Aslan's Will

I got this idea from watching LWW again, and in the scene where Aslan unfreezes the statues, I noticed that most of them were wearing armor. That means that either as they were turned to stone all over Narnia, they appeared in her castle (a possibility that I won't rule out), or there was a raid.
Calamus, Tumnus's father, is elecktrum's, and she graciously allowed me to borrow him! Thanks, elecktrum!

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It was twilight. We were in Jardon's cave, which was one of the only places that, if we were caught, we could easily make up and excuse for all being at.

Only the commanders were here at this meeting, and there were fifteen of us, all waiting to begin discussing strategies for the raid tomorrow.

There were lanterns strung about and wine flowed, though we had all been cautioned to drink only a small amount. We all needed our wits tonight. They were just to create the illusion of a celebration, anyway, even if we didn't know what we were "celebrating." That didn't matter, though, because we weren't planning to be caught.

Peric the centaur, Lissiana the dryad, Revil the leopard, and Calamus the faun had arrived, among others. Those with families had been warned of the dangers of participating, as there was no guarantee of leaving with our lives, but they had come anyway. In Calamus's words, "Let it be known that we tried. I will not tell my children that I could have liberated Narnia and they could have lived in freedom, but did not out of fear for my life." It wasn't quite what our warning was about, but it wasn't our choice, it was theirs.

The meeting began with a retelling of the Witch's conquest of Narnia.

"Seventy-five years ago," Lissiana began in her soft voice," Jadis came to Narnia from her dwelling in the Wastelands of the North. The Tree of Protection had been felled. She came with more power than she had when she was brought here by Lord Digory, and she had a wand. At first, we believed that she could be disposed of easily. We were quickly proved wrong, and lost many loyal Narnians in the process. For our efforts to bring her down, she gave us the Eternal Winter.
"It is likely that she will give us something worse for this attempt, but we must try!"

She raised her voice, "If there are any here who are having doubts and have decided that perhaps your families need you more than Narnia, then feel free to leave. You are not forced to stay."

She paused to give us a chance to think. No one moved.

"You have made your decisions. Each of you could have just signed your own death warrants."

Again she paused. Again, we stood still.

Her face broke into a smile, "Good. After those words of despair, I give you words of hope. The prophecy wouldn't have been made if it weren't to be fulfilled someday. Even if we are to die, remember that Aslan's Country awaits us! Let us ask for his blessing and guidance for tomorrow."

We knelt or bowed our heads.

"Aslan, you have created us. You have created Narnia! Please, if it be your will, protect us in battle. Keep our families and loved ones safe. Guide us, keep us strong. Help us remember what we're fighting for," she opened her eyes, "Aslan's will be done!"

Fifteen voices answered hers, "Aslan's will be done!"

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The next few hours were a blur of battle strategies. I hoped that I'd be able to remember them all! Thankfully, by the end of the meeting, I had the general idea of what my troop was to do.

Peric went over the plan again with each of us, and I understood.

After downing a glass of wine, I galloped home.

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That night, all that I could think of were the 'what-ifs'. What if the Secret Police had heard us and told the White Witch about our plan? What if she was waiting for us tomorrow? What if she came and arrested us all tonight?

What if I'm killed?

Maybe this raid wasn't part of Aslan's plan. Maybe he meant for us to wait for him to return to lead us into battle, or to wait for the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. Maybe we would all be caught and our families killed.

Maybe Lissiana's words were true and Aslan really would be with us, so my worries were pointless.

I would probably laugh over this after it was all over and the Witch was killed. I would finally ask Lissy to marry me.

But Aslan's will be done.

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Peric came to get me the next morning.

"It's time."

Strange how those two words can inspire so much fear.

All of our jokes about Jadis meeting her end today were gone as we donned our armor. It must have been the wine last night that made us act that way, because now all I could think about was how strong she was, with her magic. It had been winter for seventy-five years after all. It was her power that kept it here.

She needed to be stopped.

As we trekked to her castle, Lissiana, my partner on this mission, gripped my hand.

"Aslan's will be done, Derec. He knows what we're doing. Remember that."

"But what if-"

"Hush. If we die, we meet again in Aslan's country. If we don't die, then we continue living here. It's his decision, in accordance with his will."

I wondered if I should ask her to marry me now.

"Lissy, -"

I was cut off by Peric's horn being blown.

Charge.

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Lucy stood with Aslan and Susan, staring at all the statues in the White Witch's castle. There was a centaur ready to strike, a faun, frozen behind his shield. A dryad was still in the act of throwing her sword down and yelling something. A name, perhaps.

Then she saw Mr. Tumnus and forgot them all.

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Aslan brought them all back to life. Most were confused as to where the Witch was.

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They fought bravely in the Battle of Beruna with their kings until the White Witch was killed by Aslan.

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Some lived at Cair Paravel with the Four until they fell in battle or the Pevensies left, such as Tumnus, and a centaur and dryad who were married soon after the coronation.

Aslan's will was done.

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