All was lost. Miraz had won, and the battlefield was red with the blood of the Narnians and Telmarines alike.
They had had no choice but to flee.
Caspian and the Pevensies took refuge in the depths of the forests, hiding out in the remains of the Howe. None of them, however, were foolish enough to believe that the small shelter would be safe for long. It was but a matter of time before Miraz sent some of his men to find them, but this time, they would not have the safety of numbers to hide behind.
Time was running out, and they knew it. With every second passing, they were one step closer to the end of the line.
It was this knowledge that had pushed Peter to where he was that day.
Standing in front of what was left of the stone table, as the others had gone to collect what little food they could from what was left of the woods. The air dropping to a seemingly impossibly low temperature, wind cold as it breezed gently through the room, while Peter stood in front of the White Witch.
She was beautiful, in a way, hair flowing behind her, as white as her dress in contrast to the darkness he knew all too well that lurked beneath her skin.
She smiled a crooked smile, sending chills running down his spine, and had he any other choice, he would not have fought the urge to turn and walk away.
"Peter, dear." She spoke incredibly softly, in a sickeningly sweet voice convincing enough that Peter could understand what had driven Edmund to believe in her innocence when he had first met her.
"What is it that you want from me?" She spoke this time with a half smile and knowing eyes, and Peter scoffed.
"You know."
The Witch chuckled under her breath, never once breaking eye contact with Peter.
"You want another chance? A do over? I can give you that. Back to the beginning, before Miraz won."
He knew that she could, and it was not his being deceived by her that he was wary of. It was what she would ask in return that scared him. Though, by this point, there was very little he would not give her, for he had no other way to turn, there was little more to be lost.
"In exchange for what?" Peter asked, cautiously.
The half smile on her face shifted slowly into a soft one that any person who knew nothing of her would believe to be genuine and kind. Peter, however, was not fooled.
"All I ask from you in return, is that, should you succeed in your quest, you free me."
Peter considered it for a moment, he didn't want Jadis to roam free once more, but if he didn't accept her help, Narnia would be destroyed forever.
"And if I take what you offer and do not free you?"
The expression on her face was no longer soft and sweet, her features hardened into that of someone unmistakably dangerous and terrifying. This time, when she spoke, her words were harsh and clipped.
"If you succeed in your quest to save Narnia from Miraz, and refuse to free me within one week afterwards, all will return to as it was before."
Peter hesitated for a moment, they had defeated the White Witch once before, but he wasn't sure if they could do it again.
She seemed to notice Peter's hesitation, speaking up once again.
"If you don't, you know it's only a matter of time until he finds you. The game is over. But it doesn't have to be."
He looked down, considering her words. She was right, of course she was, that's why he was standing in front of her in the first place.
After a brief pause, she spoke up a final time.
"After all, what more have you to lose?"
At those words, Peter swallowed his pride, and held his hand out to the wall of ice that stood before him. The ice cracked, an elegant white hand sliding out to meet his, clasping his own in a firm shake, one that was so cold it was like he was holding on to pure ice.
The world around him fell away, the Howe melting into something else entirely, as the sound of ticking filled his ears, growing louder and louder by the second.
The hand clasping his own had fallen away with the room, and suddenly, there was nothing.
No Peter, no Howe, no Miraz or stone table or siblings.
Just like that, the last few Narnian years fell away, and two children were born in the Telmarine castle.