11

WHAT MUST BE DONE

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Without stopping to tell Peter and Edmund, or anyone for that matter, what she had just witnessed, Alexandra ran into the grand tent at the top of the camp. With the tears still dripping from her lifeless eyes, they were quick to fall on the book that Aslan had been meaning to read to her ever since her arrival.

'Tomorrow morning I want you to read page 250 of the book that I have left out for you. Hopefully, everything will be explained and all your questions will be answered.'

There wasn't a single second of hesitation before her fingers were scanning over the page of 250 and reading what it had to say. It was a lot to take in. The words kept jumbling up in her mind confusingly which made her reread the pages over and over until she fully understood it. And even after she had absorbed all the knowledge from the writing Alex wasn't sure she fully knew what she had to do.

With a frustrated cry, Alexandra dropped the book on the page and scrunched the lengths of her white curls up in her fists. It wasn't until a cool breeze wooshed through the tent and the pages in the book began to turn at their own will that she finally looked up. All her attention was drawn to the new page in front of her, more importantly, the words scribed in silver and gold in the same cursive font that she had read days ago.

'When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne, the evil time will be over and done. But when the crimson knight departs alone, a new era will have begun'

She knew these words like the back of her hand ever since they first branded her mind. Ever since then she had been thinking about them day and night. But why did Aslan want her to read them again? Even in death, the lion was confusing her thoughts.

"Crimson Knight?" she muttered under her breath just as Peter stormed into the tent and startled her.

"Alex?" he whispered before seeing the tear-stained cheeks and damp lashes, "It's true, isn't it. Aslan is dead."

All she could muster was a weak nod of her head before she felt the familiar feeling of loss and guilt and he noticed. He noticed the way that her grey eyes, the ones that he used to find hope behind, looked completely depleted. It was confirmed by the way that her head hung on her shoulders defeatedly and even the slight shake of her hands at her side.

"You were with Susan and Lucy, you saw it?" he asked and earned yet another nod, "Oh, Alex.."

With the whispers that left his lips, he joined her side and wrapped his arms tightly around her torso just in case she fell down. If she did, he would be there to hold her up. He even went as far as to run his hand over the back of her head to flatten her hair that she had knotted in anger.

Over Peter's shoulder, Alex stared at the mirror behind him where she could see how the paleness in her skin was gone into a small tan with blush now littering her cheeks and lips, how her frame wasn't as small and timid as before or that she had someone to hold her up when she needed it the most.

But with the blink of her eyes, her eyes almost widened at the change in what she could see. A bright shade of orange, no red, washed over her hair and a bright, emerald green twinkled in her eyes hopefully. A distinct gasp left her lips as she raised her fingers to brush over her now colourful hair, Peter even pulled away to see if she was alright.

But just like that, it was all gone again.

Her curls were once again white and her eyes the same grey that had been cursed upon her many years ago. She didn't realise how much she missed the colours until they were gone. How the red not only mirrored her soul but also gave her the fire that she craved.

Red.

It wasn't red.

It was crimson.

"General Oreius and Edmund are outside waiting for my confirmation," Peter whispered out and cradled her cheek in his palm softly, "Be at my side, we can think of a strategy together. We can do this together. Just say yes."

Peter waited for the word to leave her lips, waited for confirmation.

"Yes."

And with that, the two soldiers left the tent to see their waiting subjects, the General perked a brow at the prideful stance that washed over Alexandra despite the reddened nose and glossy eyes.

"She's right," Peter muttered towards them to confirm what the Dryad sent by his sisters had said, "He's gone."

"Aslan entrusted me with this knowledge and his only condition of my awareness was that I didn't share it. He knew that one of you would try to stop him and then the Witch would have taken Edmund as payment," Alex walked back over to the table and straightened out the wrinkles in her shirt to look over the map filled with the wooden figures from the tent so they could conjure up a plan.

Edmund shared a glance with the centaur behind him before finding his way back to the two before him, "Then you'll have to lead us. Both of you. Peter, there's an army out there and it's ready to follow you."

"I can't."

Alexandra tightened the grip on his hand to reassure him, "Yes, yes you can. Aslan believed in you and I don't think that he would have done what he did if he didn't know that you were going to be here when he was gone."

Her hand fell from his as she moved the Witch's army to the place on the map that would soon turn into a battlefield filled of death and destruction.

"The Witch's army is nearing, sire. What are your orders?" the General asked his leader.

Peter snatched the attention of Alex before taking her hand once more, loving how it felt to hold her gently. "Ready the numbers," they both said and the centaur nodded his head before turning to prepare their army for action.

"Us too," Alex ran her fingers through her hair before making her way to the tent that she shared with Susan and Lucy, stopping to turn back to Peter, "An army is only as strong as their leader."

Soon enough the girl was welcomed with the strong scent of lavender and roses as she stepped into the tent to prepare. At first, she stared longingly into the golden mirror to will the reflection to show her what she had witnessed moments ago; willing the crimson to reappear. But it didn't.

The armour itself was heavy but that was implied in every aspect of battle. But as soon as the silver plates covered her body completely, she felt whole. It was almost as if the missing part that she had always felt was now there, she was one with the armour. She was completed. The thought of it almost worried her, was it normal to feel this way before her potential death?

"Can I come in?" she heard a masculine voice from outside the tent, it wasn't low enough to be Peter but the London accent was thick and audible.

Alex finished the set of braids in her hair before securing them at the back of her head with a ribbon that she found laying on Susan's trunk of clothes so that it was out of her face but more importantly her eyes, "Come in, Ed."

The light in the tent intensified as he opened the entrance to join them and then dimmed again just as quickly. His eyes instantly fell on her hand that played around with the necklace tied around her neck, "I just wanted to talk to you quickly, if that was okay."

She could see how his held the majority of his armour in his hands and didn't know how to properly put it on, a smirk grew widely on her face as she offered her hands to help him to which he nodded shyly and passed her the breastplate of his armour. "Of course we can talk, that's what I am here for."

She tied the back of the armour on so that he could talk to her, "Well, the Queen - I mean Witch - was telling me about you, I guess. It was more about how she can control you and that in the fight you will be her greatest asset. I just thought that I should warn you that's all. I don't know if she has plans to use her control over you or not, but at least you know that it could be a possiblitly."

Alexandra nodded her head, not that he could even see it, and tapped his shoulder hard to test out the armour and to let him know that it was finished, "Well, what she doesn't know, is that Aslan left me something. Something much more powerful than all of our blades, soldiers and manpower - or Narnian power - combined. He left me with knowledge."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you that, then it wouldn't be a secret anymore. But, what I can trust you with," Alex opened the tent entrance once more for them both and only let go of the silk curtains once he was out with her, "It isn't me trusting you, but asking you. If you get the chance at any time during the fight to destroy her weapon, then you need to. My plan won't work without the wand being destroyed."

Edmund looked just as confused as she did when she first thought of it but he nodded his head and perked his wounded lips, "I promise."

"Now, go to Phillip. Not only does he get mad when you call him 'horsie'," they both let out a chuckle as they looked up to see Marcellus, Phillip and Harlow, the three horses that belonged to the three soldiers, "But he also hates it when you are late."

Peter's eyes visibly brightened at the sight of his brother and Alexandra, more importantly, the girl who looked stunning in her armour but also lethal. There was a part of him that feared the girl and what she could do with the axe that she wielded, but he also knew that her heart may have a hunk of ice but it was warmer than any he had ever known.

How could someone so gorgeous be so dangerous?

"Alex," he smiled as she neared the horses and rubbed her bare palm against Marcel's neck to calm him, he even uttered his gratitude in his low voice, "Are you ready?"

"Is anyone ever truly ready for war?"

He just laughed lightly but it was a dry chuckle, he was scared and he tried to not show it but she noticed. Just as she was about to mount the saddle she turned. Her fierce eyes met his over the back of Harlow, his own unicorn, and their hands even met on the saddle.

"Peter, trust me, regardless of the outcome, you have us all behind you - all of Narnia behind you - and that has to count for something, right?" he nodded his head and sent his blonde locks into his eyes which he managed to move promptly, "We may win and we may lose, but we will go down with a fight or not at all because if we ever get to look back at this exact moment, then we will know that not only did we defeat the Witch, but we defeated our biggest and most resilient enemy. Fear."

A much brighter expression covered his face lovingly, "You are much wiser than anyone that I have ever met, braver too."

"Well, us women do tend to be courageous."

"Do you have any final advice before we leave?" Peter asked as he jumped onto the back of his horse beside Alex and General Oreius, the girl following his actions.

A small smirk played around on her blushed lips, "Just the one; don't die."

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Marcellus is Alex's horse, Phillip is Edmund's horse and I made a name up for Peter's horse because I don't think it is actually specified what the horse is called so I named her Harlow