Chapter 38: …and for Narnia
Crystal was glad to not be wearing a dress as she fought. She was happy not to have to worry about the long skirts tangling around her feet and getting in the way of her balance. She needed as much mobility as possible to be sure that she could attack anything and everything that got in her way. Deep down she admired and respected Susan and Lucy for doing everything in a dress or a gown (not that she knew the difference). All she knew was that she loved having her full range of motion available to her when she needed it.
And despite how annoyed she was with Susan at the moment she was glad that the bow wielder was there to keep an eye on those behind her.
With short calls of "Behind you!", "Look out!", "Got your back!", and "Double-up" they fought through the enemy that tried to take them down. With Susan's bow she was able to attack enemies up close and long range when she had enough time to let another arrow fly whereas Crystal kept her covered fighting up close.
She had less time to learn how to wield a sword than the others and found herself delivering sloppy hits, leaving herself much more vulnerable than she intended. A few hits here and there had blood seeping out of one arm, the beginning of a painful bruise on her side, a throbbing ankle, and a tear not only in the front of her shirt but on part of her abdomen as well. She had jumped back to dodge that particular axe attack but didn't react as quickly as she hoped.
Her chest heaved to pull air into her constricted lungs. The armor sitting on her shoulders felt as if she were slowly being dragged down. The chainmail made her hot around the collar. Beads of sweat ripped down her forehead and into her eyes, burning them much more than the glare of the sun did. Her body felt as if sand was being poured into her muscles from the top of her head. It started in her feet and began to rise to her legs. Her movements slowed down and her swords felt as if they weighed a ton. But still she pressed on, even as the biting pain in her ankle started to throb in time with her heart beat.
"We need to go back," Susan said. She sounded so far away even though her mouth was so close to Crystal's ear that she could feel her ragged breaths on it.
"No! We…can't stop," Crystal panted. She forced her arms up and slashed her sword through the air and across a leaping wolf's face. The girls ducked as the wolf whined in pain and fell to the ground.
"You're hurt," Susan hissed. "You're in no condition to"—she grabbed an arrow and sent it flying at a white tiger, stopping it in mid lunge. It twitched on the ground and then lay still—"to fight."
"I can't stop," Crystal said. Now her own voice sounded far away to her. She blinked rapidly to try and clear her vision. "Not now. I…I can't…"
"Don't be pigheaded!" Susan grabbed her arm. "Siber," she called for the Pegasus. "Siber, come quick!"
The white horse appeared by her side and managed to kneel close enough to the ground for Susan to swing herself up and onto his back. She managed to pull Crystal up onto the horse before shooting at a goblin that tried to take them down.
Siber's wings poked out of his back and he flapped them twice. Big downbursts of air knocked any approaching enemy off of their feet. Siber shot straight up into the air to be sure to avoid anyone approaching. Susan curled her fingers into the horse's blond mane to keep herself upright. She kept her arms wrapped around her friend to make sure she didn't slip off when Siber dodged and ducked and rolled to avoid arrows flying their way.
After what felt like an eternity to Susan they touched down on the ground and Siber ran the rest of the way to the tents and the Narnians waiting to aid them at the end. Susan could smell some sort of stew cooking. The delicious scent made her mouth water and her stomach rumble but she knew better to take a taste, even if she would be granted it. She had a friend to worry about and a fight to help finish.
"Lucy!" Susan called out once they got close to the medical tent. "Lucy!"
The flaps flew open in Lucy's haste outside. James and Cloudbirth stuck their heads out to see what was going on. Cloudbirth said something to James and they both ducked their heads back into the tent as Siber knelt on the ground and Susan and Lucy managed to get Crystal off of his back.
"Is she alright?" Lucy asked.
"Hard to say. I think she's lost a lot of blood. She may be a bit delirious," Susan added.
Lucy grimaced at the dark bruise on Crystal's face as well as the tears and blood stains on her clothes. She then looked her sister over. Dirt clung to her battle dress and smudged on her cheeks and the exposed skin on her arms. The hem of her dress was littered with tears, holes, and splattered with dried blood.
"And you?" Lucy asked.
Susan brushed her fallen hair out of her face and used the back of her hand and wipe off a smudge of dirt. "I'll be alright."With a tight smile she added, "I've been through worse."
Lucy's smile reflected Susan's. She knew what her sister was referring to. It still made her blood boil to think about what Rabadash had done just for the sake of winning Susan over. Susan cleared her throat. The sound made Lucy jump. "Let's get her into see Cloudbirth. He can heal her."
Shuffling, the two girls carried Crystal into the tent and laid her down on the table set up in the middle of the tent as Cloudbirth scurried around. Every now and then he would stop to study a stored plant or container of liquid, choose one over the other, and move onto the next. Finally he placed bowls, pestles, leaves, and different vials of liquids on the table.
"Your Royal Highness, if you do not mind leaving while we tend to her wounds," Cloudbirth said, glancing at the pale faced boy.
"But I want to help," he said.
"I am sure that, despite being in an unconscious state, she would want to keep as much modesty as possible," Cloudbirth replied as diplomatically as possible although Lucy swore she sensed a little bit of amusement in his tone.
James shuffled his feet and rubbed at the back of his neck. He stayed silent for a moment and then asked, "Why don't you just use Lucy's cordial?"
Both Susan and Lucy looked at each other, thunderstruck at how simple the idea was. How had they not thought of it themselves? Lucy's hands flew straight to her waist. She patted her dagger and then the pouch where her cordial usually sat. She frowned when it came up empty and then gasped, her hands flying up to her cheeks.
"I forgot!" She wailed, distraught. "Remember what Peter used to say? He didn't want me to carry it to every conflict because the fire juice was so precious!" Lucy shook her head in dismay. "I left it behind." She turned to the centaur. "You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?"
"I do, but the supply must be rationed," Cloudbirth replied. As he spoke he went over to his stash and began searching among bottles and vials. "And I would still like to take a proper look at her. If you wouldn't mind, James."
He muttered something and excused himself from the tent. Cloudbirth broke the wax seal that sat atop of the vial. With Susa's help, they lifted Crystal's head so a drop could properly enter her mouth. Crystal's dry, cracked lips rubbed together and she flicked her tongue out to catch the drop.
Cloudbirth's fingers went to the back of her shirt once the armor had been removed, hovering on the strings that held it shut. He paused and then looked over at the tired girl. She nodded once, giving him permission to untie it. Susan grabbed a nearby sheet and lay it over top her, protecting her modesty.
"I don't think I can do this," Crystal rasped.
"You'll be fine in no time. Cloudbirth knows what he's doing," Lucy assured her.
"No. I mean fight." Crystal swallowed, the lump in her throat breaking. It was like a leak in a dam, the pressure of her emotions on the other side broke through the wall she had so carefully crafted and constructed. Unshed tears burned her eyes and shaky breaths pushed their way out of her throat. "I can't..." She shook her head. A single tear managed to squeeze its way out from between her eyelids when she squeezed them shut. "All of this. I can't…I can't rule. I can't fight. I can't…can't kill…. I just can't."
Lucy and Susan looked at each other as Cloudbirth circled the battered princess, his hands skimming beneath the sheet. Lucy sighed. She wished there was something she could do, but the choices were slim. She remembered how it felt to fight for the first time. A mere girl of fourteen she had begged Edmund to let her go with him on a journey to ease hostility. It wasn't long before she found herself face to face with someone that was willing to kill a young girl to achieve his own goal so she had to protect herself, even if that meant taking a life.
It haunted her for days. She couldn't sleep, hardly ate, and snapped at everyone when they tried to speak to her about it. It still made her stomach drop just thinking about, one day, being on the front lines like everyone, but she knew that it was what she needed to do if she were going to protect Narnia and her family. It got easier after a while, only if she didn't think about it too much. If she did, well, that's when the nightmares come back.
"It'll be alright," Lucy said, smoothing her hair down. "I know it's hard…but it's what you have to do. You want to protect Narnia, right? This is what we have to do sometimes. Right, Su?"
Susan, who had been quiet, looked up when she was addressed. Her eyes shifted from her sister's face to her friend's face. Her supple lips parted slightly and then she pressed them together again, swallowing. She nodded once.
"It comes with the responsibility," Susan agreed. "Sometimes you have to do what you don't want."
Crystal seized beneath the sheet. The skin around her injuries burned, as if flames licked any exposed bit of flesh its greedy hands could get. Her face scrunched up and she gritted her teeth, sucking a hissing breath between the spaces in her teeth.
"Relax, child. This will help you," Cloudbirth said calmly.
Tears collected in the corners of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She took in deep breaths and let them out in harsh hisses as she waited for the pain to slowly die away. She swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing it down. It fell with a sickening thud in her stomach.
"Not much longer now."
"Oh, good. It felt like eternity went by already," Crystal muttered.
"Now's not the time for jokes," Susan said sternly.
"Who's joking?" Crystal grunted. "It feels like the fires from He…" the word stretched out as her eyes flickered over to Lucy. She cleared her throat and continued, "The fires from Heck are having a grand ol' time dancing on my back."
Lucy had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from laughing out loud. She avoided the scolding look Susan threw her way. Silence had just barely settled over the tent when James burst in, his eyes wide.
"Isabella! She…she's here!" he panted. "Lookouts spotted her by the river Beruna."
"What!?" All three girls exclaimed at once.
"What do we do? Peter's not back yet," Lucy said. She paused and then asked the question that was on all their minds, "What if she has him?"
"Isabella doesn't have him," Susan said firmly.
"We have to go after her," Crystal rasped, trying to sit in an upright position. "Now. We can't let her get away."
"But you're hurt," Lucy pointed out.
"And what about Edmund?" Susan added.
"This is Edmund's fight at the end of it all. He's the one who needs to end it, right? Not us."
"But he can't do it by himself!"
"Maybe, just once, you could have some more faith in people!" Crystal snapped. She swung her legs over the side of the table and reached behind herself to fix the ties on her shirt. Lucy rushed to the other side and started to tie her shirt up.
Thick, heavy silence settled in the tent. Cloudbirth took a few steps back, surveying the scene. His eyes swept from the hurt look on Susan's face to the apprehensive one on Lucy's to the confused one on James's to the stoic one on Crystal's. He turned to his stash and grabbed a bottle that was filled with an amber colored liquid.
"If you must," he said, holding the bottle out to her. "This will take away any pain for a short amount of time. It should be enough to get you through. Please, do whatever it takes to protect Narnia."
Crystal took the bottle, avoiding everyone's eye, and gulped down the liquid. As soon as it slid down her throat she felt a warm sensation spread through her, starting from her toes, reaching up her legs, wrapping around her torso, and shot upwards until it took over her body and any pain that she had felt in her back disappeared completely.
Her body was numb from the inside out.
"Let's go," Crystal grunted, dropping down to the floor. Cloudbirth grabbed her arm when she stumbled. She quickly regained her balance, the sparkle of determination never leaving her eye. "Stay here," she added to Lucy and James.
"Okay," Lucy said quietly. She looked as if she wanted to argue but she kept the words to herself. James nodded in agreement.
Silently Crystal looked to Susan, her eyebrows lifting. Susan diverted her eyes for a moment and then pressed her lips together. She grabbed her forgotten bow and held it tight. Crystal put her armor back on and grabbed her swords. With a tilt of her head, she and Susan exited the tent.
They walked past the other members of their camp, their heads held high. Soon the tents of the camp were replaced with tall trees that blocked out the sun. Small beams of sun pushed through and dotted their faces.
"How far do you think she is?" Crystal asked, breaking the silence between them. Her tone had a no-nonsense take to it.
Susan caught on. "Hard to tell. She could be hiding amongst the trees. That could be to our advantage though. The trees aided us last time. And with your powers you could wake them when needed."
"I think I'd better save that for—"
She jumped at the loud roar that sounded by her side. She managed to lift her sword up in time to block the one that came slicing through the air at her. She kept her hand pressed flat on the blade, her arms trembling at the effort to keep the tip of her blade from hitting her face.
"Peter!" Susan gasped from behind her.
"It always has to be you, doesn't it?" Crystal managed to joke. She gathered enough strength to push him away and took a few steps back. "Unfortunately for you there's no cliff for you to shove me off of."
"What's wrong with his eyes?" Susan asked. Crystal looked up. Sure enough his eyes were a wall of blue; no pupil was to be seen.
"Isabella has a hold of him," Crystal replied, tensing. "Who knows what'll make her let go. The best thing we can do is disarm."
Susan had begun to reply when the rustling of trees grabbed her attention. In a flash she had an arrow drawn and held it up, waiting to see who it was. Her arm faltered and she almost let go of the arrow. It would have landed somewhere in Caspian's upper body.
"No," she whispered.
Like Peter's, his eyes lacked a pupil.
Isabella had a hold of him too.
"I think she ambushed the whole group," Crystal told her.
"Looks like it," Susan replied. The smile on Caspian's face made her lip curl. Not long ago it made her stomach fill with butterflies and her heart skip a beat. But now it only filled her with dread. She curled her fingers around the wood of the bow and set her jaw. "We need to fight," she said. More so to herself than to Crystal.
In a flash Crystal and Peter started fighting, their swords swinging. Susan managed to jump away when Caspian lunged at her. She dodged the tip of his blade as he slashes and sliced through the air. How long would she be able to avoid his sword? An arrow against a sword was a combination that she could already see the outcome to. She knew how to use one but she wasn't as skilled as Edmund or Peter or Caspian, she didn't know her way around it and still had trouble with the shifting weight. It would only buy her a little bit of time. But would it be enough?
"Ah!" she cried out. Caspian's sword had pierced her sleeve, scratching her arm. She could feel the warm, thick blood slowly dripping down her arm, sticking to her sleeve and smearing.
She grabbed at her arm. The blood seeped between her fingers, coating the knuckles. For a moment Caspian stopped and, in that moment, Susan thought she saw the old him returning. But that passed again in a fleeting second.
"Caspian, please," Susan gasped, her chest heaving. "You don't have to do this."
"Aw, Susan. Did you really think I cared about you?" Caspian taunted, his head tilting as he regarded her. "Who could ever care about someone so cold? Someone so unfeeling and above it all? Who?"
Susan gritted her teeth, her eyes hardening. She tried to ignore what he was saying, but what if it was true? What if that was what he really felt deep down? It was one thing thinking those things himself but it was another when it was said to her face.
"Susan! Don't listen to him!" Crystal grunted, still fighting to hold Peter off. But he was taller and stronger than she was and she was finding it hard to keep her footing on the loose soil. A line of blood on her cheek marred her otherwise pale skin. "Don't listen! Fight back! The hold will break…somehow!"
Peter laughed. He moved effortlessly, as if water moved through his body and dictated his motions. Crystal didn't have time to react properly. His sword caught hers. With a hard tug she watched as it flew out of her hand and spun through the sky, landing tip down, ways away.
That was one down.
"You can fight all you want but you're not going to win," Peter taunted, bringing his sword up to meet with her remaining blade. "You're weak. You always have been weak and you always will be weak. You don't belong here. You're not fit to be queen. Allow me to rid you of that responsibility."
A growl pushed its way through her clenched teeth. Gripping her sword tighter she landed blow after blow on Peter's sword, but he blocked each hit with ease. His smile grew into a taunting smirk, which only spurred her on.
In a flash he had her arm behind her back and his sword up to her neck. He squeezed her wrist until she was forced to let go of her sword. It clattered to the ground, bouncing off his shoes.
She tilted her head back, exposing more of her neck. If he was going to kill her she wouldn't bother to resist. If he had the guts to do it she wouldn't show him fear. She swallowed. The lump in her throat rolled around the blade pressing into her neck.
"Go ahead and do it, then," Crystal said, doing her best to keep her voice steady. She flinched at Peter's breath ghosting over her ear.
"Peter, don't!" Susan called out. Crystal didn't have time to stop her from changing her attention from Caspian. It, too, took him no time to have Susan restrained.
"She's not mine to take, don't you worry sister," Peter replied. "That's for Isabella to do." Lowering his voice he laid his mouth by Crystal's ear and added, "There was one thing I felt you should know: I never liked you. You're merely too easy to trick. You mean nothing to me. You're nothing but a strumpet."
Crystal stiffened amidst the ache that blossomed in her chest. His laugh fanned the flames inside of her. She saw red. She curled the fingers into her palms and closed her eyes, concentrating on the image of the flames. They grew brighter, the tips stood taller and the heat steadily grew more intense. She imagined the flames thinning into a rope-like coil, one that she could manipulate. A peek through her slightly opened eyes showed that her hands were glowing red but nothing was happening.
"Why isn't it working?" she muttered beneath her breath.
An answer never came to her for, in that moment, Isabella walked into the clearing, laughing all the while. Her long, white gown swept the grass beneath her feet. It resembled a gown made for a wedding rather than for a war.
"Finally, I can dispose of you like I wanted before," Isabella commented, mirth embedded in her voice.
"You had every chance to do it," Crystal grunted. The cold that clung to the steel of Peter's blade made gooseflesh erupt over her skin.
"You could have easily controlled her, like you're doing to my brother," Susan spoke up. "What made you wait?"
Isabella's eyes darted over to Susan, her lip curling into a sneer at the sight of the Gentle queen. Then it turned into a smirk when her eyes jumped up to Caspian's face. She remained silent.
"What did you do with the others?" Crystal demanded.
Isabella turned to her. "Taking care of those at your camp, of course," she replied as if she were merely discussing the weather. "I have eyes all over. I knew it'd be easy to draw you out. And having Peter and Caspian go against you, I have to say, was a brilliant idea." Her smirk, if possible, grew wider. "Ah, the matters of the heart can weaken anyone. Especially those that believe they have a chance with someone that'd would never look at them twice."
A muscle in Crystal's jaw twitched from how hard her teeth clenched behind her closed mouth. Isabella reached out her hand and rubbed Crystal's cheek in a condescending manner and then gave it a sharp smack. Both Caspian and Peter laughed.
"You're a coward," Susan spat. The diplomatic tone she usually carried around her words had been replaced with pure malice. "Using others to do your dirty work."
"Of course. Why would I get blood on my hands?" Isabella replied. "Let alone this dress. It's made of the finest silks. You know all about that, don't you Susan? A woman deserves to have only the best draping her figure. How else are we supposed to enhance our beauty? Make up can only help so much." She had a light, breezy tone to her words. They felt odd combating Susan's harsher tone. Isabella spoke as if they were friendly. It only made Susan angrier.
"Though, I suppose she has a point," Isabella continued, sighing. "While I would enjoy seeing your precious Peter taking your life that is a luxury I'd like to experience myself." Her hand went up to her neck and she stroked a silver necklace that hung around it. "It just wouldn't be the same if I were responsible."
Crystal's eyes narrowed as she spotted the necklace hanging around her neck. The blue stones on it sparkled when it caught the sunlight. One quick look to Peter's neck confirmed her suspicions. Unfortunately.
She stumbled forward when Peter shoved her away. Despite the long skirts on her dress, Isabella moved swiftly. So swiftly that Crystal almost ran out of time to gather herself, grab Valkyrie, and clash it against Isabella's dueling knife.
"Everything will be fine, my queen, don't worry," James whispered to Lucy.
Lucy tried to smile at him but it didn't reach her eyes. He was sweet, trying to keep her calm despite the situation they were in. How could he be so calm when their own friends were circling them like wolves? Lucy did her best to keep her head held high and act like the queen she was but it was hard when her body reacted like a small scared child. Of which she was, who was she fooling?
She tried to discretely tug at the thick ropes that held their wrists together once more, trying not to draw too much attention to them. Aral stood nearby, looking around at the prisoners of the camp as the rest of Peter's army patrolled and checked on their tied up friends.
"I knew Isabella could control people but I didn't know she could do it from this far," Lucy whispered. "She's much stronger than I thought."
"We'll get out of this," James said. "Don't worry. We just need to…we just need to believe that the others are doing what they need to do."
Lucy pressed her lips together. She knew James was being optimistic for her sake but it was hard for her to believe him. She tugged harder, feeling the ropes begin to bite into her skin. At the raw rubbing she stopped and huffed, blowing a strand of hair off her face. Cloudbirth sat next to her, looking right up at the sky.
Somehow he remained calm throughout the whole ordeal. He hardly reacted when their friends came back and stared ordering them around, threatening to have them killed. No trace of worry appeared on his face and he accepted everything that was happening as if it were the norm.
Did he see this in the stars? Is that why he's not concerned?
"Cloudbirth," Lucy whispered. "Why aren't you in distress?"
Cloudbirth turned his head and looked at Lucy. For a moment he didn't say anything, instead his eyes shifted as if he were searching her face. Finally he said, "Because this is how things are supposed to be. I cannot fight the path that is laid out for me. All I can do is accept it and let things go down the path they are meant to. Do not give up, Queen Lucy."
"Quiet, you!" a minotaur snapped, waving his axe in Cloudbirth's face. The centaur hardly blinked.
Lucy bit down on her lip. How many more times were they going to be tested? She didn't expect being a queen to be easy. There were skirmishes and altercations they've been in throughout their Golden Age that she had to see through and come to terms with her position in Narnia. But how many more times would her faith and position need to be put through the wringer until she could live in peace?
As long as there is darkness out there, I suppose. But, with darkness, there is always light to conquer it. And as long as there's light there's…
A loud, thunderous roar echoed across the land. It shook Lucy to the core but a smile blossomed on her face at the noise. She turned her head and saw James smiling back at her, his smile wide. Another booming roar followed the first. The minotaurs and other members of Peter's army shook their heads. They blinked rapidly and grunted as a familiar light came back to their eyes.
"Aslan!" Lucy exclaimed at the sight of the large lion as it bounded across the land in a few might leaps. "Aslan, it's you!"
James bowed his head at the sight of the mighty lion. He approached the tied up trio, lowered his head, and bit at the ropes. A few second later Lucy was able to pull her arms free. She inspected her wrists, frowning at the red marks that were indented in her swollen skin.
"Do not worry, My Queen. I will take care of that," Cloudbirth said, nodding at her wrists.
Lucy scrambled to her feet and flung her arms around Aslan's neck. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled her fingers around the soft hairs of his golden mane. She stepped back and looked into his eyes. He blinked and looked back at her. Her smile faltered. "I'm so sorry, Aslan," she said.
"For what, young one?"
"For doubting you. For not believing in you," she admitted. Saying the words aloud made a rock land in her stomach. It was not something she had done before, but it seemed that all was lost. He had been gone for so long what else was she to think? She wasn't a young girl anymore and she knew that, sometimes, they'd have to fix situations on their own. "I didn't think you were coming back."
Aslan lifted his head. "I do not show myself when you do not need me," he replied. "Don't you see, Lucy? I am with you always, but I show myself only when I am truly needed. I have faith in you, in all of you, to traverse through the darkest times by your own strength. I will always be there when needed and I will always be watching. I will never abandon you…as long as you do not abandon me."
"I won't, Aslan, I won't," Lucy vowed, tears clinging to the corners of her eyes. "What are we to do now? Edmund's still out there."
"All will be taken care of soon, young one," Aslan said. "Trust me."
Lucy looked from Aslan to James who stood nearby, gazing upon the majestic lion in awe. The expression on his face quickly dropped and was replaced with one of pure anger. Nostrils flaring, he withdrew his sword in a flourish and held it in front of him.
"Take another step and you'll regret it!" he called out.
Lucy whirled around. She shrank closer to Aslan's side at the sight of Lord Auren. He slowly approached the camp. He kept his hands clasped together in front of him as he took long, slow strides towards the great lion.
"Please, lower your weapon," he said to James. "I mean no harm. I have only come to try and right a wrong."
"You're much weaker than I thought, without your friends and big words by your side," Isabella taunted, bringing her elbow back. Her aim hit spot on. Her elbow bashed against Crystal's jaw. The tired girl staggered backwards, her arms swinging lazily by her side as she tried to gasp for breath.
A metallic taste filled her mouth and she spat at the ground to keep from choking on it. Blood clung to the blades of grass by her feet. Hastily she wiped her mouth with the torn sleeve of her shirt. A dark smear appeared on the fabric.
"I could say the same for you," Crystal rasped, slowly standing to her full height.
"If you haven't noticed I'm the one winning," Isabella pointed out.
"Ha," Crystal scoffed. "You resort in bullying people and making them bend to your will to win. You can't do anything on your own. You're the weak one."
"Shut up!" Isabella hit her across the face with the back of her hand. Long ago they had forgotten about their weapons and went for more intimate hits. But some of Isabella's blows were dealt by Crystal's own hand, using her powers of manipulation any chance she had. There was even one scary moment when Isabella made Crystal use her own hands to try and strangle herself. Isabella laughed the entire time and let her hold go before the deed was done.
"This world is mine," Isabella continued. "And it was supposed to be mine before that…traitor ruined the whole thing. Now I can get back what was to be mine. Peter's just an accessory." She paused. "Maybe I'll keep you alive long enough for you to attend the wedding and then I'll do away with you. That way you can bear witness to us consummating—"
Isabella's shriek was quickly followed by a scream of pain coming from Susan. She had her arms twisted painfully behind her back from Peter and Caspian as Caspian held a sword up to her neck. A bead of blood rolled down her pale skin and disappeared into the neckline of her dress.
Growling, Isabella grabbed the arrow that stuck out of her arm and yanked it out. She hardly blinked throughout the swift motion. She tossed the offending weapon to the ground.
"On second thought, I may as well take care of you now," she hissed.
Crystal swallowed the lump in her throat. Was this how she was going to go? In a world that she was still trying to understand in front of her friends who didn't even recognized her because of Isabella's powers and in front of another who she wasn't on good terms with at the moment?
She closed her eyes and waited for her inevitable doom. Any energy she had coursing through her veins left ages ago. She could hardly move her legs. It felt as if her blood had been replaced with cement and it was weighing her down.
If I'm to die anywhere at least it's in a beautiful land fighting for something.
She felt a strange rumble deep within her stomach. Isabella stopped and a look of confusion appeared on her face. Caspian, Peter, and Susan's facial expressions mimicked hers. Then isabella's eyes widened and she took a step back. They all turned to see a figure running in the distance, quickly closing the gap between them.
"Aslan!" Susan exclaimed.
"No!" Isabella gasped.
The lion approached the group. Sitting atop his back was Lord Auren. Isabella's eyes locked with her father as he descended from the lion and approached his daughter. "You too?" she demanded.
"You must stop this," Lord Auren said to her. "You do not deserve the land of Narnia if you are taking it by force."
"Narnia was supposed to be my mother's land!" Isabella yelled at him. "This what she wanted. This is what she deserves! What I deserve as well! Are you going to join me?" Lord Auren stood where he was. "Fine! I'll just make you come to my side, since you won't do so willingly."
"No," Lord Auren said firmly. Isabella faltered. "That is enough, dear daughter. This ends now."
"This ends when I say it does!"
Lord Auren turned to Aslan who stood by, waiting. "I'm ready," Lord Auren told the Great and Noble lion. "I'm ready to make my sacrifice."
"Very well," Aslan replied.
A low rumble started in Aslan's chest. He lowered his head and, when he lifted it, a mighty roar burst out from between his teeth. Everyone, save for Lord Auren, clapped their hands over their ears. The growl shook the ground and made it tremble beneath their feet. And, in front of their very eyes, they watched as Lord Auren's body became encompassed in the brightest light they've ever seen and then disappear into thin air.
"It is done," Aslan stated.
"Wh-what did you do to my father, you beast?" Isabella demanded.
"Your father has made a sacrifice on your behalf," Aslan replied. "To stop you from controlling these lands and all those that inhabit it."
A wild look came to Isabella's eyes and an inhuman scream shot out of her throat. "We'll see about that! Peter, Caspian, go get him!" Seconds went by and nothing happened. Isabella turned her attention to the two males and faltered. Peter and Caspian were rubbing their eyes as if waking up from sleep. "No! No! Father, what did you do?"
Aslan stepped over to Crystal and blew a warm breath on her. She felt energy coming back to her body. The ache and pain from her battle wounds slowly went away. She, too, felt as if she had woken up from a long nap.
"No. No. All my hard work!" Isabella moaned.
Peter approached her. "I'm giving you the option of leaving Narnia," he told her, looking her in the eye. "Where you can do no harm to anyone and leave Narnia in peace."
"No! I was so close! I shall rule Narnia!" Isabella shot back. She grabbed her forgotten knife and slashed at him. He jumped out of the way, stumbling over his feet. She then turned and ran.
Crystal grabbed Valkyrie and Moralltach and ran after her. Peter, Susan, and Caspian were hot on her heels.
"Way to go, giving her my necklace like that," she said to Peter as they ran. "I can't use my powers without it!"
"I didn't have a choice!" Peter shot back. "She manipulated me into giving it to her!"
"Now is not the time for your petty arguments!" Susan shouted from behind them.
She was right, though they didn't want to say that aloud. Instead they kept chasing Isabella until they reached the river. Peter remembered how, before, Aslan took out Miraz's army on the bridge with the aid of a River God. Would Isabella befall the same fate?
"Enough!" Isabella shouted, stopping in the middle of the bridge that had been constructed. "I will ntot run from the likes of you! You'll bow down to me!"
"That will never happen," Crystal vowed, tightening her grip on her swords. "You'll never overtake Narnia. I won't let it happen."
"We'll see."
The two girls ran at each other, swords and knives held high. Every clash of metal against metal was quickly followed by clinks, clanks, and grunts. The two girls never let up on one another, knowing that this, now, had become a fight to the death.
Isabella managed to rid Crystal of one of her swords. It flung out of her hand, arched in the air, and landed in the water with a splash. For a brief moment Crystal looked over her shoulder to see where it landed. When she turned back around Isabella shoved her knives at Crystal's face. She held them off with her sword, making the blades poke past her head. She came down on one knee as Isabella pressed all her weight down on her. Their arms began to tremble.
"You can do it, my daughter. I believe in you."
The sound of Mother Nature's voice in Crystal's head gave her the strength she needed to fight Isabella back. She pressed her sword down until Isabella's arms were crossed at her chest. She kicked at Isabella's exposed middle. When Isabella dropped her arms she knocked the two knives out of her hand, drew back her sword, and sunk it into the girl's chest.
Isabella stood still, her eyes widening, and a gasp escaping her mouth. The light in her eye slowly dimmed.
"I've failed…mother," she whispered.
With a tug Crystal withdrew her sword from Isabella's body, turning her eyes away from the hole that steadily bled. From the tug Isabella's weight shifted and she began to fall backwards over the railing of the bridge.
Isabella yanked to a stop. She looked down. Crystal had grabbed ahold of the chain of the necklace around the neck.
"I believe that belongs to me," she said. With a hard tug the chain broke free. Isabella toppled backwards and her body smacked against the surface of the water. The clear blue water became tinged with red as blood flowed freely from her floating body.
Crystal turned her eyes away from the sight. She curled her fingers around the pendant at the end of the necklace, feeling the stones press into her palm. She looked up at her friends and then grabbed her stomach as it seized once, twice, three times. She promptly stuck her head over the railing as her stomach clenched violently once more and she expelled the contents of her stomach into the water.
Loud, retching noises sounded in her throat as her body continued to empty her stomach. With shaky hands she pushed herself away from the railing and then fell to her knees. Any ounce of energy that held her up before left her and the weight of the day fell on her shoulders, keeping her down.
"Are you alright?" Susan asked over the sound of feet pounding against the wooden boards.
Crystal swayed on the spot. The wooden planks rushed up to meet her face but she didn't hit then. Instead she landed against Peter's chest as he held her up, kneeling by her side.
"Peter, don't make me do that again!" she said through tears as she grabbed onto his shirt, much like a scared child. "Don't make me do that again. Please. I can't do it. Don't make me do it again. Please. Please."
"Sssh, you're okay," Peter said softly, holding her close. He stroked her hair and held her trembling body as Susan and Caspian crowded around her. Susan rubbed small, soothing circles into her back. "You're okay."
A/N: Just in case it wasn't clear, most of this chapter took place at the same time as the last one while Edmund was fighting Jadis. Their fight lasted a long while. I believe that, over time, Edmund would have built up his stamina to last long enough against her. Anyway, what did you all think? Hope the wait was worth it! We're finally coming to an end with One of the Guys. It took three to four years longer than I planned but I'm glad with how this ended up. There's one more chapter left and then I can reveal my surprise to you all! Please read and review.