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N E R I S S A
"Shit," I cursed under my breath as I hear the sound of the familiar horn blaring through the woods. Not just any horn, Susan's horn.
Snapping the reins of my horse, I speed through the woods, ducking down to avoid any hovering branches up ahead from smacking me in the face as I continued on in my desperate search for my idiot brother who had left behind a trail of hoof-marks for the guards who were hunting him to follow.
Shaking my head, I continue to follow the trail, which soon turns to what looks like drags marks as if somebody had recently been pulled through the grass.
I hop off my horse to get a closer look at the markings in the ground. Carefully, I take in my surroundings, being sure not to miss any clues that may point me to where Caspian is- and that, was when I saw it- smoke puffing out from further down the woods.
Squinting, I struggle to decide if my eyes were playing tricks on me. This has been the only sign of life here in the forest so far and it was safe to assume that Caspian was nearby.
I was just about to start making my way over to investigate when the sound of galloping horses and the shouts of men sounds through the woods.
Whirling around with the intention of climbing back onto my horse, I stop short when an arrow lands close enough to startle it and it takes off without me.
"Where do you think you're going, Princess?" A familiar and quite frankly, annoying, voice says from behind me.
"Sopespian," I turn on my heels to face him, plastering on a large smile, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Lord Sopespian." He corrects.
I scoff in reply, "Spare me, Sopespian. We both know you don't deserve that title."
He tuts, waggling his finger at me as you would a child. "Now, now, Princess. I would watch my tongue if I were you. Your life is in my hands now after all."
"Is it?" I ask, corking a brow in amusement.
"Yes, and if you keep disrespecting me like you are now, I'll make sure your death is a slow and painful one."
"Well, if you're going to try and kill me, Sopespian, might as well do it now." I taunt, "It's rude to keep a lady waiting."
Sopespian strokes his chin, "Tempting, but no. Not yet. Not before you tell me where your brother is."
I steal a couple of glances around, mentally counting the number of guards that now have me surrounded. Seven. Including Sopespian. That shouldn't be too much of a problem. I know these men. I know how they fight. Throughout the years, I had developed a routine of watching the guards train- call it a habit- wanting to know thy enemy.
"Looks like you're out of luck, then." I shrug, feigning ignorance. "Unfortunately, I haven't the slightest clue where he is."
"Fine. Lie all you want, Princess." Sopespian spat, drawing his sword from its sheath, "We'll just have to force it out of you."
I lower myself in a mock curtsy, "You're welcome to try, Sir."
Drawing trusty Nikephoros, I twirl it around in my hand, letting myself get used to the weight of it once again.
Sopespian tips his head back in laughter, so loud that it carries through the woods, "You really think you can defeat us all on your own, little girl?" He snickers, "You've never even lifted a sword in your life."
"That's where you're mistaken, Sopespian." I feel the corner of my lip tip up into a smirk, "I've fought men ten times tougher than you and your men combined."
Just as the words leave my mouth, I send a kick to Sopespian's arms, as if out of pure instinct, making him loosen his grip on his sword.
It clatters onto the ground, leaving him open and vulnerable to my sword.
The rest of the men charge towards me. Blades were met, and punches and kicks were swiftly exchanged. Soon, the men fell to their knees one after another, groaning in pain.
I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins, the feeling familiar like meeting an old friend and I let it fuel me as Sopespian pushes himself up from the ground and charges towards me.
Sheathing Nikephoros, I grab his wrist and his bicep, pulling taut against my back before lifting him over my shoulder and slamming him down onto the ground. I feel the quick snap of his elbow as I bring my knee down it hard, causing Sopespian to yell out in pain. This time, it isn't his arrogant laughter echoing through the woods.
"If anything happens to Caspian, the next time I see you, it'll be much worse." I warn, "Tell Miraz that I know the truth about our Father. The throne is Caspian's. After what he did, the least Miraz can do is leave my brother his birthright. I don't want to hurt anybody, but if Miraz doesn't back down, I can and I will."
Making sure to put some extra pressure on my knee, I lift myself up from the ground, making Sopespian cry out in agony.
"Get her!" Sopespian yells, but all of his guards were either too injured or unconscious.
Pulling myself onto one of their abandoned horses, I start making my way towards the trail of smoke that I spotted before, which has now disappeared.
I followed it to the best of my memory, stopping in front of a large tree that towered over me.
In the silence of the night, the sound metal clanking, followed by the voice that filtered through the trunk sounded clear as day.
"No!"
"I told you we should have killed him when we had the chance." A second voice argued.
"You know why we can't."
"If we're taking a vote, I'm with him." Caspian's unmistakable voice joins.
"We can't let him go, he's seen us!"
The sound of metal meeting metal sounds again before the first voice interrupts, "Enough, Nikabrik! Or do I have to sit on your head again?" He grumbles, "Now, look what you made me do! I spent half the morning on that soup."
I barge into the trunk/house without a second thought, taking a second to take in the sight of a badger and a dwarf, along with Caspian huddled in the corner with a poker held defensively in front of him.
"Caspian! What in the world are you doing? Put that thing down." I scold.
"Nerissa?" My brother questions with confusion etched onto his face, "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
A blanket of silence falls upon us as the two Narnians simply stare with their jaws hanging low.
What felt like a full minute passed before the badger falls to his knees, tugging the dwarf down with him.
"Milady," The badger greets respectfully, reminding me a whole lot of Oreius. "I can't believe this. It's you, Great Warrior. We thought you were dead."
"My presence here would prove otherwise." I joke with a light chuckle, "Please stand, there's no need for all this..." I trail off raising a brow in question.
"Trufflehunter, Milady." He introduces, "And this is my friend, Nikabrik."
"A pleasure to meet you, it's been a while since I've seen a fellow Narnian." I offer a bow in return, "And please, call me Nerissa."
"You're Narnians, you're supposed to be extinct." Caspian mutters, still looking shellshocked before he turns to me, "Except for you, of course," He blabbers, "But they don't even look like you."
I shoot him an exasperated look, before Nikabrik huffs, "Sorry to disappoint."
I watch as Trufflehunter disappears into the kitchen and returning with more soup.
"Here we are, still hot." He offers a bowl each to me and Caspian.
I thank him before taking a sip and nostalgia instantly hits me. It tastes just like what they used to serve at Cair Paravel.
I smack Caspian in the back of the head as he comes to stand beside me, earning a scowl from him, "Ow! What the hell was that for?"
"Do you know how easy it was for me to find you? What if it was Miraz's guards that found you? Have you learned nothing from the lessons I gave you?" I chided.
He grumbles under his breath, rubbing the back of his head in soothing circles.
Nikabrik scoffs, "Since when did we become a boarding house for Telmarine soldiers?"
"I'm not a soldier," Caspian says, puffing his chest out with pride, "I'm Prince Caspian, the Tenth."
"Then, what are you doing here?"
"Running away," Caspian mutters, gazing down at his feet. "Our Uncle has wanted my throne. I suppose I've only lived this long because he didn't have an heir of his own."
I reach out, squeezing Caspian's shoulder comfortingly, earning me questioning looks from our two new acquaintances.
"Forgive me for asking, mighty Warrior," Trufflehunter speaks, "You know this Telmarine?"
"I do," I confirm, "He's family to me. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for him and his father."
The shock was evident on the two Narnian's faces as they register what I've just said.
"So, you're with the Telmarines, then?" Nikabrik accuses, "She's betrayed Narnia."
"I haven't. My loyalty lies with whichever side fights to preserve Narnia. I served the Kings and Queens for years." I glance at Caspian, "I know a good leader when I see one."
"Well, this changes things," Trufflehunter says.
"Yes, it means we won't have to kill ourselves." Nikabrik jabs.
"You're right," Caspian suddenly straightens beside me, rushing to put his armor back on.
I glance at him with worry, "Caspian?"
"Miraz won't stop until I'm dead."
"So, what? We need a plan, Caspian. You can't just go barging back into the castle." I try to reason.
"You can't leave!" Trufflehunter stops, "You're meant to save us. Don't you know what this is?"
He holds a familiar item out to Caspian. I couldn't believe I didn't notice it till now, and I was right. The horn I heard was indeed Susan's.
"Where did you get that, Caspian?" I questioned.
"The Professor gave it to me before I left for the forest."
My mind raced with the possibilities of what this meant. Does this mean they're coming back?