serendipity - narnia

chapter 22

Chapter 22
A Second Round of Bad Decisions

Dahlia leaned against the stone wall of the How's main room. In spite of her near-fatal injury, she'd refused to find a quiet place to rest ("I slept for 1300 years, Ed"). Lucy and Susan sat on the ground near her; none of the girls made any attempt at a conversation, choosing instead to watch the activity in the room. War preparations had resumed because most of their weapons and armor stayed in the Telemarine courtyard with their dead owners.

The mage hadn't spoken to Peter or Caspian since her outburst when they first returned, and as far as she knew they hadn't spoken to each other either. Hopelessness had settled over most of their army. Their numbers had been halved by the night raid and they had no plan. No one thought it could get worse.

But apparently they had truly awful luck, because Dahlia's necklace started glowing. Susan and Lucy were safe beside her, so Dahlia scanned the room for the brothers. She spotted Edmund and Peter not far away, deep in conversation with Trumpkin. They didn't appear to be in any danger, but the necklace wouldn't be glowing unless there was a reason. And there was one royal member of their party that was unaccounted for.

"Caspian," Dahlia muttered under her breath. Susan and Lucy glanced up at her, rushing to stand when they saw her begin to panic. She'd assumed that her necklace glowing at the Telemarine castle was a result of Susan and Peter, but the more she thought about it she realized that Caspian had been the only one with a weapon aimed at him. "Caspian!" That drew the attention of the Pevensie boys and Trumpkin. Dahlia didn't give them a chance to ask any questions. She broke out into a sprint, miraculously knowing to go to the Stone Table room. The Pevensies and Trumpkin grabbed their weapons and chased after her. Dahlia almost forgot how to breathe when they entered the chamber.

"Stop!" Peter cried as the mage slid to a halt. Across the room, suspended between two stone pillars, was a sheet of ice. Within that ice was the image of a woman. The White Witch. And in front of her was Caspian with his hand outstretched.

Dahlia ran around the Stone Table, dodging attacks from a werewolf, a disgusting vulture-like hag, and Nikabrik (the Caspian-hating dwarf who had evidently decided to try and get the Witch back). As her companions handled those three, Dahlia shoved Caspian to the floor and faced Jadis. A horrid smile spread across the Witch's face; Dahlia fought her gut instinct to run away. She risked a glance at Caspian before refocusing on the Witch. They only locked eyes for a second but she could tell he was horrified even though, from what Dahlia saw, Caspian was involved in the Witch's return.

"Ah, the little mage," the Witch crooned. Dahlia clenched her jaw and conjured two fireballs, fully prepared to try and melt the magic ice wall. "Oh no, there's no need to fight me, little one. Join me." The mage watched as the Witch broke one hand through the sheet of ice. "Together we'll be extraordinary." Dahlia's hands were trembling. She could hear her friends fighting behind her, but she couldn't even move to help them. It was almost like she was frozen in place.

"No," Dahlia managed to whisper. She tried to force herself to step back but she couldn't. Someone grabbed her arms and she tried to squirm away, but relaxed when she realized it was only Peter. The High King held his sword towards the Witch, pushing Dahlia behind him. The mage kept one hand on his arm to hold herself up, her legs weak and shaky with fear; she hated that the Witch still had that effect on her. Jadis looked taken aback for a second before quickly recovering and shifting her manipulation attempts to Peter.

"Peter, dear. I've missed you," the Witch said as she pushed her hand back through the ice. "Come. Just one drop." She reached her arm out further; Dahlia immediately understood that she needed a drop of his blood to return. Human blood was often a key ingredient in dark potions and spells. She knew this because her parents had spent a lot of time warning Dahlia never to meddle with dark magic. "You know you can't do this alone." Slowly, hesitantly, Peter began to lower his sword.

"Peter..." Dahlia said carefully, squeezing his arm. Caspian stood up beside them, cautiously moving towards Dahlia and Peter. The Witch suddenly gasped, and the tip of a sword protruded from the ice where her stomach was. Cracks formed in the Witch's wall, which abruptly shattered into huge chunks of ice. Dahlia quickly formed an energy shield around herself, Peter, and Caspian.

Edmund stood where the ice wall had been, sword still raised. Dahlia dropped the shield and held out her hands, floating him over the pile of ice. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him once he landed, still shaken from the Witch's presence. Edmund didn't hesitate to return the hug; he knew the traumatizing effect of the White Witch better than anyone.

The just king pulled away once he was certain the mage had calmed down, then turned to glare at Peter with one arm still around Dahlia's shoulders.

"I know. You had it sorted," Edmund said bitingly before leaving Dahlia's side and stalking towards the exit. The mage started after him, brushing past Caspian when he tried to talk to her.

"Get rid of the bodies," the mage said, her tone bitter as she gestured to the corpses of the werewolf, the hag, and Nikabrik. She wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and steered her out of the room after Edmund with Susan and Trumpkin trailing behind them.