༄ 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑃𝐻𝑂𝐸𝑁𝐼𝑋 𝐴𝑅𝐶𝐻𝐸𝑅（𝐿𝑊𝑊）༄

Chapter 17- Planning

"Ana!" a voice said, awakening me from my sleep.
I groaned and without opening my eyes, I turned towards the voice. It was coming from outside the tent. "What?" I asked, trying to sound as politely as one could after being woken up.
"Peter wants us to meet him at Aslan's Tent," the voice that I soon recognized as belonging to Edmund, said.
"Alright," was my groggy response, already suspecting what it was about.

I heard his footsteps depart and then got up and quickly changed into another outfit since I slept in my clothes from the previous day. After splashing some water on my face to make sure I was fully awake and taming my hair, I grabbed my weapons from the end of my bed and headed towards Aslan's Tent. Edmund wasn't too far ahead of me and I assumed he had been waiting on me. The two of us walked together in silence, the fear in my stomach growing with every step that moved us closer. I already knew what Peter would likely want to discuss, but I was worried about the upcoming battle. With Aslan dead, our morale would be low and so would our chances of winning. I had hope that there was some plan for all of this, but until it was revealed, I had nothing but blind faith to go on.

When we reached Aslan's Tent, Orieus was there but Peter was nowhere to be seen. Edmund walked up to the centaur and I followed him. Just outside Aslan's Tent, there was a table with a map and what appeared to be pawns placed on it. I only briefly looked at it, knowing it wasn't my business, and the three of us lapsed into silence for a moment. It wasn't the good kind either.

The sound of tent flaps moving broke the silence and we all looked as Peter exited the tent. His face showed barely hidden sorrow and he didn't have to say anything for me to know why that was. His words only confirmed it for the others.
"She's right. He's gone," Peter solemnly stated, approaching the table that held the battle plans.
"Then you'll have to lead us," Edmund said. "Peter, there's an army out there and it's ready to follow you."
"I can't!" Peter nearly shouted.
"Aslan believed you could. And so do I."

At Edmund's comment, Peter looked up at him. Then he shifted his gaze to Oreius and me. I didn't know what else to say to encourage him so I nodded my head in agreement.
"I'd follow you," I told him after a brief moment and Peter sent me a light smile.
"The Witch's army is nearing, sire," Orieus said, drawing our attention to him. "What are your orders?"

Peter then looked back down at the table and began studying the map. I knew he was thinking of a plan and I hope it was a good one. Not only did we lose Aslan on the eve of the battle but I knew we were outnumbered. Everyone else had to know that too.

After a few moments of studying, Peter looked up at me.
"Ana?"
"Yes?" I asked.
"You'll be up with the archers and," here he turned to look at his brother, "Edmund you will join them. It's the best place to keep you guys out of danger." I nodded and though Edmund didn't look as though he fully agreed with that part of Peter's plan, he said nothing about it. "The griffons will go first. They can try to eliminate as much of the Witch's army as they can use boulders as a distraction. The rest of the Narnians will be stationed throughout here," at this point he moved a couple of pawns and Orieus nodded. "We'll have the rocks to our backs, where the archers will be stationed. We will hopefully be able to use them to our advantage. If we get overpowered, I'll signal and we'll return to the rocks. This is where you two come in," he told Edmund and me. "Once we cross into the rocks, Edmund, you will give the signal when you think it's good. After he signals, Ana, it'll be your job, along with the other archers, to try and prevent the Witch's army from crossing the rocks. We have to hold them back as best as possible."

His plan seemed good and I thought it could work. Perhaps we would have a chance of winning. But as I thought about his strategy, I realized there was something could prevent Peter's plan from working.
"Peter? I have one question to ask," I told him. He looked at me and I took that as my cue to continue. "We already know the Witch's army outnumbers us. So what happens if she decides to divide her army up into two? In other words, what happens if she has half her army go first and wear our army out? And then when she thinks our forces are weak, she'll send in the other half. You would likely be overwhelmed and wouldn't have time to signal the retreat to the rocks. Our army more than likely won't survive the second wave if she does that."

He thought about it for a minute and then he looked to Orieus, who also appeared to be thinking about it. Apparently it was a potential problem and now they had to figure out how to solve it. Feeling a bit awkward, I looked at Edmund before finding the ground very interesting. That was when I got an idea. However, it was an idea I didn't particularly like and didn't want to say anything. So, instead, I decided to wait and see what ideas the others would come up with.

"How many phoenixes are there in Narnia?" Peter suddenly asked. He had been silent for a while.
"Only a few now, but I doubt they would help you," I replied.
"Then that leaves you."
"Me?!" I asked, surprised. I wasn't liking where this was going.
"Yes. You can help instead." I looked at him very confused. Though I had an idea of what he was planning, I wasn't sure that our thoughts were on the same page. "You won't be up with the archers anymore," he began explaining. "Instead, I'm going to place you here," he pointed to a spot on the map and I moved closer to look at it.
"That's quite a ways away from the archers and the rest of the army. How will I know when to join? What do you need me for?" He still had yet to explain that part of the plan.
"An archer will signal you with a fire arrow, signaled again by Edmund," here he looked to his brother and Edmund nodded. I knew Edmund would use his best judgment in determining when I should come. "If you see a flaming arrow in the sky, that will be your cue to transform. Then, you'll fly in and put up a firewall—fire shield—between the two armies. This will hopefully by us some time to retreat."
"Uh..." was all I was able to say. I wasn't actually sure about this part of the plan, but I nodded anyway. "I'll do my best," I told him before bowing.

After that, there was a brief discussion between Orieus and Peter. I didn't pay any attention to it as I was too busy trying not to worry about my part of the plan. Then with a nod of dismissal, everyone left to get ready for the battle. I was still very anxious about fighting but knew it was rather unavoidable at this point. As I put on my armor, I took a deep breath and made a promise to myself that all of the Pevensies would get out of this alive. They had too.

Finally, our army headed off to the battlefield. Halfway there, I split from the army and headed in a different direction, to where Peter wanted me to wait. I hoped that even though Aslan was no longer with us that we would win this battle, and that my fears about my part in the plan were unfounded. I was going into this battle on faith alone that we would win and finally be free from the tyranny of the Witch. That I could finally live a normal life. Aslan, please help us, I whispered as I approached my position.