See The Castle Loom [2]

|04|

We ran onto the beach, now clothed in our Narnian clothing, weapons by our side. The two men were holding up a tied up dwarf. "Drop him!" Susan yelled, pointing her bow at one of the men. The men dropped him in the water. Peter immediately jumped in. Susan shot of of the men, causing him to fall off the boat. The other man, clearly petrified, jumped off. Edmund followed his brother into the water, heading to the boat.

Peter emerged, soaking wet. He placed the dwarf o the ground and Lucy ran to untie the ropes on his mouth and limbs. "Drop him?" He said angrily. His wild red hair and beard, dripping wet. "A simple thank you would suffice." Susan stated, taken aback by his rudeness. "They were doing fine drowning me without your help!" He grumbled, getting up and straightening himself out. "Maybe we should have let them." Peter said.

"Why were they trying to drown you anyway?" Lucy chirped. The dwarf looked sullen. "They're Telmarines. its what they do." He replied. Who are the Telmarines? "Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund asked, flabergasted. The dwarf nodded "Where have you been the last hundred years?" I looked at him "its a bit of a long story." I said.

Peter nodded, grabbing his sword from Susan, who was holding it when he ran to the water. The dwarf looked from Peter to the sword. "Oh you have got to be joking. You're it, the kings and queens of old?" He said pointing to the Pevensies. They all nodded. Peter stepped forward, pulling out his hand. "High king Peter, the magnificent." He said. I looked to Edmund and we chuckled. Peter was always one to say his full title.

"You probably could have let the last bit out." Susan said. The dwarf nodded, laughing. "Probably". Peter pulled back his hand. "You might be surprised." He said in a monotoned voice. He pulled out his sword. "You don't want to do that boy!" The dwarf said looking fierce. "Not me, him." Peter replied, looking to Edmund. Peter gave his sword to the dwarf, who dropped it.

Edmund looked at me, he obviously thought this would be easy. The dwarf took a swing at Edmund, who dodged it easily. The dwarf took his chance and whacked him the the handle of the sword. "Edmund!" Lucy screamed. The dwarf taunted Edmund. I knew Edmund could win this though. He was the best swordfighter in Narnia.

Sure enough, Edmund had quickly beaten the dwarf, pointing his sword at his neck. The dwarf stared at all of us "Beards and bedsteads!" he panted. "Maybe that horn worked after all,"

"What horn?" Susan asked. The dwarf ignored her. "C'mon we should be finding him," We all looked at him at him with confused expressions. "Him?" I quizzed "Prince Caspian. The Telmarine ran away from his uncle after he tried to assonate him," he replied, blankly. "I will tell you more on the journey," we all nodded before heading towards the boat.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a beautiful day, but the magic of Narnia seemed to be gone. Something was definitely wrong. It felt isolated and sad.

During the boat ride, the dwarf (who introduced himself as Trumpkin), told us the story about Prince Caspian and his wicked Uncle, Prince Miraz.
Apparently Caspian was the one who wielded Susan's horn, that was how we got here.

Lucy also seemed to notice the emptiness, because she turned her head staring at the trees mournfully. "They're so still," She remarked.. Trumpkin followed her gaze then looked back with a blank face. "They're trees. What did you expect?"

I thought back to how Narnia was. "They used to dance," I told him, my voice full of sorrow. "It wasn't long after that the Telmarines invaded. Those who survived retreated to the woods," at hearing this, I turned to my side, gazing at Edmund's eyes. The normal twinkle was replaced by sorrow. I knew he too was thinking about the many afternoons we spent riding in the woods. "And the trees...They retreated so deeply into themselves that they haven't been heard from since," I sighed as he finished.

Lucy looked at me questionably. "I don't understand? How could Aslan let this happen?" I hadn't thought of that. Where was he? "Aslan?! Thought he abandoned us when you lot did," Trumpkin scoffed. I looked at him in fury, Edmund squeezed my hand but I took no notice. "My father loved Narnia. He would never abandon it!" I yelled. He looked taken aback. "Father? You are the daughter of Aslan." He said. I nodded, thinking it was obvious. The boat filled with silence, no one daring to talk. "We didn't mean to leave you know." Peter said sadly. The others nodded. "Makes no difference now does it?" Trumpkin grumbled. What had happened to my home?