Chapter Nine: Peter’s Great Plan:

//‘Cause I'll fall on my face
in a state of disgrace//

The grouping that Peter had hand picked for his singular incursion upon Miraz’s castle – including a unenthusiastically incorporated edition in Buffy – stood and stared at the Telmarine stronghold. It was grey stone monstrosity that dominated the surrounding landscape, letting the world know the occupants were once and still was at heart conquerors.

Even though Caspian had made an effort to insist that Buffy be included in the group charged with infiltrating the castle, Peter had unwaveringly refused – leaving her both relieved and frustrated. Relieved because if they had been on a team together, she and Peter would have either slaughtered each other or gotten them all caught. She was frustrated because he was of course insinuating that she was not worthy enough to be his back-up.

However at least she had been placed in a squad with Asterius and a different exasperating dwarf – even though she had to some extent warmed to Trumpkin since his apology – called Nikabrik, so she was able and willing to make the most of her skilfulness. They were doing their allocated assignment – checking for guards outside of the castle before the army was to arrive – when they spotted a soldier just he spotted them. The Telmarine drew his sword, as Asterius put his finger to his lips.

“Shhh…”

Buffy genuinely wished she could have afforded to snigger at the remarkably bewildered expression on the poor soldier’s face as he looked at her and the Minotaur, not realising that Nikabrik was coming up behind him. Fortunately the dwarf battered the ill-fated sentry over the head, sending him into a deep and unflustered slumber.

They checked the remainder of their designated region, not meeting up with any more Telmarines. Once they were convinced that the area was secure, they headed back to where the rest of the army was waiting, to look forward to the signal from Edmund to commence the assault.

They had each and every one been stood there for what seemed like an eternity when unexpectedly a brightness appeared in the sky. However it was not the indicator that both Peter and Caspian had told them to watch out for. It was flashing on and off and pointed upwards at the night sky instead of pointed in their direction.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nikabrik grumbled next to her.

“Something’s wrong,” Buffy whispered to herself, feeling an impending sense of doom settle into her bones.

Asterius placed a hand onto her shoulder and nodded that he had heard her and that he comprehended. It was then that she heard the grumbles of dread and hesitation from the Narnians standing behind her and she took charge. She turned around and faced them before saying, “I am positive that it is simply a few unanticipated diffculties. King Peter and Prince Caspian will be ready on schedule.”

“Do you really believe that?” Nikabrik asked her when she had returned to join him and Asterius.

“No,” she told him with conviction. “But it is not essential that I do… only that they do.”

In due course the signal that they had all been waiting for exploded through the darkness. Glenstorm, the sanctioned leader of the diverse army, gave a holler and them all – Buffy included – charged the castle. Buffy watched as her comrade Asterius left behind her and Nikabrik and moved to the front of the pack, smashing his way through the first gate using his formidable horns, allowing them all to keep up their pace and not be forced to slow down.

Weapons were drawn they crossed the threshold into a stone courtyard and started to combat the Telmarine soldiers who were waiting for them. From somewhere behind her she heard Peter bellow, “For Narnia,” but she did not let it or concern for her friends get in the way of her battle concentration.

Using the sword that she had been given – one stolen from the Telmarine’s at some stage in the weapons raid at the bridge – she fought with all of her slayer might and capability. Adrenaline propelled through her veins, augmenting her slayer strength and causing her to strike in the blink of an eye and with additional power behind each blow.

Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy observed a Telmarine soldier with a crossbow in hand take aim at Peter. Without thinking she took hold of a dagger from its sheath on her present opponent’s strap and tossed it at the would-be archer, hitting him in his uncovered neck just before Edmund could come to the rescue.

As the conflict continued more and more soldiers arrived both up the top of the castle and in the courtyard, providing evidence beyond any uncertainty that they had dangerously miscalculated the number of soldiers that Miraz had at his disposal. This gave rise to the undesirable thought that if they had been incorrect about this, had they also underestimated the potential size of the army that was preparing to attack the How.

From out of nowhere she heard a voice exclaim, “Get that gate closed,” and she watched in dismay as it began to come down and Asterius broke away from the struggle to hold the gate open for them. Mystification reigned over the next couple of minutes as Peter gave the order to withdraw and Buffy kept on fighting in order to give some of the lingering Narnians an opportunity to escape.

Without word of warning Buffy found herself wrenched through the air and onto a horse behind Peter. They passed through the gate only seconds before Asterius, exhausted from the encounter and holding the cumbersome gate open, as well as the blood loss from his numerous wounds, collapsed and the gate slammed shut.

Peter turned around to glimpse at the scene behind him and as Buffy endeavoured to snuffle back the tears for her friend she realised there was still countless Narnians that had been trapped inside. To her unadulterated repulsion she saw the Telmarines shoot their arrows into the enduring trapped Narnians, killing them one by one.

From the movement of the drawbridge underneath them and the shouts of the others, Peter rode away from the bloodshed towards what was left of his army and his siblings. She would have thought him detached and hard-hearted over this action, but she had heard him struggle for breath with disgust and choke back his own tears over his fallen comrades.

Once the remaining group had made it back into the woods they stopped, seizing a few minutes to express grief over their fallen friends and other loved ones. The precise second Peter stopped his horse; Buffy jumped down and sank to her knees sobbing. Peter unhurriedly climbed down and approached her, inside of moments – and much to the amazement of the others – he sat down next to her and pulled her into an embrace.

“I’m sorry about Asterius,” he whispered to her sympathetically. “He was a courageous soldier.”

“And my friend,” she sobbed back.

“It was what he would have sought after, his death meant something. He saved countless numbers of us.”

“I know,” Buffy answered her weeping slowing down a little. “I also know it’s selfish, but it’s been so long since I lost someone… I’d just about forgotten how much it hurts.”

Peter did not speak in response to her declaration, instead he simply held her close to him until her tears at long last stopped. When she pulled away from him, she looked into his blue eyes, which still held the spark of anger – only now it was subjugated by sorrowfulness, compassion and something she did not wish to distinguish.

“Thank you,” she told him before she stood up and moved over to the group of mourning Minotaurs.

“Come on,” Peter said suddenly re-adopting his High King persona. “We need to get back to the How.”

Unenthusiastically the group started to move once again towards their base camp, each of them speculating about how they were going to tell the ones that had been left behind what had taken place and how they were going to be capable of offering comfort and reassurance, when they could find little or none themselves.

Everybody at a snail's pace marched along, no one was even bothering to ride on the horses – they were just being led along by their reigns – when Edmund landed and rejoined the group. Buffy was only just at the rear Edmund, walking with Susan and Caspian, when Peter hurried over to check on his brother.

“I’m fine, Pete,” Edmund told him. “Stop fussing.”

“I know… and thanks for the save back there.”

“Peter, what are you talking about?”

“The archer…”

Edmund nodded as he remembered, “That wasn’t me.”

“But I saw you there as he fell.”

“I was trying to get there, but Buffy got to him first. Threw a knife at him… it was rather spectacular.”

Peter turned his head to look at her and she smiled hesitantly at him before he turned away once more. That was when she noticed that Caspian was staring at her. “What?”

“Why did you save him? He is impossible.”

“It’s my job,” she whispered back.

“That is not a good job to have,” Caspian added as Susan elbowed him in the stomach.

While the discussion was going on, Peter had turned around once more to thank Buffy for her help and instead saw Caspian lean down and whisper something to her. All the self recriminations he had been having over the battle manifested in another and less positive way – all in Caspian’s direction. Peter’s resentment and aggravation had a new target and he could almost not wait to get a chance to express it.

End Part

Lyrics:

Katie Armiger – Insanity

Notes:

Thanks for the reviews. I will respond to them in time, I promise. I am not procrastinating at the moment. There was a death in the family and I have been a little distracted.