Whisked Away

9. Two Meetings with the Witch

Shifra's POV
When all of the children had woken the next morning, they were all relived that Edmund had been brought back to them. I however did not see Edmund until much later for I sat at the edge of a cliff, staring out over to Cair Paravel. I heard heavy footsteps approach when the sun had risen about halfway into the sky.

Aslan sat down next to me and asked, "Do you wish to not be apart of what is to come?"

I sighed. I did not know exactly how to answer him. "Aslan," I finally said, "I'm not guiltless as you are. What if this is it for me?"

Aslan's face softened and he replied soothingly, "Child, I swore to you that you would not die until Narnia did. Would you expect me to not keep my promises to you?"

"Of course Aslan," I replied, happy once again, "How utterly foolish I have been. You do not break your promises, not once. What an idiot I have been." Aslan let out a chuckle and looked out to Cair Paravel.

"Do you ever miss it?" Aslan asked quietly, "Narnia when Frank and Helen ruled?" I thought for a moment.

"I miss how free I was back then, I miss how much I got to learn then, but I would not trade being here for anything," I replied after thinking for a bit.

"Good, child. Now, I have just sent my messengers to see to it that the witch leaves her wand by the great oak over yonder. She will be coming soon."

I nodded and stood up. As we arrived back at Aslan's tent, the witch, Jadis, self-claimed queen of Narnia approached. "I knew it!" Jadis screeched, "I knew you were alive!"

"It is no matter," I replied coolly.

She seemed to move passed the point when she turned to Aslan and said, "You have a traitor there, Aslan."

"His offense was not against you," I replied in an icy tone.

"Have you forgotten the Deep Magic?" asked the witch. The conversation continued until Aslan sent everyone aside from myself away to speak with her privately. "So?" Jadis asked, "You have something to say that you don't want your troops to hear?"

"The Deep Magic can be fulfilled without Edmund's blood," was the reply. When the witch did nothing except look surprised, Aslan continued. I knew what he was saying but I seemed to be blotting it out, for next thing I knew Aslan had let out a terrible roar and the witch had ran, screaming like a pig.

Everyone in the camp laughed apart from Aslan and myself. Soon Aslan and I were commanding everyone to go to the Fords of Beruna and there we marched. On the way there, I as well as Aslan, gave Peter our plan of attack both for attacking her from the woods and from her castle. For the rest of the journey I was flying above everyone and Aslan was walking below me. I could not bring myself to swoop and climb and dive as I usually would. I found myself feeling more than a little down.

Aslan seemed to feel similarly, for he wore a sad expression and walked with his velvety paws very close to the ground. That night I stayed outside, laying on the grass and staring at the stars. When Aslan came out we walked together in silence. There was not any sound apart from the pad-pad-pad of Aslan's paws and the sound of my wings dragging slightly behind me. I fingered the gift from Father Christmas as we walked. I had not taken it off since I got it, but I wondered about his words. How could it become my greatest foe?

We both knew that Lucy and Susan were not far behind us, but ignored it for now. "Oh children, children, why are you following us?" Aslan asked.

"We couldn't sleep," replied Lucy.

"Please," Susan asked, "may we come with you, wherever you are going?"

"We would be glad of company tonight," I replied sadly. I heard Aslan make them promise not to follow us after and certain point, but it was all like a dream. A terrible dream. Aslan then asked for the two girls to put their hands in his mane so that he could feel that they were there and we walked like that until we came to the slope that led to the Stone Table.

I saw the two girls climb another hill and hide in the bushes as Aslan and I climbed up to the Stone Table. Ogres and Werewolves and bull-headed men, evil tree spirits, cruels, hags, incubuses, wraiths, and a hundred other evil creatures surrounded the Stone Table. When they all saw us approaching, they all (even the witch) looked terrified, but after she recovered herself, the two of us were bound with cords so tight, they cut into my skin and caused me to bleed.

For the next hour, I could not see what was being done to Aslan, for I was being spat on, kicked, laughed at, and tortured. A wolf was in charge of killing me aside from the final blow and he made it worth his while. When I was first flung down he began to pull on my beautifully feathered wings. He then yanked out some of the feathers with his teeth. Tears sprang to my eyes as they were pulled, but this was far from over.

Other creatures pulled the feathers out of my wings and pulled and cut my hair until I was nothing but I pile of flesh, tears, and blood. Then one of the bull-headed men pulled out a whip and began to hit me over and over until there was scarred flesh all over me and blood poured from my many wounds. I heard Aslan take his final breath before a stone knife was plunged into my flesh, killing me.

I never rightly remembered what happened after that, but soon I was awake with Aslan standing next to me. The two girls looked at us both, shocked. Not that I blamed them. Aslan seemed to look more powerful and wild than ever before and my wings had turned snow white with only small bits of black. They rode on Aslan's back as I flew to the witch's castle to make all of the creatures she had turned to stone, in their right state.  We had just finished breaking down the gate when we began to go to Peter's aid in the battle.

Just a few minutes after they arrived, the battle was over. Aslan simply flung himself at the witch witch and ended her life right there. When her followers saw her death they all surrendered or ran away. Edmund had destroyed her wand halfway through and that had been the real savior of them. Then for half an hour, Aslan and Lucy were very busy. Lucy tended to the wounded with her healing cordial and Aslan was restoring all those turned to stone.

Edmund, after he had been healed of course, was knighted and we all stayed there for the night. While everyone else was falling asleep, I was sitting off on my own. Aslan approached me and said, "Your heart is greatly troubled."

I nodded. I was aware that he knew all of the troubles of my heart. "In a thousand years of living in Narnia I have never gone through anything to compare with that. I don't know how much you saw, but..." I stopped, for I did not have the heart to continue.

"I know my child," he replied in his softest voice. "You will feel much pain because of what you have endured, but you will become much stronger for it." I nodded and rose to my feet. "We should both rest, child." I nodded in agreement and we headed back to the camp and we were soon drifting off to sleep.