Hey everyone. Hope you all are enjoying the start of your week.
Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects to this story.
A slight note that this chapter starts immediately after the last battle chapter (when Humpty and Edmund destroyed the Witch's spear). And now, let's dive in.
Chapter 25: Winter's Death
Puss in Boots heard a loud crash behind him. Since the cyclops he was fighting had collapsed after a random projectile had hit it in the head, he was free to see what was going on. The Witch's spear had been broken. No more Narnians would be turned into statues. But Puss felt no celebration as he saw the cost that came with it. A stone egg standing next to the Witch, eyes wide with shock, and a young boy looking down at the spear's base pushed into him by the Witch. Humpty and Edmund. Puss barely heard Peter shout Edmund's name as Edmund fell to the ground. The same feelings of fear, sadness, and disbelief reflected in that shout struck Puss like a stone. He turned to Peter, who had quickly ended his own opponent. They both looked at each other, the same thing flowing through their minds. Both of them had now lost a brother in this battle. And now, both were united, ready to end the battle before it took anyone else.
As one, cat and human ran forward. One or two enemies tried to stop them, but they quickly fell before the fearsome duo. Soon, Puss and Peter stood facing the Witch. Peter tried to swipe at the Witch, but she easily blocked it with her sword. She grabbed Edmund's sword,using it to block Puss in Boots' own strike.
And so the duel began. The blades were flying. A strike here, a thrust there. A feint, a block. To Puss' dismay, there didn't seem to be any way to break through the Witch's defenses. Not even jumping over her in a whirling cartwheel seemed to allow Puss an opening. The Witch, though, didn't have any issues with her attacks. Several times, she struck in a way that tripped Puss and Peter, causing them to fall to the ground. Yet she never moved in for the kill. She always had her swords ready in a defensive pose, a coy grin on her face. Puss had seen this type of look before. Several cats had that look as they were playing with mice they caught, pretending to let them go only to catch them again. And that, Puss realized in fear, was what the White Witch was doing now. Instead of moving in to end the fight, the Witch was waiting, toying with her opponents before the end.
Suddenly, a loud roar sounded. Puss turned, half expecting it to be a new enemy that the Witch had held in reserve. Puss' jaw dropped, mind trying to understand what he was seeing. There, standing on a large ridge on the far side of the rocks, was Aslan, letting out the biggest roar Puss had ever heard. "Impossible," Puss heard the Witch mutter. Puss' mouth changed to a grin. He had seen many crazy things, but a creature coming back to life was the biggest one yet. At this point, nothing seemed impossible now.
Puss was brought back to the moment by a large sword barely missing him. Turning back, he saw the White Witch striking at him and Peter. To Puss' astonishment, the strikes came quicker and faster now. It was all Puss could do to block her blows. Several of them actually nicked his fur. Finally, with a vicious swipe, the Witch tripped both Peter and Puss. Before either could move, they found themselves pinned by the White Witch's swords. She stood over them both, pointing their own swords straight at them. Puss closed his eyes. He might have lost the fight, but he knew that the war was won.
Suddenly, Puss felt a large wind blow over him. He opened his eyes to see the Witch was no longer standing above him. Instead, Perrito was there, grinning widely. "Hey Puss."
"Perrito. What are you doing here? And where is the Witch?"
"We can worry about her in a second, Puss. For now, how about we get you up?"
With Perrito's help, Puss was able to pull the sword off the hem of his cape. He and Peter got up, swords ready to fight the Witch. When they looked over though, they realized no help was needed. Aslan seemed to have the matter well in hand.
Puss was aware of hundreds of new Narnians charging in around him, helping the army defeat the Witch's forces. But he didn't focus on any of them. His eyes were solely on Aslan, the great lion who had been dead, but was now alive. Aslan turned and walked over to Puss, Peter, and Perrito, fixing them with a gaze of solemnity. Puss felt awash in the same feelings of love and sovereignty that he always felt in the presence of Aslan. "It is finished," the lion finally said. Puss nodded, exhaling in relief. The threat of the Witch was finally ended for good. The battle was over..
"Peter! Puss!" came two voices. Puss turned to see Susan and Lucy running over to them, embracing them both. Puss smiled, glad to see the two absent Pevensies were alright. Susan looked around, noticing Aslan and the Witch's corpse. Her face fell, as she realized something. "Where're Edmund, Kitty, and Humpty?" she asked.
I had originally debated doing all battle chapters at once, or putting the chapter of Aslan's return somewhere in the middle. In the end, I thought the way the chapters are arranged here makes the best order of chapters, both for story flow and for potential cliffhangers.
As always, please rate and review.