High Queen Layla, It Has a Nice Ring to It

The six teens all continued to examine the land, sticking together this time, on Peter’s request. The others didn’t question it.

All the while they were scoping the land; there were two phrases that ran through Layla’s mind non-stop. Thankfully, she had control on it this time since she had expected it.

‘Nuair a bares Aslan a chuid fiacla, buaileann an gheimhridh a bháis. Nuair a shakes sé a mane, beidh muid ag earrach arís.’ Was the first one, though she had no clue what it meant yet.

Then there was the second, ‘Níl sé na Ríthe agus na Banríona locht.’ The translation of that one ran right after the phrase, ‘It’s not the Kings or Queens fault.’

After a few minutes Edmund kneeled before a rock.

“Catapults.” He said looking up at the sky and then back down at the rock.

“What?” Peter asked looking at him curiously. Edmund turned around and gave Peter a look.

“This didn’t just happen. Cair Paravel was attacked.” He explained. The five others looked at him shocked as he stood and looked off into space. Peter followed his gaze to try and figure out what he was looking at and suddenly walked over towards what appeared to be a wall. Edmund followed him and together they pushed the wall aside to reveal a door as the girls came closer.

Peter then took out a knife and stabbed at the door until it began to break away then he broke a large chunk off and he pushed the door open, causing it to fall off its hinges. Layla giggled a bit at the fact that Peter had caused damage.

Peter tried to make a torch then, cutting off a part of his white shirt and wrapping it around a branch. “Don’t suppose you have any matches, do you?” Peter directed at Edmund.

Edmund began to open his rucksack, “No, but...” He began as he searched through it and pulled out a flashlight, “would this help?” A smirk appeared on Edmund’s face as Yvainne tried to contain her laughter.

“You might have mentioned that a bit sooner!” Peter said with disbelief in his tone and a smile on his face. Susan and Lucy smiled trying to hold in their giggles; while Layla couldn’t help but smile at the fact that Peter wasn’t being mean to his brother at the moment, just teasing him.

Edmund went in first seeing as he had the flashlight, followed by Yvainne, Susan, and Lucy. Peter motioned towards the door when Layla didn’t move, with a silent ‘After you,’ hanging in the air. But Layla just stared at him. She had seen the pain in his eyes and now she couldn’t get it out of her head.

She knew why the second phrase had been running through her head then.

“Níl sé na Ríthe agus na Banríona locht.” She told him softly. He looked at her strangely and she realized that it had come out in Gaelic, so quickly she translated, “It’s not the Kings or Queen’s fault.”

Then she entered following after Lucy, and after a second or two, Peter followed her.

What they found was an area that held four chests each with a statue behind it, more than likely indicating its owner.

Lucy stopped and looked at the area for a second in shock before following the rest of them.

Peter pushed open a metal gate as the six reached the bottom of the stairs. “I can’t believe it. It’s all still here.” He muttered in astonishment, his face lighting up in a bright smile which Layla couldn’t resist copying.

‘He sounds like a little kid on Christmas Day.’ She thought to herself with a small giggle.
Lucy ran to the chest furthest to the right, Susan taking the middle one that was next to Lucy’s, and Edmund dragging Yvainne to the one on the far left. Lucy opened her chest as soon as she was in front of it beginning to rummage through the stuff, Susan and Edmund following her example.

Peter on the other hand picked up a shield that was lying on the floor.

“I was so tall.” Lucy said in revelation.

“Well, you were older then.” Susan told her with a smile.

“As opposed to hundreds of years later... when you’re younger.” Edmund joked with a helmet on his head. The girls laughed before Susan motioned Layla and Yvainne over.

“Come on, love, let’s see if we can find you something of Lucy’s to wear.” She said directing it at both of the non-queens.

They found something quicker than they thought they would; A beautiful purple dress for Layla and a navy one for Yvainne.

Peter blew the dust off of the shield as Layla held the dress to her body testing it out in a way.

Finally, Peter approached his chest and with a small smile Layla walked up behind him.

“What is it?” Lucy asked Susan, who seemed to be going into panic mode.

“My horn. I must’ve left it on my saddle the day we went back.” She reasoned. Layla shrugged it off and turned back to Peter.

“Is that you?” she asked him pointing to the statue behind the chest. Peter turned to look at her and nodded. “Oh good, so you grow into your looks then.” She giggled, Peter rolled his eyes with a smile on his face as he turned back to the chest and opened it. Layla was shocked at all the armor in his chest. The first thing he pulled out was a sword.

The metal made a slow ‘shing’ sound as Peter unsheathed it. He looked at the sword as if it was an old friend.

“When Aslan bares his teeth, winter meets its death.” He recited examining the sword still.

As Peter said the words, the phrase rang out loud in her head, as though he was saying those words in Gaelic instead, ‘Nuair a bares Aslan a chuid fiacla, buaileann an gheimhridh a bháis.’

“When he shakes his mane...” Lucy continued on from Peter’s saying.

‘Nuair a shakes sé a mane...’

Peter looked at Lucy with something that seemed like pride, as Lucy finished her phrase, though, another joined her.

‘...beidh muid ag earrach arís.’

“...We shall have spring again.” Both Lucy and Layla said. Peter looked at her in surprise, but she just stared at the ground in shock.

The expression on Lucy’s face was a sad one, one that said she was in complete anguish. And when Layla looked at Peter, she could see yet another puzzle clicking in his head. “Everyone we knew... Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers...” she trailed off and seemed like she was trying to keep herself from crying. “...they’re all gone.”

It clicked in everyone’s heads then just how serious this was, Susan gave a look to Peter, Peter then passing the look along to Edmund, Edmund giving Yvainne a look, which Yvainne transferred to her sister, Layla passing it to Lucy, before it finally reached Susan once more.

Peter looked one last time at his sword before saying out loud what everyone else was thinking. “I think it’s time we found out what’s going on.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

~*~

After they changed, and Susan had lent one of her spare bow’s and a quiver full of arrows to Layla, Lucy giving Yvainne a dagger, they exited the little keepsake area.

From the cliff they had been on, the Pevensies and the Wynters all made their way down to a beach that overlooked a lake.

What they found wasn’t good.

Two people had a... dwarf (or at least that’s what Layla thought, though she wasn’t sure) and were about to throw him into the lake.

Quickly Susan readied her bow and shot an arrow at the side of their boat. Layla readied her bow with Susan this time as the other four approached drawing their own weapons.

“Drop him!” Susan shouted in warning. Layla looked at her out of the corner of her eye, knowing this was not the best thing to say when they had the poor guy held over the lake.

Layla’s theory of why it wasn’t a good idea to shout that was proven when they dropped him into the lake, before trying to arm themselves. One of the men held a crossbow in his arm and Susan almost shot at him, but Layla beat her to it by a second. Both arrows hit their target, causing the man to drop his cross bow and fall into the lake, his companion jumping in after him.

Peter and Edmund had run up to the edge of the lake and was diving in as Layla relaxed her bow.

A minute later, Edmund was dragging the boat onto the sand, and Peter was dragging the dwarf up. The four girls whom had been left on the beach quickly came to the side of Peter and the dwarf. Lucy unsheathed her dagger and cut his ties so that he could move.

The dwarf gagged, having to spit out the mouthful of water that he had probably inhaled as he had gone in. All six teens stood around him, giving him space as he rekindled his breath and all of that.

Then the dwarf threw down his gags and ties and shouted, “‘Drop him’!” Glaring at Susan, who turned to look at the boys with a confused look, though both boys were giving the dwarf confused looks of their own. Layla on the other hand knew why the dwarf was so mad. “That’s the best you can come up with?”

“A simple ‘thank you’ would suffice.” Susan said in disbelief. Layla shook her head at her.

“They were doing fine drowning me without your help!” He spat at her.

“Maybe we should have let them.” Peter said with a harsh tone. That was when Layla decided to step in.

“Actually, I must agree with the dwarf. That wasn’t the smartest thing to say when they had him over the side of the boat already. Something more like, ‘let him go’ or, ‘Do it and you’ll be my next target’ probably would’ve been better.” Layla told her knowingly. The dwarf looked at her, and gave her a once over before nodding his agreement. “And Peter you know you wouldn’t have allowed that. That would’ve been cruel.”

“Well the way he’s acting—”

“I would say that almost being drowned would give him a reason to act the way he is.” Layla growled at him. Peter looked at her in surprise, she’d been so kind and playful since they had arrived, and now she was growling?

“Why were they trying to kill you, anyway?” Lucy asked changing the subject.

“They’re Telmarines. That’s what they do.” He said.

“Telmarines? In Narnia?” Edmund asked confused.

“Where have you been for the last few hundred years?” The dwarf replied, surprised they didn’t know.

The four Pevensies smiled, as if it were an inside joke. “It’s a bit of a long story.” Lucy told him with a smile as Susan handed Peter back his sword. A few thing seemed to click in his head then as he examined the four Pevensie kids.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” the dwarf exclaimed in disbelief. “You’re it? You’re the kings and queens of old?” the dwarf asked. His tone told them that he wasn’t expecting them.

Peter nodded before stepping forward. “High King Peter, the Magnificent.” Peter told him extending his hand. The dwarf backed away as if afraid.

“You probably could’ve left off the last bit.” Susan said a bit annoyed at her brother’s big-headedness.

Lucy and Edmund laughed, but tried to hide it as the dwarf laughed also. “Probably,” He agreed with Susan.

“You might be surprised.” Peter told him unsheathing his sword and holding it towards the dwarf.

“Oh, you don’t want to do that, boy.” The dwarf told him backing away slowly.

“Not me. Him.” He said looking to Edmund. Edmund smiled faintly, unsheathing his own sword and lowering it in a ready position as Peter handed his sword to the dwarf. The dwarf took it in his hands and let it drop to the ground as though it were too heavy for him. Layla smiled, it was a ploy.

The dwarf swung hitting Edmunds sword surprising him as he spun around again aiming for Edmunds head. Edmund ducked and the dwarf elbowed him in the forehead causing a grunt to come from Edmund as both Lucy and Yvainne shouted, “Edmund!”

“You all right? Oh!” The dwarf asked him to distract him further before he swung again, Edmund dodging to his right and tapping the dwarf’s bottom with his sword. Lucy laughed at this as the dwarf recovered.

Growling the dwarf swung again with a, “Huh,” Only to be blocked by Edmund who then proceeded to swing at the dwarf’s head. The dwarf ducked as he swung at Edmund’s legs, Edmund jumped over the blade as it swung under his legs. Landing they swung at each other again and again. Layla took a second to look at Peter, he seemed to be having fun watching this little duel, the look of entertainment clearly written across his face was plenty of indication of that. Layla looked back to the dueling pair just intime to see Edmund swing and swing and swing before the sword flew out of the dwarf’s hands and the dwarf himself landed on his bottom in the sand, Edmund’s sword was over his head in a position that made Layla feel like he could strike the poor guy at any second.

“Beards and Bedsteads!” The dwarf exclaimed in shock. “Maybe that horn worked after all.”

That caught Susan’s attention. “What horn?” she asked as Edmund lowered his sword.

“I’ll tell you about it on the way.” The dwarf said standing up and beginning to walk off before noticing Layla and Yvainne. Slowly he turned back towards the Pevensies, “Hang on, if you four are the kings and queens of old, then who’re they?” He motioned back to the Wynter girls.

“They are friends of ours. Dame Layla Wynter and Dame Yvainne Wynter.” Peter answered simply before continuing on.

“Glad to know you think of me as a Knight, High King Peter.” Layla mocked softly as she walked next to him.

“Just be glad I told him you were a Dame instead of a Lady.” Peter shot back.

He knew just how much she despised being called anything that had to do with the term, ‘Lady’.

Layla smiled at him as she continued to walk next to him in silence.