.

"Please, tell us what all you know."

The Professor nodded and I took a deep breath, praying he would not reveal something that would be too much for me to handle.

"After the battle, Queen Lucy came to me with questions about a magic I had never heard of before. Mortis Telvol. I did not know about it at first, so she asked me to find out about it if I could. And she ordered me to keep it a secret."

I noticed Peter glance at Lorenzo, and Lorenzo looked at him as well. Luckily the exchange was fleeting and they both looked back at the Professor, this was certainly not the time for another heated argument between those two.

"After a few days of reading and researching, I finally came across the magic in one of my oldest books. Mortis Telvol is a curse of dark magic, and one of the oldest and most dangerous curses to ever exist."

My heart dropped to my stomach and I felt Caspian's hand take mine and squeeze it. While I was upset with him before, in that moment I was thankful for that reassurance because it felt like I was going to explode with worry.

"She asked me more about it, but unfortunately the book I had held limited information on it. Queen Lucy was desperate, so I finally told her about a sorcerer I knew from long ago who knew everything there was to know about all the magic of Narnia. I suspect she has gone off to seek him."

"Who is this sorcerer?" Peter asked in a rather demanding tone which I normally would scold him for, but given the circumstances, I knew he did not mean ill but was just really anxious.

"His name was Coriarkin. He was an acquaintance who taught me quite a lot about Narnia's magic. Unfortunately once the Telmarines invaded Narnia, he disappeared and I haven't seen or heard from him since. I could not tell Queen Lucy where he lived, but my guess is she-"

"Decided to find out on her own." Ella finished for him, to which he nodded slowly.

"What does it mean?" Serena asked hesitantly, "Mortis Telvol?"

The Professor took a deep breath and looked gravely at all of us.

"The Holder of Death."

A/N: Please let me know what you think of the story so far, as y'all know, I absolutely love constructive feedback so please review!