WAR OF HEARTS ━ prince caspian x

seven

˗ˏˋCHAPTER SEVENˊˎ-

***

WARNING BELLS SOUNDED from around the castle, unluckily enough for them. Now, the entire kingdom knew that they were there. They didn't have the element of surprise anymore. Wren knew she should've stopped Miraz from running out that door, but she had been too occupied with Caspian that it had been the last thing on her mind.

They sprinted through the courtyard, Peter taking the lead as he made his way to where the gate was. He was struggling to turn the wheel when they finally caught up to him. "Peter," Susan breathed, completely out of breath. "It's too late! We have to call it off while we still can."

"No!" He argued, grunting, turning the wheel still. "I can do this!" Guards swarmed the second floor, and it was only a matter of time before they were spotted. Currently, they were completely outnumbered. Peter seemed to notice this, because his tone turned panicked. "Help me!"

The three of them shared a look, before obliging and pushing all of their strength into the wooden wheel. Slowly but surely, the gate began to open, but no one seemed too happy about it. "Exactly who are you doing this for, Peter?" Susan demanded, but her brother didn't respond.

The loud sound of footsteps and hooves could be heard crossing the bridge, and soon enough the Narnians came bolting in, swords raised. Peter mimicked this action, and dashed towards the Telmarines as well. "For Narnia!"

Wren had never seen so much fighting in her life. Or so much blood. Or so many dead people. And she was planning on never seeing it again, although she could already tell that wasn't going to be the case. She kneed a man in the stomach once he got close enough, and sunk a dagger into his chest before pulling it right back out to stick it in the next guard's stomach who had been attempting to sneak up behind her. But she had performed that sneak attack move too many times herself for her not to realize what was going on.

Her hands became more and more soaked with blood, as well as her daggers. She thought her fingertips would be stained for the rest of her life at that point, the regular pale complexion of her hands barely noticeable to the dark red covering her skin instead.

It seemed to go on for hours. The stabbing. The shouting. The constant checking behind her to make sure she wasn't about to get charged and not see it coming. She had never been so frantic and tense before. Not even that one time when her mother had gone missing for six days straight.

But not even battles lasted forever, because Peter screamed for them to fall back. Wren glanced up in confusion, seeing a minotaur holding up the metal gate that the Trelmarines were now trying to shut. He was very clearly struggling, and Wren felt the anxiety rise up in her chest again, the adrenaline wearing off, realizing that they were losing—and badly.

"We need to retreat! Now! Go, get the girls out of here!" He ordered to a centaur when both Susan and Wren grouped together to make sure the other was okay. The centaur ran over to them, and almost reluctantly, they both climbed onto its back, and Wren turned her head to look at Peter.

"Find Caspian!" She yelled, and he nodded.

"I will."

And that was the last she saw either of them until the walk back to the field.

***

The tensions were so high as they made their way back to the base. Nobody had said a word, and the thick silence made Wren's insides churn. She knew this was only the calm before the storm. A volcano was about to erupt, and this time she couldn't avoid the situation like she normally would have. There were a lot less of them now, too. Hardly over one hundred people stood behind Wren, who was towards the front of the line. Lucy must've heard them coming, because she appeared from the stone archway to greet them. Although, her face fell when she saw their expressions.

"What happened?"

"Ask him," Peter snapped, nodding his head in the direction of Caspian.

"Peter," Susan warned, sharing a look of disbelief with Wren. Hadn't Caspian literally been the one who said it was impossible to invade that castle?

"Me?" He repeated defensively. "You could've called it off. There was time."

"No, there wasn't, thanks to you. If you kept to the plan those soldiers might be alive."

"If you'd just stayed here like I suggested, they definitely would be!" Caspian argued angrily.

"You called us, remember?" Peter reminded him, and the two boys were so close to one another that if they took one more step they'd be touching chests.

"My first mistake," he sneered in response.

"No. Your first mistake was thinking you could lead these people."

"Hey!" Caspian shouted when Peter turned to walk away, and Wren subconsciously flinched. "I'm not the one who abandoned Narnia."

"You invaded Narnia. You have no more right to lead it than Miraz does." Caspian shoved past him, but Peter's next words made him freeze. "You, him, your father...Narnia is better off without the lot of you."

"Stop it!" Edmund screamed when both boys drew their swords, and they looked at him in surprise. Lucy jogged over to him, pulling out a flask filled with some red liquid inside. She crouched over the unconscious Trumpkin, pouring one drop into his parted lips. He coughed, his eyes fluttering open just as the prince marched inside of the camp.

"What are you all standing around for?" Trumpkin demanded weakly. "The Telmarines will be here soon enough."

***

"Have you seen Caspian?" Susan asked about thirty minutes later, and Wren glanced up from her daggers, which she had been sharpening. "He and that dwarf...Nikabrik, who was a really big supporter of the White Witch having been missing since that argument."

"Haven't seen either of them," Wren shook her head, and Peter looked like he was refraining from rolling his eyes.

"Let's go search for him, then. Don't want that idiot starting more trouble."

"You," Wren waved a finger in the blonde's face as she stood up. "Need to stop with the name calling. He's trying his best."

"His best isn't good enough."

"You led us into that castle," she said sharply. "Ignoring his protests and warnings. If you're going to blame on anyone, you can't just pin all the fault on him."

"I don't need this from you. You didn't even know this place existed five days ago."

"We were once in her spot too, Peter," Susan pointed out. "No need to be so rude about it. She's only trying to help. Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Wait," Wren ordered, holding up a hand. "Do you hear that? It sounds like..."

"Chanting," Peter finished, eyes widening. "Chanting's never good." They sprinted towards the sound, and Wren came to a stop at the ice wall that had formed towards the back, a pale girl with sickeningly white skin was staring at them from behind the frost. Both he and Edmund sprang into action as Caspian stared before him, almost in a haze. As if he were under a spell. It was then Wren saw the circle drawn around him, and while the Pevensie siblings battled it out with the other creatures, Wren rushed over to the prince, and knocked him out of the way before the White Witch had the chance to finally grab him with her scrawny fingers.

They both landed on the ground with a groan, and Caspian blinked rapidly, looking around in confusion before meeting her eyes. Wren's face flushed when she realized she was half sprawled on top of him, and she hurriedly untangled their limbs, separating the pair.

He coughed awkwardly, and they refused to meet each other's eyes. Finally, she broke the silence. "You alright?"

"Fine," he nodded, pushing himself into a sitting position. Suddenly, the wall of ice shattered, crumbling onto the floor due to Edmund's blade, which he had just slashed through. Peter, who was standing a few feet away, let out a breath of relief, and stared at the younger brunette with wide eyes.

Edmund shot his brother a smug grin. "I know. You had it sorted."

authors note

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