Author's Note: -shocked again by number of reviews- THANKS! This story wouldn't be possible without you lovely readers! Here's chapter thirty-one. There's a lovely little twist in there. And a bit of action.

Warnings: Violence

Inspiration: Chad Kroeger's "Hero", Aly and AJ's "No One", Keke Palmer's "It's My Turn Now"

Quote from Chapter: "What is her Highness's plan?"

Chapter Thirty-One: The Consequences of Disbelieving

The Pevensies left with Kiara for Galma two weeks later. She waved to them, knowing that they would arrive safely at the island in a good five to six hours. Her dress whipped in the breeze and her black hair fanned out. Lucylita stood beside her, her hair fanning out as well.

"I'm worried about them, Lita," Aceline said.

"Relax. They'll be fine," she answered. The Princess bit her lip, a delicate frown on her forehead. She walked back to Cair, her arms folded. She felt like something bad was going to happen to them...to everyone...

"Your Highness!" a voice yelled. She looked up and saw Oreius, Peter's main advisor and General of the army, rushing towards her.

"What is it, Oreius?" she asked, for she had never seen him as fidgety as she did so now.

"I bring grave news from the North, my ladies," he panted. "It seems the Witch's followers aren't all gone as we expected."

If Oreius had known the emotional turnmoil that the Princess would have to endure in the next few hours, I'm sure he would have held his tongue. Seeing as he didn't, everyone would have to suffer the consequences.

Aceline shared a nervous look with Lucylita, her face starting to pale. She gulped and looked back at the Centaur.

"We have to call a council at once. Send messengers to King Lune and Duke Ramon to see if they can send help," she ordered. Ten minutes later, she was sitting at the head of the table, surrounded by the war council, which consisted of Oreius, Lucylita, two Leopards, two Foxes, a Cheetah, and a Dwarf.

"What is her Highness's plan?" the Cheetah, named Switchpaw, asked. She bent over the map that was on the table she was sitting by. It depicted Narnia and a bit of the Eastern coast. She studied it a bit more before looking at Oreius.

"Oreius, where is the Witch's army assembling exactly?" she asked. The Centaur laid his finger on a spot two inches down from thin line that was north of Cair Paravel.

"On this side of the River Shribble. A good five miles from here," he answered.

"If we receive help from Archenland, I'm afraid they'll tire themselves before the battle," Aceline stated. "And Galma is a good five, six hours from here." The advisers could tell that she was starting to get a bit hysterical. One of the Foxes, a noble creature named Rapidling, did the most unlikely thing you would think a Fox would do - he gently nuzzled her hand with his nose and lightly licked her fingers. She looked down at him, surprised, and he looked back, his brown eyes showing that he trusted her. She nodded and turned back to the map, feeling much more confident.

"We'll split into two groups," she began. "One group has to do a bit of marching to the North, that way we can surround the Witch's army. Oreius, Switchpaw, you'll lead the Southern group. I'll lead the Northern group with Rapidling and Lucylita."

"And the archers?" Lucylita asked. Aceline thought about it before answering.

"Harmon (who was the Dwarf) and Quickfoot (who was the other Fox) will lead the Southern archers. And Clovis and Lavos (who were the two Leopards) will lead the Northern archers. The Northern group will give the signal - a short blast of the horn will do perfectly - and if the Southern group is ready, then they'll give the same signal. If not, they'll give the signal twice. Do you understand?" Everyone nodded in agreement. She continued, fully taking charge of the situation.

"We must send messengers to Archenland and Galma," the Princess said. "Who would be quick at such a task?"

"Sallowpad the Raven can go to Galma," Harmon said. "He's the fastest flyer of us all."

"And to Archenland?"

"Squirrel Santwig would be willing, your Highness," Clovis said.

"We'll send them at once," and everyone dashed out of the room in order to make preparations. She summoned Sallowpad and Santwig to her. She relayed the message to them and they both seemed eager to deliver, especially the Squirrel. But she stopped Sallowpad as he spread his wings.

"Sallowpad?" she asked.

"Yes, Highness?" he inquired.

"Tell King Peter that I told him so."

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The Princess crept into her room, twenty minutes before the meeting with the Archenlandian commanders King Lune had sent. She shut the door behind her and stood in front of the mirror, a silver knife clenched in her sweaty hand. She stared herself in the glass before finally gathering her hair. There was a slash of silver and a moment later, she held her cut off locks in her hand. She placed the knife of the nightstand and looked at the haircut she had just given herself.

Her once past-waist length hair now only passed her shoulders. She gently fingered a strand of hair. Aceline felt it odd to have her hair in her hand, and then look at her black tendrils on her head. The door opened, and Lucylita came in.

"Ace, it's time we go - " She stopped dead in her tracks as she gaped at her.

"What did you do to yourself?" the Watcher asked. The younger girl tossed her head back, trying (and failing) to look indifferent.

"I couldn't wear a helmet with all that hair. And besides, I feel deliciously cool now," she answered.

"You look queer with short hair," Lucylita answered. She sighed, scratching her scalp. Truth be told, she felt a bit like a shorn sheep. She followed the Lone Islander down, feeling very self-conscious. The Archenlanders bowed to her. Her eyes searched the room, and she saw that Tynan and Keagan were among the commanders. She smiled, and they grinned in response.

"Your Highness," a commander, one who looked a bit disagreeable, began, "are you sure the Witch's army is assembled at the River Shribble?"

"I'm perfectly sure, my lord," she answered stiffly. "General Oreius informed me of their position."

"Oreius?" said another commander. "The Centaur?" Aceline didn't like his tone, and her expression hardened.

"Oreius is very trustworthy. I would believe him no matter what the situation." There was a murmur of amusement that was silenced by the combined looks of Aceline, Lucylita, Tynan and Keagan.

The discussion that followed (it would make you fall asleep if you heard it) was about the position. Their plans changed only slightly, since the Archenlanders would have to be included. They came out of the council room an hour later. Keagan and Tynan immediately went up to her. She abandoned all of her ladylike grace and hugged both of them, introducing Lucylita as well.

"Who would have thought the Witch would come back," Keagan wondered aloud.

"She isn't back," Tynan pointed out. "Her followers are."

"I thought they had been stamped out," Lucylita said. The Princess was quiet as she stared out the window.

"Are you alright?" Tynan asked. She nodded, still looking at the waning sun. Presently, she said, in a soft tone: "We should get fitted for our armor. Tomorrow's the battle."

She didn't wait for any of them to acknowledge her. She walked into the corridor, her arms crossed. Keagan's and Tynan's words had made her feel uncomfortable. She bumped into someone - two someones, actually - and looked up. She looked up and nearly yelled in surprise.

It was Keitra and Kendell.

The cousins grinned at her, looking amused at her shocked expression. They were taller and their red hair was much shorter. The girls wore breeches and tunics. Aceline immediately knew why they were there.

"You cannot possibly be thinking that you're going to fight?" she whispered.

"We're going with the archers," Keitra answered. Kendell nodded eagerly, and began to talk.

"It's going to be amazing! We haven't had a real adventure since we stowed away on your ship!" she exclaimed with zeal.

"Would you believe our parents forbid us to sail?" Keitra asked.

"Actually, I can," Aceline replied. "You would have been killed if you were men!"

"And that's the only thing good about being born a girl," Kendell answered.

"You'll get killed!" she reasoned.

"Nothing bad will happen, Ace," Keitra reassured her. "We'll all be safe and sound." The Princess shook her head in frustration, knowing very well that it would be no use to argue.

--------

Aceline paced the length of her tent, her eyes downcast and her hands behind her back. (Her group had already marched to the North.) Rapidling stood a few paces away, looking up at her with solemn eyes. She found the Fox's behavior quite strange. He rarely spoke to her, a phenomenon among his race. But there was an inexplicable comfort that radiated from him. She reached down hesistantly and lightly scratched behind Rapidling's ears.

"You shall be late for your meeting, Highness," he smiled.

"Come with me?" she asked. He nodded and they exited the tent. She passed a puddle - a rather large one - and reflected on how much more different she looked with armor.

She wore a dark red tabard over her mail shirt, the gold lion embroidered on the front. A dark brown belt was fastened around her waist, her sword hanging on her left hip. Her calves had silver, gold-trimmed greaves strapped to them and her legs were covered in chain mail. Sets of layered, silver armor protected her shoulders and her upper arms. Her hands, her right protected by a silver gauntlet, her left by leather glove, hung at her side in a limp manner. To complete it, elbow gauntlets were around her forearms and her helmet was tucked under her arm. Aceline approached the commanders and they stood, looking at her with a mixture of admiration and fear. And she finally, finally understood why people insisted on making girls as proper as possible, why Keitra and Kendell were forbidden on having adventures, why Lucylita was disliked by some of the ladies of the court.

They were afraid. Afraid of how much power a woman could have, how much power a woman could influence over people. They insisted on making girls proper so they would never become a threat. A scowl threatened to appear on her face. She looked into the eyes of each commanders and saw that they were expecting her to fail, expecting her to lose, just as she expected for someone to tell her that battles weren't for women. Aceline stood at the head of the table, her purple eyes an amazing black.

They were about to see how much power a woman could have.

She spoke to them as a general would to his soldiers. They were going over their plans once more. She would occasionally look at them to make sure that they understood, and would find that they were looking anxious and fidgety. A glitter of amusement would pass her eyes and disappear as quickly as it had come. Aceline finally straightened and nodded at all of them.

"It's time," she said and turned, feeling the eyes of the lords on her back. Her horse - a chestnut mare named Victoire - was brought to her, and as she mounted Victoire, she heard the horn sound from their camp. She strained her ears and heard the signal.

They were ready.

Lucylita rode up to her on a brown horse, dressed similarly in armor. Her face was a bit pale, but she looked determined just like everyone else.

"Are you with me?" Aceline asked, not knowing that five years before someone very close to her had asked that very same thing. Her Watcher nodded, a sai hanging from each hip. She looked down at Rapidling, who nodded. The three took their position in front of the lines.

From her position on the stony, sloped cliff, Aceline was hit by deja vu. Her memory was the one of the Battle of Beruna. Was this how Peter had felt? She let her mind wander, finally stopping to think of Peter with his armor, embracing her before the battle. Aceline's eyes closed briefly and then opened slowly.

Please Aslan, she thought, give me the strength to fight.

She felt hundreds of eyes on herself and, with a gulp, she unsheathed her sword. She pointed with the silver blade to the approaching mass of black and gray.

"For Narnia! And for Aslan!" she screamed, using the High King's famous battlecry. They charged forward, the Princess lowering her visor twenty feet away from the enemy.

The collision came quickly and suddenly. She killed an Orge and then a Dwarf in one, clean swipe. All around her there was killing and there was more than one sword stained with blood. The Witch's followers seemed to multiply as they were killed. Aceline lifted her visor, her face flushed, covered with a thin film of sweat. She sussed that she would fight better on ground than on her horse. She quickly dismounted Victoire and found herself face to face with a Minotaur. She parried a blow from its oncoming ax. The beast let out a bellow of outrage and lost no time in bruising her shield arm. Aceline yanked off her helmet in annoyance and beheaded the Minotaur, losing about half of her energy.

"YOU!" She looked wildly around and saw Lucylita glaring fiercely at a knight in black armor. There was no coat of arms on the front of his dark tabard. Her Watcher looked at her and shouted, "Ace, it's - " But she didn't finish as she blocked a blow from the knight's sword. No one attacked the Princess in that moment, something she suspected as Lucylita's doing. The knight was an extremely capable swordsman. More than once, she thought that her friend would get disarmed. She watched in horror as a sai was knocked out of her hand. Her Watcher fought with a ferocity that astounded her. But it seemed that fate loved tampering with people, and so, the knight's sword went right through Lucylita, opening the spot where she had been killed before.

A scream escaped her - and Aceline's - lips as she fell back. Blood flowed out of the girl's chest, staining the crisp, green grass and her black hair was growing pale. The Princess looked at the knight and immediately knew that he was the leader of the Witch's army. Rage erupted in every cell of her body. But her heart stood still as she looked into the eyes of the knight. They were a piercing green.

Green.

Like James's.

The knight lifted his visor and, sure enough, James stared back at her, a smirk on his face. She was so surprised that her sword slid from her grip and fell to the ground. His expression looked malicious, sadistic, bloodthirsty. And that's when she realized why he seemed so different when she had met him.

He was a traitor.

"Surprised?" he asked smugly, but he didn't wait for her to answer. "Yes, of course you are."

"B-But I th-th-thought," she stammered. "Wh-What - " But she was cut off as James made a 'tsking' noise.

"My, your Highness, you do stutter a lot," he said. "To think I fancied you."

"You - what?" she said, eyes wide.

"It was more of a physical attraction," he smirked. "You are quite pretty, you know. Shame I have to kill you." Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her head as he knocked the sword hilt against her skull. She fell, conscious, but shaken. He made a tsking sound again.

"You're as hard-headed as the High King. It's a shame he didn't believe you. But I'm sure Kiara finished him." He knocked the hilt again on her head, but she remained conscious. Blood trickled down her forehead and there was a dull pain as her head throbbed. She thought back to his words. He had been the one eavesdropping when she had told Lucylita about Kiara.

"It's time you die, Princess. Maybe if Kiara hasn't killed Peter, I'll do it and tell him how you died." But his last blow was blocked by another sword. James looked surprised as he ran his eyes up the blade, up the hand, up the arm, until he looked into the furious eyes of the Narnian Princess.

At the mention of him loving the idea of killing Peter, a mixture of emotions replaced her shock. She stood, her gauntlet closet around the hilt of her sword as she prepared to fight as she never fought before...

She remembered her training with Oreius, remembered dueling with Dar and Darrin, remembered everything she had been taught. Step, block, duck, swing. Step, block, duck, swing. For the first time, she let her emotions take over. Rage made her swing at James with all her strength. Hate made her duck, so she could continue to fight. And fear made her block every blow, so she wouldn't disappoint Narnia, disappoint Aslan, disappoint Peter.

Finally, the duel ended with a spectacular trick from Aceline. She ducked her head as James's swing cut through the air. Instead of bending forward, she spun and then went down on one knee, plunging her sword into the traitor's stomach. The point went right through the other side. Indeed, if she would have gone any further, the hilt would be stained with blood. She pulled out her sword harshly, her face looking particularly fierce. James fell back onto the ground, his sword slipping from his grip. She quickly kicked it away. Her eyes looked around wildly until she found Lucylita, her a platinum blonde. She ran forward, plopping down onto the grass beside her.

"You broke your promise," her Watcher said.

"What?" she questioned distractedly.

"You said you wouldn't do anything rash when I was gone."

"But you're not gone!" Aceline exclaimed. "You're still alive! Which is..." Her voice trailed off as she thought of something.

"Which is why I didn't die. You were protecting me," she whispered. She was beginning to feel dizzy and the injury to her head didn't help at all. A sudden roar of her ears and she looked to the East. A mass of people was running towards her. It wasn't red and gold, nor black and gray. It wasn't even the red and green of the Archenlanders. It was blue and silver.

The Galmians had finally arrived.

"Lita, the Galmians are - " She stopped dead as she looked towards her friend. Her hair had turned the purest white and her eyes were closed. A bitter sob almost escaped her lips as she looked at the now late Lucylita Temple.

"Aceline!" a voice yelled. She looked in the direction of the voice. She saw, much to her surprise, Peter running towards her. His face showed extreme concern. She stood on shaky limbs, her mouth slightly open. The pain in her head was becoming unbearable. She fell to her knees, her eyes half-closed. The darkness that was overwhelming her was so inviting, and a stupid smile came on her face. It tempted her until she fell to the ground, unconscious. She heard Peter scream her name again and she knew no more.

Author's Note: Did you like my little twist? Did you like my cliff hanger? Did you hate them both? Tell me what you think! You know I like reading your reviews. -grins-

On another note: what did you think of the fight and the whole meeting with the commanders before it? I was feeling a bit femnist during that part. You see, we had this debate a couple of weeks ago in my school about whether men or women should rule. I took my inspiration from there. -nods-

OCs Used:
Lucylita Temple - Queen Emily the Wise
Keagan Salom - airnchik 128
Keitra Nyramis - Lady-Mystique
Kendell Carnee - airnchik 128