Heroic Hearts: A Chronicles of Narnia Fanfiction

Pirates of Telmar

Black sails materialized like a ghost among the shifting banks of thick fog. I was only able to see the other ship a moment before I was rushed below by Thedal and a young knight with an eye patch. I spied Peter's broad back as he turned towards the coming vessel, staying low as he crept along the deck. 

"They came up in the night, silent as a phantom," Thedal explained as we climbed the ladder down into the lowest belly of the ship. "A Telmarine ship."

"Could they be friends?" I asked.

"Most likely not," the one eyed knight answered, helping me to the floor. "They would have raised a flag, but there are none on that mast. I've seen this like before. Brigands."

"Pirates," Brisa said, swinging her wooden sword with her dark eyebrows drawn heavily over her eyes in concentration. "I'd like to knock one down if I may."

"You are to stay behind us, Miss Brisa, should the battle come below," the knight directed firmly. The muscle in his sharp cheekbone ticked as he reconsidered his words. "On second thought, here. Take this." He slipped a knife from his tall boot and flipped it expertly, holding the hilt towards Brisa. "Easy with it. And only use it in the most dire of circumstances."

"What about me?" I croaked, my hands trembling as I tugged the edges of Peter's coat tighter around my body. "What can I use?"

I didn't like the idea of facing a horde of pirates without anything to defend myself. I might not know how to use one, but the idea of having a blade made me feel better. Thedal snapped his fingers. Clutching an ax in his fist, he strode towards some of the nearby boxes.

"I thought I saw an extra of these stowed away." He pulled out a round shield. Trimmed in gold, a lion roared at the center. "This will keep you safe from any errant blows or arrows. You can also use it to punch an assailant, like so."

With a firm step forward, Thedal jabbed it towards the knight who ducked in time before it collided with his face.

"Excellent," the knight agreed, handing it over to me. "Stay behind us, Lady Tabitha. I've been in many battles with my kings. I promise to protect you and Miss Brisa."

"I'll be by your side!" Brisa declared, lifting her chin. "Till the very end, Sir Terrin."

Sir Terrin gave her a smirk. "I don't doubt your heart for a moment."

The clatter of footsteps overwhelmed the gentle slush of the calm sea around us. Shouts in a strange language and the pounding of bodies to the deck echoed through the ship. I gripped the edge of my shield, breathing hard. Brushing the hair from my face, still wild from sleep, I readied myself.

"Dawnfeather brought word of King Edmund sending the Agincourt's sister ships to bring us aid. The pirates were spotted sometime yesterday and King Edmund felt it was wise to act out of caution instead of taking the chance," Thedal breathed, staring hard up at the ceiling. He moved side to side, exchanging the ax between his thick hands. "King Edmund knows what he's doing, that is certain."

"Let's just hope help gets here in time," Sir Terrin murmured, his one good eye keen on the hold's ladder.

The coarse tongue of the invaders sounded on the level above us.

"Aslan help us," Thedal muttered.

"Aslan," I said, closing my eyes. The same flood of peace that I had felt on the block at the slave market overwhelmed me. I stood a little taller. "Aslan, I trust you."

It was funny how natural the feeling occurred. Whoever he was, I knew that Aslan would see us through to the end. I opened my eyes as a pair of boots appeared on the ladder. A bulky figure in a crimson shirt and a black waistband leaped to the ground followed by two more seedy characters. 

They had olive skin with ruddy hair. The tallest, a scar snarling from the corner of his mouth to his ear, had burning red curls. He sneered at Sir Terrin as the skilled knight lunged at him.

Thedal swung his ax, catching the shorter one in the shin and sending him to the floor. Brisa leaped onto the other, brandishing her knife, while Sir Terrin and the leader grappled and twisted in the small space. I backed myself into a corner, peering out from behind my shield.

Brisa slashed the pirate across the cheek, blood dripping down into his wild beard. With a grunt of frustration, he tossed her wiry body aside into the boxes of supplies. She knocked her head and was out. Her knife slid across the floor as the ship tipped.

Brisa's pirate turned his attention on me. Grinning as the blood from his wound stained his teeth, he clucked his tongue like someone would to a frightened animal and lifted a mocking hand towards me. I must have looked like an easy target. Sadly, I was.

"Back off!" I snapped in the most commanding tone I could muster. "Get away from me!"

I stomped forward, as Thedal had done, and slammed my shield up into his face with the full force of my body behind it. It caught him by surprise. I heard a crunch as he stumbled back, blinking in a daze. Blood poured from his nose. I had broken it.

"Ha!" I barked in surprise.

He swiped at the shield and sent me sprawling to the floor. The wind was knocked from me. Brisa's knife caught my attention only an inch away.  I grabbed it as he leaped towards me. I didn't even stab him, I only happened to hold up the blade at the right moment. The knife sliced into his forearm, filleting the muscle.

Crying out in shock, he ripped away from me. Flipping onto my side with a frenzied gasp, I glanced up to see Sir Gwalter and King Peter drop into the hold. Peter swung his weapon, taking out Sir Terrin's opponent with a single blow. Sir Gwalter grabbed my attacker and shoved him to the ground.

I dropped the knife, trembling violently. Blood dripped from my hands onto my shift. The three pirates now captured or killed, King Peter rushed towards motionless Brisa. Thankfully, she came around soon after. Gwalter picked her up, despite her protestations, and carried her to the ladder.

"Where are you wounded?" Peter demanded, kneeling beside me next. He inspected my arms. "Where?"

"Nowhere, I'm- I'm fine. It's not my blood. It's his." I laughed frantically, astonished by my escape. "I think- I must have broken his nose."

Peter scoffed with a stunned grin in the direction of the wounded pirate, now under the close eye of Sir Terrin. "Among other things. Looks like you got a piece of him, Yank."

"I got a piece of something, that's for sure." 

He helped me to my feet, but my legs were like jelly. His hand caught me around the waist and the other securely grasped my upper arm, he gently led me towards the ladder. 

"What happened up there?" I asked.

"It was dodgy for a moment, but it's all over now. We've captured their ship. My brother and his two ships came up just in time. Now we have a trophy to bring home as well," he said.

I gripped a lower rung on the ladder. He released me, but his touch lingered. The warmth of his hand burned against my back, his coat still loose around me, as I inched up the ladder. I hunched a little away from him. 

We had gotten close in a matter of days and it disturbed me. Until I could find a way to reach Aslan, whoever he was, I needed to distance myself from King Peter.

Peter noticed and cleared his throat as we emerged onto the middle level of the ship, removing himself a step from me. "You did well with the pirate, Lady Tabitha. I commend you on your first combat experience," he said formally, giving me a little bow.

"I can only hope it's the last."