serendipity - narnia

chapter 6

Chapter 6
Peter's Test

Dahlia sat on the grass with her back against the trunk of a massive tree, twisting a small fireball around her fingers. She'd separated herself from the Pevensies after reviewing her conversation with Aslan; the aforementioned lion had called Peter over to talk alone and Dahlia had taken the time to slip away and think things through. She knew she should try to get some rest, but with everything going on that wasn't going to happen.

Dahlia knew she had to fight in the battle against the White Witch; her parents raised her to accept the prophecy as truth, so she'd believed in it her entire life. Of course she felt entirely differently about it knowing she was the mage it spoke of, but still. It would come to pass, and she needed to come to terms with her fate. If they did win the war as she hoped they did, she would be guarding the Pevensies for the rest of their lives.

Frankly, she didn't hate the idea. She didn't have anyone to go back to in Narrowhaven and the Pevensies were nice enough; she just didn't like the fact that they weren't Narnians themselves. They had a family in another world, a family that was waiting for them to return home. She just had to keep them alive long enough to get there.

Suddenly a horn sounded in the distance, cutting through the silence of the forest. Dahlia noticed her necklace glowing; not the faint, continuous glow signifying Edmund's absence, but a bright light that made her tuck it into the neckline of her dress to stifle it. She pushed herself up off the ground, sprinting in the direction of the noise. After all, one of Susan's Christmas gifts had been a horn.

She arrived at the source of the noise just as Peter and Aslan did, horrified by what she saw. Lucy and Susan were in the low branches of a tree, trying to escape the jaws of two wolves on the ground beneath them. Peter charged across the river, holding his sword out at the wolves. Dahlia tried to follow him but Aslan stepped in front of her.

"Come on," Maugrim taunted, circling Peter. "We've already been through this before. We both know you haven't got it in you." Dahlia glared at Aslan, furious at him for holding her back. Oreius ran forward with a few Narnian soldiers, weapons raised; Aslan stopped them as well.

"No! This is Peter's battle." Dahlia looked back at the tree where the girls are still trying to fend off the second wolf.

"But Susan and Lucy-" Aslan leapt across the stream and pinned down the second wolf. Dahlia raced after him, too focused on the girls to notice that she was running on top of the water. She helped Susan and Lucy out of the tree, pushing them behind her as Peter continued to stare down Maugrim.

"You may think you're a king, but you're going to die...like a dog!" Maugrim growled and pounced on Peter. Susan and Lucy cried out, but Dahlia held them back for a moment longer. Once she was certain the wolf wasn't moving, she lowered her arms and the girls rushed to their brother.

Dahlia stood behind them as they pushed Maugrim's body off of Peter, who was shaken but alive. His sword was buried in the wolf's chest. Dahlia's hand grasped her necklace again as Aslan released his hold on the second wolf, sending the assembled Narnians after it to find Edmund.

Dahlia leaned back against the tree, closing her eyes and trying to steady her breathing. She opened them again when she felt someone hugging her, looking down to see Lucy. The mage hesitated for a second before hugging her back; it felt oddly normal, like she was hugging someone she'd known all her life.

"Peter, clean your sword," Aslan instructed. Dahlia and Lucy walked over as Peter washed his sword in the stream, Dahlia keeping one arm around Lucy's shoulders.

The girls watched as Peter kneeled down and Aslan knighted him; Dahlia was just as proud as Susan and Lucy.

"Rise, Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane, Knight of Narnia," Aslan announced, removing his paw from Peter's shoulder. Peter stood, turning to smile at the girls. Aslan walked away to give them some space, and Peter sheathed his sword.

Dahlia walked over to the stream and sat down in front of it, absentmindedly creating wisps of water with magic. The siblings settled down next to her, sitting in silence for a second before Susan turned her head to look at Dahlia.

"You know you ran on water just now, right?"

"I did what now?"