Royal [E.Pevensie]

chapter three

"Steady, steady!"

"Timber!"

The Pevensies, Adela, and the dwarf watched the Telmarine soldiers build for a possible attack. They ducked carefully behind a tree log.

Miraz entered the scene, and they scrambled to hide deeper. Adela shut her eyes in fear that her father would see her.

"Perhaps this wasn't the best way to come after all." Susan faltered anxiously. She looked to Peter with worried eyes.

Peter sighed. He raised his head to study the scene in front of them. Upon realizing that the only way out was to go back where they were before, he stood up. The others followed silently after him, directly into the woods.

They walked just a little more to be safe from the Telmarines' views, and when they were deeper into the forest, they stopped to think.

"So, where exactly did you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asked Lucy. The girl who was staring at a large boulder turned around with a frustrated expression.

"I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grown-ups." Caterwauled the girl. "I don't think I saw him. I did see him." She huffed.

"I am a grown-up." The dwarf exasperated.

"It was right over..." Lucy trailed off. She stepped over to the side, spinning around curiously.

All of a sudden, the ground beneath her caves in. Lucy screamed, distressing the others.

"Lucy!" Susan fretted in worry. They all ran to the hole in the ground. Lucy was fine. She landed directly on both her legs. The opening was not much higher, just unstable.

The girl stood in place, shaken, for just a moment. She then stared down at the water running beneath her. "Here." She explained as she looked back up to where the others stood.

There was a clear path down towards the water. "Well, that's convenient." Muttered the dwarf.

"Let's go, then." Declared Adela with determination. She was the first to walk forth, therefore leading the group, even if she was unsure where she was going in the first place.

"She's scary, that one." Edmund whispered to his brother who walked alongside him.

"Royals can be full of themselves." Peter prattled with a small grin.

"And you're not?" Edmund bantered. Peter scoffed, and with a rolling of his eyes, accompanied Adela at the front of the line.

"Adela." He spoke. The princess glanced in his direction.

"Do you actually know where you're going?" Peter questioned. This didn't seem to amuse the girl. "No, do you?" Adela raised her eyebrows expectantly. Peter stifled a laugh. His lips formed a smirk.

"I'll take that as a no, High King Peter, the Magnificent." Adela jested. She looked back ahead while she continued to walk.

"You're poking fun at me for that, while you act like you're better than everyone else." Peter remarked.

"Maybe you and I aren't so different." Adela responded softly. Her eyes averted their gaze back to Peter's. Unlike Edmund, Peter didn't show any signs of nervousness from this. He instead squinted his eyes in an intimidating fashion, sending Adela the exact same energy she was sending him.

Edmund watched from behind with jealousy. Peter always managed to swoop in just at the right time to ruin everything.

By now, they reached the water, and began walking carefully on the rocks. Adela stepped onto one of the rocks, though with such a lack of elegance that her mother would definitely scold her for it.