༄ 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 (𝘗𝘊) ༄

Chapter 21: The Duel Ends in Betrayal

Susan hurried to join us on the edge of the How. She sent me a small smile before we focused our attention back on Peter. I knew by the way he cried out when Miraz stepped on his shield that he had some kind of injury to his shoulder. Susan did seem a little concerned about that and I thought perhaps her smile was meant to reassure herself. And possibly me as well, but I didn't need it. I had faith that Peter would win this duel.

Caspian helped remove Peter's shield, much to his chagrin. That simple action had him reaching for his arm as he winced in pain. I didn't need to be nearby to see that. It confirmed the suspected injury and I hoped it was merely a dislocation. But it was possible the injury was worse than that. If Miraz had managed to break something in Peter's arm, I knew he wouldn't last long in the next round. As the  Narnians waited anxiously, I strained to hear what was being said between the three royals.

"I think it's dislocated," Peter announced, his voice a bit pinched with pain. Edmund approached and grabbed ahold of his arm to reset it. "What  do you think happens back home if you die here?" Peter continued and Edmund seemed a bit at a loss for words. "You know, you've always been there and I never really—Awh!"

Edmund chose then end his brother's negative thoughts by popping his shoulder back into place. Peter was caught off guard and couldn't prepare himself for the pain of his shoulder being reset.

Edmund placed a comforting hand on his brother's injured shoulder. "Save it for later," he said, telling his brother that had faith he would indeed survive. He knew as well as I did, that if Peter didn't have confidence in himself the battle was already lost. His statement was meant to erase any doubt Peter had. It told him that Edmund knew there would be a 'later' after this and Peter needed that reassurance.

A  moment later—not nearly enough time for Peter to recover—the fight was back on. Both Kings stood up and Edmund handed Peter his sword as he collected his shield. He offered him his helmet as well, but Peter refused with a simple shake of his head. His decision caused Miraz to push his offered helmet away as well. He wanted to appear brave. If he accepted the helmet after his opponent refused to wear one, it could appear as cowardice. I didn't read much into it, but I knew enough to know that others did. I was just glad Miraz seemed to be trying to fight on somewhat equal ground.

Both took a few steps toward the center of the arena. The armies cheered as their Kings prepared to duel again. Peter made the first move by charging at Miraz and his blade was instantly blocked. Their blades clashed a few times, but it was easy for me to see that something had changed this round. Miraz came with much more violent and brutal attacks this time. He kept alternating between swinging his sword and throwing his weight against Peter's shield, hoping to break the younger King down. The Telmarine kept going at him, making it impossible for Peter to even try to land a hit. But, fortunately, Peter was able to stop Miraz from landing blows as well. The few swings Peter got in were either blocked or he missed completely.

One of Miraz's ramming attempts pushed Peter into the ruins. He fell to the ground from the impact and as Peter tried to stand, Miraz quickly charged at him with his sword. Fortunately, this blow was parried by Peter. Before Miraz had the chance to swing again, Peter twisted around—losing his shield in the process—and managed to kick Miraz's feet out from under him. He fell to the ground as well and while Peter made his way to his feet, he tried to land a hit but it only managed to hit Miraz's shield. Both were on their feet quickly after this attack and charged at the other again.

This time, Peter decided matched Miraz's aggression when they collided again. He had no longer had his shield but somehow managed to twist Miraz's sword out of his hand. For a brief moment, Peter wielded two swords but he only managed two swings before he tossed one of them away. He wasn't as comfortable wielding two blades and just continued his attacks with one sword. However, Miraz still had his shield so every blow Peter tried was easily blocked by the shield.