{Author's Note: Thanks so much for the follows and hearts! I'm so sorry for taking forever to get this chapter posted but I got really sick, we're pretty sure it was COVID and it's taken me a while to recover. So, here's the chapter, sorry for the long wait, let me know you're thoughts and again, thanks for the support!}
She froze in fear and before she could act, she watched as her grandparents fell to the ground. They had been shot by arrows. Filled with rage, something inside of her finally snapped. She decided she would no longer run from a fight, her only family was dead because she was too afraid to face her fears. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realise a minotaur had grabbed her and was dragging her by the arm, when she did realise it, she looked at him with ice cold eyes. "Don't touch me!" she shouted and froze the beast with her free hand and shattered him. She looked around at the other soldiers who watched in shock. "Come get me, I dare you!" she hissed and readied herself in a fighting stance.
"'I'm not afraid of you princess." a dwarf mocked and walked towards her. A dark smirk tugged at her lips, "Why are you smiling princess? You're going to die." he laughed and lunged at her with a knife, she reached for the blade as it came at her and froze it as it touched her skin. The ice quickly overcame his arm and he looked at her in fear as he turned completely to ice. "You're a coward who hides behind your magic." a minotaur ran at her. "Says the one fighting an unarmed child!" she spat and froze the ground beneath her, causing him to slip and crash into a flower stall. She quickly ran while the soldiers were in shock and deciding what to do.
Meanwhile, the citizens were screaming and running away from the winter army. Some were surprised this young girl took a stand against an entire army, some of the people taking up weapons and fighting back. "No more!" an older man exclaimed as he took an axe and fought against some dwarves. Another man took a sword and dueled with a minotaur. Even a mother took up a dagger to defend her two children who were behind her.
Eirlys took a sword from a frozen faun and began a duel with a dwarf. He twisted his sword in an attempt to get her to lose her grip on her sword but failed when he realised she froze her hand to the handle of the sword. They looked at each other in the eyes and watched as their swords clashed and sparks flew at one point from hitting the other too hard. Eirlys let her ice melt for a moment so she could twirl her sword and lunge at him. She missed but slid between his legs and stabbed him in the shoulder from behind. "You're unskilled!" he hissed in pain and turned to face her. She sighed in annoyance and clashed her sword against his. This went on for fifteen minutes before he managed to scratch her arm and she finally ended up freezing him.
She yelped in pain and the remaining soldiers fled in an instant when they saw how quickly their comrades had fallen. A citizen who saw her injured arm then came forward with a piece of gauze for her. "Use this and as soon as you can, pour water over the wound to clean it." he smiled at her. She took the gauze and bandaged her arm with it. "Thank you. I have to be going, thank everyone for their help for me." she replied coldly. She saw her grandparents' bodies and put them on the wagon, headed back to Securas and left the wagon at the gate.
"Eirlys, what happened?" he asked with a sorrowful tone. The young girl fought back her tears, "My mother's army killed them. It's not safe for me. I have to face them. I'm hoping Aslan will help me, though at this point, I highly doubt he will. Please, will you help me bury them?" she asked with a broken voice and a few tears finally escaping her eyes. He nodded solemnly and called Seftrin to help.
She stood in silence as she viewed the hole she dug for Ziv, it all seemed unreal. It happened too quickly. Her mind could barely process what happened as she climbed out of the hole. Silently, Seftrin and Falkor laid Ziv to rest in the hole she had just finished digging. She was now by her husband and Falkor placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's time. Will you do the honors?" he asked her softly. She nodded and shakily placed the first shovel of dirt over her grandmother and grandfather. Finally, the emotions being too much for her to bare, she fell to her knees and cried while Falkor and Seftrin finished burying the bodies. They remained by her side, even after they were done. They didn't say anything but comforted her simply by just being there to support her. She cried until she had no tears left and her throat was dry. "Eirlys, come with us." Seftrin spoke softly. She shook her head in response. She couldn't even talk. "You know where we are." Falkor sighed and walk back to the village. You see, Eirlys insisted they bury Ziv and Aldo in the garden with the moon flowers. "Since moon flowers only bloom at night and Ziv and Aldo were the moon flowers in my time of darkness." she said.
"I'm tired of running. I'm not a coward anymore. I'll fight for your death and she will pay. I'm not a child of winter. I don't want to be but I will do what it takes to make them hear me and maybe Aslan will hear my cries then. Maybe he will know me then." she asked out loud as she laid by her grandparents' graves. Her eyes were glossy and red, her eyelids puffy and sore, nose was red and runny and her heart ached hopelessly. She took a nap there for a while and when she awoke, she felt angry. Bitter and angry and wanting revenge for their deaths.
She trudged downhill and sighed, "Come what may, I will push forward and find Aslan." she vowed to herself and ran North towards the Fjords of Beruna, where she heard that's where her mother's army was.
The wind once again picked up and cherry blossom petals blew passed her, she then heard the voice again. "Follow the blossoms." it said, she sighed and followed the blossoms, they were going north as well so she followed without a complaint.
Night fell and blossoms stopped across the fjord. She froze part of the river and walked across before unfreezing it again. She was exhausted to say the least and looked around for any kind of sticks for a fire, she heard a subtle roar and turned behind her but nothing was there, she turned back around, only to see a fire lit already a few yards further from where she was standing. She smiled a bit and sat by the fire. She didn't know where the fire came from but was more than happy there was a warm fire to keep her company and to enjoy the sound of the wood crackling. As she laid back and began drifting to sleep, she heard footsteps approaching and quickly sat up, only to see two boys approaching her with a centaur. She panicked but felt so calm at the same time. When they were close enough, she recognized one of the boys.
"Edmund?" she asked in surprise. "Eirlys?!" he asked with a grin and ran towards her. She quickly stood up and met him halfway, where they greeted each other with a hug. "I thought you were in the dungeons!?" she questioned in disbelief. He smiled, "I was, but Aslan saved me and brought me back to his camp. Where have you been?" he asked. "You won't believe the adventure I've had." she replied with a grin.
"Oh! This is my brother, Peter!" he introduced the blonde haired boy. "Nice to meet you, again." Peter smiled and stuck his hand out for her to shake, which she shook gladly. "Yeah, sorry about that." she replied nervously. "No problem." Peter smiled. "You know each other?" Edmund asked, confused. "Yes, I met him while running from my mother." she said rather quietly. Edmund nodded in understanding."Well, come on, it's late, you can come back to camp with us." Peter smiled and motioned towards the top of a hill. She nervously nodded. "A-alright." was all she said as she followed them back to their camp. She knew the Narnians would capture her but she had a feeling she was safer with them than with the winter army.
