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✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩💔For the Greater Good💔✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩

Charlotte peered down on the battlegrounds, which the mist faintly shielded from her view.

The creatures relentlessly fought their way to survive, dodging the heavy rain of arrows sent down from the higher ground. One by one, they were struck, falling lifeless to the ground.

"Hurry!" She urged the gryphon, who squawked in response.

On the spur of the moment, they were greeted by arrows flying towards the sky. She shrieked and clung tightly to the griffin. Fortunately for her, the griffin swiftly dodged its arrows, swivelling through the mists and abruptly swinging from side to side.

The gryphon came to a halt and she found herself floating over the balcony, staring face to face with the demon. His henchman positioned his crossbow at her, ready to fire.

"Wait," Miraz held his hand up, "hold your fire, General Glozelle."

"Find Edmund," sorrow strings her words in a whisper towards the creature.

She leaped onto the balcony, landing perfectly on her feet. She gulped down her fears, staring face to face with the Telmarine king. The gryphon proceeded to fly away around the castle grounds, surveying the environment with its sharp vision.

The corners of her lips sunk downwards at the majestic beast vanishing amidst the mists, but she had a strong feeling in her gut that it was for the best.

She glanced back at Miraz, who simply raised his eyebrows, unimpressed, at her.

"Who are you?" He barked as he examined her stature and physique.

"Please, stop this," she begged, refusing to answer his query.

Silence surfaced between the two. He exhaled in amusement, sending her a look of incredulity. His eyebrow raised, and he looked to his General, who anticipated his instructions patiently. He glanced back at her, pondering over her plea.

"Why would I do that?" He scowled.

"Look, you've clearly won," she attempted to persuade him, "please spare them."

"You are the ones who tried to invade my castle," he retorted with a scoff, "while my men and I were in slumber."

"It was never your land, to begin with," she shook her head, "your ancestors stole this land."

She pressed her lips tightly into a thin line, shooting daggers at him as her blood boiled. She was utterly repulsed by his malevolent intentions.

"Why should I spare these repulsive creatures?" He questioned her once more, "they are worthless and unfit to even live in my dungeons."

She clenched her grip on her sword, "They are wonderful creatures who only yearn to get back their home."

She continued with a desperate plea, "No one else needs to get hurt. End this now."

"Under whose orders," he began, pausing mid-sentence, "were they following?"

She remained silent, hesitant to answer his question.

"They were led by King Peter, your Majesty," the General informed, "as well as your nephew."

"My nephew," Miraz mumbled, "ah yes, I saw them both. They barged right into my room, disturbing my slumber. My nephew was so full of rage, so eager to end my life."

Charlotte's face fell.

"It's because of your actions!" She hissed, drawing out her sword. "You know the torment you've caused him!"

"What I did, I did for my family," he boasted without an ounce of remorse, "I suppose he just can't accept the reality. My brother didn't deserve the throne, nor does he. He is not fit to be a Telmarine King. I did what I wanted to secure my newborn son's future."

Charlotte's eyes widened. This simply could not compare to her relationship with her aunt. Her aunt, no matter how condescending towards her, grieved her mother too and took care of her. This man...

No. This monster.

This monster was filled with pure malice and bitterness in his soul.

"Please take my life instead," she bargained, with the prophecy sitting in the back of her mind, "and let the rest go."

"That doesn't seem like a fair trade," he scoffed, "you give up so easily without a fight. Weak."

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get," she assured him, positioning her sword at the ready.

"You must be very foolish," he crossed his arms, taunting her, "little girl."

"If I win, you have to let them go," she challenged him confidently.

The man fell silent, vaguely intrigued by her proposal. He studied her features for any signs of deceit. The general beside him immediately broke into laughter.

He scowled at the general, "What's so funny?"

"My Lord, she's a young girl," his general said confidently, "does she really expect to win against you?"

Miraz then feigned laughter, "Fair point, General Glozelle."

"Fighting a young girl is almost too easy," He announced, sending his soldiers an amused look, "I'll go easy on you."

"This isn't a convenient place," Charlotte began, but Miraz abruptly cut her off.

"It will do," he hissed, grabbing a sword from one of his soldiers.

He swung mercilessly at her without warning, startling her greatly. She ducked and struck back. Their swords clashed before he swiped her blade upwards. She threw her first strike at him, only to be blocked. Miraz swung his blade once more, caring very little about injuring his own soldiers.

"Stand back!" General Glozelle barked, and they steered clear of the ongoing fight.

She wasted blood, sweat, and tears to overpower him as he kept binding their swords together. Against him, she used almost twice her strength, in comparison to opposing Edmund, to gain the upper hand. He was frequently successful at cornering her, that she had to quickly roll over to safety and avoid the edges.

Miraz was of a larger build and weighed like a boulder, allowing him to easily dominate her in combat. She hardly had any time to regain composure and poured all her energy into dodging or deflecting his attacks. He was a mindless killing machine incessantly coming at her. With every strike, she thought frantically about how long she could delay her defeat. She was in a sinking boat, running out of time as the sea devoured it by the minute.

She was backed up against the balcony once again, as she struggled in blocking his sword from plunging deep into her heart. Resisting the sheer urge to admit defeat, she refused to let him reign victorious. With all her might, she pushed his weight off of her. When he let out a roar, charging ahead at her once more, she sprang into action. She steered clear of his path, causing him to stumble over the balcony.

"Ah!" Charlotte screeched, as she felt Miraz's hand tug on her attire.

"Sire!" General Glozelle rushed forward.

But his attempts to pull Miraz back to safety were in vain.

With Miraz's weight practically dragging her backward, she felt her back hit the edge of the balcony before her legs were sent flying off the ground. She toppled over, rolling further down the rooftops. The concrete roof poked at her body and her face, instigating sharp agony.

Finally, she and Miraz landed on the cold, hard ground. She landed a stone's throw away from him, and the ground knocked her weapon out of her hands.

"Stop shooting! Hold your fire!" General Glozelle demanded, now that their king was down on the battlegrounds.

Charlotte immediately picked herself off the ground, wincing. She gasped looking at the lifeless creatures in her view. She grasped her sword, surveying her surroundings.

The arrows had stopped firing, and the remaining Narnians fighting off soldiers on the ground level had come to a halt. All their eyes were fixated on her and Miraz. Their fate was in her hands.

She turned around towards the Telmarine King. Much to her bewilderment, Miraz showed no signs of ache as he rose from the ground, grabbing his sword a stone's throw away from him. He charged towards her, raising his sword to strike.

She stood her ground firmly, anticipating his strike. Then, she successfully blocked his attack, once again, fighting for control. He towered over her, menacingly grinning at her.

"Give it up girl," he taunted, "you're no match for me. Such a weak opponent."

Tears formed in her eyes. She cried out, pleading for an ounce of mercy in his heart. She was on the verge of allowing him the satisfaction of winning, sinking into defeat. Then she heard animalistic sounds and cheers in the background.

Glenstorm's sons urged her to continue fighting on, instigating a cheer among the Narnians. The minotaurs joined in, and so did the fawns, cheetahs, and dwarves. Even Miraz glanced up, perplexed and mildly vexed by the distraction.

With her heart burning with determination, she shoved him and immediately bound their blades together, catching the Telmarine King off by surprise.

She hit at his blade incessantly, prohibiting him from regaining his composure. Finally, he stumbled backwards, loosely balancing on the uneven ground. Seizing the opportunity, she knocked his sword by the tip right out of his hands which landed at her feet. She fiercely kicked the weapon away and kicked him in the groin, causing him to let out a groan as he fell on his knees.

The marching sounds of footsteps caught her attention, and she peered up to see General Glozelle had already raced down with his troops. He stared at her, awestruck by her abilities.

A fraudulent silence grew.

"Who are you?" Miraz questioned in disbelief, groaning from the torture.

"Princess Charlotte, daughter of King Simon and Queen Audrey," she announced proudly, still positioning her sword just inches away from his face.

The soldiers broke into murmurs, and even General Glozelle's expression brimmed with aghast, his beleaguered eyes fixated on her, as if he somewhat recognised her.

"Afraid?" Miraz spat, "You don't have what it takes, just like Caspian."

She peered down at him fiercely, her eyes seeing red. Even when he was at the loose end, he dared to challenge her morals. As much as she would like to end his life, she would hate to satisfy him by going against her virtues. Furthermore, their lives were at stake, with the many soldiers surrounding them. Instead, an idea snaked its way into her mind.

"I'm sparing your life," her voice boiled with austerity, "for the Narnian creatures. Now let them go."

He stood on his feet slowly, nodding to General Glozelle, "Finish her."

"But my Lord," General Glozelle's eyes shifted anxiously between them, "she's the daughter of two ancient rulers... She's the offspring from a prophecy. A prophecy that Narnians believe in."

"So what?" Lord Miraz snapped. "You believe in a fairytale, General Glozelle? I said, finish her!"

"When we interrogated Doctor Cornelius in the torture chambers, he speculated that if we kill the offspring, the Narnians will emerge with triumph," he explained. "She's very valuable to their victory."

Lord Miraz pondered for a moment over the credibility of the prophecy. If they killed her, what if they sealed the prophecy? Then again, since when did Telmarines believe in such absurd beliefs? Sheer stress overwhelmed him and he ended up grumbling in response.

"Throw her into the dungeons, then. We'll keep her as a prisoner for now. Maybe she'll give us an advantage over them," he declared, turning to her, "are you willing to give up your freedom, for theirs?"

Without hesitation, she boldly responded, "Yes."

"Indeed, a foolish girl, take her to the dungeons," Miraz glazed over her, proceeding to return to his chambers.

The signal was then given to open the gates, and she looked upon the Narnians who glanced at her. They all stood in silence, staring at her as the soldiers cuffed her in chains.

Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief. Her nerves calmed down, knowing that the rest would be let go. Even if that meant she would be kept as a prisoner.

Then, as she approached the shelter into the castle, a shadow loomed over her under the luminous light. She glanced up. The gryphon carried Edmund over the castle, smoothly flying past the glowing orb in the sky. At least Edmund was safe, and the surviving creatures were awaiting their escape.

Her heart sank. She only hoped that he would not detest her for her actions. She was, in her honest opinion, doing what she felt was right. Though they were deprived of their taste of victory, she gave credence to their strength in rising above this eventually, with Aslan's help. If only they'd strengthen their faith...

Sometimes, sacrifices must be made for the greater good.

*****A/N: The downfall we all dreaded finally happened!! 😩

To be very honest, this was one of the most challenging parts for me to plan, and I wasn't entirely confident with the direction I was heading towards. So let me know your thoughts and feelings!

Also, I've got some assignments to focus on. So I'll be spending lesser time on this for the next few weeks! But stay tuned! The more patient we are, the sweeter rewards we reap heh 🤭🙈

Do vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter! I appreciate you readers very much for your comments and votes, it increases my confidence 🥺❤️