The Princess's Secret [completed]

27: More Casualties.

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Jamaal.

An object flew through the air. Jamaal quickly ducked as the arrow whistled past, burying itself in the armour of one of the soldiers. It hit him loudly mid-chest, the impact splitting the arrow. The man stumbled backwards, falling.

Jamaal leapt, grabbing the soldier by the wrist, yanking him away from the edge of the wall. It was a thirty foot drop, not something one hoped to expirience. He checked the man for injury. The arrow had struck armour, saving the man’s life. He was uninjured.

More arrows whistled overhead, raining death everywhere he looked. He located Caspian, fighting off those who tried to climb the city walls. Jamaal hurried to his side, helping to shove a ladder off the wall, sending enemy troops flying through the air.

Out the corner of his eye, he saw a man on the ground take aim. “Down!” He shouted grabbing the King’s cloak and pulling him off his feet. They hit the stone as the arrow ripped past, striking a man in the head and sending him off the edge of the wall.

Caspian signaled him, and he crawled closer, trying to hear what his friend had to say. “We can’t hold them off much longer. We need to quickly push them back, then retreat to the castle.” He shouted over the war around them.

Jamaal nodded and blew his horn twice, signaling the men to prepare to retreat. Then the pair surged to their feet, grabbing their bows and arrows. They, and the men around them, began to fire burning arrows, setting fire to the enemy’s wagons.

Other men poured cauldrins of boiling water down the wall, burning the men below. They also poured burning oil and tar where they could, coating the outer wall with flames. The combined effort forced the enemy away from the wall, just as they’d planned.

Enemy troops were screaming, louder now. Many of Thaddias’s men were injured and killed by the hot objects from above, but there were plenty left. There were too many left. His stomach seized, seeing cannons turning in their direction. They had spotted the King.

Caspian caught hiss eye and nodded. The knight blew his horn, the signal for retreat. Jamaal hurried after his friend, both racing for the nearest ladder. Suddenly there was a loud bang! His heart froze as the stone beneath his feet shook, the wall shuddering as the cannon ball struck. BANG!

Suddenly he was in the air, propelled forward by the sheer force of a second cannon ball hitting the wall just behind him. He spotted the edge as his body twisted around mid-air. He caught a blurry glimpse of Caspian, who stared in pale-faced shock as he blew past. This is it, I’m dead. He shut his eyes. No point in watching my own death. His body continued to flip-

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Caspian.

Caspian watched in horror as his friend sailed through the air, slapping into the roof of a building below. He rushed down the ladder as the man slid down the roof limply. His boots hit the ground as Jamaal reached the edge of the roof.

He reached the building just as the knight fell, relieved to see he’d landed in a wagon of straw. Caspian leapt onto the wagon and crouched next to his friend, patting his knee to see if he could get a response.

Jamaal didn’t even twitch. The back of his head was bleeding, though the wound didn’t look too deep. His breathing was shallow, face a pasty white. A large lump was rising on the back of his head.

“Your majesty, we need to get out of here.” He turned to see one of his generals standing by the wagon. All around, soldiers and knights fled towards the castle. The air thundered with the sounds of cannons, arrows, and warcries. He nodded and returned his attention to his unconscious friend.