Hey guys!

So, chapter 10 is now published! This is part 2 of the raid to the Telmarine castle.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Beth's storyline.

Feel free to review, fav and follow! Hope you guys like it!

Chapter 10. "Stand Your Ground and Fight."

"Hermione, when do our plans ever actually work? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose"- Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2.

My dear brother:

Somehow, I find myself thinking about you the most during the hardest days here. I wonder how life back in England's changed ever since I came here. I wonder what's going on with you, whether you are good, happy and safe.

Maybe I should explain why I am so obviously more melancholic than usual. I will try to do so in an optimistic manner, for your sake but admittedly, also for mine.

Things have changed dramatically since my last letter. Our location's been discovered by the Telmarines and now, Peter, Caspian, Susan and Edmund are on their way to attack the telmarine castle in the hopes of gaining the upper hand in this war with the surprise attack.

I keep thinking of my father King Ersan and my people back in Archenland. I don't regret leaving, of course and, deep down, I know the sudden way in which I disappeared from my father's castle was the only way I could have actually made it to Narnia. Perhaps I should have discussed it further with them, and it makes me sick only thinking about the state of my father when he realized I was gone but when I received those news, I could only think of coming to help my best friend. For all I knew, Caspian was on his own, in a country he definitely didn't know, with little amount of friends and fewer allies. Mostly, I could only think of how, had the situations been reversed, he would have never hesitated to help me.

The idea of telmarines and narnians working together seems hauntingly impossible but if anyone can manage it, that's Caspian. Specially considering how little time he has actually been with the Narnians, it is amazing the amount of trust he has awoken in the Narnian folk. He's given them a sense of hope and faith, two things they hadn't even known for hundreds of years.

If there's anything I've learned during my two years in this world, that is that there isn't an impossible thing. As long as we work for it, then anything can happen. During the most stressful days here, such as today, I make myself remember this in order to regain my inner strength.

I am now in charge at The How with Lucy until the others come back. The others leaving for battle has meant a struggle to poor Lucy so I volunteered to stay awake, just in case, so she can sleep. It works both ways really. She gets to rest and I get to prepare myself for any possible outcome, which is not a healthy habit, I know, but it's the most effective coping mechanism I have.

I'm realizing now that while I told you how am I getting along with the Kings and Queens of Old, I haven't actually told you about them. I didn't have the time to write about it in my last letter so I promised myself I would write about it tonight.

Peter is one of the most stubborn men I have ever met, only matched by my lovely, telmarine best friend. He is also endlessly courageous when it comes to his country, loyal when it comes to his people, and overprotective as hell when it comes to his siblings. Somehow, I find that relatable.

Only now do I see from first experience how, regardless of how much we might read about a legend, we can only get to know them properly in person. Peter is one of those people who can separate their personal lives from their duties so, in retrospective, is not surprising how, apart from the magnificent royal side of him described in history books, there is a part of him that's utterly childish and that few people have come to known. After all, he's only 16.

While I pity him for how swiftly he was forced to resign his childhood in order to take care properly of his siblings, I admire him for how gladly he did it. And I am proud to call him my friend.

Susan was not what I imagined. Not in a bad sense, of course. Peter may be seen as the group's leader from the perspective of the people, but in truth, it's Susan the one that their family goes to for comfort, discussion, or company. The other three constantly moan about how exceedingly rational Susan is but I think they secretly are thankful for that, because she provides an inset into any discussed subject that nobody else actually has.

Lucy has always been my favourite Queen of Old. Ever since I've read about her bravery, unwavering strength and faith, both in battle and in her convictions, I've always admired her. Not only is it quite hard to believe in someone you cannot see but also, the world is a cruel place, with many people telling you how to behave or think constantly. Lucy, for her innocent positivity, her faith and her friendship with Aslan, defies those factors constantly and for that, she is a forced to be reckoned with.

However, I think her most outstanding trait is how she has all three of her siblings wrapped around her fingers. As the youngest and the sunshine of the family, she is just so charming that overprotective Peter is not immune to her sister's puppy eyes; motherly Susan has never stood a chance against Lucy's sweet smile and cunning Edmund is not intelligent enough to avoid being enchanted by her younger sister's pouts. Some of the highlights of my days here are witnessing how my friends struggle to refuse Lucy's requests, all of us aware that they will cave sooner rather than later, so any resistance is fruitless.

Lucy is certainly the best girl friend I've ever had. We first bonded over our love for teasing other people (Susan and Caspian especially), but our friendship has gotten much more deeper ever since. Caspian, he's been my best friend for years and I would have probably not survived my time in this world without him, especially after Tor's passing, but Lucy and I can talk about anything, including things I've never even thought of bringing up when with Caspian.

Maybe it's the fact that she's a girl, maybe it's that she and I are really smart, unlike the dear prince. Who knows.

Last but most certainly not least, Edmund Pevensie. Where do I even begin?

So, I already respected him because of what I had read in the chronicles about him. How he arrived to Narnia being a little, miserable boy and, led by the wrong influences, betrayed his siblings, later managing to redeem himself and finally leaving Narnia fifteen years later as one of the most loved monarchs in the Narnian history.

As I mentioned before, I have to admit that due to several events in my life, I've found a sense of control, of comfort in shielding myself emotionally. I'm aware that it's not the best course of action and I implore you to never follow my lead but when I needed to stay strong in order to survive and move on, not allowing myself to feel too much for anyone other than my loved ones allowed me to move forward until I had the time to heal myself.

The day I met the Kings and Queens of Old, I started it as the warrior princess I've come to be. Then, I dared to glance at the Just King and that's all it took to turn back into a petty kid with a pathetic crush. I'm aware I already told you about this in my last letter but I just can't wrap my mind over how fast it actually happened, so I need to keep repeating myself.

It would be easier if he was a bad person or at least rude but it is insulting how perfect the guy is. I realize I'm making myself look pathetic as I pour my feelings onto this sheet, but he admitted his feelings to me just before he left and now, even the idea of never seeing him again is making me slightly nauseous, so writing about him makes me feel better.

I'd love to continue this but I should check on the troops guarding outside. I will write to you soon, though, and let you know everything going on here.

Never forget that I love you, little brother.

Beth.

As Beth rested the letter on the table beside her carefully, she heard rustling behind her and, turning around, caught Lucy sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Lu, you alright?"

"Yes," Lucy sighed, smiling resignedly at the princess, "it's just that it seems that I will only be able to sleep for a few hours at a time. What are you up to?"

"Oh, I told you how I write to my brother Robin back in England, right? I was just finishing another letter to him," Beth explained distractedly, her focus on making sure there weren't any ink' stains on the parchment.

"Oh, yes, can I write him too? It would be so much fun!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly, forgetting all about her sleepiness at once.

At Beth's hesitant' glance, the youngest queen made pleading eyes.

In the older girl's behalf, she resisted the amazing amount of a few seconds before chuckling amusedly.

"Alright, kiddo...it seems that I'm not immune to your tricks either, huh?" Beth commented as she handed the little queen a sheet of paper and a quill with ink.

"Yay, thanks! Can I read your letter?" Lucy asked as she took the instruments from Beth's hands.

"I just talked about you guys, and our life here. Nothing interesting," Beth replied as noncommitically as she could, trying her hardest not to fluster as she remembered what she wrote about the raven-haired king.

"Ah, please!" Lucy whined, pouting at the princess as she made her best puppy dog eyes ever registered in history.

Beth sighed. She hated her life sometimes. "Alright, just don't tell anyone what I wrote. Especially, not a word to your brother."

Lucy gasped in delight, her eyes lighting up considerably. "Oh my gosh! Did you write about Ed to your brother? As your sister and best friend I have the utmost right to read it!"

"Aslan, help me," Beth mumbled resignedly as Lucy eagerly read her lines.

Edmund straightened as he heard Peter's cry. For a moment, he imagined himself back at Beruna, watching his brother march into battle for the very first time on a white unicorn, an army following his every command.

He glanced with pride as Peter, Susan and Caspian led the attack against the telmarines and taking into notice just how privileged was his position, he remained still, and therefore was the only one able to witness the first moments of the battle. The few moments where every breath was held expectantly, as both sides steeled themselves for the crash.

He saw how every Narnian valiantly, almost desperately, slashed their swords and axes, threw their daggers and shot their arrows against the enemy.

Then, he noticed with awe just how brilliant Susan's skill with the bow was. Since she hadn't been quite as active in war times as the rest had, he hadn't grown used to seeing her fight. As the Marksman Queen shot an arrow at an enemy soldier, immediately taking another from her quiver to stab yet another incoming enemy, not losing time before throwing that same arrow at a third one, Edmund couldn't help but be confused as to why had she stayed away from fighting all those years during their rule.

He then looked for his brother and his best friend, admiring how different were their combat' styles, yet how graceful they were, almost making it look like a dance instead of a fight every time either Peter or Caspian encountered an enemy.

He saw how Glenstorm and the centaurs kept throwing Telmarines away as if they barely weighted. He witnessed how Reepicheep and his mice stuck to slashing the soldier's legs or throwing themselves at their necks, rapidly advancing further into the courtyard. He took notice of how the fauns used their flexible limbs to jump from balcony to balcony, killing every enemy they found as they went.

But he also observed how, as they killed one Telmarine, three more materialised as if their numbers were infinite. He saw the masses of Telmarines that rushed down the stairs, slowly but surely trapping them.

They should have never gone there.

And, just when Edmund thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.

"Archers!" A deep voice barked and Edmund's eyes widened at the new Telmarine reinforcement. "Pick your target!"

Dozens of Telmarines bursted into the balconies surrounding the main courtyard. They prepared their crossbows and aimed them at the Narnians.

Frantically looking for a way to help, his eyes fell on Susan. She was staring at the archers, utterly horrified but just then, as if feeling his eyes on her, she looked up.

For a moment, both of them stared at each other, frightened by the other's situation, and helpless at being so obviously outnumbered.

"Take your aim!" The voice roared.

Susan and Edmund had always been particularly close, just as Peter and Lucy were, so they had no problem in reading each other's mind.

Every fibre in her body seemed to be screaming for him to get down and escape that cursed place.

Edmund's determined eyes clearly argued that he's be staying with them and that they would leave together, all of them.

For a second, the elder queen stood still. Then she nodded, her face wearing a deep scowl at being in this situation and turned around to continue fighting.

Edmund nodded in return, trying to ignore the panic he felt rising within him as the impossible situation began to dawn on him and looked around frantically.

He needed to get down there as soon as possible.

Susan quickly notched another arrow to her bow, looking rapidly around her for approaching enemies as she tried to ignore the tiredness and stress she was currently under.

She studied her surroundings, trying to be hopeful by every individual battle won but knowing that she was only fooling herself. For every battle won, there seemed to be so many more lost.

So many deaths, so many of her people gone in one sudden moment.

This is why she hated wars. They were basically an event in which thousands died because of a political affair gone wrong. Their lives thrown away for no good reason, because of the decision of too few who called the shots and that usually stayed behind while sending their own people to the grave. Sons, daughters, wives, husbands, siblings, all of them waiting somewhere safe, all of them who would eventually learn of their loved one's death in a fight that could've been avoided.

This was all so wrong.

Susan snapped out of her thoughts and continued fighting to keep her mind away from those racing musings but then, a loud noise made her look sideways.

Trumpkin had fallen.

She quickly ran to him, quickening her step as she noticed a barrel being dropped right above his head. Arriving there just in time, she pushed him and herself away from danger, the barrel covering them all in dust but failing to harm them further.

Trumpkin shortly gazed at her, silently thanking her, before he closed his eyes and quickly lost consciousness. Susan stared at him for a moment, taking deep breaths as she felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins, making her hyper aware of her surroundings.

Then, her instinct made her look up.

She blanched.

An archer was aiming his crossbow directly at her.

Peter, more than ever, tried to be in as many places as he could, aiding his people but at the same time taking as many enemies as he could. He instinctively shot quick glances at his siblings and, reluctantly, Caspian, as often as he could.

He'd slashed three Telmarines who'd come towards him simultaneously when he glanced to his left to check on Susan, and felt his stomach drop by what he found.

Susan stood looking up towards a balcony, completely petrified, bow limp in her hand, quiver untouched. Above her, an archer stared back at the queen, his crossbow aimed directly at her.

Peter began to ran frantically towards her. He didn't know what would he do or whether he would arrive and in his desperate need to get to his sister, he almost failed to see how Edmund appeared on the ceiling above the archer and without hesitation, threw himself at him.

For a moment, as Edmund threw the soldier down towards the courtyard, replacing him on the balcony, they all sighed in relief but then, Peter glanced right and noticed the thirty other archers glaring at Edmund from a few feet away.

"Ed!" Peter yelled anxiously as he reached his sister. Susan extended a hand to her younger brother, as if willing more than anything to be able to get him down to the courtyard with them.

Edmund frowned at his brother before sharply looking up and noticing the immediate threat. His eyes widened in fear for a moment before he was running towards the door, shutting it with a thud just in time for the arrows to lodge themselves onto the steel.

Peter and Susan breathed in relief and exchanged a glance before attacking again, wanting this war to be over already.

"Prunaprisma, go with our son," Miraz barked his order as he walked outside to his own balcony. He grasped the stone railing tightly as he contemplated the battle.

Satisfied with his army's odds, he studied the crowd, looking for the enemy's leaders and then, he locked eyes with King Peter. He smirked at the young boy, his expression growing crueler as Peter ran towards the stairs, obviously intending to climb his way towards his balcony.

He always attacked first.

How predictable the High King had turned out to be.

Suddenly, Miraz was startled as a minotaur appeared beside him, clinging onto the railing for dear life with one hand, raising his other one to aim his axe at Miraz.

However, he was one moment too late.

"Careful!" Glozelle suddenly appeared beside Miraz and without looking at him, he shot the minotaur with his crossbow, the arrow burying itself deeply into the Narnian's shoulder and making him drop the axe.

The minotaur held onto the railing still, his eyes pained as he tried to ignore his injured limb and finish the task he'd set himself up for.

Miraz smirked. He slowly walked forward, studying the creature with interest. As he reached him, he leaned closer and pushed him, making him drop dead on the courtyard.

"Get that gate closed," Miraz ordered immediately. Glozelle nodded at the two guards who'd accompanied him and as they went to follow the commands, Lord and General stood side by side and waited for the destruction of their enemy.

As Susan wiped blood and sweat from her face, she noticed four guards running past her. They seemed to be ignoring the battle as they ran towards the gate.

Her eyebrows narrowed in realization and she reached for an arrow, only to find that her quiver was empty. Sighing, she unsheated her sword and ran towards the telmarines.

She easily killed two of them but the remaining pair plus another five who'd followed her quickly surrounded her, smirking at her odds.

Just as she was moving to attack, Fabros the minotaur materialized beside her and together, they both attacked their enemies, winning easily.

"Thanks," she breathed, smiling at the Narnian.

He nodded and bowed before taking off towards the gate that was rapidly dropping. He stopped the motion with his own body and hoisting it up as high as he could, he roared at the Narnians in an alarming manner.

"Peter!" Susan screamed when she noticed how her brother petrified by the newest developments.

"Fall back!" was his reply.

Susan sighed in relief.

Beth was startled awake as she heard a commotion just outside the chamber.

Frowning, she walked outside, taking care not to wake Lucy, and found a young centaur who was struggling with her guards.

"That is enough," she ordered after she'd assessed the situation. She looked at the unimpressed guards and the pleading centaur. "What is going on here?"

"Your Highness, you need to listen to me!" The centaur pleaded. He slipped through the guards and ran towards her.

"Young friend," Beth knelt before him, speaking as soothingly as she managed to, "What's your name?"

"Adrian, your Highness," he breathed urgently, "Please, we need to talk alone, I have a message from Aslan!"

Behind him, the Narnians snorted.

"Come with me, Adrien," she smiled at the centaur before standing again and facing the Narnians with fire in her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why would I answer to you?" the black dwarf of the group hissed, walking to stand at the front of the line. "You are not our queen nor is Aslan. If he cared about us, he would have helped us much earlier."

"You are right, I'm not your queen," Beth calmly replied as she stared at the dwarf in an unimpressed manner, "But I've been your friend for quite some time now, so I think I've gained your trust. Aslan's helped us every time we've needed him, but first, we've had to prove ourselves worthy of his aid. Thirteen hundred years ago, your ancestors waited for an entire century before the Kings and Queens of Old travelled to Narnia. Those Narnians never, not once, lost faith in that they would be saved and at last, they saved themselves."

Beth looked up, noticing how their loud argument had drawn more people to where they stood. The crowd looked at her expectantly, which the princess chose to ignore as it unnerved her to be heard so respectfully. "You are Narnians! You are known for fighting for what's right regardless of the odds and definitely without sulking at the lack of help! I surely hope that by the time this is over, the Telmarines will have faced brave Narnians ready to fight for their freedom and for their land!" the princess then lowered her voice as she stared at the dwarf again. "It is only up to you, my friends. Choose to be worthy or being called a Narnian...or not. Let's go Adrien."

She turned her back on the speechless Narnians, only to find Lucy nodding proudly at her. She opened her mouth to speak when rustling made her look back.

The dwarf who had spoken so harshly had unsheathed his sword and knelt before her, stabbing the blade onto the ground. Slowly, the others followed, all bowing their heads to the stunned princess.

Beth couldn't help but smile as she realized her words had done that. "Please raise, my friends, and carry on with your duties. The others should be here in a few hours."

The Narnians nodded and retreated, leaving Beth, Adrien and Lucy in the now silent corridor.

"That was impressive, Beth," Lucy beamed at her best friend, "Aslan would be proud of you."

"That was nothing, Lu, I was only exasperated," Beth shrugged humbly. She glanced at Adrien. "Besides, there are some urgent matters to be discussed. Adrien?"

The young centaur nodded at Beth before kneeling in front of Lucy. "Your Majesty, I have a message from Aslan."

Peter climbed the stairs a quickly as he could, pulling every Narnian he could away from the fight and ordering them to get out.

"We need to leave!" Peter yelled as a cheetah ran past him and further into the courtyard "Ashtorn, we're leaving! Now!"

Peter got rid off a telmarine that was blocking his path and screamed at Glenstorm as he saw Susan struggling with her sword as she fought an enemy soldier, "Go! Get the queen out of here!"

Susan managed to shoot a thankful grin at the racing centaur as he lifted her up and rode away with her.

Susan turned around and looked at her brother with wild, panicked eyes. "Caspian!"

"I'll find him!" Peter screamed before continuing his task of getting everyone out. He didn't even have the time to feel annoyed at his sister's priorities.

Right then, all he had in mind was getting as many people as he could away from the slaughter.

Susan glanced towards the balconies, paling in fright as she didn't catch sight of her brother.

As she rode past the gate, she closed her eyes in order to refrain her tears from falling.

Please, Aslan, let him be okay.

"Go!"

"Get out!"

"Retreat!"

"Fallback!"

Miraz glared in annoyance at his general as below, the Narnian army started to vanish as fast as they could.

Glozelle ignored his lord as he continued to study the scene below, his eyes narrowing with focus.

"Glozelle," Miraz hissed, "Give the order."

Glozelle finally returned his look, bewildered by the command. "But sir, my men are still down there!"

Miraz could barely refrain himself for hurting the man for such pointless priority. He snatched the crossbow from Glozelle's hand and aimed at the minotaur. As he shot, he yelled a death sentence for most of the soldiers still fighting below them.

"Fire!"

"Peter!"

Peter turned and sighed in relief when he noticed Caspian approaching him on a dark horse, who he could assume was Dr Cornelius mounting a second, and a third one unoccupied.

Peter nodded and ran towards them, ducking the arrows as the telmarine archers started to fire.

Fabros raised the gate even higher, allowing Peter, Caspian, Cornelius and a few Narnians more pass through before falling dead.

Reepicheep and his mice where the last to pass. The rest, they were all trapped.

"Run for your life!"

"Save yourself!"

"For Narnia!"

The Narnians yelled in support as one by one, they all fell dead. They tried to get as close to the gate as they could, trying to see their friends, family and people one last time.

It was strange how those facing certain death were comforting those who had managed to escape while the latter group could only nod at them in respect, tears falling down their cheeks.

Below, by the gate, the mice bowed at them before Reepicheep spoke hoarsely, "Let's follow their advice gentlemen, and win the war for them."

Behind them, Caspian looked back when he noticed the High King was no longer besides him. "Peter! The bridge!"

After looking back one last time, Peter followed his army away from the castle, his heart clenching painfully at everything they'd lost that night.

Edmund scrambled to open the first unlocked door he could, smiling when he finally could. He hastily closed it behind and turned around, his soul leaving his body when he realized he was in a tower and therefore, without escape.

Unless, of course, falling.

He jumped as he heard guards trying to force the door open and backed away towards the edge, sighing in relief when he caught sight of Dramos just below and waiting for him.

Just then, the door was burst open with a loud thud and two telmarines faced the Just King with their swords drawn.

Edmund took a deep breath and stepped back, falling and being caught by Dramos.

"Thank you, my friend," Edmund breathed gratefully as they flew away.

"No problem, your Majesty...Princess Elizabeth would have killed me if I didn't brought you safe back to her," Dramos replied with a chuckle.

And in that moment, the pair flew above the courtyard.

Just as Edmund had witnessed the few moments before the initial clash, he got an eyeful of the aftermath. Of the hundreds of Narnians corpses on the courtyard.

"Try- try to sleep your Majesty," Dramos finally spoke, his voice hoarse, "you will need the rest."

Edmund could nod, horrified by the slaughter his people had been subject to. The worst thing about this situation for Edmund was that there's nothing he could do. Every decision that might have changed this outcome, they were now unchangeable, fixed, permanent.

Finally, the Just King closed his eyes in a poor attempt of making the despair and anguish disappear from his heart and finally fell into a restless sleep.

Everything was light.

Lucy turned around, trying to decipher anything other than the blinding, white light that surrounded her.

"Ed?" Lucy asked as she focused on the figure walking towards her.

"Lucy!" Edmund exclaimed in return and ran towards her, the siblings hugging each other enthusiastically.

"Where are we?" Lucy narrowed her eyes as she pulled away.

"You are in my country, dear one, but that doesn't mean that you are to stay here," a voice explained from behind them and the pair hastily turned around.

"Aslan!" Edmund exclaimed as the two bowed.

"Rise King Edmund the Just and Queen Lucy the Valiant," Aslan spoke and the two of them raised, smiling and hugging him, "We must talk quickly for we don't have much time."

"Is it about your child Aslan?" Lucy asked, ignoring Edmund as he glanced at her in bewilderment.

"Excuse me?" Edmund asked lowly but Aslan chuckled as he heard him regardless.

"Yes, Lucy. My daughter is already amongst you but she has no idea who her real parents are," Aslan explained calmly, "As Adrien told you, she will make you faithful again when you most need it. However, your victory against the telmarines does not depend only in her, but in all of you."

"Can we help her in any way?" Lucy asked, her mind focused on the people back at the How, wondering who could be the one.

"Valiant one, she will be discovered as my daughter when your darkest enemy yet attempts to threaten you. You must be ready," the Great Lion answered.

"How will we know it's her?" Edmund spoke as he grew concerned by the fact that the Narnians may be losing their faith.

"She will have golden eyes," Aslan answered and suddenly, everything grew blurry as Edmund and Lucy faintly heard the King of Kings' last words.

"Farewell, Queen and King of Old. We will see each other soon."

"Lu! Kiddo!"

"Beth?" Lucy mumbled groggily as she attempted to open her eyes but Beth quickly shushed her.

"Hush, I just got some news." Beth smiled, relief relaxing her until then tense posture. "Our army was spotted. They'll be here soon."

Cheers for reading!