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XOXO,

M

The Six

Chapter 8

Emily's POV

I got ready for bed, half-engaging in Susan and Lucy's chatter. I slipped out of my dress and into my nightgown, feeling more and more bothered by the look I'd seen on Aslan's face. I knew that he'd done something drastic to save Edmund's life, and I feared the worst. Slowly, I climbed into my hammock, still sore from the amount of physical activity I had done in the past few days. Back in England, I was not used to doing so much physical activity.

I fell in and out of sleep that night. It was a warm night, and in addition to that I felt an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Even the air itself seemed unsettled. Finally I sat straight up in my hammock. I knew I would not sleep that night.

I climbed quietly out of my hammock and put on my dress over my nightgown and then a warm cloak over the dress. Then, grabbing my daggers, I attempted to leave the tent without waking Lucy and Susan, but I was unsuccessful. "Where are you going?" Susan said drowsily from behind me.

"I - I can't sleep," I said startled.

"Neither can I!" Lucy said, sitting straight up. Turning around, I could see that Lucy was wide awake, and Susan less so.

Just then, a dark shadow passed outside of our tent - a shadow shaped like a lion. "Oh, no," I breathed.

"What's wrong?" Susan whispered.

"I don't know," I whispered back. "I've had this horrible feeling ever since Aslan made that deal with the Witch."

"So have I," Lucy said softly. "He looked terribly sad after he made the deal."

"You saw that too?" I asked. Lucy nodded. "He must have had to offer a great deal to the Witch in order to save Edmund," I mused.

"Let's follow him and see," Susan suggested.

"Yes," I said without a moment of hesitation. "Let's go.

A few minutes later, we had followed Aslan out of the camp and were now in the forest. An eerie silence lay over the forest; the only sounds were Aslan's footsteps and our softer, more girlish steps. Aslan walked slowly, with his head hanging down and tail hardly moving. He almost looks like a prisoner going to his execution, I thought blankly, and then suddenly stopped short. What if - no. I could not think of that possibility. I began to walk quietly again, but Aslan had noticed us following him.

"What are you doing out at this hour, Daughters of Eve?" His voice was gentle, yet it sounded so tired and so... old.

"We couldn't sleep," Lucy confessed.

A moment of silence went by before Aslan spoke again. "Walk with me, Daughters of Eve."

So we walked with Aslan through the dark, silent forest. Not a word was spoken during this time, but we walked slowly, the knowledge that something dreadful was about to happen hanging over us like a dark cloud. We walked for what seemed an eternity through the moonlit trees, until finally Aslan stopped. "This is where I must go on alone," he said gravely. "Thank you, Susan. Thank you, Emily. And thank you, Lucy."

The three of us stood huddled together in the woods and watched silently as Aslan walked on alone. "We can't just leave him now," Lucy whispered.

"You're absolutely right," I agreed. "Let's keep going."

We followed him for a little while longer through the forest, and as we walked I began to hear sounds. These sounds were not the sounds of the night, however, but sounds of ugliness, sounds of shrieking and fire and metal. I shivered and decided to put my cloak on, just in case something went terribly wrong. As we came around some trees, we found the source of the noises. "I think this is the Stone Table," I whispered to Susan and Lucy as we ducked behind some bushes.

A great crowd of people were standing all around the Stone Table and though the moon was shining many of them carried torches which burned with evil-looking red flames and black smoke. But such people! Ogres with monstrous teeth, and wolves, and bull-headed people; spirits of evil trees and poisonous plants; Cruels and Hags and Incubuses, Wraiths, Horrors, Efreets, Sprites, Orknies, Wooses, and Ettins. In fact, there were all those who were on the Witch's side and whom Maugrim had summoned at her command. And right in the middle, standing on the Table, was the Witch herself.

A howl and gibber of dismay went up from the creatures when they first saw the great Lion pacing toward them, and for a moment even the Witch herself seemed to be struck with fear. Then she recovered herself and gave a wild, fierce laugh. "The fool!" she cried. "The fool has come. Bind him fast."

I held my breath, waiting for Aslan's roar and his spring upon his enemies. But it never came. Four Hags, grinning and leering, yet also (at first) hanging back and half afraid of what they had to do, had approached him. "Bind him, I say!" repeated the White Witch. The Hags made a dart at him and shrieked with triumph when they found that he made no resistance at all. Then others - evil dwarfs and apes - rushed in to help them, and between them they rolled the huge Lion over on his back and tied all his four paws together, shouting and cheering as if they had done something brave, though, had the Lion chosen, one of those paws could have been the death of them all. But he made no noise, even when the enemies, straining and tugging, pulling the cords so tight that they cut into his flesh. Then they began to drag him towards the Stone Table.

"Stop!" said the Witch. "Let him first be shaved."

Another roar of mean laughter went up from her followers as an ogre with a pair of shears came forward and squatted down by Aslan's head. Snip-snip-snip went the shears and masses of curling gold began to fall to the ground. Then the ogre stood back and we could see the face of Aslan looking all small and different without its mane. The enemies also saw the difference.

"Why, he's only a great cat after all!" cried one.

"Is that what we were afraid of?" said another.

And they surged around Aslan, jeering at him, saying things like "Puss, Puss! Poor Pussy," and "How many mice have you caught today, Cat?" and "Would you like a saucer of milk, Pussums?"

"Oh, how can they?" said Lucy, tears streaming down her cheeks. "The brutes, the brutes!" for now Aslan looked to her braver, and more beautiful, and more patient than ever.

"Muzzle him," said the Witch. And even now, as they worked about his face putting on the muzzle, one bite from his jaws would have cost two or three of them their hands. But he never moved. And this seemed to enrage all that rabble. Everyone was at him now. Those who had been afraid to come near him even after he was bound began to find their courage, and for a few minutes we could not even see Aslan - so thickly was he surrounded by the whole crowd of creatures kicking him, hitting him, spitting on him, jeering at him.

At last the rabble had had enough of this. They began to drag the bound and muzzled Lion to the Stone Table, some pulling and pushing. He was so huge that even when they got him there it took all their efforts to hoist him on to the surface of it. Then there was more tying and tightening of cords.

"The cowards! The cowards!" sobbed Susan. "Are they still afraid of him, even now?"

When once Aslan had been tied (and tied so that he was really a mass of cords) on the flat stone, a hush fell on the crowd. Four Hags, holding four torches, stood at the corners of the Table. The Witch bared her arms and began to whet her knife. It looked odd, when the gleam of the torchlight fell on it, as if the knife were made of stone, not steel, and it was of a strange and evil shape.

At last she drew near. She stood by Aslan's head. Her face was working and twitching with passion, but his looked up at the sky, still quiet, neither angry nor afraid, but a little sad. Then, just before she gave the blow, she stooped down and said in a quivering voice, "And now, who has won?" Fool, did you think that by all this you would save the human traitor? Now I will kill you instead of him as our pact was and so the Deep Magic will be appeased. But when you are dead what will prevent me from killing him as well? And who will take him out of my hand then? Understand that you have given me Narnia forever, you have lost your own life and you have not saved his. In that knowledge, despair, and die."

I stared into Aslan's eyes as she raised the knife above her head, we made eye contact for only a moment. But his message was clear, prepare to fight. I quickly shut my eyes, not being able to bear watching Aslan die. Then all fell silent.

"The Great Cat is dead!" The Witch shouted triumphantly. Listening to the ugly, triumphant shouts from the Witch's followers, I didn't dare open my eyes yet. I couldn't quite yet bear to see Aslan lying dead on the Stone Table. "Prepare your troops for battle," the Witch said to the minotaur. He grunted and roared loudly, causing the crowd to roar and shriek and shout with him. The sounds of ugliness surrounded us for several moments and the ground shook as the Witch's followers rushed back off to their camp. I prayed that we would not be discovered, and readied myself to flee and perhaps fight in case we were.

There was silence. Complete, dead, utter silence.

I slowly raised my head and let my hands drop to my knees. Opening my eyes, I saw Susan holding Lucy protectively in her arms, and they both were weeping. "He died for Edmund," I said flatly. I could not cry - I knew I should cry, but the tears would not come. Instead, my mind was thinking about all the danger we were now in because Aslan died.

"Oh!" Lucy suddenly sat up. "I've got my cordial with me; perhaps - "

"It's too late," Susan said, looking towards the Stone Table where Aslan lay dead. "He's gone."

Lucy began to cry again. "Someone's got to tell the others," I said, laying a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"We can't just leave him here," Susan argues, wiping away her tears the best she can.

"I'll go," I said, biting my lip.

"But what if they catch you?" Susan asks worriedly.

"I can fight. Besides it isn't a long walk and the witches troops will be busy preparing for battle."

"Stay safe." Is all Lucy says as she squeezes me in a tight hug. Susan gives me a desperate look, but squeezes my hand and wished me luck.

With that I began to run through the forest, weaving through trees and hoping I would be able to find my way back to Aslan's camp - Our camp, now, I thought to myself with a rather sick feeling. I ignored this thought and ran faster, nearly tripping over roots and dead branches as I did so. Just as I thought, I could not find my way out of the forest, I saw the edge of the meadow and some red and gold tents in the distance. I burst out of the forest, now running through the tall grass and up towards the hill where the camp lay. I quietly hurried through camp and into the boys tent. All three boys were sleeping peacefully in their hammocks, and I almost hated to wake them. But wake them I did.

"Peter, Jack, Edmund, wake up, something terrible happened!" I said in a rather loud voice.

Peter woke up first and sat straight up, drawing his sword. "Who's there?" he asked.

"It's me, Em," I said.

Edmund by this point had also woken up. "What's going on?" he asked sleepily.

"I'm so sorry I had to wake you, but something terrible has happened," I said gravely. I suddenly felt myself about to cry and choked back tears. "It's Aslan. He's - he's dead. The Witch... she killed him, she killed him, and I couldn't look and..." With that I began to weep, the tears coming at last.

Peter was out of his hammock in a flash and held me close to him in his strong arms. "Oh, Em," he said somberly. "You - you saw the Witch kill him?"

"Yes," I sobbed. "So did Susan and Lucy; they're with Aslan's body now."

"By themselves?" Jack asked worriedly.

"They'll be all right, the Witch took all her followers with her. But, oh, she killed him on the Stone Table instead of Edmund. That was the deal they made, and now - now they're gathering their army to fight us and what are we going to do?" I gripped Peter's shirt and wept into it, unable to control my crying at this point.

Peter rubbed one hand over my back. "We're going to fight back, Emily; that's what we're going to do," he said firmly. "We're going to fight back for Aslan."

I nodded, still crying. "For Aslan," I hiccuped.

"Edmund, get Oreius and tell him what happened. We've got to plan this battle, now." Jack looked as if he had aged years within the past few minutes as he spoke.

"Right," Edmund said, and rushed out of the tent.

"Emily, I don't want you to fight in this battle," Peter began,

"I really don't care what you want." I shuddered, "Aslan told us that we were to fight together. All Three of us at least."

As we stopped outside Aslan's tent, Edmund came near, "She's right,'' he said as he leaned against the map table which still stood outside after they had been planning on the last day. "He's gone."

"Then you'll have to lead us,'' Jack told Peter. The way he said it made it sound nearly as easy as telling it. "There's an army out there, and it's ready to follow you."

"I can't" Peter whispered and I swallowed when I saw the hopeless look on his face.

"Aslan believed you could", Edmund replied with such certain in his voice that I had to look at him. "And so do I."

"We all do," I commented, "Besides, your not in this battle alone. We are all going into this together."

Peter also looked at Edmund, and for some seconds everything was silence and no one moved. Then a small smile appeared on Peter's lips and he turned to the table. I knew that those words from Edmund meant more than what I had said.

"The Witch's army is nearing, sire,'' Oreius reminded us, though he glanced at Pete and Jack as he said it. "What are your orders?"

Peter turned and began walking with Oreius toward the weaponry station. They talked in hushed tone, obviously in deep thought.

Jack didn't answer, but turned to me. "Emily, there is one thing I want you to promise me." I bit my lower lip and met his eyes. "I want you to stay here during the battle, and if we don't return… get Susan and Lucy, go home, make up a story about how we died and why you were the only ones remaining."

I swallowed. "Jack,'' I said, and my voice was shaking. "That's the only thing I can't promise you."

His eyes were filled with concern and despair. "Please", he begged and took my hands. "Please, do it for me."

"No!" I cried and moved away from him. "I won't promise that, I just can't!"

"Em-"

"No! You have two choices, I said. I really didn't like what I was going to say. "One; you can take me with you and place me somewhere in your midst. Two; you can link me to a rock and I'll hate you forever." I stared at him with tears in my eyes. "It's your choice."

In frustration he punched the table.

"You know I can't do either!" he nearly shouted, and to my big surprise his eyes watered. "Emily, why don't you understand that I just want to protect you because I love you?"

"I do understand that, but you can't choose my destiny for me. I'm old enough to take my own decisions."

"But if I take you with and you-" Before he could finish the sentence I closed the distance I had made between us, yanked his head down to me and kissed him.

"Do never finish that sentence,'' I whispered when I let go of him. "Don't even think about it, 'cause you don't know who'll hear your thoughts."

He laid his arms around my waist and pulled me into a tight hug where he leaned his head on the top of mine. We stood like that for a while, but then he pulled away.

"Fine", he whispered. "I will take you with, but promise me at least this: If Peter and I don't manage it, then take Susan, Lucy and Edmund strait home."

I sighed and nodded. "At least I can promise you that, but never think about it again before it happens. That's what you have to promise me."

He gave me a weak smile. "I promise."

Then we hear a snort come from behind us, "Finally, the two of you have been keeping secrets for so long," Edmund said smirking, "You do realize we all knew the two of you were together months ago, right? Well all of us but Peter of course, he's just dull when it comes to you Em."

"If you mutter a word about this to Peter, I swear-" I began

"Don't worry, even if I told Peter he wouldn't believe me. He just thinks your so innocent." He says his smirk only growing in size. With that he turns and walks away, leaving a deliriously happy Jack standing beside me giggling.

Thank You So Much For Reading! Please like and review, updates will be coming soon I promise.

XOXO,

M

PS. Anything in Italics is taken directly from the C. S. Lewis novel, I really can't think of any better way of writing Aslan's death.