Chapter 8: Battle Preparations

~Hey guys, thank you so much for all your support! I finally found some time to write my fic so I am back for the meantime! Hurrah! I really enjoy writing this fic so I am excited to try to finish this fic. Enjoy and please support me! Also, I don't own Caspian and Aslan and the Narnia universe. All credits go to C.S. Lewis. I only own Lillian, the Sorceress, and her tribe. Thanks!~

Lillian looked up from her spot slowly to see the Sorceress looming above her. It was hard to look up as she was worn up physically and emotionally. Exhausted from the effort of trying to see the Sorceress, she slumped her head back down. It was impossible to resist the Sorceress any longer. She felt a peculiar sensation.

The Sorceress crouched down to be face to face with the princess. Finally, the Sorceress thought. It was about time the princess had given up. She grabbed hold of Lillian's chin and made sure that they had eye contact with each other.

"Now, let's get started shall we?" The Sorceress began using her powers to bring Lillian under her control. However, something was blocking the Sorceress's power.

Frustrated with how long it seemed to be taking, the Sorceress tried to find the source of the shield that protected Lillian for the time being. And then she laid eyes on the necklace the girl had always been wearing. She wondered why it looked so familiar. It was from the mainland of Narnia, where the King ruled.

"Ah, I see…" the Sorceress muttered as she fiddled with the necklace.

Lillian wanted to scream and run away, when she realized that the Sorceress discovered the necklace Caspian had gotten for her. His mother's necklace.

"No," she managed to grumble.

The Sorceress then smirked and immediately removed the necklace by ripping it off from her neck. She chuckled when she realized that the necklace had been working as a charm and therefore shielding her from the Sorceress's influence.

Lillian looked so pitiful to the Sorceress as she tried to get the necklace back, but the physical strain prevented her from moving much. Lillian felt tears rolling out of her eyes as she really wanted to scream out of frustration, but even her voice did not seem to cooperate with her.

Lillian was sprawled on the floor unable to sit up properly. She was exhausted. She could no longer find the strength in her to resist. And as time continued on, she felt herself giving into the Sorceress's influence. Bit by bit, Lillian lost control of herself.

And at the moment before the world turned black, the only person she could think about was Caspian, her dear friend, the person she loved and hoped would survive whatever was in store for them.

Caspian's Army:

Caspian looked back at the direction Lillian had went back to camp. All he could think was his worry for her safety. After all, when she had arrived to try to send Caspian away, he remembered how much she had suffered physically. She seemed to have been on the brink of death when she had merely arrived. And yet she had managed to gather enough energy to go back to the Sorceress in order to prevent suspicions.

"Your Highness, we have begun preparing for the upcoming battles, you should head back to the tent to talk about battle plans." The captain told him.

Caspian looked at the Caspian, and slightly let out a nervous sigh, unable to contain his worry. When he had seen Lillian leave, he wanted to grab hold of her and not let her go. That moment was when he had realized completely that he had fallen in love with the princess.

"Let's start the meeting." Caspian told the captain.

For a long time, Caspian told the generals and the warriors about the battle plans. They would try to get rid of the threat, the main threat being the Sorceress. Caspian would target the Sorceress while the others would fight the others in the way. As for Lillian, they were not to harm her if she was on the enemy side unless necessary. Rather, they were to render her powerless as much as they could so that once the Sorceress was slain, everyone would be back to normal and peace would return to Narnia.

At times like these, Caspian really wished that Aslan would come and help advise him of what to do to save Narnia.

As the battle plans were finalized, the Captain asked for a private audience, which was, of course, granted.

"Yes, Captain, what can I help you with?" Caspian asked.

"Your Highness, if necessary and only if the situation calls for it, will you give me permission to take measures with the princess?" The Captain cautiously asked his King.

Caspian looked at the Captain with a shocked expression. He was not sure if he really wanted to reply to that question. As himself, he did not want to agree, but he realized what the Captain was indicating. Lillian, if needed, was to die for the safety of Narnia.

"Yes." Caspian replied.

With that the Captain carefully walked to help prepare for war. Caspian looked at the map in front of him and hoped for the best to happen.

Sorceress's Encampment:

The Sorceress remained in the tent to see if the girl had finally fallen under her influence.

Lillian stirred a little after days had passed. She was under orders to recover to prepare for the battle as she was to play a crucial role in the upcoming war to take over Narnia. Finally, she opened her eyes, which seemed to be glazed and unfocused.

The Sorceress smirked. Lillian was clearly under her influence. The preparations were complete.

They were ready for war.