I finally got chapter 10 finished! I was starting to feel guilty about not getting it to you guys.... oh well, you can't really blame me, I've been extremely busy. First I had my birthday to celebrate (yay for now being 15!), then I had solo and ensemble to prepare for (which went very well, in cae you were wondering. I now get to letter this year), then I had this sleepover thing at my church, and finally my teachers have decided to torture us and give us lots of major projects, which includes a research paper, a European country slideshow, and an oral project in spanish.... it was tiring, but, at loong last, I've finished this chapter :D yay!

I do not own anything that C.S Lewis owns, mainly because he already owns it. However, Claire and Barley are mine, I have now officially copyrighted them :D

Lucy and Susan were asleep in their beds, exhausted from the day's events. I was still awake and restless. Aslan's mournful look still plagued my mind and I tried unsuccessfully to piece together whatever had caused that look. My mind filed through hundreds of possibilities, none of them seemed to fit and some were just plain crazy. I had promised myself that I would talk to him tomorrow but, for some reason, I had a feeling that tomorrow would be too late.

After tossing and turning in my bed for the past few hours, trying vainly and with little success to fall asleep, I decided to give up on the idea of sleep as a hopeless case for the moment and take a walk. Walking had always helped me calm down and clear my mind when I was back home.

The cool, night breeze kissed my face as I stepped outside. It was very late. Every fire was out and every person was asleep, which made the camp feel like a ghost town. The fact that all the lights were out didn't bother me in the least bit; the moon's gentle light would guide me. I fell into a familiar pattern of walking, letting my feet carry me through the camp while I mulled over the thing that was bothering me.

Aslan had seemed so sorrowful even in a time of rejoicing, it wasn't like him. He hadn't even seemed to have been paying much attention to his surroundings after the Witch had left. I though back on everything that had happened after Aslan and the Witch had come out of the tent. The Witch had looked a bit smug and satisfied even though Edmund had been freed of her grasp. Remembering that self-satisfied look on her face made a rush of anger rise up through me. I wanted to smack that smug look off of her face. She should've been angry and violent after talking to Aslan. Had he made some type of deal with her? I was sure he had. After all, the Witch had asked whether a promise would be kept. A promise. Suddenly, fear gripped my heart. What type of promise had Aslan made? What type of promise would make the Witch seem so satisfied and victorious? Surely Aslan wouldn't risk his life, would he?

By some coincidence or product of fate my feet had carried me to Alsan's tent. I stood outside the tent, debating whether to go ask Aslan or to jus let it go. The flags on top of the tent fluttered in the small breeze that blew through the camp while I remained standing in the same place that I had stood in earlier that day. I just couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted to do. Eventully, Aslan himself emerged from his tent and spotted me.

"Do you need something, Claire?" I came out of my daze and nodded slowly. I took a deep breath and decided to just ask him outright.

"What did you promise the Witch? I know it's your business and it's not my right to ask, but, please Aslan, could you tell me?" A flicker of a smile passed over his face.

"Let us take a walk, dear one." I walked beside Aslan as we started to tread through the camp. "Now, tell me of you worries." His calm and concerned voice comforted me and any feeling of anxiety flew from me. Everything that had been troubling me started to spill out, like water rushing out in a flood after a dam breaks. I told everything to Aslan, from my confusion over his sorrowful expression to my own mounting fear over his promise to the Witch.

"And then we're supposed to go to war tomorrow and, Aslan, I don't think we're ready." Aslan had listened quietly and carefully to everything. By the time I had finished my list of worries we were almost to the edge of the camp.

"I can see why you're so restless, Claire. You do not believe you're ready, however, I can tell you differently. You are not the same person you once were, Claire, and your friends have also changed. Everything you've experienced up to this point has helped you grow and prepared you for the battle yet to come."

"But we've been here for only a few days."

"You need not worry, Claire. Do not look for strength in others but more for the strength within yourself. In your determination and courage you will find a store of power that is far greater than you think you have. Have more confidence, you are ready." I nodded, trying to understand everything he had said.

"And what of you, Aslan? Why do you seem so downcast? What promise have you made the Witch?" Aslan was silent and thoughtful as we walked past the last of the sleeping tents and towards the woods.

"There is a greater power than all of us which leads us along our paths. You and even I must follow this power, Claire. I believe you deserve to know where I am going and what I am doing, however, I also believe that this is not the time to tell you. I cannot tell you, not yet. Do you understand?"

"Yes." And I did. But just because I understood didn't mean that I was willing to let the subject drop. I wanted answers from Aslan, not riddles, but the look in his eyes told me that it would be wise to remain quiet about it. I could see the edge of the forest coming closer and knew that my walk with Aslan would end soon. I looked behind me to see exactly how far from the camp we were and noticed a piece of fabric, probably from a cloak, disappearing from the tent at the very edge of the camp. Aslan also seemed to notice and chuckled softly, then he quickly became serious again.

"This is where I leave you. From here I go on alone." I nodded and attempted a confident smile. My smile was small and I soon felt a small drop of water run down my cheek. I laughed softly as I wiped away the tears.

"I have faith in you, Aslan. I'm sure you know what you're doing." I hugged Aslan before he turned away and went into the woods. I waited another minute before calling out into the night. "You can come out now, Aslan's gone."

Turning around, I watched as two figures materialized from the shadows and walked towards me. It seemed that Lucy and Susan were unable to sleep as well. They came up beside me and looked at me curiously.

"What were you two talking about?" I thought for a moment. Lucy and Susan were going to follow Aslan no matter what I said so I figured it was best to let them find out what was happening from Aslan himself.

"Nothing but idle fantasies, Lucy. Why are you two out at this hour?"

"Lucy couldn't sleep and she became curious after seeing you and Aslan walk by. Then she dragged me out here as well." Lucy looked a little guilty. I chuckled at her curiosity. "Where's Aslan going?" Susan was staring at the forest that Aslan had disappeared into.

"I'm not at liberty to say, mainly because I'm not sure where he went either." Lucy looked at me with an unspoken question in her eyes. I knew she wanted to follow him, as did Susan, though she was trying her hardest to hide it. "Go on. I won't stop you if you want to follow Aslan. You best go quickly as well before his path becomes hidden."

"Thank you." Lucy hugged me in gratitude.

"Be careful, both of you." They nodded and then rushed off into the forest. I hoped that I hadn't made a mistake in letting them follow Aslan and I wondered whether I should've gone wit them. No, I was needed here. If the three of them were late in coming back tomorrow then Peter and Edmund would need all the help they could get.

I looked up at the sky as I started walking back into the camp. Clouds were gathering and blocking out the stars and the moon. I quickened my pace so that I could reach my tent before all the light was gone. Cloudy nights were common but, somehow, I felt like running away from the night, like something horrible was going to happen.

I passed shuddering trees and closed, drooping plants that contrasted with the bright, hopeful look of the camp. But, without the light of the moon shining on it, the camp was starting to seem less happy and more hopeless. I shook my head. Maybe I was just reading too much into it. A camp was only a camp and we still had every reason left to have dreams of freedom, nothing bad had happened yet. We had to believe that the universe would be with us and grant us the means to be victorious.

Suddenly, I was at my tent. Peter and Edmund were still asleep and my tent seemed empty and cold now. I fell to the ground outside of the tent and just stayed there. I stared at the black, foreboding sky above me and waited. Clouds passed through the sky but never let a piece of light shine through. My mind was blank. I couldn't just pretend everything was alright, but I couldn't bear facing the truth that something was happening, so I just didn't think. Eventually, I fell into a light and restless sleep.

I had a history of having weird dreams, but I never thought that I would have such a dream in the light sleep I had fallen into. I saw flickering lights, like those of torches, dance merrily and sinisterly. I heard a crowd cheer and rejoice while the voice of another told of suffering. But the voice wasn't just a voice, it was a roar, the voice of a lion. Were my fears conjuring up such a dream? I had a vision of the woods, which quickly turned to focus on a stone table that was both whole and broken at the same time. The final vision I had was that of gentle eyes of a lion. Then my dream dissolved.

A cold breeze woke me up. Petals swirled by and around me stopping by my ear. The wind whispered to me a message, one that made my eyes go wide and start to fill with tears. It couldn't be possible. But the message was from Susan and Lucy, so it had to be true. I hugged myself and waited for Peter and Edmund to hear the devastating news. They came out a few minutes later looking dazed. I stood up and went to them. Peter was one to come out of his shock first.

"Aslan, he…" Peter couldn't finish his sentence. I nodded and let a few tears leak down my face.

"I know." My voice came out in a strangled whisper. Peter pulled me into his arms as I started weeping. I couldn't stop my crying. Through my tears I saw Edmund sit down in disbelief. We were all grieving and were all worried. Were Susan and Lucy still safe? Should we still go to war? Could we win without Aslan's help? Question after question raced nervously through my mind. I stayed in Peter's arms for a while, needing his warmth and comfort, needing the feeling of security. Peter also held onto me tightly, as if he was afraid that he would lose someone else if he let go.

I was still in shock. It had only been a few hours ago that I had walked through this camp with Aslan, talked with him and seen him alive and well. I pulled away from Peter and stared at the ground to hide the tears lingering in my eyes. I needed to be strong, we all did. We needed to be strong and confident, because we still had a fight left to win. I took a deep breath so that when I spoke I could sound sure of myself.

"Don't let the rest of the camp know about this. Tell them Aslan left suddenly on an important mission or that he is going to the Witch's castle to free some prisoners, anything that will cover up Aslan's death while still retaining the people's hope." I looked at the two with eyes void of any sorrowful emotion as I spoke. "We can't let them know what has happened if we still want to win." Peter and Edmund nodded in agreement.

"First we need to make sure that the message was true and not some sort of trick or trap." Peter started walking away towards Aslan's tent and Edmund and I followed right behind him. I was positive that that there was no mistake in what the tree had told us, but I also wanted to make sure for myself.

The sun, which had been timidly peeking out over the hills when the news had been whispered to us, was crawling high into the sky when we reached Aslan's tent. Oreius was at his usual post, but whether he knew that Aslan was gone or had not been told, I knew not.

"Oreius." He bowed his head to us briefly. There was tension in his movements, but it was so subtle that only someone who was paying close attention would notice. "You've heard, haven't you? About Aslan?"

"Yes, Lady Claire." The four of us stood in silence for a moment. Peter glanced warily at the tent and then quickly strode towards it. Edmund and I stood with Oreius as Peter searched the tent. After about a minute, he came out with a hopeless expression on his face.

"She's right. He's gone." We bowed our heads at the news while any hope we had been harboring left.

"Then you'll have to lead us." Edmund looked up and stared at Peter determinedly. "Peter, there's an army out there and they're ready to follow you."

"I can't!"

"Aslan believed you could," Edmund countered, "and so do I." This seemed to give Peter more strength, but I could still see the doubt in his eyes.

"I believe in you, Peter. As do these people. Have faith in yourself and us. Aslan left this fight to you. I'm sure he knew what he was doing."

"The Witch's army is nearing, sire. What're your orders?" Peter looked at Oreius and then at the sky, thinking.

"I don't know." I looked down at the map we were circled around and tried to make sense of the figures placed on it. Then a brilliant idea popped into my head and I smiled.

"I'll be right back." The three watched curiously as I ran to the edge of the woods and picked up several long, thin sticks. With my arms full, I hurried back to my earlier spot and smiled brightly. I started to set the sticks in a pattern of horizontal and vertical lines, and then placed the figures that represented our army in the squares on the side closest to Peter. "What does it look like?"

"A chessboard…" I wasn't surprised that Edmund was the one to understand first. He seemed to be deep in thought, probably thinking of the possibilities of planning like this. Peter glanced at the map but didn't seem to get the idea.

"Claire, this isn't a game. How is this going to help?"

"Don't you get it?" Peter continued to stare blankly at me. "What was chess based off of? War! Chess is a strategy game; it was used to teach war strategy in the middle ages!" Edmund beamed at my idea.

"That's brilliant! I'll move the Witch's army and you and Peter figure out our strategy." We all agreed and started to look for any weaknesses in the Witch's position.

We spent the following two hours just testing out different approaches. Edmund would arrange the Witch's troops in a formation and then Peter and I would discuss and try out an attack, with occasional help from Edmund and Oreius. We finally decided on a starting position from which we could move into any place needed for whatever strategy the Witch decided to use. I thought the Witch would most likely charge head-on towards us, and that made our spot advantageous.

"Peter, you lead the soldiers on the ground. Edmund and I will stay back with the archers." Peter looked a bit shocked at my sudden decision.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. The people need their king to lead them, and, as much as I'd love to be down there fighting with you, my bow and arrow wouldn't be much help on the ground, so I'll lead the archers. We also need someone to watch the Witch's movements and begin whatever strategy we need to follow. That would be Edmund's job." Edmund smiled at the fact that he had an important role and Peter looked down at the map again.

"We should probably come up with signals. It'd help us communicate during the battle."

"That's true. We'll be standing too far away to hear each other, even if we yell. And it would be even a little help to be able to change tactics without cluing the Witch into our plans." I nodded along with the two boys' plans. The signs we decided to use were simple, we had basically assigned numbers to the different tactics and we would hold up the number of fingers for each strategy we decided to use. With that decided, we had little left to do.

"Your majesties, Lady Claire, the Witch's army is drawing closer. Perhaps you should go get ready." Oreius had a point. We were about to go into battle and all three of us still needed to get dressed for it. We went back to our tents to get ready.

I walked quickly over to the wooden chest. Pulling the lid up, I searched through the clothes folded inside and found an outfit fit for the battle at the very bottom. I pulled it out and placed all of the pieces on my bed. I slipped off the dress I was already wearing and pulled on a pair of tan leggings, over which I wore a skirt of chainmail, which ended at the middle of my knees. I then picked up the bright red, short sleeved dress I would wear and slipped it on, lacing up the front so that the dress would fit snugly. The skirt of the dress also ended at my knees and I realized that this was so I wouldn't trip over my own skirt during the battle. Finally I put on the shirt of chainmail and the leather cuirass, buckling the several straps that ran across it. With all of the chainmail plus the cuirass, my outfit left me feeling very protected.

I grabbed the boots I would wear, my bow and arrows, and the leather bracer for my arm as I strode out of my tent. The grass felt soft underneath my bare feet and the sun shone brightly down on the camp. I sat down and put on my boots. It took me several minutes to fully lace up my shoes since the laces ran from the middle of my foot all the way up to just below my knee, where the boots ended. While I was finishing up my last boot, Edmund came out of the tent fully dressed, except for his armor. He was holding his armor in front of him and he looked at it unsurely. I laughed at his expression.

"Do you need help?" Edmund glanced at me quickly.

"No. I'm going to go find Oreius. There are a few things I'd like to go over with him." I smiled at Edmund's obvious lie as he walked away. I had a feeling that he was going to go ask Oreius for help. I stood up and went over to Peter and Edmund's tent, knowing that Edmund wouldn't go to Oreius if Peter had known how to put on armor, meaning Peter would also need help.

"Peter? Can I come in?" I waited a moment for Peter's reply and dug into my memories for the information I would need. I had to look through about two years of memories before I found what I wanted.

"Sure. Come on in." I smiled and walked into the tent. Peter was looking at his armor, visibly confused about how to put it on. I laughed and he turned to me with pink tinted cheeks that complimented his bright red tunic.

"Do you need some help with that?" I smiled innocently and walked over to where his armor was. He watched me hopefully.

"You wouldn't happen to know how to put armor on, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." He smiled, looking relieved. I picked up the armor for his shoulders and started strapping it on. Peter watched every move I made, probably trying to learn how to put armor on just in case he needed to know later.

"By the way, Claire, how do you know how to do this?"

"I once had to write a report for my history class. My topic was about clothing from the middle ages, including what knights wore. Naturally, I became intensely interested in my topic and looked up all I could about the clothes and the armor, including how to put it on." I smiled as I finished fastening the last piece of his armor on.

"That would explain things." He laughed a bit, and then fell silent. I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable in the sudden silence. I was not one to fill the air with useless words most of the time and I wasn't about to change that now.

"Well, we should probably get going." I smiled unsurely and turned to walk out.

"Wait!" Peter grabbed my hand and turned me back around. I was curious about what he wanted, but then Peter leant down and placed his lips on mine.

The kiss was hesitant, but not without feeling. It was sweet and passionate and loving, but it was still cautious and shy. I had dreamed about being kissed, but the actual feeling was so much better than I had thought it would be. Peter pulled away quickly, a blush covering his cheeks. My own eyes were wide with surprise and a hand came up to touch my lips. That had been my first kiss and I was certain that it had been Peter's first kiss as well. My lips curved up into a smile but my hand was covering it. Peter glanced at me quickly and then quietly started to walk towards the tent's entrance, most likely taking my silence as a rejection.

"Peter," I felt him stop to listen, "what was that kiss for?" We turned to face each other, but Peter was still looking at the ground. That was fine with me for the moment; I didn't want to see any hurt on his face. So, until I could convince him that I wasn't rejecting him, he could continue looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have done that. It was stupid of me and I don't know what I was thinking. I'm really sorry…" Peter was rambling on about how sorry he was, though he really didn't need to. I put up my hand to stop whatever Peter was going to say after that.

"You're sorry? I'm not." His head flew up and he looked at me uncertainly. I took his hand and held onto it tightly. "I don't want to hear apologies, I just want to know why you kissed me." I smiled shyly and waited for his answer. He took a few minutes to register what I had said and come up with is answer.

"Would it be crazy if I said that, maybe, I… think that I love you?" His face turned even redder and I giggled internally at his timidity, but I also felt my cheeks turning warm.

"Probably just as crazy if I said that I think I feel the same way." We smiled at each other and a little bit of awkwardness left. Things were finally coming out into the open, though not in the way I was expecting. Ellen wouldn't believe it if she was here. Peter suddenly pulled into his arms and I wrapped my own arms around him.

"Be safe during the battle. Look after yourself. I don't want to lose you." Peter whispered into my ear. It was strange to think that a few days ago I couldn't have even imagined that something like this would happen, and now it seemed completely normal to me, as if I had already known this would happen. I lifted my head to whisper back to him.

"The same to you. Stay alive and come back to me, and come back to your family." We embraced each other for a minute longer before pulling apart and walking out of the tent together. We walked over to where the army was gathering and stood up at the front with Edmund and Oreius. I looked out over the crowd and saw a sea of red, gold, and silver. Everyone was decked out in their armor and the crowd was already emitting a feeling of victory. "Is everyone ready?" Barley stepped forward to answer me. He himself was also wearing a vest of chainmail with a golden lion placed on the back.

"Yes, milady. We all know where to go."

"Good. We'd best get to our places, the battle will start soon." Edmund and Peter looked at me understandingly and started to direct the troops to their positions. The archers went up the hill to the top of the cliffs while the rest of the army walked down towards the base of the cliffs. Barley started to go with the group fighting on the ground but I stood in front of him to stop him. "Barley, could you stay with me? I would be honored if you would fight with me."

"Of course, Claire. I would be proud to be able to fight with you." His head lifted proudly and he smiled. I stood in front of him in shock, trying to take in what he had just said.

"Barley, I do believe that's the first time I've heard you call me by my name only." Barley's eyes widened and he lowered his head shyly. I grinned at the now bashful fox. I knelt down and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." I pulled back and saw Barley smiling softly too.

I stood up and became serious once more. I looked over at Edmund and Peter to see them turn to look at me as well. We all knew what was coming. I hugged them both once more before heading up to my place on the right cliff with Barley while Edmund went to the left cliff and Peter followed the troops that stayed on the ground. The wind blew my hair out behind me as I walked up to the front of the archery group. I looked out over the land and saw the Witch's army growing closer and clearer. The sight of her army ruined any peace I felt from looking at the beautiful plain. I took a deep breath and lifted my head determinedly to face the wind. Yes, we knew what was coming and it was now time to face it.

Chapter done! This is the longest chapter I've ever written for this story...(and to think that I had thought this chapter was too short)... please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes you might have seen, they were completely unintentional, hence the reason that they are mistakes. please tell me what you think :D next chapter will be one of the hardest to write, i'm no good at writing battle scenes

Comments and constructive criticism are welcome. Flames are not. Thank you once again for reading and please review!