Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Dark Angel

13 | Castle Raid

The Narnians left with the setting sun two days later, slowly but surely slipping into the cover of the Forest. Raven watched it all from the ruins of her old prison, which was now just pillars. Her anger had subsided just enough to wish the leaving Narnians luck, but it kept her firmly planted like a tree before the How. There was no chance that she was going to backtrack on her words, even though all of the voices in her mind begged for her to go. They knew that Raven could easily take the castle alone, but she couldn't risk the lives of the very people she was supposed to protect. Reasoning surpassed the bloodthirsty nature the Dark Angel's curse placed in her, and kept it on a tight leash. You will get what you wish one day, Raven would say to the stirring spirits. The sweetest revenge blossoms in patience.

"Raven?"

She peered to the right, seeing Lucy stand next to her with an apprehensive expression. The young queen was twiddling with her hands as she fought to maintain eye contact with the cloaked warrior. "Care for a walk? I am in desperate need of company."

No, was Raven's mental reply, but seeing the shy queen's doe eyes melted her frigid heart just enough to muster a nod. "Yes."

And so they began to walk the perimeter of the glade in awkward silence, mostly from Lucy's part since she wasn't accustomed to Raven's extreme awareness of her surroundings. The Dark Angel was always peering into the wood, her bow clasped tightly in her hand and a full quiver resting on her back. The scabbard that rhythmically slapped her thigh was just another reminder that Lucy was not enjoying a walk with one of her Ladies of the court. Queen Lucy was involuntarily joining a lethal warrior on her daily patrol, placing herself in quite a dangerous situation. They were far from the entrance of the How and any ear, and the sun was seemingly running away from Lucy as each second passed. It was the perfect opportunity for Raven to use her sinister talents on Lucy, and no one would know.

Yet with all of those thoughts stirring in her mind, Lucy still managed to somehow feel safe in the Dark Angel's presence. She knew that Raven was scanning for any potential threat lurking in the growing shadows, and making sure that Lucy was not in harms way. It was a hard thought to come to terms with, but it was the truth. Queen Lucy was well aware that Raven wouldn't allow her to be hurt in any way, and with that in mind she spurred up a random conversation.

Lucy was essentially talking to herself, since the Dark Angel didn't show much interest in responding with more than one or two sentences every long monologue Lucy spews out. Neither minded, since Lucy always loved to talk more and Raven was better at listening. As Lucy began to talk about the Golden Age and her life of court gossip, Raven managed to stare at her unnoticed. It was moments like this that reminded the Dark Angel of the first time they met. She could feel the memories burning through her train of thought, the vague image of a much younger Lucy with her eccentric attitude coming to mind. Raven almost felt melancholic when she remembered Lucy's excited chatter about how wrong her siblings were to doubt Lucy. The Valiant Queen never truly changed, she hummed to herself, finding an odd sort of relief in that.

They managed to round back to the entrance just when the last light of day finally diminished under the wake of night, forcing them back into the safety of the How. Ever since the Telmarine sighting two days ago, a mandatory curfew was set at sundown with the exception of scouts and Raven. The two continued their walk through the halls, occasionally stopping for the few who asked for any form of assistance. It was mindless chatter for the most part, until they stumbled upon a small room deep within the How. The Archives of Nations were all stacked up in books, some wrapped up as scrolls on a shelf. "Here is where I found the books on Telmar," Lucy said, referring to a previous topic they discussed earlier.