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　　 ❛𝐓𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐔𝐏 everyone!' Peter shouted behind him to the group that was following at a pace that was a little too slow for his liking.

Raiden was proudly leading the group through the passages of the towering mountains. Sometimes they were wide and spacious, other times they had to climb over boulders and then there were the passages that were so cramped, most felt uncomfortable by simply looking at it.

He moved around the scenery with such ease that he had to stop and wait every few minutes for the group to catch up. He knew every possible route through the mountains that led from Archenland to Telmar. With his guidance, he was sure they'd be able to reach the Western Wild in three days or so with the proper amount of resting time.

Though, he had to remind himself often that the ones he was guiding weren't used to climbing through rocky passages through the mountain ranges. They tired quicker than him and needed more time to get through certain passageways that felt like second nature to him.

He could see the forest on the furthest border of Telmar and cast a glance skyward. Going to Telmar when the sun was setting was as simple as following the flare of the dying sun. Nestled at the western edge of the World of Narnia, Telmarines were eager voyagers as were their forefathers of many centuries ago.

It's where Caspian had gotten his own passion for voyaging. As a former prince of the land, he'd grown up partly in a castle and partly on a ship. He adored being out on the ocean, travelling over the great oceans of Narnia with his father by his side. He'd choose it every day over being stuck in the castle with his other family members.

It didn't surprise anyone when he'd gathered a crew for the Dawn Treader and sailed around the world again and again, to the furthest outskirts of the world they could find. Together with Edmund, Lucy and Eustace, he'd even sailed to the edge of the world.

Now, however, he was holding tight onto Lucy's hand and helped her across particularly tricky terrain. 'It's slippery, watch your step,' he warned her in his usual kind voice, being careful himself with the steps he took. The boots he was wearing had little to no grip left and so his feet tended to slip away from him, but he managed to get across the slippery slope with almost no difficulty at all.

He looked ahead of him, seeing Raiden several feet in front of him as he waited for the others to catch up again. Eustace was next to follow, resembling a scout's leader with the way he was dressed and walked around the terrain. He'd insisted on new boots and khaki-coloured shorts and shirt. Along with the tent he carried on his back, which he held in place with one hand on either strap of the bag.

Peter fell in step behind him, damp sweat trickling down his forehead. He used all of his energy to keep up with Raiden and Eustace and not appear fatigued. Eustace might never have been a star in running, hiking and scouting was something he enjoyed doing. A part of Peter disliked that Eustace was much faster than him in moving along the mountains' passage.

'How much longer do we have to walk?' Florence sighed. She could barely feel her feet from the long hours of walking and yet, they'd never hurt more. 'My feet are too sore to walk another three hours.'

Raiden climbed onto a boulder on their path that could easily be walked around on either side. 'If you look right ahead, you'll see the sun slowly sinking behind tonight's destination,' he announced as though he was an actual tour guide. 'It's better to sleep in Telmar's forest than on this stone path. Trust me.' He jumped off the boulder and made his way to the end of the mountain's passage.

'Ed, hurry up, you're carrying most of our food and drinks,' Peter said, making a motion for him to hasten. He cleared the grass of as many branches and pine cones as he could by kicking everything away that he saw and helped Eustace set up the first tent.

Edmund muttered something incoherent under his breath and stuffed his hands in his pockets before slowing down his pace to that of a sea-turtle on land.

Peter stared at him in deadpan, feeling irritation bubble up in his throat. 'Seriously, Ed?' he questioned him and sighed. No matter how much older they became, Edmund always had a way of getting under Peter's skin and doing the exact opposite of what Peter wanted. With a world at his feet as the High King, Peter could count on his younger brother to never hesitate to humble him back to his roots.

'I'll go slower if you don't shut up,' Edmund retorted.

Florence chuckled and patted Peter on his shoulder. 'Just let him be,' she said to him. 'We've been travelling for two days and he's been pretty shaken up since we heard that prophecy. Lucy told me it's because the White Witch was mentioned. I don't know what happened between him and that witch, but it definitely left a scar.'

Peter watched as Edmund finally arrived at their camping spot, but averted himself to a tent with as few people as possible where he dumped his bag and rubbed his face tiredly.

He wanted to call out to him, but his attention span got broken by Charlotte's abundant cheers. She and Hermione had created a fire on their own, without any magic, and to say that they were proud would be an understatement. Charlotte was beaming with pride and triumph and warmed her hands by the fire.

It wasn't necessarily cold, but the nights of the early spring were definitely not warm either. Telmar's air was hotter than that of Archenland despite being located farther north. Archenland was surrounded by mountain ranges and unfortunately for them, they had the cold weather on their side. The wind in Telmar had warmed up from its journey all the way from the magical land of Narnia, which many had learnt on this trip was something else than the World of Narnia.

'Say guys,' Charlotte began. 'Care to share some stories around the fire?'

'What kind of stories?' Lucy asked intrigued as she sat down on the damp grass.

'Some of you have been here before. Why don't you tell us about that?' Charlotte answered.

Lucy's eyes glittered with excitement, the fire dancing along in her eyes like they did in no one else's. Most of the group gathered around the fire to listen to Lucy's first tale. She told a story of a magical wardrobe in which she'd hid one day for a game of hide and seek. However, the more she shuffled towards the back of the wardrobe, the crisper and colder the air around her became. The softness of the fur coats that hung in the wardrobe morphed into the roughness of pine needles covered in snow.

She spoke of how she'd met the kindest of fauns named Mr Tumnus, whose red scarf had caught her attention and curiosity. How the others had made fun of her, but also, how they'd all met two talking beavers and how their journey began.

Edmund never glanced up from the fire. The heat burnt his eyes, making him blink more often than usual to keep his eyes from drying out. They'd encountered the White Witch on their first journey to Narnia and so every time her name was called out, he flinched. The story Lucy and Peter were telling was different from what had actually happened, however.

He seemed more engaged during the tales of his second and third visit to Narnia, even softly smiling whenever they would talk about the good times they had.

'So how exactly did you change into a dragon, Eustace?' Charlotte asked curiouslt.

Eustace looked at his hands in slight embarrassment. 'I—um—' he stammered. 'I suppose you could say that Narnia has a funny way of showing you how you could and should grow. I fell asleep and when I woke up, Aslan'd turned me into what I was. A dragon with greedy, dragonish thoughts.'

'That's quite the metaphor Aslan has put you through then,' Raiden agreed.

Eustace nodded his head slowly and rubbed his cheek with his hand. 'Everyone can say whatever they want about Aslan, but he helped me see the good in life and stop feeling bitter, jealous and sorry for myself.' He readjusting his crossed legs and crossed his arms over his chest as well. 'Did he go a little bit to the extreme to teach me a lesson? Perhaps yes. Did he throw us into yet more danger? I mean, the danger has yet to come across us, but it's likely yes. Did he make us do his dirty work for him while he could have easily done it himself, just like he will this time? In my humble opinion, yes and probably—' He paused for a moment, looking unsure. 'What were we talking about again?'

Harry squinted his eyes towards Eustace as he tried to make out his face at the opposite end through the fire. 'I know someone who sounds an awful lot like that,' he said.

Charlotte scoffed next to him and shook her head in such disappointment, Hermione could sense how she was feeling. 'Because why would the adults handle a war against the most powerful dark wizard of all time, when a bunch of teenagers could do it for them,' she argued heatedly. 'The greatest wizard that has ever lived let Harry and the rest of us figure it out for ourselves. Using us as pawns in his twisted plan.'

'I've never looked at it like that,' Peter mumbled.

The fire crackled and burnt its wood. An eerie silence got interrupted by the sounds of the forest. Owls hooting in the far distance. Animals sneaking around the premises. The leaves of the trees and bushes ruffled in the quiet wind. The forests were beautiful by day, but there was something spine-thrilling about it at night when the werewolves would howl at the full moon.

The wind made Peter shiver with cold, though he could no longer feel the cold anymore when he could smell a fresh, woody and fruity scent. It's how the air always smelled whenever there was an adventure nearby and it was the scent that Alexis carried with her. He craned his neck around, trying to see whether there was something moving in the shadows. Whether she was there with him after all.

And she was. Too far away from him to see. Even in the pale moonlight, she couldn't be seen within the darkness of the trees.

While Kiano and Victoria were setting up their tent, she and Chrys couldn't help but watch them. Wanting to join the others, but knowing that they couldn't, knowing that the moment the others might see them, they'd try to take them hostage.

Chrys' heart ached when she saw Aiden sitting alone. He wasn't seated around the fire, enjoying its warmth like the rest. His back was turned to them, his head laying low in his hands as he pulled his hair.

Aiden hadn't said a word since the others had vanished. He was stuck in his head as he continuously relived the moment after he'd heard the prophecy. Once he'd set eyes on his friends after seeing Bellicose, he'd seen the change in their behaviour. None of them could look at Bellicose, everyone had made the same conclusion he had, and yet he was one of the few to speak up.

A part of him pleaded with himself not to, but something in his mind had clicked. It was as if his fight or flight mode got activated and he'd chosen to fight as a means to survive the paralysing sensation that soared through his bones.

He kept telling himself they didn't need the Bellicose members, that he didn't miss them. Truth be told, he didn't miss Kiano. Nor did he think much about Victoria or Alexis.

However, it was too silent without Chrys' constant chatter around him. Her angelic voice could make every problem sound like a solution. He didn't try to be near her much before, afraid of the feeling that was bugging him in his stomach. The mixture of anxiety and excitement that he didn't want to feel again.

But he wanted to be around her. The feeling was worth being felt when her words and beauty were there to soften the blow. The part that felt worse to him was to not be with her at all. He longed to feel the comfort to be vulnerable that she created around him. He longed to be vulnerable with her. . .

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Hello everyone!

Happy 4K on Bellicose to all of us!! I am so proud of this book, so whenever it gets read by anyone at all, it makes my absolute day :)) So I wanted to thank everyone that has been keeping up with Bellicose so far and reading it. Never be shy to vote on the book or leave a comment to let me know what you think of it! Thank you everyone!!

Now onto other matters, some people have been leaving essay-long messages explaining the book or certain character's actions. While I appreciate that you're so invested in the story, no one needs those explanations. They kind of ruin the purpose of show not tell and I will delete them for the sake of others not having the book be explained to them. Remember, less is more in story-telling and I'll get to the point if I see it's necessary. If anyone doesn't understand anything, they can always ask and I'll happily explain, but that's it. Thank you for understanding :))

Furthermore, I'll be going back to school soon, so updates will be uploaded less frequently. Just a heads up. 

Again, thank you all for reading and thank you for helping me reach 4K! (We're on the road towards a 100K, I can feel it--lol)

xx Theresa

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