Author's Note: New chapter! Woohoo! Sorry for the wait, y'all!

Disclaimer: I only own Davina, Isaiah, and the currently unnamed faun. :P

Chapter 17- Grave News

Peter watched with a half-smirk as his brother dropped into his throne with less grace than Susan would have liked. It was a good thing she was currently dancing, then. The younger king's hair was a mess and his crown lopsided. Peter couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's bedraggled appearance. No matter how much he complained, everyone knew that Edmund was almost as good a dancer as Susan, and enjoyed it nearly as much.

Edmund scowled half-heartedly in his direction and Peter fiddled with his own crown so his brother would get the hint. True to form, Ed's hand groped for his own crown and he adjusted it with only a slight eye roll. Edmund leaned on the left arm of his throne and put his hand in his chin, barely stifling a yawn.

"How goes it, brother?" The boy asked.

The seventeen year-old rubbed the back of his neck, not eager to delve into his personal emotions again. He kept it simple. "I'm worried about Davina."

"Yes, I talked to her earlier. She's been looking for you." Edmund's barely concealed smile fanned Peter's hope that he and his friend would be reconciled soon. "No doubt she's still swirling around the dance floor, though. She's hardly been able to catch a break from the suitors."

Peter's sword hand twitched, but he ignored the knowing look his brother was sure to be throwing his way. Instead, his eyes scanned the dance floor for a swirling cream and black spot. He didn't have much luck, though he did manage to spot Isaiah as he pulled a laughing Lucy in from a particularly complicated spin. The sight brought a smile to his face.

"Tarkaan Erain invited her to Calormen," Edmund said off-handedly as Peter was drinking. The High King nearly choked on his mead.

"What?"

"I knew you liked her!" Edmund smirked triumphantly, then waved a dismissing hand. "She's not interested in him at all. He's too flirtatious and she finds it irritating and a bit unsettling. She told him some excuse about needing our approval and Isaiah to escort her and Erain basically dropped it."

"You talked about all this while you were dancing?"

"Yes, but that's beside the point. You like her!" Edmund seemed positively giddy. "Susan owes me some money," he muttered so quietly that Peter almost didn't catch it.

"I do not! And you two were betting money on us?"

"Stop deflecting, Peter! Admit it."

Peter scowled at his brother, not entirely certain how strong his feelings for their guest were. He thought she was beautiful, especially when her eyes lit up as she laughed. Sometimes when she'd lay her head on his arm after a particularly trying day, his breath would catch at her touch. She made him laugh harder than any woman besides his sisters could. Peter's heart caught in his chest. And having her mad at him felt like the world was crashing down around his feet.

He looked over at his brother and the widening smirk told him he'd been defeated. He didn't even have to admit it anymore, because it was in his eyes. Still, he felt it needed to be said aloud.

"You win. I just-"

The two were interrupted as a young faun came cantering up to the two of them, eyes wild with panic. He barely stopped in time to bow.

"Is there something troubling you, noble faun?" Peter asked as he brother sat up attentively.

"I didn't know who to come to." The faun was nearly shaking with anxiety. "The- The lady you escorted, your Majesty." He looked at Peter with an almost pleading look.

"What happened to Lady Davina?" He jumped to his feet and grasped the faun's shoulders, barely restraining himself from shaking the information out of him.

"Two men. They took her. She's bleeding and they did it. They hurt her and took her through the Eastern wing." Peter pulled away from the young faun as if he'd been burnt. As the faun's words registered, he saw red.

Edmund jumped into action before Peter could even form words. "Noble faun, please find Queen Susan, Queen Lucy, and Queen Susan's escort, Sir Isaiah. Inform them of what's happened. Then you must inform General Oreius. Do this with the utmost speed. May the Lion be with you."

The faun barely had time to nod before the two kings were off. With long strides, the two took the nearest exit from the dance hall and hurried through the hallways as fast as they could manage.

"How far do you think they've managed to go?" Edmund asked his older brother, keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword as he ran.

Peter thought for a moment, breathing steadily as his feet pounded the tile beneath him. "They're probably almost outside by now. We'd better get there quickly. They may have horses."

Lucy couldn't hide the beaming smile that spread across her visage like a Cheshire cat. Isaiah was laughing boisterously and Susan blushing.

"It wasn't that funny," she huffed.

"Oh yes it was, Su." Isaiah's chest rumbled and he held his stomach for fear it would burst inside of him. Lucy could feel the heat rising from her chest to her face as she struggled to hold back her own laughter.

"Come off it, Susan. You saw his face too!" the girl prodded her sixteen year-old sister.

Susan bit her lip, trying desperately to suppress the emerging smile.

"It was so red-" Isaiah had to pause for air. "I thought he was going to faint!"

"Yes, well, the Countess must be mortified." Susan tried to reason with them.

"Serves her right," Lucy countered. "She's had her nose in the air all night."

"I suppose she did deserve it," Susan chuckled. "Corin really outdid himself this time in tripping that poor man. Let's just hope he stays hidden and the man doesn't get charged with assault for tackling her like that."

"I would vouch for him," Lucy grinned.

"Your Majesties! Sir Isaiah!" A faun practically shoved his way to where the three were conversing and hastily bowed. "I bear grave news."

Davina felt like someone had slipped something into her mead. Her head hurt and her disconnected thoughts swam in fragments in her brain. She felt sluggish and sick and she knew it was from hitting her head and blood loss, but it wasn't like she could do anything about either of those things.

I really liked this dress, too, she found herself thinking.

One of her feet slipped out from under her again and a string of curses were thrown in her direction by the man on her right. She furrowed her brow as tears slipped down her cheeks. She just wanted to stop hurting and she wanted to be safe.

Biting her lower lip, she blinked rapidly, forcing herself to focus as if waking up from an incredibly deep slumber. She could see the last door of the palace rapidly approaching. Then they would be in the gardens and likely take one of the servants' side gates to escape into the woods on the perimeter and she would never be heard from again.

Oh Aslan, don't let Isaiah blame them for this. Don't let Peter blame himself for it. Don't let them tear each other's throats out because they're both guilty and please don't let Isaiah lose his home because I'm stupid enough to get kidnapped.

She wished she could talk to her captors at least. She wanted to know why they were taking her. She wanted to know why she was the Prophesied One, yet no one in Cair Paravel seemed to be able to find out where the prophecy came from or what it was about.

Then again, she supposed it didn't matter much anymore. She was in the hands of the enemy. All hope was lost and they would likely dispose of her as soon as she lost use to them. They had tried to kill her before. They would likely succeed this time, just outside castle walls.

They reached outside air now. This would be her last glimpse of the gardens before she was taken into the woods. This was where she and Peter had fought mere days ago.

It seemed so trivial now.

She hoped the Narnians didn't find her bloated corpse in the forest a few days from now or something. The thought was nauseating. She didn't want to put her brother and new friends through that.

"If you value your lives at all, you will release Lady Davina and run."

Edmund's voice was followed by the sound of metal on metal and the sensation of hope making Davina feel like she was going to burst. She was spun around to face them, her body half protecting the two men who held her arms. She felt too weak to struggle now, but she wished again that the gag was gone.

She wanted to tell them how glad she was that they were there. She wanted to tell Peter that she forgave him and that he was still her best friend and maybe she liked him as something more than that. She wanted to tell Ed that he was still the best little brother ever. She wanted to tell them that, even if they weren't able to save her, she was so proud of them both.

"If either of you two do so much as breathe too loudly, the Prophesied One dies!"

They both looked scared and Davina hated that she was putting them in this position. She was so sick and tired of being attacked and fearing for her life and scaring the life out of everyone she cared about.

It was about at that point, with one of the men's daggers held so rigidly against her throat that she could feel the warm, sticky blood from the superficial cut beneath it sliding past her collarbone, that the terror hit her again. The blood loss, the adrenaline, even hitting her head as hard as she had- all of it had seemed to dull her fear up until this point. Everything had seemed surreal until she saw Edmund and Peter standind in front of her, swords drawn, frozen and looking for all the world like they were itching to come to her rescue.

The tears started up again and panic flooded her chest like a prisoner desperate for escape yet finding none. Her body started to shake despite her best attempt to still it. The knife cut deeper as her body rattled against it.

Isaiah, Susan, and Lucy were creeping up behind the men holding Davina hostage. They kept to the shadows, every step careful and deliberate. It was Susan who had decided cutting them off would be the best course of action. Isaiah could kiss her for it! They were in exactly the position to aid Edmund and Peter, who had every ounce of the intruders' attention.

"Lu, how many daggers do you have on you right now?" Isaiah asked, keeping his fingers crossed. Davina had mentioned the girl's tendency to keep weapons handy when they had danced earlier. He doubted that changed when she was at a banquet.

"Two," Lucy responded.

Susan threw a half-irritated glance at her younger sister, no doubt thinking she was too young to be carting weapons around.

"Can I borrow one?"

Lucy moved slowly. Edmund was trying to reason with the men in front of them. Both kings had caught sight of the reinforcements by now and were only trying to stall.

"If you were going to kill her you wouldn't have bothered kidnapping her."

Lucy pulled both daggers out of sheaths hidden beneath her dress that were just abover her knees. She slipped one into Isaiah's hand and kept the other. The two approached slowly and carefully.

"Surely you know better by now," the one holding Davina was saying. "You've failed the prophecy, boys." He pulled the knife away from her neck and positioned it to plunge into Davina's chest.