ringing and a bright blue light. For a moment, the witch stared perplexed at her broken staff but then she growled and stabbed Edmund in his lower abdomen with the broken end.

Edmund gasped for air, staggering a few steps backwards when the witch retracted her wand and his sword clattered on the ground as his trembling fingers reached for the deadly wound.

Jadis threw her now useless staff on the ground at the same time when Edmund lost his strength to keep standing and his knees collapsed underneath him.

Peter screamed his brother's name, but the agonising fear inside his heart made way for a boiling fury when Jadis looked at him with a smirk playing around her lips. Without thinking, Peter charged at her, his sword held high and his shield at the ready. He swung his sword towards the witch's side but she easily met his blow, forcing him a few steps back. Peter struggled to keep his balance but tried to attack her again and again. Neither of them got hurt but it felt as if Jadis was playing with him, as if she saw his every move coming from miles away. Peter narrowly ducked under her blow when she held her swords horizontal and criss-crossed in the air, slicing them towards his neck.

Every battle froze, though, when a lion's roar thundered through the air, shaking the very ground they stood on and some rocks rolled down the hills by the loud vibration. Everyone turned their head towards the hills overseeing the battleground and there, in the beaming sunlight, stood Aslan with Susan and Lucy at his side. Hundreds of other Narnians appeared as well, all shaking angrily their weaponry at the witch.

'Impossible,' Jadis breathed out, but she was quick to recover from her shock and slammed her sword against Peter's shield who was still staring at the lion and his sisters. He grunted in pain and tried to hold the witch off, but she was growing tired of their game and swiped his feet. With one of her swords, she pinned his chainmail near his shoulder to the ground, making it impossible for Peter to use his swordhand. With a scowl, Jadis slammed his shield away as well and prepared to take his life with one final blow.

Peter closed his eyes in fear, but quickly opened them again when a massive shadow jumped over him; Aslan launched himself on the witch and ended Jadis' life without mercy while the reinforcements streamed over the battleground. The tides turned in the favour of the Narnians.

'It is over,' the lion said as he turned to Peter who struggled to get the protruding sword out of the ground.

Rosaleen sprinted towards him, finally able to break through the circle of enemies that had surrounded her, and pulled out the sword before dropping on her knees next to him.

Peter pushed himself up with his arms, staring into the amber-coloured eyes of the lion for a moment but then he focussed on Rosaleen who checked if the sword hadn't pierced his shoulder.

'I'm alright,' he said to her and she smiled at him with tear-filled eyes. He wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek with a thumb, but when his sisters ran towards him, he suddenly remembered why he had charged at the witch without thinking.

'Where's Edmund?' Susan asked, scanning the area but she couldn't spot her younger brother anywhere.

Peter climbed back on his feet, pulling Rosaleen with him, and they quickly ran towards where they had last seen Edmund. Alexander sat near his side, pressing his hands on Edmund's abdomen but the blood still seeped through his fingers. A black dwarf sneaked up from behind them and Susan drew her bow in an instinct, sending a flying arrow towards the dwarf just when he wanted to swing down his axe. With a yelp, the dwarf fell backwards by the impact, dead before he even landed on the ground.

The three Pevensies and Rosaleen dropped down next to Edmund as well and Susan quickly removed the silver helmet from his head. Edmund's breathing was shallow and he fought for every breath of oxygen he took.

Lucy fumbled with her healing cordial but finally managed to unscrew the bottle and she hovered over her brother to let a drop fall into his mouth. Edmund swallowed the red liquid but to everyone's horror, his breathing stopped completely and his eyes fluttered shut.

Susan and Lucy cried, their hearts aching, but Peter could only stare at his younger brother, the tears burning behind his eyes and his face all drained from every colour. Edmund couldn't be dead.

Then, Edmund gasped for air, his eyes shooting open again to meet the teary-eyed of his siblings. Peter quickly pulled him in a tight hug and Lucy and Susan flung themselves around the two as well, now crying happy tears.

Rosaleen and Alexander let out a relieved chuckle as they crossed eyes and they embraced each other tightly as well until Susan pulled the two of them in their group hug.

The battle was won, Narnia was finally free from the White Witch's terror.

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