𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 || peter pevensie [1]

chapter six ~ edmund

Nimueh hadn't even reached the bottom of the hill before she heard it; a sound rich as the morning sunrise, deep, but sweeping with the light breeze. She broke into a run, down to her tent. She dropped her bow and quiver, picked up her blades, and hurried towards the sound.

At the edge of the campsite was a patch of woodland and Nimueh could hear the screams of the Daughters of Eve a little way through the trees by a stream. Her detour had meant that Peter and Aslan had gotten to Susan and Lucy first.

"Wait," the Lion commanded, casting his gigantic paw in front of Nimueh and the small group of creatures who had followed her. "This is Peter's fight. He must do it alone."

Nimueh stood firm, blades still raised slightly, watching Peter and the Wolf circle each other. The eldest Pevensie's face twitched, a determined glint in his eyes. The way his brows furrowed, the way he stopped between the Wolf and the tree to which his sisters clung gave her an unfamiliar feeling. Perhaps the boy who held the sword that had seemed so large not so long ago had the makings of a king after all.

The Wolf launched itself at Peter. Nimueh flinched as the pair of them toppled to the ground. Both bodies lay still for a moment, until the Wolf rolled to the side, the sword plunged deep into its chest. Peter pushed himself up, looking quite bewildered as Lucy and Susan jumped down from the tree and embraced their brother.

A second Wolf, who had been cowering behind a couple of trees, bolted further into the woods as soon as its leader had been killed. "Go," said Aslan. "He'll be returning to his mistress. He will lead you to Edmund."

Nimueh leapt past the Pevensies and over the stream. She, Oreius, and the other warriors followed the wolf through the woods until the sky had darkened. It became difficult to see through the leafy treetops, but soon they could see smoke rising above the trees from the fires at the Witch's camp.

"Spread out," she called over her shoulder. "If you find the Son of Adam, take him and get out. The rest of you, take care of anyone who stands in our way."

Grotesque creatures, stragglers, had scattered themselves on the outskirts of the campsite. They got up, alert, raising their axes, bows, and daggers against the charging squadron. Nimueh caught a Dwarf's axe under the blade with one of her swords and pulled it from the creature's stubby fingers, using the other to slash a deep wound in its chest.

Cutting down every Dwarf, Hag and Fury that came at her, even if it wasn't in an attempt to kill them, she didn't stop to think about demanding to know where the Pevensies' brother was being kept. Not until she caught sight of a large group of creatures, huddling around a thick tree, craning their necks over one another. They seemed unaware of the chaos ensuing beyond their peripheral vision as their eyes never trailed away from a very tall, very pale, woman holding a knife. She was standing right next to the tree, tied to which was a wriggling little thing that Nimueh presumed to be the second Son of Adam.

Sheathing her blades, she took hold of a shield mounted on the back of a minotaur and was able to haul herself onto his shoulders. She launched herself over the shorter creatures, several grunts arising as she caught the heads of Hags and what looked like Goblins. Only an Ogre stood between her and the Witch.

Driving a blade into the Ogre's back, Nimueh sent it crashing to the ground at the Witch's feet. Only then did the pale woman shift her focus. Nimueh stepped onto the neck of the fallen, bringing her sword down with both hands, her grip so firm her knuckles were white, and knocked the knife from the Witches hand. Nimueh expected her to fight back, but as the stampede of Centaurs, Fauns and Satyrs engulfed her and the crowd of the Witch's followers, she disappeared.