The Jewel of Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia) Complete

Chapter Seven

The group had finally arrived at Aslan and Aria's camp after a long and tiring journey. Mara's lioness ears twitched at the sound of chatter and clinking of weapons being made or sharpened or used. Her hearing seemed more advanced than it was. Her long tail was swishing back and forth, accidentally hitting Mr. Beaver in his back. Mr. Beaver said, "Hey! Watch that tail of yours!" Mara replied, cringing, "Whoops, sorry, Mr. Beaver." Mrs. Beaver smacked her husband, causing him to complain. As they entered the camp, a horn was blown and people had stopped what they were doing. Mara wasn't sure how she felt about being stared at and all the whispers. Susan said, taking the words out of Mara's mouth, "Why are they all staring at us?" Lucy replied, smirking, "Maybe they think that you look funny." They continued onto a tent which seemed to be bigger than the others. A male centaur stood on guard. His eyes landed on Mara and rushed inside the tent. The children and Mara stood in a line front of the tent, waiting for something to happen. Susan whispered to her brother, "What happens now?" Peter shrugged his shoulders, he was just as confused as everyone else was.

The centaur came back out from the tent and went to the same position he was before. Peter took out his sword and said, holding the sword up, "We have come to see Aslan and Aria." The Narnians behind them began to chatter like crazy. A large paw came from the tent then a lion submerged, followed by a lioness, bigger than Mara. The Narnians dropped to their feet, kneeling before the lion and lioness. The children and Mara did the same. Aslan said, finally speaking up, "Welcome, Peter, son of Adam. Welcome, Susan and Lucy, daughters of Eve." His eyes landed on the young lioness in front of him, tears almost clouding his vision. Aria stayed silent, still in shock from the news that her little cub had returned. Aslan said, "And welcome home, Amara, my daughter." Mara just stood there, unsure of what to do. She felt someone shove her, turning to see Susan and Lucy nodding at the direction of her parents. Mara hesitantly walked forwards the lion and lioness, stopping in front of them. Aria was the first to react and nuzzled Mara, resting her head on Mara's neck.

Aslan did the same, nuzzling his daughter. The Narnians cheered at their princess' return and at the family reunion. Aria said, finally speaking up, "We thank you, beavers, but where is the fourth?" Peter replied, as he stood along with his two sisters, "That's why we're here, miss. We need your help." Susan said, nodding, "We had a little trouble along the way." Peter said, "Our brother's been captured by the White Witch." The Narnians gasped at the news and began to chatter again. Aslan said, in disbelief, "Captured? How could this happen?" Mr. Beaver replied, "He betrayed them, Your Majesty." The centaur from before shouted, angry, "Then, he has betrayed us all!" Aria said, turning to the centaur she thought of as a friend, "Peace, Oreius. I'm sure there's an explanation to this." Peter replied, sadly, "It was my fault, really. I was too hard on him." He remembered how Mara stood up to him for being hard on Edmund. Susan placed a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder and said, "We all were." Lucy said, slightly begging the lion and lioness, "Please, sir and miss. He's our brother." Aria replied, her heart breaking at the little girl's voice, "I know, dear one, but that only makes the betrayal all the worse." Aslan said, agreeing with his mate, "This may be harder than you think. *He turned to Oreius* Oreius, give them some clothes and show them around. Aria and I need to talk to our daughter." Oreius bowed his head at the lion and left with the others, leaving Mara behind. Peter turned back to see Mara walking away, between Aslan and Aria.

The family of three stopped at the edge of a cliff, watching the waves of the ocean. Aslan said, turning to his daughter, "Considering that you are here, I'd say that the professor did well." Aria just nudged her mate, giving him a look. She said, going to nuzzle Mara, "Oh, my little cub. I'm so glad that you're back home." Mara said to her parents, wrapping her tail around her, "Forgive me if I am not as ecstatic as you both are. It's a lot to take in." Aria nodded in understanding and said, sitting next to Aslan, "We understand, darling. If there is any questions you need to ask, please do." Mara replied, looking between the two, "Why? Why go through all this trouble and have me come back here years later?" Aslan said, "We did it for your safety, dear one. We knew that the moment you were born, Jadis would've come after you to end you, to keep the prophecy from coming true." Aria said, "She sees you as a threat in her way of getting the throne of Narnia. She would've gotten rid of you when she got the chance." Mara said, sighing, "What happens now?" Aslan replied, "Well, we have to prepare for battle with the White Witch. Then, if all goes well, you and the others will be crowned Kings and Queens of Narnia, as it should be." Mara said, glancing back at her lioness form, "Can I turn back to my human form? I mean, as much I love this form, I would prefer to be back in my other form." Aria chuckled, turning to look at her mate. Aslan also chuckled and said, "That could be arranged , sweetheart."

About fifteen minutes later, Mara had returned to camp and was now in a pink dress with a tiara on her head to represent that she was the Princess of Narnia. She joined Susan and Lucy at the river, wanting to spend time with them. Aria had joined the girls, wanting to keep an eye on them while Aslan talked with Peter. A water fight had broken out between the three girls as they giggled. Aria chuckled at the sight of her daughter having fun. A figure in the trees had the Great Lioness' attention. Susan went to go grab a towel then a wolf had jumped in front of them, only for Aria to roar and jump to protect the three girls. Aria shouted, roaring as she fought a wolf, "The tree! Girls, climb the tree! You'll be safe there!" Susan rushed to get her horn and blew it then ran to the tree, with Mara helping her up.

The others arrived to see Aria fighting a wolf while another was jumped with his jaws opening and closing at the girls' feet, hoping to get them. The girls screamed in fear, lifting their feet from the wolf's jaws. Aria roared in the wolf's face, causing it to whimper in fear. She clamped her powerful jaws around the wolf, killing it. Her attention turned back to the girls and went to go save them but Peter got there before she could, raising his sword at the wolf. She went to go help Peter, as did the others, but her mate stopped them. Aslan said, placing his paws in front of the others and his mate, "No! Stay your weapons! This is Peter's battle!" Mara let out a scream as she almost lost grip of a branch but clutched to it, for dear life. The wolf said, circling around Peter, "You may think that you are a king but you are going to die.........like a dog!" He growled then pounced on Peter, causing Mara, Susan, and Lucy to scream for him.

To everyone, it was obvious that Peter had killed the wolf since the wolf wasn't moving. Another wolf ran into the woods, grabbing their attention. Aslan said to the troop, "Go after him. He will lead you to Edmund." Oreius bowed his head at the lion then followed after the wolf, with some of the Narnians following him. The three girls rushed down from the tree and went to go help push the wolf's body off of Peter. Peter panted as he looked at his sisters and Mara. The three girls wrapped their arms around the boy, causing him to do the same. The girls stepped back but Mara stayed where she was. She punched Peter in his chest, causing him to grunt. Mara said, "That was for scaring the hell out of me!" She then grabbed Peter's shirt in her hands and placed her lips on his. The sudden kiss caused everyone's eyes to widen in shock, even Peter's but he leaned into the kiss. Mara released from the kiss and said, "That was for being brave and saving us." Peter replied, "I'm sure you would've done the same." Aslan cleared his throat, causing the two teenagers to stand up and step away from each other with their heads down, and said, "Peter, clean your sword." Mara went to stand between her mother and Susan, blushing. Aria smirked at her daughter, nudging her with her shoulder. Aslan placed his paw on Peter's shoulder and said, "Rise, Sir Peter Wolfs-Bane, Knight of Narnia, formerly from Finchley. Now, we shall have a feast in honour of your knighting and return and as well as Mara's return to Narnia." Mara smiled at Peter as he grinned at her. Aslan watched the moment with a warm smile on his face.