You guys! Part II is finally here!
I'm so proud of this chapter and so happy of the dynamic I've built here. Hope you guys like this!
As you know, this is the last part of Amirah's story and, more specifically, the story she told Beth. Now, this isn't the last time we will hear from Amirah so buckle up, for this last part of the fic is going to be a wild ride.
Disclaimer: Some events of this chapter are taken out of "The Magician's Nephew", so beware of that. Also, there is a dialogue and scene I wrote based on an episode of Game Of Thrones. Lastly, there is cursing and violence displayed in this chapter so be careful as you read on.
Cheers for reading! Chapter 20 coming up soon!
Chapter 18. Part II. "Cold-Blooded."
"I'm Loki. Of Asgard. And I'm filled with glorious purpose."
For a year, no one at the castle - Amirah's childhood home - knew what happened with their lost Princess.
There were rumours, of course. Some said that their High Priestess had tried to sneak the former leader of the Rebellion out of the castle and was killed by the guards. Some whispered that she may have escaped, used her magic to change her features, and was now building a peaceful life as a stranger. Some said they had seen her sneaking into the boats leading towards other islands, and that she was planning to ask for refuge there.
Some, so quiet that their words could easily be drifted off with the wind, shared their suspicions that Amirah had now joined their rebellion.
Whatever her motives were, whatever her fate was, the damage was done. There was now a taint, an unmissable blotch in the Empress' reign of terror.
Because the uncertainty, the doubt her subjects were feeling were not at all related to the fear the Empress was used to putting in their hearts. Because if the scared, weak sister could escape the imperative presence of her sister, then so could they.
Because if there was someone who could get through the tight hold Jadis had on her people, then maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the strongest one.
Then maybe, just maybe, there was hope for them.
In any case, those rumours were all they had for one full year. Those stories, myths, musings passed from peasant to peasant, through farm fields and harbours, through training grounds, royal balls and even war councils. Those whispers, blown away through the wind carried them comfort, warmth and reassurance during those days in which they seemed they had no one but each other.
With Amirah's disappearance, Jadis saw it fit to begin a more pragmatic course of action with the hopes of winning the war and defeating the rebellion. She made her army regroup by the outskirts of the town right besides the castle, where two rivers intersected. Then, she made them encircle the city and everything that stood between it and them. After that, she locked herself in her chambers, working on magic darker and far more venomous than anything seen in Charn's history.
It was a year of shadows, terrors, uncertainties and hardships. An year in which their Empress and enemy made it all about killing the hope of the common people. A year in which said hope lay on someone who was probably already gone. An year in which life seemed to be one endless circle, never brightening, yet never darkening either. A year in which there was no peace, in their lives or in their minds.
A year that ended abruptly, just like most things in a story like this one.
A year that ended with the first day a red, enormous sun dawned on Charn.
As Jadis, her personal guards and highest-ranking officers rode slowly down towards the junction between Charn's most important rivers, her army joining them as they advanced, their mind was on the same question, almost as if they were all conjuring the same pondering.
What was waiting for them?
The answer, and the sight they found by the other side of the river, was a most glorious one.
Line after line of silver, nearly white armours stood neatly.
The archers by the end of the army were carrying quivers filled with their arrows, their red-feathered tips sticking out of them. Their other hand gripped equally large black longbows. Other than that, the only sign of colour in their garments was the large crimson shield sewed to the front of their shirts above their chainmails.
Before them, companies of soldiers were flanking the archers. In the same armour as the archers, the only difference noticeable were the weapons their gloved hands were gripping - greatswords, double-edged swords, axes or curved swords depending on the company - and the spotless clean helmets obscuring their faces.
The cavalry was lined before them, its length so extensive that it almost seemed to reach the horizon. Their horses were varied yet the knights on them were fixed with the same purpose, the same determination to follow any and every command from their leader. They all gripped a wooden spear with one hand, yet swords and knives were strapped to their waist. Their helmets covered their faces, but their visors were up, and their eyes were furious as they eyed their enemy.
The small group by the front of the army wore the same clothes as the rest of their army, for they needed no signal of their leadership and the respect their soldiers owed them.
There was only one of them who wore a cloak, crimson as the sun before them. This one nudged their horse forwards as the enemy army lined up before them and, as Jadis stopped her advance by the edge of the river with a stricken expression, they removed their helmet and a long mane of raven hair fell down to her back.
"I understand white is Charn's colour and so it will be my legacy as well," Amirah spoke evenly. Her hands were gripping the reins so tight her knuckles were white and her back was straight as an arrow. Still, she managed to smirk weakly at her older sister. "However, I have chosen red as the colour of my house from now on, as well as a new shield for Charn. I hope you don't mind."
oOo
Amirah watched the incoming with a halted breath.
She had never expected she, they, would reach this far. When she managed to reach the Rebellion's Headquarters and saw the anxious crowd awaiting.
She couldn't imagine what it must have been for them all, to hear about their leader's fate. Sure, Jonah and Seth were still there but they all knew Victoria had been the one who kept the fire of the Rebellion alive. Victoria was the one who kept them together. Victoria was their liege.
At that moment, Amirah's lineage didn't matter. Of course it didn't, for when it came to the truth of the matter, Amirah had never done anything for them. She had been one of the boneless fools who had witnessed as the Empress did as she saw fit for her own gain.
How could they be happy, having exchanged their fearless leader for a second-rate Princess who had nowhere to go?
Amirah wanted to crumble with them. That moment was the hardest of her life. Harder than when she was in the Woods Between The Worlds. Harder than her years of isolation. Harder even than when she witnessed the murder of Victoria.
Because this moment was final. This moment in which her people mourned the death of a leader much more respected than her, was the proof that Victoria was never coming back. The proof that her death meant more than the loss of her heart and soul. Her death - unless avoided - meant the end of the Rebellion.
And as much as she wanted to lay down and dream forever of her, Amirah knew she couldn't do that. She had made a promise to her. She had to rise up, no matter how that tore her apart.
And rise up she did. It almost broke her but she put her old armour around her heart and she carried on. Slowly, step by step, almost crawling on the days when it hurt the most.
The saddest part of life, and the most reassuring, is that with change and grief, it is our instinct to adapt.
She began to do so almost without knowing but once she did notice, it became easier. It didn't give her hope of healing, for she knew she never would, but it made her hopeful that she could become somewhat of a leader for her people.
The year with the Rebellion went on slowly, yet all at once. She shared her time between training with her magic, getting to know her people, chatting with Jonah and Seth and planning for the future. And dreaming. She always made time for her dreams.
Suddenly, the year was over.
Amirah had begun it as a broken Princess. A worthless half-giant, without a penny, an ally or a cause to her name.
Amirah ended it as a Warrior Queen. As a leader who knew better than to ignore her people, a leader who asked for their input in her decisions. As a friend to many, as someone who people would always have her back.
She finished it as the leader of the Rebellion, title earned because of her efforts, and not because of her name.
Still, there was no growth, no empowerment that could have stopped her heart from hammering when her eyes laid on her enemy.
Jadis would always terrify, that was a given, a fact that she had managed to come to terms with.
Her fears were still there, but they now carried a different weight. Now, they didn't suffocate her as much for she was able to stand up to them. She had her newfound courage and her shiny backbone to attest.
She moved forward as she noticed Jadis leaving her army behind. The two sisters reached each shore of the river simultaneously and stared at each other, studying their declared enemy for a long, silent moment.
Amirah would have seemed smug and nonchalant as she removed the helmet off her head and taunted her sister to the outsider eye. In all honesty, she had never been more terrified. Her heart was hammering inside her chest and her back, already sweaty because of her armour and the heated day, was clammy against the fabric of her clothes.
Still, she would go through that and much more just to see the look on Jadis's face.
"You should have stayed hidden in your filthy ditch," Jadis spat, her beautiful voice sharp as a knife. She straightened on her horse and curled her upper lip angrily. "I could have seen this utmost treason from anyone but never from my sister."
Amirah opened her mouth but hesitated, a thought pressing in the back of her mind.
Her goal was to honour her promise.
But it was also to help her people.
If her sister was to be taken into account, it was only for the fact that she was the enemy.
So she closed her mouth and stepped down on her horse without a moment of thought. Some subconscious part of her, the one in charge of noticing any threats, could see that her sister was following her lead but she couldn't focus on that. Most importantly, she didn't want to.
Crouching by the ripple of water dancing right by her feet, she sunk a hand into the freezing water and focused, knowing that just how that river passed right by the town where her people were being held hostage, so would her voice.
"You know my name. All of your lives, you've heard of me. You've heard of my privileges, and you've heard of my weaknesses. None of them define me," Her voice was steeled calmness, her posture smooth and graceful, her eyes piercing right through her sister's. "I was the Princess of Charn. I was the prisoner stuck to one place, to one meaningless role. I am so no more."
Knowing her magic was strong enough to carry on her voice, she stood up, and glanced behind her sister at the army. "And I have nothing to say to my sister or those who helped her carry her reign of terror and torture. I speak only to you, the innocent lives of Charn. I speak only to those who want nothing but peace, nothing but a government who will take into account their needs. I care only for you, because you are the ones who allowed me to find the strength to fight and fight, I do so for no one but you."
Her voice strengthening, recovering a fire not even her sister had within, Amirah watched with satisfaction as the soldiers following her sister eyed each other. Behind her, her soldiers were banging their weapons against the ground or their armour, its clamor great but nothing in comparison to her magnified voice. "I bring you no orders, I bring you no demands. What I bring you is a chance to reject the enemy that has oppressed you for far too long. What I bring you is the chance to free yourselves from the monster, the beast that's lived in power for far too long! What I bring you is a choice, a choice to live in darkness or to rise against it! Will you stand with me!?"
As the members of the Rebellion roared with approval, Jadis laughed coldly, her eyes holding more rage than ever. "There is no training you could have undertaken to defeat me, sister. You are High Priestess, I am the Empress of Charn. I was always meant to rule. I was always meant to destroy those in my way."
Amirah straightened calmly. "Perhaps. Still, it isn't enough to deter us."
Jadis scoffed. "It's a pity, really. That I'm to be the only one to carry our family's legacy."
"I meant what I said, sister. I have nothing else to say to you." Amirah cocked her head. "We shall meet again at the battlefield."
Both sisters stared at each other, almost strangers in the other's eye.
For the first time, Amirah could see the cracks amongst the facade her sister had carefully built. The fear she had inspired, the utter power she'd had in the past, was now cracked because of the direct challenge of her own blood.
And Jadis, she could see how she still had power over her sister. She could see Amirah's clenched fists, her tight stance, Amirah's own eyes following her every move. But what she could also notice with concern was how her sister fought against that fear. Because even if she was afraid, she still showed up. She still rallied traitors against her. She still spoke openly against her Empire.
Both sisters stared at each other until there was nothing else to notice.
And, at the same time, both sisters turned and retreated back towards their armies.
Both with a promise.
A promise of a Las Battle before them.
oOo
It ended where it began.
Because as much as they both put innocent lives between them, as much as this war affected an entire country, it was always going to be a one on one fight.
It was always going to be her. Whatever Amirah had hoped for, whatever she had premonized, she should have always known it would be Jadis waiting by the end of her path.
The Hall of Images seemed unaffected by the chaos and the violence of the ongoing war just outside its doors. It was as if it's magic was able to soak every noise, every disturbance and turn it into ancient magic. As if that room worked for no one but for those strong enough to wield that magic.
"Jadis!" Amirah screamed as she entered the room. One hand clutched her stomach, trying to stop her blood from spilling out. The other gripped her thigh as she clambered forward, her leg too bruised to function properly. "I know you're here! SHOW YOUR FACE!"
Her scream echoed anxiously through the room and when the silence returned, it seemed expectant. Amirah used one of her unsheathed swords as a cane as she advanced slowly, and extended the other one before her as she studied every inch around her.
She should have known that when her sister would dare to show her face, it would be from behind her.
"You think the fight outside means anything to me?" Jadis hissed quietly as she came from behind the statue of their late father. She was holding an ancient book in her hands but Amirah didn't have time to decipher the words on its cover for Jadis locked the doors with a flick of her hand and then with another gesture, she made the blood within Amirah boil.
"You think I care about the loss of my army?" Jadis continued, her voice getting lower and lower as her anger increased. Amirah sank into the ground, folding into herself as her insides seemed to be curling unnaturally but her sister wouldn't stop. She was just getting started. "You think I care about the destruction of my castle? Charn is still mine and I'm still it's Queen."
"Are you really a Queen-" Amirah paused to spat out blood, some of it dribbling down her chin. "if you have no one to rule over?"
"I thought I was going to destroy you by killing your precious love," Jadis then admitted, her ears deaf to Amirah's words. She then knelt by her injured sister and moved one sweaty strand of hair away from her face. "You thought no one knew about your feelings, not even yourself. But I knew. I've always known. And I toasted in celebration when she died."
Amirah spat in her face. "You should have known it would only make me fight. You are going to die for her murder. I will make sure of it."
Jadis chuckled slowly, her hand reaching for the piercing wound in Amirah's stomach. "How could you make sure of it, when you're already dying yourself?"
Amirah screamed in agony as Jadis's long, white fingers grazed her stomach but she was ready. She took that pain and turned into power, managing to gather strength enough to connect with her powers. She then flicked her hand, and threw Jadis across the room.
As Jadis flew, Amirah took the chance to stand up, one hand covering her stomach protectively, her sword barely hanging from her fingers as she used the other one as a cane. "I am not the defenseless girl you once knew."
Jadis stood slowly, brushing the hair away from her face impatiently. "How much can you actually know? You had no one to teach you."
Amirah laughed drily as she felt her power closing the wound in her stomach. It wouldn't last for long but she didn't need much time. She just needed enough to win.
So, she tightened the hold over her swords and dropped onto an offensive stance. "It turns out I needed to be away from the bitch holding onto the crown of our family to unblock my powers."
Jadis let out a wordless scream and tried to boil Amirah's blood again but she was strong enough to deflect her powers. Instead she sprinted towards her sister, raising her swords and trying to hit her before she could make a comeback. Just as she was about to cut through her neck, Jadis conjured two long swords, which she used to block Amirah's attack.
"We could have had everything!" Jadis hissed as she parried with one of her swords, trying to use the other to weaken Amirah's stance. "We could have conquered every world! We could have shared the entire universe! We just had to wait for the end of the world to gather enough strength to conduct our plans!"
"Our plans!?" Amirah screamed, utterly aghast. She rolled onto the ground and tried to slash jadis' knees as she slid past her. Having failed, she stopped by a safe distance and dropped onto a defensive stance. "This world was never going to end on its own! How could it, when it depends on what we do in it and to it! You caused the end of the world. Your cruelty, your greed and your arrogance, you would kill thousands if it meant you would get more power!"
Jadis didn't reply at first. Using her two weapons, which were far longer than Amirah's, Jadis attacked her sister repeatedly, slash after slash, comeback after comeback until at last, she forced the youngest one to perch herself against the statue of their late father. Then, she swept one sword behind her neck and pointed the other one straight against her collarbone. Finally, she leaned in, whispering dangerously. "I am your Queen. I am still your Queen. You'd be wise to remember that."
Amirah widened her eyes as she looked at the swords but then she kneed Jadis in the stomach and attacked her with her swords before she could regain her ground or retaliate in any way. They fought for a few minutes, the tension of everything building as time passed and no winner came out of it. How long would it take before Amirah's army was at the door? How long would it take before that door was beaten down? Could it actually happen, for this war to finish by someone else's hand?
Amirah finally managed to slash Jadis' side and as she backed away, Amirah straightened slowly, her chest moving rapidly as she tried to regain her breath. "Queen of what, Jadis? Look around you! Everything is gone because of you and because of me, because I should have stopped you sooner! You are Queen of the Ashes, nothing else!"
"Then why are you still fighting?" Jadis asked harshly. She suddenly sprinted forward and tried to lunge at Amirah but she dodged her easily. Jadis dropped to the ground, exhausted as everything finally began to catch up with her. "Why are you here, if there isn't anything to save?"
Amirah felt her whole face wrinkling with anguish as she thought of Victoria. In her world, there was nothing else to save, that was for sure. But that didn't mean this was only about her. This was about everyone who wanted to see another day.
And the only one between her people and a new morning had sunken onto the ground, her head hung as she tried to regain her strength.
Amirah watched her sister's back closely as she approached her. Even now, beaten down and injured, she terrified her. She knew it would only take one fraction of a second for Jadis to surprise her and kill her. She knew the worst thing she could do was wait for her to stand up again and resume the fight. It was no time to be a hero or an honourable person. It was time to ensure peace for her entire country. And if she needed to kill her only family to do it, then so be it.
She couldn't, though. Call it foolishness or even stupidity, but Amirah couldn't taint the beginning of her reign with such an event. Stabbing her sister in the back would only gain her enemies before the crown was even on her head. Forget about Jadis' weak followers. The people would never look at her with the respect and trust she had gained if she didn't give her sister the chance to defend herself before she died.
Amirah could feel her magic receding. She could feel the wound in her stomach slowly opening up again. She needed to get help, and power, as soon as possible. She needed to end this, to find the way to put an end to this chapter that would satisfy her.
So, she ignored the pain. She ignored the slow, almost warm feeling of her insides opening again. She ignored it all and, having reached her fallen sister, she rested a hand on her shoulder. "There is a whole country to save. One that has no fault in yours and our families' crazy, imperialistic ambitions. I'm sorry we had to get here, sister."
Amirah began to straighten, her hand leaving Jadis' shoulder slowly but, before she could get far enough, Jadis suddenly raised her head. Her back was stiff, her shoulders unmoving, and her voice was crazed with power as she uttered just the one word. "No."
Amirah widened her eyes, having gone mute from the shock but there was no way she could have prevented what happened next. She didn't even know she could do that. For, before she had an idea of what was happening, Jadis' slender, pale, ghostly hand gripped her with extreme force and suddenly, they were in the Hall of Images no more.
They were in the forest.
And Amirah was kneeling before them, right before a pond.
"No-" Amirah began, her voice growing frantic as she realized what was happening. She tried to break free, she tried to move, but Jadis wouldn't let her. She wouldn't let her hand go and she knew there was no point in fighting but fighting but was all she could because Jadis could not see what was about to happen. She could kill Amirah and she would be okay with it but she could not see, she could not find out! "Let me go! LET ME GO!"
The despair, the yells, the frantic pulling, it all stopped when the golden flash was cast on the younger Amirah. After that, all the older Amirah could do was watch as Amirah turned towards the source of the flash and stand in a hurry when the greatest Lion she had ever seen entered that clearing.
"Back away," Young Amirah threatened as she unsheathed her sword. "I do not want to harm you."
"Nor do I," the Lion replied after a long moment. He ignored Amirah's surprised squeak and walked further into the clearing. "But I'm afraid the time has come for us to meet, and for me to tell you a story."
"A story?" Amirah asked skeptically. Almost subconsciously, she lowered her sword as she acknowledged the Lion's presence to be friendly. "And why is it unfortunate that we met?"
"The answer to that second question is not a unique one, and it depends on the subject in question. Numbers no few will be glad of our meeting. Others, not so much. As for you, well," the Lion finally stopped his advance about five feet steps away from Amirah and sat down calmly on his hind legs. "You will have to tell me later."
Amirah straightened at that, uncomfortable with the uncertainty. "And the story?"
"The story is your own, of course. I can tell you no story rather than your own." The Lion paused for a second, his head cocked as if he was considering how to continue. "You know of the fight that awaits you. You know who will always be waiting in your path. Regardless of when and where you face her, you cannot continue your story until you do so."
Amirah's shoulders dropped. "I cannot face her. If you know her, then you know she is more powerful than I could ever be ready to defeat."
Aslan nodded. "Maybe, but her magic and yours are not the same. Dark magic is always destined to fail, for its sources cannot be reliable. You, on the other hand, have a pure source of magic and a goal that you haven't fulfilled yet."
"A goal?" Amirah asked. Having found comfort in the new turn of events, she sat on the ground again and looked up at the Lion with innocent wonder. "So my goal is not to defeat Jadis?"
The Lion paused for a long moment, again seeming to consider how to answer that question. As if the question was hard and painful, as if the Princess had no idea what she had just asked.
"There is a prophecy that speaks of another," Aslan finally replied. "Another that will carry on your legacy of serving as a guardian of the Worlds, for that is the true job of the High Priestess of Charn. She will be able to travel between them and, once strong enough, she will be able to defeat any and every enemy that crosses her way."
"Even Jadis?" Amirah questioned.
The Lion nodded. "Even Jadis."
Amirah nodded, tears gathering in her eyes. She bit her lip with force, causing a drop of blood to appear in her bottom lip once she released it. Ignoring it, she spoke. "But I still have to face her, right?"
The Lion nodded, his golden eyes sad. "I'm afraid so, Dear One."
Amirah smiled against her will, her shoulders moving rapidly as her laugh turned hysteric. "I have rode on for the past two weeks with one sole thought, one sole hope. All I wanted was to meet my love again, the one I mistakenly gave up a long time ago. Now that it seems I just might, it isn't relieving. It 's painful. I never thought I would still want to carry on with my life after her…"
"I cannot tell you what lies beyond, just like I cannot tell anyone else - King or subject - what lies in their future." The Lion was kind as he replied, his warm voice covering Amirah like a comfy blanket. "What I can say is that I am the King of the Woods and I can help you fulfil your destiny."
Amirah snorted despite herself. "Help me? I don't even know your name."
If she didn't know better, she would have sworn the Lion was smiling. "I am known by many names. For now, you can call me Aslan. Shall we begin?"
Older Amirah watched the scene unfold in a daze. So comforted was she by the presence of the Great Lion, so reassured she was by the reaffirmation of her purpose that she all but forgot her true circumstances. She forgot she was witnessing the scene for the second time. She forgot she wasn't on her own. She forgot all about the injury in her stomach.
And she was reminded by it all when Jadis roughly pushed her hand away and she was harshly brought back to her whereabouts.
The Hall of Images, so grand and reverent, seemed even colder and lifeless after having seen again the lively and golden place that was the Woods Between the Worlds.
Amirah had only a second to look around her and get in touch with her bearing before being ripped away from her musings by the cold sword Jadis thrust into her gaping wound in one swift move.
"How could you?" Jadis asked, her rage manifesting through her most terrifying whisper yet. She ignored Amirah as she dropped to her knees with a scream and knelt before her. "How could you form an alliance with my greatest enemy? How COULD YOU!?"
Amirah spat out blood and screamed again as Jadis grabbed her by the scalp and forced her to look at her. One of her hands was clumsily fidgeting around the sword sticking out of her midsection and the other was weakly trying to push her sister away. Her time was running out, so rapidly that it was horrifying but in any case, Amirah still had the nerve to smirk at Jadis, her smile a bloodied mess from her injuries. "I would form an alliance with anyone if it meant defeating you."
Jadis stood in a rush then, rushing towards the ancient book forgotten on the ground by the front door. "Does anyone know about them? The one who will protect the worlds, when are they going to be ready?"
"Does it matter?" Amirah asked weakly. She turned to look at her sister as she frantically searched through the wrinkled, yellow pages. She didn't even try to move, knowing she would die instantly if she put more strain on herself. "They will come. No matter what you do, they will be ready to protect the worlds. YNo matter what you do to me, they will carry on my duty. You will never get what you've always wanted. Your power will never be limitless, and you have no one to blame but yourself for being such an awful bitch."
Jadis shook her head, muttering to herself as she strolled from one side of the hall to the other. "No, no, you are wrong. There is a way. I can still win."
Amirah let out a harsh laugh. "Not even you can conjure some witty way to get your way. Go ahead. Kill me. Kill all of us. Burn Charn to the ground and have the time of your life ruling its ashes. They will still come. They will still defeat you. They will still bring justice for us all."
Jadis finally stuck on a page, by the middle of the book, one that seemed so randomly placed no one could have suspected anything out of the ordinary from it. Then, she looked up, and her eyes locked with her sisters for one eternal moment.
"Not if I speak it."
Amirah widened her eyes and gasped in shock. She couldn't mean -, surely Jadis wouldn't kill all of them!
"No," Amirah exclaimed urgently as Jadis walked towards her. She continued to shake her head even as Jadis knelt before her once again. "Not the Deplorable Word. You will crumble with Charn too!"
"If it means that your heir will never be able to reach me, it is a price I'm willing to pay." Jadis whispered as she, almost in a tender gesture, rested her forehead against Amirah's. "Goodbye, sister."
She then moved her lips.
And everything went black.
So, there you go for that bitter ending.
This chapter had two more scenes after this but as I wrote them, I kind of figured this wasn't the best place for me to add them. They will come up in the future, and will be able to bring closure to Amirah's story in a much more fitting way.
Hope you guys liked it! Stayed tuned for chapter 20!