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Post by ADMIN the MAGNIFICENT on Jan 25, 2010 11:20:44 GMT -5
Peter wanted so much to have the strength to break the chains that held him. He wanted to rush to Lucy’s side and tell her it would be alright. That and he wanted to strangle the very life out of Aphine. It was the ultimate form of punishment. Peter knew it was clever, and hated that Jadis knew his weakness. His biggest weakness was his family. His fist balled up and his nails dug into his palms almost cutting through. Peter couldn’t handle listening to Lucy scream or see her wreath in pain.
Peter bit his lip trying to think. He tried to block out what Lucy was saying about Aslan. His faith in the great lion was weakening, why couldn’t Aslan show up now? Why did he have to let Lucy suffer? Couldn’t he just be here to help? Peter ignored the doubt, a part of him still fought to believe Aslan would come to help them in the end.
He thought back to what Aphine had mentioned, …more interesting if I could release you from the shackles, but I can’t do that. Peter had a crazy idea and he one day hoped Lucy would forgive him for what he was about to do. He looked over to Lucy for a second and then to Aphine trying to control his anger and his pain.
“Please.” He started, “Let me go. I’ll do anything you want. I swear it, just leave her alone I beg of you. You have my word as High King of Narnia.”
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Post by elisiaaphine on Feb 4, 2010 15:50:54 GMT -5
Aphine's eyes widened at the sound of Aslan, for only one word registered: Lion. Happiness and excitement filled her and she bounced up and down momentarily clapping. A Lion? Perhaps since Lillith had denied her the opportunity to play with her puppy, she would let Aphine play with the kitty. Aphine would have liked that very much indeed. Then Peter's words cut through her thoughts. Though the deal was tempting, the rules had already been set prior.
Aphine let out a cackling laugh before settling down, her eyes still dancing merrily at him. "Oh I could if I would," she replied. "But the Queen told me I wasn't allowed. So I can't." She gave another soft giggle. "You know, you're a lot more helpless than that other boy who said he was the High King. At least he made that one girl I was torturing fall asleep. But she wasn't safe for long." Aphine let out an inhumane giggle. "Did you like your present?" Another laughter errupted throughout the halls and she stood up, dancing around near the door while humming and giggling.
She stopped and turned back to Peter, the skirt of her dress still flowing with the momentum of her spinning. "I would pity you, you know. If this kitty cat were going to help you, don't you think he'd be here already? He would have stopped me from killing that girl and telling Edmund to go to the stone table if he wanted to see you alive again. The cat come to protect your little sister..." her eyes flashed over ot Lucy, giving her a soft giggle before turning back to Peter. "He didn't keep your brother from going to the stone table. And he's left your other sister all alone at the castle." Her grin widened even more. "You really are a stupid boy aren't you? Stupid, selfish... can't do anything to save yourself, or your family." She turned her eyes back on Lucy. "And you had so much faith he would help you."
It was unclear whether in the last sentence, Aphine had meant Aslan or Peter when she said 'he'. It didn't matter anyway. She was done stalling, and she was ready to begin the fun once again. Without warning, or even blinking, the heartless child-minded witch sent another curse at Lucy, a joyous smile brightening upon her face. Malicious childish laughter rang once again through the chamber.
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Post by Lucy Pevensie on Feb 5, 2010 12:22:47 GMT -5
I'll do anything you want...
Lucy had seen Peter in his desperate moments, as he had been in the throne room days (though how many she no longer knew) ago. With everything going on lately, she wasn't sure Peter wouldn't do whatever Aphine asked of him. A cold panic ran through her. "No, Peter!" But her attention was drawn back to the taunting presence of Aphine. Oh, what she wouldn't do to stop all this!! "Stop it! Leave my brother alone! He is not helpless or weak or anything! He's the strongest person I know! He's certainly a hundred times a better person than you could ever dream to be! And don't talk like that about Aslan like that! You're just a horrible, horrible woman! I bet you would be a right coward if you ever saw him!"
She only just registered the mention, or allusion really, to Vardin and to his noble act to help Aly, when the sudden curse cut off all thought once more. She screamed, though it was noticeably more strained than last time. The last curse had taken a good deal out of her already weakened body. As she fell back to the floor shaking uncontrollably, she could feel her efforts to fight the curse off draining her even more. Her screaming turned into sobs, which turned into muffled whimpers, until she finally fell silent. Though her muscles still twitched with the spasms of torturous pain, her mind had slipped into a strangely merciful unconsciousness.
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Post by ADMIN the MAGNIFICENT on Feb 14, 2010 11:38:40 GMT -5
Peter couldn’t help but scowl at the reference to Vardin. This was all his fault, his and that Cain person. His hands drew into fists thinking about the boy. But something caught his attention that drew his focus back to Aphine and what she had actually said. Putting tow and two together Peter realized it was Alyissa who she had tortured. New tears formed in his eyes and another hole punctured his chest. Vardin had been there with Alyissa after all. But he tried to save her? Peter shook it from his head. Trying wasn’t good enough, Vardin had the chance to actually save her and he didn’t.
When Aphine started to speak poorly of Aslan and attempted to fill his head with even more doubt Peter tried once more to reach her. The chains held him just like before though. She had killed. Peter swallowed not wanting to know who the girl was. There was so much suffering in such a short amount of time. Her words were getting to him, digging under his skin and latching on like a parasite. He remind silent his eyes moving over to Lucy. Peter gave her a defeated look as if there was nothing he could do. Like he had given up.
Even Lucy’s words of encouragement were hard to bring him back from Aphine’s latest word bombardment. Peter winced as another curse was sent at Lucy. He watched in horror helpless to save her. Then she stopped moving. It took minute a long minute to realize what had happened. His voice was raspy and dry as he called out to her , “Lucy? Lucy!”
Peter turned in fury to Aphine. “What do you get out of all of this? What has Jadis promised you? You can’t trust her she tells nothing but lies.”
He stopped knowing that no matter what he said to Aphine she would just take it with a giggle and a grin. Peter stared at Lucy. He saw her chest fall in and out. He sighed a breath of relief. She was still alive. He couldn’t give up on trying to save Lucy or give up hope about Aslan. Peter closed his eyes for a second before shakingly getting to his feet.
He stared Aphine dead in the eye. Lines of hopelessness washed away into determination and loathing. “I challenge you Aphine. I want to see how you fair without hiding behind your powers. Why not take a chance and play with me for a while. If anything accepting my challenge will give Lucy enough time to rest before going back again.”
Not that he wanted Aphine within a planet’s distance of his sister.
He set his jaw. “What do you say Aphine? Think you can handle a stupid selfish boy like myself without your powers? I bet Jadis would be proud if you put me in my place. She sure as Aslan would not tolerate my behavior. And as I said, Lucy is unconscious what can you gain from torturing her? She won’t respond. You have no choice but to accept my challenge.”
Peter narrowed his eyes. “If you win you are free to torture us both to your hearts desire. But if I win, you have to let Lucy go free and you can torture me.” He swallowed. “Either way you win and Jadis gets to keep the High King. What do you say?”
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Post by elisiaaphine on Feb 20, 2010 12:23:04 GMT -5
Aphine watched as the power of her magic drove the young queen into unconsciousness. Her smile faltered for a second before growing wide upon her face. She'd seen this many times before, the girl was still alive. Her pain just caused her to pass out. Kind of like what Vardin did to little Aly. It was a mere setback. She'd just have to wait until Lucy woke up again to torture her more.
Aphine let out a giggle. She didn't know who this 'Jadis' was, but she guessed it was what these people referred to Lillith as. Like some sort of mean title. Aphine didn't care though, she was having too much fun with this. "Oh, but she hasn't lied to me." Her smile widened. "I got James back, just like she said I would. And I've had so much fun playing with you, both in your pretty castle and here." She giggled and turned away from the King. "The true Queen of Narnia savors glorious chaos. She knows what truly is fun and how to torture others."
Aphine let out another laugh before turning to the young king before sitting down in front of him, just out of reach. "Firstly, the rules are already made up. I can't let you go, and I wouldn't fight you without magic. It wouldn't be fair. You'd be taking advantage. You can't change the rules when the game has already begun." She smiled, glancing over at Lucy. "Sure, I may be unable to torture her now. But I'm torturing you simply by letting you know that when she does wake up, the agony continues." Her laugh echoed like a sarcastic song within the chamber walls. "Besides, why would I torture you when dear Lucy isn't awake to watch the show? It would be quite unfair, don't you think?"
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Post by Lucy Pevensie on Feb 27, 2010 23:08:00 GMT -5
Lucy moved slightly, breaking her otherwise stillness as though she were merely asleep and responding to some dream. She was far from dreaming though; though the truth of her situation was twisting and complicated. She lay still again for another minute or so before taking a sharp, shaking breath as though she had been underwater the entire time. Her eyes flickered open, the dimmed light of the cell seeming so bright after-...
Was it all a dream? Where had Mischief gone? But-...wait...the Fey's words were coming back as clear as though the girl was standing next to her impatiently repeating them. Some sort of 'world between worlds'...and she had given Lucy specific instructions, though, unsurprisingly, they were about as some of the really big, complex volumes in Cair Paravel's library. But she understood enough to follow them. She just hoped she could. And that scene...a chill ran over Lucy's skin not entirely connected to the cold stone she lay on.
"Peter?" At least she could clearly see him standing just across from her. He certainly didn't look happy, but he didn't look hurt either. And that was what mattered. Unfortunately, she could also just see the hem of Aphine's dress against the ground where she sat without lifting her head. How long was this going to go on! Why couldn't that woman just leave them alone?
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Post by ADMIN the MAGNIFICENT on Mar 9, 2010 9:46:36 GMT -5
Peter glared at Aphine as she turned away from him. Her refusal to his challenge both frustrated and yet relieved Peter. He was upset that she was stubborn enough to turn down his only idea that would probably save Lucy. Peter thought that would do the trick but it turned out that he had set his hopes too high. There was a bit of sad guilt though that hung in his stomach beside the anger. When Aphine didn’t accept there was a part of Peter that felt glad he didn’t have to fight her. It made Peter feel queasy, how could he be a coward at a time like this? When Lucy needed him most?
He breathed through his nostrils his jaw set tight. Her laughter was like nails on a slate. Peter would give anything to end the laughter and to even end Aphine. More formless ideas began swimming around in Peter’s mind. He tried to piece them together but each idea seemed as pointless and useless as the next. As long as Lucy stayed out for a while longer he could have time to think of a way to get Aphine’s focus solely on him.
Lucy’s voice broke through his thoughts and actually sent a shiver down Peter’s spine. Oh no, Lucy. He thought slowly looking over toward her. Why couldn’t you have remained unconscious? At least unconscious you were safe. Peter stared at Lucy for a moment before coming to a painful conclusion on Aphine’s own words.
“I’m torturing you simply by letting you know when she does wake up the agony continues.”
Peter knew Aphine was torturing Lucy this whole time to torture him. He knew this from the beginning but a crazy thought entered his head. What if he stopped? If he showed it didn’t bother him. Peter swallowed taking a deep breath and resting with his back against the wall. He struggled to put a nonchalant expression on his face. He’d have to pretend not to care. His head rolled toward Aphine.
“She’s awake.” He said in a casual tone.
He prayed to Aslan, for once in a long while, that he would be forgiven for what he was about to do. He also prayed his plan worked. It was for Lucy only for Lucy.
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Post by elisiaaphine on Mar 20, 2010 9:02:28 GMT -5
Aphine laughed maliciously at Peter’s stupid attempt to deviate her from the game. She wasn’t stupid after all. They couldn’t dissuade her that easily. She continued to watch Lucy, waiting to simply hear Peter’s reaction. There wasn’t much time to wait. Soon enough, Lucy was awake and ready to be tortured again. This was far to much fun, and she wasn’t about to quit her game quite yet.
Peter’s voice made her stop, and spin around before Lucy could see the look on her face without moving fully to see her expression. She stood there, staring at Peter, her face suddenly stoic and mouth in a thin line. Her eyes once filled with evil joy and laughter, now blazed with confusion, malice, and fury. Peter’s two words had thrown her into a different mood. Not the words themselves, but the way they were said. He sounded as though he didn’t care anymore. Her lips pursed together and her fingers itched to reach forward and place themselves around Peter’s throat.
It was a game, she had to say to herself. Just a game. Maybe he was playing her. He wouldn’t simply act like he didn’t care about the little Queen. That wasn’t the way the game was played. He couldn’t do that!
She sucked in a breath that sounded almost like a hiss before turning on Lucy, her eyes once again glinting with a triumphant malice, only now instead of blazing with a fire, they were as cold as ice. This would get him to react, the stupid boy. She sent another curse of unbearable pain at Lucy, waiting to hear Peter’s reaction. Sobbing, cries, pleads. Something!
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Post by Lucy Pevensie on Mar 20, 2010 21:59:49 GMT -5
One wouldn't think it possible to miss things when one's not even conscious. Then again, unconsciousness often does not include having unusual conversations with an even more unusual fae in a place that, though it did for a little bit look like Narnia, was so cold and void of happiness, or anything at all really. So perhaps it was a little more understandable that seeing her brother again, alive and unharmed, was like Christmas morning for Lucy. A cheery smile broke out over her face when he turned to look at her, not wanting to do much past that as her muscles were still considerably numb... but one look into his eyes broke her enthusiasm.
He looked so pained, so helpless, actually...scared. She knew it had to be that witch's fault, which make Lucy simply dislike the evil woman all the more. She didn't have time to dwell on that thought too long, though, as an odd change caught her eye: the look in Peter's eyes...was different. Not by much, but it had changed. And she wasn't sure she liked it. Then he broke eye contact with her and spoke off-hand to Aphine, and 'she didn't like it' became a vast understatement.
'She's awake.'
Lucy felt the same sudden, horrible sense of loss as she had when she and Susan had seen Aslan give his life, when they had watched the dagger fall, and Aslan's last breath. She sat rooted to the spot, staring at her eldest brother as though he had just smacked her as hard as humanly possible for no reason at all. The way he had spoken...didn't he care anymore? No, he had to! She made herself think of the tons and tons of times he had been there for her, protected her, talked to her when she needed it, checked for monsters in her wardrobe when she was younger... he'd shown a million times over that he cared. But... why would he act like this now? Why would be abandon her?
In all her confused thoughts, she paid no attention to Aphine, hardly even remembering she was there. That is, until the curse hit. Awful, searing, tearing, ripping, burning pain. Everywhere. Tears streamed down her face as she wept openly, trying not to scream. It was just so horrible though...and if Aphine enjoyed it and Peter didn't care anymore, she didn't want to cause Aphine pleasure and - dare she say it - Peter either.
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Post by ADMIN the MAGNIFICENT on Mar 22, 2010 19:53:41 GMT -5
Peter swallowed and prepared himself. He saw the change in Aphine and prayed that he was onto something. Sitting back against the wall as casually as he could, Peter watched Aphine not really paying any mind to Lucy. When he glanced over to look at Lucy he wished he hadn’t. He saw the worst expression in Lucy’s eyes and he hated knowing that he was personally causing it. Peter worked hard not to show any emotion. It was probably the hardest thing he had ever done. Even harder than thinking for a split second that Edmund might die that day back on the battlefield of Beruna.
As soon as Aphine turned and sent another curse at Lucy, Peter braced himself. The tears streaming down Lucy’s face broke his heart. But he stayed strong. He prayed to Aslan, Forgive me. Peter forced a bored expression on his face. He worked to think of the most mundane tasks and thoughts and worked hard to keep them in his mind. He drew in a breath and sighed. His eyes moved to Aphine. He raised an eyebrow as if saying so what?. Peter folded his arms across his chest.
Peter didn’t speak for a long minute afraid that his voice would break and everything he was planning in his head would be for naught. He licked his lips and with a cocky attitude he stared at the wall across from him. “Not sure if she can handle much more before she passes out again. Best to get your fill in before that happens.”
It was so cold. Aslan, I’m sorry. This is the only way. He watched Lucy twist in pain with melancholy expression. There wasn’t even emotion in his eyes to let her know he was lying. He couldn’t risk Lucy knowing if she were to give anything away or if Aphine were to see any kind of emotional reaction it would be over.
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Post by elisiaaphine on Apr 21, 2010 12:23:10 GMT -5
Aphine continued on torturing Lucy, a small smile on her face, laughing internally. It was impossible to hide how much pain she was in, even if she didn't scream aloud. This had to get the little king to do something--there was no way he could help being tortured by his sister. But his emotionless words put a halt to her smile and her thoughts. Her head whipped around, releasing Lucy from her agonizing pain and found Peter. What?! How could he just be sitting there and acting like this was the most mundane game in the world. He was tortured before. How was it now he was unaffected.
Aphine’s mind went blank with a murderous blaze. This was impossible. He was her brother, and he didn’t seem to care anymore. No. No, No! NO!!! What was the point of torturing this little queen if there was no satisfaction in the end result: The King’s obvious helpless and tortured state of mind. Now he just looked… bored. A hiss escaped between her bared teeth and her fingers twitched, slowly bending so they more resembled bird talons. Her entire body seemed to contort and twist, bend as if ready to tackle prey. Her eyes blazed with a fiery passion to rip open his throat and spill his blood and join that which still stained the front of her dress.
In one swift movement she was next to Peter, bearing down on top of him. She raised her arm and swiped at his face with the intent of breaking open his skin and leaving him with the same clawed gashes she had given Vardin on their first meeting. HOW DARE HE! No one escaped her torture unless she said so. NOBODY! Aphine was blinded by pure rage and hatred of this young boy. Only the White Witch’s words kept her from killing him, even though every inch of her body twitched with the intention of doing so.
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Post by Lucy Pevensie on Apr 25, 2010 21:48:43 GMT -5
It was like some cruel punishment that even through the blistering pain, Lucy could still hear her brother’s voice. So cold, so heartless. It didn’t sound like her brother at all. It make her just want to give up, to die. It was like she was nothing to him. Like all those years of acting like he really cared about her were a lie. She let out a whimper, her body shaking not only from the curse, but from shear emotional pain. Aslan… help me… she prayed with what little hope was left in her. Please…
She could feel her energy draining. How much longer until she passed out again? Maybe she wouldn’t wake back up this time. And, as much as she hated to admit it, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Her whole world was crashing down. Edmund was heading for his death. Peter had abandoned her. Jadis was slowly taking over. She wanted nothing more than to be in the comfort of the wonderfulness she and Mr Tumnus had spoken of so long ago: Aslan’s Country. It seemed so long ago since she’d seen her friends. Would she see any of them again? Mischief had said someone was coming… but would she still be here when they arrived? She was beginning to doubt it.
At first she thought it was the pain finally taking over, and then she realized the pain had suddenly stopped. But the golden light that filled her tightly-shut eyelids hadn’t. No, not just her eyelids… she could feel it… in her whole body. Like a warm embrace. Though there were no words, she knew what it was telling her. Stay Strong. Keep Faith. Don’t Give Up. There was only one explanation. She barely kept the smile off her face. There was always one who would never abandon her, no matter what. And she would never abandon Him.
She opened her eyes, the gold light fading, though she still felt the warm confidence. She was careful not to let it show though; she remembered what Mischief had said. Let them think she was still completely broken. What met her eyes, though, didn’t make that hard. She drew a gasping breath. “No.” She’d meant to yell it, to stop the foul witch hurting her brother. But the curse had taken its toll on her and her voice was nothing more than a croak hardly above a whisper.
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Post by ADMIN the MAGNIFICENT on May 1, 2010 13:20:45 GMT -5
Peter felt a twist in the pit of his stomach. He hated himself for just sitting back and watching Lucy suffer. The worst part was pretending he didn’t care in the least at what condition she was in. And the look on Lucy’s face made it worse and harder for Peter to keep his emotions hidden. The sound Aphine made was almost just as terrifying as Lucy’s screams. He looked to Aphine trying not to show fear, but that was a battle he lost.
He watched her hand draw back and Peter did nothing to stop it from striking him. At least she was focused on him and not Lucy. Maybe she could catch a bit of rest. The nails scratched deep across Peter’s cheek. They burned and even though the pain was nothing like that of her torture curse, Peter clenched his jaw and fought back tears. He felt the warm blood leek down from the cuts and drip from his chin. Peter didn’t touch the wound. He sat there silently for a moment trying to deal with the pain.
Slowly he turned his head back to Aphine, his eyes steely and cold. There, in his eyes, was a challenge. Without speaking Peter challenged Aphine to try it again. He knew that Jadis didn’t want him dead. Peter knew it’d probably be over for Aphine were she to kill him. That was why Peter had come to terms with death in that moment. If it saved Lucy, he would sacrifice himself. He kept the challenging look on his face ignoring the deep gashes altogether.
Hearing Lucy protest from nearby almost made Peter break his stare with Aphine. But he didn’t back down. In his head he prayed to Aslan and wished that Lucy would understand. He kept his gaze and after a minute he decided to speak.
“You’re forgetting about Lucy.” He said calmly hoping it would egg her on. Peter was out of options at this point was now just doing whatever popped into his head. He couldn’t stand to see Lucy tortured any longer. He also didn’t exactly want to survive this whole ordeal knowing that he would have to go back to Cair Paravel where Aly’s stone figure sat. When had Narnia become such a cruel place? When did it hold no comfort for him anymore?
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Post by elisiaaphine on May 13, 2010 9:46:11 GMT -5
Peter's actions of pretending as though he didn't care had definitely done the trick. She had completely forgotten about Lucy. Aphine's mind was not zoned in on one individual: the one with the bleeding cheek standing in front of her. She didn’t even hear Lucy’s voice struggling to vocally stop her from turning her attention full on the boy in front of her, High King of Narnia about to be punished beyond his wildest nightmares. She gnashed her teeth together, her entire body quaking with an energy beyond the greatest loathing she’d ever felt for an individual. She wouldn’t kill him, oh no. She’d make him pay. Dearly. She would thrash him within an inch of his life, and when he had gained enough strength again, she would do it again, and again, and again… This boy was about to sincerely wish he’d never tried to overthrow the White Witch and take the throne for his own. His family would suffer, and so would he.
Aphine gnashed her teeth together and grabbed Peter by the collar, forcing him to stand. She focused all her energy into two places of her body: her hands. The hand that wasn’t holding his collar glowed a burnt red, and she pulled her arm back and aimed to backhand him across the face. The effect of the red magic would have left a horrid burning sensation across his face. She quickly let go of his collar and aimed a blow at his stomach with her other hand, almost as though she were attacking him with an open hand with fingers pointed. Only by the time it would hit him, her hand would have glowed a bluish white, sending jolts of electricity coursing through his body—it wasn’t powerful enough to kill him, but it definitely wasn’t a pleasant feeling either.
All while she stared at Peter, her eyes dark soulless tunnels. There was no childish nature or giddiness there anymore. All that existed was the deepest lust for vengeance. He would pay dearly for his actions. No one upset her like this and got away with it. No one. She stared at peter, her wicked sneer appearing on her face again, but now instead of the childish glint, it too held the glare of revenge. No help would be coming for them. They had to learn that she was going to be there now to torture them until the White Witch bid her to stop.
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Post by Lucy Pevensie on May 13, 2010 22:38:15 GMT -5
There was a short list of things on Lucy’s worst-thing-to-ever-have-to-witness list. Aslan’s death at the Stone Table was firmly at the top of that list, and for a long time things like seeing Mr Tumnus as a statue and seeing Edmund nearly die thanks to the White Witch and that sort of thing had been really high up there. Well, this was a new one on the list, and boy, was it high on it.
Where Lucy’s voice had been fading before, it certainly wasn’t now. She’d forgotten the whole bit about not killing them and, well, it looked a lot like Peter was about to take a permanent vacation to Aslan’s Country. At least, being hoisted off the ground by a witch with a glowing hand generally wasn’t a good sign that she knew of. “NO! Please! Leave him alone! Torture me, kill me, whatever! Just please, leave him alone!” She knew it was most likely completely futile, but she had to try. If Peter died, she didn’t know what she would do.
Through all she and her siblings had been through, Peter had been the strong leader through the storm, second only to Aslan. She couldn’t think of a single time he hadn’t been there for her (the incident a moment before now seemed more like a nightmare than an actual true event). Wasn’t it bad enough that Edmund, the voice of reason and hope, was going to die? Wasn’t it bad enough that they were trapped here? She couldn’t lose Peter. She just couldn’t. Tears streamed down her face.
And then Aphine went to strike him in the stomach. Lucy let out a piercing scream as though the blow had bit into her instead. She didn’t know anything about what all the glowing meant, but knew enough that it wasn’t good. She could hardly see through the waves before her eyes as she doubled over, tears splashing to the unforgiving stone. “PEEETEEEERRRRR!!” The word lost itself sobs.
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