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'𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 fight a villain with tropical powers,' Giulia grumbled, stabbing the blunt end of her tetela lance in the snowy ground between some rocks to keep her balance.

The hill she and the five others were climbing up against, was very steep and despite her firm leather boots, she still hadn't a lot of grip on the slippery snow. Everywhere Giulia looked, the reflecting white blinded her and snow rained down on her, right in the collar of her jerkin, as the wind blew through the branches of the orchard.

'I have seen enough snow for the rest of my life,' she added while she pulled loose the lance again after she had climbed onto the iced rocks. A group of red apples hung far above her, frozen in their perfect state due to a layer of swirling ice crystals, and though it looked rather beautiful, Giulia was still done with the winter scenery.

Phoenix chuckled by hearing her endless stream of complaints and stuck out his gloved hand to help her farther up the hill.

'Everyone quiet now,' Peter ordered in a hushed tone, glancing over his shoulder and resting his hand against the frozen bark of a tree as he crouched down to gaze upwards between the trunks. 'We're nearing the castle walls.'

The light coloured stones of the castle functioned like a perfect camouflage and Elodie needed a few moments to spot the wall as well ─ even after Lucy had nodded with her chin in its direction ─ since it was closer than she had expected. Caolán kneeled down next to Peter and the group of six waited patiently, yet anxiously, a few minutes while observing the top of the wall, but it didn't seem as if this side of the castle was being patrolled.

Peter lifted his hand to draw everyone's attention and pointed at the hidden door after ushering them to be quiet by placing his index finger against his lips.

Everyone rose back to their full length and as quietly as they could, they sprinted through the snow towards the door; its usually oaken colour was hidden behind a coating of ice and Lucy stared in concern at the frozen hinges. Peter and Elodie scraped the top layer of snow that blocked the door away with their boots, exchanging a small smile as their eyes crossed, while Caolán and Phoenix pulled at the door handle with all their strength and weight.

The ice on the hinges broke and a narrow opening appeared between the door and the stones, but wide enough for Giulia to stick her lance through it. Using her weapon as a lever, she helped the boys to open the frozen door and slowly, the opening grew wider and wider until it was big enough for them to slip through.

Giulia snuck through the door opening as the first in line and she twirled the lance in her hands a few times, ready to fight off a guard if the secret passageway was being watched. The tunnel in front of her was dark, but nothing stormed towards her and she lowered her lance again as the others joined her.

Peter took the lead and at the end of the tunnel, he carefully glanced around the corner to observe the courtyard. 'I think Caspian's diversion is working,' he whispered to the others as there was no one to be seen in this small courtyard.

The small group ran quietly over the stones, but the muted sounds of their footsteps still echoed far through the silent air and their senses felt heightened as they kept a close eye on their surroundings. Adrenaline rushed through their veins and Elodie had to remind herself she had to keep breathing calmly as the nerves caused her lungs to work in a shallow manner.

Then, after what seemed like hours as they ran over the exposed courtyard ─ but was barely a minute ─, they reached the south wing of the castle that eventually led towards the dungeons.

Even in that part of Cair Paravel, the group didn't come across any guards and their heartbeat hammered in their ears as the tension seemed ever growing. They feared they were walking right into a trap but when they descended the stone spiral staircase leading below the ground's surface, still nothing had happened.

'There,' Lucy breathed out, her eyes immediately falling upon the form of the great lion in one of the cells once she reached the foot of the stairs. She and Peter ran towards Aslan, eager to at last set eyes upon the King of Kings who brought hope in even the darkest of times. They would finally free him out of the Winter Lady's grasp, Aslan would bare his teeth so winter would meet its death, and. . . Both of the Pevensies stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed the great lion barely moved at all, and their hope vanished like a blown out candle.

Aslan's fur coat was covered with large puddles of dried blood, the golden hairs concealed with the silver colour of frost while his snout was dark blue from the cold.

'Oh, Aslan,' Lucy whispered, her voice choking up from suppressing a sob. How she wished she still had her healing cordial.

'Mina isn't here,' Elodie said, halting next to Peter after she had checked every other cell. She noticed the bad state Aslan was in and she softly laid a hand on Peter's shoulder in a form of consolation and comfort.

Peter managed to fight off his shock and gently squeezed her hand back to show his gratitude for snapping him out of his thoughts. He forced his mind to work again and turned halfway around. 'We have to get him out of here,' he said, his eyes gliding over the stones of the dungeon until he noticed Caolán already stood in the right spot.

The Narnian slid his hand over the stones, following Caspian's instructions from before, until he found the loose stone. He pulled it out of its foundation and tossed the spare keys that had been hidden behind it towards Peter.

It took him a few tries, but after Peter found the right key, the lock opened with a click and the hinges screeched in a high tone. The sounds shot like an alarm through the air and they hoped no one would have heard it.

Peter kneeled in front of the great lion, stuffing the spare keys in the pockets of his trousers, and he tried waking up Aslan by placing his hand on his snout. The lion felt ice cold under his touch and though he moved a bit, his eyes didn't open.

Phoenix and Caolán walked into the cell as well after Peter had asked them to.

'We're going to carry him out,' Peter said.

'Eh,' Phoenix began, his eyes flying over the lion which was far bigger than any lion he had ever seen in a zoo. 'How?'

Peter thought about it for a moment but then an idea started to form in his head. It remained to be seen if the plan could be executed, though. 'You and Cae take care of his hind legs.'

Caolán stuttered something in confusion but Peter ignored both of them and lifted Aslan's heavy head from the ground while he himself still crouched down. Peter clenched his jaw in effort as he pulled Aslan's jaw on top of his own head and tried turning around without falling out of his crouched position until he looked in the same direction as the unconscious lion. He reached for the large paws laying next to him on the ground and swung them over his own shoulders.

Peter felt as if he was wearing a very wrong sort of crown and mantle with Aslan's head resting atop of his own and the rest of the lion's body behind him; still, he took a few deep breaths and rose up from the ground, the muscles in his legs burning from exertion and his knees trembling as they threatened to collapse under the weight.

'He's really heavy so let's get going,' Peter managed to say between clenched teeth as the others stared at him in perplexity.

Caolán and Phoenix quickly lifted the large hind legs from the ground and they walked back towards the spiral staircase.

Peter fought through his fatigue as they slowly ascended the stairs, Aslan seemed to grow heavier by the second, but he had to see this through. Every step felt like torture and seemed to last an eternity, and behind him, Caolán and Phoenix breathed heavily as well as they tried not to drop the hind legs while struggling up the stairs.

All three of them banished all thoughts of their mind, simply focussing on taking the next step, and the next, until they finally reached the hallway. They still had to fight against the gravity that seemed determined on bringing the lion back towards the ground, but at least they no longer had to carry Aslan up the stairs.

'We cannot carry him through the orchard like this,' Caolán suddenly realized as they wrestled farther through the hallway, and Peter paused for a moment, but he couldn't think under the ever heavier growing weight and he quickly started walking again before he would collapse.

'We make for the main gate,' Elodie decided, sprinting towards Peter's side and lifting one of Aslan's front paws over her own shoulder.

Giulia wanted to follow her example but strengthened her grip on the tetela lance instead when two guards suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway. They had once been Narnians, Satyrs to be precise, but their eyes shone like blue lights and their skin was eerily pale.

With a fierce yell, Giulia ran towards the enchanted guards, her dark hair flowing behind her like the feathers of a raven.

'I'll hold them off,' she screamed while twirling the lance between her hands and swiping the legs of one of the Satyrs just like Darkan had done to her not so long ago in Aslan's How. Giulia, however, did not catch the Satyr before he collided with the floor and his metal armour clanged loudly with the impact.

She spun around to face the other Satyr and swung the lance against his chest, causing him to stumble a few paces backwards.

The others rushed through the opening created by Giulia, but when Phoenix looked back over his shoulder, he saw the other Satyr sneaking up behind her. Giulia had become a relatively good fighter in the short time she had trained, but she wasn't quite yet ready to fight off two bewitched guards at the same time.

Phoenix let go off the hind leg, patted Caolán on his shoulder who let out a grunt as he suddenly had more weight to carry, and then the red-haired wizard stormed back towards Giulia. He had her back during the Battle of Hogwarts, and this time it wouldn't be any different; magic or no magic.

Phoenix unsheathed his sword in one swift movement and enclasped the hilt of the longsword with both hands before swinging the flat side against the sneaking Satyr's shoulder.

'Go, go, go!' he yelled to the others. 'Get Aslan to safety!'

Lucy hesitated for a moment, her heart throbbing painfully as she watched Phoenix and Giulia staying behind to give them a chance, but then she ran around the others, towards the front, and led them to the entrance hall. The tumult of the fight behind them died down the farther they walked, but neither of the Satyrs or their friends caught up with them again.

Lucy breathed out in relief when they finally set foot inside the entrance hall but to her horror, two other guards ran down the stairs before they could reach the massive doors leading towards the courtyard.

Elodie spotted them as well and ushered Lucy closer. 'Take me over,' she ordered the younger girl, and though Lucy desperately shook her head ─ realizing what Elodie was going to do ─, she still let go off Aslan's paw and Lucy had no choice but to take her place when Peter and Caolán staggered under the lion's weight.

'Elodie, wait. I will fight them─,' Peter managed to say between some heavy breaths when she swung open the doors for them but she cut him off with a shake of her head.

'I do not think I am not strong enough to carry Aslan like that, Peter. The plan was to get him out of here, everything else doesn't matter.' Elodie unhooked the bullwhip from her belt and ran towards the guards, unrolling the weaved leather with a flick of her wrist and it snapped through the air before landing around one of the faun's neck.

The guard gasped for air, clawing at the whip around his neck, but with another movement of her wrist, Elodie flung him towards the ground. The harsh sound of the crash echoed between the columns of Cair Paravel, adding to the female voice coming from outside;

'Now, fight on my terms or you will pay a heavy price for thinking you can outsmart me. . .'

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𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓:

𝑮𝒊𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝑨𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒃𝒚 GwynethStarks
𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒙 𝑻𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒚 Avengers14
𝑬𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒚 @ 𝒎𝒆
𝒂𝒏𝒅
𝑪𝒂𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒚 inej-ghafas

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𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆:

𝑰 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚-𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒍𝒐𝒍. 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒚'𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒕!

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