Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow. ~ Abdul Kalam
Disclaimer: I do not own The Chronicles of Narnia, be it book or movie. I only own Arielle and any deviation from the established plot.
When Winter holds its breath
and Spring begins anew
a Sacrificial death
upon the Table entombed
Last Time:
Arielle gazed out in the direction of the forests. "I promise you Peter, I will do all I can to help your brother. On that you have my word, both as a Queen and as an elder sister."
In the distance, a horn sounded, and time seemed to stop.
"Susan!" Peter cried.
Peter's long legs swiftly carried him down the hill and through the camp. Arielle followed him, pausing only to bark out a set of orders to Oreius. But while Peter had a good few inches on her in height, Arielle had been born to run. She seemed to fly through the woods, easily keeping up with the blonde king.
"Down by the river bank!" Arielle called to Peter, hefting her staff as she cleared a fallen tree. Peter nodded, slowing slightly to draw his sword. Jadis will not take them, Arielle silently vowed, her gray eyes glinting like steel, Not like last time.
The two of them burst through the foliage, making the two wolves snapping at Susan's feet whirl towards them. Peter ran across the shallow river, shouting, "Get away from them!"
One of the wolves laughed, and sneered at Peter. "Well, look what the cat dragged in! And the cat herself! Lady Fortune is smiling today!" Arielle narrowed her eyes at wolf, recognition finally dawning on her. Maugrim, the Captain of Jadis's secret police force. She brought her staff up, and the second wolf backed up to avoid the twelve inch blade. She spun, catching the wolf on the held with the metal ring on the opposite end.
The wolf fell over, dazed, and Arielle closed in, placing the blade at the wolf's neck. If the wolf so much as moved, she'd be able to kill it. To Maugrim, she said in an icily calm tone, "Indeed, Lady Fortune is smiling - just not on you." For a moment, Arielle could see fear flash through the Captain's eyes.
But then he turned his gaze back to Peter, who had fear written all over him, from the white knuckled death grip he had on his sword to the stiffness in his shoulders. Maugrim's lip curled, and he took a step forward. Peter instantly took a step back, and the wolf laughed. "We've already been through this boy! You're no hero!"
Above, Lucy called out a warning. Peter's jaw clenched, and his grip tightened further. Arielle watched on with concern. Peter had some talent with the weapon, but the lack of confidence and proper training was enough of a hindrance that against a more powerful foe would end up getting him killed.
Underneath Arielle, the second wolf tensed his muscles. The girl dropped her staff and grabbed his scruff in one hand while drawing one of her short swords - slender blades about as long as her forearm - in the other. Feeling the steady cold metal against his neck, the wolf wisely heeded the warning and stilled.
Thundering hooves announced the arrival of Oreius and a squadron of fauns and large cats. The centaur rode towards Maugrim, two swords in hand, ready to cut the Captain into ribbons.
"Halt!" Arielle commanded. Oreius came to a stop, and Maugrim risked a glance at the young Queen. Her eyes were locked on Peter. "This is not our fight." She knew Maugrim - he was all bark and very little bite to back it up. If Peter was to truly master that blade of his, then he needed to believe in himself first.
Peter swallowed hard, knowing exactly what Arielle wanted him to do. Only, he didn't know if he could do it.
Sensing his hesitation, Maugrim scoffed. "Face it boy, you can't kill anything!" The wolf crouched, tensed to spring.
"Look out!" Susan screamed as he jumped at Peter, knocking both of them to the ground. No one moved.
And then Peter was sitting up, pushing the corpse of Captain Maugrim off of him, only to be tackled moments later by his two relieved sisters. Arielle smiled, before returning her attention to her captive. He would know the location of Jadis's camp, and if Edmund wasn't there, Arielle would eat her staff. She stood, letting the wolf scamper away. "Follow him. He'll lead you to Edmund." Oreius nodded, and quickly gave chase with his squad.
Arielle sheathed her sword and picked up her staff before drawing near the three Pevensies. "Peter." He glanced up, and the Queen gestured to his bloodied blade. "Clean your sword." He did and, as if some force guided him, knelt before Arielle.
"Peter Pevensie, in protecting the lives of your sisters, Susan and Lucy, you have slain the beast Maugrim." Arielle intoned. At the last words, the boy winced slightly. The Queen made a mental note to talk to Peter about his first kill - as Gariv had done for her. She forced the memory down and continued, "As such, from this day forth you will be known as Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane, member of the Order of the Lion, Knight of Narnia."
Peter stood, sheathing Rhindon. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Arielle shook her head. "Simply Arielle is sufficient, Lady Arielle if you insist. But please, do not address me as 'Majesty.' The four of you will be Queens and Kings soon enough, and my reign ended long ago."
Lucy stared. "You were a queen?!" She asked excitedly.
Arielle chuckled and knelt to her height. "As Aslan has said at every coronation since the beginning of Narnia, 'Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia.' In other words, Lucy, yes I was. I still am one, though I will not be the ruling monarch."
"Wow..." Lucy gasped. "What's it like, being a Queen?"
Memories flooded to the surface, and Arielle couldn't stop the flash of grief that skittered over her face for a moment. She forcefully pushed the images of her home, her friends, of Gariv, to the back of her mind, and smiled at the young Queen - to - be who fortunately had not seen Arielle's slip. She put on a kind smile. "Well, after the coronation, I got to learn so many different things - like how to ride a horse, and what the rest of the world was like -"
Susan and Peter discretely slowed their pace, increasing the distance between them and the two girls while still keeping them within sight. Unknown to the leader of Aslan's camp, they had seen the flash of emotion Lucy's question had brought out. "I don't trust her." Susan stated. "She's hiding something."
Peter frowned. "Her reign was 600 years ago. I'm guessing it wasn't exactly peaceful, but that doesn't mean she means us harm."
How can you be sure?" Susan countered. "We don't know anything about her! For all we know she could be as bad or worse than the White Witch-"
"She gave me her word." Peter interrupted. Susan blinked. "Arielle promised she'd do all that she could to help Edmund, which is more than anyone else has done. So for now, I'll put my trust in her and Aslan." With that, Peter picked up the pace again, effectively ending the conversation.
Upon entering the camp again, Arielle excused herself for a moment, disappearing among the tents. A moment later though, she was back again, carrying a leather wrapped bundle in her free hand. "Ainkirk!" A dwarf with a reddish beard braided in two thick braids looked up from where he was setting aside a freshly sharpened scimitar. "Could you find Nighthoof and Capricus and come with them to the main training fields?"
The short dwarf bowed. "Yes, My Lady." Making sure the sword wouldn't fall over, he ran off, dodging other soldiers with a grace surprising for his stocky stature. Arielle then gestured for the three of them to follow her.
Susan shot Arielle a confused glance as she struggled to keep up with the older girl's pace. "Where are we going?"
Her response was a grim smile and a nod towards a large open field where one could see large open fields and a row of targets. Some warriors and archers were there practicing. "While your safety is pretty much guaranteed within the borders of this camp, the unexpected can always occur, nor do I wish to restrict your freedom. Therefore, the three of you are going to learn how to defend yourselves. Properly." She added to Peter who'd opened his mouth. "Maugrim may have been Captain of Jadis's secret police, but he was a spy, not a warrior. Were you to face a minotaur, cyclops, werewolf, or something else of like from Jadis's army, you wouldn't have lasted three seconds." Peter closed his mouth and nodded.
"Father Christmas seems to have outfitted you three well," Arielle observed, noting the familiar make of the weapons. "Peter, you'll be working with Capricus, a Satyr who can teach you to fight with a sword, and later with your shield as well. Listen to him. Susan, Nighthoof will give you a crash course on archery. Beyond that, it is simply practice. However, I also want you to learn to wield a short sword." Arielle said.
The dark brunette frowned. "Why?"
"Close combat." Arielle explained. "Unless you are fast enough, archery is useless in close quarters. Nighthoof is one of our best dual blade masters. She'll teach you well. That is also what this is for." Arielle set the leather bundle down with a muffled clank of metal. Unrolling it, she revealed an assortment of blades from knives to a hand and a half sword. "When I'm done talking, you and Lucy will find swords that suit you, and Ainkirk can teach Lucy - they are similiar in size."
"But, I already have a sword." Lucy said, showing Arielle her dagger.
"Ah, yes." The Queen replied, unsheathing her short sword. "But which has a better reach? My sword or your dagger?" Lucy looked from her dagger - a six inch blade - to Arielle's sword which was at least double in length. Her gray eyes gentled as she added, "You don't have to use it Lucy, but I'd rather you know how to use it, and never have to, than not have one and be in a situation where you need it." The eight year old nodded, and Susan and Peter exchanged glances. Somehow, Arielle had picked up on Lucy's dislike of violence and found a compromise for the youngest Pevensie.
"What about me?" Peter asked, eyeing the pile of swords somewhat nervously. He rather preferred his own.
Arielle shook her head. "There isn't enough time - besides, you'll have plenty of versatility with your shield, and the option of single or double handed with your sword." Her gaze focused on something over Peter's shoulder, and he turned to see three figures coming.
"Lady Arielle." The female centaur said. "Ainkirk said you wished to see us?"
Arielle smiled up at the great warrior. "Yes. The Pevensies have talent, but they lack proper training. Would you three be willing to teach them?"
Nighthoof looked at Susan, studying the girl from head to toe. Peter and Lucy found themselves undergoing similar scrutiny. Then, one by one, the three teachers nodded their consent. Minutes later, Susan and Lucy had both chosen their secondary weapons - a spatha for Susan, and a Hoplite short sword for Lucy - and the three were ushered away by their various teachers. Arielle rolled the bundle up and walked back to the supply tents, placing the weapons back before heading towards the food tent to see if she could grab a roll - she'd missed lunch and her stomach was loudly voicing its discontent.
Author's Note:
So, here's the second chapter! I can't believe that I'm actually cranking these things out. Yay to no writer's block!
Alright, so as people send me questions via review or PM, I'll answer them by sending a PM in return or if 1) It is a guest review or 2) a lot of people are asking the same question, I will post the answer to the question in the Author's Note in the upcoming chapter.
To Lady Hannah, who asked whether this will be a Peter/OC or an Edmund/OC story: Not in this story. This is simply the first in a series of three stories, and frankly, Arielle will not be in Narnia long enough to do much more than become acquaintances with the Pevensies. The Sequel will take place during Prince Caspian, but there won't be much romance there. It'll be in the final installment where the romance will bloom, so feel free to read until then!
As always, I appreciate comments, critiques, ideas, any thoughts you may have, questions that need clarification, and the sort. And those who can tell me the meaning of the title get a preview of the upcoming chapter!
Thanks for reading,
~Lassie