The King Without The Angel

Time (14)

Adelaides POV

I had my head buried in Peter's chest. He was safe. My Peter had survived, just like he promised. He had come back to me, just like he promised. We were together. When I heard a scream I forced my head up and turned to see Caspian had wedged the sword in the ground. Miraz remained kneeling at Caspian's feet.

"Not a king like you. You can keep your life, but I'm giving the Narnians back their kingdom." He said strongly, making sure the Telmarine men could hear. Caspian joined us and the Narnians erupted in cries of victory. Peter kept an arm around my shoulders.

We were about to turn around when we heard a moan of pain. We turned to see Miraz had been killed by one of his men. Miraz fell to the floor, one of Susan's arrows protruding from his side.

"Treachery! They shot him! They murdered our king!" The man called. I looked at Peter stunned. I jumped out of Peter's grip, pulling my bow off my body and loading one of my 100 arrows.

"Be Ready!" Peter warned. The army then got in a fighting position, all preparing for battle. My body pulsed as a shot of pain ran around my burn lines like a train on a track.

"Peter! Behind you!" Caspian called, pointing behind us. Two men ran at Peter. I shot down the furthest one and Peter killed the other.

"Go now!" He commanded the Centaur, who galloped away. Pete, Ed and I ran the archway, me collecting the already fired arrow and loading it again. We saw two men riding back to the army. I shot the arrow at the nearest one and it hit his exposed neck, killing him instantly.

Battle cries sounded from the many thousands of Temarines and many hundreds of us. With the army standing still, they fired the first two catapults. The stone balls flew through the air, many more following. I stood with a loaded arrow at Peter's side. Boulders crashed into our army, killing and wounding soldiers. Lucky for us most of them had moved to avoid them. All at once, with the point of a sword, the cavalry cantered forward. They came forward like an approaching tsunami, daring people to wait around and willing to cause mass destruction. Peter turned around and signalled to Caspian when they were close enough and we began counting...

Much can happen in the space of ten seconds. In battle this is the same. One second you can be the greatest warrior on the field, the next you are shot down by an archer high in the trees you didn't spot. You could be teaming up on someone and in a matter of moments get surrounded. Time is your worst enemy in battle. The horn began the count down.

1...2...3...

In a happy moment they say time slows down. In a time of pain or imminent death they say everything moves in slow motion. It always fascinates me how the two polar opposites are linked by one thing. Time.

4...5...6...7...

Time is something we want and constantly want more of. However for most of us, we use time the worst. In a war, your destruction can come from one of two things: Either your error, thinking you have more time than you do, making the wrong decision, or it comes from your lack of knowledge. For Peter he was thrown into a life or death battle after a few days of full training. He made no error and had more knowledge than he knew.

8...9...

My mother, so they say, believed we always had less time than we hoped. She thought we should live in the moment, not worrying about what was or what will be. She thought that every new beginning came from some other beginnings end. I didn't understand it until now. The most relatable scenarios are simple, insignificant things. But at that point it is the biggest part of life. Walking through the wardrobe for the second time, returning us to England ended the Golden Ages, but started my life in England with Peter. For that reason not all endings are bad. Things end all the time, you just need to look for that new beginning.

10.

Peter said the last count in a growl. In perfect timing, the floor beneath the unsuspecting Narnians collapsed. The fall making some horses break legs or throwing Telmarines off. As silent as silence itself, arrows cut threw the air. The shadows danced along the grass, undisruptive and harmless, contrasting the lethal weapon they portrayed. The sound only returned once the arrowhead met its unfortunate target. Moans of pain could be seen coming from the mouths of the injured as they crawled out. I smiled slightly at our small victory. We had, after all taken down the majority of the Telmarine cavalry. I looked over at Pete. His bruises had begun to turn a nasty shade of purple, only making him look fiercer in the dust being sent up by the continuous catapults.

"Charge!" Peter roared, his battle cry resembling that of a lion. The underground regiment came up to meet the charging army from secret doors out of the How. The whole army, reunited, began to engage in a ferocious game of killing. The Narnian army had the Telmarine cavalry surrounded. I ran forward with them, firing arrows at nearer men. If one got too close I chose to stab them with the pointed edges of my bow. I ran forward, tearing arrows out of flesh and firing them. Although not hygienic, it was the best way to save the limited arrows I had. I happened to momentarily look at Pete, to see him relishing in his rediscovered skills. I saw Edmund using a Telmarine crossbow to shoot at the men. I thrust my bow down into a soldier's stomach, pinning him to the ground.

"You're a mouse." I heard a soldier point out. Reepicheap was standing at the head of a man who was climbing out of the hole. The frustration was evident in Reaps expression.

"You people have no imagination." He complained. I giggled and went to drew an arrow, aiming it at a man who was sneaking up on Pete.

When he turned his face paled. He was staring at me.

"Left, Addy!" He bellowed of the hum of fighting and the musical clang of metal. I turned and dived left, avoiding an arrow, which stuck in the ground. The man thought he had me pinned, but I kicked up and hit him in his weakest spot. I then picked up the stray arrow and stabbed his chest. People may think I was a heartless killer but if the situation was reversed I would be dead before I could blink.

The rhythmic sound of feet was heard, echoing around the field. Gryphons carried dwarfs nearer to the men, firing arrows. Soon a new weapon was revealed, shooting the creatures out of the sky. Giant crossbow like items were on show, picking them off. A worried looking Peter interrupted me. He gripped my shoulders tightly.

"Have you seen Lucy yet?" Peter panicked. I shook my head. He ran a hand through his hair. Many Narnians were dying and we needed Aslan's help to win. My father wouldn't let me die would he? If he did not help us win this battle then I would certainly die. Nonetheless, he was willing to let the Telmarines torture me so I was questioning if I knew my father at all.