╣╠

"Well you look like yourself

But you're somebody else

Only it ain't on the surface

Well you talk like yourself

No, I hear someone else though

Now you're making me nervous."

You're Somebody Else

Flora Cash

╣╠

Chapter XXI - Her

╣╠

Edmund mounted his horse Phillip, taking Peter's place as the leader of the Army. No one would blame his brother for not showing. The trauma of losing Ashton was enough to wreck him and now to find out her life has been stolen creates a new form of heartache. And no one loved Ash more than Peter.

The hoof of a horse came trotting up next to him, he looked to his right. His sword and shield we're the his only accessory as he abandoned his crown for the day.

Edmund cleared his throat, "No one would blame you for sitting this one out, Peter."

"I would." He corrected, swallowing hard. "I know you think she's a lost cause but if I see even the slightest bit of Ashton in there, I am going to do everything I can to save her."

I stayed silent, there was no reason to fight with him. Love made the brain foolish. If Peter believed he had to do this, there was no stopping him. Edmund kept his mouth shut as well. Unable to say he wouldn't do the same.

╣╠

There is a certain degree of peace before a storm. When the air is thick and the wind starts to blow. I builts inch by inch until it's over. Battle is nothing like that. Your adrenaline pumps from from the first second, and doesn't disappear until the dead are counted. Spikes of nervous energy flood your body for the flooding days, it's weeks before the backlash stops.

I've trained since I could walk, but this was the worst attack I've walked into. It was personal this time. If we lost today, we lost everything. Our story would never be told.

The front line of defends met in a slash of metal and blood, tearing through each other with the drive or their loyalty. Our eyes were sharp, knowing that the real battle was to come. The first signs of her appeared in the cold chill of the air and then continued as the snow began to fall. By the time white powder covered the ground she made her grand entrance, dressed in all gold armor and a spotless crown to go with it. Something Ash would have thought as over the top and tacky.

In battles of the past, the queen took her time, fighting her way through, showing her strength as she made her way up to us. This time she wasted no time, taking every soldier that dared go against her, her gaze locked on us nearly the entire time. We did our best to show no fear, accepting the challenge as we met her in the middle of the battle.

"It's interesting." She started vaguely, "When I overtook this body, I received a bit of the leftovers. Memories, feelings and such. The human part of my offspring. The weak part." Peter and I gripped out swords tighter, not letting our guard down even for a second. She noticed our adjustments and spun her staff. "I know that you could never beat this body in training. What makes you think you can beat it now?"

"We could never beat Ash." Edmund spoke, understanding why Peter was choked up in front of an imposter of the girl he loves. "But you have been defeated and you will again. You'll be sent straight back to Tash."

"And I'll bring the traitor with me. I've been waiting for a family reunion." She chuckled, excitedly.

"Bitch." I growled.

"Speaking of traitors..." The witch angled her anger towards me.

Peter finally managed to produce three words. "Give her back."

"You sound just like her father." She scoffs, "I can never get it through either of your heads that you can't save her. You never could. Ashton was created for a greater purpose than this. At least her birth wasn't a complete waste now."

That tore my last strain of patience and I sprinted in a full speed attack, Edmund and Peter commiting to battle a few steps behind me. She sung, blocking my assault and returning with a slick that could have taken my eye out. Peter and Edmund worked together, swinging in sync so she had to use the staff and a sword to defend herself from them in front of her, leaving her with an open position in the back. I ran again, but at the last second she turned, both swords ready for my throw, I bailed, sliding on the ground so I wouldn't get impaled. I heard the screams of the two kings and the clash of their swords against hers. And then the next second I saw the White Witch standing over me, with the staff above her head. The boy's stopped, taking it as a warning that if they moved another inch she would force death upon me.

"Three on one and you still lost." Like she was disappointed with an uneventful fight. "Now you will pay the price for going against a Queen."

She raised her hands higher, gritting her teeth and preparing for my final sentence. I just locked at her, I knew I couldn't save myself now. I just focused on the part of her that I used to know and love. Not the spellbound blue eyes of her mother's that I saw looking down at me but nearly everything else. Ashton was family, real family for me. It made sense, I made a vow that I would be with her till the end. And now that she's not here, I don't know if I want to do this without her. I lost my sense of direction without her.

A second later, shock came across her features. She dropped the staff and screamed. She fell to her knees in the snow.

"Stop!" She screamed, clawing at her head. "Retreat! Now!"

The insurgents followed orders, turning around and running through the woods. She looked up, fear covering her green eyes. Ashton's eyes. Peter took a step forward, but she immediately jumped up.

"Don't!" She ordered, holding her hand out to keep a distance, "She could come back any second. I can't control her."

"Ash!" I shouted, getting to my feet.

She winced, smacked her head, screaming again. "She was going to kill all of you. I was going to kill all of you." Her back hit a tree and she slid down. Every inch of her shook, the clouds above our head densed and grew darker. "Please kill me. Please make it stop. I can't live like this!"

Edmund gripped his sword, feeling the cold metal. He bounced slightly, giving himself the courage to take out a monster with an innocent face. When he raised his sword, Peter stopped in, guarding Ashton. He raised Rhidon, leveling Edmund's throat.

"Peter stop!" I screamed.

"You heard her, we can't save her!" Edmund's eyes flooded with tears.

"I won't let you kill her, not when she's still in there!" Peter spit in anger, crossing the blade with his brother.

Peter swung first, hard, not to hurt his brother, more to disable him. Try and throw him off so he could put as much distance between Edmund and Ashton. Edmund matched the fight, not moving his stance.

"She wouldn't want it this way and you know it." Edmund pleaded, "Don't make this harder."

"I love her, Ed." Peter begged his brother as the rain poured down and his wet hair fell into his eyes.

"Look at her! This isn't a life for her!" Edmund gritted through his teeth. Fighting the battle within himself to not hurt the girl in front of him, crazy witch or not.

"Help me." Ashton whispered, knocking back and forth.

The crossed blades again, battling back and forth, devoting all their attention to each other. I looked at them and then back at Ash. I've known this girl since the first day I have in memory and never, not once did I ever see her broken.  To keep her this way was selfish and I knew that in my heart. She had become everything she feared, her mother. Everyday for the past three years she has devoted her life to the opposite of that and now she was being used and abused all over again. I took the sword of a nearby fallen soldier, picking it up with both paws. It shook in my hands, I took a deep breath. Ash's gaze found mine and she nodded, I wished I could tell if she was afraid of this working or what would happen if it didn't. Peter and Edmund, clashed back and forth and I aimed the sword at her heart. I closed my eyes, plunging it towards her. A pained groan rose in my throat as I regretted my choice before I finished it.

At the last second, before life was drained from her, eye color switched back to an empty blue. If I had kept my eyes open, I might have seen it. I might have also seen her take the dagger from her ankle. She blocked the drive before taking the slender metal and giving it a one way trip into my chest.

As I groaned and fell to the ground, the Witch smiled, happy to be back in control. "I've been waiting to do that, Benvolio."

"The difference between you and I..." I struggled, finding it hard to breathe, "I'll only die once."

She lunges forward again, going to attack but Susan lossed and arrow, landing in his shoulder. She stumbled back, looking at all of us. Peter and Edmund now stood in shock but still turned their blade to her. She backed down, turning to run.

Even after she was gone, the storms raged on. And even I knew now that Ashton somewhere knew what was going on.

╣╠

It had been a day since the failed attack. The journey home was slow paced with no rush to go home and tell the others of our lack of progress. No one knew what to say, how to act or what to do. My siblings and I had seen her first hand, whoever 'her' was justified as at this point. On the other hand, the country was divided in two. I could hear the screams for her head outside but I could hear the pleads for her life. They were scared, I understood. I'm terrified to even get up in the morning. We knew that if we didn't do something soon, the fear would win. I'm afraid it already started to take one that I loved the most.

Ben's shoulder bled the entire trip home, he pushed through but when we got back to the Cair, his entire arm was dripping in blood. His white coat looked like it had never seen a shower. He won't speak which I didn't find out of character, we weren't exactly in the chatty mood as seeing our closest friend being possessed by her evil mother. No one was overly concerned until Lucy entered the picture. She saw us, ripped to shreds from the inside out and cried at the sight.  Her cordial was off her waste and opened by the time she got to Ben. She tilted his chin but he shrugged away, continuing to walk down the hall to his room, leaving behind a single blood footprint.

"Ben!" I yelled, but he said nothing.

I ran after him, seeing him not open his bedroom door, but the only next to it. I took a deep breath, following in after him. I found him rummaging through the bottom of Ashton's dresser, underneath the long dresses.

"Ben..." I spoke softly but he just continued. After another second he pulled out an Ash stained cloak.

He put it on the marble floor crawling up and putting his head on it, being sure not to get blood on it.

"I know what you're going to say," He tells me with closed eyes, "I'm not taking the cardinal."

"You-"

"I'll die within the next four eight hours no matter what." He chokes on his words, taking a deep breathe just so he could continue, "The paragon diamond. Ash took it to assure that her sacrifice went to plan.  Without it, there's no transfer of magic to me. I'm a polar bear, my system will overheat and start shutting down."

Shock filled my brain, "We can get you to Mount Pire."

"I won't make it. Even on my best day, it's a three day trip." He told me with no emotion.

"We can find a way."

"No." He sighed, defeated and broken, "We need to focus on putting an end to her."

"I'll call a council meeting then." I start, getting ready to walk out the door.

"No, don't." He spoke quickly, "If anything can be learned from the past few days it is that we can not give our trust. Mason Hood's betrayal was a shock but looking back now I know there were signs. Peter can't control this impulses either. For now, this stays between us."

I only nodded, I knew that this would be up to us. Only the people that know her best could take her down.

╣╠

Merry Christmas or happy holidays, I know I can never say this enough but thank you so much. This story has meant so much to me for the past to years and you guys have been the best part of it. Thank you so much for all the support you guys have shown me and seeing this story come to an end in the next few chapters is very emotional and I'm glad to go through this with you all.
With all my love and dreams, B