The Battle

(Image not mine)

EDMUND'S POV

Per Peter's command, we had moved everyone in Aslan's camp to the battlefield across the river. The entire army was either perched on the rocks of the cliff or gathered in the field below, waiting for the Witch's forces to arrive. Peter was atop his white unicorn next to Oreuis at the front of the formation, clad in full battle armor with Aslan's symbol, just like Y/n and I. I looked over at her, she was standing on top of the cliff with me, eyes hardened as she looked down at the soldiers. Her hair swayed gently in the wind and I'm not sure why she didn't put it up, it seemed like an annoyance to fight with hair in your face.

I tore my eyes away and focused on the griffin that was returning from scouting. It soared in front of me and Y/n before landing next to Peter. After saying something I couldn't hear, the three of them faced forward in anticipation. The animals in the front row growled and barked.

"Look," Y/n pointed to the tip of a small hill at the edge of the battlefield.

I squinted my eyes and saw the head of a black minotaur appearing from behind the hill. It walked till it stood on top of a flat rock and roared while hefting its ax in the air. Just as it did, an army that stretched across the field came into view. Oh, Aslan, we were outnumbered. Thousands of creatures roaring and snarling as they stomped forwards, some I had never seen before. There were giants and hags and furies and ugly pig-like men. I sucked in a breath as I saw two polar bears pulling a cart with the Witch herself holding the reins.

"Is she wearing-"

"Aslan's mane," I confirmed. That disgusting woman.

I looked down at Peter for his reaction and met his eyes. He looked genuinely worried but I tried to give him a reassuring nod. He pursed his lips and faced forward, pulling out his golden sword and holding it into the air. Horns sounded while the centaurs raised their spear-tipped flagpoles and the soldiers erupted in cheers and battle cries. The other side responded with roars and screams of their own and charged forward.

"Here we go," Y/n whispered and clutched her pipes. I pulled out my sword.

We watched as Peter slashed his sword down, signaling for our forces to begin carrying out the plan. Dozens of griffins launched into the sky, each carrying a large rock and soared to the other side. Before the Witch's army could react, the griffins dropped the rocks onto their heads, each one taking out at least five soldiers. Amongst the screaming, a few enemy arches shot down a couple of griffins but only did more damage as their bodies crushed more creatures. The rest of the griffins screeched and looped around to fly back to cliffs just as Peter raised his sword again.

"For Narnia!" He screamed, "And for Aslan!"

He and Oreius charged forward, the row of centaurs galloping behind them. The rest of the Narnians screamed battle cries as they followed closely behind, thair heavy armor clanking as they ran. I watched the organized triangle that was our forces quickly closing the distance between them and the blob of the Witch's forces. The centaurs lowered their spears at the enemy as the leopards sprinted forward, a few of the opposite side's faster creatures coming to meet them. Time seemed to slow down in the few moments before they collided and I could hear their shrieks as they tackled each other.

I winced as Peter and the others plowed through enemy lines, slashing and stabbing anyone who came close. Tons of soldiers on both sides were killed or trampled before Peter halted in place. The Witch was leading the other half of her forces on her cart straight towards Peter so I decided it was time to send in my squad.

"Now, Y/n!" I shouted.

She held her pipes up to her lips and blew a harsh and shrill note, sending shivers down my spine. A stream of light shot out forming a bird that promptly burst into flames as it dived towards the field. The phoenix glided across the grass between the new wave of monsters and our forces, separating them with a wall of roaring fire.

The monsters stopped short and Y/n cheered, "Yes!"

I grinned, but the happy moment was cut short when the Witch extinguished the center of the wall with a wave of her spear. Peter turned around and shouted for the soldiers to fall back and draw them to the rocks.

A horn sounded from the field, "That's the signal." Y/n pulled on my wrist, "Come on!"

We ran to the archers perched on the side of the cliff and watched for the right moment. When the opposing foot soldiers reached the rocks I slashed my sword down.

"Fire!"

Dozens of arrows shot from the rocks and rained down on the unsuspecting enemies. They fell down as the arrows struck them, effectively diminishing a third of their forces. But some enemy arches had also perched themselves on the rocks, and one had just shot Peter's unicorn in the side. Horrified, I watched as Peter toppled from the steed as it fell, sprawling onto the ground and slowly raising his head.

"Oreius!" Y/n screamed and pointed at Peter.

The centaur turned around to see the blond prince alone on the ground with the Witch quickly closing in. Peter stood up just as Oreius and a rhino ran past him, straight towards the Witch.

"Stop!" Peter yelled, but to no avail.

The rhino trampled multiple creatures before falling and Oreius slashed through twice as many, even sticking two swords into the back of a minotaur. Still running, he pulled out yet another broadsword and made a beeline for the Witch, jumping over her polar bears and slashing at her head. She ducked and he narrowly missed her before swiveling back around for another go, but this time she struck him with the spear end of her scepter, turning him to stone mid-swing. I've seen her do it so many times but it still made me stop breathing.

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Y/N'S POV

This was the first time I've seen the White Witch turn someone to stone, and I've decided I really didn't like her. As soon as we recovered from the shock, Edmund and I ran down to fight by Peter who had returned to the other soldiers. I pressed the pipes to my lips and blew, willing the plants around us to twist around the opposing soldiers' feet, allowing our side a window to take them down. Making sure to stay near Edmund, I continued to manipulate the plants to our advantage as he took down enemies with his sword.

As I continued to attack with my magic I could feel my energy deteriorating, "Edmund," I gasped.

He slashed down an ogre, "Yeah?"

I wrapped some vines around an approaching minotaur and stepped back closer to him. "I might need you to cover me for a second."

Edmund turned around, worried as I slouched down against a rock, the world spinning around me. He quickly stepped in front of me and took down a pig-man coming towards us, "Too much magic?"

I only nodded, trying not to pass out. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Witch making her way through the battlefield on foot, turning people to stone as she went. How on earth did she have so much energy left? I could barely keep my eyes open while she cut down soldiers like weeds.

"Edmund!" Peter called from my left, "There's too many! Get out of here!"

Edmund looked at him, bewildered. Peter continued while fighting a minotaur, "Get the girls and get home!"

I shakily stood up and began to make my way over to help but Beaver appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my arm. "You heard him!" He turned to Edmund, "Let's go!"

Edmund hastily picked me up and slung me over his shoulder with surprising strength. I yelped as he ran with Beaver up the rocks and stopped at the top, overlooking the battle. I peered above his head and gasped, the Witch was only twenty or so feet from Peter and advancing quickly. Before I could move, Edmund removed me from his shoulder and sat me down next to Beaver.

"Watch over Y/n." He turned to face the battle, brandishing his sword.

"But Edmund-" I started.

"Sorry Y/n, " He said before beginning to run across the rocks, "But I'm not letting you get hurt because of me again."

"But Peter said to get out of here!" Beaver cried after him.

"Peter's not king yet." He shouted.

I sat up to watch him run across the rocks above the Witch who was aiming her scepter at Peter. Edmund jumped, swinging his sword down in an attempt to destroy her scepter, but at the last moment, she moved out of the way. They stared at each other for a moment in pure hatred until she suddenly stabbed forward, narrowly missing Edmund as he sidestepped. Taking advantage of the position, he quickly slashed down and broke her scepter in two, sending a blast of icy-blue light soaring from it. She snarled, knocking his sword out of the way in one swipe, stabbing once again. This time she did not miss. A scream erupted from my mouth when her spear stabbed through his chainmail armor, and the world went silent.

I couldn't even hear Peter screaming Edmund's name, all I could focus on was Edmund's body as he crumpled to the ground. No, he couldn't be dead, he was only tricking the Witch into thinking he was so he could attack her again. That had to be it, right? I stared at him, waiting for him to get up, completely ignoring the raging battle between Peter and the Witch. When he didn't move, a surge of energy hit me like a truck. I stood up from my spot on the rocks and Beaver tried to tug on my hand but I ignored him, walking with renewed strength towards the Witch.

A deafening roar erupted from the top of the cliff and shocked me out of my silent haze. I looked up and saw someone I thought I would never see again. And he didn't come alone, Susan and Lucy along with Mr. Tumnus and dozens of Narnians stood on the cliff next to Aslan. I smiled briefly before shouts and clanging swords diverted my attention back to the Witch. She had Peter pinned to the ground by a sword in his arm and was about to deliver the final blow. I surged forward while blowing into my pipes and vines shot from the earth, wrapping around the Witch and hoisting her into the air before she could attack. I willed more vines to lift me up towards her just as she swiveled around and struck my vines with her sword. They snapped and sent me tumbling to the ground, the Witch quickly following as she cut her own bindings and fell down, raising her sword to strike. Immediately, I harshly blew into my pipes and grew a tree straight up from her feet. The trunk grew around her, getting thicker and stronger the more it grew, trapping her in that position and only showing her head and arm sticking out.

"You wretch!" She spat, "I should've killed you while I had the chance!"

When the tree had finished growing I lowered my pipes and looked at her, remaining silent. What do you even say to your mortal enemy? I sighed and looked at Aslan who was making his way over.

"I'll take it from here," He said, "You have more important matters to attend to."

I nodded in thanks and ran up the hill, passing the reinforcements on the way up. Now that the adrenaline had disappeared, it became hard to walk, but I kept pushing forward until I reached Edmund's crumpled body.

I collapsed beside him, breathing heavily, "Edmund?"

He only gasped and groaned in response, clutching the stab wound. I moved to sit up but a sudden cry stopped me.

"Y/n, duck!" Susan shot an arrow right above my head, knocking down a dwarf that was about to swing his ax down on us.

"Edmund!" Lucy cried.

They raced over as I sat up and moved to place his head on my lap. I unclasped his helmet and slid it off right as they scrambled down next to us. Peter hovered over him and Susan wrapped my arm around her shoulder to support me while Lucy grabbed the red bottle off of her belt. She took off the lid and tipped the bottle over Edmund's mouth, letting a single drop of red liquid fall into his mouth. He closed his mouth slowly and stilled so much I couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

Panicking, I gently shook his shoulder, tears running down my cheeks. "Ed?"

My heart skipped a beat as he coughed. Susan laughed, unable to contain her relief while Lucy wiped her eyes. Edmund slowly opened his eyes and looked at us for a moment before grinning, meeting my eyes.

"Hi."

Peter tackled him in a hug, trying not to cry but not doing a very good job at it.

He pulled back, "When are you gonna learn to do as you're told?!"

We all laughed and tackled the two in a giant group hug. For once I didn't feel like an outsider, these people had become my family.

Edmund straightened and looked over Peter's shoulder, making all of us do the same. I looked to see Aslan breathing hot air onto a faun that was turned to stone, the faun slowly returned to normal right before my eyes and gasped for air, coming back to life. Beside me, Lucy grinned and clutched her bottle, standing up to run over to a wounded Narnian. And one by one, the Narnians came back.

-Yet another long one lol. I've also given up keeping track of the chapter numbers so there's that. This chapter took so long omg, it's not even good writing. Also, I know Y/n didn't do any physical fighting in this but I mean that's kinda hard to do that with a flute. I hope you liked it, thanks for reading!-

-Mocha