(AN) Ah, I was watching the movie and realized a lot of mistakes I had made. They could've been overlooked easily, but I happen to be a perfectionist so I went back and fixed it. Not much new, just a few altered sentences to make the edited version flow better. Sorry!
Hello again everyone, sorry I made you wait so long. So many things have been happening to me lately. But you don't want to hear everything that's been going on, you want to read, so I'll leave you to it! Please ignore any grammar or spelling mistakes while you read (but please tell me because I would love to correct it).
My name is NOT C.S. Lewis, therefore I don't own anything written by C.S. Lewis. I do own Barley and Claire however.
There was a certain stillness in the air that made me feel extremely unnerved. The field that had been chosen for the final battle was beautiful in its own right, but with the oncoming threat the field had turned from a beauty to a threat. The wind that was always blowing and dancing through the trees and over the grass was gone, leaving the leaves quiet and the grass still. Even the ever present sound of water had somehow become mute though we weren't at all far from the stream. Everyone was waiting anxiously for this final battle to happen, to see which side would come off victorious and gain the right to reign over Narnia.
"There's something eerie about this place, isn't there?" Barley's cheery voice cut through my thoughts, but it was strained, like he was forcing it to be light. I couldn't blame him, it was hard to be optimistic when you're facing a life or death situation.
"Besides the fact that a huge battle filled with blood, guts, and gore is about to take place here, no." I pushed my voice to be just as light as Barley's had been. He let out a soft chuckle at my answer though the amusement didn't seem to reach his eyes. Barley was staring gravely at the field and at our troops. We had already sent out a gryphon to be a scout for us so we knew what we were up against, now we were just nervously waiting for the news. I scanned over our soldiers and noticed that most of them seemed to be fidgeting anxiously with their eyes glued to the clear sky. Then, suddenly, a black speck appeared on the horizon and started to grow closer. The gryphon flew swiftly and steadily towards us, looping around the areas where Edmund and I had stationed ourselves before landing next to Peter. The frantic fluttering of his wings didn't bode well with my nerves.
I watched Peter as he spoke to the gryphon who had gone out to scout for us. The gryphon spoke rapidly to Peter and Oreius, making me believe that the news wasn't good. Peter glanced back towards Edmund and then at me. I nodded in understanding. So the news Peter had received was bad news. Taking a deep breath, I turned back around to face my comrades.
"Alright everyone, we're about to face an enemy that we hardly know anything about, but we have better people and a better reason for fighting. We're fighting for freedom!" Everyone cheered at this. "I know you're all nervous that we're going to battle without Aslan, but would he leave us to fight by ourselves if he didn't have faith in us? Let's prove ourselves worthy of that faith and trust. Today is our day. Today will be a day of victory for Narnia!"
The hill erupted in cheers. The mood was contagious and soon I was just as determined and euphoric as the others. Barley was cheering beside me with the rest, but his eyes remained fixated on the Witch's army. Everyone else quieted down a bit as they also watched the steadily growing blob, but there was the feeling of triumph in the air now instead of anxiety.
'You have a gift with words, Claire." I glanced down at Barley's rigid form. He seemed to be extremely focused on the upcoming fight. It amazed me that he would make small talk to distract both me and himself from any fluttering, nervous butterflies in our stomachs.
"Do I?"
"Indeed. You'll be a marvelous queen." I laughed and shook my head.
"I'm not going to be a queen. You've forgotten that I'm only a noble, Barley."
"No, I haven't forgotten. I was just merely pointing out that when you are queen you'll do a fine job. After all, you will most likely become High Queen in a few years." Barley glanced up at me and then at Peter's distant figure before turning back to me with an innocent, smiling face. I couldn't see my face, but I'm sure that it held a look akin to either shock, embarrassment, or a mixture of both. My face burned with a furious red that was many times hotter than any previous blushes that had visited my face in the past. What made it worse was the outbreak of sly smiles and glances I saw pass between my group.
"Oh no. Please don't tell me that the whole camp knows."
"We were only guessing." I glared at Barley. "Well, when there's nothing else to fill your day, what better excitement is there than to gossip about and spy on our soon-to-be High King and his potential love interest. But you just confirmed our suspicions."
"I've just sealed my fate, haven't I?"
"Yes. Just be sure to be alive to receive it." His tone had taken on a darker note. I lowered my eyes and turned to the Witch's followers.
"And you stay alive so you can give me that fate."
"As you wish, Lady Claire."
"And you, sir fox." Silence regained its claim over the cliffs while we waited. I kept my eyes on the slowly growing group, glancing every few minutes down at Peter to receive any orders he may have. I knew the plan; first the gryphons with the rocks, then the archers, and finally the ground troops, but Peter still had time to change the plan. He looked back at me quickly before turning and pulling out his sword. Edmund and I both signaled the gryphons forward to attack, hoping that we were making the right decision. They picked up large rocks and flew by with amazing speed. Everyone watched in satisfaction when the rocks took out many of the soldiers and we groaned as a few of the gryphons got hit and fell to the ground. The Witch's troops continued forward and then I saw the Witch for the first time.
"What is she wearing?" Standing in her silver, polar bear drawn chariot, the Witch looked menacing, especially in her outfit. But, as I looked at it longer, I realized what the furry thing around her neck was. "That's lion fur. She's wearing Aslan's mane!" I had whispered the last part to Barley, knowing not to mention my findings to anyone else.
"Calm down, Claire. You need a level head." He was right, of course, but I really didn't want to listen to him at that moment.
"Oh, I'll give you a level head, but it definitely won't be mine." Barley smiled a bit at the malice in my voice. I knew that he could guess what I was thinking by the approving look in his eyes. I turned to look at Edmund to tell him to release the arrow. Edmund caught my gaze and then beckoned the centaur forward to release it. I smiled smugly as I remembered exactly what this one arrow would do and listed them off as I watched the arrow fly. First the arrow would sail through the air before bursting into sparks, then, from the sparks, a fire ball would take shaoe in the form of a phoenix. That phoenix would then set blaze to something to block the Witch and her troops. We cheered as a line of grass went up in flames, buying us plenty of time. I heard a sharp intake of breath next to me and glanced down at Barley's tense face.
"Not good enough." Looking up to see what he meant, I saw the Witch break the barrier easily with her ice. Peter turned back to me and Edmund and raised two of his fingers. I gave him a quick thumbs-up and turned to face my comrades once more.
"Get ready! Hit as many of the Witch's soldiers as possible but be sure to leave most of your arrows for when they come closer to the cliffs." We all pulled out our arrows and strung our bows. I quickly started to calculate where the Witch's followers needed to be before we could release. They were close but not close enough. Keeping a close watch on the fight and the invisible line I had drawn on the ground, I counted down the seconds I thought it would take for the soldiers to reach that line. When I got to five seconds I lifted my bow and Barley signaled for the others to do the same. "Ready. Aim." I paused. 3, 2, 1, "Fire!"
A torrent of arrows flew in all directions and hit the front line of the Witch's army. We waited and watched the ground troops as they then started to fight the rest of the army. I shot arrow after arrow as more of the enemy broke through and worked their way through the crowd. The clanking of metal against metal was a bit hypnotic and soothing, strangely enough. I released another arrow at a dwarf that was aiming for Peter before whirling around to face Barley. "Get some archers who can shoot while running and get down there!"
"Yes, Claire!" He took off running, calling out to some of the archers to follow him as he went. I waited until I saw Barely and his group reach the main group of soldiers before calling off the rest of the archers. Our job now was to shoot any enemy that was getting too close to our area and to wait until Peter and the others drew the enemy to the cliffs, unless Peter changed the plan.
I didn't notice how much time was passing nor did I look to see which side had the advantage in the battle (it was pretty easy to figure out anyways). Yelling out orders to the archers left with me, I kept my eyes on one figure as I waited for a sign. Peter looked back at me and our eyes locked. I nodded to him before he could turn back to his comrades. He was ordering the retreat.
"Archers, get ready! Make sure all of your fellow soldiers return safely and shoot any enemy that gets close." I glanced down into the frenzied group and growled under my breath when I saw that Peter was one of the last ones retreating. A small flash of movement on the cliffs caught my eye. A dwarf was standing there, aiming his arrow at Peter. "Edmund! Enemy dwarf to your right!"
"Got it!" He had an archer shoot at the dwarf. We were lucky that the arrow hit him just as he was releasing his own arrow. The dwarf's arrow changed its original course, barely missing Peter as it plunged into the unicorn. The unicorn fell and Peter rolled onto the grass. I cursed and started running down onto the field, glancing back to see Edmund following. Ignoring the constant crashing of metal and the strong stench of spilled blood, I used a single arrow and my bow to defend myself as I made my way into the battle. Peter was still on the ground and hadn't noticed the Witch determinedly making her way towards him.
I saw Oreius stop and turn back towards Peter as I ran. It seemed that he had noticed our fallen leader as well. Oreius pulled out his swords and charged towards the Witch. He was faced with a minotaur before he could reach his target. I figured that the minotaur was the general of the Witch's army since he always seemed to be by her side and he had a certain air of authority about him. Oreius dealt him a huge blow but the minotaur still had energy to grab onto Oreius as he started toward the Witch. I cheered as Oreius jammed his two blades into a mintotaur, effectively ending his life. The Witch noticed Oreius' approach and got into her fighting stance. I had reached Peter by that time and
I was trying to pull him back towards the cliffs and away from the Witch. Oreius had no chance against her, we all knew that, but he had gone after her in hope that he could buy us some time to get further away and to maybe put a scrath on the With.
"Peter, come on! We need to get out of here! He didn't seem to be listening as his horror-filled eyes were fixed on Oreius and the Witch. Oreius had reared back with his sword held high, about to strike, but the Witch had also gotten her weapon ready for attack and she had been much quicker. "No." My eyes were wide as I watched our friend turn into a perfect stone statue. My determination to get Peter away from the Witch had been renewed with that sight and I tugged roughly on his arm, forcing him to take a couple of steps back. Peter finally understood and jogged back to the cliffs with me.
A lot of the Witch's army had made their way to the cliffs and were busy fighting through our army. I was proud of our army for being able to hold their own against the enemy, especially since most of them had to fight against two or more creatures. Peter and I joined the fray and relieved some of our comrades from some of the soldiers. Edmund was already fighting by the cliff and I saw Barley grappling with another fox not too far away. I didn't have a sword, not that I knew how to use one, so I mostly used my fists and an arrow.
I swung the arm holding the arrow around so that the tip sliced cleanly across the neck of an oncoming attacker and then turned swiftly to punch the opponent that was sneaking up behind me in the abdomen and plunging my arrow through his chest. The problem with fighting so closely with someone is that their blood will usually splash you once you stab or shoot them and the sticky, metallic substance kept reminding me that these were living creatures I was killing. The deaths were necessary, but it was still a hard truth for a young girl (like myself) to have to face.
There were so many more creatures in the Witch's army than I had originally thought. It seemed to me that as soon as I defeated one enemy there was another that was ready to attack. I glanced behind me to see Peter was having the same problem and then I focused back on who I was fighting. He had just pulled out his sword and was charging straight towards me. I waited until the last possible second before ducking and letting his sword slide over me and into the back of the minotaur Peter was fighting. I then used the slumped over form of the minotaur to brace myself as I jumped up and kicked my enemy under his chin, using my legs to push his head back and efficiently snap his neck. I landed silently on my feet and pulled his sword out of the minotaur just in time to swing it around and slice into an enemy fawn's abdomen. I was not an expert when it came to using a sword, but I knew which end to hold and I knew how to cut with it so I was able to hold my own. The battle went so much smoother for me once I had a good weapon to fight with instead of just using my hands and feet. Unfortunately, the Witch's army never appeared to give an inch. Peter noticed this as well.
"Edmund!" I looked up at Peter's cry and saw Edmund also turn around. "It's too dangerous. Find the girls and get them home!" Edmund nodded numbly. Mr. Beaver grabbed his hand and started to pull him away. "Claire, I want you to go home too. Please." He was practically begging me to leave him behind, but I had made my decision to stay until the end a long time ago.
"No way. If you want me to leave then you're coming with me." He stood in shock at my outburst. I pulled out an arrow and quickly threw it in his direction but aiming at the wolf coming up behind him. "I'm not leaving you here by yourself in the middle of a war!" A loud crack and a sound that was hard to describe interrupted our small argument. We turned to see that Edmund had broken the Witch's staff, the one that had turned so many of our comrades into stone. The Witch was furious at Edmund and then plunged the shattered staff's sharp end into him. "No!"
"Edmund!" Peter's anguished cry carried over the battlefield and grabbed the Witch's attention. Peter stood up and rushed towards her, bent on revenge for his brother. I rushed after him, but my goal was to get to Edmund to make sure he was still alive and to keep him alive.
Peter's blade crashed against the Witch's. She had grabbed up another sword from some poor, dead soldier to use instead of her staff. She retaliated and soon held Peter at bay, moving her swords at a speed that Peter couldn't keep up with in his blinded fury. I took this time to kneel down beside Edmund and loosen his armor so that he could breathe easier. His face was twisted up, like he was in excruciating pain, and he was gasping for breath. I knew that his lungs were starting to collapse since the Witch's staff went right into Edmund's chest cavity.
"Just take slow, calm breaths Edmund. Don't panic, that'll just make it worse." I squeezed his hand reassuringly and then stood up to defend him from any of the Witch's loyal followers in case they took this chance to finish what the Witch had started and take his life. Peter and the Witch were busy with their fight, attacking with a flurry of blows that was dizzying to my eyes, but I knew that Peter wasn't fighting as well as he could because he was too worried about his brother.
"Peter, focus! I'll take care of Edmund." He looked my way quickly with a grateful smile and then fought back against the Witch with all his strength. I was busy shooting arrows at any enemy that was starting to come near where I stood with Edmund and couldn't see what was happening, but I took any time I could to watch Peter and make sure he was doing fine. I wanted to help him, but he was fighting for his brother and I didn't want to get in the way of that, it was Peter's fight and his fight alone. He was dodging and countering many of the Witch's attacks, but I never saw him get a chance to really fight back. The Witch was too strong for him; I was going to have to step in soon. I pulled out an arrow as quickly as I could and frantically tried to set my bow to shoot before the Witch could deal the final blow. Before I could shoot, a ferocious roar rang through the air and relaxed my anxious, fluttering nerves. We all looked up to see Aslan majestically standing at the top of the cliffs with Susan and Lucy.
"Impossible." That was the whisper that carried through the Witch's army and even most of our troops. I nodded in agreement and gave out a joyful cry when I saw all of the reinforcements that came with Aslan. MY joy turned to horror as Peter was quickly knocked to the ground and pinned there by one of the Witch's two swords. I drew back my arrow as the reinforcements ran down into the fray and started to fight back all of the Witch's followers that had stayed when Aslan appeared, the rest of the Witch's army had already left. Aslan himself ran down and pounced onto the Witch and pushed her away from Peter. I looked away as Aslan bent down and finished her life.
"It is finished." He looked at Peter on the ground and then over at me as I relaxed my form and dropped down to Edmund's side. In the distance I saw Susan and Lucy embrace Peter joyfully as I loosened Edmund's armor even more. I picked up Edmund's head and cradled it in my hand's as I moved to place his head in my lap, hoping that the elevation would make it easier for him to breath.
"Edmund! Claire!" I looked up as Susan released an arrow. Looking behind me I saw that it had hit one of the Witch's dwarves that had been creeping up behind us. The three siblings ran to their brother's side and knelt by him as well. I let Susan take my place as she took Edmund's helmet off. Lucy had pulled out her cordial and let a drop fall into Edmund's open mouth. I sat down beside Peter and waited with the others to see how Edmund would fare. His breathing slowed and then finally stopped and I wondered whether we had been too late. But then, Edmund let out a cough and started breathing normally again. He sat up and looked at Susan, Lucy, and me before his gaze settled on Peter. Peter smiled through his tears and gave Edmund a relieved hug.
"When are you going to learn to do as you're told?" The two boys let out ironic laughs and Peter pulled Edmund back into a tight hug. Lucy and Susan joined in not too long after while I stayed on the sidelines. I felt a bit out of place since I wasn't really part of their family. But Edmund and Peter both placed a hand on my shoulders and pulled me in as well. We embraced for a little bit before Edmund pulled away and broke the hug. He was looking behind us so we all turned and saw Aslan had come up. He smiled at us and breathed onto Oreius' frozen form. I watched in amazement as Oreius regained movement in his limbs. I grinned and ran over to him, giving him a bone crushing hug. He patted my back unsurely and let out a loud laugh. I pulled away in time to see Lucy stand up with her cordial and start running to all of the wounded.
"Let's go help find more." The others agreed with Susan's suggestion and we split up into two groups and went to the other two end of the field. Susan brought Edmund with her just in case he needed help and left Peter with me. I figured that there was more to her reasons than she would say by the small wink she gave me before she left. Susan would be poorly disappointed though since the two of us were too busy finding our soldiers and comforting them through their pain. I smiled each time Lucy healed one of them, but she surprised me when she would go over to a wounded soldier that had fought in the Witch's army and healed them as well. She really had such a kind soul. The soldiers she healed were surprised as well to see their enemy had helped them and most thanked her once they were able to before disappearing into the woods saying that they didn't belong here. They had gone into the area of the woods where most of the trees had supported the Witch's reign, where they would be welcome instead of staying with the creatures that would scorn them and wouldn't trust them because of their past alliance. My heart went out to those poor souls who were starting to feel that they didn't belong anywhere and I wished that there would be someway to help them.
"You wish to help them, don't you?" I jumped in surprise when Aslan came up beside me. I nodded to answer his question. "So do I. Though they had once turned their back to me, they're still my family and very dear to me. I wish that they would see that."
"Is there anything I could do to help them, Aslan? Anything I can do to show them that we all are ready to forgive and forget?" He gave me a small smile and I saw a twinkle in his eyes.
"Of course there is. There are plenty of things that you could do, but it's up to you to figure out what you should do." He turned and walked away to free some more people from their solid state. I pondered over his words as I worked. Aslan had made it sound like there was something that only I would be able to do. I shook my head and decided to think about it later, it was too much for me to think about at the moment. I walked over to a minotaur who was face down and tried to turn him over. He was too large and too big for my small arms to flip by themselves.
"Peter, can you come help me?" He smiled and came over to my side. We both lifted the minotaur and flipped him over only to see that he was already dead. "Well, that was a huge waste of time. I'm sorry."
"Forget it. It would've been cruel to leave him face down anyways." He put his arm around my shoulders and started to walk away together. I grinned and placed my head on his shoulder, happy that we had gotten through the battle with hardly any injuries. "I'm glad you stayed, Claire. I would've been a goner if you hadn't been there to make me focus."
"I'm just glad that you're still here." He chuckled a little and placed a chaste kiss on the top of my head. We stopped at an area where there were still more bodies to flip, identify, and call help for. Talking and laughing together, we worked our way through the fields until we met up with Susan and Edmund again. Barley came up to us not too long after and laughed when I let out a yell of delight before giving him a huge hug.
"It's good to see you again too, Claire." We smiled at each other. "And now, I'll be able to make sure that your fate is given to you." I threw my head back in laughter.
"Fair enough." I looked around to see that the soldiers who had been healed were heading up to the cliffs to celebrate our victory. "We should probably go up too." Everyone smiled and turned as one to head up the cliffs. We all linked arms and made our way up the cliffs and into the camp, cheering and whooping with our comrades as we went. There was already a huge party going with a lot of food being cooked over fires and music playing and dancing. I watched the creatures dancing, trying to learn the steps of the dance that they were performing so that I could join. Lucy didn't even wait to learn the steps and grabbed Edmund's hand, pulling him into the dance and trying to learn it as they went. Susan was mesmerized by the music and had drifted over to the musicians so that she could hear them better. Once again I had been left with Peter, not that I really minded.
"Care to dance?" I looked down at the hand he had offered me and grinned.
"But I really don't know how to."
"Doesn't matter, we'll pick it up as we go, like Lucy and Edmund." I giggled and took his hand.
"Alright." He pulled me into the group of dancers and spun me around. I laughed and watched the people around us, performing the steps a few seconds late. Peter was doing the same thing I was and we danced around each other, grinning like idiots. Somehow, we made it through the dance successfully, clapping with the other dancers for the musicians.
"Do you want to stop?" I shook my head and Peter smiled. The rest of the day wore on like this. Dance after dance, only stopping for short rests and to have dinner before heading out to dance some more. I was having more fun than I had had in years. I looked around at the rest of our group to see them all smiling and laughing with everyone around them. Who knew that it would turn out this way? That we would all be together laughing, dancing, and just being happy? I was so grateful that we were all safe and that we could spend this time together without having to worry about war. And, as I looked around at everyone and glanced over to see Peter laughing at someone's joke, I knew that this was the way it should be.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you would also take the time to leave a review I would be so grateful, I love hearing from you guys! Also, I'm posting a little contest on my profile for anyone who is interested, and I have a few special surprises for the winners. If you would kindly take the time to also go check that out it would make me very happy. And, contrary to the title of this chapter, this is definitely NOT the end of this story. There's still a little ways to go. ^.^
Comments and constructive criticism are welcome! Flames are not. Thanks for reading!