The Phoenix Archer ∞ Peter Pevensie

ii. | T W O

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N E R I S S A

"Shit," I cursed under my breath as I hear the sound of the familiar horn blaring through the woods. Not just any horn, Susan's horn.

Snapping the reins of my horse, I speed through the woods, ducking down to avoid any hovering branches up ahead from smacking me in the face as I continued on in my desperate search for my idiot brother who had left behind a trail of hoof-marks for the guards who were hunting him to follow.

Shaking my head, I continue to follow the trail, which soon turns to what looks like drags marks as if somebody had recently been pulled through the grass.

I hop off my horse to get a closer look at the markings in the ground. Carefully, I take in my surroundings, being sure not to miss any clues that may point me to where Caspian is- and that, was when I saw it- smoke puffing out from further down the woods.

Squinting, I struggle to decide if my eyes were playing tricks on me. This has been the only sign of life here in the forest so far and it was safe to assume that Caspian was nearby.

I was just about to start making my way over to investigate when the sound of galloping horses and the shouts of men sounds through the woods.

Whirling around with the intention of climbing back onto my horse, I stop short when an arrow lands close enough to startle it and it takes off without me.

"Where do you think you're going, Princess?" A familiar and quite frankly, annoying, voice says from behind me.

"Sopespian," I turn on my heels to face him, plastering on a large smile, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Lord Sopespian." He corrects.

I scoff in reply, "Spare me, Sopespian. We both know you don't deserve that title."

He tuts, waggling his finger at me as you would a child. "Now, now, Princess. I would watch my tongue if I were you. Your life is in my hands now after all."

"Is it?" I ask, corking a brow in amusement.

"Yes, and if you keep disrespecting me like you are now, I'll make sure your death is a slow and painful one."

"Well, if you're going to try and kill me, Sopespian, might as well do it now." I taunt, "It's rude to keep a lady waiting."

Sopespian strokes his chin, "Tempting, but no. Not yet. Not before you tell me where your brother is."

I steal a couple of glances around, mentally counting the number of guards that now have me surrounded. Seven. Including Sopespian. That shouldn't be too much of a problem. I know these men. I know how they fight. Throughout the years, I had developed a routine of watching the guards train- call it a habit- wanting to know thy enemy.

"Looks like you're out of luck, then." I shrug, feigning ignorance. "Unfortunately, I haven't the slightest clue where he is."

"Fine. Lie all you want, Princess." Sopespian spat, drawing his sword from its sheath, "We'll just have to force it out of you."

I lower myself in a mock curtsy, "You're welcome to try, Sir."

Drawing trusty Nikephoros, I twirl it around in my hand, letting myself get used to the weight of it once again.