Aslan's legs swung back and forth, the muscles shifting under me, as we traveled through some woods south of the camp to the Stone Table. I sat side-saddle style so that I could lay down on top of him, sinking my face and arms into his mane. With Aslan beneath me and the forest green cloak I'd grabbed out of the clothing trunk on top of me, I was quite warm and comfortable.

Even so, a chill swept over me every time I remembered what would happen tonight.

Aslan and I hadn't spoken a word to each other ever since the great lion nosed me awake in the middle of the night and murmured, "It's time." We cherished each other's company in somber silence, or at least I did, and I hoped that Aslan was also glad for my presence.

We traveled at a slow, steady pace until I felt Aslan pause and say, "Shouldn't you both be in bed?"

I sat up and looked around to see Lucy and Susan step out from behind some trees.

"We couldn't sleep," Lucy replied.

"Please, Aslan, couldn't we come with you, too?" Susan asked.

Aslan sighed. "I would be glad of the extra company for awhile. Thank you."

Susan and Lucy walked up on either side of Aslan and each put a hand on his mane. Lucy looked up at me and I managed a pained smile.

"You shouldn't have come," I whispered.

Susan gave me a questioning look but I shook my head and didn't say another word.

Lucy and Susan walked alongside us until we came to the edge of the trees and Aslan stopped. I could see not too far away a hill topped with amber torchlight.

"It is time," Aslan said. "From here, only Jenna may go with me."

"But Aslan-" Susan started to protest.

"You have to trust me, for this must be done," Aslan said. "Thank you, Susan. Thank you, Lucy. And farewell."

I reached down to squeeze both girls' hands and whispered, "I'll see you in the morning."

Then Aslan started moving again and I was forced to let go. I watched Susan and Lucy turn back to the trees and then faced forward. I leaned down to speak into Aslan's ear and asked, "Aslan, are you sure that everything will be fine?

Aslan just shook his head.

I sat up straight and tried to mentally prepare myself for the night that even Aslan couldn't predict.

The Witch's army, or at least part of it, had gathered on the hill, torches scattered around the crowd. Monsters ranging from ugly ogres to squealing goblins to cackling hags surrounded us as Aslan climbed up a stone staircase built into the hill.

"Aww, look at the little kitty and its baby!"

"Die! Yes, die!"

"What a lovely girl, what a lovely little girl."

"Oh, I'd love to make that one bleed."

I gripped Aslan's mane a little tighter.

Despite the taunts, many of the creatures in Aslan's path hastily scurried away from him. A harpy dared to linger and hiss at Aslan but she flew away at the lion's hard stare.

The Witch herself was standing at the top of the hill, on a great slab of stone. She was no longer wearing white, but a dark gown crowned on one shoulder with what looked like a rooster. She held a dagger that also looked to be made of stone in front of her and I imagined I felt a shiver run through Aslan's muscles.

"Behold," she said as we reached the top of the stairs. "The great lion."

A wave of laughter ran through the crowd and I cringed. The monsters were starting to crowd in on us and my grip on Aslan's mane tightened even more. Aslan snarled as a particularly large minotaur approached us.

"And look," the Witch continued, "he's brought his little pet, his so-called 'ward.' Seize her."

"No! No!" I screamed as two hags grabbed my arms and yanked me off Aslan's back. I'd been clenching his mane so strongly that chunks of hair tore away in my hands as I was pulled down. I struggled against the hags as they hauled me up to stand beside the Stone Table. They forced me to my knees and one of them slapped me across the face, quieting me. My cheek stung where long nails had scratched it. I was starting to doubt my decision to come here with Aslan, but I was still determined to be there for the lion.

"Give me your word that no harm shall come to her," Aslan thundered.

The Witch scrutinized me from the Table and considered Aslan's request. I wasn't sure whether I should try to look brave or terrified, but I didn't think I could manage to hide my fear well enough so I went with terrified.

She turned back to Aslan and answered, "You have my word."

Whether she would keep it was a different story.

The Witch nodded to the minotaur that had approached Aslan and the beast immediately lunged at the lion and knocked him over with his giant battleaxe. I cried out as Aslan collapsed on his side and had the wind knocked out of him. The Witch's dwarf, who Edmund had told us was named Ginarrbrik, snickered and taunted, "Here, kitty, kitty! Do you want some milk?"

"Bind him," the Witch instructed, and a few minions came forward with ties and began to wrap them around Aslan's paws and body.

"Wait!" the Witch snapped when they moved to his head and the soldiers froze. "Let him first be shaved."

Ginarrbrik toddled forward with the knife that once threatened Edmund, grabbed a large tuft of Aslan's mane, and sawed right through it, holding the hair up like a trophy to the approval of the crowd. Then the closest soldiers set in, tearing and cutting away clumps of mane and throwing them into the crowd.

That was when I started to cry.

It wasn't enough for the Witch to kill Aslan. She had to humiliate him, make a show out of it. She had to make him helpless, take away his beautiful mane, the essence of a lion's dignity. I held the tufts of Aslan's hair I had accidentally torn away to my heart, glad to have a piece of the lion with me now.

When the beasts were finished with Aslan's mane, they stepped away to reveal a haphazard blanket of hair. Random patches of hair stuck out every which way and the shorter hair curled into ringlets.

"Bring him to me."

A few Cyclopes grabbed the trailing ends of Aslan's bindings and dragged his limp body up the last few steps and then onto the Stone Table, his paws and muzzle knocking against every edge. He ended up with his back to the Witch and his head pointed right at me.

The Witch thrust out one arm and the crowd immediately fell silent.

I silently begged Aslan to look at me. His eyes were so dull now. I dried my tears with the back of my hand, deciding I'd cried enough and now I needed to be strong.

The sound of wood striking stone broke the silence as the torch-bearing hags surrounding the Stone Table slammed the sticks down in unison. They repeated the motion, setting a steady tempo. The crowd noise started up again, wolves howling and beasts whooping, eager for blood.

At last, the Witch herself approached Aslan and knelt beside him. She reached down and brushed one hand along the lion's ruined mane. Aslan flinched at her touch and he angled his head toward her as I heard her murmur, "You know, Aslan, I'm a little disappointed in you. Did you honestly think by all this that you could save the human traitor? You are giving me your life, and saving no one. So much for love."

Aslan dropped his head again, still refusing to look at me, but I didn't dare call to him lest it draw another strike from my guards. The Witch stood to address her followers, her voice carrying easily over the clamor. "Tonight, the Deep Magic will be appeased!"

Cheers answered her and the hags beat their torches faster.

"But tomorrow," the Witch continued, "we will take Narnia forever!"

At last Aslan's eyes locked on mine and I understood why he'd been so reluctant to look at me.

He was scared.

"In that knowledge, despair…"

I didn't see the Witch raise the knife.

"…and die!"

I didn't see the knife plunge into Aslan's heart.

I saw the way Aslan's body jerked in response, heard the hiccup of pain that brought out my own involuntary cry of anguish.

And then I watched as the light in Aslan's eyes faded.

"The great cat," the Witch proclaimed, "is dead!"

I broke away from the hags holding me and threw myself onto the Stone Table and Aslan's body, sobs spilling out of me and lost in the uproar of the army.

"General," the Witch demanded, "prepare your troops for battle."

I heard a minotaur roar behind me and I looked up at the Witch, who was looking down at her kill and me. "However short it may be," she added.

I tried to think of something brave to say but all that came out was, "You'll never take Narnia."

"Foolish girl," she replied. "My army is more than twice the size of yours. Your leader is dead. But do not worry, Lady Jenna. I will not kill you tonight, but tomorrow, I will see to it that you join your beloved Aslan."

xxxxx

At some point I dropped into a fitful sleep curled up against Aslan's body in the same spot as earlier. The next thing I knew there was a hand shaking my shoulder and I opened swollen eyes to see Lucy standing over me, Susan just behind her. Gray light washed over them.

"I thought you went back to camp." My voice came out hoarse since my throat was raw from crying.

Susan shook her head. "We hid and watched. Jenna, did you know what was going to happen?"

I just nodded.

Lucy climbed up and sat next to me at Aslan's head, pulling out the cordial Father Christmas had given her. I covered it with one hand and shook my head. "It's too late," I told her. "He's gone."

Lucy touched my cheek where the hag had scratched me. "Your face." She pushed the cordial toward me now, and after a moment of hesitation I accepted a drop of the fire-flower juice. A warm, tickling sensation covered my cheek and I ran my fingers over it to find the scratches had disappeared.

Susan climbed up on the other side of Aslan. "He must have known what he was doing."

The three of us hugged each other over Aslan's body as Susan and Lucy wept, while I was too exhausted to cry anymore.

Tiny squeaking caught our attention and we looked up to see several mice scurrying over and around the lion. Susan tried to shoo them away but Lucy stopped her and it registered that the mice were only gathering around the ropes that still bound Aslan. One by one the ropes snapped as the mice chewed through them and then scurried away, allowing us to pull them off of Aslan and smooth out the matted fur.

"We have to tell the others," Susan said.

I nodded in agreement. A battle was coming and the army needed to prepare to fight without their great leader.

"We can't just leave him!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I'll go," I rasped. I cleared my throat and repeated, "I'll go. It's my duty." I stood up and straightened my cloak, pulling the hood up

"Even so it'll take you awhile to get back to camp," Susan said. "They need to know right away, there's no time." She gestured to the east where the horizon was just starting to brighten. Dawn wasn't too far off now and I doubted the Witch was going to wait around to conquer Narnia once and for all.

I surveyed our surroundings and caught sight of some bright blossoms inside the shadowy tree line.

Cherry trees.

I smiled and stated, "The trees."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Like when you went to the camp ahead of us and you sent that flower girl to tell us where'd you gone."

"Exactly," I affirmed. "The dryads can get a message to the camp in no time at all."

I gathered up my skirts and started down the stairs. "I still need to go back, though. As Aslan's ward the army will want to see me there. Will you two be okay?"

Susan held up her bow and nodded. "I think we'll be fine. Everyone should be fighting, so I doubt anyone will come up here." She looked down at Aslan. "We'll figure out what we should do here and then head back."

I nodded and paused to look at Aslan's motionless body one more time before turning and running back into the trees. I came to a stop before the cherry trees I had spotted and called out, "Hello? Dryads? Please, I need your help!"

The cherry blossoms stirred and then a storm of petals detached from the branches of one of the trees to gather in front of me. The dryad readily agreed to serve as messenger to Peter and Edmund, and I asked her to report that Aslan was dead and I was on my way back to camp while Susan and Lucy were staying behind at the Table. The dryad was visibly shaken by the news about Aslan, her petals vibrating in a wave of shock, but she assured me that she would get the job done and get it done quickly.

With a stream of cherry blossom petals floating off into the woods, I started running back to the camp again, checking my position against the eastern horizon every now and then to make sure I stayed on track. I ran until it became difficult to breathe and then I slowed to a speed walk, putting my hand to my side where a stitch had started to pain me. I felt like I was about halfway back to the camp, but I couldn't be sure since it had been so dark when Aslan and I came through and we'd been going at a different pace.

Then I heard hoofbeats and clinking metal coming toward me and Moonshadow, decked out in full armor, appeared out of the trees ahead. She galloped to me, knelt, and held out a hand. "There you are, milady! Come on, I'll take you the rest of the way back to camp."

I clasped her hand and she helped me onto her back. "Thanks, Moonshadow. You got my message then?"

Moonshadow nodded. "The general and the Sons of Adam have gone to check Aslan's tent to see for themselves, and I came out here to ensure you returned unharmed."

Moonshadow made short work of the remaining distance back to camp. She took me straight to Aslan's pavilion. Oreius, Peter, and Edmund were gathered around the table that had previously been in Aslan's tent, maps spread across it.

"Peter, there's an army out there and it's ready to follow you," Edmund was saying as I hopped off Moonshadow. Oreius nodded in greeting but the two Pevensies were focused on their discussion.

"I can't," Peter insisted.

"Aslan believed you could," Edmund replied.

I stepped up to the table. "He's right."

Both boys looked up at me. "Jenna," Peter started, but then changed his mind.

"Aslan is dead," I said. "It's up to you now, Peter."

"Why not you?" he asked.

"Aslan told me that you had to do it. These soldiers believe in the prophecy and so they'll believe in you, just like Aslan did, and just like I do."

"And so do I," Edmund added.

There was a moment of silence and then Peter put on a focused expression and I knew he'd accepted his new role as commander.

"The Witch's army is nearing, sire," Oreius reported. "What are your orders?"

Peter examined the maps and rosters in front of him. "What do we know about the Witch's army?"

"It's big," I answered. "She told me she has over twice our forces. I saw a lot of different beasts at the Stone Table. Harpies, hags, goblins, ogres, dwarves, the lot. Her general is a giant black minotaur."

"That would be General Otmin," Oreius supplied.

"Sounds like we need every advantage we can get then," Peter said. He pointed at a hilly area north of the fords of Beruna on a map of the surrounding area. "So we pick the battlefield, here. If necessary, we can use the rocks to force them into more one-on-one fights."

Peter picked up a page from a list of troops. "Does this say we have a phoenix?"

AN: has the chapter ready to go says she'll post on a certain day posts almost a week later
I've really gotta stop doing that XD

Well, here it is finally! One of the biggest scenes in the story. I hope I've done it justice. This was a great opportunity to focus on Aslan's character and the relationship that's been established between him and Jenna in just a couple short days. Also, I still cry every time I watch this scene. T_T

Next chapter will be another biggie - BATTLE TIME! But...

I am back at school now, so most of my time is going to be focused on classes and homework and the writing I have to do for that. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I can finish this by the end of September (so in 1 month). Thank you so much, dear readers, for your continued patience and support. We're so close to the end!

Don't forget to favorite, follow, review, and share! See ya next time! :)