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The sun sinks towards the horizon as the last Calormene soldier throws away his sword in a surrender. The golden desert beneath our feet radiates with heat and the air is dry enough to make even the toughest man long for a drip of water.

I sit on a grey dapple stallion, overlooking the battle field and trying to see if anyone -- friend or foe, needs my help. Caspian rides on his black stallion Destrier between the fallen soldiers, his face grim and eyes dark. Though this had been merely a rebellion, the King of Narnia had still lost more men than he'd like. As one of his best friends, I knew Caspian felt horrible whenever he had a battle to fight. Every man lost felt like a piece of his heart was ripped out.

'Please, help,' a Narnian soldier calls to me, and I jump off my horse, grabbing the satchel and kneeling down next to him. His hands are pressed to his stomach and his face is contorted in pain. Red blood flows through his fingers and I carefully lift up one of his hands to observe the wound but I fear it might be a lost cause.

'Can you help him?' Caspian asks, suddenly standing next to me and leading Destrier by his reins.

I look up to him, searching for the right words but I can tell the King has already read the answer in my eyes.

'I can ease his passing,' I say softly, my voice not much louder than a whisper. The man struggles more and more to breathe, and a rough cough rolls through the air.

Caspian presses his lips together as he nods sharply. 'Do it.'

I hastily search for a leaf of a flower in my medicine bag and crush it between my hands while Caspian kneels down by the soldier as well. He places a hand on the man's shoulder and closes his eyes for a moment.

I give the man a sip from my water bottle to make it easier to swallow the crushed leaf, and the soldier's face relaxes almost immediately.

'Thank you for your service,' Caspian says to the man. 'You've fought valiantly and protected your loved ones from danger. May you find your way to Aslan's country.'

'The honour. . . was all mine. . . Sire.'

The soldier takes one last breath but then his head falls down in the sand; his eyes staring into the nothingness.

A heavy silence hangs between me and Caspian as we try to accept the man's death. Our thoughts are interrupted, though, when a pair of footsteps come running towards us.

'My King!'

We turn around to see my brother Salvador sliding to a halt. Ever since our father Glozelle left Narnia, Salvador has been the new general of Caspian's armies.

'Yes?' Caspian asks.

'The leader of the rebellion wishes to talk to you. We've captured him as instructed, but he says he has something to tell you.'

Caspian suppresses a sigh. 'I've tried to talk to him before this fight broke out. I'm very tempted not to give him his wish.'

Salvador bows but then Caspian rises to his feet. 'However. . . although he hasn't treated us fairly, I will not follow in his footsteps. I'll hear what he'll have to say.'

I smile at him, my friend has grown into quite the honourable king.

'Elvira might need to come as well, though,' Salvador adds quickly before Caspian can stride off.

'What, why?' I ask my brother.

'He's severely injured.'

I scan the battle field. I don't want to help the leader of the Calormene rebels if there are others who might need my help, but it seems I can no longer help anyone here. Everyone lies as still as the Narnian soldier in front of me.

I cross eyes with Caspian and nod, I suppose I can come as well.

Salvador offers me his hand and pulls me back on my feet.

We leave the battle field and set course towards the red tent that's guarded by two Narnians. It's in the middle of the encampment and the many tents cast large shadows over the sand. The sun is almost below the horizon and the temperature starts to drop noticeably. The desert is soaring hot during the day but freezing cold during the night.

Inside the tent, my eyes need a few moments to adjust to the twilight. The Calormene leader is bound to a pole in the middle of a tent and sits on his knees, facing us. His shoulders are slumped but he trembles all over his body. Even from this distance I can see that the fabric of his tunic is drenched with blood. I walk over to him slowly and Salvador stays close by my side.

'Please, make it stop,' the Calormene mumbles, looking up at me with pleading eyes.

I drop on my knees next to him and remove the fabric from his wounded shoulder. It's just a superficial wound, though, the blood made it look worse than it is.

'He'll live,' I announce to the boys, but just when I want to clean the wound, the man screams out in agony. I drop the gear out of my hands as Salvador pulls me back by my shoulders as if he expects the tied up Calormene to attack me.

'No! Not the shoulder, my head! It hurts! Make it stop!'

I take a few deep breaths to calm my fast beating heart, focussing on the man's head, but it can't find anything out of the ordinary.

'Please!' The man lets out another scream until his eyes land on Caspian who stares at him with perplexed eyes and his voice cuts off abruptly.

'Caspian!' the man shouts. 'You came! I swear I didn't want this to happen. They made me do it!'

Caspian's eyes shoot between the Calormene and Salvador. 'You didn't tell me he's delirious,' he says to my brother.

Salvador scratches the back of his neck. 'That's why I thought he was severely injured. I thought the pain was making him say things.'

I climb back onto my feet. 'Well, I don't know what's making him talk like a lunatic, but it's not his shoulder wound. It's not that bad.'

'Please, Caspian,' the Calormene tries again. 'They made me do it, and now they won't stop tormenting me! You have to believe me! Beware, they're coming for you!'

Goosebumps appear all over my skin when the man screams again and tries to grab his head, but his hands are bound to the pole. I never knew humans could make such a haunting sound.

'They are coming!' The man manages to yell before he falls over and his limbs fly in all directions in a spasm. His eyes roll back in their sockets and white foam appears on his lips.

'He's having a seizure,' I shout. 'Quick, help me before he hurts himself.'

Before we can unbind his hands and put him on his side, his body trembles in one last shudder.

'Be. . . ware.' The word isn't more than a whisper but still echoes throughout the tent as if the Calormene had shouted it.

'What was that all about?' my brother wonders, but Caspian shrugs.

'I haven't got the faintest idea.'

★☆★

The next morning, we prepare to return to Cair Paravel and leave the Great Desert behind us when four lonesome figures appear seemingly out of nowhere. Their dark silhouettes are in strong contrast to the rising --yet hot -- sun behind them and the cavalry stops to a halt.

Just like the others at the front, I try to make out if they mean us harm, but the sun is too blinding and they're too far away.

Caspian draws his sword and orders Salvador to come with him, and together they gallop on their horses to the four strangers. As soon as they reach them they withdraw their weapons, though, and one of the strangers manages to catch the smaller figure before they can collapse. It seems like they're hurt so I quickly follow them as well, ignoring the order Caspian had given me to stay behind like the rest of the remaining army.

Salvador and Caspian jump off their horses at the same time I arrive, and they glance over their shoulder before returning their attention back to the four strangers. But I do recognize them too now, even though they're pretty beaten up; they're the Kings and Queens of Old.

'Susan. . .' Caspian says, and the dark-haired girl looks at him.

'Caspian,' she whispers, her blue eyes wide as if she can't believe what she's seeing.

Caspian smiles faintly but whatever he wanted to say is interrupted by the oldest boy, Peter. 'Lucy, she won't open her eyes.' He holds the limp body of Lucy tight against his chest and the youngest girl looks awfully pale.

I quickly dismount my horse and make my way over to them. 'Maybe I can help,' I say, taking Lucy's wrist and feeling for a pulse. Her heart is still beating strongly, but her breathing seems to be shallow.

'I think she has a pretty bad concussion, but I think she'll be alright. I can examine her better at home, though. I used up all my supplies last night.'

I remove my hand from Lucy's wrist and observe Peter. One side of his body has a deep gash and it looks pretty bad. Edmund's face is beaten up as well and Susan looks as if she has trouble standing on her feet.

'I can treat you all better at home,' I add.

Caspian nods, and after a quick deliberation, we decide the unconscious Lucy rides with my brother, Susan with Caspian and Peter with me. Edmund is the only one who looks remotely alright and decides to ride on his own.

'We ride with haste,' Caspian announces to his soldiers once we're all back in front of the cavalry, and with that we ride towards Cair Paravel.

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