Narnia's Shadow // Peter Pevensie

Our Last Hope

With a sigh, I loosened my stance and the arrow disappeared to wait to be used another time. Strapping it around my back, I walked over to Rupert carefully, analyzing his wounds. He had a gash on his side, the blood already coloring the always white floor. I was getting ready to pick him up and take him back to camp when I heard a crunch in the snow behind me. With fast reflexes, I reached for my bow and aimed at the intruder putting myself between him and Rupert.

I expected only one person because of the crunch but I was surprised to see three people and two beavers. I recognized the Beavers as I would sometimes stopped by their house on my way to Tumnus' home for our usual reports and to have a cup of tea. But that didn't give me any reason to let down my guard with the other three. They could be held hostage or using them as bait or a bargain.

I analyzed each and every one of them.

It was a boy and a girl. I noticed something (or someone) hiding behind the, who might be the oldest, boy's leg but would peak out to see in curiosity. The boy was tall with strange brown hair (remember it is night making it harder to see what color it really was) and he looked to be my age if not a bit younger. He wore an oversized coat of fur, which was also strange because they all were, and he only wore a buttoned shirt and pants underneath. You can see his rosy checks and that he wasn't used to the cold weather. Which made me more alert on who these people are, wearing their weird clothes and their confused looks straight at me. But I had to honor the way he stood protectively in front of the two girls willing to take the blow for them, means they are quite close.

The girl, who I am presuming to be the second-born child, was beautiful. I knew that wherever she walked soldiers would bow down to her and offer to take her hand in marriage. She could charm them if she wanted to with her freckles dusted on her cheeks. Or, her small nose. The girl also wore a fur coat and her gown was weird, unlike the one that I was wearing. To me, it seemed unfit for someone with her beauty. Her hair was long and darker than the boy in front of her but shorter than him.

I couldn't get a good look at the other person hiding behind the boys legs. But I caught the same dark hair like the older girl and big, round curious eyes. I caught innocence something that shouldn't be here to see the war around them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Beaver," I greeted. "Are you alright?"

"Why, of course, dearie!" Mrs. Beaver said. "Never better."

"Who are you?" The boy asked. I narrowed my eyes at him sparing him a quick glance.

"I should be asking you the same thing." I retorted. The tense silence was almost suffocating but neither one of us wanted to let down our guard; him with glares and mine with arrows.

"Stand down, Miss," Rupert whispered behind me. "The Beavers came with them willingly." His wince made me put down the bow and focus on his wounds, the puddle underneath him becoming bigger.

"Perhaps, we should explain our situation." A voice behind the boy said. I met eyes with the small child with hair down to her chin. I was correct about the innocence. She smiled kindly and I couldn't help but smile back at the crooked teeth.

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While Mrs. Beaver was tending to Rupert's wounds, Mr. Beaver was explaining what had happened. I listened intently, my hood already down revealing my face and my long, wavy hair that was in a braid that cascaded down, almost touching the log below me. A campfire was burning in front of us to block out the cold — well as much as it should anyway. I could see the strangers' faces much better and you could see that they were related.

The little girl, Lucy, was the one who first discovered Narnia meeting Tumnus. Oh, how I wanted to ask about him so much! But I need to set aside my feelings for now to listen to their story. Lucy was adorable. I vowed to myself to protect her from danger. To keep her innocence intact as much as possible. I was exposed to war at a very young age, no child is allowed to experience the same thing... ever. Her coat was too large for her that it swallowed the girl whole. But it kept her warm because of her small form.