After a tearful farewell, Aslan and I returned to Narnia back on the beaches of Cair Paravel. I looked around... and was horrified.

Massive ships lined the shore. Hundreds of soldiers crawled around the island like bugs on bread, specks of black under the starry night sky.

"Aslan, what happened?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"I don't know, Ruth," he replied. "But you are needed here."

"Let's go," I said, beginning to run away. I turned around when I didn't hear him running after me.

"Aren't you coming to help, Aslan?" I asked, puzzled.

"Not this time, Ruth. You and the Pevensies are capable of fighting your own battles now. You will never face anything you can't handle. If you need me, I will be right there beside you."

I began to cry. "Is this goodbye for real? I can't come with you?"

"You are needed here, Ruth..." he said gently. "I am needed in other lands. But you will see me again."

"Promise?" I asked brokenly, clinging to my last shred of hope.

"I promise. I love you so much, dear one."

"I love you too, Aslan," I sobbed.

With a final kiss on my cheek with his rough lion tongue, he faded into the night. I was alone.

Wait. No. The Pevensies needed me.

I wiped my eyes quickly and clung to the shadows, praying the soldiers wouldn't see me. By some miracle, they didn't. I successfully entered the castle, and was greeted by the horrible sound of screaming.

Tumnus and the Beavers burst out of a door to my right.

"What's happening?" I yelled over the sound of wailing.

"Ruth? Oh Ruth, it's you!" Tumnus sprinted to me and wrapped me in a hug. I felt two more hugs around my legs from the Beavers.

"What's going on?!" I asked, horrified. "Who's screaming? What happened? Are the Pevensies okay?"

"They've been poisoned!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed.

I gasped and took off running in the direction of the screams.

I burst into the bedroom and absorbed the scene. Peter was sound asleep... or unconscious... draped across a bed up against the wall. Edmund was in the bed next to him, curled in a ball and clutching his head. Lucy was crying and heaving in yet another bed, Susan holding her close and trying to calm her.

"Oh no..." I moaned.

Susan looked up, tears in her eyes. "Ruth?"

I rushed to her side and hugged her, then Lucy.

"I missed you," Lucy said quietly, her voice tight with pain and unshed tears.

"I missed you too, Lucy," I replied gently, feeling her forehead. It wasn't abnormally hot, a tremendous relief.

"Is it really you?" Susan asked. looking me up and down. I still wore the coronation dress, now dirty and torn.

"Yes, it's me, I'm here, I'm sorry... what can I do?"

"I don't know," Susan said. For the first time, I saw the vulnerability of a twelve-year-old in her eyes. Lucy began to cry again, holding her stomach. Susan looked at me, pain and sadness lacing her face, and held her sister close.

"Wait a minute, where's the healing cordial?" I asked excitedly. "That can help!"

"It's missing," Susan said softly, defeatedly. "Ruth, we've been under attack."

"By what?"

"Not what, who. Dwarves. Servants of the White Witch. They want to kill us. And I... it's working." She began to cry silently.

"No, no, don't cry," I said soothingly, rubbing her back. I racked my brain for a plan to help. "This is what we're going to do. You stay here with the Beavers and take care of everyone. I'll get Mr. Tumnus and every soldier to help me look for the vial. We won't stop until we find it."

"And if you don't...?" she asked fearfully.

"We will."

I prayed I was right.

🦁

I listened with horror as Tumnus recounted the events that took place during my time in Emeraldia while we dashed through the forest.

"So we're looking for a dwarf with the cordial, presumably?" I inquired.

"Yes... well... probably... oh Ruth, I don't know. It has been a dreadful time. Filled with tension and fear and worry. I... I can't let anything happen to them. I just can't."

"Hey, hey... nothing will," I assured him. "We'll find the cordial. It can't have left the island. We will find it."

"I hope so," he said apprehensively.

I heard a rustle in the brush next to us. I halted, and Tumnus followed suit.

"Show yourself," I ordered, fighting to keep my voice steady and authoritative.

There was no reply.

"In the name of Aslan and the Kings and Queens of Cair Paravel, I order you to come out," I repeated.

A whistling chuckle came from the bush. "They have no power here, and neither do you. But I'll humor you."

A dwarf exited a small bush, dangling the cordial in front of him.

"You see, child, I am holding this over a rock." A quick look at the ground proved it to be true. I gulped. "And a sharp one at that. You do something I don't like, down goes the special juice. Splish splash."

"What do you want from us?" Tumnus asked in a surprising act of bravery.

"I want the children dead."

"Your master is dead," I replied coolly. "She no longer has power."

"Does this look familiar?" He drew a second vial from his coat. This one was of smooth silver, a blue liquid inside.

"No."

"Oh. It doesn't? Oh, no matter... this is the Witch's special vial. One drop lights a greedy fire in the soul of whoever consumed the food. It was what swayed the young king, I do believe."

I gasped. "The Turkish delight!" I glared. "Did you put this in their food?"

He smirked. "No. The poison will kill them sufficiently enough. But once they're gone, this shall make minions of the Narnians. They will respect us. We shall rule, much like Jadis before us. They shall be our slaves, blind to everything save us. So, foolish girl, the Queen still has power, even after death. We just need to eliminate the children first. And that shall happen tonight. In mere minutes, in fact."

"Minutes?" I squeaked. "Surely the poison will not act that quickly."

"Swords will. They are hovering over their necks as we speak."

I was paralyzed by fear, but my mind raced like a horse propelled by the engine of a fighter plane as it struggled to form a plan.

I lunged for the dwarf, tackling him to the ground.

The vial flew up into the air.

The dwarf raised a knife.

Tumnus reached forward.

I rolled to the side.

The faun's hands closed safely over the glass cordial.

The knife was plunged into the dirt beside me.

I leapt to my feet and dealt the dwarf a kick in the face.

He groaned as he faded from consciousness.

I was breathing heavily. "Okay... okay... this is what we'll do now. You stay here and call soldiers to take him to the dungeon. But take the Witch's vial, hide it, and give it to me once no one else is around. I'll take this cordial and go back to the castle."

"Alright," he said. He pressed the precious glass into my hand. "Go!"

I took off my beanie and swaddled the cordial safely inside. Then I took off sprinting.

Through the forest. Across the beach. Up the stairs. Into the castle. To the bedroom.

I looked around in fear. No other dwarves were there. It had been a bluff. Blessed bluff.

"Susan, I found it, I found it," I said, gasping for air. I removed the vial from my beanie and held it up triumphantly, securing the beloved hat on my head.

"It's too late," she sobbed.

"No, it can't be," I replied. I rushed to Lucy's side and put my ear to her chest.

Her heart beat slowly. Very slowly. But it was there.

With trembling hands, I opened her mouth and placed a drop inside. She shuddered and her eyes fluttered open. She took a deep breath, and smiled.

"Ruth, it's you!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around me.

"Yes, it is," I said quickly, hugging her back. "Now it's time to heal your brothers." I pulled away and hurried to Edmund's side. He lay on his back, massaging his temples, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Hey, Ed," I said soothingly, trying to gently pry his hands away. He didn't budge. "It's me. It's Ruth. I have the healing cordial. Will you face me, please?"

He looked at me wide-eyed, not seeming to recognize me. Thankfully, though, his mouth hung open just enough for a drop to fall in. The glaze of pain faded from his dark eyes, and recognition flashed across his face.

"Ruth, you're okay!"

"So are you," I said with a relieved grin, rustling his hair. I turned my attention now to Peter.

His chest rose and fell slowly. I approached his bedside, suddenly timid. His face, forced to wear a brave expression for his siblings so often, showed fatigue and pain for the first time. I felt tears spring to my eyes. Peter quite literally had the weight of the world on his shoulders. If he wouldn't let me help him hold it, if he wanted to hold the world up for his siblings like I wanted to for mine in the face of the war and my father's absence, I would do my best to lighten his burden.

I shook as I opened the vial and held it over his open lips. A single drop fell into his mouth.

A tense second passed. Then two. Then three.

I replaced the cap of the cordial and tucked it into my pack.

He twitched, his eyes still closed. His younger siblings crowded him. We all held a collective breath.

His eyes opened partially. When they fell on me, I felt a burning blush creep into my cheeks.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked sleepily.

"No," I answered, a small smile forming. "Wake up, Peter. Everything is okay now."

He grinned from ear to ear, jumped out of bed, and hugged me tightly.

"Ruth, you're back, you're back, you're back!" he exclaimed delightedly.

I laughed. "Peter, I'm stuck! Let me return the hug! You have my arms pinned!"

"Oh, sorry," he replied, letting me go briefly. I embraced him, still giggling, overcome with joy.

"I want a hug from Ruth, too!" Lucy said, pouting.

"Alright, alright," Peter joked. "Here she is."

After receiving hugs from every sibling, I couldn't help but yawn. My brief bout of unconsciousness aside, I had been awake and active for a very long time without a morsel of food. I learned from Aslan that the morning meal was supposed to take place after our meeting with the king. Unfortunate irony.

"Sleepy?" Peter asked.

I nodded. "I've been awake since sunrise, and a good deal of that time was spent running."

He rose his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow." I yawned again. "I'll just head to my room now. See you all in-"

"No, Ruth, wait." Peter laid a hand on my arm, looking around nervously. "We've been under attack. By dwarves, serving under the White Witch. And some of them were in the castle. It's not safe. You should really sleep in here, with all of us. Locked door, no windows, and we're all together."

"Alright," I said reluctantly. "So we need to move my bed in here?"

He nodded. "That works. Let me go with you, though. The dwarves are lurking in the hallway."

"I'll come too," Ed offered. "I can protect you while your hands are full."

"Thanks," I replied, ruffling his hair. "I'm glad you're all feeling better."

"Where did you find it?" Susan asked, eyes wide. "The cordial, I mean?"

"A dwarf hiding in a bush," I explained. "He was taunting me, holding it over a sharp rock and saying he'd drop it if we did something he didn't like. I tackled him, though, and Tumnus caught it. But even if he hadn't, I hit him so hard we were launched into a grassy patch, and the cordial would have landed there."

"Have you considered rugby?" Edmund teased.

I laughed. "I suppose I should now. Anyway, let's go get-" I yawned. "-my bed."

The three of us walked through the halls in silence. The boys were looking for intruders lurking in the shadows, but frankly, I was too exhausted to care at that point. Peter - I mean, the Pevensies - were safe, and that's all that mattered.

Peter noticed my fresh bandages when we lifted the bed. He nodded approvingly.

"Well, it seems that you were well looked after," he remarked.

I nodded, smirking. "More or less. I mean, the person who did this to me was the same person who shot me with a tranquilizing dart, but it's all good."

He raised his eyebrows. "Tranquilizing dart? Are you alright?"

We walked through the narrow doorway and proceeded cautiously to the bedroom.

"Oh, yes, thanks. I was woozy for a while, but I was fine eventually."

Peter smiled. "Sounds like you had quite the adventure."

I shrugged. "I was only gone two days."

"You were gone for a few weeks Narnia-time."

"Oh."

We entered the bedroom then, effectively ending the conversation. With great relief, I said good night, and didn't even change into pajamas before collapsing onto the bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.