So I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but I worked really hard to get all the details of the duel in. I was literally watching the scene and pausing every few seconds to write it down with a few embellishments on my part when the scene changes.  I was going to make the duel one chapter but it seemed to flow better if I split it into two.

𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍

The Narnians continued to cheer as Peter approached Miraz and his marshals. The Telmarines were cheering in the distance as well. When Peter drew his blade, their cheers grew louder in praise and support. A majority had no idea what would happen should their King lose. It would cause unnecessary worry and distress if they knew what all was at stake.  Peter needed their support. All the Narnians knew was that they were to follow orders, regardless of who won the duel.

Miraz stood from the chair they had brought as Peter approached. A Telmarine held his helmet and before they could offer it to Miraz, he jerked it from the man's grasp. Although I was quite a distance away, I could see his anger and aggression, plain as day. I knew Peter had to have noticed it as well and could work in it in his favor. As long as Peter kept his emotions in check and head clear, it wouldn't be a fair fight. One of the quickest ways to lose a fight was to allow your emotions to take over or allow your head to get clouded with unnecessary thoughts. That was the reason I knew I had to make amends when he started blaming himself. It would weigh on him and cause the fight to sway towards Miraz. I needed to make sure his head was clear and alleviate any worries that might've been on his shoulders.

Miraz drew his blade and approached the center of the makeshift arena. Peter did the same and the two began to pace side-to-side. The crowd of Narnians grew silent. Neither took their eyes off their opponent. I strained to pick up some of the conversation, wanting to know for sure what was going on. It was difficult given the distance, but as long as the Narnians were quiet, I could pick up some of what was being said. It seemed Miraz was trying to persuade Peter into surrendering.

"There's still time to surrender," Miraz said.
"Well, feel free," Peter replied.
"How many must die for the throne?"
"Just one," he answered, pushing the faceguard down on his helmet.

Peter cried out and ran towards Miraz while in growled in response. Using the remnants of the Stone Table, Peter jumped off a boulder and swung at  Miraz. Both swords hit the other's shield and with the sound of metal ringing against metal, the duel began. Both armies cheered on their King, though the Telmarines were too far away to see who was winning.

The fight dragged on. Their swords clashed as they parried each other's blades. Miraz used his shield to hit Peter in the face, but it only pushed him back a little. The duel was equally matched, despite the age of both opponents. It was clear neither would win easily. In fact, neither had been able to land a single hit to their opponent and I could feel the Narnians growing anxious. The longer it dragged out, the better the chances of one of the Kings slipping up and giving their opponent the upper hand.

Suddenly, Peter managed to swipe Miraz across his back when he turned. I could sense Miraz growling in frustration—and possibly pain—as he turned around. He charged at Peter in retaliation, but he managed to duck under Miraz's arm and used his sword to block the blow. He swung at him again, and again it was parried by Peter. In quick succession, Miraz swung his shield at his face again, knocking Peter's helmet off. The blow earlier had likely loosened it.

Miraz tried to aim for his neck, but Peter tilted his head back to avoid the blade. The chainmail that covered his head fell off at the action. Peter raised his shield as Miraz went for his head again. Ducking below, Peter swiped low and managed to cut him on the leg. Miraz seemed to groan and limped back a little in pain. There was a brief pause in the fight before the two charged at each other again. This time, Miraz used his sword to trip Peter and the younger King fell rather hard. But he recovered quickly and before Miraz had the chance to swing again, Peter was on his feet.

Miraz's next blow hit Peter's shield and the blonde King tried to make his next move. But Miraz was fighting a little dirty—which was to be expected given past Telmarine tactics. When Peter swung at Miraz, he missed completely as the Telmarine King manouvered and kicked Peter's feet out from under him. Peter didn't have a chance to recover from the fall before Miraz stomped on his shield. His cry of pain was quite audible and several Narnians gasped in concern. It was the first real damage Miraz had been able to do to Peter.

Crying out, Peter swung wildly and his sword crashed against Miraz's shield. While Peter was still lying on the ground, the Telmarine swung his sword at him three consecutive times. But Peter rolled out of the way each time, dodging each potential blow or managing to block it with his blade. However, Miraz wasn't providing the younger King with Peter an opportunity to regain his footing, making it impossible for it to be a fair fight.

After Peter rolled out of the away for the third time, he ended up too close to the remnants of the Stone Table to move forward anymore. Switching tactics, he rolled back the other direction, causing Miraz to trip over him. The Telmarine fell to the ground beside his opponent and Peter took the opportunity to finally regain his footing. He stood up and allowed Miraz to struggle to his feet as well—Peter was a much more generous fighter than his opponent.

Remembering I was supposed to be keeping an eye out, I looked to the woods. A figure on horseback rode towards us. There appeared to be two of them, but it wasn't the Queens. As they drew closer, I realized Susan was one of the riders on the horse, but Caspian was the other—not the Valiant Queen. That must've been why I thought I saw him leave earlier. But what could've happened that Susan returned without Lucy?

The horse whinnied upon their arrival, drawing  Peter's attention off the fight. Fortunately, Miraz was still making his way to his feet so he could afford the temporary distraction.

Both Kings were out of breath and tired from the fight. But it was Miraz who offered a reprieve, questioning Peter. "Does his Majesty need a respite?" His voice was kind of condescending, but it was obvious he was hoping Peter would agree. There was no way the Telmarine would be the first to take a break so he forced the decision onto the younger King.

"Five minutes?" Peter responded.
"Three!" Miraz countered.

Both slowly turned away from their opponent. It was a never a smart decision to turn your back on your enemy. But in this case, it appeared as both were in enough pain to not care. Miraz held his leg as he limped back to his men standing watch. Peter didn't limp, but I could tell he was in a lot of pain just based on how he walked. Edmund retrieved Peter's helmet and helped his brother back to the edge of the arena. The Narnians fell silent and I saw many concerned faces.

"Lucy?" was the first thing Peter asked the two new arrivals. Since Susan had returned alone, he was very worried about his little sister.
"She got through," Susan answered, shutting down his concern. "With a little help."
"Thanks," Peter told Caspian. His voice sounded a bit gruff but I assumed he was just tired from the fighting.
"Well, you were busy," Caspian supplied.

The sound of a helmet crashing to the ground distracted me from the rest of their conversation. I looked over to Miraz's side and noted he had thrown down his helmet down. I could barely make out something about it being too close. His statement concerned me, but I didn't catch enough of the conversation to know exactly what it was about. I could only assume it was about the duel.

Shaking my head, and glancing towards the woods, I refocused my attention on Peter. I didn't want to eavesdrop but I was concerned. He had been injured and I wanted to know how serious it was—he wasn't using his shield arm at all. It was still a bit hard to hear what was said but I managed to catch him ordering Susan up with the archers.

Susan hugged her brother and the action caused him to wince enough that I could see it despite the distance. They exchanged words that I couldn't catch and then Susan retreated towards the How. As she ran inside, Peter turned to the crowd and raised his sword with a smile on his face. The Narnians cheered and I realized someone had told him about their unease. Peter needed to raise their morale.

However, I could tell that some of them were still concerned, especially those nearest to me. Whether they were afraid we would lose this fight or that Peter was seriously hurt, I couldn't tell. All I knew was that I could feel the concern and worry coming off in waves. It was a potential problem, but I knew most of them would be able to fight through it. So I decided to remain silent until more encouraging words were needed. Until then, Peter would be the one to encourage the Narnians.

𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍

It's hard to include the dialogue when from Ana's perspective they're far away. Even with increased hearing given her magic, that distance would be hard. So I included as much as I felt I realistically could. I tried to imply that the sounds Ana observes during the duel are less heard and more inferred on her behalf given how many she has witnessed from the frontlines. But I don't know if it came off that way. Sorry for any confusion.