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P E T E R
Relief fills my chest I catch sight of Caspian returning with Susan and Nerissa following close behind.
I've been driving myself out of my mind wondering where she'd disappeared to ever since I noticed she was gone a while back. Worry starts to kick back in when I realise my youngest sister isn't with them. Where is she?
"Does his majesty need a respite?" Miraz mocks.
A part of me wants to wipe that smug smile off his face and turn down the offer, but I know I needed an update or I wouldn't be able to focus.
"Five minutes?" I accept.
Miraz scowls in response, "Three."
I agree to his conditions, only because I couldn't be bothered to argue any further.
Limping over to the columns, catching Nerissa's worried eyes as she takes in my beat-up appearance. I take her hand in mine as soon as I reach her, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Lucy?" I ask my sister.
"She got through," Susan informs, eyeing Caspian and Nerissa. "With a little help."
I meet Caspian's eyes, offering him a nod. "Thanks."
Caspian shrugs it off, "Well, you were busy."
His reply sends a twinge of guilt through me. It's no doubt I've severely misjudged the guy previously and I can only hope it's not too late to make amends.
"Are you feeling alright?" I turn my attention to the woman who holds my heart captive, noticing how she looks slightly pale.
She offers me a tight smile that tells me that she's not as well as she pretends to be, "Me? I think I should be the one asking you that question. Have you seen yourself?"
I let out a chuckle which sends a sharp pain up my side. Deciding that she looks physically alright, I let it go for now.
"Better get up there. Just in case." I say to my sister, "I don't expect the Telmarines will keep their word.
Susan nods and I wince as she pulls me into a hug that made my shoulder feels like it's on fire.
"Sorry," She apologises sheepishly, taking in my injuries with worried eyes.
"Keep smiling," Edmund orders, watching the sea of Narnians and their matching worried expressions as Susan runs off to join Trumpkin and his group of archers on higher land.
I oblige, pasting me a wide smile on my face and raising my sword towards the crowd, earning loud cheers in support.
Nerissa clutches my hand in an effort to hold me up when I groan in pain as soon as my arm falls to my side.
"It looks dislocated," Nerissa frets, worry colouring her beautiful features.
"I'm fine," I reassure, brushing her hair out of her face- a feat that took more effort than it should have.
Edmund backs me into the chair between the pillars, "What do you think happens back home if you die here?" I ask my brother, careful to keep my voice down so Nerissa wouldn't overhear me. "You know, you've always been there. I've never really-"
I let out a cry in pain as Edmund pushes my shoulder back into place, effectively cutting me off.
"Save it for later." He rushes out, but I don't miss the glint of concern in his eyes.
Nerissa slips her hand into mine, holding Rhindon in her other.
"You know I live to impress you, right?" I joke, raising a hand to smooth out the wrinkles between her brows. "I refuse to lose knowing that you're in the crowds watching me."
The corners of her lips twitch into an almost-smile and I claim the small victory.
"You better not." She replies.
"Or what, darling?" I can't help but continue teasing.
Nerissa pushes up onto her toes, kissing me firmly and then presses the hilt of my sword into my hand. "Let's hope you never find out."
I refuse when Edmund offers me my helmet, remembering how suffocated that thing made me feel before, noticing how Miraz pushes his away as well.
Adrenaline comes rushing back as I step onto the battlefield once again. Wasting no time, I charge forward, setting the pace with my first attack that Miraz manages to swerve as he parries out of the way.
Everything passes in a blur, the clanking of metal on metal as our swords meet echoes through my mind as I let my instincts take over.
I do my best to avoid his blows and return some of my own, picking myself up every time he knocks me down, determined that this would not be the end of me. What Miraz doesn't seem to grasp is that I have too much to lose if I'd died on this battlefield.
With a few quick movements, I knock Miraz's sword out of his hand, leaving him with his shield as his only defence as I swung Rhindon at him.
Frustration bubbles in me as I take my shot at a stab and miss, allowing Miraz to disarm me. I catch his shield as he tries to slam it into me, twisting his arm behind his back with a neat trick taught to me by Nerissa.
I catch the small proud smile playing on her lips, only to see it fade a second later when Miraz's elbow comes crashing into my jaw. He seizes the opportunity to gain the upper hand, shoving me into the pillar behind me before managing to retrieve his discarded sword and taking a swing.
Raising my arms, I shield myself from the blow with my vambraces, painfully aware of how close of a call that was.
A renewed sense of determination fills me, not wanting to be placed in the same situation again, I raise to my feet, punching Miraz in the wound in his leg. My opponent lets out an agonised scream as he falls to the concrete ground, losing his sword in the process.
"Respite! Respite!" He mutters desperately, cowering away.
My brother must sense my hesitation as he urges me forward, "Now's not the time for chivalry, Peter!"
My eyes dart to Nerissa's in uncertainty. This was supposed to be justice. Except, it wasn't for me.
"Look out!" Edmund's voice cuts through my haze of ambivalence.
I spun around, dodging the glinting blade of Miraz's sword just in time. Grabbing its hilt, I twist it around, turning it on the man himself instead and stabbing him beneath the arm.
Miraz buckles, sucking in a sharp breath as his knees hit the ground.
Raising the sword over my head, I get ready to bring it down on him and finish this once and for all but stop myself.
"What's the matter, boy?" Miraz taunts, "Too cowardly to take a life?"
I meet his gaze, seeing the flash of fear in it despite all that false bravado. "It's not mine to take."
Taking a step back, I offer the sword Caspian, who comes forward to take it.
Like two opposite poles of a magnet, never standing a chance against the force drawing them together, I find myself moving towards Nerissa. The racing of my heart never calms until I have her in my arms, feeling her warmth against my lips as I press a kiss to her forehead.
Though she sinks into my embrace, Nerissa's eyes are fixed on the scene unfolding before us, concern shining in her fiery gaze for her brother.
"Perhaps I was wrong." Miraz says, "It seems you have the makings of a good Telmarine king, after all."
Caspian lets out a cry and just when I think he's going to end it all for good, he plunges the blade into the patch of grass beneath him.
"Not one like you," Caspian spat, tears welling in his eyes for the father he has lost. "Keep your life, but I'm giving the Narnians back their kingdom."
The crowd cheered as Caspian retreats and Nerissa straightens beside me, her face beaming with pride. She steps out of the circle of my embrace, before wrapping her brother in a tight hug.
"I'm proud of you." She mutters to Caspian, "Dad would be too."
"Treachery!" Sopespian's voice slices through the sea of cheers, "They shot him! They murdered our King! To arms!"
I looked up just in time to see Miraz's limp body hit the ground, one of Susan's red-tipped arrows embedded in his side.
Turning to my troops, I steel myself for another battle. "Be ready!"
*
N E R I S S A
I watch as the chaos ensues around me. Our backup plan has worked to some degree, crippling the Telmarines army, but not by much. Still, they stand before us in numbers that defy our own and Lucy is nowhere to be seen.
We've taken down some of their men with the pit, crumbling the ground under their feet and raining arrows down on the group trapped inside, and in turn, they've now destroyed the entrance to the one escape route we had.
"Brace yourselves!" Susan's voice carries across the field as the rocks around them start to fall apart from the impact of the large rocks being fired at them.
My heart falls as I watch Susan lose her footing, the force throwing her to the side and off the side.
I breathe a breath of relief when Trumpkin grabs onto her and swings her onto a nearby platform.
Turning back to Peter as the rest heads down to join us, he offers me a determined nod.
"You're with me, right? We're doing this?"
"I'm with you," I whisper, reaching forward to plant a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips, "Always. To the Death."
Looking around, I meet my brother's solemn gaze as Susan and Edmund come to stand beside us.
Caspian's warm hand envelopes mine, giving it a firm squeeze.
Love you always, brother. I mouth the words to the boy who'd lived a thousand adventures with me- imaginary or not. To which he mouths back: Love you, too.
I roll my shoulders back and charge forward at Peter's mark, I place my palms to the ground, sending a line of fire from my palms and erupting under a group of Telmarine soldiers as they push forward towards us.
The enemies collapse from the horses yelling out in pain as my fire grows, spreading to engulf those around them.
Reaching for my sword, I take a swing at the soldier closest to me, taking him down in one fell swoop.
I'm so engrossed in my own battles that I almost miss it when Caspian gets forced back by several soldiers, losing his footing and falling back into the pit.
"Caspian!" I yell, moving to help my brother when I'm shoved onto my back.
I raise my sword just in time to stop the blade coming towards me.
In my peripheral vision, I spot two other soldier charging towards me with their swords raised.
Sending a kick forward, the Telmarine soldier hovering above me staggers back, losing grip of his sword in the process. Quickly, I slice my blade in an upward arch, taking him down before focusing on the reminding two soldiers who were quickly gaining on me.
I spin my Nikephoros in my hand, readying myself for another round of battle ahead when a tree root bursts out of the ground, grabbing the soldiers and slamming them down onto the ground.
My eyes search the crowd, finding Peter's and we both share a smile. Lucy's managed to pull it off,
However, my joy is short-lived, and I feel my heart stop when I spot an arrow flying through the air, straight at Peter.
Without giving it a second thought, I dived forward placing myself in the trajectory of the arrow.
"Nerissa!" Peter's voice breaks through my haze, and the next thing I know, I'm falling into his arms.
I look down at the arrow in my chest, barely registering it as he cradles me to him.
"Someone find Lucy!" Peter yells, the desperation in his voice breaking my heart. "You're going to be alright, darling." He mutters against my temple before pressing a kiss to the area, "They're going to find Lucy and you'll be just fine."
He soothes my hair back, "You'll be just fine." As Peter looks down at me with solemn eyes, I can't help but wonder if a part of him already knew how this would end even as he muttered the words over and over under his breath like a prayer.
"Everything's going to be just fine-"
"Peter..." I shake my head, reaching up to cup his face.
"No, no, no." He mumbles, tears welling up in those beautiful blue eyes that I love, tainting them with sadness as a sob wrecks through his body.
"Shh...Peter, it's okay." I offer him a small smile, running my fingers through his hair one last time and committing the feel of it to my memory.
"You know, I thought I needed to say goodbye." My voice cracks despite me willing it not to, "But I'm just realising now that we don't need goodbyes, Peter. Because I'll always be with you, no matter what. Just like how I'll love you till the end of time. Even if I'm not able to be here with you."
"Don't do this to me, Nerissa. I can't live without you."
The vision of the man I love blurs as tears fill my eyes and I quickly blink them away, not wanting to miss a second of the sight of him. "Yes, you can. And you will. I know you will. You'll find a reason to live. For you. Not for anyone else. Even me. Your life is your own, Peter. And I want you to have everything you've ever wanted in life. To do everything that you've ever wanted to do. Maybe even fall in love again. And when you're done living out your adventure, I promise I'll find you. Okay? And then we'll have forever to be together again."
"You promised we'll never lose each other again." The heartbreak on Peter's face was indescribable, and as much as I wanted to take that pain away, we knew this moment was going to come sooner or later.
"I know, and I'm sorry it has to be this way. I have faith that we'll find our way back to each other. We always do, don't we?"
Peter squeezes his eyes shut and presses his lips to mine mutter the words, "I love you," over and over again against my lips, though he didn't have to tell me. There is no doubt in my mind this man loved me more than anything in the entire universe.
"I love you, Peter Pevensie. You've shown me what it feels like to soar."
I expected to feel sorrow, but instead, a sense of peace washes over me, knowing that even though this would be the end of my journey here in Narnia, the man I love would get to live out his for at least a while longer.
A/N: I know some of you guys are probably feeling a lot of murderous rage towards me right now, but though this feels like the end, it's not! And I PROMISE they'll get their (sort-of) HEA! I have another two chapters planned out and they're coming soon!