"Oh, we're in trouble," I say as soon as Edmund's team arrives.
"Why?" Peter and Darren asked at the same time, surprising each other.
"Because Edmund has Lord Peridan AND Lord Roy with him. Roy's as good a shot as Susan," I inform them. "Any advantage you possessed when she dropped off might as well be gone," I tell my cousin. "The only one better than Lord Roy, excluding Queen Susan of course, is Sir Fletcher. So unless you want to trade either of us," and at this moment I made a point to look directly at Danielle who, as far as I was concerned, has no helpful talents (unless she can somehow find a way to annoy our prey to death) "for him, King Edmund has the better archer,"
"No one is trading anybody," Darren said shaking his head at me. "King Peter, didn't you say yesterday that we hold the advantage over Queen Lucy?" he turns to my husband. I don't think I'll ever get used to that word. Husband. It makes me feel old.
"She always hesitates when it comes to killing animals, even for food," Peter replies.
"You see, there's nothing to worry about," Darren says carelessly. "This will be an even match,"
Huh, who would have thought Danielle knows how to shoot? Not me, that's for sure. She may not be as proficient as Susan (then again no one is as good as her) but I've got to admit it, she's skilled.
We have killed a few rabbits and a very large bird, but what Darren and Edmund want more than anything is to catch a stag or a wolf, or perhaps a very large boar. Whoever catches the most impressive beast is bound to win and they are trying to outdo one another. Birds and rabbits won't do. So, while stalking a herd of deer, we all plot and decided Danielle and I will sneak away and while everyone chases after the stag we will go after a smaller deer. Surely Edmund and the rest will be too busy to notice us girls going missing, and if we come back with a deer our team will surely be ahead of the competition.
"Be careful," Peter whispers as we prepare to execute our plot.
"When am I not careful?" I whisper back only to receive one of his I'm serious looks. "I'll be careful," I reassure him. "Hey, I've got Susan's horn. If anything happens, you'll know," This seems to reassure him enough. He had offered to go with me, but there were two problems with that: number one, his absence would most definitely be noted and number two; he had to look out for Lucy (she has developed a tendency to wander off).
"Good luck," he whispers and then the real hunting begins.
"You bring it about, I'll shoot it," Danielle says enthusiastically and rides past me.
"Pardon?" I say, but she's already gone. Now, I could go after her and start an argument about how she's not supposed to be giving me orders, but for one, this is neither the place nor the time to start arguing about these things, and for another, it is a good idea. To be perfectly honest, I am liking this side of her much more. Now that we have a common objective, I find her to be less annoying. So, I decide to let this one go and do as she suggests. As much as I hate to admit it, out of the two of us she is the better shot. I'll have to practice a lot when we get back home. I cannot let her beat me at something, she'll brag about it endlessly. I am a better hunter than the Queen. I can already picture her in my head. No no no. Not as long as I live. I'll practice until my fingers get sore if I must, but I have to be better than her. Ugh, this is so unhealthy.
We chase the deer north-west back to the river, very close on its heels. It's growing tired now, I can see it, he isn't as fast as before. Danielle takes a shot, but the deer is fast and he jumps out of the way just in time. Damn it.
We continue chasing him along the tree line with the frozen River Rush on our left and then down to the shore of the river, the sharp wind cold against my skin. I shoot at it with my crossbow, but the arrow files past it and lands on the ice to his left. I prepare to shoot again but then the deer jumps and he crosses the river.
Immediately I halt my horse and it protests on its hind legs at the unexpected order, but hey, I am not about to dash across the ice without testing if it will hold us. Foolish of me to assume Danielle will have the common sense to do the same. She dashes on her horse forward and, as I suspected, the ice breaks. Foolish, foolish girl. Do you know nothing? One does not simply cross a frozen stream without checking if the ice will hold! Especially if one does not know how to swim, which she does not. Her horse manages to get out, she however does not.
Immediately I blow on Susan's horn a few times and dismount so I can take off my sword belt and skirt off (it weighs a ton when wet, I'll have more than enough trying to drag Danielle out of the water, no need to add a skirt to the task). Thank the River Gods I decided to wear leather riding trousers for this venture underneath. Honestly, the best decision of the year so far. Do you have any idea of how many women have drowned in shallow rivers because of their heavy skirts? Way too many, I do not intend to be one of them, thank you very much. Shoes on or off? On. No time to undo these boots. I feel how thin the ice is from the creaking underneath my boots. Supposedly, the Kings and Queens of Narnia and Archenland are descendants of the River Gods, for the daughters of King Frank (the first King of Narnia) married them and their children became princess and Kings. I've always liked that story, not only because it means that I am distantly related to a river, which I find to be very funny, but it means a part of me, as small as it might be, has the blood of the gods. Hopefully, that part of me is related to the Rush River because Aslan knows I could use his help.
"Oh, River Gods, help me," I take a deep breath and dive into the hole Danielle fell through. The water is so cold I almost lose my air supply in a gasp. It is also deeper than I expected, but at least she had the decency to fall into relatively calm waters. Calm but cold. I can see her down here perfectly well, the water is very clear, but because of the ice, the thin layer of snow covering it, and the depth of the river itself, it is also very dark. I swim towards her and she sees me. She is panicking (as one usually does when drowning), kicking and swinging her arms furiously in a desperate attempt to reach the surface. My ears pop from the pressure and a few seconds of swimming I finally reach her and try to pull her up with me, but she is quite heavy. And that stupid dress of hers is not helping. I try to rip it off her but it is very difficult and she just freaks out. She is running out of air and I am running out of time, luckily I always carry a knife or dagger on me at all times. I get out the dagger and attempt to cut her free of her skirt, but she only freaks out more and kicks the dagger off my hand. Brilliant! Now we really are doomed. Can't you see I'm trying to save your life?!? I try to pull her up with me, but she keeps dragging me down. I am about to give up on her and just save myself (hey, I've only got so much air left), something unexpected happens. A nereid shows up out of the literal blue with my dagger. Either Susan's horn worked its magic or the River Gods were listening and willing to help. I signal for her to help me get rid of the skirt and she immediately understands what I'm trying to do.
Now, I excel at many things. Swordfighting, horseback riding, jousting, singing, dancing, playing the piano, just to name those I can discuss with others, but holding my breath underwater is not one of them. After swimming and struggling for a long while now, I find myself near the bottom of the river with my air supply running dangerously low. And Danielle is in no better condition, she has already swallowed water and is starting to have convulsions. If we don't get her out, she'll die.
The nereid and I, at last, manage to break Danielle free of her skirt and her buoyancy increases a lot. I signal for the nereid to take Danielle up and she obliges, dragging the redhead to the surface as I swim after them. But we are no longer in the same spot we went under and I can't see the hole we fell through, only ice. The nereid starts swimming to my right and I try to go after her but the cold is so unbearable I get an awful cramp on my right foot. The sort of cramp that makes your toes twist in an unnatural way and makes you cry out in pain, which I unfortunately do, letting go the last bit of air I had left. That's when I really start to panic. I've reached the surface (nearly), the only thing stopping me from the outside is a layer of ice. A stupid layer of ice.
My lungs start to burn and I feel desperate. Desperate for that sweet taste of oxygen. I just want to go home! I bang my fist against it, but the water creates resistance and diminishes my strength. I barely left a crack. Frustration is what I feel next (along with the panic). Gagged by the water I can't scream so I just keep hitting the ice with all the strength I have left as I kick my legs trying to stay afloat. Let me out, let me out, let me out! I did not survive a dragon, the White Witch, the Battle of Beruna and a werewolf ambush just so I could drown in the River Rush!
"Shoot, Darren. Shoot!" I shout at him as we pursue the stag. It has led us on a chase to the west and then to the north of the wood. Through fallen trees, ditches, rocks and clearings. Word has spread of our hunt in this wood and some trees try to help us by scaring the stag into running along the riverside. Whenever it attempts to go back into the wood, the trees flex their roots or move their branches, blocking its path.
"I have it! I have it!" Darren says, but he misses by an inch and his arrow flies into a tree.
"Oi!" A dryad complains pulling the arrow out of the bark and waving it at Darren.
"Pardon me!" Darren shouts back at her without glancing back, far too busy to apologize properly.
"Ha!" Edmund laughs at Darren's missed shot. "Get it, Roy!"
"I've got it!" Roy says and shoots an arrow at its hind leg successfully.
"Yes!" Lucy and Peridan chant, but the stag is still running. Slower, but still running.
"You still haven't killed it," Darren reminds him.
"Just give it up, Darren. You've lost," Edmund says from his horse.
"No, I haven't. Whoever gets the kill shot wins. Everybody knows that," Darren replies.
Arrows fly at the stag and it falls at last.
"Yes!" Darren and Edmund cry in victory at the same time.
"What do you mean 'yes'? I won," Darren says and pulls up next to the stag.
"What? You didn't win. I won," Edmund complains getting off his horse.
"Of course I won. That is my arrow," Darren says pointing at the arrow that went through the stag's neck.
"What- No. That is my arrow!" Edmund says.
They start bickering and we all dismount. I turn to look at Lucy who is just laughing at the entire situation along with Lords Peridan and Roy.
"Alright how about we ask the High King who won, huh?" Darren says turning to look at me.
"What? No. He's on your team!" Edmund says pointing at me.
"He's your brother!" Darren replies.
"Everybody just-" And then I hear it.
"Is that..." Edmund wonders out loud.
"Queen Susan's horn," lord Peridan says.
I turn to look at Darren and he has the exact same expression I have. "Imira!"
I jump back on my horse without haste and ride towards the distress signal, Darren on my heels and the rest following close.
"It sounded close by," he says as I look ahead for any sign of her.
What could it have been? A rogue bear? A wolf? One of the Witch's followers? My mind gets filled with ideas, awful possibilities of what could have made her blow the horn. We make a turn west following the river and I spot up ahead two horses who I recognize to be Imira's and Lady Danielle's along with two dryads, a faun, a dwarf, a couple of squirrels, and a very large hedgehog. All peeking into the lake.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" They stop me, waving their arms as if I hadn't seen them already.
"Where's the Queen?" I ask them frantically as I dismount.
"She fell in," a purple dryad tells me, leaning into the hole.
Darren and I take our swords off and go to where she kneels.
"So did the red-haired lady," the hedgehog says. "I saw it all, they were chasing a deer and the ice gave in. The Queen went after her, but it's been a minute and there's no sign of them,"
It looks very dark down there, and I can't spot either of the girls. "Get a rope or something, I'll go get-" but before I can finish my sentence I see bubbles on the surface and then Danielle's head pops up immediately followed by a river nymph. But no Imira.
"Danielle!" Darren says and pulls her out.
"She swallowed some water, but she should be alright," a nymph says.
"Where's Imira? Where's the Queen!?" I ask her panicking. Why didn't she save Imira?!
Danielle coughs a lot, Darren tells her she's fine, and the hedgehog and the squirrels tell Edmund, Lucy, Lord Roy and Lord Peridan (who have only just arrived by the sounds of it) what happened.
"She was right behind me," the nymph says.
"Well, go get her!" It comes out harsher than I intended, but the nymph nods and dives back in.
Oh, I can't just sit here and wait while Imira drowns. What if she's run out of air? What if the water dragged her away and she can't find the hole? I start sweeping the snow off the ice with my hands and look for her.
"Help me look!" I yell at everyone and they all scatter around the shore.
"I see the Queen! She's here! She's drowning," The dwarf says after a few seconds and starts smashing the ice with a nearby rock.
I hurry to where he's at, about ten meters away from the hole, and see her convulsing underneath. Next to her, the nymph bangs her left fist against the ice while holding Imira with the other so she doesn't get dragged by the current any further. Everyone joins the effort and in a matter of seconds, the ice crumbles and the nymph lifts Imira to the surface.
Lord Peridan and I pull her out. She is pale and blue and very cold.
"Put her on her side and hold her head," Lord Roy suggests crouching in front of her and we do as he suggests. The second we do that she starts coughing up water. I don't think I've been this relieved since Lucy saved Edmund after the Battle of Beruna. He moves the hair from her face as I hold her head. Everyone but Darren and Danielle gathers around to see if she's alright.
"Give her some space," Lord Roy says while Imira continues to cough and all but Lucy back away.
Imira tries to talk but she just keeps coughing up more water and choking.
"Hey hey hey, just breathe, alright? Just breathe. You're alright," Lord Roy says soothingly. "You're alright,"
Once she's done coughing up the water we help her sit up and she starts to shiver badly and her teeth start chattering.
"I hope... I hope everyone saw that... because I am not doing it again," she manages to say and I can't help but laugh in relief. She's alright.
"You're freezing," I say pulling her close to me.
"Of course I'm f-f-f-freezing. I was under a frozen lake," she complains.
"How do you feel?" Lord Roy asks her.
"C-c-c-cold," she replies. "What s-sort of question is that?"
Lord Roy just chuckles.
"You need to lose the clothes," Lord Peridan says. "Otherwise you'll get sick,"
"Are you mad?" I ask him. She's not taking her clothes off in front of everyone!
"He's right," Lucy says.
"Yeah, I read about that in a book somewhere," Edmund adds. "I brought her skirt," he lays it down on the ground.
"Here," Peridan says and takes off his jacket and offers it to her. "You can use it,"
"Lady Danielle already got out of hers," Lucy says.
I turn around and find the girl wrapped up in Darren's and Edmund's and Lucy's cloaks.
"They're right," Imira says and stands up shivering. "Just d-don't look,"
We all turn around but then she kicks me in the foot.
"Not you, you have to help me,"
Oh. "Right,"
Once she's out of her damp clothes and into the jacket and skirt Lord Peridan and Edmund got her, I take off my cloak and put it around her before wrapping my arms around her.
"I thought I had lost you," I say as I hold her. She can't stop shivering and I can feel her freezing nose against my neck.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily," she whispers back and I can tell she's smiling.
"Hey, Peter, Imira!" Edmund shouts to get our attention. "The fauns made a fire,"
"Oh, yes, please," Imira says immediately and we walk back to everyone.