Nothing Can Come Between Us (2)

Chapter 7: The Battle

It reminded Peter of his first battle, the one against the White Witch. He was riding towards the enemy with his army close behind, but this time he had his brother and brother-in-law fighting by his side.

The two armies clashed thus beginning the battle. The Telmarines fought for independence, while the Narnians fought for a united country. Each clash of a sword, each swish of an arrow, and each cry was for a purpose.

The Narnians were well on their way to victory.Their archers were skilled - well practiced - and their swordsmen as fierce as ever. It seemed the battle would be an easy victory.

~

Lucy put her compassionate personality to work as a nurse in the tents set up in the woods for the injured soldiers. She wished with all her heart that she could instantly bring healing to each and every soldier, however, in order to preserve the precious antidote she was instructed only to use The Juice of the Fireflower if there was no other way to heal the patient. Seeing the courageous Narnians lying in pain, anguish shining in the tears of their eyes, was almost too much. More than once she was tempted to use it. "Just one drop is all." She would tell herself in order to justify the behavior. But, she new they were right. It was a rare juice and couldn't afford to be wasted.

~

Meanwhile, Susan arrived regretfully at Aslan's Howe. Eliana immediately skipped off to play with some of the young village girls while Susan spread out the blankets she had brought - who knew how long the war would last. She yearned to be on the battlefield alongside her husband and brothers. A thought suddenly hit her. A thought that had never crossed her mind before. If anything happens to them, I won't even know! It horrified her. Peter, Edmund, or Caspian could be lying on a cot in a tent, or worse, still on the battlefield, at this very moment injured, or... She shook away the haunting possibility and focused her attention once again on the organization of her few belongings.

~

Lucy was busily putting herself to work bandaging a deep cut on the upper arm of a faun. She her eyes darted up as another soldier was carried in. At first glance she didn't think much of it, but something caught her eye. It was something familiar, something she had be used to seeing for years. It was shiny with a red lion on the front and- "Peter!" She gasped as she darted across the tent.

"What happened?" She asked one of the fawns who had brought him in.

"He was hit to the ground, his arm injured. And while on the ground took a second hit to the head which knocked him unconscious." The fawn explained.

Just then Edmund burst into the tent followed closely by Caspian. "We saw him being carried in. What happened?" Edmund asked. "He hurt his arm then was hit over the head and fell unconscious." Lucy told them.

"Is it dislocated again?" Edmund asked, referring to his arm. "If it is I know how to pop it back in."

"It's alright Ed, I'll take care of him." Lucy assured him as she knelt beside her brother's cot. "You need to get back out there."

"No!" Edmund refused. Before Lucy could further push him Trufflehunter approached.

"Let me take a look at him." He said. Lucy smoothed Peter's hair to the side to get a better look at his injury and gasped. A huge gash displayed itself on his forehead. "Oh my!" Trufflehunter was taken aback. "I hope there's no permanent damage."

"Edmund, I know you're worried about your brother, and I am too, but we need to get back out there." Caspian said.

"No!" Edmund insisted.

"Don't worry, my king. We will look after your brother." Trufflehunter reassured him. After a long moment of thought Edmund decided they were right and, reluctantly, returned to the battlefield.

~

Back at Aslan's Howe Susan nervously paced the dusted over floors. Every so often she would stop to look out the window in hopes to see a griffin flying in to give her an update, but the sky was always empty. Something inside yanked at her conscience telling her that something was wrong, but she pushed it away willing herself to believe that it was the mere fear of the unknown.
~

The Narnian army held their heads high in confidence, that is, until the Telmarines summoned the rest of their army, the portion who had been hiding in the woods, not letting the Narnians know of their existence.

"Caspian! What should we do?" Edmund yelled to Caspian who had just knocked a soldier to the ground, only yards away.
"What do you propose?" Caspian yelled back, clashing his sword against another's.

"You're second in command, not me. Besides, what do I know about commanding battles?"

"You're a good king, you'll figure something out." Caspian assured him casually.

"So you're pretty much saying that you have no idea what to do?" Edmund asked, knocking the sword from a Telmarine's hand.

"Pretty much." Caspian said with a hint of humor tucked away in his voice.

Edmund scanned the battlefield hoping for a sudden burst of inspiration. He noticed that the Telmarine army was made up mostly of cavalry, which was a powerful way for a soldier to fight.

"Archers!" He called back to the soldiers who were stationed up in the trees lining the field. "Aim for the cavalry!" He yelled, in hopes that that leg of the Telmarine army could at least be weakened while he tried to come up with a better strategy.

~

Peter still lay unconscious back in the tent. Lucy was taking care of him as best she could, wrapping a long bandage around his head, and trying gently to wake him. It seemed he would never wake! She had tried every method she could think of, she had even splashed a bit of cold water on his face, but still his eyes remained shut. She wanted desperately to use her juice of the fire flower, but this didn't appear to be a life threatening matter, yet. She hardly took her eyes off her injured brother. All her life Peter had watched over and protected her. Now it was her turn to care for him.