The Prince and I

14 - The battle

When she arrived, she was horrified to see a battle already starting. Miraz lay in the centre, dead, a red arrow sticking out of his chest. But that wasn't stopping the Telmarines from attacking. The Narnians were coming from all different directions, and she could see some coming up from inside the ground too. She focused her thoughts on one thing, and felt the magic flow freely.

Caspian suddenly looked down at his chest. A white rose has materialised, and that could only mean one thing.

Willow.

He spotted her standing alone, at the side of the field, and she looked up at him. They locked eyes, and she gave him a nod, before motioning to the ground.

"Halt!" Caspian shouted, and the Narnians paused, unsure as to why they were stopping.

There was a fleeting moment of silence, a second of peace.

And then Willow sent her hand crashing to the ground, and it opened up. The crack spread towards the Telmarines, carefully avoiding any Narnians, and those who stood there fell into the open ground. They struggled to get out again, and the Narnians took the opportunity to charge. Every single one ran, weapons held high, and Susan and the archers let the arrows fly free.

Willow was battling Telmarines left and right, using thorny vines and branches to stop them from moving. She paralysed enemies using poisonous flowers, and let them fall into the open ground.

She worked her way over the field, and felt a familiar hand reach out and grab her arm. Caspian lifted her onto his horse, and together, they took down more and more Telmarines.

"I'm sorry!" She yelled over the noise of the battle, and she heard him chuckle.

"Not really the time, Willow!" Caspian laughed, as he sliced yet another Telmarine.

"Oh, right. But I am!"

"I am too!" He called back, and she smiled to herself before taking down another enemy and binding them in vines.

"Where's Lucy?"

"Off to find Aslan!"

"Alone?!"

"I'm sure she's fine, Willow. But we have bigger problems to handle right now!"
Caspian suddenly pointed to the cannons the Telmarines had, and Willow shouted over to Peter, alarmed.

"Get us back inside!" She yelled, but the entrance was blocked off by rocks thrown from the Telmarine side.

They were losing the battle, but no one was giving up. They horses had run away, so they ran towards the enemy, swords raised, and fought.

Willow and Caspian worked side by side, her creating bindings and branches, him slicing down the bound enemies. Willow had a sudden idea, and turned to Caspian.

"Please don't call me tree girl." She said, and he looked confused.

"Why would I call you-" But he never finished.

She was standing very still, humming faintly, and he finally saw what she meant. All the trees surrounding them had awoken, and were crashing through the battle. The others looked at her in amazement as she commanded the trees to fight, and they merged themselves into the battle. They wrapped around the cannons, squeezing until they broke under the pressure, and more and more came over to help.

Willow knew, deep down, that she wasn't doing it alone, and she somehow knew that Lucy had some influence too. She didn't know how, she just did. They cheered, and she smiled, feeling the power surge through her.

"For Aslan!" She yelled, and the Narnians charged.

But the Telmarines had other ideas. "To the bridge!" They shouted, and their whole army ran back into the forest behind them.

They led the battle to the river, and the Narnians followed suit. But Willow knew with a sinking feeling that she'd only be able to help for a little longer, because she had no control over the water.

But still she fought. She found a sword, and used it to take down the Telmarines, one by one, and found she was much better with it than she remembered.

But the Narnians stopped as the Telmarines formed a line with their shields, stopping them from going any further.

Willow was standing between Caspian and Susan, and she nudged Susan's arm. "Lucy." She whispered, and Susan looked up.

Sure enough, Lucy was standing, alone, on the other side of the bridge. She withdrew a tiny knife, and held it out, smiling. And then Aslan appeared beside her, and the Telmarines backed up slightly. But after a moments hesitation, they began to charge into the water and across the bridge, towards Aslan and Lucy.

But Aslan let out a mighty roar, and the water suddenly rose up, twisting itself into the shape of a human. The water thrashed and swept away the majority of the Telmarines, and Willow watched in awe as the bridge was lifted up and broken in two. The Telmarines were washed away, and there was no sign of them, besides the few hundred that were left on the shore, who immediately surrendered.

The five of them waded through the water, and up to where Aslan and Lucy stood.

They all knelt before him, and Willow could feel the power radiating off of him.

"Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia." He said, and the three Pevensie children stood up. "All of you." Aslan added, and Caspian looked up, hope in his eyes, and stood up too. Only Willow remained on the ground.

"Willow of the Forest, you may rise." Aslan told her, and she looked up at him.

"I don't think I can." She said quietly, and Aslan shook his head.

"It's for that very reason I know you can." He smiled, but she shook her head.

The others looked at her in concern, and she smiled slightly.
"I'm sorry." She said, and when she stood up, they gasped at the sight of blood running down her stomach. A broken sword clattered to the floor, covered with red. The blood stained her clothes, and she swayed on her feet, and fell back to the floor. Caspian rushed down beside her, and caught her just before she hit the ground. He held her tightly, and looked deep into her eyes.

"Willow-"

"I'm sorry." She repeated, before slipping into unconsciousness. Caspian shook her shoulders, and the others watched in horror. Lucy quickly brought the potion to her lips, and a few drops fell in.
Nothing happened, and Caspian held her closer.

"No. No. You have to be alive. You have to live." He was repeating himself, but he didn't care. All that mattered was Willow.

There was a moment where he thought it was over, that she was dead, and that she had died in his arms. Tears slipped down his face, and the others stood around her. Lucy buried her face in Aslan's fur, and he bowed his head.

And then Willow gave a cough, and her eyes fluttered open. She took in their solemn faces.
"Who died?" She said with a small smile, and Caspian was overcome with emotion.

"You did." He whispered, and she reached out a hand and brushed his hair out of the way.

"Well, that won't do, will it?"