Paene
Latin
Penultimate
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again he
shakes me like a snake,
omnipotent.
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"That's- those are really big." Sanya said as the Narnian army watched the Giants (and Orknys and Vultures, but thankfully sans the Cyclopes) approach where they had assembled.
Ettinsmoor, in addition to being home to an aggressive army of various enormous creatures, was also very cold. She had never been this far up North- she felt like she would freeze in an instant.
Peter paid no attention to her nervous prattle, instead scouting out the horde. About sixty giants, full grown, forty or so Orknys armed with clubs as big as he was, and Vultures flying ahead, holding boulders the size of Selene.
Seeing the number of the flying scavengers, if they got over his army with those rocks, they'd squash them all flat.
"Archers!" He called, turning his unicorn around. "As soon as the Vultures take flight, take aim and knock down as many as possible. Spatha-" he turned to the centauress, parked beside her sister Tempesta, "you're in charge of signalling your archers. Tempesta, lead the centaurs and the cavalry for when the Orknys charge. Fauns and Animals, you're with Chadwi-" the jaguar snarled in approval, "The rest of you, you head ahead with Orieus and I when I say so. UNDERSTOOD?" He shouted- they'd gone over the strategy before, but he still had to repeat it, just in case.
"UNDERSTOOD, YOUR MAJESTY!" Came the booming yell from the army, all ready to fight.
"Peter, the Rihaayans are here, I must leave." Sanya said- even her myopic eyes could see that it was time to get out and fight. "Besides, it's about time for us to disembark."
Since they were not part of the cavalry, they would fight on foot- the Unicorn would be released and Peter knew that Unicorns, despite being pure and divine creatures, also made for very formidable warriors when enraged or when an enemy approached.
"Yes." He agreed, getting down from his perch. "I'll climb back on if needed." He whispered into Ephre's snowy mane, and she whinnied gently.
"Tritonia." Sanya said, calling for the soldier who Susan had once mentioned as being a good horsewoman and fighter. She'd scoped her out as she and Peter had trained the day before they had left, and she was a good warrior.
She stumbled forward- she had been standing with the foot soldiers, having not been let on a horse. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"I hope I got your name right." She said calmly, descending from Moonlight's back. "My horse is precious to me, and I entrust her to you during this battle."
She had not wanted to bring Moonlight, her dearest, oldest, best friend with her. But Moonlight had always been her most precious source of comfort. During her first battle, Sanya needed that.
"But, Your Majesty-" Tritonia was aghast. Why her?
“I cannot fight on horseback, I haven’t been trained to do so. I will not be able to protect both her and myself.” It was hard to admit, but true. “And I must be a leader to my people, not follow after yours.”
She held out the reins to her.
Tritonia blinked for a moment, about to argue but she thought better of it- there was no time to spend on pettiness, before taking the reins.
"I will keep her well, and fight for Narnia with all I have."
"Good." Sanya turned away from her, and patted Moonlight's muzzled. "See you soon, light of my life."
Moonlight neighed and licked her face.
"I thought you only did that when I was pregnant." She said, and her eyes widened in horror for a moment.
Then she remembered that she was currently having her moonblood- it was an inconvenient time to be fighting a battle- so there was no point in panicking.
"Sanya- survive. Ed'll kill me if you don't, and then himself, and I really need him to do the paperwork." Peter said, forcing his voice to remain steady as he spoke, knowing that she would leave the Narnians now, and go to the army of her home- to her people.
"You too." Sanya said, smiling and keeping her emotions under the surface. She hated to admit it, but she had grown fond of the High King after all these years. She'd always wanted an elder brother. "I can't be nice all the time- and who would I be- what word did you use- bitchy towards, if you died?"
Peter pulled her in for a hug, and was surprised when he felt her hug him back. It was slightly uncomfortable with the armour and the swords sheathed at their waists, but it was warm and nice, and he realised with a start that he wished that she'd be by his side during the battle. He trusted her.
"Bye." She said, pulling away. "No matter how far away I am, I've got your back." She promised, before she had squeezed through the battalion of the fauns, and over to the plainland the Rihaayan army stood on.
It'd been a while since she'd seen them- she had hardly been in Rihaaya for long since her marriage- but the way they cheered when they caught sight of her moving towards them almost drove her to tears. She refused to let them see that, choosing to greet them with a smile- a nervous one, it was true, but better than tears.
"General Ainaah." She said, walking straight towards the old military genius, from whom she had learnt all she knew about fighting. She was glad her father had opted out of battle- but she was happy to have someone she trusted so much by her side.
"My Princess. Oh, pardon me- my apologies-" He said, shaking his head as he dropped into a bow. Despite the fact that he'd been in the army for nearly thirty years, he was still the best swordsman she had seen, as if he were twenty instead of nearing sixty. "My Queen. It's an honour to have you leading us."
She had learnt and grown up at his knee- he hadn't seen her in years, and he still saw her a reckless and sullen young child who preferred hacking away at training dolls instead of learning strategy- but she was older now, and High Queen, and she would lead them to victory. He knew she would. Despite her physical absence in Rihaaya, everyone had intense faith in the Queen.
"And it's an honour to have you by my side." She was ashamed to say that she hadn't thought much about him during her time at Cair- but he'd been like the grandfather she'd never had.
Sanya turned to the soldiers, some on horseback, some on foot, all looking at her with anxious but determined faces.
She hadn't much practice in making or yelling out slogans, but she had to now. Her socially anxious heart almost beat out of her chest as she announced, "My people, I am grateful and absolutely honoured to have you here with me. I may be your High Queen by title and birth-"
A rallying shout rang through them, and she smiled.
"But today, we are all soldiers and peers, and we all fight for a common cause. We are together, and that is why we will win, and rid this land of the Giants, because we fight for the love of Rihaaya!"
"FOR THE LOVE OF RIHAAYA!"
--
"Oh, Rabadash..." Susan said, rather surprised as she opened her door to see the Prince standing there, roses in his hand.
You're not a rose, my Queen, you're the entire garden.
"I wanted to see if you were alright, Susan." He said, with a commendable attempt at being genuine. It would even have worked if he hadn't entered her chambers immediately after speaking, though she hadn't invited him in.
Stab Rabadash for me, if you can.
Edmund's parting words rang in her mind, and Susan had to work hard to remind herself that he'd meant them as a joke. He had, right? Of course, her brother despised Rabadash for what he had done to Sanya, but he didn't actually mean for her to commit murder. Surely not, that wasn't who Ed was.
"Oh, I'm managing. Worrying a lot, of course, but I have faith in my brother. And Corin's a brave lad."
"Hm, I'm sure. Have you had supper yet?" He asked, deciding not to feign concern any longer but get straight to the point. "I was hoping to dine with you..."
"My pardons, Your Highness-" she couldn't call him Rabadash any longer, "but I dined an hour ago. Your servants were kind enough to bring some food up for me, when I asked."
Consider them executed, he thought at once.
"Oh, that is upsetting. Nevertheless. Friends need not have a fixed reason to spend time with each other." He said, placing the roses on the bed. He liked the colour of them- red as blood.
We aren't friends, and it is taking all my willpower to not throw a chair at you right now.
"I suppose." She said, but she didn't move away from her spot by the door. "But if I know Your Highness, you must have some fixed purpose in gracing these chambers with your presence."
"Her Majesty knows me well." She'd given him the perfect opportunity to say what he'd come to say. "Another reason why I think we would rule splendidly together."
Susan's pretend graciousness left her, and she stood, stock-still as Rabadash knelt before her.
Her face was like stone, and eyes chips of ice, but that didn't deter the Prince from his purpose.
"Queen Susan. I put forward a proposal to you years ago. Now I repeat myself again, far more directly. Will you grant me the honour of taking you as a wife?"
Taking you. He wanted to take her, as he'd almost taken her sister-in-law.
Susan looked at Rabadash, and smiled.
--
"What's the matter? What's the news?" Lucy awoke to a Raven pecking at her head. She'd been camped outside in the fields, with the rest of the army. Cair Paravel accommodate three times the number of people it had been built to, but Lucy was taking no chances with the populace's safety. She had yet to receive word from any of her siblings on if the battle would reach Cair, but the air was tense and worried, and King Lune's arrival with his army had done nothing but increase the unease and panic.
"The Splendour Hyaline has been spotted." The Raven spoke hurriedly, knowing the news he carried was important. "It's coming into harbour now, and I spotted King Edmund and Queen Susan aboard."
"Oh, thank Aslan. Are they safe?" she asked, tossing away her covers and reaching for her armour. She'd slept in a tunic and breeches, which was logical, because she didn't want to waste time getting ready.
"I believe so, Your Majesty, but I didn't get a good look at them, I hastened here to get the news to you."
"Thank you- Daminn, is it?" she asked, fixing the armour over herself. "If you could, please inform Commander Peleus-" he was one of Orieus's brothers, and his most trusted "to prepare a small, and I mean small, regiment of soldiers to accompany me to the harbour. My brother and sister have returned."
"Of course, Your Majesty." The Raven said and flew away at once.
Lucy's heart pounded as she walked up to where the Hyaline was docked. She didn't know a thing about how their stay in Calormen had gone. She had had letters from Edmund, of course, but she knew that he couldn't have written the truth in them for Rabadash surely checked all his correspondence. She hoped- she prayed that they were alright. If they weren't, she didn't know what she'd do. Call for war, obviously- but emotionally, she would be wrecked.
"I'm so sorry." Susan said again, as she and Edmund prepared to disembark from the ship. "This is all my fault."
"For the last time, Su, Rabadash announcing war on Narnia isn't-"
"I was the one who turned down his proposal- I should've kept him on tenterhooks for longer-"
Edmund shook his head- his elder sister was a logical woman, more than most people were, but she didn't understand the people like Rabadash, not fully.
"He would've declared war on us, anyway. If you'd said yes, you would be his hostage and we would have had to surrender before battle even started. This has been brewing for years- and your firm rejection was the final nail in the coffin." He said grimly, before putting his arm around her trembling shoulders. She would probably cry the moment they landed on Narnian soil. He would too- when he saw his children again. "We have the might of Archenland and Narnia on our side, Su. Please don't worry- besides, I'd lose a chess match before I lose to that ass."
She gave a shaky laugh, and she hadn't ever felt more grateful for Ed's humour than she was at that moment. She was so glad it was he who was with her, that it was he who had been with her throughout this- her baby brother, her fierce protector, the Just King. She would've preferred no one else to be by her side- though she wouldn't have minded if Toni had been with her.
"They do say confidence is key- oh wait, where's Corin?"
"In Captain Trithan's chambers, he'll join us at Cair when he wakes up- I see Lucy, let's go!" His eyes being as keen as an eagle, Edmund quickly saw his little sister- in armour- striding towards the ship.
"Aslan, she looks formidable."
"Peter would do his nut if he saw her looking like this."
"Well, she is more a baby in his eyes than even Selene is in yours." Susan shrugged, before starting to climb down the ladder. It was a difficult thing to do, in a gown and slippers, but she managed to do it without falling in the harbour.
The moment Susan had stepped onto the soil of Narnia- her land, her country, her home- she could feel sobs building up inside her, but it was only when Lucy threw her arms around her- armour or no armour, she was going to hug her big sister- that she actually broke down and wept into her shoulder.
"I missed- I thought-" She tried to say, but she couldn't, she just felt so relieved, despite the impending battle, despite Peter being away in another war, she just felt so relieved and she was finally back where she belonged, that she couldn't articulate herself at all.
"I know, Su." Lucy cried quietly into her hair, her heart immensely full. Not even the thought of doing battle, of a castle siege could take away her happiness right then.
"Isn't this a sight for sore eyes?" Edmund jested from behind them, and the sisters broke apart to see him standing with a pant leg wet (climbing down the ship ladder wasn't easy, alright!?) and a soft smile on his face.
"Come in here!" Lucy called, and he gave an exaggerated eyeroll but quickly put his arms around them, basking in the feel of family.
It was a tender moment. There may have been one of their family who wasn't there, as much as they knew he wanted to be- the three present would've moved mountains to have their brother, the fourth, reunite with them- but three were there, and three were together again, after so long, and soon- they were sure- the fourth would be too. They were the Pevensies, and it didn't matter if one or two or three were missing or away, they'd always be together in their hearts and that was what counted.
It didn't stop them from missing their brother, and praying wholeheartedly that he was alright and safe.
"Queen L- oh, Your Majesties!" King Lune was rather embarrassed as he intruded upon the embrace of the siblings. He hadn't thought things through- he just needed to get news to Queen Lucy. "My apologies-"
"It is alright." Susan said graciously, stepping away from her siblings. She was the eldest here now, and she'd deal with this. "Is anything the matter?"
"Yes. Well-" He blinked, and wondered how to say it. "I must get back to Anvard."
"What?" Edmund's eyes became slits. "Are you abandoning us?"
"No, no, Your Majesty." The older King quickly shook his head. "I have just received word from my so- a source that Rabadash is already marching on us with his whole army, and I wished to bring more reinforcements from there."
"Can you not send your General?" Lucy asked, her hands clenched into fists.
"He's already started towards Tashbaan with half the troops I have here. My Queen- Queens and King, I suggest you go forth as well." He bit his lip in anxiety. "Some of the army must stay here, in case there's an assault from the sea. But the rest, I'm afraid, must march towards Tashbaan- and so must you."
Edmund wanted to yell- he'd just come from there! He had just rescued his sister and he hadn't seen his babies in months- or his wife, who was off at war- he didn't want to go back there.
But he knew that Susan couldn't go, and that Lucy couldn't be sent alone.
So, he squared his shoulders and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I fear you may be right. Lu-" He turned to his younger sister, "we leave at once."
"But don't you want to go see-"
Tears threatened to blur his vision and he dug his fingers into his palms. He couldn't speak, lest his voice came out weak and shaky. Of course he wanted to see his children- but he had to go fight this war, to make sure he could protect them. He wanted to be with them so badly- but he would rather they were well and safe, than be with him and in danger.
He shook his head, looking down.
"I'll stay behind in Cair." Susan hated violence, hated war, and she didn't want to fight- hopefully, she wouldn't have to- but she would do anything to keep her home safe. And she couldn't- simply couldn't go back into Rabadash's clutches just after escaping from them. "I'll protect it."
Edmund pressed a kiss to Susan's forehead, and murmured, "I know you will," just as Lucy hugged her again. They had just found each other and they would be separated again.
Typical.
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Naseeruddin Shah as General Ainaah
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-✧･: °*✧*°:･✧-
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These battle chapters are easily my favorites in pretty much the whole book.
And, as always, I humbly and unashamedly ask you to vote (and I beg you to comment) on the chapter, please.