Peter, Edmund, and Caspian, shortly upon arrival back at Telmar, left
the girls at the castle and scouted the grounds. Scouted for anything
that would alert them to cany coming danger. Finding the castle and its
people held up well, they traveled into the village just outside the
castle, where the majority of the Telmarines and the talking beasts had
converged after the way had ended, and spoke with those there.
Telmar
had been quite while they’d been gone. There hadn’t been any hint or
whisperings of attacks on the castle. It gave them a sense of peace, but
Peter still insisted on checking the surroundings lands. So they went
out to the woods, tracing the path that Caspian had taken from Telmar
towards Narnia what would then be his salvation. Where he’d found
Nikabrik, Trumpkin, and Trufflehunter. They continued their patrol until
Peter gave a motion with his hand to stop, allowing the horses to rest.
It
was a good place to stop, a creek that stretched through the woods,
cutting in half. The trees around them bent and weaved, the Dryads
waving their hello to their Kings, glad to be restored upon Aslan’s
roar. Flower petals swirled around the kings as they led their horses to
the water and allowed them to drink.
It was silent between the
three of them for a long time. Peter ran an arm over his face, taking
note of the sweat that was wiped away. He hadn’t realized how warm the
day was for them or how hard the horses had been moving as they pushed
them forward to cover as much ground as possible. Peter could see almost
nothing but the whites of his horse’s eyes. With a half-smile, he
reached out and patted his horse’s side, running his fingers along the
smooth coat.
His horse’s sides heaved, slowing down as it greedily
drank the water before him. Edmund pulled off his boots and rolled up
the bottoms of his trousers before stepping into the water. He sloshed
inside and bent over, cupping water in hands to bring to his face.
“Now
that we’re back in Telmar, we should get the troops ready,” Edmund
remarked, running his hands over his face, flicking water everywhere. He
wiped away the excess droplets and turned to Peter and Caspian, who
eyed him warily. “Make sure they’re ready for anything that could
happen.”
Caspian turned his glance toward Peter, who looked back
at him. Peter could see the uncertainty in Caspian’s eyes, unsure of
whether or not he should take the lead on the decision. Just because
Narnia and Telmar were going to have peace, it didn’t mean there still
weren’t important things to figure out. Such as whether or not the
Pevensies would share the reign with Caspian while their time in
Narnia—while limited, Peter was sure—lasted. And, if that were the case,
was Peter a higher-ranking king of Narnia, or was Caspian?
Who listened to who’s orders?
“For
Aslan’s sake, I’m just making conversation, not trying to start another
war,” Edmund remarked with a hint of impatience. Nevertheless, there
was an amused smile on his face. “You can decide which of you has the
better chance of ruling Narnia later. Right now, we need to be on the
same page in what we’re going to do, moving forward.”
Peter raised
his eyebrows in amusement. “Oh, look at that. Little Edmund is starting
to show his place as King once more.” He folded his arms teasingly.
“What happened to me sorting things out?”
“Look how well that
worked out,” Edmund lobbed back. “Your school clothes were torn, you
were an inch from getting your face beat in, and Jadis almost corrupted
you.”
“Surely, she wouldn’t have corrupted me.” As he spoke, Peter
sloshed into the water toward his brother. Peter reached over and
pushed Edmund’s head aside. “I have more control.”
Edmund smirked
back and bent, throwing his arm through the water that splashed all over
Peter. Peter jumped back in shock before fixing his brother with a
harsh stare. Then, withing seconds, he wiped the smirk off Edmund’s face
by splashing water back at him. Then, laughing, a fight broke out
between them, water flying in all directions. Caspian joined in the fray
when he was caught in the crossfire of one of Peter’s swipes towards
his brother.
Their laughter rang out through the woods as they
took the time to enjoy the moment. Peter leapt atop of Edmund’s back,
knocking him down in the water the second Edmund reached for Caspian.
The three fell, continuing to laugh as they splashed each other,
wrestled to see who could come out on top. He felt himself starting to
tire, but knew that he couldn’t throw himself fully into the moment.
They still had to be careful.
Caspian
must’ve felt the same, for he sat back, using both hands to brush his
hair back from his face, and appeared pensive. “There is a matter that
we haven’t spoken about, since we have ended the war. There is a chance
that the way the Calormens found everything out…” he sighed heavily.
“There may be a traitor in our midst.” He shook his head, looking
between Peter and Edmund. “Lord Sopespian betrayed Miraz—he killed him.
He was one of Miraz’s followers but…deep down, it appears he couldn’t
stand the way Miraz was running things. He wanted to overthrow Miraz to
take over Telmar himself. He manipulated Miraz into accepting his duel
against Peter, hoping Miraz could be killed. They killed him and accused
him of four play, led a charge as a cover. Then the river God killed
him.”
His eyes shifted off his fellow kings and turned toward the
forest, looking at nothing. “How do we know there’s no one who still
feels the same way? Who doesn’t want me to be King? Who doesn’t want you to be kings of the lands we now rule over?”
“Well, that really brings down the mood,” Edmund murmured.
Peter lightly rolled his eyes. “You were the one who brought it up, Ed.”
“I
know, as a conversation about what we’re going to do to strengthen our
men, not to talk about assassination attempts.” Edmund took in a deep
breath. “Though it really does make me wonder what it was that Miraz had
done to want them to end his ruling.”
“Pure greed,” Caspian remarked. He shook his head. “It’s why he killed my father. He wanted the land, the title…the power for
himself. People are always going to be like that. They’ll find
something to be upset about and then decide the best way to get over it
is to dethrone what’s in their way.”
“Well, that would be a sign
then, wouldn’t it?” Edmund asked with a cheeky grin. “If someone’s
making a bad leader, they try to get rid of you by any means necessary.”
Again,
Peter rolled his eyes. He turned and started to trudge his way out of
the water, ringing out his tunic as he did so. The sloshing sounds
behind him made it clear that Edmund and Caspian were following his lead
and were walking out of the creek. The horses stayed, continuing to
bathe themselves in the cool water.
“You’ve been rulers over
Narnia for a while,” Caspian said slowly as he went. His eyes swept over
Peter, and, even without looking at him, Peter could sense it. The side
of his face burned under Caspian’s gaze. “Have histories and stories
written about you. The kings and queens of old. Have you ever
experienced anyone under your rule taking offense to your ideals?”
Peter
pressed his lips together. Unsure of how to answer the question. He had
memories of his time as the High King but having had gone back to
England…sometimes it was hard to scrounge up again. Sometimes, one
little thing would bring up a vivid memory: a smell, a sight, a Narnian
looking sway of tree branches. It was an amazing time for him…when he
remembered it.
in average
are photos
are videos
are texts
are gifs
are audio