Fear: The Horse and His Boy

Chapter 10

Over the next day Shasta was told was and the story of what happened to him. It was a rather long story, something that Shasta had not been expecting.

Cor and Corin were twins. And about a week after they were both born they were taken to a wise old Centaur in Narnia to be blessed. That Centaur was a prophet as a good many Centaurs are. As soon as he saw the twins, it seems the Centaur looked at Cor and said "A day will come when that boy will save Archenland from the deadliest danger in which ever she lay." So of course the King and Queen were very pleased. But there was someone present who wasn't.

It was a man called Lord Bar who had been he King's Lord Chancellor. And apparently, he'd done something wrong, bezzling, and the king had had to dismiss him. But nothing else was done to him and he was allowed to go on living in Archenland. But he must have been as bad as he could be, for it came out afterwards he had been in the pay of the Tisroc and had sent a lot of secret information to Tashbaan.

As soon as he heard that Cor was going to save Archenland from a great danger he decided the prince must be put out of the way. Well, he succeeded in kidnapping him and rode away down the Winding Arrow to the coast.

He'd had everything prepared and there was a ship manned with his own followers lying ready for him and he put out to sea with me on board. However the king got wind of it, though not quite in time, and was after him as quickly as he could. The Lord Bar was already at sea when the king reached the coast, but not out of sight. And the king was embarked in one of his own war-ships within twenty minutes.

For six days they followed Bar's galleon and brought her to battle on the seventh. It was a great sea-fight from ten o'clock in the morning till sunset. The people of Archenland took the ship in the end. But the prince was no longer there.

The Lord Bar himself had been killed in the battle. But one of his men said that, early that morning, as soon as he saw he was certain to be overhauled, Bar had given the prince to one of his knights and sent them both away in the ship's boat. And that boat was never seen again.

After his story was told and the newly proclaimed Cor explained that after that same boat had been pushed ashore by Aslan at the right place for Arsheesh, the Calormene fisherman, to pick him up.

Cor was given new clothes and his old clothes were burnt upon the King's request. The hand he had injured in the battle was bandaged, although the injury was nothing more than a scratch.

King Lune told Cor that he would like the Ladies Aravis and Alvina to live with them as there's been no lady in the court since the queen had died.

After everything was put in order they all went to bed. The following morning Cor went to collect Arvis, Bree and Hwin from the Hermit's house where they had been staying.

Alvina had been watching out one of the Castle windows and had seen Cor bringing Aravis, Bree and Hwin to the castle. She rushed down the stairs in order to alert King Lune of their arrival.

Just before the travellers reached the gate King Lune came out to meet them, not looking at all like Aravis's idea of a king and wearing the oldest of old clothes; for he had just come from making a round of the kennels with his Huntsman and had only stopped for a moment to wash his doggy hands. But the bow with which he greeted Aravis as he took her hand would have been stately enough for an Emperor.

"Little lady," he said, "We bid you very heartily welcome. If my dear wife were still alive we could make you better cheer but could not do it with a better will. And I am sorry that you have had misfortunes and been driven from your father's house, which cannot but be a grief to you. My son Cor has told me about your adventures together and all your valour."