A boat was rowed down the river.
Two telmarine soldiers ordered to take care of a certain Narnian.
Trumpkin, the light haired dwarf who was captured during the attempt to save Caspian, was bound and gagged by the soldiers.
"Here's fine", a soldier said.
The two lifted Trumpkin, ready to throw him into the water when an arrow struck the side of the boat.
The Pevensies ran to the side of the river, Susan holding a loaded bow at the soldiers.
"Drop him!", she demanded.
The soldiers dropped the dwarf into the water.
One picked up a crossbow, attempting to shoot but Susan shot him before.
She pointed her bow at the other soldier but he jumped off the boat before she could.
Susan sighed.
Her gaze shifted to the tree line.
A girl stood among the trees, staring back at her.
Susan looked around her, hoping her siblings were seeing it too.
She looked back at the trees but the figure was no longer there.
"What is it?", Lucy asked.
Susan looked at Lucy. "I thought I saw-".
The girl shook her head, turning to look at her brothers as they brought in the dwarf and the boat.
"Its nothing".
"Drop him? That's the best you can come up with?", Trumpkin scoffed, taking in deep breaths.
"A simple thank you would suffice", Susan glared at him.
"They were doing fine drowning me without your help".
Peter stepped towards him with a glare.
"Maybe we should have let them".
"Why were they trying to kill you anyway?",Lucy asked.
"They're telmarines. That's what they do", Trumpkin replied.
"Telmarines in Narnia?", Edmund asked as the Pevensies looked at each other in confusion.
Trumpkin glanced at the children. "Where have you been for the past few hundred years?".
Peter frowned as his siblings looked at each other awkwardly.
"It's been that long?", he mumbled.
"It's bit of a long story", Susan replied, handing Peter his sword.
Trumpkin noticed the hilt of the sword, his eyes widening as he stared at the children.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me. You're it? You're the kings and queens of the old?", he exclaimed.
"High King Peter, the Magnificent". Peter held out his hand towards the dwarf, who only stared at it.
"You probably could have left out the last bit", Susan said as his siblings smiled with amusement.
"Probably", Trumpkin chuckled, looking at the king.
Peter drew his sword, looking down at the dwarf.
"You might be surprised".
Trumpkin shook his head.
"Oh, you don't want to do that, boy".
Peter smiled.
"Not me. Him".
Peter glanced at Edmund.
The said boy drew his sword as Peter handed his to the dwarf.
Because of the sheer weight of it compared to his size, the sword dropped in the sand and the children chuckled.
Trumpkin swung his sword, knocking Edmund's out of his hands.
He swung again and Edmund ducked but the dwarf managed to hit him in the face.
"Edmund!", Lucy cried out.
"Aww, you alright?", Trumpkin mocked the boy who returned a solemn expression.
The two circled around, eyes on each other. They continued to fight until Edmund managed to disarm the dwarf.
Trumpkin fell on the ground, staring at the children with amazement.
"Beards and bedsteads! Maybe that horn worked after all", he exclaimed.
The children looked at each other before glancing at the dwarf.
"What horn?", Susan asked.
•••○•••
The children and the dwarf were rowing down Glasswater as Lucy looked up at the trees sadly.
"They're so still".
Trumpkin glanced at what she was looking at before turning to the girl.
"They're trees. What did you expect?".
Lucy sighed.
"They used to dance".
"It wasn't long after you left that Telmarines invaded Narnia. Those that survived retreated to the woods. And the trees have retreated so deeply inside themselves that no one has heard from them since", Trumpkin explained.
Lucy frowned.
"I don't understand. How could Aslan let this happen?".
Trumpkin scoffed.
"Aslan? I thought he abandoned us after you lot did".
The dwarf frowned and looked to the trees.
"I would only trust the protector to keep us safe".
The children glanced at each other in confusion.
Peter, who had remained lost in his thoughts, spoke up.
"Do you know what happened to General Aria?"
The siblings glanced at their brother sadly. Peter ignored their gazes, and looked at the dwarf directly who returned a sad smile.
"You mean High Queen Aria".
The children looked at each other with wide eyes.
"She was coronated not too long after you left. Narnia needed a ruler after all", Trumpkin smiled.
"She's the protector. Everyone in Narnia call her that".
Peter could feel his heart racing.
"She apparently lived for a long time. Never aged. That's what the story says".
The dwarf looked at Peter.
"She was a great queen. Stories say she was able to bring together the foes- the 2 sides of the war. The witch's and Aslans to make one Narnia".
Peter bit his lips.
"Queen Aria fought wars. She earned her name as the protector".
Trumpkin sighed.
"But it wasn't the same for the Telmarines. She was lost in the battlefield".
Lucy gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth.
Edmund gulped, staring at the ripples made in the water.
And Peter.
Peter couldn't believe it.
Susan watched her brother sadly. He maintained a stoic expression but she could see past his facade.
"But her spirit is still among us, helping us in times of trouble and I don't doubt it at all. As the prophecy says, the narnians await her return". He smiled.
"A prophecy?", Susan questioned.
The siblings looked at the dwarf with hope, as he mentioned the girl's return.
Trumpkin nodded.
"The prophecy mentions that the high queen shall return when a son of Adam presents himself with the horn that will call the kings and queens of old".
Trumpkin looked at the children. "And you're here".
"And Caspian is this son of Adam?", Susan asked further.
Trumpkin shrugged.
"He called you here. So I believe he is".
"And Aria's....spirit?", Lucy asked softly.
The dwarf looked at her and smiled.
"Queen Aria lives among us. As a spirit. Some narnians claimed seeing her".
Susan narrowed her eyes, remembering the figure she had seen before.
She couldn't be sure if it had been their friend and she didn't want to raise any false hopes if it hadn't been her.
The last thing she wanted was to have her brother look for something that wasn't there.
So she kept quiet.
The group finally reached land and pulled in the boat.
Susan walked towards the boy who had remained silent during their journey.
"Peter...", Susan held his shoulder.
"Lets keep moving",Peter replied nonchalantly.
"You don't have to pretend Peter. Just let it out".
Peter stopped pulling on the boat and frowned.
"It's been years in Narnia, Susan. What was I expecting?".
"We didn't know Peter. There was nothing we could do".
"That doesn't change the fact that we left her alone here".
"Hello there", Lucy greeted a bear that approached them and the group turned to look at her.
Trumpkin's eyes widened as the bear stood on his hind legs.
"Your majesty! Don't move!".
The bear charged at the girl and the boys rushed to pick up their swords.
Susan knocked an arrow and pointed it at the animal.
"Stay away from her", she yelled but the bear kept charging.
Before the bear could get to Lucy, an arrow was shot at it.
The bear dropped on the ground with a loud thud and the siblings turned to see that it was actually Trumpkin who had fired the arrow.
"Why wouldn't he stop?", Susan questioned, eyeing the animal that was motionless.
"I expect he was hungry", Trumpkin replied.
Peter embraced the trembling Lucy, pointing his sword at the bear.
"Thanks", Lucy said.
Trumpkin glanced at her and moved closer to the animal.
"He was wild",Edmund said. "I don't think he could talk at all"
"Get treated like a dumb animal long enough and that's what you become", Trumpkin stated, pulling out a knife.
"You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember".
Lucy buried her head in her brother's chest and the siblings averted their gazes as Trumpkin stabbed the bear, ending it's life.