The Extra Daughter ~ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Whatever It Takes

Song: Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons

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Something brushes my cheek. I blindly swipe at it so I can go back to sleep, but I'm brushed again. And again. And again.

Okay, fine, I'm up.

I groggily open my eyes to see a pink shape in front of me. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my vision, the shape is revealed to be a dryad.

"Lady June," the woman speaks. "My name is Cua. I bring grave news from the princesses."

Her words have me awake in an instant. "What happened? Are they okay?"

"They are safe," she assures me. "Come with me. I must tell the princes as well."

I nod and follow her out of the tent and into the boys'.

"Peter," I walk over and shake him awake. "Peter wake up." He slowly wakes, eyes barely open. When they appear to almost close again, I smack him lightly on the shoulder. "Wake, up idiot."

He jolts awake and I can see his vision is blurry. While he gets himself sorted, I go to wake Edmund who is almost awake anyways from the noise me and Peter made.

"What's going on?" The younger asks.

I turn to Cua and the boys follow my gaze. Her head bows down in sadness. "Your sisters watched the Witch kill Aslan," she states. "He sacrificed himself for Prince Edmund."

I can feel the horror coming from the younger brother. "Please tell me this is a sick joke," I plead.

Cua shakes her head. "I'm afraid not. And what's more: the Witch is gathering her troops for battle."

"Can you wake everyone?" Peter asks Cua. She just nods and dissipates into the cloud of petals to leave the tent.

"Peter, what the hell are we gonna do?" I ask, Edmund holding my hand in a death grip.

He opens his mouth to answer but ends up sighing and shaking his head. "I don't know, June."

Well, that's comforting.

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Edmund and I wait outside the tent while Peter talks with Cua again. About what, I have no clue, but I did relay to information to Oreius when he arrived.

We set up a table with a map of the supposed battlefield. Oreius set up little figures of the Witch's troops where they are most likely to come from. Then all three of us start to set up where the best place for us to be is.

Our quiet discussion of strategies is interrupted by Peter exiting the tent. "She's right," he sulks. "He's gone."

We stay silent for a minute, waiting for anyone to point out the elephant in the room. Thankfully, Edmund has the nerves to do so.

"Then you'll have to lead us," he tells his brother. Peter gives him an incredulous look but Edmund pushes on. "Peter, there is an army out there and it's ready to follow you."

"I can't," Peter argues.

"Just like you couldn't kill a wolf?" I ask, turning the attention to me.

"Aslan believed you could," Edmund continues our pep talk. "And so do I."

"So do all of us," I add. "The only one who doesn't is yourself."

Peter's eyes are full of worry and doubt but a fierce aura of protectiveness surrounds him.