The Faded Portrait of a Bygone Era

Return of the Queen

Margaret and Brontan rode tirelessly over the next day and a half, stopping for nothing. The both of them summoned whatever strength they possessed in order to reach the centaurs as quickly as possible. Several times throughout the journey, Margaret found herself wishing for something other than shorts and a t-shirt to ride in, but there was nothing to be done about it right then.

Night had fallen by the time they arrived at the Dancing Lawn. They were deep in the heart of the Great Forest now, and Brontan assured her that the Telmarines feared Narnian magic too greatly to venture this far.

Even from a distance, a great clamor could be heard, shouts and snarls and growls arising from the Lawn.

"What's going on?" Margaret called to Brontan as they headed towards the noise.

"I don't know, my Queen," he replied, his voice strained and weary. "But I suspect we are about to find out..."

They thundered into the clearing where Brontan finally came to a stop, rearing high at the last second in order to avoid trampling what looked to be a Telmarine soldier standing there in the center of the gathering of Narnians.

When all of his hooves were on the ground once more, Margaret slipped down from his back. She was dead tired, and she could tell Brontan was too by the way his sides heaved, but nevertheless, she drew herself up and faced the Narnians like the queen she was.

"Brontan!" cried a Badger. "What are you doing here?"

"And with a human no less?" came the sneering voice of a Black Dwarf.

At the sight of the Dwarf, her hand twitched towards the stolen Telmarine crossbow, but she managed to stop herself from attacking him. It likely wouldn't make a good impression on the Narnians to start a fight based on what races had fought against the White Witch thirteen hundred years ago. In fact, it seemed that all of those who had sided with darkness long ago were now united under the Narnian cause. There were Minotaurs and Wolves and Black Dwarfs right alongside Fauns and Big Cats and Red Dwarfs.

"Let me explain myself, on behalf of Brontan," Margaret said, noting the difficulty the Horse was having. "My friend needs rest and refreshment. We have ridden nonstop for the better part of two days."

There was a pause, and the Dwarf and the Badger looked to the Telmarine in the center of the clearing, which Margaret found most odd. The man nodded, and Brontan, though looking confused, slowly cantered off to the edge of the clearing where he flopped down into the grass.

Then, all attention returned to Margaret.

"Who are you?" the Telmarine asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking that of you, Telmarine," Margaret said shortly. "Why do the Narnian people look to an invader for leadership?"

"It is a long story," he said. "But in short, I am Prince Caspian, and I am here to help the Narnians reclaim their land from my Uncle, Miraz."

Margaret glanced at the Narnians around her, and at the moment, they seemed far more wary of her than of this Caspian. By the looks of her people, the long centuries of hardship would not lead them to reust easily, and so, for the moment, she decided to trust their judgement, and accept the story without further question.

"Now," Caspian continued, "Once again, I must ask, who are you, and why has the noble Narnian Horse brought you to this place?"

This was the moment she had been waiting for. The whole reason she and Brontan had ridden so hard was to find the centaurs and to offer her services, but suddenly, Margaret felt ashamed. Would her people blame her for abandoning them? They had obviously found a leader in Caspian, so how would they feel about her offer of aid?