“Lucy!” everyone screamed in unison. You and Peter rushed to the edge of the gorge followed closely by the rest of your siblings and Trumpkin. Fear gripped your heart as you peered over the edge.
“It’s alright!” a tiny voice sounded from underneath the edge of the cliff, “the ground gave way, but there is a pathway down here.”
You sighed in relief as you spotted Lucy covered in dirt, but otherwise safe where the ground had fell moments before. She smiled and pointed to a worn down path that winded down the side of the gorge and ended above a shallow section of the river. “Well spotted, Lu!” you said, carefully jumping down to help her stand.
“You got lucky,” Susan replied with disgust as Peter held his hand to help her down as well.
You glared at her, but refocused on your new path to the Narnians. “It seems you were right, Pete, this was the faster way,” you said with a laugh and nudging Trumpkin with your shoulder.
Trumpkin nodded, a small smile appearing on his face, “It appears I was wrong.”
“Not technically,” Edmund said, jumping down to meet you after collecting the few things everyone left at the makeshift campsite, “there isn’t a crossing, we will still have to swim across the river.”
Peter smacked Edmund playfully and laughed, “I suppose you’re right brother.”
“You found the path, you lead us on Lu,” you said, gesturing for her to take the lead. She smiled proudly and began walking down the steady lowering path towards the river.
To your surprise, there were no complaints as you made your way down the cliff, everyone was laughing and joking with each other, even Susan. It was a welcome change from the usual arguments that ensued over just about everything.
In only a few hours, you had reached the end and stepped towards the water. “It looks shallow enough to swim easily,” Edmund said, testing the water with his sword.
“Except for the current,” Susan said, pointing at the quickness of the water towards the middle of the river.
“Is there a crossing down here?” Lucy asked Trumpkin.
He shook his head, “the nearest one at this altitude belongs to the Telmarines and is almost a hundred miles that way,” he said pointing in the distance.
“Then we swim,” Peter said, strapping his sword tightly to his waist and stepping towards the water determined.
Susan placed a hand on his chest stopping him, “this is not like the beaches, Peter, these are near rapids, even the best swimmer would have a hard time crossing here.”
“And it is deeper than you think,” Trumpkin added.
You sighed, “we have three strong swimmers, I’ll cross with Lu, Ed you go with Susan and Peter you’ll cross with Trumpkin.”
“That’s a terrible plan,” Susan interrupted.
You rolled your eyes, “I wasn’t done.” She nodded her head in silent apology allowing you to continue. “We’ll use some rope and tie it off to a tree on this side, it will at least stop us from being carried too far with the current. I’ll take the rope across first and tie it off to a tree on the other side, then the rest of you will just have to swim and hang onto the rope.”
Trumpkin nodded, clearly impressed, “it’s not a bad plan.”
The rest of your siblings nodded in agreement and Edmund got up and began tying a rope to a thick tree. “Make sure it’s nice and tight, Ed,” Peter said with a mocking smile, “last thing we need is for the rope to come loose before we can reach the other side.”
Ed laughed, “I know what I am doing, back off.”
Peter put his arms up in surrender with a laugh. “Alright (Y/N), you’re up.”
You smile and take the rope from him, gesturing for Lucy to come closer to you. You wrap the rope around her waist and secure it tightly. “What’s this for?” she asked.
You smoothed her hair, “in case you can’t hold on to me once we reach the rapids, you’ll still be connected to the tree.”
“What about you?” Susan asked, overhearing your explanation.
You shrugged, “I can swim.”
“Against the current?” she continued.
You rolled your eyes, crouching so Lucy could climb on your back, “I’m a better swimmer than you think,” you said to Susan with a wink. She said nothing else, just watched you wade into the river, the water cool and refreshing.
“Hold on tight, Lu,” you said as the water started rising to your waist, “here we go.”
YOU ARE READING
Adventures of the High Queen (Prince Caspian x Reader)
Fanfiction(Y/N) Penvensie is the middle child. You and your siblings have been stuck in England for almost a year after defending Narnia. When you finally return to the land you love, over 300 years have passed there. What dangers await you in this new l...
