Chapter 11
The next morning, everyone in the castle was awake early, for they wanted to have everything ready for the Great War the next day. It was barley sun-up when everyone was fully awake and dressed, ready to work.
"I really don't know what to do." Clare said as Peter and Edmund bustled around the castle, getting maps and plans.
"Well, you could always go down to the beach with Susan and Lucy for a while." Peter told her as he took an armful of battle plans into the Council Hall. Clare followed him.
"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I think I'll do that; promise me one thing, Peter." She told him as he sorted out the parchments. "Please, look at me when I talk to you." He turned around. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, promise me that you will make some time for me later in the day; I would like to spend some time with you before the war." She told him with a straight face. Peter seemed to have almost forgotten that Clare wasn't going to be here after the war tomorrow, and now his face fell.
"I promise. After Ed and I speak to the soldiers about these plans, we will be able to do something together; you have my word." He looked her in the eyes.
She smiled softly, and then went to find Susan and Lucy. They were sitting in the garden, and Susan was braiding her sister's hair. When they saw Clare, they smiled and asked her if she would like to do something.
"Yes, I would, actually; I was going to ask you if you would like to go down to the beach and maybe have a picnic?"
"That sounds very fun, let's go!" Lucy got up and started running towards the beach when she realized that she had forgotten something and stopped. "I suppose we need food and a blanket if we are going to have a picnic." Now she started running off in the direction of the castle.
"Lucy, wait up!" Susan called to her.
But she didn't listen; she kept on running towards the castle. As soon as she got to the grass hill between the castle and the garden, she tripped and fell.
"Lucy!" Clare and Susan screamed as they ran to see what had happened to her. They saw her rolling down the hill, and laughing.
"Lucy always turns something scary into something good." Susan said.
The next minute, Clare got down on the ground and started rolling after the younger girl. A few seconds later, Susan did as well.
When they all got to the bottom, the three of them laid there for a while, looking up at the clouds.
"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Lucy asked them. "How you can imagine all sorts of different shapes and animals in the clouds."
"I see a man riding a horse; and an apple tree!" Clare said, pointing to the figures.
Susan stared at the sky, trying to make a cloud take the form of something she could recognize. "I see...a giant snake!" She told them after a moment.
"And I see a ship, sailing on the sea!" Lucy said as she concentrated on the sky.
They gazed at the clouds for a while, then decided to get started on their picnic. They got up out of the grass and walked back to the castle together.
They gathered all sorts of treats for later, like tarts, small cakes, jams, muffins, and fruit, because Susan said it would justify the sweets. After picking out food, the girls walked down to the sandy shore of the sea, picked a nice, warm spot, and spread out their blanket. They talked of England for a while, like their home-towns and such.
"So, what is Finchley like?" Clare asked them.
"Well, it's not very different from any other town, I guess. It's not very...exciting." Lucy told her.
"My town isn't either," Clare told them, taking an apple out of the basket. "we just have a lot of people."
"Where is it you live, Clare?" Susan asked the girl with a curious expression.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I never told you. I'm from Edenbridge. It's not that big of a town; around eight-thousand people, I guess."
"Finchley is a middle sized town; it has quite a number of people. I don't really know what the population is; they didn't take a census due to the war." Susan thought about it.
They talked of many more things for about an hour and a half, then decided to go inside and see if the men were done, or taking a break, from their planning.
"Peter! Edmund! We've come to see if you have concluded your work. Come say hello to us!" Susan called as they entered the castle.
The doors to the Council Hall opened, and out came the men, with very tired and frustrated expressions on their faces, but they smiled when they saw the girls.
"Ah, hello, ladies, did you enjoy your picnic? Lovely day for one, isn't it?" Peter asked all five walked to the center of the Entrance Hall.
"Yes, it was very fun. We talked about many things!" Lucy told them.
"That's good. We have stopped planning for today, and we will finish it up in the morning before the War. Right now, we shall do other things." Edmund said to the girls.
Clare looked to Peter, as they had agreed to spend some time together later today. It was now late afternoon, and it was getting cooler. Susan asked if anyone wanted to take a walk around the castle, and Lucy and Edmund went with her. That left the two eldest to go somewhere.
"Where would you like to go?" Peter inquired.
"Would you like to go riding?" Clare asked him. "I would love to watch the sunset over the sea."
"Let's go, then." He held out his arm for her, and she smiled and took it.
They rode to a cliff overlooking the sea, and the beautiful setting sun. The light reflected on the water so perfectly, it looked like gold. The sky was a mixture of blue, pink, purple, orange, yellow, and a little bit of green.
Peter looked over at Clare, who was looking at the scenery and smiling softly; her face captured the gold color of the water, and it was very pretty.
"What will I do without you?" Peter thought as he studied her, for what would probably be the last time he got to see her like this.
Clare looked over at him with a solemn expression, then she smiled ever so slightly. This was their first real outing since they became a couple, and their last, but she loved it all the same.
As the sun got lower and lower, the two got off of their horses and sat on the edge of the cliff, holding each other's hands, as Clare rested her head on Peter's shoulder.
"This is beautiful; thank you Peter." She told him. "You make this even more special."
"You make this special for me, Clare, and I couldn't be happier." He shifted so he was now looking her in the eyes. The sun was almost gone.
She smiled as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, but as soon as she pulled back, he softly put a hand on her cheek and pulled her close to him again, and kissed her.
It was a long, sweet kiss, and neither wanted it to end. When the sun had finally set, they broke apart, breathless.
"I think we should get back, before it gets too late." Clare told him, but didn't move.
Peter nodded in agreement, stood up, and helped her up. She brushed off her dress, looked up at him and smiled; he smiled right back at her.
They rode back to the castle, quietly went inside, and went right upstairs, as they were going to have a busy day tomorrow.
"Goodnight Peter, and thank you. This was a wonderful last day." Clare told him as they stood in front of her door.
Peter forced a small smile, and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Goodnight to you too, Clare, and thank you." He said as he looked at her for one more small moment as she walked into her room, closed the door, and then proceeded to his.
No one wanted to get up, because they knew what this day would hold. Death. War. Blood. Everyone just wanted to pretend that the White Witch was a dream, and that they would wake up from it, and go on their merry way.
But, sadly, that was not the case. There was a real war, one that they would lose their best friend in, and that's what made it different from the first one.
Peter was the first one up (of course), dressed in his armor, and was downstairs in the Dining Hall, finishing up his breakfast, when the other four came in, also dressed in their armor, looking exhausted and grim.
"I wish this wasn't happening." Lucy said as she rubbed her eyes and looked down at her plate of food. She didn't feel like eating; nobody did, really.
"Believe me, I don't want this to happen any more than you do." Clare picked up her fork and stabbed her eggs.
Lucy looked up at Clare with an apologetic look on her face, but the latter smiled and shook her head.
Peter looked up at Clare from his empty plate and said, "I've decided that you will stay in the Healer's Tent with Lucy today, Clare."
She looked at him, confused. "Why? I can fight, and it's not as if it's going to save me if I stay in a tent."
"I know, but I just think that it would be better if you stayed in there and help out for a little while." His tone softened.
She looked from Peter to Edmund to Lucy, as if trying to make one of them help her.
"Peter's got a point, Clare, maybe it would be best if you stayed in the tent." Edmund told her flatly.
Lucy shrugged. "We will have a lot of soldiers, I'm sure, that will need tending to, and there can never be enough healers."
Clare sighed deeply, and continued stabbing her eggs. After about twenty minutes, Peter, Susan, and Edmund went out to the armory to get their weapons: sword, bow and arrows, and sword, respectively, while Lucy and Clare went to get the Healing Tents supplied and ready for use.
It was not an easy task; they had to get bandages, antiseptics, splints, and all sorts of different medical supplies. The cots that they laid out were long, wooden things with white sheets stretched out on them. After the boys and Susan had gotten their weapons, they met Lucy and Clare in the tent.
"This looks exciting." Edmund said as he watched them stock cupboards with bottles of medicine.
"Well, you could always help out, Ed, if it's so exciting." Clare said as she looked over her shoulder at him.
"No thanks, I wouldn't want to take away your fun."
Susan elbowed him in the ribs. "We can help with anything if you need it. Just tell us what to do."
"I think we're almost done, but thanks anyway, Susan."
Peter looked around the tent, which was surprisingly big, and sighed. "I can't believe we're having another war, right after we get out of one."
Susan placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's for the good of Narnia."
He smiled softly and looked at Clare, and everyone knew what he was thinking.
"Yes, it is, and hopefully, when this war is done, the White Witch will have no hope of ever returning!" Clare said to the four of them.
They nodded with small smiles on their faces. "I just wish she didn't return at all." Lucy said.
"Well, that's life I guess." Susan said as she left the tent, with Edmund following.
Peter stayed in the exact same position as he was five minutes ago and asked, "You're sure you don't need help?"
Clare turned back around and smiled at him. "Yes, we're okay, but thank you Peter."
He nodded and followed his siblings outside.
When he was gone, Clare turned back to her work and thought about the day, and then she remembered. Today was her birthday. She was eighteen today; what a wonderful birthday present.
"Lucy, I just realized what day it is; I haven't really been keeping track since I got to Narnia." She told the young girl, who was rolling up bandages. She looked up from her work and stared at Clare with confusion and curiosity on her face.
"What is it, Clare?"
"Today is my birthday."
Lucy put down the bandage and went over to her. She gave her a hug and said, "I'm happy and sorry; happy birthday, Clare." She tried to be excited, but with the day's events-to-come, how could she? "Did you tell anyone else?"
"No," Clare told her, looking down at her feet, "I didn't want them to be distracted."
"Well, I think you should tell them; they would like to know. It would give them a chance to forget about the war for a while."
"Okay, I'll tell them, but will you come with me?" She asked her "I would like you to be there, too."
Lucy nodded and together they walked out of the tent to find the others. The three eldest Pevensie siblings were standing in the middle of the open grassy area, talking. Clare and Lucy walked over to them, and Peter, Susan, and Edmund turned to look at them.
"Clare has something that she, well, rather I want her to announce." Lucy told them.
"What is it, Clare?" Ed asked.
"Well, I didn't want to distract you, but, it's my birthday today," She said, again not looking at them.
Susan walked up to her and gave her a hug. "Happy birthday, Clare."
Clare hugged her friend back and said, "Thank you, Susan."
The next one to embrace her was Edmund, but he didn't say anything. Lucy had already given her a hug, but did it again. Peter just stood there staring at her, without any emotion on his face. Clare stared right back at him.
"Are you alright, Peter?"
He still looked right in her eyes and said, "Yes, I was just thinking."
Clare shrugged to herself. "Oh well," she thought.
"Clare, would you mind taking a walk with me?" Peter asked her, still with no emotion.
She turned to Lucy. "May I?" She asked her.
"Yes, I believe we are done." She replied.
Peter held out his arm for Clare, and she walked forward and took it.
Once they were out of earshot of the others, Clare tried to start a conversation with Peter.
"So, isn't this a nice day for a birthday?" She tried to joke, but Peter only smiled lightly. She went back to staring at the front of them, the trees around them and flowers in front of them; only grass was what they walked on. It seemed that the plants had known to make a path.
"Where are we going?" Clare asked Peter, as he was leading them deeper and deeper into the forest.
"I just thought it would be nice to take a walk with you one last time; besides, this is a variation of a birthday present, walking in a beautiful woods like this."
Clare looked around her at all of the different plants. She found her favorite flower; the lily.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, pointing to the flower with her free hand. "Look, Peter! Those are lilies! It's my favorite kind of flower."
Peter walked over to the lilies (there were about four in that bunch), and picked them. He handed them to her with a small smile, and she smelled them.
"Thank you, Peter, they're lovely."
The two walked over to a small stream that was in the middle of the woods and sat down on the grass beside it.
"It's beautiful, really, all of this." Clare motioned to the nature around her. "England doesn't have this much anymore."
"You're right, that's what the population and technology have done, destroyed all of the true beauty." Peter looked at the gentle stream.
They gazed at their surroundings for a few more minutes until Clare spoke.
"I think we should start heading back; it's going to be time to fight soon."
Peter took his gaze off of the water. "You're right. But first, I want to do something."
He leaned in and captured her lips with his, kissing her sweetly.
Their faces were flushed when they broke apart, but both were smiling.
"Now we have to go back." Said Peter as he grabbed her hand and walked them back to camp.
When they arrived, they found the others waiting for them at a small table, eating before the war. They were still smiling.
"Where did you two go?" Edmund asked, smiling slyly.
"It's none of your business." Peter replied as he and Clare sat down next to his siblings.
Edmund kept the sly smile on his face as he took a bite out of an apple.
"Half an hour." Lucy said softly.
The smiles dropped from faces as they realized this would be their last meal together.
When they finished eating, Peter and Edmund went to go gather the troops while Susan, Lucy, and Clare went to watch Susan get some last minute archery practice in.
About ten minutes later, the sound of a horn could be heard throughout the camp. The White Witch was near.
The girls ran to where the men were, and saw Ed and Peter at the front of an army, with the soldiers behind them. It was about to begin.
The place that the armies were in was almost the same as the first battle when the Pevensies first came to Narnia.
It was amazing how many followers the Witch managed to get in such a short time. She had about two-thousand, while the Narnians had about two-thousand five hundred; not a big difference.
The girls watched a gryphon land beside Peter, and then take off again. Clare watched it soar through the sky towards the south.
As the armies faced each other, the Witch's right-hand man, a Cyclops, let out a yell, her army charged forward, and Peter lowered his helmet onto his head.
"For Narnia!" He shouted as he raced down to meet the opposing group. The other Narnians behind his all let out battle cries as they too followed Peter towards the enemy.
Lucy took off back to the tent where her bottle of fire-flower juice and dagger were, while Susan and Clare took off down the hill towards the fight.
Susan started firing at the enemy while Clare picked up a fallen sword from the ground and began to fight with them. Peter, who was now fighting a minotaur, saw Clare battling another minotaur, stabbed his, and shouted to her.
"Clare! What are you doing?! I told you to stay in the tent with Lucy! I don't want you out here!"
Clare finished off her opponent, and yelled back, "Susan's out here, why can't I help? I can fight!"
"I just don't want you out here! It's too dangerous! You need to go back to the tent, and that's an order!"
"Well, Lucy doesn't need me right now, so if I'm not needed there, I figure I should be some use to you out here!" She called as she ran forwards so that she couldn't hear Peter call after her.
She killed many creatures, and got closer and closer to the White Witch.
She saw Clare running towards her, and finished off the faun she was fighting. She smiled wickedly at her, as if daring her to come closer.
I just wanted to get this over with! Literally, I was sitting here like, "KILL ME." I'm sorry if you think this is all sappy and stuff (which, it totally is, though not the first or the middle part, just in between there), but Peter and Clare had to do SOMETHING before she dies.
Oh, and by the way, I'm SOOOOO sorry for the big gap in between updates, it's just that I was sick and now that school's back on, I'm really busy; don't be mad!
Better chapters to come, I promise!
-B