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LUCY RACED through the Narnian wood, her heart pounding as rapidly as the horses' hooves beneath her. There was only one thought circling her mind: she had to get to Aslan— there was no other choice. Behind her, she could hear her pursuer on his own steed as he ran to catch up with her. Silently, she urged her horse to go faster. The fate of the Narnians depended on it.
The rider approached her from behind with his crossbow out and at the ready, aimed for her back. It did not matter to him that she was just a girl or that she was— as far as he could tell— helpless and alone. All he could see was that she was the enemy and must therefore be vanquished.
A part of her felt sorry for the man. Perhaps he didn't have a choice with what he believed like she did. Perhaps all he'd known was that Narnians were beasts and he would never learn the beings behind the perceived monster. He would never understand the joy of her people or their faith or their loyalty. He had his own version of these things, of course, but that wasn't nearly the same.
She wasn't naïve enough to believe that everyone had good intentions deep down in their hearts. She knew people could be evil just as easily as they could be good. She knew that there was always a choice to follow the light or give into the dark. It still didn't change her desire to show him compassion should she be given the chance (she wasn't.)
The man gained on her and Lucy forced her thoughts to keep from straying. He would show her no mercy should she falter. A golden flash out of the corner of her eye caused her to turn and she saw a shadow leaping through the trees, keeping pace with her. Her already pounding heart sped up. Aslan!
As soon as she thought this, the Lion came into view and paused at the edge of a drop to let out a fearsome growl. Her horse startled and reared which caused her to fall to the forest floor. The animal shot off quickly after, leaving her alone with the Lion and the Telmarine. The soldier made to take advantage of her weakness and aimed his crossbow, only for Aslan to give a powerful leap and knock him off his horse.
A wide smile appeared on her face as the Lion rose from his crouched position several feet away, "Aslan!" she cried joyfully, running to him to wrap her arms around his great mane.
He let out a rumbling chuckle as she exclaimed, "I knew it was you. The whole time, I knew it! The others wouldn't believe me. Well, except for Lia."
"And why would that stop you from coming to me?" the King asked as she took a seat before him.
Her head dropped slightly as shame washed over her, "I'm sorry. I was too scared to come alone," she looked up, "why haven't you shown yourself? I thought you'd come roaring in to save us like last time."
