𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 (𝐒𝐂 & 𝐋𝐁)

Chapter 10- The Green Serpent

Rilian and I continued our way through Narnia. We were heading somewhere I hadn't been for quite a few years. I tried to think of when was the last time I was there. Besides the Golden Age of Narnia, I couldn't remember.
"Has it really been that long?" I asked myself.

I had been too busy to really go. Many things had probably changed since then. However, we weren't going to make it all the way to where Mr. Tumnus' home used to be. I already promised we wouldn't go too far. Caspian would expect us back shortly. So we went about halfway there.

By noon, I could already see it was different. There was a pleasant glade in the middle of the forest. Located in right about the center of the glade was a fountain that flowed from the earth. I didn't think it was possible for there to be a fountain where there wasn't one before. Maybe I had forgotten my way from not travelling this way in such a long time. However, I pushed the thought away. Maybe Narnia really had changed this much.

Everyone riding a horse, dismounted. The Narnians that came with us always preferred to walk. The dwarves could keep up quite well, not that I was surprised. They were Narnians after all.

I stayed back as the others approached the fountain. To me, it was still a bit suspicious. However if they wanted to drink from the fountain, I wasn't going to stop them. They had to be thirsty. It could just be me.

They all approached the fountain slowly as if they were suspicious of it too. After a few steps, Rilian realized I wasn't following them. He came back towards me and I sent him a gentle smile.

Just as they all reached the fountain they stopped and looked back. Rilian and I shared a look before walking forward. We joined them at the fountain. No one wanted to test the water first, not right away at least. Everyone must've had a feeling that made them afraid to try it. This area was unfamiliar to them as well.

As I went to place my hands in the fountain to retrieve some water, Rilian pulled my hand back. I looked at him thinking that he was trying to protect me because of what I told him. Instead his faced showed that it was because I was the Queen.

Drinian reached his hands into the water, cupping them, and retrieved just a bit of water. Everyone watched as he sipped what little water was in his hands. Nothing happened right away so we waited a few moments. If the water was poisonous, we assumed it would start taking affect quickly.

When nothing happened, the others reached their hands into the water. Lucille and the other horses came forward. Everyone drank from the fountain. It tasted sweet and fresh. I never knew such water existed except near Aslan's Country. If I hadn't tasted that water there, I would've thought this was the best water I had ever tasted. However nothing could compare the taste of the water near Aslan's Country. I always assumed it was water from His country.

Everyone was happy and merry. Drinian and some of the others found some berries and herbs for us to eat. They were to be like a treat to go with the sweet water. For some, it was almost too sweet and that is why they decided to gather the berries. I thought that it was almost too perfect. The water from Aslan's Country wasn't too sweet, but just right. This one seemed to try and be sweet for a reason.

After a while of eating and drinking the water, everyone started to grow tired. I wasn't tired like everyone else was. It must've been the water. Whereas everyone else had drank several handfuls I only had one or two sips. Since I wasn't that thirsty I hadn't found the need.

So I agreed to keep a lookout for them as they rested their heads. I would wake them up at the first sign of trouble. But I was really supposed to wake them up in an hour. We needed to get back to the castle before Caspian started worrying.

Not long after everyone had dozed off, I felt my eyes grow tired and my head began to ache. It was like resisting sleep made me weaker. While I was trying to shake off the sleepiness, I heard a strange sound. It wasn't something I had heard before so I couldn't place it. Whatever it was gave me a strange feeling so I began waking everyone else up. Gripping my bow, I shook the shoulders of each person until they could understand me. One by one they started to stand up. I had just gotten over to Rilian when the creature making that sound came into sight.

As I shook Rilian awake, I watched the serpent creep closer. To the average eye of Drinian and his men, they couldn't see it. Its green scales blended in perfectly with the grass. The few Narnians weren't awake enough to see it either. Based on everyone's confused glance it appeared I was the only who could.

Rilian and everyone else started to wake up more. They were useless at fighting right now. I had moved to try and get a better angle at the serpent. It was harder to shoot something on the ground when you were at ground level as well. Especially when it blended in so well. It wasn't that I doubted my ability to hit the serpent, I just knew we would only have one chance. If I even nicked it, the serpent could attack.

The funny thing was, the serpent was growing as it slithered across. At first it looked like a snake but it was growing too quickly. The more it grew, the easier it was to hit but it would also move faster. It was headed in the direction of the first open person. Rilian, who was slowly making his way off the ground, was the easiest person to get.

I stopped aiming my arrow because as soon as I hit the serpent, it would pounce at Rilian. These kinds of creatures never died right away. They never died without taking someone with them. At least that was what I heard from the stories I had been told.

Many of the warriors would tell me about serpents like this one when I was younger. Whenever they shot it, it ended up taking someone, and sometimes multiple people, with it when it died. They were highly poisonous. This looked similar to the ones they had described. I wasn't about to risk my son's life to see if these stories were true or not.

Running over to Rilian, I noticed the others were now fully awake. They just didn't pay any attention to what was happening behind them. Then one of the dwarves and Rilian noticed it. Rilian stood with his sword drawn facing the serpent.

The dwarf reached for an arrow in his quiver. Without looking to see if I wanted him to shoot, the dwarf released the arrow. By now the serpent was huge and it was easily hit by the arrow.

However the arrow the dwarf had fired wouldn't have killed him. Instead it just enraged the serpent. I reached Rilian's side just as it arched it's back and lunged forward. Pushing Rilian out of the way, I landed in his spot. The serpent's fangs sunk into me before I even had time to react any differently. With a cry of pain, I fell to the ground.

The serpent slithered away from the group as everyone ran after it. What the harpy said, flooding back. The serpent could've been the "she" it was talking about. That would explain why it was fleeing and not attacking. I was its target all along. I just would've been harder to get. Instead, it went after the thing I valued most. Rilian.

I couldn't move and Rilian rushed to my side. His face showed fear. All I could do was move my eyes. I looked him right in the eyes and he watched me. Rilian was trying not to cry, trying to be strong. It was more for him than for me. He felt he needed to be strong for the men and me.

"You're going to be fine," he kept repeating but I knew I wouldn't make it. I knew I had to say what I needed to say.
"Rilian, promise me, one last time: you won't tell your father what I told you," I asked him.
"You're going to be fine. Don't worry."
"Just promise me," I said slowly, getting weaker with each breath.
"I- I promise," he said with tears in his eyes. By now we both knew I wasn't going to make it. "I promise," he said again, confidently.
"Thank you. And one more thing. Tell your father I loved you both. More than you could ever know," I said closing my eyes.
"I will."

That was the last thing I heard him say. I felt nothing. No pain, fear, or sadness. I was completely at peace. My life was complete. I had lived a long and wonderful life.

They would be okay. It would take some time but eventually Caspian and Rilian would move on. I thought I heard someone crying. Then everything went black. Suddenly, the darkness began to fade away into a bright light.