The Witch left Aslan there. Perhaps she intended to return for him after the war, to make a further mockery of the great lion. But, Maggie thought with great satisfaction, that would never happen. Once the three girls were certain the Witch's forces had all gone, they darted from their hiding place, rushing up to the table.
Lucy climbed the steps right in front and sat beside Aslan. She reached for her cordial, but Susan gently stopped her.
"It's too late," she said softly. "He's gone..."
She made her way over and climbed the stairs to the left while Maggie went to the ones on the right.
Maggie's heart was so unbearably heavy. Knowing the truth of the matter couldn't help her in this moment. To see him lying there with no life and no breath, it was hard to believe he would be back. But as she turned her gaze to the stars above, they said just the same as they had before. Hope.
Still, hope couldn't stop her tears from falling.
"He must have known what he was doing," Susan whispered, resting her hand on the back of his head.
Lucy's face scrunched up with tears, and she leaned close to Aslan, resting against his great head as she softly petted his nose. Susan hugged his neck, crying as well, and Maggie laid herself across his middle, sobbing freely when she couldn't feel the rise and fall of his breath.
Just then, a curious little noise drew the attention of the three girls. They all sat up, searching for the source of the noise. All along the ropes that bound Aslan, clusters of mice had formed.
"Get away!" Susan cried. "Get away, all of you!"
"No," Lucy said, realizing something. "Look..."
The mice were not, as Susan had thought, chewing away at Aslan, but rather, at the ropes that held him. Of course, Maggie realized. When Aslan came back, he would need to be untied. These mice had been summoned by Deep Magic.
Susan began to undo the ties as well, and Lucy drew her dagger to cut through the more stubborn knots. Maggie helped the mice by pulling away the bits they had chewed through. In mere seconds, Aslan was free. At least some of his dignity had been restored.
"We have to tell the others..." Susan said.
"We can't just leave him!" Lucy protested, and Maggie had to agree.
"Lucy, there's no time," Susan insisted. "They need to know."
She was right, of course. But Maggie couldn't leave Aslan's side, not when she knew what she knew. Luckily, Lucy saved her from having to come up with an excuse.
"The trees!" she whispered urgently.
Susan's pained expression lifted at that. "They can carry our message..." she reasoned.
"And we can stay with Aslan," Maggie said.
Lucy turned to rush towards the treeline, but a swirl of leaves was already beginning to form before the Table.
"Your Majesties..." spoke the form. "It does my heart good to see the three of you on this night of tragedy."
Lucy tentatively waved, keeping one hand secured in Aslan's mane for comfort.
"Can you send word to our brothers?" Susan asked her. "They must know about all this... and of the Witch's plan."
The dryad nodded. "We shall see it done."
Quickly, the leaves of her form scattered in a soft breeze, floating back to the forest where another tree took up the call. The wind carried all kinds of leaves from tree to tree until the three girls could no longer see them.
"What do we do now?" Maggie asked softly.
"We stay," Lucy said. "We watch over him..."
Susan nodded resolutely, looking sadly at the great lion once more.
"We'll stay until morning... and after the battle, we'll come back for him. To put him to rest properly..."
Maggie said nothing.
Lucy rested her head against Aslan's, gently petting him.
All three girls stayed there in silence, until one by one, they drifted off into a wearisome slumber. The exhaustion of grief had finally caught up to them all.
The next thing Maggie was aware of was a soft gray light behind her eyelids. The light of day, though hidden by clouds, gently roused her, alongside the crick in her neck from sleeping atop the Stone Table with only Aslan for a pillow.
Beside her, Susan and Lucy also sat up, taking in the now-lit surroundings.
"We should go..." Susan said.
Maggie didn't know how to tell her they needed to stay without giving away the truth of the matter.
"But..." she started, faltering for an excuse.
"They need us in the battle, Maggie," Susan said in a firm but kind tone. "It's what Aslan would have wanted."
Maggie sighed and stood from the Table, along with Lucy. There was nothing to be done about the matter, so it seemed.
"I'm so cold," Lucy said as Susan took them both under her arms. Indeed, since last night, they all had felt the presence of the White Witch's power, as if Aslan's death had brought back a small taste of her wintery bite.
The three girls paused at the top of the stairs, taking one last look at Aslan, before they turned to go. They hadn't gone but two steps when a sudden wind howled through the valley, accompanied by a great crack that rang through the air. The very ground beneath them shook with a great quake that sent all of them tumbling to the ground. Susan took hold of Lucy and Maggie so that they wouldn't tumble down the stairs.
Maggie immediately looked to the Stone Table. What she saw put a great smile on her face, but before she could remark on it, Lucy cried out worriedly.
"Susan, Maggie, look!"
The three of them hurried back up to the Table. Just like the great slab of stone in Maggie's dream, it had been split down the middle by a great crack. Aslan was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Aslan?" Lucy asked just then.
"What have they done?" Susan asked. She must have thought the Witch's soldiers had put some sort of curse over the Table.
Suddenly, the clouds parted behind the stone frame, revealing the glory of the blazing sun, shining out behind the great lion himself. There he stood, his mane restored to its full glory. Aslan seemed even more full of life than he had been before, if that was even possible.
"Aslan!" Maggie said happily, just at the same time as the other two exclaimed in relief. All of them rushed forward and threw their arms around him. He came to meet them halfway, chuckling as the force of their affection nearly sent him back a step. Gently, he nuzzled each of them comfortingly in turn.
"But we saw the knife!" Susan exclaimed. "The Witch..."
"If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the Deep Magic differently," Aslan replied. He led them around the Table, nodding to the inscription along the sides. "That when a willing victim who has committed no treachery is killed in a traitor's stead, the Stone Table will crack... and even death itself will turn backwards.
"We sent the news that you were dead," Susan recalled. "Peter and Edmund will have gone to war."
"It had to happen that way," Maggie explained softly.
Before Susan could ask what she meant, Lucy drew her dagger. "We have to help them," she said.
Aslan chuckled fondly and gently put the dagger down with his paw. "We will, dear one, but not alone. Climb on my back." He laid down so they could more easily reach, and the girls happily obeyed. "We have far to go," he continued, "And little time to get there." Once they were all secure, he stood again. "And you may want to cover your ears..."
With that warning given, he gave a great roar, as if celebrating his return to life. Quickly, he took off running, not back towards the way they had come, but in the opposite direction, away from the camp and the battlefield.
"Where are we going?" Susan asked at last.
Aslan didn't answer, but, as it turned out, there was no need for him too. At that moment, the Witch's castle became visible over the tops of the trees. Where before, it had looked so intimidating, now it seemed that its power of fear had faded with the winter. The icy spires were drastically out of place amidst the beautiful, sparkling waters of the lake. In truth, it was almost pitiful.
"Hang on!" Aslan called. He swiftly carried them over the bridge and into the courtyard. The first time they had all been here, Maggie had been terrified of what lay behind these gates, but with Aslan at her side, all of those fears now melted away.
Inside the courtyard, the Witch's collection of statues scattered the path. All kinds of creatures stood frozen there before them; satyrs, centaurs, and big cats of all kinds... Edmund had told them of Tumnus' fate just the previous week. Lucy had been heartbroken, but remained strong. Now, the youngest girl rushed through the courtyard, searching for the faun, with Maggie close behind.
There were a fair few fauns there, but none of them were their dear friend. Most were wearing armor... Finally, they caught sight of a statue. The faun wore an unmistakably familiar scarf. Lucy stood frozen in front of him. Maggie felt numb inside. She hugged Lucy tightly, fighting back tears. Lucy couldn't stop her sobs when Susan wrapped her arms around them both.
Aslan came over to them. Maggie turned her attention to him. He stepped up close to Tumnus and gave a great sigh, his breath washing over the statue, rustling through the faun's hair despite the stone. It was quite curious, what happened next. Faintly, the thump of a heartbeat could be heard. Then, with an odd, crackling sound, color began to return to Mister Tumnus's face. The stone transformed back into flesh, and the faun began to breathe again. When the transformation was complete, he nearly fell forward, but Lucy and Maggie caught him. Maggie couldn't keep the smile from her face.
Tumnus looked up, his face brightening with a smile when he recognized the two of them.
"Susan," Lucy called, "This is--"
"Mister Tumnus!" Susan said happily, hugging the faun tightly.
Before Tumnus had a chance to respond, Aslan's voice rang out.
"Come," he called to them. Behind him, an assortment of other Narnians had also been freed from the stone forms. "We must hurry and search the castle. Peter will need everyone we can find."
And so, that's just what they did. Tumnus and Lucy went off one way, while Susan and Maggie took the other corridor. The Narnians from the courtyard joined them, and soon, the whole castle had been scoured. Aslan led the troops outside where they assembled, ready for battle. There were gryphons and bears, and even a giant, all of them quite happy to see Aslan at long last. When he told them of the battle, each and every one of the Narnians rescued from the Witch's castle eagerly volunteered to help. They were all too eager for justice. And so, they were off to the battlefield, ready to stop the Witch.
They arrived just in time, as it seemed. Rom the top of the hill, Maggie could see Peter standing right in front of the Witch, both of them momentarily distracted by Aslan's presence. When Jadis tried to take advantage of Peter's attention, Maggie quickly found a trusty Narnian horse to carry her down into the fray. She would have to be sure to learn his name later.
Aslan easily outraced all of the troops, headed straight for the Witch. Maggie trusted him to save Peter, and focused on firing arrow after arrow to thin out the Witch's army. Her new friend, a midnight-colored stallion, nimbly maneuvered them through the chaos. The troops that had been rescued from the castle easily tilted the scales in their favor. Those dark creatures stood no chance.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maggie saw the Witch knock Peter to the ground, and her heart nearly stopped, but just before Jadis could deliver the fatal blow, Aslan appeared. He leapt out of nowhere and pinned the Witch down. Within moments, it was over. Maggie's horse friend brought her over to Peter, and she slipped down from his back to wrap him in a tight hug.
"Peter, you're alright!" she said happily. He held her tightly, looking back at Aslan in amazement. Maggie turned her attention to him as well.
"It is finished," Aslan said simply, looking at them both.
Suddenly, from behind them, Lucy and Susan came running up, calling for Peter. He turned, smiling in relief when he saw them, and he took Lucy into his arms without hesitation. Susan, however, noticed something wrong.
"Where's Edmund?"
Peter's face dropped, and he took off running, the girls close behind. He must have seen Edmund fall, because Peter knew right where to go. When the four of them got there, Ginarrbrik the dwarf was ready to let his axe fall on Edmund, but Susan's arrow easily took him down. Despite the gravity of the situation, Maggie couldn't help but feel a little proud that the older girl had finally learned to trust in her bow.
The children quickly ran over to kneel at Edmund's side. He was gasping for breath, barely hanging on. Susan pulled his helmet off, tilting his head so he might get more air.
"Lucy, your cordial!" Maggie said urgently.
Lucy took it from her belt and unstoppered the top. Delicately, she let one single drop fall into Edmund's mouth. They all waited breathlessly... but Edmund went still. Peter's face twisted with grief, and Lucy and Susan began to cry. Maggie gripped the sleeve of Peter's chain mail, trying to stifle her own sobs, when suddenly, Edmund gasped for breath. He gave a couple of small coughs, then opened his eyes, looking up at the other four in confusion.
Peter pulled him into a tight hug.
"When are you gonna learn to do as you're told?" he laughed in relief.
All five of them pulled each other close, holding the others tightly. Finally, their little family was safe. They only reluctantly broke apart when Edmund noticed Aslan drawing near. Curiously, they all watched as he breathed life back into one of the Witch's stone victims. The two boys watched in amazement, not having seen this particular bit of magic yet.
Lucy looked down at her cordial, then at a fallen soldier. With a quick grin at the others, she ran over to the injured faun and gave a drop to him, then she went on to a nearby centaur, and so forth and so forth. She tended to the wounded and dying while Aslan restored the stone soldiers.
Maggie found her horse friend, whose name she learned to be Haveron, and they set about scouring the hills for victims for Aslan and Lucy to aid. Along the way, Clemendia spotted them and galloped over.
"My lady!" she said with a smile. "How good it is to see you..."
"And you!" Maggie said leaning over to hug her. Clemendia seemed surprised by that, but she returned the gesture nevertheless. It was then Maggie noticed that Clemendia's look of relief was accompanied by a shadow of grief.
"What's wrong?"
Clemendia looked away, stamping her front hooves.
"It's Oreius..." she replied at last. "The Witch turned him to stone during the battle..." Brave warrior that she was, Clemendia did not let her tears fall, though Maggie could tell that it pained her greatly.
"Then we must find him and show him to Aslan!" Maggie said. "He can break the spell! Where is Oreius?"
Clemendia seemed hopeful as she led the way there. Aslan came alongside them as they walked, and when they arrived, gently breathed over Oreius. Just as with all the others, the stone slowly melted away, leaving a living, breathing Narnian behind. As the last of the spell vanished, the sword fell from Oreius' hand, and he stumbled as his hooves met the ground once more, but Clemendia reached out to steady him.
Oreius paused when he saw her. Neither of them seemed to want to let go first, and the look they shared seemed to last forever, until they both realized they had a trio of observers standing mere feet away. Oreius cleared his throat and stepped back.
"My lady..." he said with a nod to Clemendia.
Her tail swished back and forth in embarrassment, but she nodded to him in return.
Maggie grinned at them both knowingly. "Well I'll just leave you two be... Haveron and I are off to find anymore of the living."
Without waiting for a reply, Haveron carried them both away.
"Do you think they'll tell each other how they feel?" she asked him with a giggle.
Haveron snorted in amusement as he galloped along the rock paths.
"Centaurs are wise, but wisdom does not equate to common sense," he said. "Especially in matters of the heart."
Once the last wounded soldier had been healed and the last stone Narnian had been restored, Aslan led a great procession to Cair Paravel, where, immediately upon arrival, the five children were whisked away to be tended to. Their injuries were cleaned and dressed, they were given thorough baths, and then, they were each presented with a fresh set of clothes.
Apparently, there were many preparations to be made before the crowning ceremony could actually take place, but in a few days' time, the five would officially be named Kings and Queens. Until then, they were quite eager to explore Cair Paravel.
Over the days to come, Maggie learned the quickest ways to get from room to room. Susan discovered a few secluded balconies where they all might go to get away if needed, and Edmund found three hidden alcoves. Lucy showed the others to a beautiful tapestry, hidden away in a treasury room, and Peter brought them up to the lookout towers to show them the view from above. With their combined explorations, the five children had quite thoroughly gotten the layout of the castle by the time the coronation day came.
Every soldier wore ceremonial armor. Some held Narnian banner proudly for all to see. All that could fit had gathered there in the throne room, and everyone else lined the pathways and staircases outside. At the entrance, awaiting their cue, the children waited alongside Aslan, each dressed in the most magnificent finery any of them had ever seen in their lives.
At the far end of Aslan's left side, Edmund wore a tunic of pale blue with gray embroidery, with boots of midnight blue. His trousers were an even lighter shade of blue, and the cape around his shoulders almost seemed to be made of pure silver. To his right, Peter was similarly dressed in a green tunic, gold embroidered, with golden boots, trousers, and a shining gold cloak. At the end of the line to Aslan's right, Lucy stood beaming. Her attention-grabbing red cape was embroidered with a soft gold pattern, and it complemented her pale green dress beautifully. To her left, Susan's midnight blue cape with a silver pattern draped over a gorgeous gold-decorated blue gown.
Directly on Aslan's right, Maggie waited with eager fidgeting, trying not to wrinkle her dress of emerald green. She was rather proud that she and Peter matched ever so slightly, as she did look up to him so. Her gown was embroidered with silver thread, and her cape was a beautiful pale amethyst.
When the horns sounded, Aslan led the five down the aisle where two parallel rows of centaurs stood at the ready with their swords drawn into an archway. He took them up to the dais where five ivory thrones awaited, standing proudly before an intricate stained-glass window. Each throne had an engraving that represented each of them. On Edmund's, at the far left, there was the sword that Oreius had given to him. Next, for Peter, his sword, which Aslan had dubbed Rhindon, was masterfully recreated in the stone. In the middle came Maggie's, with the symbol of a compass, like one might find in the key of a map. Then, Susan's depicted the horn Father Christmas had gifted her, and finally, Lucy's was of her cordial.
As the five children moved to stand before their thrones, Aslan turned to address the crowd.
"To the Glistening Eastern Sea," he began. "I give you Queen Lucy, The Valiant."
The Beavers came up to the dais, carrying five crowns on a set of velvet pillows. Mister Tumnus, who was wearing a brand new scarf of emerald-colored velvet, took the first crown, a delicate circlet of silver with pale white flowers adorning it, and placed it upon Lucy's head.
"To the Great Western Wood," Aslan continued, as Tumnus placed a grand, silver crown on Edmund's head, "King Edmund, the Just."
Next, he picked up a gold crown with yellow flowers as Aslan called out, "To the Radiant Southern Sun, Queen Susan, the Gentle."
Then, Tumnus brought a grand crown of gold over to Peter, the largest one of them all.
"To the clear Northern Sky," Aslan said, "King Peter, The Magnificent."
Now, only one crown remained. To Maggie, Tumnus brought a delicate but sturdy crown of some unknown metal as black as the night sky. Similar in design to Lucy and Susan's, it was inlaid with a scattering of small diamonds that sparkled like stars.
"And to the splendid Heavens above that unite all lands," Aslan said, "I give you the Lady of the Stars, Queen Margaret, the Resilient."
Margaret. Aslan had just sealed her fate with that, she thought to herself, though she was more amused than displeased. Here in Narnia, the name felt more right to her. Almost as if her time in Narnia had turned her into a new person.
All five of them sat upon their thrones, and Aslan turned to look at them proudly.
"Once a King or Queen of Narnia," he said to them knowingly, "Always a King or Queen. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."
Then, he turned to the crowd, and they too took up the call as he declared, "Long live King Edmund! Long live King Peter! Long live Queen Margaret! Long live Queen Susan! Long live Queen Lucy!"
As the cheers went down the line of the thrones, each of the children smiled at their names being called. The Narnians' happiness was tangible in that moment, as if all the land were touched by some great magic. It was a moment to last forever.