Narnia- Life Out Of Shadowlands

Ch: 21 Warriors

Okay, so yeah. I'm sorry for the delay and also for such a short chapter after so long a break. I wrote this chapter just to get the hang of things. The next chapter is already half-way written so, it should hopefully be up soon. The battle finally begins in there. I do hope you all like this chapter meanwhile. Do let me know what you think. :)

~ZQ

Chapter 21

Edmund lead Tash's army...

I looked straight across the field at my brother. To any onlooker his eyes would seem filled with coldness and malicious intent. Not me though.  I was not fooled. I knew my brother well enough. Beneath that coldness, his desperation was evident. Whatever it was that had forced my brother to stand against his loved ones, it would suffer.

Silently, my brother was pleading with me. We did not need words. We could communicate through our love for each other and our family. Right now, he was trying to send me a subtle message. His head was held high, his back straight, his eyes filled with fire but there was this subtle thing with his posture that it all away. His right hand, which was usually at his side or on the pommel of his sword, now rested firmly on his chest, right where his scar from Jadis' wand was.

Over the years, it had become a way for him to tell us his pain, his helplessness. It broke my heart to see my brother like that. At the same time, my resolve to bring him back strengthened.  I looked back at him with hard eyes. He would know the coldness in them was not for him but for what had enslaved him there.

A strange bird flew overhead, right across the middle of the field. It was an unspoken sign. All the warriors from both the sides stepped forward.

Oreius, Reepicheep, Swanwhite, Tirrian, Lucy, Scarlett, Kanell, Gale, Caspian and I stepped forward as one.

Across the field, twelve people stepped forward. Among them, I could recognize White Witch and Miraz. From Eustace and Jill's description, I could safely assume one of them was Lady of Green Kirtle. Valernan, the giant who had once tried to kidnap me and re infuse the human blood into the Ettin race, was also there. 

There were two other giants whom I did not recognize. All other were horrendous beasts who I had never ever laid eyes on or knew the name of. Except one.

At the head of Tash's warriors stood Edmund, right across from me.

It took me a few seconds to grasp what this fact entails. Edmund was Tash's warrior. This meant...Oh Aslan no!

It meant, to win this war, Edmund must die...

A strange, booming voice began calling out the name of the warriors. As each name was called, they took another step forward. It started with Tash's warriors, Jadis being the first. Their name call ended with Edmund's name.

Then it started with Aslan's warriors. I was the first one to be called and took an automatic step forward. Going through our eleven warriors, I thought Caspian was the last one. However, the calling of the names did not stop at Caspian. Instead, that voice called out two more names. One was Edmund, who took another step forward.

This was getting confusing by the minute. Either he was their warrior and we had to kill him or he was our warrior and they had to kill him. How was he supposed to be a warrior of both the sides?

Then, the name of our last warrior was announced. To say that I was confused would be an understatement. The last name to be announced was — Velma.

At first, it rang a dim bell. However, as I saw Jadis sneer with disgust, I realized who our Twelfth Warrior was. It was Sarah's mother, Velma!

There was a place left at the extreme left of our line of warriors. A small, bright point of light appeared there. The light steadily grew brighter and the point, larger until it took the shape of a human. When the light disappeared, there stood a woman standing over seven feet tall and with a bow in one hand, a long, double-bladed dagger in the other and a quiver full of arrows strapped to her back. Her stance told us at first glance that she was a formidable warrior. When she turned to her right and looked at me, I was taken aback for a moment. Her eyes changed color by the second. All seven color of the rainbows, in such vivid shades they looked almost scary, flicked through her iris every ten to fifteen seconds.

However, with a single, curt nod towards me, I knew she had pledged her loyalty to our side in this battle. A sudden tugging to my right brought my attention to the satchel I was not carrying a minute ago. It was the bag I had put the two things Sarah had given me in and placed it somewhere back at the camp. Opening the flap, I found the two things I had kept in it. The box, the one I was supposed to pass on, was glowing and changing colors as Velma's eyes were. As soon as the flap was open, the box came out of the back on its own accord and flew right in Velma's hand, elongated, merged with the dagger and turned into a scepter.

Tearing my gaze away from the newest addition to our army, I once again looked at the battlefield.  Tash had told the battle would be fought with only the people from our own land and Velma was not so. However, Aslan had chosen her as our warrior and Tash had not yet objected so, I knew it was something beyond my understanding at the moment.

I took a deep breath the same time Edmund did, our eyes locked and I knew without a doubt, the battle would begin as soon as we released that breath.

There was no time or need for speeches. Our soldiers did not need to be reminded what they were fighting for. Their moral was as high as it could. They were full of deadly enthusiasm. They were ready and so was I.

Without breaking eye contact, Edmund and I exhaled.

The land and the sky shook with Narnia's battle cry. "FOR NARNIA! FOR ASLAN!"

And the battle for Narnia's Justice began.