Hazel's P.O.V.
I had waited until nightfall just as Aslan instructed. Susan and Lucy were asleep in our tent. They had tried talking to me all day about what happened with Aslan and the witch, but I couldn't bring myself to tell them. I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone.
Peter had tried to talk to me after what happened, but I couldn't even bring myself to look at him. I told him to not worry about it, but he didn't believe me. He didn't say it, but I could tell that he didn't. I was just praying I wouldn't run into him on my way out. This was already hard enough.
As I put my staff over my shoulder, I heard stirring behind me. I spun around quickly, and saw Lucy flipping over on her other side in her sleep. I sighed in relief because the last thing I wanted to do was to explain everything to Lucy. My eyes fell on Susan and Lucy one last time before I walked out of our tent. It was dark and quiet outside with some centaurs walking around. Aslan and Marcel were in the woods waiting for me like they said they would. Marcel gave me a sad smile, which I returned. I started to walk over to them, but a voice behind me made me stop.
"Where are you going?"
My eyes shut tightly so the tears wouldn't just start spilling from my eyes. I took a deep breath before turning around. Peter stood a couple of feet away from me, and I let out a shaky sigh.
"You should be in bed." I told him, trying to make him leave so this wouldn't be hard. But knowing Peter, it wouldn't be that easy.
"You're really bad at hiding things, you know." He said with a slight laugh as he tried to lighten the mood. I could already tell by the tears building in his eyes that he knew I was leaving. It broke my heart.
"Some things are meant to be left hidden." I told him and he immediately shook his head.
"Not this." He told me as he walked over to me. He stopped in front of me and we were a couple of feet apart. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, but he grabbed both sides of my face and made me look at him.
"I need to protect Narnia. I need to protect your family." I finally said to him when my eyes finally had the courage to meet his.
"How are you protecting us when you're leaving?" He asked me, still so confused on why I was leaving. He didn't want me to leave, which made me heartbroken.
"Don't you see? I'm protecting you by leaving. Peter, this has to be done." I told him, but he took a step closer and he let out a shaky breath as he tried to hold back his tears.
"No, I can't let you go." He said to me quietly. Those words made my hands go up to his face, and his went down to my waist. I pressed my forehead against his, and he immediately relaxed against me.
"It's going to be okay." I whispered to him. My thumb lightly ran over his cheek, and his eyes closed as he relaxed against me.
"Please don't leave us. Please don't leave me." He begged. I bit my lip as I tried to keep my cries inside me, but it wasn't working out that well. I wiped my eyes quickly and I looked back up at him.
My hands pulled his face and I connected our lips. His lips immediately relaxed against mine and his arms wrapped fully around my waist. He didn't want to let go of me, and I didn't want to let go of him either. My hands went to the back of his neck and I pulled him closer. After a few moments, we pulled away slowly and I hugged him tightly. His head rested on my shoulder as he kept me close. I pulled away from the hug and looked at him one last time.
"Protect them, Peter. Keep them safe."
Before he could say anything, I pulled away from him and turned around to walk into the woods. Marcel and Aslan both had their eyes on me sadly, and I didn't even look at them as I walked past. The tears going down my face were unnoticed to me as we walked through the woods. The witch had finally gotten what she wanted, but she had to tear us away from the Pevensies to do it. Marcel and I accepted for only one reason, and that was to keep Edmund alive.
Things were going to look bad from here.
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The three of us walked quietly through the dark woods. None of us said a word. We couldn't find the right words to say, if there was any. I could feel Marcel's eyes keep landing on me. He wanted to talk about what happened with Peter, but there really wasn't much to say at the moment. He just quietly grabbed my hand, and I gave it a squeeze as we walked through the woods.
"Shouldn't you two be in bed?" Aslan suddenly said, which made Marcel and I very confused. Was he talking to us? We both turned around, and all of a sudden, we saw Susan and Lucy walk out of the woods. They had been following us the entire time.
"We couldn't sleep." Lucy said as they started walking towards us.
"Please. Couldn't we come with you?" Susan asked us.
"We could use some more company for a little while." Aslan said to the two girls.
Susan walked over to the left side of Aslan while Lucy ran in between Aslan and I. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it as she stroked Aslan's mane. She gave me a sad smile, still unsure of why Marcel and I were here. I couldn't find the right words to say to her so I just gave her a sad smile back. We walked through the woods for a little while longer in silence. It was comforting knowing that Susan and Lucy were with us, but it made me upset knowing that it wouldn't last long. When I saw the light from the fire ahead, I knew that it was time.
"It is time," Aslan said looking up at Marcel and I, "From here, we must go alone."
"But Aslan-" Susan started but Aslan cut her off.
"You have to trust me on this. For this must be done." Aslan said. He looked over at Marcel and I and we both had our heads down.
"Thank you, Susan. Thank you, Lucy. And farewell." Aslan said. He gave us a sad look and started to walk ahead. I bent down and gave Lucy a hug.
"Thank you for everything." I said as I hugged her. We pulled away, and she looked confused and like she was about to cry.
"Where are you going?" She asked me. A sad smile formed on my face and I placed my hand on her cheek.
"You have to trust me. Everything is going to be alright." I told her. A couple of tears fell down her cheek, but I was quick to wipe them away. I placed a kiss on her forehead before I stood up and walked over to Susan. Marcel bent down and hugged Lucy tightly. Susan gave me a small sad smile and tears built up in her eyes. We hugged each other quickly and tightly. Susan and I had gotten very close ever since I met her. Not only was she my best friend, but she was my sister.
"Promise me something." I told her, "Look after Peter for me."
"But just tell me-"
"Susan, promise me." I told her as I pulled away. She looked at me for a moment before nodding her head.
"I promise." She whispered, finally starting to figure out what was about to happen. She was smart, and I knew she would figure it out eventually.
"Hazel, we have to go." Marcel said to me as he had his arm around Lucy.
I sadly smiled before looking at Susan one last time. Marcel looked down at Lucy and gave her shoulder one last squeeze before pulling away. I walked away from Susan and we walked over to Aslan. He walked in between Marcel and I as we kept walking until we reached the opening to the stairs. The witch's people, or otherwise know as creatures, as stood around the stairs. As we walked up the stairs, the filthy creatures growled at us, mainly Aslan. They parted for us as we walked up the stairs. The only thing that allowed us to see where we were going was the torches. I looked up and saw the witch step up onto the stone table. She was wearing a black dress and she held a dagger in her hand. Once we reached the front of the table, I took in a deep breath as I realized that I was not prepared for what I was about to watch happen.
"Behold. The great lion." The witch said and all of her creatures started to laugh. Marcel and I looked at each other before looking down at Aslan, who just had his head down. My eyes went back up to the witch, and this was the only time I looked at here with tears in my eyes.
"Before we begin, let my children join me upon the Stone Table." She said.
Her creatures started to cheer for us loudly. Before we could even say anything, her creatures grabbed our arms and pulled us onto the Stone Table. We stood on either side of her and I started feeling shaky as I looked down on all of her people. But I better get used to it. A big Minotaur walked over to Aslan, and I jumped lightly when the Minotaur used his large axe to push Aslan over. He fell to the ground and he just laid there with a sad look on his face. I would walk around to Marcel, but I couldn't move. I was frozen in fear.
"Bind him!" The witch shouted. Some dwarfs and old hags started tying Aslan's move and paws together. I looked up into the distance, and my eyes widened when I saw Susan and Lucy hiding and watching in the distance. I looked back up at the witch, and I was just praying that she didn't see them.
"Wait!" The witch shouted and her minions stopped, "First, let him be shaved."
The creatures started laughing and the dwarfs and hags took out their knives. They started cutting off all of Aslan's hair from his mane. My hand covered my mouth as Aslan watched Marcel and I. Tears threatened to spill as I watched him lay there helplessly, but the look he gave me told me that it was going to be okay. In that moment, I wasn't sure if he was right.
The creatures pulled Aslan up onto the Stone Table in front of the witch. Her creatures started cheering loudly for what was about to happen. Marcel walked around the witch and hugged me comfortingly. The witch waved her hand and her minions became quiet. All that could be heard was my heavy breathing. Her hags started slowly hitting their staffs on the ground, making a loud drumming sound. The witch smiled evilly and bent down next to Aslan.
"You know, Aslan, I'm a little disappointed in you. Did you honestly think by all of this that you could save the human traitor? Even my children thought by giving themselves up to me that he would be spared. So much for love." She said. She looked up at Marcel and I, and we glared at her. She wasn't laying a hand on the Pevensies. We may be on her side now, or at least she thinks we are, but it wasn't going to happen. The witch stood up and faced her people.
"Tonight, the Deep Magic will be appeased! But tomorrow, we will take Narnia forever!" She shouted and everyone around us started cheering loudly. The drumming sound got much faster and louder, and I looked down at Aslan. He looked very worried, and it made me look away from him. I couldn't watch this. I looked out at Susan and Lucy and they looked at me sadly. I turned back up to Marcel and he had tears built up in his eyes too.
"In that knowledge, despair," The witch said and I felt my heart pounding, "And die!"
The witch bent down and stabbed Aslan with the dagger. I gasped and covered my mouth when I saw Aslan jolt in pain. He took one last breath and his head fell back onto the Stone Table. I looked out and saw Lucy and Susan hugging each other as they cried. Marcel and I hugged each other tightly as we cried for Aslan.
"The great cat is dead!" The witch shouted and everyone started cheering. She closed her eyes and took in the moment she had been waiting for. She looked up at the large Minotaur and he walked over to her.
"Prepare your troops for battle." She told him, which made my eyes widen. Someone had to warn Peter and the others that the witch was coming. Someone had to let them know that Aslan was dead. The witch turned to Marcel and I, and she smiled at us as she stood up.
"Prepare yourselves, children. You've been ready for this for a long time. Welcome home." She said and it made me cringe inside. She would never be our home. She may be our mother, but she's not. She never would be.
"Escort my children back to camp. Make them feel welcome." She told two old hags.
They grabbed our arms and led us off the Stone Table and into the woods. I couldn't help but start crying quietly. Aslan was now dead, and the witch wanted to go to battle against Peter and the Narnians. I had left Peter and the Narnians to keep Edmund safe. She said she wouldn't hurt him if Marcel and I joined her and if Aslan had taken his place. We should've known that she lied about it. Hopefully Susan and Lucy warn Peter in time. He had to get everyone ready.
What have we gotten ourselves into?
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Omg they finally kissed!!!! I'm sorry if the kiss scene sucked. I'm not the best at writing those scenes. Hopefully you all felt it like I did.XD
I'm working really hard to finish this book so I can start on the sequel. I really hope you all have enjoyed this story so far and I hope you continue to enjoy it!
Please let me know what you all though because seeing your thoughts always makes me happy!