His Majesty, Her Grace - Prince Caspian Love Story

Chapter 5 - Taken

Althea's POV

I couldn't help but laugh at Caspian's gaping face when Glenstorm and the centaurs arrived. Even though I haven't seen them or even Reep in while, the sight of the mighty centaurs still baffles me too.

He catches me staring at him. I quickly look back down at the injured Trufflehunter in front of me. Reepicheep and Nikabrik leave my side to help explain things with Caspian and give me some space to work.

As gently as I can, I remove the arrow, which luckily wasn't very deep, then search my bag for something to use on it. I'm seriously low on supplies since I didn't bring much from the store at my house. I find an almost empty jar and start to gently smear it on, my arm aching from the movement. As much as Trufflehunter tries, he can't help but squirm because of the pain.

"Need some help?" Caspian asks, kneeling beside me.

"Just make sure he's still," I explain. He holds him while I continue to smear the last bit of medicine over the wound.

"Thank you for going back for him," I say, not looking up.

"I couldn't just leave him." I feel his eyes shift to look at me.

"You could have. We haven't exactly been the nicest to you. It's just difficult because we aren't used to a Telmarine caring about Narnians. Especially Nikabrik." I say, pausing to look up at Caspian. He seems at a loss for words so I continue. "No one person should be blamed for the crimes of all their people."

I look away again and wrap a bandage around Trufflehunter. He seems to feel much better and even manages to walk over to everyone else.

"You're bleeding," Caspian says gently, lightly grabbing a hold of my wrist. His actions and tone shock me, distracting me from the pain in my arm. I look down at the cut, blood soaking through my dress sleeve. I curse under my breath and look through my bag again. The only thing I have is a small thin cloth but it will have to do.

"Let me help you." He says, letting go of my wrist and taking the cloth out of my hands.

"Okay." I feel a heat rise on my face as he wraps it securely around my arm. It doesn't hurt much. I look up at him, his dark brown eyes concentrating so hard it's almost comical. He catches me staring again and I quickly look away.

"Do you think you'll live?" He asks, smiling.

"I think so." I laugh, picking up my bag and we head to the rest of the group.

"You are to stay with us," Trufflehunter says.

"Thank you," Caspian says. Everyone moves to travel deeper into the woods.

I struggle to find the words to speak so I end up traveling with them farther than I intended.

"Wait..." I finally say and they all turn to look at me. "I can't come with you, at least not yet."

"Why not?" Caspian asks.

"I need to go back to my house. I need to bring more supplies and make sure no Telmarines have discovered it now that I know they're searching the forest."

"I'll come with you," Trufflehunter says, limping forward to stand in front of me.

"You can't. You're injured. Everyone needs to stay here, together. I'll be faster alone." I smile at him before kneeling down closer to him.

"Besides, this one will need somebody on his side," I whisper. He chuckles and looks at a puzzled Caspian.

"Just be safe okay? Don't risk anything." He says, gently resting his paw on my hand for a moment.