Chapter 8✨

Caspian led everyone through the forest. He and Peter were ahead, discussing the plan of action. He informed Peter that war preparations were underway at a place known as 'Aslan's How'.

Raina walked next to Lucy and Reepicheep. Raina snuck a glance at Edmund, who was ahead of her, which lingered a moment longer than necessary. She began recalling how protective he was of her earlier. It made her feel warm, and confused at the same time. As she dealt with this dilemma, she forgot to avert her gaze, and of course, Lucy took note of it.

'Raina, your display back there? I'm 100% sure everyone's afraid of you now. You looked like a Queen though.'  Lucy laughed. Raina put on an offended expression.

'Hey, that wasn't the goal.' Raina defended. Lucy raised her eyebrows.

'Okay, well maybe not the only goal. I just don't like having my abilities questioned. But thanks Lucy.' Raina admitted and smiled.

'My Lady, there is ne'er a soul that doubts your ability. We all know of your strength. I noticed your fighting abilities, you are very good but I dare say you could brush up on your offenses which I am very skilled at.' Reepicheep told her. 'I don't mean to assume, but back in the day you were a skilled sword fighter.'

'I would be honoured.' Raina smiled. 'Reepicheep, that's a life which I don't seem to remember much of. Perhaps that is why my skills are somewhat rusty.' Raina explained as Reepicheep continued.

'I understand, I am here if you would like to brush up on your skills! There was a time I believed you were dead, I sincerely apologise. But I had hope. By Aslan, you have returned after thousands of years.' Raina smiled. Suddenly, shock took over her features.

'Wait..does that mean.. I'm how many years old?!' Raina asked in disbelief.

'Well, in Narnia, based on the legend you should be around 2300 years old. Back home you're still 15.' Lucy replied, nonchalantly.

Edmund turned around at this.

'It's alright, Raina. In Narnia, we're 1300 years old.' He told her, casually. Raina's eyes widened for the millionth time that day.

'Way to call me old, Ed.' Raina rolled her eyes.

'By the by..' Edmund began. 'Way to shut Caspian up. He looked like he was going to faint. So did everyone else. Have you become evil or something?' Edmund asked, jokingly. Raina swatted his arm.

'Well, I wanted to show that I'm not to be trifled with. Maybe I went a tad bit overboard?' Raina said, innocently. Edmund gave her a look that said 'you think?'

'Besides, I'm glad you did that. You're a force, Raina.' Edmund spoke, sincerely. Raina smiled and felt the blood rush to her cheeks, again.

'Thanks, Ed.'

They stared at each other again. Raina was having an actual battle between her head and her heart, trying to tear herself away from Edmund's piercing gaze. She also recalled how she observed him staring at her, when she opened her hair back there. It was a power move in her mind, but to Edmund? It was something else. Raina's heart ached to be closer to him, as her head screamed at her to pull away.

Someone cleared their throat behind them. It was Reepicheep, and Lucy, who stood next to him, was almost red in the face trying to suppress her laughter. Raina rolled her eyes.

'Alright, have at it, Lu. Let it out.' Raina said, annoyed and amused. Lucy let out a loud laugh, catching everyone by surprise. Edmund stared at his sister, strangely.

'Lu, what are you laughing at?' Edmund asked. Lucy just eyed him and Raina. Raina knew what she was talking about, the conversation she started early that morning, and it was officially too awkward.

'Alright Lu, let's walk, shall we?' Raina practically dragged Lucy ahead with her, leaving Edmund confused. Reepicheep suppressed a laugh too.

Everyone stopped at the edge of the forest. A stone structure could be seen a few ways ahead. Centaurs began gathering at the entrance. Raina walked forward, with Peter and Lucy to her right, and Caspian, Susan and Edmund to her left. As they neared the entrance, the gathered centaurs drew their swords and created a dome with it. Raina gawked, as someone tapped her shoulder.

'Raina, you should walk first.' Peter said. Raina looked at him, confused.

'Narnians respect their elders tremendously, and by legend you are the eldest.' Peter replied. Raina looked scared.

'Don't worry, we're right behind you.' Susan reassured her.

Raina took a deep breath, calming the storm of emotions in her mind. She stood tall and walked forward, with a sort of grace and poise she never realised she had.

The Pevensies followed her, and Caspian trailed behind them out of respect.

Raina noticed a young centaur, whose sword was angled too low. She stopped, and helped him raise it higher. He mouthed a 'thank you' to her, to which she smiled, reassuringly. It was truly a beautiful sight, and Edmund couldn't deny that Raina has come out of her shell a lot more. This wasn't the same Raina he knew back home.

They entered the stone structure, to find Narnians preparing weapons, and readying themselves for an impending war.

'It may not be what you are used to, but it is defensible.' Caspian informed Peter and Edmund, who stood next to him. Susan, who had wandered away from the group, called out.

'Peter? You may want to see this.'

All of them followed Susan, to a passageway of sorts, and found engravings on the walls. Peter held a fire torch, and the light illuminated the engravings more clearly. Two men and women were found in all of the engravings.

'It's us.' Susan breathed out. The rest of the Pevensies stared at the markings, shocked.

Raina observed the engravings, They were older in some, while in the others they were of the age, she first met them at.

'What is this place?' Lucy asked.

'You don't know?' Caspian asked, somewhat amused. Met by silence, he picked up another torch, and walked down the hallway, the Pevensies and Raina trailing behind. They entered another room, where Caspian lit a fire that spread around the edge of the room, illuminating everything in the room. Narnian carvings were on the walls. A large statue of a lion stood at the end of the room. Raina realised this must be the great Aslan. She also observed a broken table at the center of the room.

'What's that?' Raina asked.

'It's the Stone Table, where Aslan sacrificed himself, and was resurrected. He was killed by the White Witch, Jadis.' Susan told her. Raina noticed Edmund tense up, at the mention of Jadis. She began to wonder why.

Lucy walked forward, slowly. She placed a hand on the table and stared up at the stone carving of Aslan. She turned to Susan.

'He must know what he's doing.' She said, somewhat worried.

Raina felt her necklace glow, again. Perhaps it was because she stood in the presence of such a powerful being, and the necklace recognised it. She almost felt at home.

'I think it's up to us now.' Peter spoke up, gesturing to his siblings, Caspian, and his gaze landed on Raina. She nodded.

********

Raina decided to get a better feel for the place, so she walked around the field. She noticed the Narnians, hard at work, and tried her best to help. She hefted a large amount of weapons and almost took a tumble, had it not been for Caspian pulling her back up.

'I seem to be falling a lot, lately.' She laughed, as Caspian smiled, amused. 'Thank you.'

'Well, to be honest, I am very afraid of you, and I wouldn't mind being on your good side.' Caspian admitted. Raina couldn't help but laugh.

'Don't worry, if anyone's on my bad side, it's the Telmarines, not you.'

Caspian nodded.

'Would you like to spar with me? I was to practice with the High King but..' Raina followed his gaze to where he was fighting Edmund.

'I understand. Of course.' Raina replied.

She unsheathed her sword, just as Edmund swung Peter's sword away, defeating him. He smirked at Peter.

'Won, again.' Peter rolled his eyes.

Raina shook her head at herself, observing Edmund. Caspian noticed.

'You appear to be close friends with King Edmund.' He stated.

'How so?' Raina asked.

'I can tell you have history. Do you not?'

Raina sighed and lowered her sword.

'We met two years ago and were close, but then we drifted apart.' She said, sadly. Caspian looked at her sympathetically. She shook it off.

'Anyway, come on. Let's do this.' Raina spoke up, once again confidently.

Caspian smirked, as he unsheathed his sword. They began circling each other for a few moments.

Raina struck first this time, and Caspian quickly parried her attack. She knew she can't beat him with force, she had to be smart. Their swords were stuck in an X formation, when Raina twirled away, and struck low, which Caspian jumped over, and he struck high. Raina ducked, and used her leg to swipe his ankles, making him fall to the ground. Before he could recover, she backhandedly swung his sword away, before bending down and pointing her sword at his neck. Shock was all over his features, which gave way to a proud smile.

'Well done, Lady Raina.' He said kindly.

'Again, no more formalities. Call me Raina.'

'Fair enough. No formalities with me either, so call me Caspian.'

Raina nodded and smiled. She was panting from the adrenaline rush.

'Caspian?'

He looked up.

'Do you know what powers I apparently have? Till now I know I can fly, I can control water, and stop blades in air, as you know.' Caspian laughed lightly at the last bit. So did Raina.

Edmund now took note of Raina and Caspian seated comfortably on the grass, having conversation. His hands were clenched unconsciously when she laughed at something he said. He wondered why he was able to make Raina laugh the way she was. He recalls her never laughing this way with him. He felt hurt, yet angry and frustrated. As he went down this chain of thought, Peter was about to call after him, when he noticed. He smirked, and suppressed a laugh.

'Well, I have read stories and based on those, you can control the elements, you can manipulate energy, which is probably what you did to save the dwarf, Trumpkin, and of course, flight. But, to tell you the truth, there is limited information on this.' Caspian concluded. Raina hummed in response.

'I've also experienced a vision or sorts? Before Trumpkin was thrown overboard by the Telmarines, I got a vision of it before it happened.' Raina explained.

'I wouldn't be surprised. As the Protector of Narnia, your instincts help you detect danger to any Narnian nearby. Like a superpower perhaps.' Caspian replied.

'I think I should get a grasp on my powers, at least know what is the limit to what I can do.'

Raina distanced herself from Caspian, before bringing her arms to her sides, as she closed her eyes. She imagined fire. When she opened her eyes, a warm fire glowed on her open palms. Caspian met her gaze and his eyes widened.

'Your eyes.. they're orange.' He stated.

'I think they change colour any time I use some sort of power. Back when I controlled the water, my eyes turned blue.' Raina replied as the fire fizzled out. By this point a small crowd began gathering near them.

'Why don't you try earth? You've already managed fire and water.' Caspian spoke, and Raina nodded.

Once again she imagined the earth, and her palms glowed a bright green. She raised her palms, and a hill formed where she stood. She stumbled slightly but maintained her balance. As the power left, everyone stood, wonderstruck. They burst into applause. Raina shyly looked down, not used to this kind of attention.

'That was amazing Raina.' She turned around, and met those dark brown eyes that sped up her heart rate.

'Oh! Um, thanks Ed. That means a lot.' Raina replied, before she felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her.

'Alright, I think that's enough magic for me today.' She spoke, somewhat out of breath, as she quickly sat down on the grass, clutching her head. Edmund rushed to her, before whispering to Caspian that Peter had called for him.

'Hey, hey are you okay?' Edmund asked, as he soothingly rubbed his hand over her back.

'Y-yeah, I'm just a little winded.' She said, softly. She was breathing heavily.

Before Raina realised it, she leaned into Edmund's chest, too tired to pull herself back up. Edmund was surprised, but he wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head, and Raina never felt more safe. Despite her wanting to distance herself from Edmund, she couldn't deny how much she felt at home with him. And the feeling was mutual.

'Edmund, Raina.' They jumped slightly, and found Susan standing over them, trying to keep a straight face. The two teenagers blushed and pulled away.

'Peter's called all of us to plan our attack.' Susan continued.

As Susan walked away, Edmund stood up first and lent a hand to Raina. She paused for a moment before accepting it. As they walked, Edmund noticed Raina stumble. Wordlessly, he wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her.

'I-It's okay, Ed.. I can walk-' Raina began, when she stumbled again and fell. She looked up to see Edmund, observing her with his eyebrow raised.

'Okay, fine.' Edmund stood her up, and steadied her.

'Why're you being so nice?' Raina asked.

'I'm always nice.' Edmund responded with a cheeky grin.

'Oh that is not true.' Raina replied, and Edmund feigned offense.

'I would never-' He began when Raina cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Okay fine.' Edmund replied and rolled his eyes. Raina laughed.

**********

'It's only a matter of time.' Pete began addressing everyone. 'Miraz's men and war machine are on their way. That means those same men will not be watching the castle.'

Edmund sat on a rock at the edge of the room, and Raina leant against the wall, next to him. She somehow knew exactly where Peter was going with this, and something told her that it was not going to end well.

'Well, what do you suggest we do, your majesty?' Reepicheep.

'We need to-'

'Start planning-'

Peter and Caspian spoke up at the same time. They had a stare-off before Caspian looked down.

'Our only hope is to strike them, before they strike us.' Peter explained.

'But that's crazy, no one has ever taken that castle.' Caspian spoke hurriedly.

'There's always a first time.' Peter retorted.

'We'll have the element of surprise.' Trumpkin agreed with the High King.

'But we have the advantage here.' Caspian argued.

'If we dig in, we can probably hold them off indefinitely.' Susan added.

Peter's face was contorted in anger. Before he could say something else, a badger, named Trufflehunter chimed in.

'I, for one, feel safer underground.'

Peter walked up to Caspian.

'Look, I appreciate what you've done here. But this isn't a fortress, it's a tomb.' He told Caspian.

'Yes, and if they're smart, the Telmarines will just wait and starve us out.' Edmund chimed in.

Throughout this time, Raina tried to control herself from telling Peter she had a really bad feeling about this. It's like Caspian told her, as Narnia's Protector, she has instincts that no one else does, and those are the instincts that saved Trumpkin so far. She knew Peter's been irritable any time someone didn't agree with him, but it was getting harder and harder for her to stay quiet.

'We could collect nuts!' A squirrel piped up.

'Yes! And throw them at the Telmarines! Shut up.' Reepicheep responded, sarcastically.

'I think you know where I stand, sire.' Reepicheep concluded.

Raina's hands were in fists by now, her nails digging into her palms. She hated how she became shy and nervous in situations like these. She was almost sure her nails drew blood. She looked down, and yup, it did.

'If I can get your troops in..' Peter said to Glenstorm. 'Can you handle the guards?'

Caspian looked utterly exasperated, mirroring Raina. She knew she had to say something, since Peter didn't agree with him.

'Or die trying, my liege.' Glenstorm responded to the king, and bowed his head, solemnly.

'That's what I'm worried about.' Lucy suddenly spoke.

Peter turned around, surprised and confused.

'I'm sorry?'

'Well, you're all acting like there's only two options: dying here, or dying there.' Lucy explained.

'Not sure if you've been listening, Lu.' Peter responded, slightly annoyed.

'No, you're not listening. Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter?' Lucy responded, angrily. Peter mirrored her expression.

'I think we've waited for Aslan, long enough. Besides, we've got Raina on our side.' He looked at Raina, seemingly waiting for her support. This was the last straw.

'That's it.' She whispered to herself. Just as Peter started walking off, she spoke up.

'Peter, wait!'

He looked back at her, confused.

'I'm sorry, but I don't agree with your plan.' She stated. Peter looked taken aback, and angry.

'We'd be going into Telmarine territory. I don't know if you know, but as the visitors, we have a much less chance of winning. Not to mention, as strong and resilient our troops are, the Telmarines likely outnumber us.' She spoke.

'With limited troops, the best thing would be to not throw everyone into a situation where all of us won't make it out alive.' She concluded.

'It'll be a night raid, Raina. We'll be quick and besides, you can use your powers, can't you? What do you have to be worried about? I'm High King, and my plan is what we're going with.' Peter retorted. This made Raina really angry.

'Peter, if we're going to be flashing titles around here, let me remind you, I outrank you in more ways than one.' Raina spoke with venom. Peter shrinked, slightly.

She walked up to him, and looked him dead in the eye.

'As Narnia's Protector, I have instincts that no one else has, I have a better idea of what's to come, because that's my job. It's these instincts that prevented Trumpkin from getting killed. And right now? I don't have a good feeling about throwing ourselves into enemy territory.' Raina paused.

'If you can guarantee the safety of our troops, I'm more than happy to agree with you. But keep in mind, Peter, if this goes sideways, I'm not going to sugarcoat the magnitude of your mistakes to you. Do you hear me?' She concluded, with controlled fury.

The hairs on the back of Peter's neck stood up, as did everyone else's. It was as if energy filled the room. She let out a sigh, walked out of the room. Caspian smiled to himself, as a powerful ancient demigod believed and chose his side.

'She wasn't wrong Peter..' Susan began. Peter just looked up and nodded.

'Let's get ready for the night raid.'

Edmund stared after Raina. To say he was shocked at her outburst, was an understatement. This just kept adding to the fact that Raina is a lot different now. She had her shy moments, but this kind of confidence was something he had never seen before. He began to wonder if it was because of something.

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