My King // Peter Pevensie

FIVE

The stronghold was magnificent. Well, not necessarily as magnificent as a castle, but it was certainly something. From the outside, it seemed to be just a pile of old bricks. Inside, it was a true base.

"Cas, look!" I pointed to a wall filled with carvings. My brother did not have much of a care for them. I looked at them for a while until I realized what it depicted. "it's them." I said.

"Who?" Caspian came over with a torch.

"The Kings and Queens of Old." I traced my finger over the engravings of the High King's face. Shouldn't they be here by now?

I continued through the corridor, Caspian not far behind. I came to a room, dark and seemingly empty. Caspian touched his torch to a box and the room was lit in firelight. Then I saw it...

Aslan's Table.

I never thought it was real. I thought it was a myth. "Cas."

My brother was equally in awe at the existence of the cracked stone. It was more strangely magnificent than I expected. "Do you think he's real?" I asked.

"I don't know." My brother was hesitant.

"What about the Kings and Queens? Where are they?"

"Mila, I stand by what I said before. We've waited for them too long. We can't rely on them." he sighed and laid a comforting hand on my wavy head of hair. "We're on our own."

...

The night was still dark, barely lit by the moon. I was glad to have my cloak, as I had not yet changed out of my nightgown and it shone brighter than a torch in the reflected light. The group snuck quietly around the Telmarine wagons. Caspian knew they were filled to the brim with weapons. He had barely let me come with him, but he is easily persuaded.

The plan was simple: gather the weapons, sneak them back into the forest, don't get caught. Once the coast had been cleared, we began to unload. We had set out blankets on the ground in front of the wagon doors. When they had been opened, we piled as many swords, axes, bows, and daggers onto the blankets that we could. When we had reached the limit, we wrapped up the blankets and carried them into the forest like stretchers.

I looked around to make sure no one was watching and pulled out my dagger.

"Camila!" Caspian whispered. "What are you doing?"

I closed one of the wagon doors and dug my dagger into the wood. "Just leaving a note for dear uncle Miraz."

...

The sun had risen before we were able to reach the stronghold. We had been hulling the weapons all night, but somehow, the general ambiance of the forest at dawn made it much more pleasant. However the pleasantries were soon to be broken by the sound of swords clashing in the distance.

Cas.

I bolted in the direction of the noises, only to find my brother dueling another boy. I drew my sword as Caspian's was roughly forced aside by the boy. Without waiting, I stopped the boy's sword with my own. He seemed almost shocked as I glared into his eyes. He twisted his sword from mine and slashed back at me. I blocked his approach quickly with my blade. I hit his sword again and again, seemingly pushing him back until I finally twisted his sword from his grip, caught it midair, and held it against his neck.

I would have slit his throat if it weren't for the little girl who emerged from the bush. "No, stop!" she screamed and I flicked my eyes to her. She was small, pale, possibly around twelve years old. Around me, the army we had built circled us. I held the blade to the boy's neck even still, staring him down so that he might realize who he's crossed.

However, Caspian came to my side, lowering the sword gently. "Wait." I sighed, dropping the blade but keeping my eyes on the stranger.

"Prince Caspian?" the boy asked.

"Yes."

"And who are you?" I asked, still skeptical of him.

He was interrupted by a woman's voice. "Peter!" she shouted, coming out behind the little girl with another boy. This one had dark hair rather than blonde like the first. The woman had dark hair as well, with fair features and she looked to be around my age.

"High King Peter." My brother made the connection first.

"I believe you called." He said.

"Well yes but, I thought you'd be older." I remarked. It wasn't that he was young. He was maybe a year older than me, but he was not much of a 'King of Old'.

He tilted his head up and looked down on me. "Well, if you'd like, we can come back in a few years." he said sarcastically.

"No, no that's alright." my brother stepped in, giving me a warning face. "You're just..." he looked around, catching the older girl's eye, who must have been Queen Susan. Noted. "You're not exactly what we expected."

"Neither are you." Said the younger boy, who I noted as King Edmund. He must have been a few years younger than me. He eyed the minotaurs.

"A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes." Trufflehunter responded.

"We have anxiously awaited your return, my liege." Reepicheep came scurrying up to Peter. "Our hearts and swords are at your service." ha, you'll have to earn mine.

"Oh my gosh, he is so cute." Supposedly Queen Lucy whispered.

"Who said that?" Reepicheep exclaimed, drawing his sword.

"Sorry." she said, timidly.

"Oh... uh... your Majesty." he bowed. "With the greatest respect, I do believe 'courageous', 'courteous', or 'chivalrous' might more befit a knight of Narnia." he sheathed his sword.

"Well, at least we know some of you can handle a blade." Peter's sarcasm made my brother roll his eyes. I half smiled at the joke, but only because it was targeted at my brother.

"Yes indeed. And I have recently brought it to good use securing weapons for your army, Sire."

"Good." he turned to me and my brother. "Because we're going to need every sword we can get."

"Well then." I smirked. "You will probably be wanting yours back." I lifted his hilt to him and he kept my eye contact. My smirk flickered for a moment, realizing that his light blue eyes were keeping my gaze. He gently took the sword and sheathed it, turning towards the others. I subtly cleared my throat, trying to figure out what just happened.