It had been three weeks since Vyrina first gave her mother the poisonous tea and Lillian was very ill. The castle doctor had already told them that it was unlikely that the unborn child would survive. Vyrina tried hard not to look to pleased about this news and was glad she did not raise any suspicion from her family. Her plan was coming along nicely and she had become a great swordsman in such a short time. Reepicheep had told her that she was the quickest learner that he had ever taught. Vyrina believed that nobody could stop her now, but she didn't know the plan that was going on behind her back.

As most of the castle tended to the ill queen, there were some Narnian's that had learned of Princess Vyrina's evil plan. Though they were only a small group of them, they were already formulating a plan to stop the princess before things got too far. Unfortunately they were not as far ahead in their plan as Princess Vyrina was. The small group of Narnian's had been spying on the princess for some time now, taking shifts to make sure none of them would fall asleep during their spying. Trumpkin had been lurking in shadows while the princess visited her sick mother. He noticed her walk in with another cup of tea. It would not be long until the unborn child was gone and it seemed that the Queen would not make it either. He decided to head off to tell the others what he was thinking when he ran into one of the princesses handmaidens.

“Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Miss Saline,” Trumpkin apologized.

“That's alright,” Saline said, staring at the dwarf suspiciously. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just out for a walk and thought I would drop by to see the Queen,” Trumpkin lied. “I heard she was ill and wanted to see how she was feeling. I just noticed the princess walk in and I don't really want to interrupt a family moment. So I thought I would just come back later.”

“Oh, well, I could let the Queen know that you were going to stop by to see her,” said Saline, not seeming too convinced.

“I would appreciate it,” said Trumpkin, turning to leave.

He had a feeling that Saline would tell the princess about their encounter and he was sure that it would cause Vyrina to become suspicious of him It appeared that their time was running out and they would need to make a plan soon. Trufflehunter was supposed to be going to find Reepicheep and let him know what they had found out. The princess had kept him pretty busy and he was not yet aware of the princesses evil intentions. If they were going to stop the princesses plans then they were going to need a warrior like Reepicheep on their side. Trumpkin made his way down to the knights quarters hoping to find Trufflehunter and Reepicheep there and was glad when he saw the two animals deep in conversation. They both looked up at him when he entered, worry on their faces.

“There may be more problems then we thought,” said Trufflehunter speaking up.

“What do you mean?” Trumpkin asked.

“The princess has been training with me,” Reepicheep said. “She asked to learn the art of swordsmanship a while ago and I have been working with her ever since. That is why I have been so busy. She is quite good, better than some of the knights of Narnia.”

“That is not our only problem,” said Trumpkin. “I ran into Saline upstairs and I do believe she will tell the princess. Vyrina may become suspicious of what is going on.”

“Does she know?” Trufflehunter asked. “Is she aware that we have been spying on the princess?”

“I don't know, but I bet the princess won't take any chances,” Trumpkin replied. “We are going to have to make a plan quick.”

“Yes, we had better get out of here, before the princess realizes we are in the castle,” said Trufflehunter.

The three went to the door to leave when the saw a group of guards heading past the door. They stood there for a moment as the guards passed before leaving the quarters. It appeared that something was going on, but none of them wanted to wait around to find out what it was. As they left the castle they found that there were more guards stationed at every exit than was normal. It appeared the the princess was already told about Trumpkin being in the castle and was attempting to catch him before he made his way out. The three creatures looked at each other trying to make a plan to get out of the castle safely. Reepicheep offered to go up and get the guards into a conversation about swordsmanship as Trufflehunter and Trumpkin would sneak past the distracted guards.

As Reepicheep walked up to the guards the nodded to him as he quickly got them into a conversation. It seemed much easier than any of them anticipated and soon Trufflehunter and Trumpkin were outside of the castle gates into the safety of the street. They both looked at each other as they waited for Reepicheep to emerge from the castle gate, but he never came. Trumpkin and Trufflehunter looked at each other, worried. Neither of them thought that Reepicheep would gain any suspicion, but almost an hour had went by and their friend never returned to them. Just when they were about to give up hope, they saw Reepicheep walking slowly towards them. They looked at each other noticing the sadness in the mouses stature. Reepicheep walked over to his two friends with his head held low.

“The Queen has died,” said Reepicheep, taking a deep breath. Trumpkin and Trufflehunter could tell there was more than just that.

“We thought the queen would die sooner or later since she had been poisoned,” said Trufflehunter when Reepicheep didn't continue.

“It's not just that,” said Reepicheep, looking up at his two friends. “The King in his despair killed himself. Vyrina is officially the Queen of Narnia.”