The High Queen Book Two

Chapter 6 - New Friends

Third-Person POV

The comfortable, silent night filled with the wind flowing through the trees and the shimmering of the stars dancing in the sky slowly changed as morning rose, casting a gentle glow on the six. A soft growl in the distance jolts Lucy out of her sleep, her eyes wide with wonder and hope. And young Queen slowly sits up, glancing around the circle to find everyone still asleep, but notices Tilly missing along with her sword, but pushes it aside for the moment, hearing the growl again. Jumping to her feet, Lucy makes her way up the path into the sunlight. The young girl weaves through the trees, meeting a dryad on her way, until she spins, seeing the trees line up for her leading her to the one and only Aslan. Dashing over to the large lion, the small girl loops her arms around him, holding tightly onto his mane.

"I've missed you so much." She mutters softly, making the lion chuckle. "You've grown."

"Every year you grow...so shall I." The wise lion speaks softly, but the young girl still has questions.

"Where have you been? Why haven't you come to help us?"

"Things never happen the same way twice, dear one," Aslan says cryptically, and before Lucy can ask anything else, a branch snapping breaks her from her dream.

Lucy sits up, realising she was dreaming but plans to check where she found Aslan just in case he's there. Looking around the group, she finds everyone asleep, but Tilly and Peter missing once again. Shaking her head, she rids the morning fogginess from her mind. The youngest turns to her sister, calling out to her.

"Susan! Wake up!" The older girl rolls over, mumbling back unclear words and falling deeper asleep, leaving Lucy to explore independently. Following the same path she did in her dream, she comes across the trees that moved to form a line for her. Resting her palm on the trunk, Lu whispers quietly to the tree. "Wake up." Waiting for a moment, Lucy sighs when nothing happens, making her move on. Turning the corner near where she found Aslan, she hears a growl, and excitement grows inside her, making her yell out to the lion. "Aslan?" The second the word leaves her mouth, a hand covers her face pulling her back behind the cover of the trees. Lucy's eyes widen in fear for a split second until she sees the familiar face of her eldest brother holding a finger to his lips for her to be quiet as they watch a minotaur walk past them, growling slightly. Peter draws his sword stepping forward to attack the creature with a large weapon, but right before he reaches the minotaur, a yell and the clang of another's sword hitting his takes Peter off guard. Still, the High King is a very well-trained swordsman and quick to retaliate. Both young men swing back and forth, wounding each other until Peter punches the raven-haired boy in the face after being disarmed. Swiping for the unknown assailant, Peter gets his sword stuck in the tree and then kicked in the stomach, falling to the ground. The unknown swordsman yanks Peter's sword from the tree as Peter grabs a rock. Both boys go to attack when a deep growl cuts them off as a blur of blonde hair flies in between them. Tilly pushes Peter back behind her, quickly disarming the raven-haired boy holding her sword to his throat. The boy stares, stunned, at the girl, maybe only a year younger than him. Her emerald eyes glared daggers into his soul, her light blonde hair falling around her face as her breathing was ragged and uneven. Tilly waits for him to speak, but the boy only stares at her in awe.

"What? Never seen a girl fight?" Her soft British accent intrigues the now smiling boy.

"Actually, no." Caspian mutter softly. "And certainly not one as beautiful as you."

"Yeah, well, she's taken," Edmund growls behind Peter, making Tilly turn, seeing her group appear and many other Narnians, all kinds of creatures.

"You must be Prince Caspian." Tilly smiles, lowering her sword, sheathing one and handing the other to Edmund before holding her hand to shake. "High Queen Matilda the Courageous." Caspian's eyes widen further, and he quickly grabs her hand and places a kiss on the back of it.