The Line of Duty

Chapter 7

"Come on! Keep your sword up like Oreius showed us!" Peter ordered.

"En guard!" Edmund jeered, clanging his sword against Peter's.

 "Now block!"

Beaver suddenly came rushing over with Arlo at his side. Aras and the two sisters hurried over to the others with concerned expressions.

"You'd better come quick! The Witch has demanded a meeting with Aslan. She's on her way there!" Beaver panted hurriedly.

Aras swung up onto Arlo while the sisters hopped on behind their brothers and bolted towards the camp. When they arrived, Aras moved to stand close to Aslan while the Pevensies stayed in the crouds.

"Jadis! The queen of Narnia! Empress of the Lone Islands!" The dwarf proclaimed as the Witch was carried through the camp on a bier lifted by four cyclops'. 

Once set on the ground, the Witch rose from her seat and sauntered towards Aslan. "You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan."

A wave of gasp surged over the Narnians.

"His offence was not against you." Aslan replied, calmly. 

"Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?" The Witch taunted.

"Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch! I was there when it was written." Aslan growl through his words, his anger evident.

"Then you'll remember well that every traitor belongs to me. ... His blood is my property."

Peter drew his sword and raised it at the Witch, "Try and take him then!"

"Do you think that a mere force can deny me my right, little king?" The Witch mocked. 

"Your right to him is like your claim to Narnia itself, Jadis, non-existent." Aras snarled, her hand placed over the grip of her sword.

The Witch's eyes widened at the Guardian's insult, but returned to its original seriousness, "Perhaps if you'd done your duty better, Guardian, we would not be in this position."

Though she stood firm, Peter could see that the Witch's jab had affected her, but she did well to not let it show.  

The Witch smirked at Aras, both knowing her words had a deeper meaning than just the fate of Edmund, she then turned to back to the situation at hand, "Aslan knows that unless I have blood as the law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water. That boy will die on the Stone Table...as is tradition. ... You dare not refuse me." The Witch directed her last statement to Aslan.

"Enough...I shall talk with you alone." Aslan declared. The Lion turned and walked into his tent leaving no room for argument. The Witch followed him, sure to brush pass Aras as she went. 

The Guardian herself kept her vision forward, determined to not let the Witch get under her skin. What felt like hours passed since Aslan and the Witch disappeared into the tent, many had resorted to sitting on the ground, the odd word was exchanged between the Narnians but eventually they all fell silent. Peter's eyes drifted to Aras, who had remained standing. Her face was set in a mask of seriousness, her eyes scanned cautiously over the Witch's followers as though she expected them to suddenly attack. Finally, Aslan and the Witch emerged from the tent each returning to their original positions. Everyone stood once more, anxiously waiting the answer.

"She has renounced her claim on the son of Adam's blood." Aslan proclaimed, though his voice made Aras ask herself, 'At what cost?'

The Narnians rejoiced and the Pevensies smiled in relief.

"How do I know your promise will be kept?" The Witch demanded.

Aslan let out a vicious roar that sat the Witch down quickly. The Narnians laughed and resumed their cheering as the Witch and her army left the camp. Aras watched the lion, knowing he'd done more than just persuade the Witch to give up Edmund. Aslan looked at the young girl with sad eyes before retreating once more into his tent. But Aras was not finished with him. She followed Aslan inside like a storm and positioned herself in the centre of the tent.

"What have you done? She would not have given Edmund up so easily." Aras furiously waited the Lion's response.

Aslan sighed with his back to her, knowing that she would not leave without the truth. "It had to be done, his life is far more important..." He trailed off, not wanting to complete his sentence.

"More important than what?" Aras snapped, growing tired of his delaying.

"More important than mine." Aslan finished, turning to face her.

Aras was silent for a few moments, watching his face to see if he was merely fooling her. But the look in his eyes held no lie. "No." Aras shook her head in denial. "You cannot, they need you too much for you to sacrifice yourself." Aras ran a hand through her gold locks frustrated. "Send me in your stead, my life is far less valuable than yours."

"No!" Aslan denied. "It is done. And the Kings and Queens need you, Aras. It is your duty to protect them."

"If I had done so properly this would not be happening. This is all my fault." Aras fell to her knees before the Lion, never had she felt so vulnerable.

"This is of no fault of yours, dear Aras. This is the path fate has chosen for us."

Aras felt tears threaten in the corner of her eyes, she leaned forward and threw her arms around Aslan's neck, fisting her hands in his shaggy mane. "You cannot go, I cannot lose you."

Aslan turned his head and placed a paw over her shoulder to comfort her. "You need to be strong, Aras. I know you are. And this is not the end, we will see each other again."  

 What the true meaning of his words were, Aras did not know. But he was right, she needs to be strong, for the sake of the Kings and Queens, if the prophecy is to be fufilled, she would need to give every ounce of strength and courage she has. And she was more than willing to, for Narnia, and for Aslan.