The three of them only glimpsed over the hill before they saw Peter lying on the ground; he seemed unconscious. Most importantly, he was all alone. At first, Edmund tried to run to him, only for Susan to grab his arm.

"This is a trap," Susan narrowed her eyes.

"There's Peter. let's grab him before the Witch comes back," Edmund ignored all warnings his body was trying to get him to listen to. All he saw was Peter, and that was all that mattered to him.

"We need to have a plan of attack," Susan suggested. "The White Witch will be around. She won't let us just rescue Peter without a fight."

Edmund noticed that in a small moment of relief, whatever had made Peter cry out like that was no longer hurting him. At least, his brother was allowed to have a moment of peace, even if it was while unconscious.

"I have an idea," Lucy chimed in. The three of them quickly discussed a plan of the two of them going to Peter quickly and try to get him out of there before the Witch returned. Lucy simply said that the two of them should trust her and go to Peter. She was to be the backup plan for when that plan evidently would fail. "Remember, watch out for the Witch's wand," Lucy reminded.

She wished them luck and parted ways with them to the left side of the hill. Susan and Edmund crouched where they were, Edmund felt himself tremor under the entire notion of this plan. They were most likely going to have to fight the White Witch, a person he had most dreaded ever seeing again.

He saw Peter stir from where he was lying. Edmund could no longer resist and got up to go over to him. He was glad to see Susan could not help it either as she was close behind him, an arrow already notched in her bow. Just in case.

Before long, their subtle brisk pace became a run as Edmund ran to Peter's side. Susan jogged behind him, scouting for the White Witch. Edmund skidded to the side of Peter only a moment later.

Edmund hesitantly called Peter with a loud whisper, "Peter, we are here. We are here to take you home."

Peter did not make a sound but slightly moved. Susan knelt beside them, softly calling him to wake up. Edmund reached out to grab Peter from across his back, to start picking him up. His hand grazed where Peter's back should have been only for Edmund's hand to fade into Peter's back. Edmund's fear boiled as he saw the illusion of Peter flutter before disappearing all together.

Edmund rose, drawing his sword only to look up to see the White Witch fully emerged, Peter held against her, a knife to his throat. His hands were tied in front of him, and he looked pleadingly to them as if to tell them to run. Edmund felt a deep pain in his chest at the sight of Peter.

Even from this distance, Edmund saw the clear damage done to his brother: his face was covered in fresh and old bruises, his right leg was bleeding and torn, his body thinned, his complexion much paler than it should be. Peter looked extremely fatigued, weakened tremulously. Edmund's heart ached at the sight of the damage these monsters had done to his dear brother.

"I told you your precious family would come for you," The White Witch was the first to speak, leaning in close to Peter, but speaking loud enough for all of them to here. Edmund only glanced at Susan to see that she had an arrow aimed at the White Witch.

"Let Peter go!" Susan commanded.

"Which is faster I wonder? The arrow from your bow or the slice of my knife," The Witch taunted. Peter squirmed underneath her hold of him, which she seemed to delight in. The White Witch turned her attention to Edmund.

"There is my favorite traitor," The Witch acknowledged. "At first, I had thought it was you who was trying to bring me back. I thought it to be fitting if it were. You always were willing to turn to me in the past." Edmund tried keeping his expression strong and unwavering; he was not sure he was succeeding. The pain in his chest moved to a nervous knot in his stomach at the White Witch's words.

"Don't listen to her, Ed," Peter encouraged the best he could. With his voice sounding raw and worn, it did not make Edmund feel much better.

"Hush," The White Witch tabbed the knife against his throat. It did not draw blood, but Peter did not open his mouth to speak again.

Edmund's eyes widened as his heart nearly stopped at the White Witch's gesture. Where was Lucy? They needed her to act soon. The Witch's eyes glistened between the two of them; she seemed to revel in these moments.

"Now, Edmund, seeing as you are my traitor, I will allow you to choose which order would you like your siblings to die in."

Edmund raised his sword. "Why don't you let Peter go, and," he gestured to Susan and himself, "you can try your hand against us?"

"Are you both so eager for your own deaths?" The White Witch asked. "I suppose, I could, but it would be much more fun for me to slit his throat and then kill the two of you." At the mention of two, she frowned as she realized the missing number. "Where's the fourth?"

And that was when the White Witch sprawled her arms outwardly as if in pain; Peter dove out of her grasp. He did not get too far, but he was no longer in danger of her knife. The Witch swung her knife at whatever had caused her pain in her back, but simply swung into thin air, for Lucy had been standing a few feet away and had thrown one of her dagger into the White Witch's back.

That was all the distraction that Susan and Edmund needed. The White Witch turned her attention back to Peter with the clear intention to end her games and kill him. But Edmund and Susan were on the offense before she could. Edmund charged at her as Susan fired two quick arrows. The Witch evaded the arrows. The delay bought Peter enough time to quickly get away from her. Edmund sliced his sword at the White Witch, which she met with her stone knife.

When she could, Susan kept firing at the White Witch while Edmund tried to spar with her, only to realize that honestly, he was outmatched. He could tell, even while he was still holding his own against her. He was losing. He did not know how Peter lasted as long as he did against her.

Then he remembered what Peter had told him of the fight, She was toying with me. She could have easily won that fight in a matter of seconds had Aslan not arrived.

Edmund knew this to be true as the White Witch was faster than any enemy he had ever tried to fight. But Edmund was not the same kid he was when he had first met the Witch. In many ways actually. One of the more beneficial ways was that he was able to keep up with her for the most part, if not only a few paces behind her.

However, after their parry had gone on for some more strokes, the White Witch had gained the upper hand, knocking him back a few feet with a sharp blow she almost gave to his head. It caused him to fall backwards.

He thought he would be dead in an instant. Rather, the White Witch turned towards Susan, deflecting several of Susan's arrows. Then her head snapped to where Peter was lying on the ground, only slightly raised by his elbows after Lucy presumably cut away the rope holding his wrists together.

Edmund could barely see Lucy beside Peter, trying to give him the cordial. The White Witch threw one of her blades straight at them. Peter saw it first, pushing Lucy away from him as he lunged to the other side. The Witch smirked as she lurked towards them.

Edmund scrambled to his feet, charging her from behind before she got too close to Peter and Lucy. Only in that moment did Susan shoot a nearly perfect arrow. As the White Witch had been turning around to resume her fight with Edmund, the arrow grazed the Witch's right arm. She nearly growled in pain, but it allowed Edmund to strike at her, slicing at her torso. She jumped back, and then she was on back on the offense against Edmund.

While the Witch was difficult to keep up with, she was a bit slower because of her injury. He was mostly trying to keep on the defense; there was not much room for much else. He was surely glad though because this allowed Lucy to help Peter to his feet, and they scurried back towards Susan who kept firing arrows.

Just as the White Witch and Edmund's parry caused the two of them to be a good distance back from one another, an arrow had met its target, piercing straight into the Witch's left shoulder, the opposite shoulder Susan had hit when the Witch was first returning.

She cried out in pain, allowing Edmund to lunge for her. She extended her hand, and with whatever magic she could concoct, she sent a wave of energy that blasted Edmund and Susan's new arrows backwards. He quickly got to his feet, expecting her to be coming at him, but she did not. She was clutching her shoulder as blood poured out of it.

"You will pay for that!" The White Witch warned as she snapped the arrow by the ends, leaving a bit still in her new wound.

Edmund rejoined his siblings by where Susan was. Lucy gave Peter a drop of cordial for his weary state and painful injuries. Susan pulled the sword out of the sword belt that hung around her waist, holding Rhindon out to him. He eyed the sword in surprise, for he must have thought he had seen the last of the blade at the raid of Miraz's castle.

Peter took Rhindon from her, seeming to grow more confident the more held the blade. Edmund thought the cordial was working wonders on him; for now, Peter no longer looked as exhausted as he did only moments ago. Edmund still held a cautious eye for him though. He did not look that much better overall. The White Witch retrieved the sword that she had thrown at Lucy and Peter and ditched the other sword for her wand. She glared at the four of them with a hatred that Edmund had never known before.

The four siblings stood side by side with their weapons drawn: Edmund on the far left with his two swords, Susan next to him as she notched her bow with an arrow, Peter holding Rhindon beside Susan, and Lucy was next to Peter, drawing the dagger Father Christmas had given her all those years ago.

The four children of the prophecy were never more ready to face her, and the White Witch had a great deal to fear, for this time, she was fighting the true Kings and Queens of Narnia.

Thank you for reading! Special shoutout to thunderbird shadow for reviewing! Thank you to everyone who continues to read this story!