The Unicorn and her Boy

by ChudoJogurt

Chapter IV - Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance

Caspian did not leave command as easily as I thought because when we got to the How and moved away from the soldiers, the argument between Peter and Caspian really took hold.

“Look, I appreciate what you’ve done here...” Peter said insistently.

“Khmflankhole,” I sneezed. Loudly. Some of the centaurs and minotaurs behind me sniggered. You can always count on some equine solidarity, no matter the world.

“...But this isn’t a fortress.” The High King clearly heard me - I could see the tips of his ears turn red, but apparently, he chose to ignore my comment. “It’s a tomb. There are armies and siege engines outside the forest, making their way here. We’ve seen them with our own eyes. Once they get here, it would all be over but the heroic last stands.”

“We can take the fight to them,” Edmund noted, looking at my maps. “The numbers are up to date, right?”

I rolled my eyes. Between Reepicheep, the griffons and our spy in the castle, we had a pretty good picture of Telmarine forces. ”Yes, they are. And we considered it, but it would be a bloodbath if we tried to take that castle.”

“But we could take it! Surely ending the war in a single strike would be worth…”

“We are Narnians,” Caspian spoke softly, yet his tone brooked no argument. “We do not kill.”

“Is it because we’re Narnians, or because you’re a Telmarine?” Peter asked pointedly.

“Peter!” Susan raised her head from her arrows, “That was uncalled for.”

He looked like he would try to argue, but under his sister's glare thought better of it. “I apologize, Your Highness” he semi-bowed formally. “I was out of line, and there was no offense meant.”

“And none taken.” Caspian returned the bow gracefully. “Yet, still I disagree, my King. We are well defended here, and the woods provide ample supplies. We have burned their encampments three times now, surely the fourth would not be any different.”

I let Caspian and Peter’s argument fade away, even as other lieutenants joined their heated debate, and looked instead at the map over Edmund’s shoulder, adding a suggestion or answering a question in quiet whispers.

Caspian may have had instincts of a perfect tactician, but the strategy was definitely not his domain. With every counterattack we took on Telmarine forces they became better defended, more secure. We could pull off one more arson or smash-and-run, maybe two with some luck, but after that, we’d probably start losing our soldiers... or have to resort to murder. And both were utterly unacceptable.

Watching Edmund’s plan take shape with every sure stroke of the coal on the parchment, I could not help but appreciate the idea. Ending the whole war with one fell swoop, instead of slaving away in these barbaric woods for another half a year. Concentrate on finding my way home instead…

Finally, the plan was put in full on the map - simple, elegant and as far as I could ascertain, entirely plausible. We could do it, and nobody had to get hurt… well, at least no one would die.

“What if we take out the barracks first?” Edmund called to arguing monarchs, not a moment before their debate turned into just yelling at each other, “A three-pronged attack, to take out the leadership, the soldiers and the gates before anyone can do anything. Quick, silent and bloodless.”

“It would work,” I backed the little princeling up.

”It’s still too risky,” Caspian said at the same time.

He looked at me in surprise. We were usually more of one mind.

“Griffons won’t work,” he repeated. “We taught them all too well to fear the skies as much as the woods”.

“There is another trick I’m yet to try.” I grinned smugly, “We can get there unnoticed, trust me.”

Murmurs of agreement rolled around the table, and even Caspian seemed to accept the idea.

“A trick.” Childish voice cut through their whispering, mocking, derisive. “A spell. An ambush.”

It was the smallest of Pevensies, appearing without warning and speaking out of turn, yet her voice silenced even the minotaurs with its sheer belief.

“Lucy…” Ed tried to add a word edgeways, but Lucy growled at him - a rough, beastly sound that was alien on her petite frame, silencing the little King.

"You play it as if a game." her voice was deeper now, heavy and bereft of any doubt. "Like you’re scoring points, looking for a clever stunt or a piece of magic to solve the problem. Aslan is the one who defeated the Witch last time, Peter, not you, not magic. And Aslan is a Lion. He will come when the blood is spilled!"

Shivers ran down my spine, her intensity and faith burning like a flame. The “off” feeling I got from the girl was putting it mildly, and I could not help but wonder what this war and being with a creature such as Aslan would do to a child of not yet ten...

"Lucy, enough!” Peter was not impressed by his sister’s antics, and his curt tone returned us from the reverie induced by the little girl. “If Aslan comes then we’ll talk. Until then we do our best.”

***

Lucy’s speech has killed the mood any of us had for the argument, and some eagerly and some reluctantly we worked on the plan that Edmund and I came up with. The final preparations and the fine-tuning of the details took us more than a week, but soon the weather was right and the time was handy and as ready as we could ever be we stood on the roof of the How, as I set down the final enchantments.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Edmund asked, perhaps a hundredth time, poking the cloud with his finger.

I swatted his hand away with my hoof. “Yes, I am sure. It is a very simple spell, so unless you do something stupid and start poking the very delicate cloud I am currently holding with magics entirely out of the domain of my entire species, and hold the little twerp on a leash, you will be able to stand on it safely.”

The midget heard that, and decided to focus the death glare she’s been giving Edmund all that time on me instead.

Ignoring Lucy pointedly, I licked my hoof and tested the air. The direction was right and the wind was slow and steady. Which was very good, because there was no way I could steer a cloud that big, unless my cutie-mark suddenly changed to a weatherpony’s, much less hold it together under hard winds.

“Everything’s set,” I reported to both Edmund and Caspian. “Ready when you are.”

“Final checks, everyone! We move in five!” the princeling called to our small strike team.
Caspian gave him a glare but did not argue. It was a reasonable command, after all, and it was Edmund’s plan in the first place.

***

With good breeze and the cover of night, we made it to the castle before the witching hour. The thin sickle of moon hung in the sky, and the only real source of light were the torches of the guards in the castle.

My horn buzzed, three short buzzes: a signal from the Mouse Guard that they entered the castle from beneath, ready to attack the gate room and open the gate to our forces. Now it was up to us to make sure that no one would notice our soldiers running towards the gates to raise the alarm, and that the sleeping soldiers would remain sleeping. If we did everything right, and fate was on our side, then no one would have to die or to kill tonight, and then the war would be finally over.

Edmund tapped my shoulder lightly, ordering me to stop our descent. We were as close as we could safely get, straight above the watchtower, so close I could almost see my reflection in the telmarine guard’s round helmet.

It was showtime. Adrenaline pumping through my veins with every beat of my heart, I checked my arsenal. Under my cloak, my coat and mane were dyed black, to dim the natural orange, and make me less visible. My hooves wrapped tightly with woolen cloth were itchy and sweaty, but at least they would make no sound against the stone.

Spells I have carefully prepared hung around my horn in an almost tangible haze, requiring but a token effort to release in precise and tried formulaic magic. There would be no fury of the elements or brute-force telekinetic blasts for me this night, only carefully controlled and measured spells - classic Equestrian magic, as taught in Celestia’s school.

I was as ready as I could be when I gave the princeling a final nod. Caspian and Susan repeated the gesture.

The operation was a “Go”.

Edmund dropped off the cloud without any reservation, absorbing the shock of impact in a soundless roll, his black clothes making him barely a shadow across the greyness of the wall. He lunged at the guard straight from the roll, pushing himself off the parapet to gain height.

Hands coiled around the guard’s throat in a figure-four, his weight dragged the surprised Telmarine down and a few seconds later the watchman was safely unconscious. An instant later, the distant thunks of ball-tipped arrows against Telmarine helmets meant that Susan dispatched the neighboring guardposts just as handily.

It was my turn next. Though lacking Edmund's grace, with the help of the rope I dropped on the stone of the wall softly, thick woolen cloth wrapped around my hooves swallowing any sound I could make. I blinked my horn three times, signaling to Peter and our forces that we’ve secured the first checkpoint, while Susan and Caspian dropped from the quickly dissipating cloud.

We stood there a second, making sure that our incursion avoided enemy notice. Seconds of silence dragged slowly until Edmund was first to let his breath escape. Caspian moved forward, crouching behind the stone wall, as we made our way to the tower to rendezvous with our spy.

We avoided at least two patrols until we reached the doors at the end of the corridor, guarded by two Telmarines. Though one of them may have been sleeping, the other one was on high alert.

Susan nocked another ball-tipped arrow. Edmund reached for his dagger, but I intercepted his hand with my hoof. This one I could take easier and safer.

He nodded, understanding what I meant with no need for words.

I aimed my horn at the guardians and a soft green glow of magic lighted my face.

Somnos: with a tiny effort of my will and a thought-key I released one of the spells I prepared for this mission. A hair-thin web of greenish light unfolded through the corridor, enveloping the men and both of them сollapsed, instantly asleep.

“They’ll sleep for a few hours.” I whispered to Pevensies less accustomed to my magic “Go.”

We slipped silently into the room, closing the door behind us, only to find it entirely empty, save for the cluttering of books, maps and astronomical instruments with our contact nowhere to be found.

“Where is he?” Edmund whispered. “I thought we were supposed to rendezvous with some professor or something?”

“It’s Doctor,” I corrected him. “Doctor Cornelius. He’s Caspian’s mentor and our spy against Miraz. He was supposed to be here to give us any last-minute corrections that may have occurred...”

“And he was taken,” Caspian added, showing broken glasses and a shred of someone’s clothes. “Miraz must have found him out, and put him in a dungeon. We must save him.”

“We don’t have the time!” Susan hissed. “We have a job to do.”

“He saved my life!” Caspian shot me a pleading look “If it weren’t for him, none of you would even be here. Neither would I.”

The two Pevensies hesitated, Caspian’s argument made even Edmund give it a thought.

“I can come with…” I tried to suggest, but Ed cut me off, taking command.

“No. You’re the one with the sleeping magics, we need you in the barracks. The Prince and I will go get the Doctor”.

Susan gave him a short nod, yielding to her younger brother’s command with no doubts, and I had no choice but to follow suit. With an exchange of quiet “good luck”s the boys slipped out of the side door, leaving it to us to make our way across the courtyard.

***

We almost made it there too, but the best-laid plans of mice and men went awry once again.

“What the…” Susan grabbed me by the shoulder, before we could disappear into the next hiding place, and pointed towards the far tower. In the distance, I could barely see the boys’ dark figures disappearing into the door. One of them stayed behind - Edmund, judging by his shorter stature.

He beckoned us desperately, before following Caspian.

“We have to get there!” Susan whispered.

We got.

Almost breaking our cover, spending precious minutes and not just a few spells, we managed to follow the boys up the tower into the master bedroom upstairs.

Caspian held a man at swordpoint, and through familial similarity I recognized Miraz - the usurper of Telmarine throne and Caspian’s uncle. Edmund stood by the door, a heavy dagger held in a throwing grip, aimed at the woman in the bed, who, in her turn had aimed a crossbow at Caspian.

I facehoofed, my horn alight with magic I did not know whom I was going release on, just as Susan drew and nocked by my side, aiming vaguely in some direction.

Miraz laughed, unthreatened by our display.

“Is that who you’ve chosen to consort with, my nephew? Monsters and children?”

“That was enough to get my sword to your throat, Uncle” Caspian noted, and his weapon cut a nick across his uncle’s neck. “Now answer my question!”

“To answer your question, nephew mine, yes. I did. Because he was weak.” Flicking away the sword like one would swat away an annoying fly, Miraz stepped forward, forcing Caspian back with the sheer intensity of his gaze. “Like you are. He begged me as he drew his last breath, asking to spare you...”

At those words, Caspian stopped his retreat. Something tightened within him, and I could see his knuckles turn white on the grip of his saber.

This is the moment I would have the nightmares of. Not the battles that followed, not the horror that awaited me but the same day, but of the moment when I betrayed my friend.

His saber flashed in the dull light of the torches, as it sped towards Miraz’s neck. It was a death blow. An execution. Caspian’s revenge.

And I stopped it. As easily as I would stop an unruly child, grabbing his arm in my magic and in my panic, tossing him clear across the room.

Everything fell apart in an instant - Miraz shouted the alarm, and pulled a hidden lever, disappearing behind a fake wall. His wife and Susan released their arrows at the same time, Ed’s scream of pain and Caspian’s moan of despair twinned with the alarm ringing clear across the castle.

Weeks of planning destroyed in a second.

“What have you done!” Caspian leaped to his legs, wobbling unsteadily with the effort. “You let him escape!”

“You’d kill him if I didn’t!” I snapped at him, still not truly able to believe that he’d actually do that.

A long, screeching sound broke our argument, and through the large stained-glass window of Miraz’s room we could see the gates being raised, and all blood rushed away from my face. Somewhere far, covered from our sight by the darkness, Peter would be watching and right now he would command his forces to advance.

Except instead of the sleeping and disoriented soldiers, what he would get was Telmarines already waking up to the alarm raised by Miraz. It would be a bloodbath.

“We should go” I whispered, my voice suddenly hoarse.

Caspian instead had already ran back across the room, pushing me out of the way and started fumbling around the fake wall, trying to find the button or the secret lever to follow Miraz. I hesitated, unsure what to do.

Edmund had us covered.

A short, vicious kick сut Caspian across the shins, and before the surprised Prince fell on the ground, Edmund's hand grabbed him by the hair, punching him brutally into the wall. Something cracked, and I could only hope it were the stones, not the Prince's face.

Caspian dropped limply to the floor.

"Can you carry him?" Edmund asked me.

Startled, I could only nod, grabbing Caspian in my magic.

“We need to get to the gates.” Edmund broke off the shaft of the bolt sticking out of his shoulder and winced in pain, his face pale. "Now”

We got.

***

Corridors and enfilades of the castle blurred together in our mad dash towards the gates, broken into fragments of short scuttles with the guards roused by Miraz’s alarm.

Onyx - the air around the guard glowed subtly with the green of my magic. As the Telmarine struggled to inhale the suddenly thickened air, Susan landed a quick strike to the throat and an elbow to the base of his neck to turn him into a crumpled heap.

A door opened, and a semi-naked man ran out, a sword in his hand, trying to cut us off. Edmund, still holding his wounded shoulder, jumped without breaking his run, and his knee broke the man’s jaw. A roll, a hiss of pain, and we moved on.

Ice Capades - a long stretch of corridor covered in thin ice, causing both guards to lose balance and fall. Unlike the surprised Telmarines, I was ready for this, so skating up to one of them effortlessly, I gave him a good buck to the helmet to knock him unconscious and Susan’s blunted arrow took care of the second.

Gravitas - up and down switched places, and the bunch of guards around the next turn flew up, bashing against the ceiling, only to fall back down on the hard floor. We did not even slow down, moving past them. Without the need for words, each of us felt the precious seconds ticking away.

My arsenal was starting to run dry, and I was wheezing with effort. Black drops of sweat fell off my side, washing away the dye and soot and revealing back the orange of my coat - a perfect target for any stray bolt or arrow. Still, we were finally almost at the gates, the towers of the gatehouse one dash across the courtyard from us.

I turned as we ran, sliding on the polished stones of the road and ripped off my saddlebags, throwing them into the crowd with my magic. An explosion of smoke covered the incoming crossbowmen, gathering on the parapets of the castle's donjon.

It was asphodel and poppy-essence bound with my magic and meant to keep them asleep for hours - but that was if we got them in the closed quarters, already asleep. Here, under even the gentle breeze, it may have dropped a few and made others slightly dizzy - and it won us a few precious seconds as they drew scarves and handkerchiefs over their faces.

Before they could take aim and shoot at me, I dove into the cover of the gatehouse, clinging to its walls and joined the rest of our forces. Gates were wide open and the drawbridge lowered - as they should’ve been, thanks to Reepicheep and his sons - and through the arch of the gateway we could see and hear our forces rushing to take the castle.

“Caspian, my boy!” someone gasped, grabbing the Prince from my magic, “what happened?”

It was a short, portly man who could’ve been easily mistaken for an especially old dwarf - I recognized him immediately even though I saw him for the first time, by all the descriptions of him I got both from Caspian and our spies. It was Doctor Cornelius, mentor to the currently-unconscious Prince and our former source in the enemy camp.

“He’s fine, Doctor,” I replied, cutting him off. “We ran into a bit of trouble and we have to go. Now!” the latter was addressed not so much to the Doctor as to the Reepicheep and his mice.

And I was too late - even as I spoke, centaurs were already riding up the drawbridge and entering the castle - which meant that others were not far behind.

"Back! Retreat!" I shouted, covering the gateway in front of them with a turquoise shield. It would hardly stop a galloping centaur, but it gave them ample warning.

"What is the meaning of this, Red Witch?"

It was Glenstorm, the leader of Centaurs, the first of them to vow his fealty to our cause.

"Failure and ambush, Glenstorm," I shouted back. “We have to call it off!”

Our forces hesitated, unsure whether to push forward or retreat, rear ranks pushing against our those already inside, forcing them out of the cover of the gatehouse and into the rapidly approaching telmarine forces.

Somebody outside shouted commands in a throaty Telmarine accent, and the first unsteady volley of bolts was let loose into our forces. In the narrow bottleneck of the gates, creatures and people alike cried out in pain, despite the shields and armor.

Our forces shot back, blunted arrows and bullets from slings - hardly an equal answer to rapidly reloading Telmarine crossbows. A few enemies fell, but more were coming, half-armored and armed with whatever was at hand, and soon the first clang of steel-on-steel rang across the courtyard.

“We have to go!” I screamed, trying to shout over the battle starting around us “Sound the retreat!”.

Peter appeared by my side, fully clad in armor, Rhindon unsheathed shining in his hand.

“The gates are open, our army inside. We can take them!”

“Peter, they will die. People. Telmarines. Centaurs. Our soldiers. There will be dead come the morning if we press on. Please.”

He averted his eyes and nodded slowly, raising his horn to his lips. Three sharp, shrill sounds - an orderly retreat.

“Thank you”.

Minotaurs pushed the enemy back, their heavy iron maces crushing Telmarine limbs and bending breastplates, while the dwarves released the screaming mandrake-roots and ignited the flash powder, bathing the battlefield in deafening sounds and blinding flashes, discombobulating and dazing our opponents. Their effort won us a clean disengagement, and under the ever-increasing salvo of arrows and bolts, we retreated back.

I stretched my magic as much as I could, adding my shielding spell to the shields and armor of our forces, but even as I did, I could see in the corner of my eyes Telmarine bolts reaching their targets. Blood traced the field where soldiers of the Old Narnia crossed the plain before the castle walls to reach canopy of the surrounding forest.

But our cover was thin, and the telmarine soldiers were already pooling out of the castle, resolved to press their advantage and hunt our scattered forces. My mind raced to think of something, anything to save us - I had prepared my spells for a silent infiltration, and I had nothing ready towards the force and scale to break apart the chaos of the battle.

“Cover me!” I shouted, pressing my body into the tree trunk, and once again cursing the orange of my coat colour. “I need thirty seconds."

Peter stepped forward without hesitation, leaning into his shield with his shoulder and digging in his heels, immovable as a mountain. Crossbow bolts plinked against his shield and armor.

I closed my eyes and breathed. Slowly, concentrating on every inhale and exhale, until the rhythm of my breath was slow and even. Din of the battle and screams of the wounded faded away as I spread my feelings beneath into the earth, gathering my magic in a shining light at the tip of my horn.

I could feel the earth now, becoming one with it, like earth ponies do every day. It was not Equestrian soil, but earth is earth regardless of the world - firm, immovable, calm.

Sparks flew off my horn as the magic gathered started to overflow my ability to contain it. I grit my teeth and kept pulling it in, ignoring the increasing burning sensation of magic struggling to get free. Finally, with a cry of effort and stomp of my hoof, I released all the energy into the ground and shattered its calmness into pieces.

Ripples rolled across the field and the land convulsed and twisted itself inside out with a deafening rumble, turning the field into a cratered spider's web of cracks and crevices. Debris flew everywhere and dust so thick you had to push through it covered our forces.

“Spread out!” Edmund shouted over the rumble of the breaking earth, “Spread out and retreat! Back to the How! Go, go go!”

We got.

Comments

[Dinode]

Honestly, I don't buy the whole "no killing" rule for Equestria, but other than that this is turning out interesting.

[Layton13]

Khmflankhole

Wow, rude.

Caspian may have had instincts of a perfect tactician

There is no such thing as a perfect tactician, you can always learn something new.

We got.

I don't know, but this just sounds wired

Hmh, I have to say, thsi chapter didn't really grab me at all. It should be intense and I should be on the edge of my seat but I'm not. And worst off all I can't really place why...