Chapter Ten
The girls all washed their faces and hands with water from a nearby stream brought into the mound by some of the Old Narnians and then prepared themselves for the war council. Rebecca fixed her hair into two braids which went from the sides of her head and met at the back of her head. She quickly left the room, determined to talk to Peter about what he meant by saying that time was up. If he meant what she thought he did, she needed to stop him before it was too late for the Old Narnians and Caspian. She exited the tunnels and came out in the front room.
"Protector," said Glenstorm, standing by the bonfire.
Rebecca stopped when she heard her name. "Yes?"
Glenstorm walked over to her and bowed his head with respect. "I am worried the army may become divided," he said. "My sons and I swore our allegiance to our rightful King, but some of the army would rather follow the High King." He
Rebecca shook her head. "Do not worry," she said. "Peter and Caspian will work together. The Kings and Queens are not here to replace Caspian, but to put him on the throne." She gestured to the corridor of drawings. "Shall we go?" she asked.
The centaur smiled and gestured towards the same corridor. "After you," he said, and Rebecca quickly walked forward. She and the centaur entered the Sacred Chamber and stood off to the side of the room. Peter and Caspian stood in the centre near the Stone Table. No one dared to sit on the tabletop or by its stone feet for the stone was too sacred and ancient.
"Are we all here?" asked Caspian, and a loud murmuring filled the room. Peter stepped forward and the room fell silent. Rebecca then realized Glenstorm's worries were more valid than she'd thought.
"A Telmarine scout was spotted in the woods nearby," said Peter. "He rode off back to the castle, so it is only a matter of time." He looked around the group. "Miraz's men and war machines will be on their way here very soon." His eyes shone with excitement. "Which means those same men won't be protecting his castle."
Rebecca's jaw dropped. He couldn't possibly mean what she thought he was talking about!
"What do you propose we do, Your Majesty?" asked Reepicheep. Both Caspian and Peter spoke up, but Caspian then went silent and gave up when Peter glared at him.
"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us," said Peter.
"But this is crazy." Caspian dared to speak up. "No one has ever taken the castle."
Peter shrugged like his words made little difference to him. "There's always a first time."
"We'll have the element of surprise," agreed Trumpkin.
"But we have the advantage here," said Caspian stubbornly.
Susan walked up beside Caspian. "If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely," she said.
"I, for one, feel safer underground," said Trufflehunter the badger.
"Look," said Peter to Caspian, "I appreciate what you've done here. But this isn't a fortress, it's a tomb."
"Yeah, and if they're smart," said Edmund, "the Telmarines will just wait and starve us out."
"We could collect nuts," suggested Pattertwig the squirrel.
"Yes," said Reepicheep sarcastically, "and throw them at the Telmarines." He looked at the squirrel. "Shut up!" The mouse faced Peter again. "I think you know where I stand, Sire."
Peter nodded and then looked at Glenstorm. "If I get your troops in, can you handle the guards?"
Glenstorm looked at Rebecca and then Caspian, who looked equally concerned. "Or die trying, my Liege," said the centaur solemnly, and he bowed his head in obedience.
"That's what I'm worried about," said Lucy, seated amongst the other woodland creatures.
Peter turned to face her. "Sorry?" he asked.
"Well, you're all acting like there's only two options: dying here or dying there."
"I'm not sure you've really been listening, Lu," said Peter, sounding dismissive.
"No, you're not listening!" protested Lucy. She looked intently into her brother's face. "Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter."
You said it, Lucy. Rebecca could not have agreed more.
"I think we've waited for Aslan long enough," said Peter coldly. He started walking towards the exit tunnel but Rebecca had had enough with waiting and watching.
"No," she said, walking towards the place where he'd been standing only moments before. "No, we have not waited long enough!" He turned around and faced her. "Peter, I do see the point in attacking the castle." She raised a hand in defense. "But we need to wait for Aslan."
"And how long is that?" asked Peter sarcastically. "Until we're all killed by Miraz's men?" The Old Narnians murmured amongst themselves.
"Aslan would not let that happen!" protested Rebecca. "While he is not a tame lion, he is good," she looked around at the questioning Narnians, "we have to remember that."
"Aslan is not here. Its up to us to save Narnia," said Peter, his hand tightly gripping his sword. Rebecca grabbed hers, just in case.
"Aslan brought us here, we cannot dismiss him just like that!" Rebecca thought fast. "And I beg you in the name of Aslan to wait for him, or," she hesitated, "I will not join you in attacking Miraz's castle."
The Narnians all gasped at the bold words.
"Rebecca?" said Joy with disbelief.
Peter strode forward, grabbing Rebecca's arm and pulling her close so no one could hear his words. Her lungs constricted in her chest at the grip on her arm. "There is no point in fighting amongst ourselves when we have a battle to plan," he whispered. "We need to do something now before it's too late." He gave her a look of warning, and then motioned for Caspian and Glenstorm to follow him.
Rebecca stared after him. "Aslan," she whispered, "please help us."
The Old Narnians began filing out of the room. Some looked at her with fear. Others sent her glares before they darted into the shadows of the tunnel back to the main entrance.
She had barely collected her breath when Joy marched up to her with a furious expression. "Why are you protesting attacking the castle? Peter was the best planner for battles and stealth attacks back at Cair Paravel. He'll work out the best way to get us into the castle."
"Yes, Joy," said Rebecca evenly, "but Caspian is the one who will lead this country. I think we should allow him to take the lead every so often."
Joy nodded. "I guess so," she said.
Rebecca noticed the disappointment in her tone. Her eyes opened and she saw with clear insight what her sister was thinking. "You feel the same as Peter," she said, and Joy's guilty expression confirmed it. "You want everything to be like the Old Days. You're determined to do it on your time and not Aslan's."
Joy sighed frustratedly. "Don't preach at me," she said. "Aslan hasn't shown himself to me, and nothing has been like the Old Days since we arrived. I want to do something to help Narnia! I'm useless otherwise!" Joy marched away in the direction of where Peter went, her braids swinging angrily behind her.
Rebecca sighed, shaking her head. She turned around and glanced at the Stone Table behind her. What would it have been like if she saw what Susan and Lucy saw that night with the White Witch? What if she and Joy saw it? Or Peter and Edmund? Would things be different now?
She moved towards the tunnel when Peter appeared in the hallway.
"Will you help?" he asked as he approached her. "Or do you intend to stay behind and wait?"
Rebecca weighed both options in her mind. If she went with Peter and attacked the castle, it was possible they would succeed and then Aslan would appear later. However, if they failed, she was certain their losses would be catastrophic. But if she stayed behind, she would not be fulfilling her duty as a Protector.
"I am coming," she said with a determined nod, "but for Narnia and for Aslan's sake."
Peter nodded and walked back into the planning room. Rebecca quietly followed. Once she entered the room, she felt all the stares of the others weigh down on her, but she pretended not to notice. By the order of rank, she should stand at Peter's left hand and made her way to that spot around the large stone they used as a table.
After getting a drawing of the floorplan of the castle from Caspian, Peter made plans. It would be him, Caspian, Susan, Rebecca, Alard, Edmund, Trumpkin, and Joy going in first, getting a foothold of the castle to sneak in and open the gate for the remaining army. Taking advantage of Edmund's torch, he arranged signals for the troops to slip into the town and then charge into the castle through the gate. He ensured that Edmund and Joy were once again kept out of any direct danger unless something went wrong.
Peter and Rebecca would get Miraz out of the way so any alarms would not be raised, while Caspian and Trumpkin would go to the gatehouse. Susan would be safe in Doctor Cornelius' study until the battle was over and Joy and Edmund would be in the Great Tower for the whole battle. Peter decided it would probably be best to not have Alard fight his former fellow soldiers, so he placed him in the Western Tower with a crossbow to help from above. Rebecca was surprised that Peter was including her in the battle but didn't say a word. She hoped that the attack would work out, but she hoped even more that Aslan join them. Maybe he would come roaring in and save them like last time. After the plans for the battle were laid out, they determined what to do with the rest of the army. All the weaker and smaller animals, except for Reepicheep's followers, had to stay behind at the How and wait for news from the attack. Lucy and Glenstorm's wife would stay behind as well.
Since they needed to move as stealthily and quickly as possible, no one wore heavy armour. Leather shirts were given to the girls to wear over the bodices of their dresses and Caspian wore his Telmarine mail shirt. Alard, Edmund and Peter were given leather shirts to wear as well. The plan was to leave that night and head for the house of the two brothers whom Miraz had shut up as madmen which was situated at Beaversdam. Since it was a mere mile away from Miraz's castle, it was the perfect cover for the army to hide until the time for the attack.
Rebecca was lacing up her boots when Lucy came up to her. "Rebecca?" she asked, her tentative voice penetrating the silence of the chamber.
"Yes?" asked Rebecca, and Lucy stepped into the torchlight, worry crinkling the younger girl's forehead.
"Make sure Peter's alright," said Lucy, and Rebecca gave the younger girl a hug.
"I will," she said. "Someone has to make sure Peter doesn't do something totally stupid," joked Rebecca, hoping to bring a smile to Lucy's face. The younger girl's mouth cracked into a grin which sobered quickly.
"I tried once more to talk to him about Aslan," said Lucy. She shook her head. "It didn't do any good. All he told me was to stay safe and that he would be back soon."
Rebecca smiled and tried to think of something comforting to say. "Peter was a brilliant strategist before, so I am sure we can take the castle smoothly." She wrapped her arm around Lucy's shoulders and the two headed out towards the How's entrance.
Darkness had fallen and the army was getting ready to head out for Beaversdam. Peter was scanning the group of humans and stopped when he saw Rebecca. "Alright, we're all here," he said. He pointed at Alard. "Alard, you will stay with Rebecca, Edmund and Joy." He looked at Rebecca briefly before turning to Caspian. "And you, Susan and I will stay together. We must be at Beaversdam by tomorrow afternoon." He looked beyond the humans to all of the Old Narnian army. "All of us."
The army nodded and set out for the woods. Peter had split up the army into groups so as to evade any patrols sent out by Miraz. The humans all said good-bye to Lucy and their Old Narnian friends, and Peter ordered the army to move out. Rebecca looked back over her shoulder and gave one last wave to Lucy. Lucy waved back and Rebecca faced forward again. Alard walked on her left and Joy was on her right. Edmund walked on the other side of Joy, and they headed into the woods. Rebecca's only hope was that Aslan would reveal himself before it was too late.
Joy walked until her feet ached, but her heart was light. They were finally doing something to help Narnia! She thought Peter's plan was brilliant and was grateful to be a part of it. She couldn't understand why Rebecca and Lucy were so firmly against it. Maybe Aslan would come in and join them once they got into the castle. He would show himself sooner or later, of that she was certain. It was only a matter of time, but sooner would be better than later. She walked quickly in order to keep up with Edmund whose strides were longer than hers. "Isn't this exciting?" she whispered to Edmund.
"Exciting?" asked Edmund.
"To be back in the fighting!" said Joy, grinning at her friend. "To be doing something for Narnia again!" She sighed. "I can't wait to fight again."
"If things go the way Peter plans," said Edmund "we won't be fighting at all." But while he was trying to calm her down, Joy could tell he was excited as well. He was walking a little straighter, his head held a little higher and alertness shone from his eyes. Joy realized she was staring and quickly looked back at the trees. The sound of rushing water reached her ears, and she grabbed Rebecca's arm, halting their group.
"We can't cross the river here," said Joy. "If any of the Telmarines wake up and see us, we'll be dead in the water."
Rebecca nodded and looked around. "What would you say is the best choice?" asked Rebecca, and Joy looked at Alard who was leading Blizzard.
"Alard," she said, pointing at him. "Alard can take our weapons, load them on Blizzard and ride across the ford." She looked at Rebecca and Edmund. "Even if they see him, they'll know he's a Telmarine and won't suspect anything." Rebecca nodded and took off her sword. She passed it to Alard and Edmund quickly handed over his. "The rest of us will have to swim across further upstream," finished Joy. Edmund and Rebecca nodded and removed their leather outerwear and cloaks as well. Joy followed suit and they bundled everything up into the saddlebags on Blizzard's back.
Afterwards, they send Alard on his way and made their way further up the riverbank. They broke out of the woods some distance away from where they left Alard. Joy heard some rushing water further upstream. "Do you hear that?" she asked.
"Joy," said Rebecca, looking rather pale in the moonlight, "that's a waterfall. We must be near the gorge where you," she nodded to Edmund "believed Lucy when she saw Aslan." Edmund looked up and down the riverbank.
"There could be currents," he said.
Joy stared at the water surface and felt it was safe. "No," she said. "It looks pretty placid." All her time spent with the naiads came back to her and Joy quickly descended into the water.
"Joy!" Rebecca whisper-shouted her name. "Get back here!" Joy pushed off from the bottom and began swimming. The icy water brought back all the memories of her naiad friends and Joy swam harder. She heard splashes behind her and saw Rebecca and Edmund getting in the water too. She plowed through the water, trying to remember everything from her swimming lessons. Soon, the water became too shallow for her to swim and she stood up. Breathless from the swim, she climbed up the riverbank and into the trees. Edmund quickly joined her and Rebecca was the last one to join them on the bank.
"We did it," said Joy, slowly regaining her breath. "And no currents."
Rebecca got to her feet. "Alright," she said, "lets get going." Soggy boots were not the best thing to walk in, but the King and the Protectors made no complaints and continued walking. Joy was glad they were past the river, but now the chance for running into patrols was greater since they were on Miraz's side of the river. She was anxious to find Alard and get her bow and arrows back. A large shadow loomed through the trees and the three leaped into action, grabbing rocks and putting up fists.
"Its me!" called Alard, and he quickly dismounted from Blizzard's back. "I have your things." He quickly took off his cloak and held it out to Rebecca. "You're shaking," he said. Rebecca nodded, her teeth chattering too much for her to say anything. Joy grabbed hers but silently offered it to Edmund. He shook his head and the four silently moved on. They walked all night, and eventually Alard and Edmund forced Rebecca and Joy onto Blizzard's back for the rest of the walk. Joy wrapped her cloak tightly around her and tried to fight the chills threatening to shake her from head to toe.
Slowly, the woods grew lighter as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Finally, the trees began to clear up and the sun began to rise in the distance. Realizing they were about to step into the valley around the castle, Alard took the reins of Blizzard from Rebecca and moved to the left so they would avoid being spotted. Joy remembered what Caspian said about Beaversdam being a short mile away from Miraz's castle and could hardly wait to get inside the house. Rebecca had stopped shivering in front of her and Joy felt she was finally beginning to warm up.
The silhouette of a house appeared on the horizon, right near where Mr. and Mrs. Beaver's house used to be. Several Old Narnians could be seen through the windows on the first and second stories. To Joy, it looked like a house out of a Jane Austen novel with its columns and large windows. Only the windows were dark, and no Emma Woodhouse stood in the doorway welcoming the group. Thatches walked up to them and lifted both Rebecca and Joy out of the saddle with one hoist.
"Go get some sleep," he said, and nodded to Edmund and Alard. "You two as well."
Joy only remembered lying on something soft and warm before falling asleep. The next thing she knew was Susan shaking her awake. "Hello," she said, before turning to Rebecca who Joy realized was lying beside her.
"How long have I been asleep?" whispered Joy, slowly sitting up.
"Several hours," said Susan. "You were all sleeping when we got here." She smiled. "I still haven't tried to wake Ed up. I think he might take it better from you than from me."
Joy smirked and got to her feet. "I'll do my best," she said, and left the room. A loud groan followed her into the hallway, and Joy laughed. She knew the amount of trouble it was to try and wake Rebecca up after a late night.
Several doors greeted her in the hallway, and Joy went from one to the other, searching for Edmund. She found him softly snoring at the end of the hall, and Alard was no where in sight. She walked over to the bed and shook Edmund's shoulder. "Wakey wakey!" she said in a sing song voice.
"You're lucky I don't have my sword," mumbled Edmund and he turned away from her.
Joy shook his shoulder again. "Hey!" she said. "Its time to wake up." She looked out the window and saw the sun was setting. "You need to get up. We need our lookout for the attack!"
"Wake me up later," he said, and then Peter's head popped into the doorway.
"Ed!" he said. "Its time to move! Now!"
Edmund sighed and looked over at Joy. "I can't win," he said, and sat up.
Joy laughed and walked to the door. "At least you're up," she said before walking out. Her dress had pretty much dried, and she put on the leather shirt and gauntlets which had been bundled up in Blizzard's saddlebags until now. Rebecca joined her in the main hall where the saddlebags had been dumped. She fished out her leather outerwear and sword and put them on.
"Did you tell Susan to wake me up?" she asked in a low voice.
"No," said Joy, "why?"
"Because she threatened to dump a bucket of water on me if I didn't get up," said Rebecca and looked at Joy as she burst out laughing.
"Ed said I was lucky he didn't have his sword with him," said Joy. Rebecca smiled at that, and the pair walked outside to the front of the house. Several gryphons landed in the yard in front of the house and Peter was giving them their instructions.
Edmund ran out of the front and stopped beside Joy. "Did I miss anything?" he asked, looking down and buckling his sword belt.
"No," said Joy, "but Peter is going around and giving instructions." Joy looked around for Caspian. He was standing off to the side, looking awkward and unsure of what to do. Joy suddenly wondered about Peter's ambitions and how he would hand Narnia over to the rightful king.
The sun was no longer visible behind the Western mountains and Peter ordered Glenstorm's army to set out. The mixture of dwarves, fauns, centaurs, minotaurs and animals looked fierce in the fading light, and Joy felt confident about their victory tonight. She saw Rebecca approach Peter and she stepped closer so she could listen.
"Joy," said Edmund, trying to pull her back, "you shouldn't listen." Joy frowned at him and looked back towards Rebecca who was facing away from her and looking up at Peter.
"Peter," said Rebecca. It seemed she had caught him relaying some last-minute instructions to Glenstorm. He dismissed the centaur and turned to face her. "I guess I should apologize for earlier," Rebecca said contritely, "I'm sorry for losing my temper like that."
Peter took her hand off her sword hilt and held it between his own. "I'm sorry too."
"Peter, I understand," said Rebecca, "you want to be High King Peter again. I want to be a Protector again." She lowered her voice, and Joy could barely make out Rebecca saying, "We just can't forget about Aslan." He nodded. Then Caspian approached Peter.
"Its time to go," said Caspian.
Peter let go of Rebecca's hand and faced the gryphons. "Avaris," he said, and nodded to Edmund. The gryphon spread its wings and lifted off the ground. Edmund grabbed the torch from a loop of leather sewn into the side of his leather vest and turned to Joy.
"See you in a bit," he said, and Avaris grabbed Edmund by his tunic and legs and took off for Miraz's castle. A wave of nerves came over Joy and she was suddenly afraid for the whole plan of attack. But it was too late now and she had to face the attack as a Protector would.
"Let's get ready," said Peter, and they each headed towards a waiting a gryphon. Peter told them to stand in front of the gryphon so it could grab their legs and torso for the flight to the castle. Joy's gryphon was named Tilana and Joy felt very aware of the gryphon behind her. She could hear it breathing and stray hairs were constantly blowing in her face from the gusts hitting the back of her neck. Everyone was watching and waiting for Edmund's signal.
Joy's nerves were tingling from excitement or nervousness, she couldn't tell which anymore.
Off in the distance, a burst of light. The signal! Before she could prepare herself, Tilana grabbed her and launched into the sky. The moon looked ghostly, half-hidden behind wispy clouds, but far beneath them Joy could see the land of Narnia spreading out below. The pale ribbon of the river cut through the land beyond the castle, heading towards the dark sea beyond the horizon.
As they approached the castle, Joy's gryphon swooped off to the right and flew up to the top of the Great Tower. It dropped her down on the tower balcony, keeping out of Edmund's flashlight beam and flew out of sight.
Joy cautiously approached him. "Edmund," she whispered.
Edmund gave the last signal, off to the woods where the army was waiting, and then he turned to her. "Welcome, glad you could make it," he said with his dry sarcasm.
"Ha, very funny," said Joy.
The pair watched as the others landed on the battlements by the Keep. Joy breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the first step go off without a hitch. "I hope this works," she said.
"Me too," said Edmund, but Joy noticed he didn't look worried in the least. She looked around at the castle which had imprisoned her only a couple days before. As she studied it, she noticed it was a huge fortress from this view as well as down below, complete with drawbridge and the long bridge across the wide gorge below them. Looking down, she could see the bottom, and the jagged cliffs and rocks staring back at her. She swallowed hard. "Ed? Make sure you don't fall," she said and pointed down below.
Edmund walked over and saw what she was pointing at. A flicker of fear stole across his face. "Yeah, that's for sure," he said.
Joy saw Alard drop down onto the Western Tower with his gryphon and he nodded at her from across the courtyard. Then, the waiting and watching began.