A Multifandom Collection of Short Stories

28: What Happens...If You Die Here? Part 1

Daphne Pevensie was a trained warrior. She had, after all, ruled a kingdom for close to 20 years. Now she was 13 again, Well, 14 now.

As the middle child of 5 siblings, Daphne was often overlooked, forgotten. Her youngest sister, Lucy, had an imagination the size of a football field. Edmund, her younger brother was a bit of a twat and needed to be reined in every now and again and given an attitude check. Her older sister Susan was always trying to be smart. And her oldest brother Peter was always trying to control his siblings.

This inate ability to be overlooked made Daphne the greatest assassin in Narnian history, not that she's used this skill much.

Back to now. After ruling during Narnia's Golden Age, 33-year-old Queen Daphne the Resilient had returned to her home in England with her four brothers and sisters, where she returned to being 13 years old. They then resided in Finchley for a year. While waiting at a train station, they were whisked away to Narnia, much to the siblings' surprise.

After looking around, they had discovered that Cair Paravel had been destroyed. They'd been gone hundreds of Narnian years. Their belongings however, remained in the safe underground room of the castle, hidden behind a wall. Peter found there his sword and sheild. Edmund found his armor and sword. Lucy her dagger and healing cordial. Susan found her bow and arrows, but her horn was missing. Daphne found a bundle of her spears, tied together with velvet ribbon. The five siblings changed into more comfortable Narnian clothing.

Adventures led them to Trumpkin, the dwarf, who told them all about what had happened the last few hundred years with the invasion of the Telmarine armies and the destruction of Cair Paravel. Finally his story ended with the horn and the mysterious stranger Trumpkin, Nikibrik, and Trufflehunter had encountered.

Now the two kings, three queens, and dwarf slept under the stars after finally crossing the River Rush after trying all day.

It was early morning, the sun just beginning to rise. Pink and orange hues shot across the light bluish grey sky. Daphne awoke to the sound of a bird chirping quite loudly above her. It had been a long time since a bird had been so close. The girl stirred gently, careful not to wake her siblings.

The girl decided to go for a walk. The trees looked so sad as she passed them. She heard not a sound until she rounded a bush and heard heavy, yet quiet, footfall. The head of a black minotaur appeared from behind a tree.

Daphne ducked to come up with a plan. She would be spotted trying to return to her siblings and that would only lead the minotaur to her family. When the minotaur turned to walk another direction, Daphne slipped up the nearest tree as quietly as she could. She'd left her spears behind, stupidly.

Below her, there was movement. Lucy. She gasped when she saw the minotaur, but was pulled to the ground seconds later by Peter, covering her mouth. Peter drew his sword and warily approached the black creature.

"Psst, Lucy." The girl looked up.

"Daphne?" Daphne held her finger to her mouth as she climbed down the tree to her younger sister. The two huddled together to peer over the bush. Peter was holding up his sword to strike the minotaur when another man matched his sword and loud clashes broke through the woods. The fight lasted for several seconds.

"Peter!" Approaching from behing where Lucy and Daphne stood, Susan and Edmund came, followed by Trumpkin. The fighting stopped, but the unfamiliar man looked confused. Edmund passed Daphne her bundle of spears and the girl strapped them to her back. A look of realization crossed in the man's eyes. He looked at the sword he holds, it's Peter's, the head of Aslan on the end of the hilt.

"High King Peter?" the man said.

"You must be Caspian. I believe you called," Peter responded.

"Well yes, but I thought you'd be older." He looked at Daphne and Lucy, still standing together.

"Well if you like, we can come back in a few years," Peter said cheekily, beginning to turn away from Caspian.

"No! No, that's alright. You're just, you're not exactly what I expected," Caspian admited.

There's a beat of silence before Edmund responded, "Neither are you."

Conversations ensued about battle and things that did not interest Daphne. She only does as she's told to do by her brothers. When the large group of Narnians began walking, Daphne followed.

-------

Days passed of just sitting in the How. Peter and Caspian had decided to raid the castle while the number of soldiers there are diminished. The day had come and Daphne was nervous. She felt it was not the best idea, but she can't argue with her brother, the High King.

The girl was dressed in light chainmail armor with a breastplate on her chest and leather armor on her shoulders. Her spears, 10 spears made of a smooth wooden handle with solid bronze spearheads, were strapped to her back as per usual.

It was dark and a warm night breeze drifted from between the trees around the Narnian soldiers standing in wait. Queen Daphne stood at the front of the pack with Nikibrik and Glenstorm, waiting for the signal from Edmund. The light finally flashed a couple times and the Narnians knew Edmund was in position. Now they just had to wait for Caspian to open the gate, and for Reepicheep, the mice, and Trumpkin to lower the drawbridge.

Suddenly the light came back on flashing all around. Daphne cocked her head and Nikibrik said what she was thinking.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

After a few silent moments, the light flashed up and then Edmund signaled.

"Charge!" Glenstorm yelled, rearing up and taking off. Daphne and Nikibrik and the rest of the Narnian crew followed closely behind.

The battle started the instant they cross the gate. Daphne took a spear in each hand and squared up to her first opponent. A Telmarine of medium build, fully covered in armor. She smacked the end of her spear across his face, shattering his nose. Blood sprayed and the soldier cursed in pain. He reached for her face but she put the blunt end of her spear in his chest and knocked him to the ground. She put a foot on his chest to keep him from getting up and stabbed her spear into his throat, silencing him.

Daphne looked around for her older siblings. She saw Peter standing on stairs, directly below Miraz's balcony. Right as she looked, Miraz pushed Tyrus from where he held to the balcony. Tyrus hit the ground with a hard thud. Daphne gasped, but Peter pushed on.

Miraz turned to his general and then with a thud, the iron cages of concrete holding the gate open hit the ground, barely missing Narnian soldiers. The gate started to close. Asterius caught the gate. The minotaur held it as long as he could while the Narnians retreated. Daphne kept trying to fight off Telmarines. She was virtually surrounded, and was running out of spears.

A low shriek. Asterius had been hit in the thigh by a crossbow. He lifted the gate high one more time as Caspian, Peter and the Professor slipped through. Then with a sickening thud, the gate closed on Asterius' body. The mice were able to slip under the gate, but the rest of the Narnians were trapped in the courtyard, including Daphne.

The gate closing and Asterius' death caught Daphne off guard, just long enough for a soldier up on the rooftops of the castle to shoot her in the stomach. Clutching her stomach, Daphne stumbled into the soldiers around her and her other arm flailed. Overhead, the sound of wingbeats could be heard. Edmund was passing over on a griffin. Daphne fell to the ground on her back, the arrow sticking straight up from her abdomen.