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N E R I S S A
An insistent knocking on our door jolts me awake and Peter groans beside me.
"Open up!" Edmund's voice yells from the other side, sounding panicked.
"What in the world's going on?" Peter grumbles as he untangles his limbs from mine before pulling a random shirt on and stalking towards the door and throwing it open.
"Get dressed. We have to get to the Stone table room."
"What? Why?" I asked, throwing the blankets off me and pulling myself out of the comfort of our bed.
"It's Caspian." Is all he has to say before I'm rushing around the room and collecting my things and Peter does the same, "Nikabrik's using him to summon the White Witch."
I curse under my breath, before racing for the door, only to have Peter hold me back.
"Nerissa, are you sure you're up for this?" He asks, "You should stay. We'll go instead."
The look on his face kills me. He's constantly worrying about me that he isn't getting much sleep. Tonight was one of the few that he'd managed to fall asleep before me.
"Peter, he's my brother."
"We'll take care of him, I promise." He says.
"I'm going." I shoot Peter an apologetic look as I follow Edmund out the door.
I hear Peter curse under his breath behind me, before rushing after us.
My heart was threatening to thump out of my chest as we make a mad dash to the Stone room, passing rows of torches that lined the hallway.
I could hear muffled voices as we neared the Stone room, making my stomach twist uneasily.
"Wait, this isn't what I wanted." Caspian's voice floats down the hallway, making me pick up my speed.
As I finally make it to the Stone room, I spot my brother who stood in the middle of it. Before him was a slab of ice and the White Witch's ghostly figure looked as if she was suspended in it.
Nikabrik stood alongside Caspian, and with them were creatures that I haven't seen in ages- a werewolf and a hag.
"Just one drop of Adam's blood and you free me." I hear the Witch say, "Then I'm yours, my King."
Caspian hesitates, taking a step back, but the werewolf reaches out and snatches
"Caspian!"
Rushing forward, I unsheathe my sword just as the werewolf crawls over the Stone table and leaps towards me. Slashing my blade out, I manage to nick the werewolf, who falls to the ground whimpering.
However, it quickly regains itself before circling me. I follow its movements carefully, watching as it prowls around me, ready to pounce at any moment.
I notice the others join the fight from the corner of my eyes with Trumpkin in tow. Good. The more the better.
Relief fills my chest as I see Peter knock Caspian away from the White Witch, who was dangerously close to getting what she wanted. I watch on, just in case Peter needed my help, all while keeping a close eye on the werewolf who was still circling me like I was its next prey.
The witch looks taken aback at Peter's sudden intrusion, but soon, she reaches out again.
"Peter dear, I have missed you. Come, just one drop."
The relief that filled my chest soon disappears as Peter lowers his sword slightly, seemingly falling into some sort of hypnotic state.
She reaches further, "You know you can't do this alone."
I dart for the side, trying to get to Peter just as the werewolf pounces, leaving me no choice but to fend for myself.
It lunges towards me with its teeth bared, and I pull my hand back just in time, causing its teeth to close down on solid metal instead of my flesh.
The werewolf staggers back and I take the opening to slash my blade forward, drawing a long cut across its chest.
Raising Nikephoros above my head, I stand over the wolf, ready to bring my sword down on it when a sharp pain courses through my shoulder.
My sword clatters to the ground as I fall to my knees. At first, I think someone has gotten me. That I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings and now, I was paying the price.
Reaching up to my shoulder, I expect to find an arrow or some sort of weapon sticking through it, but the bulky bandages that covered my wound were still intact. Only now, it soaked and blood paints my fingers as they come away.
The pain doesn't fade, only growing more intense as the minute passes, making my head spin.
"Nerissa!" Edmund's voice snaps me back to reality.
I look up to see the werewolf pouncing at me, its lips pulled back into a snarled as it prepares to close its deadly jaws down on me.
I shake my head, trying to distract myself from the pain as I dive for my sword. Unfortunately, the werewolf lands on top of me, trapping me beneath it.
I bar my arm under its chin, trying my best to prevent its bared teeth from chomping down on my face. It doesn't back down, it's teeth snapping shut over and over again as it tries to reach for me. Its saliva drips down its chin and onto my cheek as it continues its relentless attack.
I reach for my sword even with my throbbing shoulder. Finally, my fingers close around the hilt of Nikephoros. I manage to lift it, albeit a little shaking as I ignore the agonising pain that coursed through my arm.
Thrusting my sword up, the sickening sound of metal slicing through flesh and bone tells me I've successfully landed my attack.
The wolf's body falls limp above me, the weight of its body causing the hilt of my sword to dig into my gut.
I wince as it digs into yet another unhealed wound of mine, swallowing a cry in pain, I try to push its lifeless body off of me.
My lumps were threatening to give up and my attempts to shove it off me go to waste.
Frustration fills my chest. I've never felt more helpless in my life. Frustration soon turns to anger at myself for not even being able to do a simple task.
Without meaning to, fire erupts from my palms, quickly spreading as it engulfs the wolf's body.
"Nerissa!" It's Peter who calls this time, "Stop!"
I desperately try to rein in my fire but to no avail. It keeps spreading, all while I'm trapped under a body that's now lit on fire.
"I can't!" The words come out sounding like a sob.
"Yes, you can, Darling." Peter says, "Concentrate!"
I do, shutting my eyes as I focus on my fire and how it's slowly getting smaller till it completely dissipates.
When I open my eyes again, the room isn't lit by flames any longer, but the smell of charred remains is unmissable.
I desperately shove at the corpse that laid above me, panic suddenly clawing at my throat as a wave of dizziness hits me.
Finally, the body gets lifts off of me and I'm being pulled into a pair of comforting arms.
"It's okay," Peter soothes, his voice soundly slightly muffled as darkness threaten to consume me. "You're alright, I've got you."
I relax into his embrace, letting my heavy lids fall shut and allowing the darkness to pull me in.