Even with knowing the effects that Lucy's fire-flower juice has on people, Rosemary was still surprised every time she saw its magic. The claw marks from the bear were completely gone, the only evidence of there ever being a wound coming from the dried up blood on her arm.
Rosemary took a wet rag and started to wipe off the blood, but it was hard since the cut had gone across the back of her arm and she couldn't see it well. Everyone was getting ready to leave and she was attempting to get ready before the battle. She was just about to give up and leave the blood there when a hand gently took the rag from her.
"Here, let me help," Edmund whispered, not daring to look her in the eye. Rosemary watched him as he silently cleaned off the rest of her arm, his fingers dancing across her skin and making butterflies erupt in her stomach.
A look of concentration was on his face as he wiped the blood away and what Rosemary didn't know was that he was concentrating so hard on keeping his gaze on her arm and not looking up at her.
He was upset with the fact that Rosemary was angry with him, not liking that he didn't have the girl by his side. But he couldn't take back what he said and he couldn't change his opinion just for her, so he was just silently suffering by himself.
Once Edmund had finished, he finally looked up and met the eyes of the brunette. He gave her a small smile, one that was obviously forced, and looked back down. "I. . .uh. . .I'll leave you to finish getting ready," he told her as he nodded at her.
He turned to walk away when Rosemary suddenly reached out and latched onto his wrist. Edmund froze under her touch and looked back at her. "Yes?" He asked, but he had barely gotten the word out before she had rushed forward to hug him.
Edmund didn't even hesitate before hugging her back, his grip tightening slightly as he leaned his head against her own. Rosemary's hands balled into fists as she gripped onto his shirt and let out a shaky sigh.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to be rude. I was just hurt that everyone was for Peter's plan and I hadn't been expecting you to agree with him."
Edmund pulled away to look at her, but the two kept their close distance while he put his hands on her arms. "You don't need to apologize, Rosemary," he said. "Don't say that," she told him as she shook her head. "Just say that you forgive me. That's all I want to hear."
Edmund watched her with steady eyes before nodding and saying, "I forgive you." Rosemary visibly relaxed from that verbal confirmation before saying, "Good. I really didn't want to go into battle knowing that we were both upset."
"You really don't think it's going to end well?" Edmund questioned. "I just. . .I have a bad feeling and I don't believe this is the right thing to do. We've been here for not even a day and Peter's already wanting to fight," Rosemary said.
"I know, but then again, that's Peter for you. As for the bad feeling, I would try not to dwell on it. You're one of our leaders, Rosemary, and we can't go into battle knowing that you don't think we will come out," Edmund told her.
Rosemary sighed. "There's the Edmund Pevensie I know. Right again, as per usual," she muttered as she gave him a sly grin. Edmund chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not always right, although it would be nice if I was," he said.
Rosemary let out a small laugh before Peter's voice filled the room. "All troops need to report outside. We will be leaving as soon as everyone is ready," Peter declared.
His eyes locked with Rosemary's before he gestured his head towards the exit, signaling that he needed to talk to her. He then walked off and Edmund chuckled softly. "Looks like Peter needs to speak to you," Edmund said.
"Yeah, it would be wise of him not to make me angry before we go," Rosemary told the boy. Edmund chuckled and smiled down at her before nodding his head after Peter. "Go ahead. I'll catch up with you later," he said.
Rosemary nodded and leaned forward to kiss Edmund's cheek, the boy instantly leaning into her touch as his eyes closed. "Be careful," she whispered before she pulled away. Edmund's eyes fluttered back open and that breathtaking smile of his was back on his face. "I always am," he told her.
Rosemary raised an eyebrow and he chuckled. "Okay, so maybe most of the time I'm careful," he said. The two chuckled softly and Edmund pushed her away gently. "Now go before Peter comes back in here."
Rosemary nodded and waved goodbye to Edmund before grabbing her shield and sword and walking towards the exit. By the time she got outside, she had her sword and shield on her and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail using the one hair tie she had put on her wrist before arriving to Narnia.
Peter was waiting on a small hill and was standing in the moonlight with his hand on the hilt of his sword as he looked out. He looked back when he heard her footsteps and offered her a small smile before looking back out.
Rosemary came to a stop beside him and let her hand rest on the hilt of her sword as well. Standing there with Peter reminded her of the countless of battles they had fought and how, before every one, they would stand by themselves and talk to help calm their nerves.
That was why Peter had wanted to talk to her in the first place. That was why he had brought her out here.
"I know you're mad at me," Peter began and Rosemary let out a sigh as she kept her gaze looking forward. Peter glanced at her before looking down at the ground. "You probably don't even want to be here talking to me."
"You know that's not true," Rosemary sighed. "As much as I hate you right now, you're my best friend, Peter. We're going to have our arguments."
"Will you still ride with me?" Peter asked, catching the girl off guard. Rosemary looked to the boy. She hadn't riden by his side since the last time they fought in Narnia. He still wanted her to be by his side even after their argument?
"I can't imagine going into battle without you by my side," Peter admitted. He looked at her and gave her the smallest of smiles. "It would be like before."
Rosemary smiled softly at that before sighing and saying, "Yes, I will ride by your side." Peter's small smile instantly turned into a huge grin before he wrapped an arm around the girl and pulled her in for a hug.
Rosemary rolled her eyes and playfully shoved the boy away with a laugh. "Okay, okay. No need to get all soft on me now, Pete," she said. Peter just laughed and hugged her tighter before releasing her. Rosemary looked to her friend and smirked.
"We've got a battle to win."
- - -
Rosemary gulped slightly as she watched Edmund and the griffin that was carrying him fly towards the Telmarine castle. Her hands were balled up into fists to the point where the knuckles were white and Susan, Peter, and Caspian all noticed this.
Caspian glanced at the girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be okay," Caspian assured her, but that did nothing to calm her nerves.
It wasn't until she saw the flickering of a light that Rosemary let out a sigh of relief. That was supposed to be Edmund's signal that the coast was clear, so she knew everything had gone alright and that he was okay.
Peter also let out a sigh of relief before he looked to the griffins who supposed to take them on ahead. He gave them a small nod and the first two grabbed onto Peter and Rosemary before beginning to fly them forward, the others grabbing Susan, Caspian, and Trumpkin.
They flew over to the castle where Rosemary could see Edmund atop one of the towers still signaling them. They followed where he pointed and Caspian and Rosemary used their swords to knock down some of the guards as they flew by.
Edmund used the light to point at a bridge and the group quickly made their way over there. As they were about to land, Rosemary noticed one of the guards pointing an arrow in Edmund's direction, having noticed him from afar.
Rosemary gritted her teeth and gave the griffin a nod before the creature dropped her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Rosemary called out as she fell. She landed on top of the soldier, instantly knocking him to his feet before she took the hilt of her sword and hit him in the temple, instantly knocking him out.
A soldier came up behind her, but Peter was quick to land in front of the girl before he fought the soldier. He had him down on the ground within a matter of seconds while Caspian did the same with another.
Peter turned and held a hand out for Rosemary who quickly took to. He helped her to her feet before the group held their weapons up. However, there were no more soldiers on the bridge and Rosemary let out a small sigh of relief.
Her eyes flickered up to the tower to see Edmund looking right back at her. He gave her a small nod as the corners of his mouth twitched up slightly. She returned the gesture before the group was hurrying across the small bridge and towards one of the towers.
Once they reached the top, Caspian took some of the top he had attached to his belt before tying it to the roof. The four them began climbing down the side, first Caspian, then Rosemary, Peter, Susan, and Trumpkin.
Caspian landed on one of the balconies and knocked gently on the window as Rosemary landed beside him. "Professor," Caspian said as he knocked again, but there was no response.
Caspian let out a small frustrated sigh before he opened up the door. Peter landed beside him before the three nodded to each other. They walked inside and Caspian began to look around.
Rosemary wandered off and stopped near a table that had a picture on it. She titled her head slightly and ran her fingers over the faces in the picture, a small smile dawning her face as she realized the five people were her and the Pevensies.
The drawing was obviously one made during their reign and it showcased the Kings and Queens riding horses together through a forest as Cair Paravel was pictured in the background.
"We have to find him," Caspian said, throwing Rosemary out of her thoughts. The girl looked up to see Caspian holding a pair of glasses in his hands and Rosemary instantly knew that something was wrong.
"You don't have time," Peter argued. "You need to get the gate open." "You wouldn't even be here without him. . .and neither would I," Caspian said.
"Me, you, and Susan can handle Miraz," Rosemary spoke up as she looked to Peter. Peter glanced back at her while Caspian sent her a grateful look. "And I can still make it to the gate in time," Caspian assured them.
Rosemary just gave him a small nod before saying, "Be careful." Caspian nodded back before turning and running out of the roof with Trumpkin right behind him.
Peter frowned and looked to Rosemary. "This wasn't the plan," he told her. "It's the man who practically raised him, Peter. Don't act like you wouldn't do the same if it were any of us," Susan argued. Peter fell silent at that and looked away.
"Let's go find Miraz," Rosemary said and the two Pevensie siblings nodded. The trio then ran out of the room and hurried down a few hallways, following the path that Caspian had told them about when they were still planning.
After a few more minutes of looking, the three found the bedroom that Caspian had been talking about. Rosemary's grip on the hilt of her sword tightened as the moonlight coming in through the windows made her sword glisten.
"Put the sword down, Caspian. I don't want to do this," a female voice said from the opposite side of the door. Rosemary furrowed her eyebrows. Caspian? What was he doing here? And how did he get here before them?
Rosemary was quick to push open the door and Susan pointed an arrow at the woman who held a crossbow in Caspian's direction. "We don't want you to either," Susan said as Peter and Rosemary stood by her side.
Rosemary took that moment to look around and assess all that was happening. Caspian stood with his sword out at a man who she assumed was Miraz.
Miraz looked at the three newcomers and frowned as he put his hands on his hips. "This used to be a private room," he complained.
"What are you doing?" Peter asked as he glared at Caspian. "You're supposed to be in the gatehouse." "No," Caspian yelled. "Tonight, for once, I want the truth!"
Caspian glared at Miraz as he got closer to him. "Did you kill my father?" he asked in anger. "Now we get to it," Miraz whispered. "You said your brother died in his sleep," the woman muttered. "That was more or less true," Miraz admitted.
"Caspian, this won't make things any better," Susan argued. Caspian glanced back at them before looking back at Miraz.
"We Telmarines would have nothing had we not taken it," Miraz said. "Your father knew that as well as anyone."
"How could you?" His wife said as she let the crossbow drop. "For the same reason you will pull the trigger. For our son!" Miraz exclaimed and his wife had the crossbow back up and pointed at Caspian.
Rosemary was quick and pointed her sword at the woman. "Stop!" the wife yelled. "Stay right there!" Susan exclaimed as Miraz began to walk forward. Rosemary turned her attention towards Caspian and Miraz, not noticing that she let her sword drop away from the woman.
"You need to make a choice, dear. Do you want our child to be king? Or do you him to be like Caspian? Fatherless!" Miraz exclaimed. The woman was shaking by now and yelled out, "No!"
She fired at Caspian, an arrow digging into his arm. "Caspian!" Rosemary yelled while Susan fired at Miraz who quickly dodged it. Miraz escaped out of a door while his wife was left crying on her bed and yelling, "No!"
Susan and Peter ran over to Caspian while Rosemary shook her head at the crying woman. "Shut up," Rosemary told her making the woman look at her with wide eyes. "Nothing happened except for you being too dramatic and shooting your nephew, so calm down and go find your son."
The woman didn't need to be told twice and was running out of the room to go get her son while Rosemary rolled her eyes. The girl then turned around to see Caspian holding his arm.
"Caspian, are you okay?" Rosemary asked as she bent down beside him. "Never better," he groaned. They didn't get to say much more before the sounds of bells filled the air.
"More soldiers are coming," Caspian whispered out. Rosemary's eyes widened. "We need to get out of here," she said. They all helped Caspian to his feet before he began to show them the way out of the castle. As they were running, Peter diverged from the path and ran towards where the gatehouse was.
"Peter!" Susan exclaimed. "Our troops are just outside!" Peter yelled. "Come on!"
"Peter, we can't! We need to retreat! There's too many of them and they know we are here," Rosemary argued. "We can do this, Rosemary! Now can you stop arguing with me for one minute and do your job?" Peter yelled as he ran away.
Rosemary gritted her teeth, her grip on her sword hilt tightening. Did he really just say that to her?
"Rosemary," Susan whispered, but she shook her head and turned to walk away. "Where are you going?" Caspian asked. Rosemary pulled her sword out of its sheath. "To do my job," she said before she walked outside.
Rosemary calmly walked outside where she could see soldiers starting to make their way over to where they were. Peter, Susan, and Caspian were running towards the gate behind her and Rosemary knew that she had to do everything she could to protect them.
The brunette took in a deep breath and grabbed her shield before holding her sword up in the air. "For Narnia. For Aslan," she muttered under her breath.
The first soldier ran forward and Rosemary was quick to block his attack with her shield before she swiped at his legs. He fell to his knees and she stabbed him in the chest before he fell to the ground.
The next soldier came up and Rosemary clashed swords with him before hitting her shield against his head. He fell to the ground right as two more soldiers appeared.
Rosemary continued fighting with all that she had in her. A scream of anger fell from her lips as she killed solider after soldier. She released all the pent up anger she had in her and fought like the protector that she was.
The same rush she used to get while fighting coursed through her veins and it felt like her instincts and skills had been heightened. She fought and fought, trying to hold back as many soldiers as she could while Peter opened up the gates.
She heard the roaring before she saw them and the look of fear on the soldiers faces were enough to tell her that Peter had succeeded in opening up the gate. "For Narnia!" she heard Peter yell before the Narnians joined her in the fight.
They were in the midst of fighting when Rosemary noticed soldiers running up the stairs in an attempt to attack them from above. Rosemary scowled and was quick to run across the courtyard, knocking down soldiers as she did.
Once she got to the stairs, she ran up them and approached the soldiers who were up on a balcony about to shoot down at the Narnians below.
Rosemary saw them start aiming at Peter and she growled before rushing forward and knocking some down. She had just knocked down her third soldier when one of them turned to shoot at her. He was about to pull the trigger when Edmund came sliding down from the roof above, knocking him over the side of the building.
Edmund looked over at Rosemary and the two locked eyes. "Ed! Rosemary!" Peter yelled in warning and the two turned to see that the soldiers had turned to point their crossbows at them.
Edmund's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed Rosemary's hand before pulling her through a different door than she had just come through. The soldiers fired at them, but Edmund was quick to grab Rosemary and pull her out of the way.
The two went falling to the ground and Rosemary was quick to kick the door shut. She was breathing heavily when she felt two hands grab her and pull her up on her feet. "Come on, love. We aren't safe yet," Edmund told her before he dragged her down a hallway.
They ran until they came across another door. The yelling of the soldiers grew closer, so Rosemary quickly pulled Edmund inside the door before they closed it and locked it.
The two let out a sigh of relief and turned around to keep running when they realized that they were trapped on a balcony with no where to go.
The door behind them started to shake as the soldiers pushed against it. Rosemary's hand quickly grabbed ahold of Edmund's and he was quick to grip hers back as he pulled her back as far as they could go.
The door slammed open and soldiers began to file out as they all pointed their crossbows at the two. They all smirked, knowing that there was no where for the king and queen to run.
Edmund looked back over the edge and looked back at the soldiers. He smirked at them before wrapping an arm around Rosemary's waist and pulling her back so that the two fell backwards over the side of the tower.
Rosemary let out a scream, but she fell quiet once the two landed on the back of a griffin. Edmund quickly sat up and helped Rosemary sit up as well before the griffin shot up into the air.
The brunette wrapped her arms around Edmund and heading tight as they flew up into the air and past the soldiers who all watched with their mouths agape. The griffin began to fly them away from the castle, but as they flew over the courtyard, Rosemary felt her heart break.
A small gasp left her mouth as she stared at the sight down below. Half of the Narnians, half of her army, all laid lifelessly on the floor. An eerie silence filled the air as Rosemary felt the full effect of what had just happened. It was like a punch to the gut and a small sob left her mouth as she looked at the devastation below.
Edmund looked back at the girl and as soon as she looked up at him, he swore his heart broke. Tears were streaming down her face and she looked completely and utterly broken. "They're gone, Eddie. They're gone," she whispered before her eyes closed and a look of pain appeared on her face.
He knew she was blaming herself. She was pulling that protector card again, thinking that she was supposed to be the protector and hadn't been able to do it. But it wasn't her fault, it was far from that really.
But Rosemary didn't want to hear it. Edmund's words of reassurance fell on deaf ears as she just looked down at the fallen Narnians. It was like a graveyard below her and all she could hear was a small ringing in her ear.
Her fingers gripped onto Edmund's shirt as she leaned against him. She was shaking as she cried and Edmund fell quiet before his own eyes filled with tears. He turned his head to kiss the top of her head and she shook and held onto him tighter.
The griffin flew lower until it got side by side with Peter who was riding his horse away from the castle. Peter was on the verge of tears and when he heard the heartbroken sobs of his best friend, he couldn't stop a few tears from escaping.
They'd lost.
They'd lost.
- - -
The ride back to Aslan's How was silent except for the small sniffles and cries coming from the brunette. By the time they had arrived, Rosemary's tears were gone. She was instead enraged, but she was so calm and collected that it made the others feel even worse than they had when she was crying.
The griffin landed and Edmund quickly hopped down before holding a hand out. Rosemary took it and he helped her down before she gave his hand a small squeeze and began walking away.
She was just about to walk into Aslan's How when Peter said, "Rosemary, I-"
Rosemary whipped around so fast that some almost didn't see her move. She had a look of fury on her face as she stormed over to Peter. "No, you don't get to talk!" She yelled.
Peter fell silent and looked to the ground which only made Rosemary angrier. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Rosemary exclaimed and the boy did as she said. She studied him for a minute before shaking her head.
"I knew this wasn't going to work. I told you this wasn't going to work! But you didn't listen!" Rosemary yelled as she jabbed at Peter's chest. He took it and everyone watched in silence as Rosemary grew angrier and angrier by the minute.
"We're supposed to work together, Peter, but all you want to do is prove yourself without even taking into consideration the consequences of your actions! It may have only been a little over a year for us, but it's been thirteen hundred years since we last were in Narnia. Things aren't the same here and you don't seem to understand that!" Rosemary yelled.
"We just lost so many lives and all because you think you know what's best just like always!" Rosemary exclaimed. She was breathing heavy and her hands had balled into fists as she looked to the ground.
"You should've listened to me, Peter," she told him. Her eyes flickered back up to him. "Maybe then we wouldn't have lost as many lives as we did! Maybe then we wouldn't have lost half our army!"
Rosemary took a step back and held her hands up as she shrugged. "But you know what, trying to one up Caspian and prove to everyone that you're still Peter the Magnificent is more important, right?" She asked as a look of hurt flashed through her friend's eyes.
Peter frowned, the guilt starting to eat away at him as he realized everything that Rosemary was saying was true. He opened his mouth to respond, but the girl quickly turned around so that he was facing her back.
"And don't you ever tell me to shut up and do my job again when you can't seem to do your own," she practically hissed before she walked off into the forest leaving Peter standing there with his head down and Edmund watching after her.