I'm in Love With The King

Part Eight

"Josephine!" he shouts.

"What is it?" I ask as he slows to a walk and stops in front of me.

"The Calormenes have come! Their army is just coming upon Aslan's How and the Calormen king has come to speak to Peter," he tells me through his heavy breaths.

"Why are they coming? What are they expecting to do?" I wonder out-loud.

"We're not sure but Peter is getting very anxious," Edmund tells me, concern filling his voice, both for his brother and for Narnia.

"Do you think we can defeat them?" I ask.

"With your help, yes. You're the only one that can be sure to keep Peter thinking rationally," he tells me.

My blood pumps harder, my heart beats faster, climbing into my throat. "Edmund, we need to go, Peter will need our help," I tell him, we take off running and reach the castle a few minutes later. We run into the throne room, Peter is sitting at his throne speaking to the king of Calormen. Neither of them look happy. I can tell Peter is asking for something the other does not want to give and the other is asking Peter for something of his and Peter is not willing to give in. His typical stubbornness. But this is one time I am glad for it.

"Peter," I say gently.

His head jerks to look at me. I step back a step as his eyes bore into my soul. As he realizes who has interrupted him his gaze softens and he adapts a new posture. His stiff shoulders relax and he leans back in his great throne.

"King Sebastian, this is my queen, Josephine," Peter introduces me, standing and holding his hand out to me.

I take it and he pulls me up next to him. The king before us bows at my feet.

"Your Majesty, your wife is quite beautiful," he gushes, standing straight and looking me in the eyes.

"I know, now if you have no other business here then I wish for you to leave my castle and take your army with you," Peter snaps.

"King Peter, I am not yet finished with you, I have laid out my terms and I wish for you to follow them or there will be a war, a great war that not even you will win," King Sebastian almost yells to Peter.

"And I have given you my terms! Now, I just suppose we will have to have a war then won't we?" Peter declares.

"Peter!" I shout completely surprised.

"Josephine, stay out of this. Edmund, take her to another room while I finish with this Calormen," Peter commands.

"No, I can walk myself," I grind my teeth.

I storm out of the Great Hall with Edmund behind me. "Stupid, he's just stupid!" I mutter to myself.

"Who, Peter?" Edmund asks.

"Yes! he thinks he can do this all alone! Well we know how that turned out last time don't we?" I say, throwing my hands in the air and rolling my eyes.

"Josephine, why don't you go in there and stop him from making the biggest mistake yet?" he stops me.

I look him in the eyes and turn around and burst back through the doors. "Stop Peter!" I scream as I watch their swords being drawn.

A look of death carves into both of the king's faces. Peter does not remove his eyes from King Sebastian. "I told you to leave Josephine," he grinds his teeth.

I draw my sword, keeping it on King Sebastian and approach Peter. Edmund soon follows me into the room and draws his sword too, coming to Peter's other side.

"Peter, why don't we settle this a little calmer," I offer in a soft, soothing voice.

"No, the Telmarines and the Calormenes have attacked the Narnians for far too long and now I need to stop it once and for all," Peter says through clenched teeth, his eyes still locked on the Calormen king.

"Peter, listen to Josephine," Edmund begs.

"No, I must protect Narnia," he grinds his teeth, standing his ground.

"Try me 'King'," the Calormen taunts.

Peter charges towards king Sebastian, in return Sebastian comes down on Peter with his sword. Sebastian's height over Peter gave him the advantage and he uses it to start the duel off by jumping down on Peter. The metal rings in the air endlessly and Peter returns with a great clashing low on the fuller, almost on the hilt. The Calormen's sword gets caught on the curved hilt. Peter sees this and twists the sword violently to the right. Sebastian's sword gets jerked and it is all he can do to hold on to it, but he uses the force Peter exerted to swing it at his waist. Since Peter's sword was all the way over his head, there was no way he could get it down in time. Edmund tries to intervene; he trusts his sword in between the King's sword and Peter's waist and smashes the Calormen's sword away from Peter. Sebastian looks directly into Edmund's eyes and turns to fight him. Peter tries to redirect Sebastian's attention to him but Sebastian is locked on Ed now and they swing their swords at each other with a huge clash. Peter tries to redirect Sebastian's attention to him but Sebastian is locked on Ed now and they swing their swords at each other once more.

"Edmund no!" I yell as the three unarmoured men fight.

Edmund glances over to me and circles around Sebastian and beats his sword against him again. Peter intervenes again and Sebastian fights him for a few seconds until Edmund cuts in again, this time Edmund stumbles back a bit, his sword being repelled, and Sebastian takes this opportunity. He lunges forward, his sword sinking into Edmunds left side. Edmund stumbles backward as Sebastian removes the blade, now smeared with blood. Peter thrusts himself to Sebastian, running his own sword into the Calormenes left side, between the ribs and into his cold heart. He collapses onto the marble floor, blood rushing out of both of them. I run to Edmund and kneel at his side, Peter kneels next to me.