The Youngest Pevensie

Chapter 17: Trumpkin

       We were now down on the beach again and we had changed into more Narnian clothes. I had changed into the outfit I grabbed from my trunk. Susan was ahead of us and saw something. She got out an arrow and shot it as Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and I ran to catch up with her. That's when we saw what she shot at. There was a rowboat and in it was two soldiers holding a dwarf who was tied up, and they were going to drop him overboard. The arrow that Susan shot was a warning shot at the side of the boat. Peter and Edmund unsheathed their swords as Susan got out another arrow. "Drop him!" She ordered. They did as they were told, except that they dropped him in the water. Peter and Edmund took off running towards them as Susan shot the soldier that was getting his crossbow out. The other soldier was smart enough to jump off the boat into the river before Susan could shoot him. Peter rescued the dwarf from the water as Edmund brought in the boat. Peter dragged the dwarf onto the beach and we all crowded around him. I dropped to my knees and took out my dagger before I used it to cut the rope around his hands. With his now freed hands he took the gag off of his mouth and gagged out water. I stood up as he did. "'Drop him'! That's the best you can come up with?" Was the first thing out of his mouth. My siblings and I glanced at each other like, "Are you kidding me, we just saved your life." "A simple 'thank you' would suffice." Susan replied. "They were doing fine driving me without your help." The dwarf said, pointing to the water. A grumpy dwarf. "Maybe we should have let them." Peter said. There was a pause before I said. "Why were they trying to kill you, anyway?" The dwarf flicked his arms once trying to get water off of him as he answered. "They're Telmarines. That's what they do." I was as surprised as my siblings. "Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund questioned. "Where have you been for the last hundred years?" The dwarf asked as he looked at the ground. "It's a bit of a long story, actually." Lucy told him as Susan passed Peter his sword. The dwarf looked up and noticed Peter's sword. Then he took the first real look at the five of us. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You're it? You're the kings and queens of old?" He questioned, shocked. Peter held out his hand for the dwarf to shake. "High King Peter, the Magnificent." Peter introduced himself. "You probably could've left off the last bit." Susan said as I brushed my hair out of my face. Stupid wind. "Probably." The dwarf agreed, laughing. "You might be surprised." Peter said and unsheathed his sword. "Oh, you don't want to do that, boy." The dwarf told him. "Not me. Him." Peter corrected and Edmund unsheathed his sword. Peter held out his sword for the dwarf to use. As soon as the dwarf grabbed it and Peter let go, it dropped to the ground. It seemed as if he couldn't lift it because it was too heavy. Then to everyone's surprise he lifted it swiftly and hit Edmund's sword, spinning around as he did so and e used that momentum to swipe at Edmund's head. Edmund ducked so his head wouldn't be chopped off and as soon as he was down, the dwarf elbowed him in the face. "Edmund!" I cried out, worried. "You all right?" The dwarf asked and tried to swipe his sword down on Edmund, but he moved out of the way and slapped the dwarf's butt with his sword, making Lucy and I laugh. "Oh!" The dwarf exclaimed. He turned around and clashed swords with Edmund before Edmund swiped as to behead him. The dwarf ducked and swiped at Edmund's feet, making Edmund jump. They changed swords a few more times before Edmund got enough momentum to knock the dwarf's sword out of his hand. Edmund held up his sword as if to run him through, but obviously he didn't. The dwarf fell down in shock, as he stared at Edmund with wide eyes. "Beards and bedsteads! Maybe that horn worked after all." He commented. "What horn?" Susan questioned.

       We were all in the rowboat now and Peter was rowing us down the river. Susan, Lucy, and I were watching the trees. It saddened me to see what Narnia had become since he left. "They're so still." Lucy commented. "They're trees. What'd you expect?" The dwarf, who's name we found out to be Trumpkin, asked. "They used to dance." I told him. "It wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded. Those who survived retreated to the woods. And the trees, they retreated so deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since." Trumpkin explained. "I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?" Lucy asked, saying what I was thinking. "Aslan? Thought me abandoned us when you lot did." Trumpkin said, making me feel really guilty. I mean, all my siblings and I feel guilty about leaving, but especially me. It was my fault that we left. I was the one who led them to the wardrobe. If it wasn't for me, we could've had a nice long normal life in Narnia and protected it and none of this would've happened. I looked down and my lap, guiltily. "We didn't mean to leave, you know." Peter told him. "Makes no difference now, does it?" Trumpkin said grumpily. I felt tears sting in my eyes as I stared holes into my lap. "Get us to the Narnians... and it will." Peter replied. I was sitting next to Edmund and he noticed my sad look. He reached over and grabbed my hand. I looked up at him and he gave me a comforting smile.

       By the time we stopped at the shore, I had calmed myself down and I was okay. I still felt guilty but I pushed it to the back of my brain. I, along with my siblings and Trumpkin, got out of the boat. Edmund, Peter, Susan, and Trumpkin were pulling in the boat and Lucy was over there talking to them. I wandered off a bit and saw a bear. "Hello, there." I greeted the bear that was a little ways away from me, cheerfully, catching the attention of my siblings and Trumpkin. The bear grunted and stood on it's hind legs as I continued walking towards it. "It's all right. We're friends." I told him with a smile. The bear went back to all fours. "Don't move, Your Majesty." Trumpkin told me. I turned around confused, but turned back once I heard growling and movement. The bear was charging right at me. I turned around and started sprinting as fast as o could back to my siblings, but a seven year old couldn't put run a bear. "Stay away from her!" Susan ordered the bear, holding up her bow and an arrow. Then I tripped over a stick and fell onto my back. "Shoot, Susan! Shoot!" Edmund yelled at Susan. I let out a loud scream as the bear caught up to me. It growled at me and stood up on its hind legs ready to attack, when suddenly an arrow shot into it's heart, killing it. I turned over onto my stomach to see who shot it. To my surprise it wasn't my sister, but Trumpkin. "Why wouldn't he stop?" Susan asked, lowering her bow. "I suspect he was hungry." Trumpkin answered and Peter, Edmund, and Lucy ran over to me. Peter helped me up with one hand and with the other held his sword pointed at the bear on the ground, just in case. Edmund, Peter, Lucy, and I backed away from the bear as Trumpkin walked up to it. Peter put his arm around my shoulders. "Thanks." I said to Trumpkin. Trumpkin just glanced back at me before looking back at the bear as Susan walked up to us. "He was wild." Edmund said and Trumpkin poked the bear with his bow. "I don't think he could talk at all." Peter realized. "Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become. You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember." Trumpkin told us and took out his knife before he started cutting up the bear. Peter picked me up and I buried my head in his shoulder, sobbing.