𝙸𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴. ➪ 𝙴. 𝙿𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚎

𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎

"Drop him!" Susan yelled, firing an arrow into the boat of two men, who were holding a detained dwarf.
The men threw him into the river. Susan fired another arrow into one of the men, whilst the other decided not to tempt fate and threw himself into the water. Peter dived in to save the sinking dwarf, whilst Edmund and Elmer brought the boar back to shore.
Lucy was quick to cut the rope from the dwarf's hands, meaning he could pull the gag from his mouth. He stood, turning to Susan. "Drop him?! That's the best you can come up with?" he asked.
"A simple 'thank you' would suffice," Susan snapped.
The six had changed into more appropriate Narnian wear. Phillis' sheathed swords seemed to weigh her down more than she could remember.
"They were doing fine drowning me without your help," he said.
"Maybe we should of let them," Elmer snapped, not liking the way the man was speaking to Susan.
"Why were they trying to kill you anyway?" Lucy asked.
"They're Telmarines. That's what they do," he replied.
Phillis' mind flashed back to Prince Miguel and she shivered at the thought of the gruesome man.
"Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund furrowed his brows.
"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?" he sighed, trying to rid himself of any excess water.
"It's a bit of a long story," Phillis said.
Elmer handed Peter back his sword, and the dwarf seemed to notice the handle on it. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You're it? You're the Kings and Queens of Old?" he groaned.
"High King Peter, the Magnificent," Peter grinned, extending his hand.
"You probably could've left off the last bit," Susan muttered, earning a laugh from Phillis and the dwarf.
"Probably," the dwarf chuckled.
"You might be surprised," Peter said, unsheathing the long blade.
"Oh, you don't want to do that, boy," the dwarf warned.
"Not me. Her," Peter replied, pointing at Phillis, who smirked.
"I can't fight a girl. Especially not one as beat up as her," he told the group.
"Well, it's not my fault some people don't know when to give up," she said, glaring at Peter. "Besides, you might be surprised."
Peter handed his sword to the dwarf, as Phillis proudly unsheathed one of her own. Oh, how she'd missed that feeling. The heavy sword dropped in the dwarf's grasp, as Phillis glanced at Edmund. Suddenly, the dwarf raised Peter's sword and it clashed against hers. Jolting awake, she swung hers back towards him, defending herself. He made a swing at her head, but she stepped back. With the swing, it gave her a split second to hit his open side. And she took it. She gently tapped his side, causing him to spin round and swing at her again. This time, she ducked. As she stood, she managed to get around the dwarf, hitting his back. He swung again, hitting Phillis' thigh, she grimaced, however the sheer force of the swing had managed to get his sword stuck in the sand. She took this opportunity to hit him again. He paused, grunting as he picked it back up. He took a moment before attempting to hit Phillis' again. The swords clashed a few more times, Phillis edging forward. Until finally, she spun in the sand, gaining enough momentum to knock Peter's sword half way across the sand. Smirking, she watched as the dwarf fell to the ground in shock. Edmund loved watching her fight, the raw dedication on her face made him melt. "Beards and bedsteads," the dwarf gasped, as Phillis lowered her sword from his neck and placed it back in its sheath. "Maybe that horn worked after all."
"What horn?" Susan asked, furrowing her brows.
Elmer smiled proudly at his sister, she had always known how to handle a sword. Phillis, however, was more focused on the thought of how full of pride Cobalt's eyes would have been if he had been there to see it.

Peter rowed the boat down a river, the group sat in a comfortable silence. Phillis admired the scenery, whilst Edmund admired her. So much had changed, yet so much of it remained exactly as she'd remembered it in her dreams. "They're so still," Lucy broke the silence.
"They're trees, what'd you expect," the dwarf replied in a dull tone.
"They used to dance," Lucy told him.
"Wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded. Those who survived retreated to the woods, and the trees, they retreated so deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since," he said, Phillis listened so carefully.
"I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?" Lucy said.
"Aslan? Thought he abandoned us when you lot did," the dwarf said.
Phillis noticed Elmer's jaw and fists clench at his words. It seems Peter did too. "We didn't mean to leave, you know?" Peter said, sounding on the verge of tears.
"Makes no difference now. Does it?" he said.
"Get us to the Narnians and it will," Elmer spoke up.
When they docked, Edmund offered his hand to Phillis. She blushed as she took it and stepped out of the boat. They pulled it further up onto shore, dropping the anchor in.
"Hello, there!" Lucy's cheerful voice rippled throughout the quiet afternoon air.
Phillis turned to see who Lucy was talking to. A black bear. A particularly large one at that. "It's all right, we're friends," Lucy continued.
The bear grunted and growled. He placed his two front paws on the ground. "Don't move, Your Majesty!" Trumpkin called.
As Lucy turned away from the bear, it pounded towards her. Lucy ran towards her family, just wanting to be safe. "Stay away from her!" Susan yelled, raising her bow.
Lucy tripped on the hem of her dress. And the bear only got closer. With that, Phillis ran towards Lucy, and dove in front of her. She fumbled for her swords but knew she wouldn't be fast enough. She closed her eyes and waited for impact, listening to Susan, Elmer, Peter and Edmund's screams.

But it never came.

The only impact that was made, was that of the bear hitting the ground. Phillis sat up in shock, turning to see if Lucy was okay. She checked for any scratches on the young girl's face. "Are you okay?" she whispered as Lucy nodded frantically, trying to get over the shock of it all.
Lucy and Phillis turned to see that Susan hadn't released an arrow. But it had, in fact, been the dwarf. Well, isn't he full of surprises?
"Why wouldn't he stop?" Susan asked.
"I suspect he was hungry," he replied, marching towards the two girls.
Phillis helped Lucy up, brushing off the dirt on her dress. The young Pevensie lent into Phillis' side, hugging her tightly. As their siblings jogged over, Lucy made no effort to leave Phillis' embrace. "Thanks," Lucy said quietly, glancing between Phillis and the dwarf.
"He was wild," Edmund said, as Trumpkin prodded the bear slightly.
"I don't think he could talk at all," Elmer added.
"Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become," the dwarf sighed, not turning to look at any of them. "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember."
As he plunged his knife into the bear's neck, Phillis hugged Lucy closer, shielding her from the horrible sight. Lucy sobbed slightly at the gruesome noise.