"Psst!"

            Zola turned around sharply, away from the Pevensies going towards the boat and to Trumpkin, walking closely behind her.

            She'd agreed to come along with him and the Pevensies. Though that was only because Finley was gone when she turned to the forest to fetch him.

            Zola crouched down a little and slowed her pace down to grow the space between them and the rest.

            "We found Caspian before I got taken," Trumpkin started. "Nikabrik and Badger took him in. He's fine."

            That caught Zola's attention. "You know where Cas is now?"

            Trumpkin slowly turned his head, giving her a look that could only mean how stupid she was. "Where'd you think I was taking you?"

            "Oh," Zola replied. "Well, you could've just said that."

            Trumpkin scoffed. "You wouldn't want them to know."

            "Right."

            From the water, Peter yelled. "The boat's ready!" Everyone gathered at the boat. "Lead us the way." Peter smiled at Trumpkin.

            Peter ended up rowing the boat, because he was the strongest. Trumpkin sat in the very front, to lead him exactly where to go. The Pevensie girls sat between them, Susan looked out onto the water while Lucy kept staring at all the trees.

            Zola and Edmund ended up pushed into the back. It was a narrow space, meaning they had to sit quite close to each other, their legs and arms touching. Zola had laid down her sword in the boat, meanwhile Edmund and Peter kept it on.

            Zola's side was pressed tightly against the side of the boat, causing her wound to hurt more. But she wasn't so keen on showing it in her face.

            She leaned in slightly in Edmund's way, her tone low enough for the rest not to hear. "You know, a thank you would be great."

            Edmund's face scrunched up. "Why should I?"

            "Saving your ass," Zola rolled her eyes while reminding him. "Every one of your asses."

            "Listen—"

            "Zola."

            "Zola," Edmund corrected himself. "I never asked for your help. We had it under control."

            Zola's head turned, a glare in her eyes. "You didn't have to. My friend was also on that beach. And you definitely did not have it under control."

            "Sure." Edmund replied, but Zola was sure he was too embarrassed and proud to actually say thank you.

            And then it was silent in the boat again. The others kept looking around, meanwhile Edmund and Zola continued uncomfortably shifting in their narrow seats.

            "They're so still." Lucy wondered, referring to the trees.

            Trumpkin's eyebrows raised. "They're trees. What'd you expect?"

            "They used to dance." Lucy said softly.

            Zola shifted uncomfortably in her seat again, leading Edmund's big, brown eyes to fall on her.

            "Wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded," Trumpkin explained to Lucy. "Those who survived retreated to the woods. And the trees, they retreated so deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since."

            "I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?" Lucy asked.

            Zola let out a short chuckle. "Aslan left the same day you did."

            The Pevensies looked down, gulping away a deep breath. Peter turned his head to get Trumpkin in sight. "We didn't mean to leave, you know."

            Trumpkin's voice was cold. He had no sympathy for the four Kings and Queens of the Old. "Makes no difference now, does it?"

            "Get us to the Narnians," Peter demanded. "And it will."

            The excruciating way back seemed longer than it had probably been in reality. The silence hadn't left the boat, apart from the few small conversations between siblings.

            Zola recognised the place Trumpkin lead the boat to. It was a stone beach, near the cave where the Narnians' meetings were. It's where they met up. Where they decided their most important decisions.

            Trumpkin jumped off of the boat and pulled it a little further by the rope to get it stuck on the beach. He planted the anchor firmly in the pebbles. Everyone helped him pull while Lucy walked off, being the youngest and weakest.

            "Hello there!" Zola heard her shout. Her head turned to see who she was talking to, but her heart dropped seeing the black bear.

            Lucy walked towards it. She probably thought animals could still talk. Zola read in many books they used to be able to, but they haven't talked in decades.

            "It's all right," Lucy told the bear. "We're friends."

            Zola neared Lucy in a fast pace. If she was going to go a little closer, she might get killed and Zola did not want another death of an innocent on her name.

            Trumpkin saw it too. "Don't move, Your Majesty!" He shouted at her, but Lucy didn't listen.

            Lucy turned around, not paying attention to the bear anymore. The Francesca girl crouched quickly to get a dagger out of her shoe and throw it in the bear's way.

            What she hadn't thought of, was the bear's thick coat. The dagger was too small for it to make a big impact from such a far distance. He kept running after Lucy, who'd also started running.

            Lucy fell to the floor, the bear towered over her. Zola saw Susan aiming her bow, but she could see she was never going to take the shot, otherwise she would've already.

            Edmund pressured his sister into shooting, but she wouldn't move. Zola saw the bear move his mouth move closer to Lucy and decided she had to do something.

            She nudged Susan, who willingly pushed the bow and arrow in her hand. Zola took a second to shoot and let go of the arrow. It flew right in the bear's eye. Bullseye.

            No, bullseye? More like bearseye.

            Lucy turned on her hands, expecting her sister to stand there, but instead she saw Zola. This was the second time she'd saved her and they hadn't even known her for two hours.

            Zola heard Susan start a conversation with Trumpkin, but she dropped the bow and ran to the bear to fetch her dagger, Edmund's eyes following her in astonishment.

            She crouched down next to the bear to pull her dagger out. As expected, there was barely blood on it.

            "Thank you." Lucy said as Peter helped her to get up from the ground. Edmund and Trumpkin were right behind him, Susan being a little behind them.

            Zola only smiled in response. Peter held out his sword to the bear on the ground. Zola rolled her eyes. "It's not going to move. It's dead."

            Trumpkin pushed his bow against the bear's fur regardless, just to be sure. Edmund's eyes shifted from the bear to the girl who killed it. "He was wild." He noticed.

            "Perceptive." Zola sarcastically replied.

            "I don't think he could talk at all." Peter thought out loud.

            Trumpkin explained to the Pevensies. "Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become," He took out his dagger. "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember."

            Caspian walked through the woods. The plants stood high on the ground and the woods were so thick wooded, the sky was barely visible.

            He heard rustling in the plants, already knowing who was there. "I can hear you." Caspian ushered them into coming out.

            Slowly, the two tiny creatures having taken him in showed themselves. The badger spoke up. "I just think we should wait for the Kings and Queens."

            Caspian didn't want to believe any of it. He had to find his sister, and he had to do it fast, before the soldiers did.

            "Fine! Go then! See if the others will be as understanding!" Badger yelled after him.

            "Or maybe I'll come with you," Nikabrik, the dwarf, added. "I want to see you explain things to the minotaurs."

            Caspian turned around. "Minotaurs? They're real?"

            "And very bad–tempered." Badger mentioned.

            "Yeah, not to mention big." Nikabrik replied.

            "Huge."

            Caspian's eyebrows furrowed. "What about centaurs? Do they still exist?"

            "What, Zola never told you any of this?" Badger asked, walking in front of Caspian. "Well, the centaurs will probably fight on your side. But there's no telling what the others will do."

            "Zola?" Caspian jumped up at the sound of his sister's name. "What does Zola have to do with this?"

            Badger's face dropped. "Oh. You didn't know."

            Nikabrik slapped his friend's arm. "You, idiot! She said she didn't tell anyone!"

            Caspian shut the both of them up. "What does my sister have to do with this?" He asked again, this time raising his voice.

            Badger looked at Nikabrik and sighed. There was no going back anymore now. "Your sister's been coming here for many years, helping us. Everyone values her opinions, everyone would fight for her. But she's the only Telmarine they allow, because like I said, there's no telling what they'll do."

            Caspian was silent for a while. He couldn't process Zola in Narnia almost every day. Or better, he couldn't process her keeping this big secret from him.

            "What about Aslan?" He eventually asked.

            Badger and Nikabrik slowly turned suspiciously. "How do you know so much about us if she never told you?" Badger asked.

            "Stories."

            "Wait a minute," Badger processed. "Your father told you stories about Narnia?"

            "No, my professor, he—" Caspian stopped mid–sentence. "Listen, I'm sorry. These are not the kind of questions you should be asking."

            Caspian walked further, but Badger and Nikabrik stayed put. Badger smelled the air, Nikabrik asking him what it was. "Human." He stated.

            "Zola?" Caspian's tone became more hopeful.

            "No. Them."

you guys must hate me for mentioning the wound this often. but, trust me, i hate it when someone has the worst wound and then it doesnt get mentioned again. so im overdoing it 🤭

and also, i just had no motivation to write the entire caspian scene, bc the second part wasnt important for this story. i just added it bc zola was mentioned a lot, shes not in the other part