Daughter of Nowhere || A Narnia (Prince Caspian) Story

3: This Is the Reason

Ina glared dryly. "Oh, please. My situation is nowhere near as dire as yours."

"I won't deny that." He dragged out a sigh. "At least you don't have a murderous uncle on your tail."

"Did his... betrayal... shock you?"

Caspian noted with a strange sort of warmth that Ina was choosing her words carefully, afraid of upsetting him. "Not really," he said. "My professor has always warned me about him. I was more shocked when I discovered that Narnians were real."

"And your professor, was he the one who told you about Narnia?"

Ina's words were a stab of fear to Caspian's heart. She was right, but for some deep, ingrained fear within himself, he couldn't tell her that. Because back in Telmar, that would mean a death sentence for his professor.

And so, he changed the subject, forcing out, "We're being followed."

Ina had noticed his unease, but she was gracious enough not to mention it. "I know," she said. "I've known since we left the house."

Then she turned around. "You can come out now."

Trufflehunter and Nikabrik stepped out from their hiding places, with the badger looking sheepish and the dwarf scowling. Caspian noticed that he was always scowling.

Ina looked like she was fighting down a laugh. "You could've just said you wanted to come along."

"I just think that we should wait for the kings and queens," Trufflehunter insisted, glaring.

Caspian had lost count of the number of times they'd had this conversation. He sighed, spun around, and continued his march.

"Fine! Go then!" Trufflehunter called after him. "See if the others will be as understanding."

"Or maybe I'll come with you," Nikabrik said mildly. "I want to see you explain things to the minotaurs."

At this, Caspian slowed. "Minotaurs? They're real?"

"And very bad-tempered," Trufflehunter put in.

"Not to mention big," said Nikabrik. "Huge."

"They're not very good at gambling, though," Ina remarked, trudging ahead. "Always losing their bets."

The other three followed. "Or maybe the game was rigged," Caspian simpered. Ina's eyes flashed at the implication.

"What about centaurs?" he continued. "Do they still exist?"

"Now the centaurs will probably fight on your side," Trufflehunter said. "But there's no telling what the others would do."

A name flashed through Caspian's mind, one that he never uttered since the day he learned of it, and never forgot. "What about Aslan?"

His companions stopped mid-stride and shared a hesitant glance. "How do you know so much about us?" Nikabrik asked with a flinty gaze.

But Caspian was spared the need to answer, because just then, an arrow whistled past his head, narrowly missing its target, and buried itself into a tree trunk beside him.

"Run!" he gasped. The others didn't need to be told.

A line of Telmarine foot soldiers gave chase from behind, each armed with crossbows and swords. Immediately, bolts began flying through the air, zipping past the four with deadly speed. Caspian and Ina soon realised that the Narnians were lagging, being smaller in size than the humans. At this rate, the guards would surely catch up. That is, if they weren't shot to death already.