chapter ten; the knave of hearts.
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     ADVENTURE WAS OUT THERE. Daisy could feel it right to the core. Every fibre of her being was buzzing with the a feeling only one could describe as exhilaration. The peculiar trio of two girls and an anthropomorphic lion made their way towards the ford at Beruna. Daisy had never seen a ford before, unless she could count the automobiles that drove through town, but Daisy didn't think that was what Lucy and Aslan meant (even in Wonderland, it seemed unlikely that lions could drive.)

     On they walked, the thick foliage beginning to become more and more sparse, letting in dapples of light and revealing flashes of brilliant glacial blue. The ford; not long now. All of a sudden a hideous chorus of crashes and guttural shouts began to approach the trio from the other side of the water's edge. The Telmarines. The girls stepped forward to peer through the brush, Aslan standing close behind them. They soldiers were rather unattractive fellows, Daisy thought their stoic faces were extremely unnatural. "They're wearing such hideous masks!" Lucy exclaimed to herself in a hushed tone. Masks. That explained it. Why on Earth couldn't Miraz have chosen slightly nicer armour? They would look a lot less stupid that way.

     "Daisy, Lucy, come." Aslan said calmly. "We must stop the army from crossing." Daisy was terrified. How would two girls and a big cat stop an entire army?

     Lucy took Daisy's hand comfortingly. "We'll be okay." She smiled up at Daisy's nervous figure. "He will work things out. He always does."

     "You girls must go first." Aslan spoke up again. "I shall be right behind you."

     Shaking off her nerves, Daisy squeezed Lucy's hand lightly, returning the younger girl's smile. "Come on, Lu." Daisy said. "Adventure awaits." The two girls then stepped out from the undergrowth, still hand in and, and walked slowly towards the water's edge. Daisy took this time to survey the Telmarine army in greater detail. There was an awful lot of them. The Narnian forces were extremely out gunned and out manned, indeed. It truly was a miracle they had made it this far.  Once the girls were close enough to the water, they could see the face of the lord seemingly in charge of the operation in great detail. He was a tall man, with dark hair and a weathered face as if lined with pain. He seemed to resemble to Knave of Hearts; cunning, cruel and deceitful. Daisy didn't trust him one bit.

     Smiling slyly at the Telmarine Lord, Lucy drew her dagger menacingly earning a knowing chuckle from Daisy. From the aggravated look on the Lord's face, Daisy could tell that the man thought she and Lucy were alone. Oh how wrong he was; foolish Knave!

     Aslan stepped forward, standing between the two girls. The Lord was taken aback, yet he continued to look around, pondering what to do. A moment of silence passed fleetingly, before the Lord let out a strangled cry. "Charge!" He bellowed, sending a wave of soldiers moving swiftly towards Aslan.

     As the metal men swarmed ever closer, Daisy heartbeat quickened to a lightning pace. Looking towards the Herculean Lion stood beside her, Aslan began to open his mouth, a growl moving up from deep within his belly. Aslan then let out an almighty roar causing the soldiers to stop in their tracks.

     For a moment nothing happened. But then a strange noise could be heard from under the bridge where the soldiers stood. The water! Curiouser and curiouser. A colossal mountain of water began to rise from the river bed, shaping itself into something remarkably human-like. The ebb and flow of the river now resembled a giant god-like being, the current moving in harmony with the creature's actions. Daisy couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Now this was the adventure she had been waiting for. If only Alice could see her now.

     The water then charged upstream towards the bridge leaving tempestuous wave in it's wake. Once beside the bridge, the river-god grabbed the bridge, ripping it from it's foundations and sending the soldiers flying into the water, skimming the surface like pebbles. Daisy's eyes widened in horror-filled wonder, the beauty of the ice blue river was unearthly, yet Daisy couldn't help but feel bad for these men; they were only working under the order of Miraz and the Knave of Hearts.

      Only the Knave remained upon the timber frame, both he and his horse trembling under the weight of the water's gaze. Blindly, the Lord began slashing his sword at the river-god. It was rather humorous, what imbecile would try and stab water? With one feeble swoop of his blade, the Lord let out a strangled cry as the wave of water consumed him. Poetic justice indeed.

      As the wave began to settle, and the water began to morph back to it's original form, the Telamrine soldiers began to trudge out of the water, the weight of their armour dragging them down as the handed over their weapons to the Narnian forces. "We did it!" Daisy exclaimed, pulling Lucy into a tight embrace. Lucy pulled away after a moment and tilted her head towards Aslan. Daisy, realising what Lucy was trying to say, Daisy took a step towards the lion.

     "Thank you, Aslan." Daisy said quietly, stroking Aslan's mane.

     "What for?" Aslan asked, his deep baritone voice filling Daisy's ears like honey.

     "For all of this." Daisy clarified. "For sending me here, for letting me fall down the rabbit hole, for giving me the adventure of a lifetime."

     "But you've already had the adventure of a lifetime, my dearest Daisy." Aslan replied. "Do not thank me yet; there is still so much for you to know."

     The sound of footsteps crunching along the pebbled ground drew the girl and the lion away from the conversation. They would have to continue this later. The trio turned to see who was approaching. It was the rest of the Pevensie siblings and Caspian, looking slightly disheveled and battle worn. Upon seeing Aslan, the four teenagers kneeled graciously at the animal's feet, their head's bowed in respectful adoration.

     "Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia."

     Susan, Peter and Edmund rose from the floor, looking up at the lion stood before them. Daisy looked down at Caspian, the boy still kneeling on the uneven pebbled ground, carefully avoiding looking into the eyes of Aslan.

     "All of you." Aslan spoke once again, causing Caspian to look up at the big cat in a mix of fear and confusion.

     "I do not think I am ready." Caspian revealed, fidgeting slightly under the weight of Aslan's gaze. Daisy just wanted to kneel beside Caspian and hug him, helping the boy to come over his anxieties and telling him that everything was going to be alright.

     "It's for that very reason that I know you are." Aslan replied kindly, causing Daisy to smile widely.

Caspian's eyes shifted from Aslan and onto Daisy, the pride in her eyes was sending the butterflies in his stomach into overdrive. The boy who normally would push away the fluttering in the pit of his gut, now welcomed the feeling with open arms. Gaining Daisy's pride was an awfully nice notion.

     Whist Caspian tried not to get lost in Daisy's prideful eyes, a solemn tune began to play, slowly approaching where the group stood. A band of mice walked slowly and sadly towards them, a little stretcher in their hands. Upon the stretcher lay Reepicheep, limp and eyes closed. Daisy's breath hitched in her throat, subconsciously taking Caspian's hand for comfort. Daisy wasn't close to the little mouse, but she would be ever so upset if her white rabbit didn't make it.

     Lucy ran over to the tiny stretcher, healing cordial in hand, ready to try and revive the little warrior. The youngest Pevensie kneeled beside the unconscious mouse, pouring a drop of the magical liquid into Reepicheep's mouth. After a moment of silence, the mouse took in a deep breath and sat upright. Daisy let out a sigh of relief, thank goodness her White Rabbit was alright.

     "Oh thank you, your majesty!" Reepicheep gushed, looking up at the group surrounding him. Upon seeing the lion, the little mouse became a fumbling mess. "Oh, hail Aslan!" He exclaimed. "It is a great honour to be-" Reepicheep tried to bow before the great creature, but instead stumbled forward, his coordination seemingly non existent. Gingerly, the mouse looked behind him, only to see that his once proud tail was no longer sitting so proud. The poor animal had lost it! "I am completely out of countenance. I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion. Perhaps a drop more?" He pleaded desperately to Lucy, looking up at her cordial.

     "I don't think it does that." Lucy said apologetically.

     "You can have a go." Reepicheep suggested. Despite the animal's rather superficial request, Daisy couldn't help but feel bad Reepicheep, he really did seem to love his tail. Daisy supposed that if she had been in the same situation, perhaps if she lost a limb, that she would be as desperate as the little mouse, and she too would ask for a few drops more of Lucy's healing cordial.

     "It becomes you well, small one." Aslan complimented kindly.

     "All the same, Great King," Reepicheep reasoned, "I regret I must withdraw. For a tail is the honour and glory of a mouse."

     "Perhaps you think too much of honour, friend." Aslan suggested.

     "Well, it‟s not just the honour." Reepicheep replied almost instantly, trying to fix his blunder. "It's also great for balance... and climbing... and grabbing things."

     Aslan smiled down at the little mouse, as the mice previously holding the stretcher stepped forward, swords held readily beside their tails. "May it please your high Majesty," one spoke up, "we will not bear the shame of wearing an honour denied to our chief."

     Aslan replied with a deep hearty chuckle. "Not for your honour, but for the love of your people." The lion said rather cryptically.

     Suddenly, Reepicheep's once dismembered tail reappeared, attached as if it had never left. "Oh, look! Thank you, thank you, my liege!" Reepicheep exclaimed wholeheartedly. "I will treasure it always! From this day forward, it will serve as a great reminder of my huge humility."

     Daisy stifled a laugh with the back of her hand, causing Caspian to look down affectionately at the girl stood beside him.

     "Now, where is this dear little friend you've told me so much about?" Aslan asked Lucy rather inquisitively.

      Trumpkin looked over at the group nervously, before walking towards the group and bowing down at the lion, albeit rather sheepishly. Aslan then let out an almighty roar sending a shudder through the red-haired dwarf. "Do you see him now?" Lucy teased, before letting out an innocent laugh that spread throughout the group infectiously.

     Daisy then turned to Caspian, taking his hand once again and then leading him away from the group, allowing them to have a more private conversation. "Thanks for not dying." The girl mumbled quietly, looking down at the ground.

     "You too."

     "I suppose you won't be wanting around after this, seeing as your a King now; the big chief." Daisy said with a laugh. She was half-joking but somewhere deep inside of her, she was scared that Caspian would agree with her, that the boy she fancied no longer wanted her around. Daisy didn't know if she was ever going to go home, and if she had to part ways with her mother and Caspian simultaneously, Daisy didn't know if she would be able to cope.

     "Of course I still want to around!" Caspian protested, slightly shocked at Daisy's audacious assumption. "You landed on me, remember. I still need to hold you accountable for your actions."

     Daisy let out a laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. The girl was about to say something else before Lucy called out to her from beside Aslan, telling Daisy that the lion needed to speak with her. "I have to go," Daisy told Caspian, offering the prince an apologetic smile. "I'll see you later, okay?" Daisy then raised up onto her tiptoes, and in some bolt of courage planted a quick kiss to Caspian's cheek, before running back towards Lucy without another word.

     Caspian was stunned. In a daze, he raised his palm to where Daisy had kissed him, a dopey smile making its way onto his lips.

     As the butterflies flew around in his stomach once again, all Caspian could think about was not his new title, not the battle he had just won, but Daisy; the name was like sweet music to his ears.

     The adventure Caspian had been craving since he was a child was not some sort of quest or fight. No it was Daisy. It always had been.

I LOVE MY BABIES WITH ALL MY HEART! (also the story isn't over yet, we still have a lot of daisy's back story to cover first)

but thank you all so much for 1k reads already, my little book is doing so much better than i ever would have expected and i am so grateful for that! <333