It will seem like this is the last chapter, but I have one more for you. Just one more chapter, and I'll be done.
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The Final Battle of the Warrior
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"One. Two. And.... go!"
"North!"
"South!"
"Equator!"
"Beaver! You're out!"
"No fair! My legs are too short!"
Tirian laughed as he watched the curious game. On the ground were three ropes about 20 feet apart. One side was north, the far side was south, and the middle was the equator. Tirian had sat out because he had never even heard of the game before. But many of the old Narnians did, and it was quite funny watching them all run from one side to the other until someone lagged behind. Now, only a few people remained in the line; a centaur named Orieus, King Edmund, King Caspian, and Queen Lucy. Each and every one was dressed in fabulous Narnian robes, though the men wore some armor.
Tirian's eyes once again looked at the beauty around them. The sky was bluer than any sky he could remember, with not one white cloud in sight. The happy gurgle of a stream could be heard not far away, and the waters were crystal clear. The grass was light and bouncy and springy, and such a green that you couldn't stare at it for very long. And all friends of Narnia were there, which made it all the more wonderful. He rested once again upon Jewel's white back.
For just a moment, Tirian's gaze went to the High King Peter. He was sitting at a distance from the other's, watching the game, but with a bit of a sad expression on his face. In fact, it wasn't just Peter that looked a bit down. He had noticed that Peter's brother and sister would get that look, and even Caspian.
But how could they be sad? They were all in Narnia with those that they loved and Aslan watching over them all.
But something still made them sad. And Tirian was curious as to what it was.
His attention was brought back to the game, however, when he heard Orieus shouting "Let me go!" When he looked back, he couldn't help from laughing. Edmund and Caspian had grabbed onto the centaur's legs, giving Lucy a clear run for the North side. Lucy ran, touched the line, and won the game.
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Peter laughed along with the others as he watched his brother and his friend grab onto Orieus and hold him for Lucy to win. His mind though did not stay there long. He looked back to the horizon and gave a sigh.
"What is it Peter?" He heard beside him. Peter turned to see Lucy sitting beside him, with Caspian and Edmund standing right behind her.
"You've had a cloud over your head for at least three hours now," Edmund said. "Ever since Aslan explained that we would be staying here forever. So why do you seem so gloomy?"
"Doesn't something seem a little wrong to you?" Peter replied. "I've looked all over, and have yet to see two faces in the crowd. Two faces whom I think should have been here, one especially in particular." His voice had softened at the last part.
"I have to agree with Peter," said Caspian. "Only for my eyes, I have not yet seen three faces. Strange that the Warriors of Narnia should not be the ones here. I have yet to see my own warrior, Glenstorm. Or the warrior that followed him, Finus the dwarf."
"Doesn't that seem a little odd?" Peter continued. "The Warriors of Narnia are the ones that aren't here. And wouldn't it seem that they should be, since they were the ones that were given the task of fighting for and protecting Narnia?"
"I see your point," Edmund said. "And it only makes one feel as if... well..., as if they didn't give enough because they aren't here."
"How can that be true?" Lucy asked. "She always gave her utmost."
"Glenstorm as well," Caspian added. "But then, why aren't they here?"
There conversation stopped when they saw a mass of gold walking towards them.
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Tirian knew exactly who it was the moment he saw the gold. Aslan was coming there way.
With great excitement, the Narnians began to gather around the great golden lion in great masses everywhere. Tirian stood among those whom he had become more familiar with. Peter, Lucy, Edmund, Jill, Eustace, Caspian, and all other friends of those times.
All attention went to Aslan. But Aslan said not a word. Instead, he threw back his head, and gave a long and loud roar. Several Narnians fell over at the sound.
Suddenly, from a break in the woods, six Narnian creatures stepped forward. In front, stood a great and noble centaur, with dark skin and a stern expression.
"Glenstorm the Strong, come to me," Aslan cried out.
Glenstorm walked toward Aslan. When he reached the great lion, he bowed low.
"Well done. You served Narnia well and faithfully. For that, I reward you."
Aslan turned his head and Glenstorm followed his gaze. Five centaurs stood close by. A bright smile lit Glenstorm's face as he raced toward them. The centaurs embraced each other, and Tirian had a feeling that they must have been his family.
"Finus the Bold, come forward."
A short, stocky dwarf came forward, with a proud, and yes, bold expression on his face.
"You have served well. Though you were haughty at times, you saved your rulers more than once. For that, I reward you."
A dwarf lady came forward and raced toward Finus. He broke out into tears and ran towards her.
"Carton the Noble, step forward."
A faun with a scar across his cheek came before Aslan.
"They called you noble for good reason. You were willing to risk your life to save your prince, which unfortunately, led to a young death. For your service, I reward you."
Three fauns, one female and two male came rushing out of the crowd to Carton. And in that moment, the scar on his cheek was healed.
"Mother! Father! Brother!" he shouted, racing towards them.
"Artura the Hard, come to me."
A minotaur with a missing arm stepped toward Aslan.
"Your hardness made people wary of you, but it kept you strong and protected your people. For that, I reward you."
Aslan breathed upon Artura's arm, and it was made whole once more. Those that knew Artura gasped as tears streaked down his cheeks and I smile lit his face.
"Stepton the wise, come forward."
A cheetah with deep amber eyes came and bowed before Aslan.
"With your mind and wisdom, you helped to shape a great King of Narnia and brought peace throughout the land. For this, I reward you."
Two cheetah cubs came bounding forward, and Stepton ran towards his twin sons.
"Halka the Brave, step to me."
A small satry came and bowed before the great lion.
"Last of the warriors, you put your life in danger to save your queen. For this, I reward you."
From the crowd stepped out two humans, a man and a woman.
"Halka!" the woman exclaimed.
The satry ran and embraced his king and queen.
Many of the Narnians began talking, and some began leaving. Tirian turned to speak to the great Warrior Glenstorm, but it was then that he noticed that a great portion of the Narnians had not even moved. They still looked expectantly at Aslan, especially the Kings and Queen of the Golden Age.
Suddenly, a great bang shook the earth. A crack arose in the middle of the field, with red flames flickering out. A hand reached out and grabbed the edge of the crack, and slowly began to pull itself out. As the full body emerged, many Narnians screamed, some even fainted. Tirian felt like he was going to be sick.
For there, standing in front of them all, was the Jadis, the White Witch herself. She held a sword in one hand, and half of a wand in the other.
Immediately, the six warriors sprang themselves upon her, but none could get even close to her. She was quick and graceful, fully skilled and deadly.
Tirian gasped as wounds began to spring upon the warriors. But they did not seem to notice. There full attention was on Jadis.
"They are only memories of wounds," Lucy whispered. "You see, they don't fully bleed."
Jadis threw back all of the warriors, and Aslan shouted;
"Enough!"
The warriors stopped, and the White Witch looked straight at Aslan.
"Give me the battle I desire," she demanded. "Give me battle with the first Warrior."
Aslan said nothing, but many of the Narnians began shouting. Some shouted to Glenstorm, Tirian among them. Some just shouted "First Warrior". But again, many remained silent, simply waiting for Aslan to speak.
After Aslan breathed upon the Warriors wounds, healing them, he looked at the Narnians. At that simple glance from Aslan, everyone was silent.
"Those after the Deliverance of Narnia forgot the First Warrior," Aslan said. "They completely threw the First Warrior out of history, and have long since forgotten what the First Warrior did."
Many Narnians looked hurt and sad. They were the ones that had forgotten.
"The Narnians after the Golden Age made themselves a new Warrior. Though they knew the stories of the First Warrior, they made the Warrior something it was not. Narnians of that time, now look upon the Warrior that you yourselves created."
With another loud bang, another figure appeared. Dressed in dark armor, Tirian saw that it was a young man. He was tall and dark and muscular, with a haughty expression on his face that Tirian found frankly disgusting.
"I am the First and Greatest of the Warriors," the young man said in a deep and proud voice.
Tirian was not impressed.
"How dare they?" he heard from beside him. He turned to see Peter with his jaw clenched, Edmund with a dark look on his face, Lucy looking ready to cry, and Caspian with a horrified expression.
"This is what they made the first Warrior out to be?" Caspian asked with horror.
"Obviously," Edmund said coldly.
"You mean, that's not the First Warrior?" Tirian asked.
"No," Lucy answered. "That is not the First Warrior."
The fake warrior fought against Jadis with a haughty smile, and lost very quickly. The warrior disappeared, and Jadis looked once again at Aslan.
"Give me my battle!" she shouted.
Aslan gave another loud roar, and this time, not one Narnian was left standing.
From across the field, everyone suddenly saw a black horse galloping towards them; a figure in a white cloak riding upon it. The Narnians closest to it parted away as the horse came running through.
Jewel said suddenly;
"That is a horse that was made for war and knows it well."
The horse cantered around the White Witch, slowing down at each turn. The figure in white, a hood covering its face, moved steadily with the horse.
Jadis, getting impatient, threw the broken wand at the horse. The black war horse easily dodged it and came to a stop. The rider leapt off of the horse and picked up the broken wand. After a moment, the figure took the wand, and broke it again across its legs.
The White Witch ran at the rider, sword raised high. The rider did not move until the last moment. At that second, it made a backflip and kicked Jadis square in the face. As it landed on its feet, the hood fell off.
Tirians eyes met with the last thing he had expected. The rider was a young woman with dark blonde hair that fell down her back, dressed in Narnian armor. Her body was dark and well muscled, and her eyes were hazel. But the look in her eyes was what caught him off guard. It was a mixture of defiance, bravery, and willingness.
"Finally," Jadis said, and once again ran at the young woman. The young woman drew a magnificent sword, with a deep crimson ruby embeded into its hilt, out of its sheath and blocked the Witch's first attack.
Jadis easily recovered and attacked from the other side. Once again, the girl parried. Then, without warning, she balled her fist up and punched the witch in the face. Jadis stumbled back. The young woman came up again, but the witch was ready. The next moment, Tirian was shocked to see multiple wounds spring up upon the girl. There were slashes across her back, wounds on her arms and legs that her armor dug in to, and bite marks across the back of her neck.
He heard Caspian gasp beside him.
"There not really there Caspian," Lucy said, hearing his gasp as well.
"It does not make it any easier, seeing the wounds that she took."
Tirian turned his gaze back to the battle.
Suddenly, the young woman flipped over Jadis, dropped her body, and kicked her legs out from underneath her.
"There she goes again," Peter said, half laughing. "That was aksways her surprise attack."
The girl came up and pointed her sword at the White Witch's chest.
"You will never again bring harm to the Narnians."
Then, Aslan gave another roar, and the earth cracked again. Jadis fell into it, and they all heard a loud scream.
The earth mended itself once more, and the White Witch was gone.
The young woman turned towards Aslan and knelt before him.
"Miranda the Courageous, First Warrior of Narnia, I welcome thee home," Aslan began. "It was to you that I gave this task, and you have done your duty well. You rescued King Edmund when he was captured by the Witch. You saved High King Peter when the Calormenes came to harm him. You protected Queen Susan for as long as your life allowed. And you brought light to Queen Lucy when her world became dark. You saved King Caspian when his uncle sought to kill him. And you protected your people when Narnia was in danger. For all of this, I reward you."
Aslan breathed upon the young woman, Miranda, and suddenly, a flash of light surprised them. When the light faded, she stood and turned to them.
She was now dressed in a red Narnian dress, with a great golden lion in the middle. The dress split at her legs, revealing silver armor underneath. Her wrists were also bound with the silver armor, and her sword rested at her side. Her hair had been pulled back halfway and clasped with a red lion pin, and two small braids hung at the sides of her face. A huge smile lit her face.
Suddenly, the centaur Orieus came running forward, shouting;
"Miranda!"
She did not even hesitate. She immediately came running towards the great centaur.
As the two reached each other, Orieus picked her up and held her close; spinning her around and laughing out loud.
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Miranda hugged Orieus as tightly as she could. She had missed him so much.
"Alright," a voice said underneath her. "Enough Orieus. My turn."
Orieus set Miranda back down upon the ground and she looked down.
"Hunta!"
She bent down and the red fox leapt into her arms, licking her face as she stroked his back.
"I've missed you both so much," she cried out.
"And we missed you," Hunta replied, snuggling up closer.
Hands touched her shoulders, and Miranda looked up into the faces of Edmund and Lucy. With a cry of joy, she jumped up and hugged them both.
"Don't you ever die on us again," Edmund scolded, laughter in his voice.
"I won't."
"You'd better not," Lucy said, a little choked up.
Another hand touched her, and Miranda turned to another familiar face.
"Caspian!" she exclaimed as the two embraced. Caspian laughed.
"I have much to tell you," he said.
"And we'll have lots of time for you to tell me," Miranda replied, her smile never leaving.
She felt something below her knees, and looked down to see Reepicheep and Trufflehunter.
She bent down and embraced the good badger, and would not accept just a bow from Reepicheep. Faking reluctance, Reepicheep allowed her to hug him as well.
Then her eyes saw Peter. He was wearing a smile as bright as the sun.
She stood up and walked toward him. Without hesitation, the two embraced.
"I've missed you dear friend," Peter whispered.
"And I you," Miranda replied.
Then she heard two voices.
"Miranda!" One said.
"Brave heart!" the other said.
She completely froze. She knew those voices, and only one person had ever called her "brave heart".
Slowly, she turned around.
There running towards her was a man and woman. The man had dark brown hair and green eyes, and was dressed completely in white. The woman had golden blonde hair that fell like a waterfall down her back, and bright blue eyes. She was dressed in a glowing white dress.
Tears streaked down Miranda's cheeks as she ran toward them.
"Mom! Dad!"
She ran into there outstretched arms, and the three shared a long and wonderful embrace.
Miranda felt that her heart would break at the wonder and beauty of it all.
This was not happiness that Miranda was feeling. This was joy.
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