Sometimes I forget to put the disclaimer, but here it is
Disclaimer: I am not C.S. Lewis and nothing in the Narnian world belongs to me.
The Narnians stood together on the sloping hills, formed around the rocks as one united army. Everyone's nerves were high now that the battle was officially here. However, no one was as nervous as Peter. He was not ready for this. He had no idea what he was doing. How was he expected to lead an entire army to victory? He was just a boy. As if Airies knew what he was thinking, which he was sure that she did, she reached up and touched his arm. Peter looked down at her from his place on his unicorn, and she nodded in reassurance. In reality, Airies was nervous as well. Not for Peter, she had full confidence in him, but for herself. Her whole life had led up to this one moment. Was she going to be worthy of it?
The griffins screeched in the air and flew overhead. One landed in front of Peter to warn him of the enemy's numbers. They were far larger than their own.
"Numbers do not win a battle," Oreius laughed.
"No, but I'll bet they help," Peter gulped.
The Narnians watched as the White Witch and her soldiers came up over the hills. Their numbers were indeed greater than the Narnian numbers. Her army was menacing and evil, consisting of dwarves and minotaurs, hags and werewolves, cyclopes and giants. Any evil creature one could think of, and the witch was sure to have it.
Peter looked to Oreius. "Are you with me?" he asked.
"To the death," the centaur answered without a moment's hesitation.
That was what Peter needed. He pointed his sword towards the sky and shouted, "For Narnia and for Aslan!" and then they were off. The cheetahs picked up speed and they were the first to collide with the enemy. The battle officially began. Peter swung his sword and hit anything and everything that stood in the way of Jadis. Just as they had said, Airies and Oreius were always on either side of him, and that made him feel stronger.
Airies was feeling strong as well. The battlefield was where she belonged. It felt to her as if her sword was a part of her. Every slash, every stroke, felt natural. Peter was busy fighting a Minotaur, and he did not notice a giant coming towards him. Luckily enough, Airies did. Just as it was about to make the grab, she jumped over the Minotaur Peter had just slain, and slashed at the giants arm. A terrible yell from the giant shook the whole ground. It lost its footing and was just about to land on Airies, but Peter grabbed her hand and swung her behind him and his steed.
"Thanks," she said.
"You too," he managed to say before engaging back in battle.
As Peter fought a hag, Airies was distracted by a werewolf. It tackled her to the ground and chomped its teeth.
"I am hunger. I have heard much about you, the daughter of Aslan. I have always wanted to taste the lion's daughter," it growled.
For an answer, Airies bravely grabbed the wolf's snout and said, "Taste this," before shoving a ball of fire down its throat. The beast just managed a whimper before it keeled over and died. She pushed the creature off of her and tried to get back to Peter's side.
A beautiful screech echoed through the air and a phoenix flew down and left a trail of fire in between the Narnians and their enemy. Aslan's army cheered, as this stopped more than half of their enemy on the other side. But Peter's horse sat quiet and still. As he expected, Jadis came through the flames and the fire went out.
"Fall back! Draw them to the rocks!" Peter shouted, sounding like a true leader. Peter extended his hand to Airies and once she took it he pulled her up behind him on his horse. They made it to the rocks, giving the witch's army a more difficult time of navigating their way around, while also giving the archer's above an easier time at hitting their targets.
With every passing second the witch drew nearer and nearer. As Peter moved to turn his steed back around, the animal went crashing to the ground. He did not notice one of Jadis' dwarves shoot an arrow his way. It had connected with his horse's leg and sent them both crashing to the ground. Peter moved to help Airies up, but the next thing they knew Oreius was launching over them.
"No, stop!" Peter shouted, but it was too late. The centaur was already at the witch, and she had turned him into stone.
That was the final straw for Airies. She stood up and gripped her sword tight. Too many of her friends were lost to this sorceress. No more. She moved to Jadis, but Peter grabbed her arm around the elbow and spun her around. He knew that she needed to do this, that Jadis was her kill, and he did not begrudge her that. He looked into her questioning eyes and with a deep breath he pulled her to him and kissed her full on the mouth. Time seemed to stop for just that moment. Airies heart pounded in her chest. And then time picked up again as they pulled apart. He had just a moment to rest his forehead against hers and he used this time to say, "I love you." Airies smiled and echoed, "I love you," before she twisted away from him and ran towards the witch.
Just before they met, Airies leapt over a rock, and when she landed on the ground she slammed her fist into it. A rumble below shook the ground, and sent Jadis' chariot tumbling over. Once Jadis was up off the ground, Airies made it over to her. They circled each other, swords drawn.
"So, you're the daughter I've heard so much about. Come to avenge thy father?"
"You have no idea," Airies growled before she made the first move and slashed her sword at the witch.
Airies was gaining the upper hand, when from out of nowhere Jadis pulled out her wand and used that to disarm the younger girl. She spun around Airies and held her from behind with her wand at her neck and her sword at her side. She held her so that she could see Peter fighting perfectly alongside Edmund.
"Has losing Aslan taught you nothing? When you fight for love, you are nothing but a fool, and you will fall," the White Witch whispered in her ear. Her breath was icy cold on Airies' cheek. Peter had spotted them now, and he and Airies made eye contact across the field. Jadis noticed this and she smiled wickedly. She brushed her cheek against Airies' cheek and closed her eyes.
"You're the fool, Jadis, and you're about to lose everything," Airies said back, her voice never faltering even though there were tears in her eyes.
"We shall see," Jadis sneered.
She paused for only a moment before stabbing her sword through Airies' stomach. The pain knocked Airies' breath away. She could not even scream. Jadis let Airies go, and she crumbled to the ground in a heap. The sorceress stepped over her as if she were nothing and walked slowly towards Peter.
On the other side of the field, a sharp pain pierced through Edmund's stomach. He looked around the battlefield and watched in horror as Jadis pulled her sword out of Airies and brushed it off on the grass. His heart ached, and an anger like he had never felt before coursed through him as he jumped down from the rocks. He was going to have his revenge if it was the last thing he did. As he ran, he noticed that left and right were statues of the creatures Jadis had turned to stone. He had to get that wand away from her. Without her wand, the witch was nothing. Edmund squared his shoulders and jumped down from a rock, landing right in front of Jadis. He took her by surprise, but it only lasted a moment. His heart was pounding in his ears as they stared at one another, and then, the witch smiled a purely evil smile. She thrusted her wand at him, but Edmund dodged it and brought his sword down on it, hard, breaking the wand in two. A piercing scream erupted from the wand as a bright light flashed across the field.
Edmund stared up at Jadis, and she stared back at him. Edmund was not ready for what happened next. He could barely comprehend what Jadis had done until she slowly pulled out her broken wand from his stomach and he felt the pain shooting through every inch of his body.
"How sad," Jadis sneered as inch by inch she pulled out her wand. "Traitor's blood is always mine." With that being said, she yanked the rest of her wand out of his stomach and turned away from him.
As he fell to the ground, everything around him seemed to happen in slow motion. Even his thoughts were moving slower than usual, though they were all focused on one thing: Airies. This was for her. It was all for her. She had saved his life, and he had not been able to do the same thing for her. He had been fighting for her, to give her a free Narnia, and now he would die for her. And he was at peace with that thought. Maybe he would even see her again.
As Edmund began to fade away, Peter strengthened up with anger. It took over his whole body as he charged at Jadis. Not his brother too, not when they had been fighting so much recently. All he could think was that if he killed Jadis, maybe his brother would have a chance of surviving. Edmund had to survive. Peter had to make up for all the hurt that he had caused his brother. He was completely blinded by fury as he crashed his sword against Jadis'. He was channeling every emotion that he was feeling into his sword, and he was sure that Jadis could feel it. Her face, which normally showed no emotion, betrayed her. She was scared. She tried disarming Peter many times, but was unlucky in each attempt. He was swift with his sword and with his shield. Her creatures started to close in around them, ready to jump in should she need them to. All were anxious to get a bite of the son of Adam who threatened their queen. But then the creatures yelped and screamed as the ground started to shake and quiver beneath them. The ground started to break apart, sending the creatures backward; some even fell into the crevices. A circle formed around Peter and Jadis, leaving them completely isolated by the broken ground.
Airies was alive!
She was leaning against a rock, very weak, but her hand rested on the ground. She had caused the ground to split, not letting Jadis' creatures take over Peter. Peter saw her and a grin split over his face as he realized that he might just win. Jadis screamed in absolute fury.
And then, the most amazing sound hit Peter's ears: a lion's roar. Peter and the witch both looked around to see Aslan standing on the tallest of rocks, very much alive. Susan, Lucy and more Narnian creatures stood behind him. The lion roared a second time, much louder and more aggressive than the first. Peter was distracted by the moment, and Jadis took advantage of this. She was able to finally disarm him and knocked him to the ground. She stabbed her sword into his arm, locking him in place. Peter tried to pull himself loose, but to no avail. He looked Jadis directly in the eyes, choosing to be brave instead of scared. Death was coming, and he was not going to die a coward. She brought her sword down on him, but he blocked the blow with his shield, which she promptly kicked aside.
Just as she was about to deliver the final blow, Aslan jumped over him, knocking Jadis to the ground. Peter was able to pull the sword out of his arm, and quickly stood up. The Narnians ran past him in a blur. All he could see was Aslan, who was looking very pleased.
"It is finished," He said.
As Peter spoke to Aslan, Airies slowly made her way over to Edmund, clutching at her side the entire time. He was coughing, and breathing in short, shallow breaths. She was able to kneel down behind him and gently take his helmet off.
"Edmund, oh Edmund, you brave, foolish boy. You cannot die. You took this pain to avenge me, and I will not let you go." She leaned her forehead against his, and tears leaked out of her eyes. "Do you hear me, Ed? Don't go. You'll be okay. I need you, Ed, just as much as I need Peter, and Peter needs you too. Just hold on a little longer."
"I'm so cold," he whispered, and in response Airies cupped his cheeks and brought the fire to just below the surface of her skin to warm him.
Peter, Susan, and Lucy ran over to them. Susan took Airies' spot behind him as Lucy poured one drop of her antidote down his throat. All they could do now was wait. Edmund's eyes closed and he stopped breathing. They were all crying now, but no one harder than Peter. After a few seconds of silence, Edmund's eyes weakly fluttered open and he inhaled sharply. Peter wasted no time in grabbing him and pulling him into a hug.
Meanwhile, Airies had been trying to move away from them in order to give the family time to be together, but she only made it a few feet before dropping to the ground. Lucy noticed immediately.
"Airies, oh Airies, are you alright?" She ran over to her.
"Fine. I'm fine. Worry about the others," Airies said hoarsely. There were so many other Narnians who could benefit from her antidote. She could wait.
"Family first," Lucy insisted as she gently pulled Airies' hand away from her side and gasped. "Quickly now, one drop!" the younger girl exclaimed before administering one drop of the liquid to her. It was sticky and sweet, and it made Airies cough, but it had her feeling better almost instantly.
"You and Ed will have matching battle scars," Lucy joked. She looked around at all of them before getting up and making her rounds around the battlefield to revive all who had been wounded.
All around, Narnians who had been petrified were waking up. There was lots of laughter and cheering all around. All was finally right.