The Naiad Within

Chapter 4

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 1: The Naiad Within

Chapter 4

Ava landed on the Griffin’s back just behind Edmund with a soft ‘umph.’ With his great wings, the Griffin gave a thunderous flap and soared off into the night as the soldiers gave an angry cry after them. Having nothing else to hold on to, Ava hesitantly wrapped her arms around the King’s waist, while Edmund held on with nothing but his knees.

“Zephyrlias, you said you’d take me to my brother, so Peter’s all right then?” Edmund asked with just the smallest hint of fear.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The High King made it out safely,” the Griffin answered.

“And Susan and Caspian?”

“They made it as well, but I’m afraid there were many Narnian lives lost tonight.”

Ava gave a small gasp when she looked down at the courtyard they were flying over. The ground was littered with bodies. From their distance, it was difficult to tell how many were Narnians and how many were Telmarines, but Ava could see a right many horned heads in the fray. Edmund wanted to say something to comfort her, but knew there was nothing that could be said. Instead, he did not complain when she held him a little tighter and sobbed softly into his back.

Ava and Edmund rode on the back of Zephyrlias for what felt like hours to Ava, but really wasn’t. They flew south along the Great River and over a forest before they reached a clearing and a single hill rising up out of the ground. As Zephyrlias touched down in the field the horizon began to glow with the early morning light. After King Edmund had climbed off the Griffin’s back he helped Ava down. They began to walk towards the hill and the small crowd standing outside it. Edmund and Zephyrlias walked side by side while Ava trailed slightly behind them.

XOXOX

Meanwhile, a crowd was gathered outside Aslan’s How where the Narnian’s had made their base camp. The rest of the Narnian army had already returned from the failed attempt to take Miraz’s castle, and in their distress Prince Caspian and King Peter had exchanged some hostile words. Now they stood with their swords drawn on each other while the other Narnians looked on in disbelief.

“Stop it! Both of you!” Queen Lucy said as she ran between them and held out her arms. The feuding boys looked down at the brave young Queen before lowering their swords. Caspian turned around in anger and stalked inside the How. Lucy stared at her oldest brother with mixed emotions. She was furious with him for insisting upon this insane mission and not seeking the guidance of Aslan first, but she also felt bad for him because she knew how much he was hurting; only about half of them had returned from the raid.  When Susan approached them, Lucy looked around for their other sibling.

“Where’s Edmund?” she asked.

“Ed’s right…” Peter turned around to point him out but couldn’t find him. “Ed!”

“Not again,” Susan sighed. “Edmund!” The three siblings began looking and calling out for their lost brother. Fear crept inside them when none of the Narnian army could recall seeing him leave the castle. The siblings remembered how they almost lost their brother last time they were in Narnia, and though they knew he would never run off again they feared what might happen if he were caught by the enemy.

“How could I have let this happen?” Peter desperately thought.

“Your Majesties,” a Faun said as he pointed out to the field where a Griffin had just landed. The three siblings sighed in relief when they saw their brother climb off the Griffin’s back.