❛ IF IT TAKES FIGHTING A WAR FOR US TO MEET,
IT WILL HAVE BEEN WORTH IT. ❜
in which the world turns to the kings and queens of old,
but the kings and queens turn to a lonely knight.
𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙇𝙀𝙏𝙀𝘿
...
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REAL LIFE ❛ THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH ❜
Peter trailed anxiously through Cair Paravel awaiting further news on the attack. His eyes were red, dilated from the lack of sleep and his voice was groggy. It had been two days and, still, not a word — not even a whisper. Where was his sister? Where were Susan and her army?
Where was Athena?
His hand grazed the smooth glass of the window. The castle was quiet, too quiet, and everyone was hidden away — mentally preparing themselves for the worst. But Peter couldn't even reign in his tiresome thoughts, let alone remove them completely, and his health had been deteriorating from his poor state of mind. Letting himself believe that he was destined to dwell on his misfortunes forever, he slumped against the wall, turning his back on the view from the window and letting a painful sigh escape from his lips.
"Peter," a voice called from his side. "Pete, listen. This is important." He turned his head slowly to his left, letting his eyes meet with his brother's, whose black hair feel scruffily over his eyes too in exhaustion and worry.
"What do you want, Ed?" Peter questioned. "If it's bad news. . . I don't want to hear it."
Edmund laughed thankfully, a relief lifted from his shoulders, "They're back."
Jumping to his feet, Peter (and an ecstatic Edmund at his side) rushed from the window through the castle, sprinting down the winding stairs of Cair Paravel and arriving in the courtyard. Eyeing his surroundings and his senses standing on end, he could hear the calm clap of horse hooves hitting the cobbled ground. There, before the weak High King, entered Susan, scratched and scathed, followed by dozens of war-beaten swordsmen, centaurs, fawns and archers.
"Peter!" Susan exclaimed, jumping off of her horse with all of her strength and galloping towards her older brother with a missed smiled stretched across her expression. They entered an embrace soon after, relishing in each other's presence and laughing at their appearances. "Ed! Where's Lucy? I would like to hug my sister."
As Susan and Edmund hugged, he replied, "She's having a picnic with the dryads, but she'll be back soon."
"Get all the wounded to the hospital. Alert the families of those lost. Rest the horses." Peter ran towards the soldiers slowly entering the castle, a state of emergency in his voice. "Susan, how many do we have left?"
"About a hundred men, but some are injured beyond repair and —" a flash of concern slipped onto the Queen's face "— the Ettins took prisoners, maybe ten or fifteen. A good seventy didn't make it."
Peter peered back at the remaining soldiers, scanning between the tired woman, men and creatures, noticing the effects of loss and wounds on the ones that had survived; and the ones that did not.
"Susan, where's Athena? Is she safe?" Peter asked, lifting his head through the crowd to find his friend and the face that brought a rare smile to his lips. Noticing the silence from his sister, he stepped back, attempting to take in the quiet, hushed nature the shrouded her name. Eventually, he turned back to his sister, spotting the concern painted across her battle-worn face and asking her once more for the location of the Lady.
"Peter, I —"
"Where is she?" He screamed, stunning the onlookers to silence, causing the injured to wince at the memory of sharp, abrupt noise as their High King thrashed his arms about in worry.
"— I don't know. But there would be twice as many dead without her," Susan pleaded, trying to enlist a dash of hope into her older brother's worries. Susan knew the undoubtedly uncertain fate of their friend was concerning, but she was trying to do her best despite the lack of cheerfulness. At last, adding onto her reasoning, she clutched her bow in remorse and respect for the fallen. The Queen to one last look at the High King. "We lost her, Peter. The counterattack failed. We lost."
"Is she dead?" Edmund winced, his head dropping in despair.
"I can't say," Susan winced, noticing the effect her grave news had on both of her brothers as she continued the story. "Not all of her company have returned. And. . . And the ones who did have either serious injuries or haven't survived the journey back." Susan tried her best to refrain from sounding abrasive, or blunt, or careless, or graceless in front of her subjects and brothers, but there was something preparing inside her to open up the gates of her emotions. No matter how much Susan wanted to cry, there and then, she couldn't. She knew the horrors of that battle; she lived them.
Peter paced across the courtyard, watching the centaurs lowering their swords in respect to the fallen. He gazed at his sister with disbelief struck into his eyes, wondering if the Queen was trying to hide the truth for his safety, or if she was lying to hide the worst, but, soon enough, he couldn't bring himself to accuse her of such nonsense. There was something in his heart that told him Athena was still alive, that she wasn't among the dead or withering away in an Ettin cell. His head was deliberating his next move. To fight or to flee? Was he going to battle for the chance at getting her back? Or was he going to leave her as a memory in his mind and move on from this tragedy?
The High King couldn't bring himself to do either. As he watched the death-stricken carted in by war-torn survivors and the families distantly weeping over their loved ones, he sighed deeply. He exchanged a concerned glance with Edmund.
"Prepare our finest knights," Peter demanded, switching his gaze to Orieus near Cair Paravel's castle gates. "We must have every Lord on our side. Notify Lord Peridan of my actions, make sure he is suited for a hunt with Edmund and me tomorrow. We're going to find Lady Athena."
