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Chapter 7

Trumpkin

"No! My lady!" Trumpkin called as Lucy's presence against his back vanished to leave nothing but the cool air of the falling night. Rainstone pulled up mid-gallop as soon as Trumpkin had fallen silent, dancing about to face the oncoming soldiers. The highly developed eyesight of both Narnians allowed them to easily pick out the slight body of the child-queen – her form became even easier to discern thanks to the approaching light from the torches of the horsemen.

The Telmarines were bearing down quickly.

Lucy was climbing to her feet, bracing her feet apart and slipping two throwing knives from her belt. She turned to them, a knife clutched in either hand.

"Go!" she screamed at them, "Get to the How,"

Trumpkin shook his head, all too ready to rush to her defence. But she had ordered him…as his queen. But could he leave her?

"Go!" she screamed again before turning from them and raising her arms.

The knives flew through the air.

"Go Rainstone," he ordered the centaur.

Rainstone was pawing restlessly at the ground, ready to charge forward into the approaching enemy.

"But the queen?" the centaur continued to stand, nervously shifting from one leg to the other, undecided.

Two soldiers fell from their horses, landing with what Trumpkin was sure were painful (if they were still alive that is) thuds on the hard ground. If he was to go to them and turn them over he was sure he would find a throwing knife sticking out of both of them.

"Has commanded us," he snapped, his words burning like bile in his throat. He didn't want to follow her orders but the part of him that had kept him alive for so many years accepted that form a tactical view-point it was the best decision to make. The party of soldiers was too large for them to overcome.

"But-"

"We leave. Now," he told the young centaur.

Rainstone shifted beneath him and Trumpkin thought that he was going to ignore him, before the centaur did do as he was instructed and took off into the darkness.

As they galloped away, the shouts of the soldiers ringing through the night, Trumpkin found himself praying to the Great Lion for the first time since he was boy sitting at his mothers knee.

Aslan, forgive me for abandoning her.

They travelled hard through the night stopping only when absolutely necessary for Rainstone's injury. Trumpkin stayed on the centaurs back for most of the journey, four legs being a lot quicker than two, the younger Narnian had reasoned when Trumpkin had told him he would walk.

They travelled in silence for the most part, both males lost to the darkness of their own thoughts.

Rainstone was the one to finally break the silence when the thick woodland had forced him to stop his gallop and pick his way carefully through the foliage – besides it was not unknown for the Telmarines to dig pit traps in such stretches of woodland. Trumpkin had been careful to avoid such areas with the royals on the journey to the How and Lucy had followed the trail he had set on her return to the coast. But now necessity had forced their hand and to avoid any more Telmarine scouting parties they had to seek shelter in the depths of the woods – they had still had to take more than one detour thanks to a stray group or two who, ironically enough, where too busy trying to find their way out of the woods to worry about scouting anything.

The sun was beginning to rise and he was thankful for it. Experience had taught him that the birds would be a very effective early warning system if there were any soldiers banging about in their tin suits.

"Do you think Queen Lucy is safe?"

Trumpkin had been trying with everything in him to not think about what could be happening to the little girl he had come to care for so quickly. The child was a queen he would willingly and happily bend his knee to. And that was the problem. She was a child. An adult in mind perhaps, but there was only so much she could do with a child's strength. But then he remembered the thud of the enemy horsemen as they fell from their horses.

"I think the queen can look after herself," he replied gruffly, clearing his throat at the uncharacteristic tightness, "And right now, the best thing we can do for her is to return to the How as she told us,"

And pray that she is safe…

They finally reached the How just before midday, very nearly not making the last 200 feet thanks to a bow happy faun. They had been whisked straight to the council chamber. Trumpkin couldn't look at the cracked stone table without remembering Lucy sitting on it – the only one who dared.

They were barraged with question as soon as they entered the chamber but Trumpkin noticed that the Telmarines Prince was not joining in, opting to stand back and observe. He mentally nodded his head in approval at the young man, he was learning that a lot could be learned from watching and listening.

They explained everything as calmly as they could and Trumpkin exchanged a glance with Rainstone when Queen Susan demanded to know why they didn't bring Lucy straight back to the How when they knew she was gone. What could they say to that? That they didn't bring her back to be scolded like a disobedient child because she was in the right. Because they had both hoped in their heart of hearts that Lucy's quest would bring immediate peace. Because they just wanted to protect her and not to judge or demand her return…?

They remained silent.

"Why did you leave her?" King Edmund demanded the accusation there in his eerily calm, stiff tone.

"She ordered us, as our queen, to return to the How," Rainstone replied.

This lead to another bout of shouting and questioning from the royals – and yet the Prince remained silent through it all. Only watching.

"What were you thinking?"

"How could you just leave her?"

"Was she mad?"

"Are you insane?"

And so it went on. Trumpkin ignored it all. There was nothing that they could say to make him feel any guiltier than he already was. He had abandoned Lucy. He had done so reluctantly but he had still done it And right now he felt lower than dirt.

But we would not have all survived.

He knew it was the truth. Right now Rainstone's archer mother was fussing over her son's injury, covering it with herbs and leaves - necessity made everyone a healer. There was no way that Rainstone would have made it with the weight of both of them. Trumpkin would have happily exchanged places with Lucy, and yet the time it would have taken for her to get back on the centaur would have been long enough for the soldiers to lock onto them and they would be back at the beginning of his mental argument. Dead.

"This changes everything Peter,"

Trumpkin shook the thoughts from his mind and realised that the shouting and blame throwing and ceased and King Edmund was talking briskly to his brother.

"How so Edmund?" the High King obviously had no idea just where his brother was going with this.

"You cannot attack the castle knowing that Lucy is inside," Edmund clarified.

"I can and I will, Edmund. This is war. I love our sister but she knew what she was doing when she left. Nothing has changed. Besides, there is no way of knowing that Lucy was taken to the castle,"

Very few things surprised Trumpkin anymore but this was definitely one of those few occasions that left his mouth gaping like a fish. Had the High King of all Narnia just said what he think he just did?

"You can't mean that?" well, Edmund had obviously heard something to shock him.

"Yes I can Edmund. We attack the castle tonight just as planned,"

Trumpkin's mouth remained unhinged a bit longer. He had said what he thought he had. Trumpkin could not believe the callousness of Peter's words. What he found even harder to stomach was that Lucy's own sister had nothing to say about it, appearing to be in agreement with her brother.

Trumpkin heard a clatter of hooves and saw Rainstone dancing in agitation at the turn the conversation had taken, stilling slightly when his mother scolded him as she tried to finish with her healing.

A low snarl erupted from one of the leopards – someone else who was not too pleased with the High Kings plan of action.

Edmund jerked towards his brother, looking as though he was just holding himself back from striking him

Glenstorm shifted forward towering over them all, but Trumpkin had no idea what he was hoping to achieve.

The Bear was ringing his paws anxiously.

And through all of this, no one but Trumpkin noticed Prince Caspian slip from the chamber.

With Caspian

Caspian headed straight to the 'roof' of the How and paced the ridge restlessly, trying to think his options through in a logical manner. It was a beautiful day part of his mind realised – so different from the gloom of the castle – and yet his mind was too full, racing for answers, for him to truly appreciate it.

Did he go along willingly with Peter's plan and attack the castle? Or hide in the woods for the rest of his life, ducking from the sight of patrol parties and drawing a sword at every snapping twig? Or maybe stay at the How to just sit and wait for Miraz to smoke him out and annihilate the Narnains while he did so.

No. He couldn't do that. He owed it to the Narnians to give them back their lands and their life. He owed it to the future generations too, so they would never have to live in fear as their ancestors were doing now. His people had done this to them, driving them from their homes and making them hide. His own father had been a part of this cycle that some Telmarine king of long ago had started.

He would set this right if only he knew how to.

His tutor had filled his head with such wonderful tales of old Narnia all of his life. Stories – true stories he had constantly been assured – of the kings and queens of old. How they had defeated the forces of the White Witch with the aid of the Great Lion. How they had finally made it possible for the ice and snow that had covered the land for over a hundred years to thaw. They had brought an end to the century long winter and had swiftly freed the whole of Narnia from the witches hold. As a child he had soaked up the account, taking in every detail, amazed by the descriptions of beings he could hardly imagine.

And now he was surrounded by them - centaurs, fauns, dwarves, talking animals. And then there was the king and queens themselves.

He sat on the sun dried grass with a heavy sigh, facing the thick woodland.

The attack on the castle was planned for tonight. But could he go along with it knowing that he could be putting the youngest queen's life in danger. He was not surprised that a scouting party had run across Queen Lucy and her companions, Caspian and Edmund's search party had been forced to return to the How after running into three such groups themselves. The volunteers had been willing to continue the search but neither Caspian nor Edmund wanted to risk the unnecessary injury of any of the Narnians with them. The fact that they knew Lucy was not alone eased their anxiety at returning without her.

And yet now her companions had returned. And Lucy was in enemy hands, not only that but he had no doubt that she would have been taken straight to the castle. A war prize for all the people to see. Someone for Miraz to parade before the council.

Caspian did not blame the dwarf or the centaur for returning without their queen – he knew that the guilt of doing so was hanging heavy over them - it was the best decision to make under the circumstances. And he knew that his uncle would see the girl as being too valuable an asset to kill out right. But how would he react if Peter went through with his plan to storm the castle.

Caspian did not agree with the High King on this. He did not think that possibly sacrificing Lucy's life was worth taking the castle. The caste was a death trap to anyone who got caught there, there was no escape as soon as the drawbridge was lifted.

He had to think of a way to get the child-queen out of the castle before Peter carried out his plan…

Hi!

I told you guys that I would have an update up soon :) And I have left you with another (semi)cliff-hanger because I am evil. Mwahahahahaa.

Thank you so much for the feedback. I am so glad that you are all enjoying this. You all rock!

The next update will be up within a fortnight or maybe sooner ;)

Safe weekend everyone.

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