The Last Tree In Narnia

11. Chase

Once the girls reached the stables, Susan and Lucy chose their horse and mounted, while Rhea did the same.
She wasn't a massive fan of horse riding, as she preferred to have her feet on the ground. But she knew that time was of the essence, so they needed to use horses to get to their destination faster.
After a few minutes of riding through the forest, it became clear that they were being followed.
The Telmarine's had placed soldiers all around the tomb, in case anyone tried to escape.
So as soon as the girls took off, they were being chased by around a dozen Telmarine soldiers on horseback.

Realising that they couldn't escape, Susan stopped her horse and jumped off, leaving Lucy to ride alone.
"What are you doing?" Questioned Rhea, as she stopped her own horse to see what was going on.
"I'm going to hold them off, so that you two can get away" answered Susan.
"You can't do that by yourself, it's too dangerous" insisted Rhea.
"She's right. Besides, we need you with us, to protect us once we reach the depths of the forest" reminded Lucy.
"Rhea can keep you safe Luce. And if I don't stop the Telmarine's from following you, then you aren't going to get much further anyway" admitted Susan.

"Do you want my horse?" Offered Rhea.
Susan shook her head, "No, I'm better at shooting when I'm stationary. It's harder to hit your opponents when you are riding".
"Are you sure you don't want my horse, I don't mind riding with Lucy?" Asked Rhea.
"No, it's better if I stay here without a horse, it is easier to hide if you are by yourself" admitted Susan.
"You'll be O.K, won't you?"
"I'll be fine. Just go, they are getting closer"
"Good luck"
"You too".

Rhea squeezed the horse with her legs as Lucy did the same, and the pair rode off into the forest, leaving Susan behind.
For a while, it seemed like Susan had succeeded in taking out all the soldiers.
But eventually a few Telmarine's caught up to the girls.
"How did they manage to slip past Susan? Is she alright?" Questioned Lucy, as she shouted over to Rhea.
The trees answered Lucy's question, using Rhea as their mouthpiece.
"Susan is fine. Caspian came to her rescue, and he is currently taking her back to the tomb, to rejoin the others" revealed Rhea.
"That's good for her. But we are still being followed, and now we don't have her to protect us" replied Lucy.
"We need the horses to go faster"
"They are already going as fast as they can"
"Well it's not fast enough".

"Can't you use some forest magic to stop them getting closer?" Questioned Lucy".
"Not while I'm riding a horse at this speed. Especially as I'm not touching the ground right now" answered Rhea.
"Well, we are nearly at the heart of the forest, so can't you use the magic around us to help give you power?" Asked Lucy.
"I guess I can try".
Rhea couldn't risk closing her eyes in case the horse ran into an obstacle, so she kept them open and tried to draw in energy from the forest around her.
It didn't completely work, but she did end up feeling slightly more powerful than before.

Carefully, Rhea turned around on her horse, to look at the Telmarine's following them.
She then let go of the reins with one hand, and pointed at the soldier closest to her.
Tree roots exploded out of the earth, and pulled the Telmarine and his horse to the ground.
Rhea did this another 2 times, taking out 2 more soldiers, before falling back against her horse's head, as she tried to get her breath back.
"That's all I can do. I can't risk tiring myself out any further, since I can't rejuvenate myself as I can't place my roots into the earth from up here, without stopping the horse" admitted Rhea, as she turned around to face the front.
"Hopefully you've held them off for long enough, so that we can reach Aslan" replied Lucy.
"Yeah, I hope so too" mumbled Rhea.

A few minutes later, Rhea looked back over her shoulder and saw that the remaining Telmarine's were gaining on them.
As she turned back around, she suddenly saw a large lion running alongside them several feet away.
The lion got closer and closer, until it managed to get in front of them.
It roared loudly, causing all of the horses to rear up, which made the girls and the Telmarine's fall off their horses and onto the floor.
Rhea winced as the fall winded her, but she instantly felt better as the earth beneath her filled her with energy.
The lion then leapt over the girls heads and chased off the Telmarine's, before turning back around to Lucy and Rhea.

Despite how magnificent the lion looked, it was also terrifying, and Rhea felt sure that they were going to be eaten alive.
The creature was the size of a bear, and would have no trouble eating them both.
But unlike Rhea, Lucy was not afraid.
"Aslan?" Lucy said timidly, as she stepped towards the lion.
For a moment the lion looked like it was going to roar again, but then it smiled.
"Hello Lucy" said the lion.

"Aslan!" Gasped Lucy, as she ran forward and hugged him tightly.
Rhea's jaw dropped as she realised that the creature in front of her was Aslan.
He had saved their lives and returned to Narnia, when they needed him the most. All the stories about him were true.
The true king of Narnia had returned to save them all.
Overwhelmed by a flood of emotions, Rhea dropped to the floor and bowed at Aslan's feet, as she couldn't think of anything else to do.