𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝑨𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑, peter pevensie

𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒊𝒙 . . . the resurrection of evil

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 gave enough light for it to be seen through the haphazard branches, eventually highlighting the old path through the Shuddering Woods that the remaining Narnians, and five royals, were following back to the How, after their crushing defeat, ( that saw a significant drop in their numbers ) at the castle of the Telmarines.

Charlotte had grown significantly more pale in the face through out the journey back, and quite a few times, Peter had to check that she was okay, after she was violently sick behind a bush somewhere in the forest. The quicker she was back at Aslan's How, and nearer to Lucy's cordial, the better.

Peter did his best to try and stop the bleeding in her arm and ankle, though it was hard to do so, while trying to keep the horse following the path, and stopping Charlotte from slipping too far sideways. The cut just above her cheek bone stopped leaking blood after around ten minutes, for the cut wasn't that deep. Surface wounds, Peter found, were much easier to keep under control compared to larger, more open ones.

Eventually there came a break in the trees and branches, as the small number of troops arrived at the edge of the Shuddering Woods, looking over the expanse of grassland separating their bloodied bodies, and the facing of the truth of their failed attempt. There was always a faun, or female centaur, stood on watch on one of the many overgrown, stone slabbed, edges of the How, and a horn was blown by the centaur as soon as the returning party had been sighted.

Lucy was slumped against the break in the Stone Table when she heard the summoning call of the soldiers, and she slotted the diamond bottle of cordial she'd been tracing the patterns of back into her leather pouch, and stood up. When she walked up the slope leading directly into the now bright morning sunlight, Lucy stopped herself short when she reached the top, and could see over the rippling blades of grass making up the field.

Peter, from what she could see, was keeping Charlotte from falling sideways, and his jaw was fixed in place as he occasionally glared over his shoulder at Caspian. Susan looked positively exhausted, and it seemed that she could fall asleep right where she stood if she so wished. Caspian had his hard gaze focused directly on the ground, kicking up odd lumps of dirt with the end of his boot.

However, Lucy saw no Edmund in amongst the small-in-numbers ranks, and kicked herself for straight away thinking that the worst had happened to him. He and Charlotte were meant to stick together during the raid, but if Charlotte looked as if she was being pushed back and forth by life and death, she absolutely dreaded to think about what had happened to Edmund. "What happened?" Lucy was almost afraid to find out the truth when Peter slid off the saddle of his horse, and stalked over to her.

"Ask him!" He jabbed a pointed finger in Caspian's general direction.

"Peter." Susan tried to reason with her brother, while trying to keep Charlotte from falling, head first, into the wet ground. Although, Peter took no notice of this, or his sister's remark.