The Lost Queen (a Caspian Romance)

4. The Dwarf

The force of the hit knocked Caspian back into Zoelle and off the horse. A wide band of pain shot through Zoelle's back and chest as she landed with a crash on the uneven forest floor, and Caspian, whose foot was still caught in the stirrups, crashed on top of her. A moment later, however, the force from the rope around his ankle pulled him away from sight.

Zoelle was too stunned to move, but as the distant plodding of hooves reached her ears, she rolled onto her stomach, groaning in pain before forcing her way to her feet. Her vision spun as she stumbled back. Breaking into a run, she chased after Caspian until she found him, laying still in a clearing. Destrier was nowhere in sight.

"Caspian!" Zoelle exclaimed in a soft voice, crouching by his side.

"I'm all right," he said, accepting her hand and beginning to struggle to his feet.

Before he had fully succeeded, a strange thumping sound behind the two of them caught their attention. As they turned, they saw two dwarfs, one with black hair and the other a deep strawberry blond.

"They've seen us," the black dwarf hissed.

Zoelle took a stumbling step back as the other dwarf ran forward, drawing a knife from his waist.

"Wait!" Zoelle cried, raising her hands.

But there was no need. The dwarf caught sight of the horn laying just a few feet away and hesitated just long enough for the hooves to reach their ears again.

"Take care of them," he ordered before changing course for the Telmarines.

"Damn it," Zoelle muttered. "Caspian, blow the horn!"

Before he could question her, she dashed off after the other dwarf. Just as she reached the Telmarines, the call of the horn surged through the air, ringing like a battle drum in her heart.

The first of the Telmarines dismounted, raising his sword and lunging at her. Quickly ducking under the blade, she punched at his throat, only just making the hit before two more Telmarines lunged at her. Her feeble hits weren't enough to save her then.

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Zoelle's head ached when she finally came to. Then, as the jostling of the horse reminded her of what had happened, the rest of her body ached too. She had been tossed rather carelessly to lay over the back of the horse with her arms hanging over one side and her legs over the other. She supposed she should consider herself lucky she had not fallen off, but it was hard to feel grateful when she felt the bruises that had formed from the thorough beating she had received.

Raising her head, she looked up to see that they had reached the city and were nearing the stables. She lowered her head again. The clattering of the hooves on cobblestone finally ceased as they entered the stables, and the men dismounted and began to hand off their horses to the stable boys.

Pounding footsteps approached, and Zoelle had just decided to pretend she was passed out when Glozelle said, "Wait, my king. It is not what you think."

"Then what is it?" Miraz replied coldly.

"Well, the servant girl for one, but for the other...we're not exactly sure," he replied.

"Show me," Miraz ordered.

Glozelle stepped forward, flinging some fabric off of the dwarf to reveal his face.

"Impossible," Miraz murmured.

"What should we do with them?" Glozelle asked.

Miraz turned his gaze from the dwarf to Zoelle, whose bruised face he could only just see, and replied, "Kill the girl. She can testify that the prince was running away. That thing, however, has its uses."

Glozelle gave a gracious nod of his head as Miraz left the stables. Letting out a small sigh, Glozelle lifted Zoelle off the horse and lay her body on the ground. Her eyes were closed, and although her clothes, face, and hair were in much disarray from the escape and subsequent fight, she still looked as beautiful and peaceful as an angel.

He drew his sword, his eyes studying her face with slightly parted lips as he raised the weapon. His arms began to shake as he tried to find within himself the willpower to drive his sword into her chest, but it would not come. At last, he lowered the sword and turned towards the door to find another who could send the blade home.

The moment she heard his footsteps retreat, Zoelle opened her eyes, rose to her feet, and rushed through the stables to the servant's quarters. Through there, she took the hidden passageways to the room of Queen Prunaprismia. The Queen was, as Zoelle very well knew, likely either with her son or in the gardens with her friends, but either way, the room would be empty.

The moment she was inside, Zoelle stole into the closet and took from it a change of clothes, including a fine, black riding cloak with a large hood. Donning this, Zoelle quickly washed her face and combed through her hair before making her way back down to the passageway, through the servant's quarters, and to the loft of the stable. There she settled in the hay, far out of sight to all, and allowed herself to sleep.