☆

THE SENSE OF familiarity washed over Eliza as she changed into her Narnian attire. The girl tied up her boots and fixed her tunic, while the others were in different rooms in the underground, changing. Eliza strapped her sword to her side, letting it dangle comfortably off her hip- oh how she'd missed being in this world where she was treated as a warrior not some young maiden in distress.

Susan appeared from around the corner, dressed in a floor length dress, her bow over her shoulder. "No dresses?" She smirked raising a brow.

"Unfortunately none were stored in my chest- shocker!" The girl replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm as Susan laughed.

"Are you ready to go? Peter and the others are outside waiting." The older girl asked, folding her arms.

Eliza took one last look at the chamber she stood in and took a deep breath in, "I'm ready. Let's go." She nodded, following her sister out of the cavern.

☆

THE SIGHT OF A small boat caught the eye of the Pevensies as they trekked along the shore. The five watched as two men lifted up a dwarf, who was tied up and looked badly beaten. Susan automatically lifted her bow and shot an arrow at the canoe.

The arrow hit its mark on the side of
the boat and Eliza followed her siblings as the five ran up a small hill of sand and drew their weapons. Susan quickly put another arrow to the string. "Drop him!" Susan yelled firmly, making Eliza cringe.

"Drop him?" Eliza began, "They'll drop him into the-" The soldiers abruptly threw the dwarf into the water. One of them reaching to pick up a crossbow, only for Susan to shoot him. The other soldier jumped into the water and swam away quickly. Peter dove straight into the water to try rescue the dwarf while Eliza ran into the water to help Edmund bring the boat onto shore.

Peter resurfaced, the dwarf in his arms as he pulled the small man onto the sand. The Pevensies gathered around him as Lucy cut the dwarf's bonds with her dagger. The dwarf tugged at the gag and pulled it off, coughing up all the water he'd swallowed.

"Drop him?!" The dwarf raged, staggering to his feet, "That's the best you can come up with?".

Susan looked taken aback, "A simple thank-you would suffice." She remarked, as Eliza wrung out her wet hair.

"They were doing fine drowning me without your help!" The dwarf exclaimed, gesturing angrily towards the ocean.

Peter rolled his eyes, "Maybe we should have let them." He mumbled, internally rolling his eyes.

"Not too late," Eliza suggested, pointing to the ropes that were partially in tact. Peter nodded with a small smirk, while Susan elbowed him and shot the two a warning glare.

"Why were they trying to kill you anyway?" Lucy asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

The dwarf rolled his eyes as if the answer was obvious, "They're Telmarines." He answered pointedly, "That's what they do."

"Telmarines?" Edmund piped up, his eyebrows scrunched together in complete uncertainty and disbelief. "In Narnia?"

"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?" The dwarf grumbled, fixing his soaking clothes.

"It's a bit of a long story." Lucy giggled lightly as Susan handed Peter's sword back to him, the dwarf looked up and his eyes widened upon seeing the hilt, he immediately looked up at Peter then surveyed the five of them.

"Oh, you‟ve got to be kidding me." The dwarf groaned, "You're it? You're the kings and queens of old?"

Peter nodded, "High King Peter... the Magnificent." He stated proudly, holding his hand out for the dwarf to shake.

"You probably could have left out the last bit." Eliza spoke up, making the dwarf laugh nervously.

"Probably." The dwarf snickered, glancing at the girl before refocusing on the older boy.

Peter drew his sword and pointed at the small being, "You might be surprised." He replied with a raised brow.

The dwarf chuckled, Oh, you don't want to do that, boy." He warned, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

Peter glanced at his siblings, "Not me. Her."
Peter looked at Eliza who unhesitatingly  unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the being while Peter handed his sword to the dwarf. The dwarf took it but it dropped into the sand due to the weight.

Eliza smiled at Edmund almost cockily, but was suddenly struck at, by the dwarf, the girl stumbled back and the small being managed to hit her in the face with the butt of his sword.

"Eliza!" Lucy yelled in shock as the girl shook her head, clearing her mind of the pain in her cheek.

"Aww, you alright?" The dwarf taunted, as they circled around and continued fighting. The dwarf slashed at Eliza's feet, but she jumped with both feet off the ground so that the blow went under her. Eliza tried recall all the techniques she'd once learned and less than a few seconds later, the Dwarf's sword flew out of his grip, Eliza's sword held above her head pointing down at the mans face.

The dwarf stumbled back into the sand, his eyes not leaving the girl. "Beards and bedsteads!" He murmured. "Maybe that horn worked after all."

Susan perked up, as Eliza lowered and sheathed her sword,  "What horn?"

☆

ELIZA SAT BACK in her seat as The Pevensies and the dwarf, (who they'd learned was named Trumpkin), rowed down Glasswater river. Edmund sat beside the girl at the back of the boat, as they examined their surroundings. Narnia had changed so much,
Eliza hadn't seen a single nymph, a moving tree or any Narnian warrior since she'd came back to the magical world.

Lucy looked in sadness, up at the trees. "They're so still." She whispered forlornly, making the dwarf look up.

"They're trees." Trumpkin grumbled, "What do you expect?".

"They used to dance." Lucy answered softly, as the rest of her siblings sat silently, reminiscing their golden age.

"It wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded. Those that survived retreated to the woods." Trumpkin explained, refusing to meet the eyes of the Kings and Queens, "And the trees have retreated so deeply inside themselves that no one has heard from them since."

Lucy looked baffled to say the least, "I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?" She questioned.

"Aslan?" Trumpkin scoffed in reply, " I thought he abandoned us after you lot did."

Eliza rolled her eyes as her fingers tapped on the hilt of her sword, "We didn't mean to leave, you know." She said, making Edmund squeeze her hand reassuringly.

"Doesn't make much difference now, does it?" Trumpkin remarked grumpily,

"Get us to the Narnians and it will." Peter responded steadily, as he rowed the six down the river.

They finally reached the shore and climbed out of the small boat. Eliza stepped out of the boat and stretched out her arms and legs, then proceeded to help her three siblings to pull the heavy boat onto land, as Trumpkin tied it down.

Trumpkin suddenly swore loudly, "Don't move, your majesty!" He ordered, Eliza turned just in time to see a black bear charging towards Lucy, as the younger girl scurried backwards to the others in fright.

Susan put an arrow to the string of her bow but was hesitant to shoot. "Stay away from her!" She yelled, as the bear kept running after Lucy who tripped on the hem of her dress- yet another reason Eliza despised the article.

Edmund looked around in panic as Eliza drew her sword and getting ready to run forward, "Susan, shoot!" The boy cried out, as the bear continued charging, Lucy screamed loudly and just before it reached her, an arrow lodged itself into the bears side and it fell over onto the rocky beach surface.

Eliza looked behind her to see that it was not Susan who'd fired but it was Trumpkin. "Why wouldn't he stop?" Eliza asked, Trumpkin grimaced and placed his bow down, "I expect he was hungry." The dwarf answered.

Eliza followed after Peter and Edmund who all ran over to Lucy, Peter picked her off the ground, as Eliza and Edmund pointed their swords at the bear's body. "He was wild." Edmund stated in disbelief.

Eliza sheathed her sword as Peter held Lucy tightly, "I don't think he could talk at all." The older boy added with scrunched brows.

Trumpkin sighed, "Get treated like a dumb animal long enough and that's what you become." He responded, drawing his knife. You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember."

The dwarf stabbed the bear, making Eliza turn her head to glance at her twin who looked equally disgusted while Lucy cried into Peters side. Narnia had changed, whether for the better or the inevitable worse.

There was no going back to before.

☆

So I'm updating this book super late but oh welp

FUN FACT: during The lion the witch and the wardrobe, Skander (the actor who plays Edmund) hit puberty making his voice deeper, so most of his lines in the movie are actually voiced by his sister.

I CACKLED