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There had to be an endless supply of enemy soldiers.

Peter heard Lucy cry out, and he immediately searched the scene, looking for the cause of her cry.

And then he saw it.

Time froze.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

He saw a blade suddenly jerk out of Caspian's chest and froze in shock as he saw his friend arch his back and squirm in discomfort. He looked into a set of eyes he thought he would never see again. Vellum..

What in the name of Aslan was going on here? Something wasn't right. Nothing at all. In his peripheral, he saw Lucy swoon and tumble to the ground in what he assumed was shock. His senses suddenly returned when someone decided to strike towards him. He miraculously blocked it and killed the inexperienced soldier easily. All while having his mind only on Lucy and Caspian. What could he do? Lucy was unconscious so she could not heal Caspian. If Caspian died Narnia would lose their king. Plus, Vellum was still alive somehow. What was going on here? Nothing was seeming to add up at all. There were no reinforcements. What if they sent scouts, saw the number of troops Vartan somehow hid for who knows how long, and got cold feet? Nothing is making sense!

Peter continued to slay man after man while trying desperately to organize his jumbled thoughts and plots. What should he do? Everything seemed hopeless. He knew Lucy would be fine. Everyone would take her for dead when they would see her spewed out on the ground. That left Caspian and Vellum. He turned toward Caspian's direction and saw Vellum yank his sword out of Caspian's chest. That did not leave him much time. There was no object to block the wound and that left no resistance for blood.

He suddenly heard someone cry out and turned, looking to the familiar voice and dreading what he might see. "Oh please no not Elwyn." He found himself muttering under his breath. But even as he said it he knew it would make no difference. It was Elwyn.

Seeing the pain on her face felt like a piercing to his heart, and he suddenly realized that no one in the brigade was wearing any armor. And it tortured him when he saw the pain reach her eyes with an arrow deeply planted in her side. Peter's heart broke at the thought of losing her, and he suddenly felt all sorts of emotions swimming inside of him. Feelings he did not know he had. What was wrong with him? Did he have feelings for her that went beyond friendship? Why now? He had come in contact with plenty of beautiful women in his day but what exactly was it that had suddenly ensnared him into her reins? He knew he did not have an answer for that, but all he did know was that he needed to help her. She was not a far distance from him, and neither was Lucy. He could retrieve her cordial, put a drop in Elwyn's side and she could continue fighting. But what if Edmund got wounded, or someone further away, far from reach did as well. What then?

He contemplated his drastic thoughts and continued to execute soldiers easily.

How long would they be able to last with people passing around a cordial? Not long enough. There was too many living bodies fighting against them, there was no point. The only hope he had was one thing. One task. And that was to kill Vellum. It was far time for him to pay his dues. But he still wanted to help Elwyn. He turned and looked at the subject of his thoughts, and his heart fell. She was standing close to Trumpkin but the color had drained form her face and she looked weak from over exerting herself with a gaping wound in her side. She needed help. But he could not get the cordial without being noticed by Vellum because Lucy was too close to him. The only thing he could do was kill Vellum first and get to her later. That was the only hope he had. Peter began to edge away from the swarm of troops and moved toward Vellum with determination. As he moved closer, he could see Vellum whispering something into Caspian's ear, and he suddenly felt enraged. He started sprinting the distance, holding his gore filled sword up high and let out his battle cry. Vellum threw Caspian to the ground and jumped up suddenly, positioning himself for the hit. Peter threw his sword downward towards Vellum's neck, but the burly man easily blocked the blow with his own blade.

"How are you still alive." Peter growled as he and Vellum began to slowly circle each other.

"We have our sunflower cordial or whatever you call it too you know." Vellum sneered.

"But Caspian killed you. He cut your head off!" Peter said through gritted teeth.

"Oh that. It was all a deception. It was another man who was dressed as me. The dungeon was dark Peter, it was an easy mistake."

"I do not believe you."

"Oh Peter, you don't get it do you?" Vartan snickered. "This was just an act. My father made you think you escaped on your own with your little queen, she was the bait, and you foolishly took it." Vellum giggled as if he were a child who knew a secret but would not tell what it was.

"But what was the point of all of this?" Peter asked tirelessly.

"Revenge for what they did to us." Vellum said icily.

"That is not what I was asking Vellum," Peter stated. "I was asking what the whole point of overthrowing a kingdom and slaughtering thousands of innocent soldiers and creatures was?" Vellum's face began to turn a deep crimson.

Peter continued. "In fact Vellum, I do not even think this taste for bloodshed has anything to do with you. I think your father was the sociopath."

"How dare you." Vellum growled, and Peter knew he had hit a soft spot.

"Yes," he continued confidently. "I believe you simply grew tiresome of your father's bitterness. So tired in fact, that you might have believed if you and him achieved his lifelong goal, that he would return home to you and you all would live happily ever after. Father finally noticing he had a son who just wanted his affections in return." Peter concluded as he continued to circle Vellum-whose face had changed from a deep red, to snow white.

Suddenly, There was a blur of movement that caught Peter's eye on the edge of his peripheral. He turned his head slightly to see who or what the movement was, and his heart stopped when he realized what was happening.

Yes, Peter had hit the target, but was Vellum really as cruel as his father? Did he want vengeance for his fathers death? Or did he just want the whole mess to be over and he could live in peace?

Vellum stared at the ground and slowly lowered his sword as if not aware that Peter was still near.

"What do you really want Vellum?" Peter asked, his voice holding no anger, but having a balance of firmness and gentleness all at the same time.

Vellum did not seem to hear. He simply kept on staring at the ground as if it had all the answers. Finally, he looked up, and instead of looking at Peter, he looked at the battlefield, looked at the violence taking place, and gazed upon all of the still bodies slain for a cause unknown. Peter also looked at the violence happening all around them, amazed that no one noticed him or Vellum. They all kept fighting and slaying in every direction. Peter continued to look around the battlefield until his eyes landed on Lucy's.

Caspian.

How did he forget about him? He looked back at and saw Caspian's body on the ground behind Vellum's. He was running out of time. Peter could hear Caspian gargling and choking on his blood, and knew it wouldn't be long before he would be dead. But what could he do? Peter studied Vellum as the man glanced in each direction, taking in a new scene, a new scenario, and for the first time, Peter understood how the man felt. All Vellum had ever known was violence, anger, and hatred. He grew up with a father so thirsty for blood, he did not even know he had a son who just wanted to be noticed. Peter suddenly felt sorry for the man.

"I-." Vellum finally spoke, "I just want peace. " he lowered his head and appeared he was ready for everything to be over. Peter too was ready for everything to be over. And Caspian needed help. He opened his mouth to reply to Vellum until he suddenly felt a huge rumble below his feet. The rumbling continued to escalate and in the distance he heard men shouting.

It could not be. Suddenly, There was a blur of movement that caught Peter's eye on the edge of his peripheral. He turned his head slightly to see who or what the movement was, and his heart stopped when he realized what was happening.

It seemed like a lifetime before anyone crested the hill above but when it finally happened. Peter's heart stopped.

In relief.

It was the Lone Islands and the Seven Isles. The long promised soldiers had finally come.

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Lucy jerked awake when she felt the earth beneath her quaking. She suddenly heard shouting up the hill and looked up. She let out a sigh when she saw it was the troops they had requested. How long was she unconscious? Where was Caspian?

"Please do not let him die." She heard herself whispering as she searched endlessly through the battlefield. When she found his still body, she almost let out a sob. He was lying behind Vellum whose eyes were fixed on the incoming army. Now was her chance. She sprang up and sprinted to her destination before anyone noticed her. She snaked around Vellum and found herself standing over Caspian's body. She dropped to her knees and held her hand over her mouth to stifle a sob. His shirt was soaked with blood and she could see the hole Vellum had put in his chest. Caspian was coughing and hacking up blood and she could see in his eyes that he was in great pain.

"Lucy." He whispered weakly.

"Shh." She soothed. "You are going to be alright. You'll see." She pulled her cordial off of her belt and with shaky fingers, opened the cap. But she was interrupted when Caspian grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stop.

"Lucy." He said firmly. "Listen to me." His deep brown eyes bore into hers and all she could do was nod her head.

He coughed up more blood before continuing. "I need you to take care of Rilian. You are all he has left."

Lucy sobbed.

"No Caspian stop everything is going to be fi-"

"You are not listening to me." Caspian interrupted as he reached up and put his bloody hand on her cheek. Lucy got the feeling it required all of his strength.

"Your cordial bottle is almost empty. Do not use it on me. I have lived a good life." He said with a sweet smile as he looked up at her. "I regret nothing. I was given a great gift of ruling this country as my father before me. I have had many adventures. And I have gotten to love." He said the last bit in a whisper. "And that came when I met you." He sighed in content as he studied her face. "Aslan has indeed blessed me."

She leaned over him, placed her hand on his -which still cupped her cheek- and closed her eyes causing tears to roll down and drop onto his cheek. He began to wheeze as his body began to shut down. Realizing time was running out, Caspian wanted to get everything off his mind.

"I never got to thank you Lucy." He said in between breaths. "For always believing in me, and for always speaking your mind." He suddenly broke into a witty grin, then grunted in pain. "I've noticed something about you Lucy. Wherever you go, the world seems newer and brighter. Everytime you and your family left to go back to your world, there was an emptiness in my life and my world. At first, I thought it was all four of you who made me feel this way. But now, I realize that it was you the whole time."

His body began to jerk as he coughed up more blood and wheezed.

"Thank you," he said gasping. "For letting me have the chance to know what being alive really feels like." And too soon, his eyes rolled back and his hand went limp, dropping to the bloodied ground.

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