SMOKE SIGNALS

Escape of the Twins

The time for change is upon you now.

"Your Highness," a voice whispered in Cahira's dreams.

A wild lion pranced past her, golden mane shimmering in the sun. It placed a paw on her shoulder and began to whisper. Cahira couldn't quite make out what it said, but just hearing this animal speak was enough to give her a rush of an odd confidence.

"Highness," the voice repeated.

The lion began to fade, but the voice remained. There was a hand—not a paw—still upon her shoulder. It shook her roughly, though not unkindly.

Finally, she forced her eyes open. Her room was so dark it didn't make a difference at first, but once her eyes became accustomed to the night she saw who had woken her.

"Glozelle?"

The general's face was serious as he clasped his hands behind his back. Cahira could see the moon outside her window where it hung just over the Sentarian Mountains. She furrowed her brow—it must've been three or four in the morning.

"Your Highness, I cannot stay long. You must listen."

Cahira sat up a little straighter in her bed, blinking hard as she focused on the general.

"Lord Miraz has a son. You and Caspian are in danger. After I leave your room tonight you will be hunted for your birthright."

"What—"

"If we meet again in the eyes of others it will be as enemies." He turned, averting his gaze from hers and started for the door.

"Wait, please— Glozelle—"

"I'm sorry, Princess."

He rushed out the door. Cahira was left speechless as she processed what he had told her. A son. Her uncle had never been particularly kind to her or her brother, and even though she longed to believe that he wouldn't do anything to harm them, she knew it wasn't outside of what he was willing to do to become king.

Cursing, Cahira pushed herself out of bed. She had to get to Caspian; they would have to run. She didn't know where—hell, she had never even left the castle without a chaperone. The clothes in her dresser were all wrong, all too ceremonial or grand. After a moment she settled on the navy blue dress she used to wear to train her sword fighting, before she had been caught and scolded by her aunt.

A moment later, Cahira pushed her door open and peered out into the hallway just in time to see a cloaked figure rushing past her room. She recognized its short stature immediately as Doctor Cornelius, Caspian's tutor. She called to him, and he spun around, eyes wild before they landed on her behind his wire framed spectacles. He beckoned to her.

"Caspian is in danger—"

"I've heard," she interrupted. "Do you know where we can go?"

Dr. Cornelius nodded. "Go down to the stables, ready your and Caspian's horses. I will wake him."

They split off when they reached Caspian's room. Cahira walked briskly to the stables, so as not to alert any guards that might catch a glimpse of her. Her mind was racing as she arrived and began tacking them up. What would she do or say if a guard caught her? What if Miraz got to Caspian before Cornelius helped him escape? Her hands shook as she adjusted the horses' bridles. She and Caspian had known that their aunt was pregnant, of course. But she had never realized that a son would mean such a total upheaval for her and her brother. She chastised herself lightly—she had never realized because life had been so sheltered.

She had just finished tightening the saddles when she heard their hushed tones descending the stairs. Cahira allowed herself to take her first breath of relief.

"Are you alright?" Caspian asked as he arrived by her side, taking his horse's reins.

"I'm fine, are you?"

"Yes—"

"No time for idle chatter," Cornelius cut them off and hurried them onto their horses.

Caspian's horse was a tall, burly black gelding he had named Destrier. Loyal and seemingly untiring, he had carried Caspian on too many hunting trips to count. Cahira's was a lithe, dapple grey named Attica—a mare that seemed to have less patience than she for the numerous processions they were forced to participate in.

"You must make for the woods," Cornelius instructed once they mounted and had their weapons and provisions loaded with them.

"The woods?"

"They won't follow you there."

Cornelius handed Caspian an object wrapped in a thick red velvet cloth.

"It has taken me many years to find this," he explained when Caspian looked at him in confusion. "Do not use it except at your greatest need."

Attica had begun pawing at the cobblestones beneath them, and Cahira felt her anxiety. They were bound to be discovered at any moment.

"Will I ever see you again?" Caspian asked his tutor, his words laced with sadness.

"I dearly hope so, my prince. There is so much more I meant to tell you—to tell both of you," Cornelius looked between the twins. "Everything you know is about to change."

A shiver ran through Cahira as she remembered the words she had heard whispered in her dreams, less than an hour beforehand. But there was no time to ruminate. Sounds of movement were beginning to sound around them, and none of them wanted to remain to see what they were about.

"Now go!" Dr. Cornelius urged, smacking a hand against the rump of Caspian's horse.

The twins took off into the still darkened courtyard of the castle. The gate was just ahead, and they had almost made it through freely when shouts of alarm were raised among Telmarine calvary.

The pursuit began. Cahira silently thanked whatever gods watched over them that she and Caspian were skilled riders. Their horses ran as they never had before, until they had left the castle and town behind them and the shouts of the soldiers were almost completely muffled by the rushing wind. She looked over to her brother. His jaw was set as he urged Destrier forward.

The two of them made it to the ancient woods ahead of the calvary. The trees around them were tall and foreboding, blocking out even the meager moonlight that had lit their path thus far. All Cahira could hear was the wind in her ears, whipping her face as she and her horse galloped at full speed. All at once the path seemed familiar to her, even though she knew she had never ridden this way before. Attica seemed to sense this new sureness in Cahira, because she pulled forward ahead of Destrier.

"What is it?" Caspian called, shouting above the sound of galloping hooves.

"I know the way—" She shouted over her shoulder. "I know where we are!"

She didn't hear a response from her brother, but she could almost see him furrow his brow. How could she know where in Narnia they were when the light was nonexistent and the path was more and more rugged by the minute?

Even though she didn't know how, there was no doubt in her mind that they were heading in the right direction. More reassuring was the fact that she could no longer hear the soldiers behind them at all. She looked over her shoulder and let out a horrified gasp when she realized that Caspian was no longer behind her either. She pulled Attica to a stop so suddenly that she almost flew forward out of her saddle. True fear finally seeped into her heart. When had he stopped following? Had he been captured? Was he—

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Panicking wouldn't get her anywhere. Attica snorted, as if in agreement. Her chest heaved as she breathed heavily.

The shrill sound of a horn sounded in the distance, back in the direction she had come. The horn, she thought. It was Caspian. She breathed a sigh of relief. That meant he was alive. She steered Attica towards the sound when the wind picked back up around her and began to form what could've been words.

He is among friends. The pursuers continue. Keep moving.

Cahira didn't have to be told twice. Following the caress of the wind, she continued deeper into the forest. He would be alright. His Professor wouldn't have given him the horn if it was useless. She needed to focus on surviving long enough to see Caspian again.