The King Without The Angel

Promises (11)

I was looking for Peter. I wanted to apologise for the way I shouted at him. Lucy gave me a few more drops of her cordial for strength. (The cordial doesn't heal my wounds; it just helps my half angel side fight the infection. Now my facial scar was a simple red line and my walking had gotten much better.) My footsteps echoed as I walked across the stone floors, towards my father's statue. A familiar head of blonde, messy hair sat staring at it. I took a seat next to him, my knee touching his leg.

"Lucy is lucky know." Peter said. I could see his eyes trying to hold back tears. His eyes screamed the words his lips failed to say. He was upset, disappointed. After going through the time of thinking I was dead, he couldn't take much more. He felt he was competing against Caspian, trying to live up the legendary High King the Narnians had told stories about. Protecting me, his family and Narnia seemed harder this time.

"What do you mean, Pete?" I questioned. His eyes looked down.

"You've seen him." The teary look spread across his face. I knew who 'him' referred to. Aslan.

"I just wish he would give me some sort of proof, prove he was helping." He stated. I knew how Peter felt. I felt like my father abandoned me. I hadn't seen him in a year after leaving, 2 years before that and he isn't here to welcome. Instead he transports me into hell. Looking at Peter I knew he felt the same. In the Golden Ages you could almost feel his presence because everyone knew Aslan, everyone had seen him. Now, even though they fight in his name, Aslan is laughed off as a legendary figure. A 'saviour' who abandoned the Narnians to fend for themselves.

"Lucy thinks we need to prove ourselves to him." I stated, recalling our conversation earlier. He turned to face me. I always thought his statue made him always appear regal. Even in England, between fights, Pete looked like a king, my king.

"Pete, I am truly sorry for what I said earlier. I did not mean a single word of it. I love you and I never want to leave you. You are stuck with me forever, my King." I smiled. Peter took my face in his.

"I acted childish. I have already apologised to Caspian properly. You are mine and I will never let anyone take my Queen away from me." With that he kissed my lips. His finger traced my scar as he licked my lips for entrance. I refused to grant his wish, teasing him. We both pulled back smiling.

"Sorry for the interruption but you might want to see this, Pete." Edmund explained. We followed him and out to the balcony. There we saw the Telmarine army. They were filing out of the trees in perfect formation. The black dots looked like a black sea covering the opposite end of the field. Both Peter and I exchanged worried glances, unknowingly linking hands to keep us calm. Wooden structures broke through the tree line. I tried to imagine this army attacked Cair Paravel. I shook the thoughts from my mind. The entire Narnian army looked worried, scared and desperate. A man in golden armour, riding a white horse was in the front. The four catapults behind the army made the whole situation more menacing. They stood above everything, like statues, drawing attention to the structure that could do a lot of damage. From what I had seen of the Narnian army, a full on fight would end in our inhalation.

We were all gathered around a meeting table, discussing ways to not get brutally slaughtered. Being the High Queen of Narnia, Peter and me were famous for never leading an army to a losing war. Any war we had faced with whoever wanted to get to the Narnian throne always met their match when we fought together.

"Cakes and kettledrums! That's your next big plan? Sending a little girl into the darkest parts of the forest alone?" Trumpkin objected, pointing at Lucy. Peter planned on sending Lucy into the woods to find Aslan. We both knew he would come to her.

"It's our only chance." Peter stated in an annoyed tone. People had been questioning him ever since the failed raid. It took my convincing to help anything.

"She won't be alone." Susan reassured. Susan planed on travelling with her as a guard.

"So instead of sending his daughter, you chose your youngest sibling. Clearly you don't care about her safety, just if you have your wife." Trumpkin muttered angrily.

"Trumpkin, he has not yet shown himself to me, but he has done so with Lu. Please understand Peter fights better with me and me with him. We cannot be apart during any battle." I reasoned. Trumpkin seemed to accept this and nodded in understanding. Peter smiled at me.

"Then I'm going with you." Trumpkin said. I could see he had a soft spot for Lucy Pevensie. Then again, didn't we all?

"No we need you here." Lucy smiled.

"We have to hold them off until Lucy and Susan get back." Peter informed. He stood as head of the meeting, with me by his side.

"If I may," Caspian began, speaking up for the first time, "Miraz may be a tyrant and a murderer and evil, but as king he is subject to the traditions and expectations of his people." Caspian spoke with authority and knowledge. I immediately knew that Narnia would be in very safe hands if we were to accidentally leave.

"There is one in particular that may buy us some time." Caspian finished. A challenge. I knew that and so did every other person in the room.

"I'll go write it up now. Ed you will deliver it along with a centaur and a giant. Make sure to bring..." Peter explained. I couldn't let him go through with this. Peter may have been the finest swordsman in all of Narnia then, but he could still be rusty. This would be a fight to the death and I couldn't handle watching a fight that could end his life.

"No! Peter you can't! I'll do it. I do have over a hundred more Narnian years of wielding a sword over you." I interrupted. He faced me. The pleading look washed over his face.

"Addy, please. You are still injured." Peter pointed out. Yes, I still got stabs of pain now and again, but no, I wasn't going to stand by and watch my soul mate die.

"I was doing cartwheels outside for goodness sake, ariels in fact. I cannot lose the man I love, Pete." I told him. He waved for the others to leave.

After they left, he held me to his chest and I began to cry. He rubbed my back gently, soothing my sobs.

"I nearly lost you once, I do not think I'd cope if I actually lost you." I whispered into his chest. He grabbed my face and made me look at him, my arms still tight around his body.

"I promise you now, you won't lose me Addy. We still have so much left to do in our lives together. They have only just started. I can't leave yet." He said. With all the passion, love and pain I had, I kissed him. We stood together, our lips dancing, until he pulled back. He looked into my eyes and wiped away a fallen tear.

"If you will not allow me to fight in your place, then I insist on accompanying Edmund. That way you can practise and when I return we can get you ready." I half smiled. He shook his head but stopped once he held my gaze. He nodded, leaving to write the note while I went and told Edmund the good news.