Chronicles of Narnia: The Warrior of Narnia (Completed)

Chapter Five: Second Battle of Beruna

Nora winced as a powerful blow from Miraz's shield knocked Peter's helmet off. A hit like that was sure to disorient the younger combatant, and sure enough, Peter was barely able to block the next few strikes.
The duel had been going badly for the High King from the start. His initial strikes had been given using a fighting style that used agility more than strength. After a few jarring hits from Miraz, however, he had fallen back to his usual moves. Unfortunately they were the usual moves from when Peter had been a fully-grown man with a dozen years of strength — training behind him. Now, blow for blow, Miraz had the advantage.
The Telmarine general's hands tightened on the crossbow he held, much to Nora and Edmund's alarm. He tensed, readying himself to jump forward into the field of combat at the slightest twitch of General Glozelle's fingers, but she held his arm from dishonoring the combat. His movement must have caught the general's attention, and General Glozelle met his eyes. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like forever before General Glozelle nodded at Edmund, hands lowering the crossbow. Edmund breathed a sigh of relief; clearly the Telmarine General remembered their own duel, or perhaps even the words the Just King had spoken at the Telmarine camp.
The Telmarine fell over Peter, jarring his shoulder against the hard stone of the field of combat. Peter tried a backhand stroke from the ground, but Miraz gathered his wits to block it. The two clambered to their feet, both combatants breathing hard from heat and exertion.
Edmund and Nora frowned as neither warrior moved to strike, though both were at the ready. They both looked beyond the field and saw what must have caught Peter's attention: Susan and Caspian were riding in from the woods on their horses. Worry caught in Nora's heart. Lucy wasn't with them; which meant she had either gotten through the Telmarine line, or...
Edmund shook his head. There wasn't time to think, they had to focus on Peter, who was now limping to their side after having apparently called for a respite. As Edmund and Nora both helped Peter, picking up his helmet and supporting his back, Caspian and Susan the black stallion dismounted and hurried towards them. They didn't even have to ask before Caspian reassured them. "She got through, do not worry."
Nora stood behind as they spoke to each other and gazed at the Telmarines warily, making sure that none of them were up to any tricks. She soon caught General Glozelle's eyes for a brief second. Feelings like lightning went between them: wariness, courage, honor, worry, and fierce determination. Once Nora looked away from him, she took notice of Lord Sopespian and gained a new sense of wariness towards him. She sensed that he's the secretly dangerous one of the Lords of Telmarine.
The respite was ending, so Caspian handed Rhindon back to Peter, as did Edmund the shield. When he offered Peter his helm, it was refused; understandably, since the helmet tended to block Peter's vision as well as cause overheating. It was still a dangerous choice, since a blow to the head could easily be fatal. Edmund was relieved, however, when he saw Miraz refuse his own helmet out of arrogance; it evened the odds a bit more. Peter entered the field with almost shocking vigor, his eyes hard and cold. He rained blow upon blow down on Miraz with abandon, forcing the shocked Telmarine back.
On the side of the field, Caspian turned to look at Edmund. "What did you say to him? He fights as if he is possessed!"
Edmund kept his eyes on the duel, watching as Peter gave an angry yell when he hit Miraz's spaulders with a ringing strike. "I just told him what he needed to hear." He would not say more.
"Whatever you said sure worked," commented Nora dryly, while watching the fight warily.
That determination gave Peter new strength, and he was putting it to good use. Edmund and Nora could easily see that Peter had changed styles again. He was fighting strength with speed, avoiding blows with quick steps, forcing Miraz to expend energy trying to catch him and avoid Peter's quick stabs and strikes. It was a balance, though, as Peter expended more energy himself for the necessary speed. He needed to wear Miraz down before the exertion became too much.
Edmund choked, Nora hissed between her teeth, and he heard Caspian swear in shock as Peter deliberately discarded his shield. King Edmund might have to start doubting the usefulness of his words, if it made Peter do something like that. Yet it seemed to work, since the decrease in weight and bulk allowed Peter to dance around the Telmarine with greater agility.
Miraz was faltering. He was barely able to turn and block the High King's strikes, let alone try to get in his own hits. Repeated blows rained on him. The heat, the exhaustion, the pain finally got to Miraz and he fell to his knees, sword clanging on the ground beside him. "Respite." He coughed desperately. "Respite."
Peter, showing the nobility of the High King he was once more, lowered his sword and began walking towards Edmund and Caspian. In fact, Edmund was so busy looking over Peter for any injuries he hadn't seen, that he was caught off guard when
Caspian shouted, "Watch out!"
Looking up sharply past Peter, Edmund and Nora both saw Miraz on his feet, lifting his sword to strike at Peter's head. Edmund and Nora both stepped forward, reaching for their own swords, but Peter was already turning and bringing Rhindon up to block the strike. The next few moments were a blur, as Peter quickly disarmed Miraz and, bringing Rhindon down with full force, sliced deeply through the usurper's neck. With his face betraying no emotion, Peter ripped his sword away from where it had lodged in flesh, muscle, and bone, the force of which caused Miraz's body to collapse on the ground.
Silence fell. The Narnians were shocked at the treachery of Miraz's attack, while the Telmarines could hardly believe their king had lost. Nora looked at Caspian: his face was pale, wide eyes not leaving his uncle's body. It was clear that he did not know how to react. The anger he held against Miraz for his father's murder, for the persecution of the Narnians, and for his own exile conflicted with the fact that his uncle, one of the few relatives he had known in his life, was dead. Edmund laid a comforting hand on Caspian's arm; there was nothing he could say to help him with that conflict.
His confusion cleared, though, when Lord Sopespian began shouting. "Treachery! They've broken the terms of combat and murdered King Miraz!" Dishonesty radiated from the man, but Nora was too far away to stop and confront him; instead, Sopespian rushed to his horse and began galloping, almost certainly to rally his troops.
The rest of the Narnians followed Peter's command and the battle was engaged. Using a trick he had learned from Caspian, Edmund double-loaded the crossbow, able to use two hands as Hwella steered their course towards the collapsed ground. Edmund let the bolts fly with rapid-fire, letting him take out more Telmarines before having to reload.
Once out of bolts, Edmund tossed the crossbow aside and grabbed a halberd that had stuck in the ground when its satyr owner fell. He used the long, bladed weapon to strike at the enemy, particularly to knock those who were still mounted off their horses, so that the smaller Animals could finish them off. Nora easily fell back into the mindset of a warrior, never thinking about the men behind the silver masks; who they might be, or even if she knew them from his time in the Beaversdam stables. Now they were only the enemy, and so she sliced without thought of the blood she spilled on the ground.
Pulling away from the heart of the melee, Edmund took a quick glance around the field to survey their situation. Caspian, Nora, and Second Battalion had joined with First Battalion. While the Narnians were doing well at the moment, Nora caught sight of the Telmarine infantry beginning to advance. Frowning, she realized that nearly two battalions of infantry remained behind with the lagging cavalry. What were they up to?
Fearing they would attempt a pincer movement, Edmund urged Bwenen (a brave chestnut Talking Horse) over to Glenstorm. "General, strengthen the flanks, and pull the front behind the chasm!" Glenstorm acknowledged the order with a nod before galloping away. Bwenen dashed back through the ranks as Edmund took down any Telmarine who stood in their way, even as the sounds of horns spread the order.
Peter drew in a breath. Raising Rhindon, he cried out with the clear, commanding voice of a High King. "For Narnia, and for Aslan!" The Narnians took up the battle cry and followed their sovereigns into their last, desperate charge.
The Narnian lines were quickly broken. Now only small bands of Creatures fought together, or individuals desperately trying to last just a little longer. There was little expectation of survival: by now, most of the faithful had dutifully concluded that their deaths would be to buy time for Aslan to save their families and the other Narnians still hidden in the woods. Those who never had expected a miraculous rescue were just determined to take down as many of the enemy as they could, and die free from the shadows. That's when the Dryads' trees had came to life and used its root to pull down the cannons.
They emerged from the treeline, only to stop short and stare, just as the Narnians around them were doing. It was no wonder, as yet another tale had come alive and was presently tearing apart the Telmarine army as they crossed the Ford: the water-god of the Great River, awoken at last and not happy to have his waters restrained by the wooden bridge. Therefore, Nora wasn't surprised to see the bridge suspended in air and broken when the river-god came down on it with all force possible.
As the waters settled and flowed freely once more, the Narnians began cheering as they never had before. The battle, the war, was won! The water-logged and frightened Telmarines no longer had any fight left in them – particularly after the rather impressive death of their leader, Sopespian, at the hands of the river-god – and they began surrendering their weapons in resignation. Those Narnians laughing and pounding at their leaders' shoulders with happy abandon, respect, and control giving way to status — ignorant joy.
Nora gasped when she spotted Lucy standing next to a familiar, great golden Lion on the other side of the Great River. Though the sun shone in the sky, it was nothing against the radiance of the Lion. Nora did not even notice that Edmund and Caspian waded next to her through the water, Peter and Susan walking to Caspian's left. Her eyes were solely on Aslan until the moment he reached the shore and knelt on dry ground in front of the Highest King of Narnia.
An excited thrill ran through Nora's chest when she heard Aslan's low, majestic voice. "Rise, Rulers and Warriors of Narnia." Nora stood automatically at the command, still transfixed and, she was certain, smiling excitedly to see Aslan so close. She watched as Aslan's piercing, depthless eyes focused to Edmund's left side and spoke again. "All of you."
Nora was puzzled until she heard Caspian's shaky voice. "I do not believe I am ready to be king."
The Great Lion smiled and reassured the young king, "That is how I know you are." The Warrior and the Four Rulers took their eyes away from Aslan long enough to smile at Caspian, who stood to his feet. It was obvious from the look on his face that the Telmarine was still in fearful, enraptured awe at Aslan's presence, with his comforting acceptance and unspoken forgiveness. 
Aslan gazed at Nora with warm pride. "Steadfast Warrior." Nora gasped softly at Aslan's address, spoken just over her head, the loving words coming over sweet breath like a spring breeze. Her vision, fixed on the rocky ground, was suddenly overwhelmed by a sea of golden fur as Aslan used his soft muzzle to push against Nora's head and chest. The movement was so gentle that Nora never lost her balance; but her back was forced to straighten and hugged Aslan, relaxing to the warmth that he was radiating.
But Susan had turned away from them – or more precisely, away from Aslan's gaze which now held deep grief along with the light. Nora's bright smile disappeared, not understanding, but then she saw what she thought must have caught their attention: a group of Mice were carrying a wounded Reepicheep towards the Narnian royals. The injuries looked severe, but Lucy was by the Chief Mouse in a flash, and Nora knew he was in good hands.
Indeed, Reepicheep was soon on the mend, but Nora was distracted by a whinny and a black blur that materialized into an anxious Mare as Hope nearly ran her over in her excitement. "My Warrior, you are well! I saw you in the midst of those soldiers and I could not reach your side, and it worried me."
Nora chuckled and patted the Horse's neck. "I am glad to see you alive, too." Hope had not quite come through the battle unscathed, but her wounds were mostly as superficial as her own; cuts and bruises were a warrior's pride.
And then would come a host of issues and problems, including dealing with the captured Telmarines and all the other grim details that have came with the aftermath of battle. But that was for the Kings and Queens to deal with. For Glenstorm and the other Narnians, what truly mattered to them is that they had won.
That Prince Caspian had won.