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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐄 reached high into the sky, and as its orange light fell like a dance over the still slightly frozen courtyard, the rising sun coloured the horizon a scarlet red. It felt as if nature itself held a remembrance for her; everywhere the mourning group looked ─ from the pyre to the melting snow to the sky ─ every colour reminded them of Noelle.

Caolán stood next to Caspian, and both stared unblinking at the sky-high flames while their bloodshot eyes only seemed to amplify the colour of the reflection displayed into them.

Caolán's throat felt sore from the painful sobs that had ripped through his body not so long ago and the corners of his eyes burned with the yet unshed tears. He couldn't believe she really was gone, it felt more like a nightmare than reality.

Even though he had been the one who had convinced the King to burn her body, according to the customs of Archenland, his stomach still churned with mixed emotions as he stared at the pyre and the faint silhouette within the flames.

The wood pile crackled almost rhythmically as the fire sprang over it, the sound loud enough to even overrule the whistling of the early songbirds. The warmth of the flames drove back the coldness of the stark morning, but the smell of fire consuming flesh would haunt them for evermore.

Caspian took a small step forward and everyone turned their attention to him. He exhaled slowly, containing his tears and forcing his voice not to tremble.

'Noelle,' he said, his gaze upon the flames but then he averted it to the sky. 'May the road rise up to meet you and guide you to Aslan's country. May the wind be at your back to escort you to your next great adventure. May the sun shine warm upon your face when you arrive to make you forget all your past sorrows.'

He paused, closing his eyes for a moment. 'Until we meet again.'

The company stood silently and solemnly for a while, and although it felt wrong, they couldn't wait around until the sight in front of them would have turned into a smouldering pile of ash and charcoal. The earnestness of the recent events forced them into action and the group retreated back into the Telmarine castle, but their shoulders hung defeated and their faces stood downcast.

Caspian's gaze shot skywards, though, when the cawing of a crow and the frantic flapping of wings reached his ears, and he was just in time to see the bird shooting through the open window of the aviary tower.

He blinked a few times, unsure if his mind played tricks on him. 'A reply,' he muttered, he hadn't expected a message until at least with the falling of the evening.

Caolán caught his words and halted in the middle of the stone stairs leading back to the castle. Turning halfway around, his eyes shot between the King and the highest tower at his far left.

'I'll go and fetch it, your Majesty,' Caolán volunteered. He needed some privacy to get a hold on himself again anyway.

Caspian inclined his head to the younger boy. 'Thank you, Cae.'

Caolán stuttered some incoherent words before simply nodding, turning back around and sprinting farther up the stairs. While he disappeared into one of the many parting hallways, Caspian led the others to the chamber of councilors that was less formal and spacious than the throne room.

A squared, oaken table stood in the middle of the chamber, and the black banners with the golden compass rose of Telmar hung on the walls between the four stained windows. Two of them overlooked the view on the courtyard and the orange light of the pyre fell right through them. The stained glass lit up in warm hues, causing the patterns and symbols to sway over the marble floor.

Though there stood one sturdy chair at the head of the table, Caspian sunk down in another one and he gestured for the others to join him as well. The chair at the end remained empty as not even Peter chose to take that seat ─ surprising both Caspian and the other Pevensies. Peter pretended as if he didn't notice their stares as he sat down at Elodie's left side.

Lucy smiled at her oldest brother for a moment, but her grief of Noelle's death made her unable to do so for long.

'So, what is our plan to bring back Mina?' Ella asked while Oliver gently squeezed her hand in reassurance. The couple hadn't let go of each other ever since Caspian had lit up the pyre because, just like with the Battle of Hogwarts, they were reminded of their brittle time in this world. Life could be over in a blink of an eye.

'And to break whichever curse has befallen Darkan,' Phoenix added stubbornly as he had grown rather fond of the Archenlander.

Caspian tapped with the fingers of his left hand rhythmically on the oaken table, recollecting his thoughts and posture. He was a King and right now his land was covered in a freezing winter. There would be a time to properly mourn Noelle, but that time was not now.

'Last night, after dinner,' he said, 'I sent word to the Lords of the other lands, calling upon their sworn allegiance to the King of Narnia.'

'You're assembling an army?' Vittoria asked to clarify his words. The terms he had used sounded too foreign in her ears; medieval and out of time.

Caspian nodded, but Peter frowned.

'You think they will come?'

'As my vassals, they should and they will,' Caspian answered confidently. 'They helped to defeat the Calormen armies not too long ago,' he added.

Peter, however, still didn't seem convinced of the positive outcome. 'It is different to risk open war with a known enemy, because you know of their weaknesses. But, risking war with an unknown foe, a witch─ an evil witch,' he quickly corrected himself when Elodie crossed her arms with a huff, 'who can doom their lands to an eternal winter. . . I do not think they will, Caspian.'

An anger started to boil within Caspian, but instead of snapping at the blond young man, he took a few deep breaths. 'That might have been the situation during your time, Peter, but a thousand years have passed. The lands have changed, you weren't here when we defeated Calormen or the giants of Ettinsmore.'

Reepicheep cleared his throat, jumping elegantly on the table. 'If I may, your Highness,' he said with a bow, 'but did you forget what happened at Cair Paravel during the celebration? The Lords and Ladies fled like cowards when the throne room got destroyed and the first snow descended on the land.'

Peter gave Caspian a cocky look, but the latter waved both the gaze and words away with a flick of his hand. 'That was different, they were unprepared and neither were they fighters.'

Before an argument could erupt between Caspian and Peter, the door leading to the hallway opened and Caolán stepped inside the room. He held a tiny roll of parchment between his thumb and index finger, and he quickly handed it to Caspian.

'The first reply. We will see who is right,' he said with a sneer to Peter who held up his hands in defense and leaned back in his chair.

Caspian removed the small black bow and unrolled the paper. There couldn't be more than a few sentences written on it, but it still felt as if an eternity passed as his dark eyes skimmed over the words again and again.

'And?' Edmund asked when the tension became too much to handle any longer.

Caspian balled his hand to a fist, crumpling the paper between his fingers with growl before smacking it with a brute force on the table. The sound shot harsh and loud like an exploding bomb through the air, and everyone around the table flinched in a reflex.

'Telmar will not help,' Caspian grumbled between clenched teeth. 'They're supposed to be my most trust-worthy allies.'

Furiously, Caspian pushed back his chair and started pacing over the length of the room. If Telmar would not help, it was most certain the other lands wouldn't either.

Peter opened his mouth to rub his ─ dubious ─ victory in Caspian's face, but when both Lucy and Elodie shook their heads at him in a warning, he decided against it. 'I am sorry, Caspian,' he said before adding truthfully: 'I wish you had been right, but not even a thousand years can change a human's nature.'

Caspian paced from one wall to the other one last time before lowering himself back into his chair with a sigh. 'I do not know what we must do now.'

'I think I do,' Lucy spoke up, drawing everyone's attention and though she was younger than everyone else, no one dared to interrupt her.

'I don't believe my siblings and I have been called to Narnia to help you assemble an army, Caspian. And neither are the witches and wizards.' Her eyes traveled over her siblings, pleading them to believe her next words. 'It is just like all our other adventures in the past: we cannot do this without Aslan. He will know what to do and his roar called us back. It has to mean something.'

'But we don't even know where he is,' Edmund said, but Lucy shook her head.

'We all saw it in the mist: the Winter Lady hurt him, and someone once said we should keep our friends close, but our enemies closer.'

'Sun Tzu,' Peter muttered while understanding where his sister was going with this. 'You think the enemy holds Aslan captive at Cair Paravel?'

Lucy nodded firmly. 'I do, and a small company travels faster and more silently than a grand army. It isn't about defeating the Winter Lady, or bringing back Mina and Darkan, at least, not quite yet. Our first priority is to get Aslan out of her hands.'

Caspian made a sound in both disbelief and astonishment. 'You really want to defy whoever we're up against with ─ well, just us?'

Lucy rose up from her seat and her auburn hair lit up with a red glow as the light from the pyre fell upon her. Her eyes sparkled in determination, revealing the Valiant Queen lingering under her innocent surface. 'Destiny brought us together, and who are we to question it? I believe it is our destiny to do this together.'

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𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓:

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