&ch,”saidgforthefirsttimearatherlordlytoamomentlaterheburstoutlaughingandsaid,“Ifyouwanttokh,itisn'taproperwoundatall。Ionlytooktheskinoffmykasanyightdowithoutgoile。”
“Stillyouwereile,”saidAravis。“Itmusthavebeenwonderful。”
“Itwasn'tatalllikewhatIthought,”saidCor。
“ButSha—eatoldmeaKingLuneandhowhefoundoutwhoyouwere。”
&'ssitdown,”saidCor。“Forit'sratheralongstory。Aher'sanabsolutebrick。I'dbejustaspleased—orveryfindinghe'smyfatherevenifhewasn'takihoughEdudallsortsofhorriblethiohappeyouwaory。Well,dIweretwins。AndaboutaweekafterwewerebothborheytookustoawiseoldNarniatobeblessedorsomething。Nowthistaurhetasagoodmaaursare。Perhapsyouhaven'tseeaursyet?Thereweresomeileyesterday。Mostremarkablepeople,butI'tsayIfeelquiteathomewiththemyet。Isay,Aravis,therearegoiofthioiherntries。”
&hereare,”saidAravis。“Butgetoory。”
“Well,assoonashesawe,itseemsthiseandsaid,AdaywillewhenthatboywillsaveArdfromthedeadliestdangerinwhichevershelay。SoofyFatherandMotherwereverypleased。Buttherewassomeowhowasn't。ThiscalledtheLordBarwhohadbeenFather'sLorddapparentlyhe'ddohingwrong—bezzlingorsomewordlikethat—Ididn'tuhatpartverywell—andFatherhadhadtodismisshim。ButnothingelsewasdoohimandhewasallowedtogoonlivinginArd。Buthemusthavebeenasbadashecouldbe,foritcameoutafterwardhehadbeeheTisrodhadsentalotofseationtoTashbaan。SoassoonasheheardIwasgoingtosaveArdfrerhedecidedImustbeputoutoftheway。Well,hesukidnappingme(Idolyknowhow)androdeaindingArrowtothecoast。He'dhadeverythiheremahhisownfreadyforhimatoseawithmeonboard。ButFathergotwindofit,thoughime,andwasafterhimasquicklyashecould。TheLordBarwasalreadyatseawhenFatherreachedthecoast,butnotoutofsight。AndFatherwasembarkedinoneofhisoithies。
“Itmusthavebeenawonderfulchase。Theyweresixdaysfollallehthertobattleowasagreatsea-fight(Iheardalotaboutityesterdayevening)fromteno'themtillsu。OurpeopletooktheshipiIwasn'tthere。TheLordBarhimselfhadbeehebattle。Butoneofhismensaidthat,earlythatm,assoonashesawhewastobeoverhauled,Barhadgiveooneofhisknightsahawayintheship'sboat。Andthatboatwasneverseenagain。ButofcoursethatwasthesameboatthatAslaobeatthebackofallthestories)pushedashoreattherightplaceforArsheeshtopickmeup。IwishIkknight'sname,forhemusthavekeptmealiveandstarvedhimselftodoit。”
“IsupposeAslanwouldsaythatartofsomeoneelse'sstory,”saidAravis。
“Iwasfthat,”saidCor。
“Aheprophecywillworkout,”saidAravis,“andwhatthegreatdayou'retosaveArdfrom。”
“Well,”saidCorratherawkwardly,“theyseemtothinkI'vedoalready。”
Aravisclappedherhands。“Why,ofcourse!”shesaid。“HowstupidIam。Andhowwonderful!ArdeverbeierdawaswhenRabadashhadcrossedtheArrowwithhistwohundredhorseandyouhadn'tyetghwithye。Don'tyoufeelproud?”
“Ithiscared,”saidCor。
“Andyou'llbelivingatAnvardnow,”saidAravisratherwistfully。
“Oh!”saidCor,“IottenwhatIcameabout。Fatherwantsyoutoeahus。Hesaysthere'sbeennoladyiheycallitthecourt,Idon'tknowwhy)siherdied。Do,Aravis。You'lllikeFather—and。They'rehey'vebeenprhtup。Youbeafraidthat—”
“Ohstopit,”saidAravis,“orwe'llhavearealfight。OfcourseI'lle。”
“'sgoaheHorses,”saidCor。
TherewasagreatandjoyousmeetiweenBreeanddBree,whowasstillinarathersubduedframeofmioutforAnvardatondHwinwouldtoNarniaonthefollowingday。AllfourbadeaefarewelltotheHermitaheywouldsoonvisithimagain。ByaboutthemiddletheywereoheHorseshadexpectedthatAravisandCorwouldride,butCorexplaiinwar,whereeveryodowhathedobest,nooneinNarniaorArdeverdreamedofmountingaTalkingHorse。
ThisremindedpainofhowlittlehekNarniansandwhatdreadfulmistakeshemightmake。SowhileHwinstrolledalonginahappydream,Breegotmorenervousandmoreself-sciouswitheverystephetook。
“Buckup,Bree,”saidCor。“It'sfarworseformethanforyou。Youaren'tgoied。Ishallbelearningreadingandwritingandheraldryanddandhistoryandmusicwhileyou'llbegallopingandrollingonthehillsofNarniatoyourheart'st。”
“Butthat'sjustthepoint,”groaalkingHorsesroll?Supposingtheydon't?Iiveitup。Whatdoyouthink,Hwin?”
“I'mgoingtorollanyway,”saidHwin。“Idon'tsupposeanyofthemwillpsofsugarwhetheryourollornot。”
“Arewecastle?”saidBreetoCor。
“Roubend,”saidthePrince。
“Well,”saidBree,“I'mgoingtohaveagoodomaybethelast。Waitformeaminute。”
Itwasfiveminutesbefain,blowinghardahbitsofbra。
“NowI'mready,”hesaidinavloom。“Leadon,Prinarniaah。”
Buthelookedmorelikeahtoafuhanalong-lostcaptivereturningtohomeandfreedom。