A/N: HELLO! I actually went on vacation to Europe and I returned last week, so sorry for the little gap. But here's the next chapter, so enjoy!

Chapter 9: Rescues

Lucy's POV

"Ow!"

I grunted as I landed on the rugged ground, my palms breaking my fall but bearing the consequence of some cuts and scratches. I turned to sit upright, taking off my boots to examine my feet.

I had been walking for hours through the Western Wood, but it felt like ages. The soles of my feet were already spotting some bruises, for my boots did not exactly have the best padding to put up with the bumpy terrain. The heavy satchel of supplies did not help with the exhaustion, and the fact that the sun was high in the sky made me want to yank my hood off, but I could not risk recognition. There was currently no one around but the Wood was huge and never empty.

Perhaps I should have just brought Nurisa along with me.

No, it would've been too obvious and she'd leave tracks.

The last thing I wanted was to be tracked.

I huffed and put my boots back on after messaging my feet for a bit. Standing up, I grabbed my map.

Oh great, I'm not even halfway there.

I rolled back the map and put it in my satchel, adjusting the strap on my shoulder. With a sigh, I marched forward, wondering if chopping my hand off might have been the easier solution.

I had left the note behind so that my family would not send out any search parties for me, but I also knew Peter far too well.

He never listened to me.

That was why I planned out my route in advance, taking the most convoluted and hidden trail I knew of through the Woods which would make finding me extremely hard. I had ridden through these woods more than any of my family members, even more than Edmund. I knew this place the best, so there really was no way they could find me easily.

And I really hoped they didn't.

I glanced down at the ugly scar on my hand grimaced, closing my palm into a fist.

Suddenly, there was a snap of a twig. I froze, becoming hyper-aware of my surroundings. I slowly looked around, scanning the trees for any sign of another presence. At the same time, my hand crept to my hip where my sword rested. My dagger rested on my other hip but I decided to be more protected with my rather bigger and sharper weapon.

Finally, I spotted the source of the sound in the distance.

A fox.

Well, at least it looked like one. It was in the shadows and its back was to me, but it seemed to just be minding its own business. I let out the breath I did not even know I was holding, a wave of relief washing over me.

I deliberated for a moment, considering whether to approach it or just go on without being noticed. The usual me would definitely go up to it, for I loved chatting to the wood animals. But then I remembered why I was in the woods in the first place, and I sighed, deciding to just let it go and move on with my mission.

I quietly stepped to my right, recalling a side path that branched out from my main trail for a bit before joining back with it a few yards further. It was my best bet to be unnoticed by the creature.

Unfortunately, my next step was on a particularly crispy leaf that let out a pretty loud crunch. The fox's head snapped to my direction and I froze again.

Maybe I'll just have a quick chat now that it's noticed me.

But as it peered at me through the shadows, it slowly stepped into the patchy sunlight that shone through the canopy, revealing itself fully and making me gasp.

It wasn't a fox.

It was a wolf.

My breathing quickened as it starting to growl, lowering its head and shoulders a bit as it stared viciously at me.

Oh no.

I broke out into a run, immediately hearing his bark which meant that it was chasing me now. There was no way I could out-run a wolf, but thankfully there was initially some distance between us which helped me greatly.

As I ran, all my concentration was on my feet, making sure I dodged every rock and fallen branch. Not running fast enough was one thing, but if I fell over, I was done for.

Don't trip, don't trip, don't trip…

I chanted to myself over and over in my head, occasionally startled to push my feet further by the nearing growls behind me.

Suddenly, I heard a loud whimper, followed by a thud.

After that, there were no more sounds of growls or running paws behind me, so I came to a stop.

Catching my breath, I slowly turned around, drawing my sword just in case I was not out of danger yet. A few feet from me, the wolf that was chasing me moments earlier lay on the ground in a pool of blood. I cautiously walked back to it, noticing an arrow sticking out of its left side.

I immediately turned to my right, looking through the trees for my supposed savior, though I clutched my sword in case I was too presumptuous to give that title at this point.

"I'm up here."

A voice from above startled me, and I looked up to the low branch of a tree right next to me. I had to step back a few steps to properly see who it was, but once I did, my breath hitched in my throat.

"Keladry?"

Ella's POV

"How bad is it?"

Peter anxiously looked at Gregory, one of our high-chair counsels, who clasped his hands in front of him on the table and pursed his lips.

"Pretty bad, Your Majesty. They're threatening violence and attacks, and they've already set up camp near the Dancing Lawn."

Peter sat back in his chair and rubbed his temple, sighing heavily.

"These Calormen people, why are they always so fussy?"

"Peace talks, would be what I suggest Sire. They like you, if you can convince them that Narnia is more than willing to keep up our usual trade, with a few terms and conditions, I am positive they'll listen and back off. They're more brawn than brains after all."

Peter nodded thoughtfully at Trumpkin and tapped his fingers on the table, clearly thinking through everything.

"That's right," Susan piped in, "If you mention our difficulties after the war, they'll probably sympathize and allow us our leeway. It's just a matter of tactfully talking to them."

"Alright, we leave tomorrow for the peace talks. It's at least a 3-day journey so I want to leave as soon as possible. Send them a raven with our message that we will be coming to talk with them."

Gregory nodded and got up, swiftly leaving the room to make the arrangements.

"Susan, you're good at these peace talks so I want you to come with me."

Susan nodded with a smirk.

"Also to make sure what happened last time doesn't happen again, right?"

Peter rolled his eyes though he succumbed to a small smile. The rest of us chuckled, recalling the incident of Peter using some rather harsh words at a previous peace talk with Archenland that resulted in the princess crying, which needless to say upset the King quite a bit.

"Ed, Ella."

Edmund perked in his seat from beside me, readily looking at Peter. I sat up straight too, though I was less enthusiastic for I had an idea of what he was going to mention.

"I want you guys to take care of the Lucy situation while I'm gone."

Edmund nodded, but I bit my lip.

Lucy explicitly mentioned for us to not look for her. She went through a great deal of trouble to make sure there was no way any of us stopped her or found her. And she was no baby, she knew what she was doing whenever she did something.

"Caspian and Serena, I need you to take over my errands for the next few days. There are some diplomats coming so you'll need to meet them…"

As Peter continued to delegate and discuss tasks and assignments, my thoughts drifted to what he specifically asked of Edmund and me. I knew there was no use talking to Peter about it, he was not a generally stubborn person but he was always adamant when it came to issues concerning Lucy. He would never change his mind on this, and the previous day's episode with Lorenzo just showed how shaken he was from her leaving.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I had not even realised that the meeting was actually concluded, and everyone was leaving to go their own ways. I looked up to find almost everyone had already left the council chamber, with Susan and Edmund being the last ones, besides me, to sift out of the door.

Now was my chance.

I pushed back my chair and hastily left the chamber. To my right I saw everyone heading towards the Main Wing of the castle, engaged in discussion about all that was to be done, but I could not spot any black hair. I then turned to my left, spotting my husband walking swiftly down the corridors towards the Guard Wing, which meant he was going to set up the search parties immediately.

"Ed!"

I jogged up to him as he turned around.

"No, El."

I frowned, looking up at him.

"What?"

"I know what you're going to say, and I don't agree. You can't fight me on this."

My frown disappeared and was replaced with a rather peeved look. Edmund knew me well, but that didn't mean he could just throw away my concerns and act on his own accord.

"Edmund, you saw the note. Lucy explicitly asked us not to look for her. I mean, there must be some reason. And-"

"Just because she said so, doesn't mean we just sit back and let her walk into danger. I don't know about you but when I found out she has something to do with a curse that means death, I got pretty worried."

"I'm worried too! Edmund, we're all worried about her. I'm not saying we shouldn't be. But that doesn't mean we just disregard what she asks of us and send a manhunt after her."

Edmund folded his arms, looking angrier by the second. I didn't blame him. Lucy was his little sister, and while their relationship was sore in the beginning, he truly cared and worried for her now. Of course as a bigger brother he would want to protect her, just as Peter did.

But I had to be rational, objective one here. Lucy was like my sister, but she was also very smart.

"Lucy knows how to take care of herself."

I spoke my last line quietly but meaningfully, looking him in the eye to make sure he understood where I was coming from.

Edmund's face remained hard, but I knew he was considering my words. He knew I was right. He looked away from me and to the ground, though he maintained his stance.

"Ed, please."

Edmund looked back at me, and while I was expecting him to soften and acknowledge what I was trying to relay, I was taken aback to find his eyes even harder than before.

"I'm sending the search parties out for her. Don't try to stop me again."

With that, he turned around and continued marching down the corridor, this time with his shoulders squared and even more determination in his step.

I watched his back as he walked away from me. At first I was upset, that he didn't listen to me and was acting on emotion rather than rationality. But then I remembered Peter's words.

You're not the only one who gets to call the shots here, Ed.

A/N: Please don't forget to review! :)