"Make way for the queen of Narnia!" an ugly dwarf announces, cackling as he leads the way. Narnians surrounding the path boo as four Cyclops carry the witch.
"Edmund, get behind me," warns Yuki, stepping in front of him. He obeys without a word. She hated to admit it, but Jadis is the most beautiful woman Yuki has ever seen, aside from her mother of course. No one can ever compare to her mother in her eyes, but Jadis was a close second. In fact, Yuki nearly forgot to breathe from how beautiful the White Witch is, that is until she talked.
"You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan," the witch states smugly. The hatred returns her to her senses and Yuki digs her foot in the ground to avoid running up and punching the smirk off her face.
"His offense was not against you!" Aslan roars.
"Have you forgotten the laws on which Narnia was written?" the witch reminds him, striking fear in everyone. Yuki turns to Edmund with sorrow. It sounded like she is here to reclaim him.
"Do not recite Deep Magic with me!" Aslan warns. "I was there when it was written."
"Then you remember well, that every traitor belongs to me," Jadis says. "His blood is my property."
"Try to take him then!" Peter threatens, drawing his sword. Rolling her eyes, Yuki tries to get him to back off. He barely knew how to block or parry the other day, how can he take her on? Not only her, but her minion seemed to be ready to charge at Peter also. By the looks of it, Peter probably wouldn't be able to defeat her right hand dwarf either.
"Do you really think mere force will deny me my right? Little king," she taunts. Jadis' eyes wanders to the figure next to him. "I see the Guardian is finally here. Come fight for me, and I will spare you."
"How about I fight you instead?" retorts Yuki, also drawing her sword, but the witch just lets out a small laugh.
"Aslan knows that unless I have blood as the law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned," she threatens. "And perish in fire and water." Her gaze turns back to Aslan. "That boy will die on the Stone Table as tradition." Murmurs and gasps were heard among the troops. Yuki nervously glances around, praying for someone to say that was not true. "You dare not refuse me."
"Enough!" Aslan commands, silencing everyone. "I shall talk to you alone." The queen smirks and walks into the tent after him, with Yuki throwing hateful glares at her as she passes.
Quite some time passed since the two entered the tent. Everyone is now sitting on the ground. Edmund fingers the grass, scared to hear about his fate. At first everyone whispered comforting words to the boy, but now no one had the nerve to say anything anymore. Finally a white figure emerges from the tent, causing everyone to hop to their feet, hooves, tails, whatever the Narnians had. The White Witch continued to glare at Edmund. Aslan follows after.
"She has renounced her claim on the Son of Adam's blood," he announces, raising cheers from the troops.
"How do I know your promise will be kept?" The witch demands loudly, attempting to ruin the festive mood, but one roar from Aslan causes her to tremble and fall into her 'throne'. The Narnians laugh and get back to celebrating Edmund's safety.
"You're gonna live!" Yuki laughs, jumping into his arms.
"Whoa!" cries Edmund, nearly falling over from the older girl's sudden weight.
"You weren't that happy when I escaped death," Peter snorts.
"Oh Pete, jealous?" smirks Susan in return as Edmund sticks his tongue out. Yuki raises a brow.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you like me," she jokes, approaching him.
"Of course not!" growls Peter, red from embarrassment.
"Well, we just got Edmund back and he's finally safe from the White Witch," Yuki reminds them. "Instead of fighting, I believe we should celebrate!" Her suggestion causes the Narnians to cheer even louder.
"I'd love that, but I think I should train more," Edmund chuckles shyly. "I just got back and I can barely fight. Just because I'm safe doesn't mean the war will be cancelled."
"I guess you have a point," sighs Yuki.
"False alarm, dear friends!" Peter yells to the Narnians who are preparing wine. "We must go back to training!" Groans were heard in response, but they agreed that training would be more productive than just drinking.
"Come, Yuki," Lucy pleads, finally speaking up. Strange, why was she so quiet earlier? "I still want to see you fight with a bow."
"I'd prefer it if no one lets her near a bow or arrow again, actually," groans Peter, showing them the short locks of hair Yuki had shot off just a while back.
"In that case, I will make you a custom bow as soon as the war is over," jokes Edmund, hugging his new best friend.
"HEY!" Peter yells, trying to pull the two apart.
"Come on, Oreius is supposed to teach you two more on how to ride horses," Susan points out, gesturing to the centaur waiting for them.
Night quickly falls. All five children practiced long and hard to sharpen any skills they needed for the war. By now, Susan and Lucy had gone to sleep already, but Yuki had no idea where the boys went. Despite the late hour, Yuki wanted to continue training since she can't forget the way Peter defeated her so easily the first time they sparred. She just had to improve much more. If she can't take down Peter, she would stand no chance against the White Witch. She strings another arrow and carefully aims the tip at the bulls eye and releases it.
"UGH!" Yuki growls in frustration as her arrow misses…again. Around the target are the arrows from earlier. A light hits her eye as she kicks a nearby pebble. The daggers on the ground to the right caught her eyes. A flashback of Lucy hitting the target with her tiny dagger goes through her mind. "I wonder…" She cautiously picks up a light dagger from the stack and holds the flat of the blade between her fingers.
Concentrating on the target once more, she lets out a short breath and throws it. A loud THUMP sound was heard and Yuki looks up to see she had hit the top of the middle. "YES!"
"That was amazing!" compliments a sudden voice behind her.
"AH!" shrieking from surprise, Yuki clumsily trips over a nearby root and onto her face. A familiar laugh follows her unfortunate fall. "I'd appreciate if you do not sneak up on me like that, Peter."
"Oh come on, it's almost bed time," retorts Peter, pointing at the moon.
"Well then why aren't you asleep? And I don't know what that has to do with anything," Yuki shoots back, dusting dirt off her behind as she stands up.
"Something told me to take a walk tonight," replies Peter. "And I'm glad I did, that last toss was outstanding! I think we have the solution to Formation A now, don't we?" Yuki slightly blushes at the compliment.
"It was just luck," she says modestly. "Although I did get a rush fighting like that."
"I think it's more than luck," says Peter. "Here, let's make a deal. You throw one more dagger at that target. If you hit the bulls-eye, I will craft you a custom dagger set for combat after the war is over. Then we will practice Formation A again with the new daggers. And if you miss, even by just a bit, you have to carry me around like my personal throne."
"Edmund's going to make me a custom bow, you're going to give me custom daggers?" confirms Yuki, to which Peter nods. "Actually I've asked the fauns to make me some shuriken for battle, but I'm up for a set of custom daggers too. A girl can never have too many weapons."
"Isn't it usually 'a girl can never have too many shoes'?" corrects Peter, chuckling.
"Yes, but for me? No," Yuki replies, winking at him before turning away. "Although Susan would be impressed that you know that." She picks up another dagger and looks straight at the board. Peter watches closely as Yuki whips the dagger at her target, flying full speed until it hit near the center a second time.
"Wow!" Peter grins, excited at the experience. Growling, she looks back at the target with disappointment. "What's wrong?"
"I didn't hit the target in the center..."
"Are you serious? That was amazing! Look at that!" Peter exclaims, pointing at the target.
"Yes, Peter, but look again," Yuki mumbles. "It's only at the edge of the center circle. I need it to hit the middle."
"Why are you so pessimistic?" asks Peter, giving her a look. "At least look on the bright side. For a first timer, you've made incredible progress. And second, now I owe you a set of daggers."
"I should make bets with you more often; soon I'll be High Queen at this rate." Peter smirks at her. "What?"
"So you want to marry me?" Peter jokes, smirking and stepping toward her. Her eyes widen when Yuki realizes what her statement sounded like.
"NO!" she shouts, pushing Peter away. "I meant I'll demote you from High King and take over your place!"
"I was just joking!" laughs Peter, nearly falling over from how red she became. "Why would I want to marry you?"
"Can you really imagine us married?" Her mind wanders to the thought and it wasn't long before the two burst out laughing.
"I can really see us walking on the beach together!" laughs Yuki, imagining the two of them holding hands along the beach. They pretend to hold hands and laugh.
"And then the crazy idea of me proposing to you?" Peter adds, pretending to propose. He makes a quick fake ring out of a nearby flower and holds it up. "Will you marry me, my sweet Yuki?"
"Oh yes, Peter, I do!" Yuki cries dramatically. Peter slips the flower ring on and twirls her around. "Can you imagine us having being king and queen together?"
"I know, and then they'll expect us to have heirs to the throne," Peter chuckles, finally calming down. "I mean, I have always wants to have a large family."
"A large family would be nice, but if we are the High King and Queen and we want to have kids, wouldn't that mean we'd have to…" she trails off as the word makes its way into the minds of the two teens.
"I think I'm going to sleep now!" Peter abruptly yells, speed walking away.
"Me too!" Yuki yells in return and runs.
"Good night!"
"Bye!"
Once she reaches her tent, Yuki jumps into her hammock, placing a hand on her heart.
"That was the craziest idea I've ever had," gasps Yuki. "Calm down…" She frowns at her heart's lightning-like speed. "Why is it beating so fast?" Looking down, she notices that she is still wearing the ring Peter fastened for her. "It was just a joke, nothing serious." Of course it's a joke, why would anyone want her anyways? No one back home did, except her mom. With that discouragement, she takes off the ring and is about to throw the flower on the ground when a strange feeling takes over her. For some reason she just couldn't toss it away. Unable to get rid of the small flower, Yuki ties it on her necklace and quickly cleans herself with a cloth.
The flap of her tent suddenly flies open as Lucy and Susan enter excitedly.
"What are you two still doing up? I thought you guys went to sleep a long time ago," asks Yuki, sitting up in her cot.
"We were, but we saw Aslan leaving, so we've decided to follow him," Lucy answers.
"I'll come with you," Yuki offers, grabbing her sword, but Susan stops her. Smiling sadly, Susan walks up to her and grabs her hands.
"Yuki, you must stay here," orders Susan, causing Yuki to frown. She hasn't been with these two for a long time, but she's developed a bond with them. "Things might get dangerous."
"Exactly why I have to go with you guys," whispers Yuki, trying to making sure no one around is eavesdropping.
"But if something happens, they'll need you here," Lucy reminds her. "We just wanted you to know in case something horrible happens."
"No," Yuki interrupts. She pulls the two into a hug. "Don't talk as if it's the last night. Promise me you two will be careful."
Susan nods and sends her a promising smile.
"You two are the best things that happened to me ever since this war started, so please don't let me lose you," begs Yuki. "You've made me feel like I belong and as if I'm actually wanted."
"We love you too, Yuki," Lucy giggles, kissing the older girl on the cheek.
"We must leave now or we'll lose Aslan," Susan says quickly, pulling on Lucy. "Promise me you will help the boys tomorrow if something ominous does happen." But before Yuki could answer, the two run out of the tent.
Yuki paces around her tent, worried for the Pevensie girls. What will she do if something happens to them? What's she going to tell Edmund and Peter? That she knew the girls are walking to their doom and she didn't bother to do a thing? Growling, Yuki prays for her friends' safety. A weak glow emits from her sword and she looks at it to see a small gem beginning to form on an empty slot of her sword. However it quickly disappears and the gem vanishes to nothing again. Curious, Yuki runs her fingers over where the glow came from and gasps as she felt a bump there. Looking at it more closely, she realizes that a very clear gem has indeed formed on her sword, but it must not have been enough since it can only be seen when one stares at it for a long time.
She lies in her bed, thinking about the slightly intimate joke she had with Peter. A blush makes its way across her face as she imagines the scenarios in her head once again. Each joke they said earlier simply deepened her blush.
'Why do I keep thinking of him?' wonders Yuki. 'He's proud, but he knows when to bow his head and accept his limits. Peter has ambition and way he loves his siblings is adorable, but that's probably only because Lucy is so adorable she can make even a beast look cute.' Even the way he often teased her made her feel happy as well as annoyed, but at the same time she didn't mind them because she knew that's what showed their friendship.
Is it strange that she loved it when he teases her? He is actually pretty friendly once they got over the influences of war. He was smart and knew how to think on his feet, such as his plans to defeat the wolves and Maugrim at the waterfall. 'Now that I think about it, the only physical trait of his that actually attracted me are his eyes...' Those beautiful soft sapphire blue eyes that always captivated her. 'I must notice him a lot now if I know the specific color of his eyes.' The thought causes her to blush at the realization that she's been watching and observing Peter a lot more than she thought she did.
Letting out a frustrated cry, she ruffles her hair crazily.
"Ahhh!" she screams into the pillow. "Maybe I should just go to sleep. That should fix my problems." It was then that she also realized that she's always gone to sleep to fix her problems: both the times that she fought with Peter at the mansion, the time her father left for the army, the time her mom told her she would leave for the countryside.
The Guardian and High King hold hands as they walk along the tides in the afternoon. Together, they watch the beautiful sunset.
"The colors sure are beautiful aren't they?" asks Peter, shading his eyes from the bright rays.
"They truly are, aren't they?" agrees Yuki. The two stand next to each other, fingers intertwined. Blushing, Yuki leans her head against Peter's shoulder. This causes the High King to turn towards his companion and leans into her also. Feeling a shift, Yuki would look up and catch Peter's gaze. Slowly, the two close the gap and connect. Peter's soft lips on hers, fingers intertwined, running her fingers through his hair…
"I bring grave news!" A voice wakes Yuki up from her romantic dreams. The red Yuki gasps as she shoots up and turns toward a dryad. Did something happen to Susan and Lucy? Oh please, Aslan, let them be safe. "Please stay calm, Guardian." However by her tone, Yuki doubts she can.
