Heart | Caspian X | ii

Saving a Narnian

*Annabelle's P.O.V.*

    I saw Susan release an arrow up ahead, and shared a look with Peter before we, Edmund, and Lucy ran up to stand next to Susan and see what was going on. She reloaded her bow just as we caught up with her, and the boys quickly drew out their swords. We all looked at the scene before us in shock and confusion. We left the ruins of Cair Paravel, and were now on a beach. We were standing on a little sand hill, and looked at the boat in the water. Two soldiers, human soldiers, were holding a tied up and gagged Dwarf, ready to throw him into the water.
"Drop him!!!" Susan yelled, and I looked at her incredulously. Really? I know she means well, but this wasn't the best thing to say, seeing as the soldiers were about to do just that. Drop the Dwarf and let him drown, seeing as he was tied up and wouldn't be able to swim. I heard the Dwarf say something, but couldn't understand what because the gag muffled his words. I then heard a splash, and quickly looked over to the boat, only to see the soldiers throwing the Dwarf in the water. The boys immediately ran over and jumped into the water, whilst I swiftly loaded my bow and shot the soldier who picked up his crossbow, ready to shoot us. He fell into the water with a yell, and the other soldier looked at me in shock, before jumping into the water to save himself.
"'Drop him'? Really?" I asked, turning my attention to Susan, who looked at me in slight annoyance, putting away the arrow into her quiver.
"Well, what was I supposed to say?" I just shook my head lightly, causing Lucy to giggle, before the three of us made our way towards the shore. I picked up Peter's sword and sheath that he dropped whilst running towards the water. I then sheathed his sword, and carried it in my right hand, with my bow in my left hand. We saw Peter pull out the Dwarf from the water, holding him underneath his armpits,  whilst Edmund pulled out the boat onto the shore. The girls and I jogged up to Peter and the Dwarf, and Lucy immediately dropped to her knees and took out her dagger, cutting through the ropes that bound his wrists, whilst the boys joined us. The Dwarf immediately took off his gag, and started coughing up water that has entered his lungs, and Lucy stood up, smiling and making her way over to stand next to Susan. Peter was in between me and Susan, and Edmund was on my left. We could now see the Dwarf clearly, and we saw that he had blonde hair, and a long, blonde beard with a hint of red to it. I smiled a small smile, glad that the Dwarf was alright, but it quickly melted off as he stood up and glared at us, holding the gag in his hand.
"'Drop him!'?!" He yelled, throwing the gag onto the sand angrily, making us all look at him in confusion, and shock. We just saved his life, and this is how he repays us? "That's the best you could come up with?" He asked, looking at Susan, which made her share a shocked look with me before looking back at the Dwarf.
"A-A simple 'thank you' would suffice." She said in annoyance, but also in disbelief.
"They were doing fine drowning me without your help!!" The Dwarf yelled, pointing towards the place in the water where the boat used to be.
"Maybe we should have let them." Peter snapped angrily, which caused me to share a confused and shocked look with Edmund. This was going a little too far.
"Why were they trying to kill you, anyway?" Lucy asked innocently in a gentle voice, trying to ease the tension. The Dwarf looked at her and his eyes softened a little.
"They're Telmarines." He replied as if it was obvious. "That's what they do."
"Telmarines?" Edmund asked, just as confused as the rest of us. "In Narnia?"
"I'm lost." I stated, not understanding what was going on. Our home is in ruins, there are other humans, Telamarines, in Narnia instead of Telmar, they were trying to kill a Narnian, and this Dwarf is the first Narnian that we saw for the past four hours!
"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?" The Dwarf mumbled, which made us all smirk a little.
"It's a bit of a long story." Lucy replied with a smile, making me smile as well. I then realized that I was still holding Peter sword, and quickly handed it back to him. He gave me a small smile in thanks, and then we looked back at the Dwarf, who was looking at us in recognition and disbelief as he stared at the golden lion hilt of Peter's sword. His eyes then widened slightly as they rested on me, which confused me a little, causing me share a glance with Edmund. The Dwarf's eyes then trailed on the rest of us quickly, and then widened even more.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." He mumbled. "You're it? You're the Kings and Queens of Old?" We all smiled a little, except for Peter who raised his head high and stepped forward, stretching out his hand to him.
"High King Peter, the Magnificent." He introduced himself, making the Dwarf look at him weirdly.
"You probably could have left out the last bit." I mumbled, a little embarrassed. I could see that Susan was embarrassed as well, whilst Lucy and Edmund were trying to fight off their laughter.
"Probably." The Dwarf chuckled, making me smile a little. Peter however, was not happy.
"You'll believe me in a second." He said, unsheathing his sword, making me frown.
"Peter." I hissed, but he just waved me off.
"Oh, you don't want to do that, boy." The Dwarf threatened, and Peter smirked.
"Not me. Him." He said, looking over at Edmund, who looked shocked, yet proud nonetheless. He unsheathed his own sword, and stepped forward, whilst Peter offered his sword to the Dwarf. He looked at it uncertainly, and then took it shakily. The sword seemed to be too heavy though, and he dropped him hands under the wight of it, with the sword hitting the sand. Edmund smirked and looked at us confidently.
"Never underestimate your opponent, Ed." I said. "I thought I taught you that years ago." Just as I finished the sentence, the Dwarf swung Peter's sword with strength, hitting it against Edmund's. Lucy, Peter, Susan, and I all staggered backwards in shock, and I jumped back a little so that I wouldn't get hit. Edmund then had to duck to avoid getting his head chopped off, but as soon as he raised his head, the Dwarf hit him in the face with the hilt of Peter's sword, making him stagger backwards with a yelp, and Lucy gasp.
"Edmund!" She called out worriedly, and I cringed a little. Getting hit with the hilt of a sword is not pleasant at all.
"Oh, are you alright?" The Dwarf cooed sarcastically, before swinging the sword again. Edmund however, ducked and stepped to the side, hitting the Dwarf's butt with his sword in the process, which caused me and Lucy to giggle, whilst Susan smiled and Peter smirked. Edmund glanced over at us with a smirk for a second, before looking back at the Dwarf. The Dwarf glared at him, and then swung Peter's sword again. It clashed against Edmund's and Edmund quickly drew it back, before swinging his sword at the Dwarf's head. The Dwarf ducked, swinging Peter's sword at Edmund's legs, but Edmund jumped over it. Their swords clashed again, first upwards and then downwards, before Edmund started swinging his sword with strength, which made me smile in recognition.
"Ah." I nodded with a smile, which caused Peter to look at me in confusion. I just smiled and raised my hand, ready to catch Peter's sword any second now. Edmund was using the trick I taught him many years ago. The trick was to swing your sword as hard as you can, and then flick your wrist to make your opponent's sword fall out of their hands. Edmund did everything perfectly, and Peter's sword flew out of the Dwarf's hands. I caught it swiftly with my raised hand and handed it back to Peter, whilst the Dwarf looked at me, and then Edmund in shock and disbelief before dropping to his knees. with his mouth hanging open.
"Beards and bedsteads." He stammered, glancing at the me, Susan, Lucy and Peter before looking back at Edmund, who had his sword raised. "Maybe that locket worked after all." The Dwarf mumbled, but we all heard him clearly. I shared a look with Susan, and then stepped forward curiously.
"What locket?"

*Third Person's P.O.V.*

"But you can't leave!" The Badger called desperately, looking at the Prince pleadingly. "You're meant to save us!" Caspian froze and looked at the Badger in confusion. "Don't you know what this is?" The Badger asked quietly, picking up the beautiful locket from the table. The Prince looked at it in confusion at first, but then his eyes widened in recognition.
"High Queen Annabelle's locket." He breathed out, and the Badger nodded. Caspian couldn't believe his eyes. His professor told him about the Kings and Queens of Old, and the Golden Age. As a young boy, he always wanted to meet the Narnians and be a great king like High King Peter and King Edmund. Whenever his professor spoke about the Golden Age, he was impressed with High Queen Annabelle. The fact that she was the only one out of the five siblings with magic always fascinated him, as well as the prophecy that foretold of her being the Once and Future Queen. This locket actually belonged to her, Annabelle Pevensie, and Caspian had a hard time taking it all in.
    Even though Annabelle never knew this, she has fulfilled the prophecy. After she and her siblings left Narnia, many stories about them spread all across Narnia. The Golden Age ended after they left, but the stories stayed. The history of the Kings and Queens of Old stayed in Narnia for 1300 years. The most famous story was the one that spoke of how the Pevensies defeated the White Witch. The second most common story though, was the one that spoke of how the Destined Beauty became the Once and Future Queen. All the Narnians have admired High Queen Annabelle for as long as they could remember, and never stopped. Even though some of them, for example Trumpkin and Nikabrik, lost the respect for the Kings and Queens of Old, they still had respect for High Queen Annabelle, because they could still remember her courage and kindness. Her power.