Golden light illuminated the inside of the scarlet tent. Though the sun was still up, there were only a few hours left before it was gone. Adeline sat silently in the tent's opening, feeling the grass slip through her fingers as she waited for her pupils to finish drawing up battle plans. It was not an easy task meant for beginners, but she had not the time to guide them through every single step. They could ask for help, should they need it. She was, however, not allowing them to work together just yet. First, she wanted to see what they could come up with by themselves. Then they could compare their individual plans and use that to find the best course of action.

They were far more excited for the strategy part of her curriculum than they had been for the etiquette portion. Susan had pitched a right fit, sourly declaring that they were well-raised. And while Adeline had assured the girl that she did not believe that they had not been brought up properly, she had also been quick to remind Susan that they were in a completely different country with differing customs. It was not as though she was planning to teach them how to properly hold a teapot, they would have attendants for that. No, what she wanted them to learn was the art of implication and subtlety. To stand up and accuse a political associate of… well, anything, simply would not do. It was a different thing entirely to imply that they were guilty, or to subtly let them know that they had been caught.

Half the afternoon had been spent berating them all for their quick tempers. Over and over, Adeline sharply reminded them that it was terribly out of order to snap at the hypothetical delegates when they subtly insulted them and that there was no need to draw weapons when there were implied threats. She had given up when, for the sixth time, Peter flew up from his seat with an indignant huff. Thankfully, etiquette was not the most pressing thing for them to learn. So she had given them a map and three thousand soldiers each to use in making a plan of action. Which was what they had spent an hour doing. From across the camp, Adeline could see Mrs. Beaver looking anxiously over at them, whispering with her husband. Tough luck. The Pevensies would not be eating a scrap until they had passed the test.

Behind her, a throat was cleared. She stood and turned to face them. "All done?" They nodded and she asked each of them to explain their choices and the reasoning behind each and every decision they had made. She could not help the smile on her face. None of them was perfect. In the slightest. But without her encouragement, they started discussing the mistakes that had been made. While they still greatly lacked tact, they were decent strategists. Would become great ones, with time and experience. She told them as much. "Tomorrow, you are to practice fighting on horseback until noon," she said, collecting the maps she had given them, "Though I believe it won't be strictly necessary to go over strategy." They all grinned proudly, shoving each other playfully. Adeline shook her head, raising her eyebrows amusedly. "Instead, I think we will be spending our afternoon rehearsing etiquette while discussing diplomacy."

Peter groaned along with his siblings, all of them rushing to leave when they heard Mrs. Beaver call them over for supper. A hand on his arm stopped him. He faced Adeline nervously. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," she replied, "I was hoping to speak with you."

Hesitantly, Peter stepped back into the tent. Though he would never admit it if asked, he had found himself wishing to meet the girl's standards as the day had passed. He wanted to impress her. To be asked to stay behind had never been a good thing in England and he doubted that it was a good thing in Narnia.

"I must say, you took me by surprise today," she said, kneeling in front of a stack of books, "You far exceeded my expectations regarding how well I believed any of you would perform." Pulling an old tome bound in green leather out, she rose and handed it to the young prince. He opened it, carefully flipping through its pages. "This particular volume describes the history of Narnian warfare," she told him quietly, "I believe it will be of great use to you."

The leather-bound book felt heavy and comfortable in his hands and Peter nodded. "Thank you, Commander." Adeline turned away from him and he could tell that he was free to go. He almost did, only to pause again. "Do you play chess, Commander?" The girl faced him, bemused. "Well, I guess I was wondering if you'd like to play chess with me when you find the time." For a moment, Peter could have sworn she was going to say no. He knew she was busy, between tutoring him and his siblings and keeping the soldiers on their toes. But then she gave him a short nod. He left the tent, smiling as he decided to spend his supper reading the book she had given him.

"Commander, would you please sit with us?"

Startled, Adeline met Lucy's gaze. She had not realised that the young princess knew she was present. Her intention had been to find some food and then sneak back to her own corner of the camp. It was only polite, however, to acquiesce the princess' request. Slowly, she sunk down onto the blanket beside the Pevensie sisters. Lucy greeted her with a wide smile.

"Will you tell us a story?"

"A story?" She tried to ignore the many eyes she could feel on her back. Had she known that her presence at supper would garner so much attention, she would have ignored propriety and returned to her tent. While she could speak as a Commander in front of an army of thousands if she needed to, it felt wholly different to tell the girls a story with the entire encampment listening. There was an intimacy to it, an intimacy that would require that she spoke as Adeline rather than as the Commander. "What kind of story do you wish to hear?"

"Tell us about Narnia."

A wide request to say the least. Perhaps she could start at the beginning, as she had planned to do for their lessons in history. But she could also tell them about that squirrel who befriended a dragon, or about the River God or the naiads. "Fetch your brothers," she said finally, "We might as well take it from the beginning and get an early start on your history lessons." Adeline waited patiently, still aware that the entire encampment would be listening. Once Edmund and Peter, both with curious expressions on their face, were seated alongside their sisters, she began telling the tale of Narnia. "In the beginning, there was nothing," she regaled, smiling softly as she looked up at her entranced listeners, "Until the arrival of a rather eclectic band of individuals brought about the Lion's Song…"

The sun set in time with her storytelling. She spoke of how, out of the nothingness, the stars and sun sprang forth, spoke about the appearance of land, animals and plants. The children gasped when she told them about Frank and Helen, the first rulers of Narnia, both descending from the Pevensies' own world. She found that her words ensnared and enraptured each of her many listeners. Though, in spite of having the nearly undivided attention of them all, it was evident that a long day was coming to an end. She left off at the retrieval of the golden apple that would grow into the tree protecting Narnia only because Lucy was half asleep, head resting against Edmund's shoulder. "Of to bed with you all," she said, rising, "We must all rest."

Pain seared through Adeline's entire being as she watched Peter lift Lucy into his arms and carry her into the tent she shared with Susan. A warmth beside her alerted her to her father's presence. While she was unable to read minds, she knew that he saw what she did. An image mirroring the scene before them, a pale memory. "Did he ever love me as they love each other?"

"He loved you with all his heart," Aslan assured her, knowing that it was futile, "All of them did." His daughter's fingers clenched tightly in his mane, the closest she had come to seeking comfort from him in many years. She did not share his luxury of being able to see them. The pain she was experiencing was deeper than any he would ever know. "Rest, Daughter," he murmured, "Allow sleep to relieve you of your burden."

She walked away. But he still heard her tormented whisper. "It never does."

Though they had only spent a day under Adeline's tutelage, Edmund still thought it was strange to suddenly have Oreius as their tutor. Four horses stood waiting alongside the centaur when they arrived at their designated sparring area. Garion waited with the swords they would be using for the lessons, while Argus stood ready to teach them how to prepare their horses. Their original tutor was nowhere to be seen.

"The Commander will be arriving shortly," Oreius stated, seeing the confusion on their faces, "She had to make some preparations for your afternoon lessons." The slightest flicker of relief visible in their eyes amused him greatly. Adeline was not known to be someone people looked forward to seeing. Most of the soldiers sagged in relief when she was not around, as that meant losing a significant amount of pressure. Yet, the children seemed to burn with excitement, seemed to long for a chance to impress her. "Please, gather around."

So absorbed where the Pevensies in their lesson, listening with rapt attention as Argus instructed them on which buckle went where, that they never noticed Adeline's arrival. She sat down in the grass, observing from a distance as Argus helped Lucy into the saddle. Her doubts about the Pevensies were well known to both her father and Oreius. They were fast learners though, and she was quickly learning not to underestimate them. While she was not yet ready to admit it, they were rapidly growing into kings and queens she would readily lay down her life for. They were so good, so kind to the Narnians they had encountered. She wanted to be bewildered but knew in her heart that she could not be. Once, she had been a stranger to Narnia, but her fight against the Witch was for what she had come to know as her homeland as well as for what she had lost.

"You are more morose than usual this fine morning," Oreius said as a way of greeting, "Something on your mind?"

Tossing her precious silver dagger into the air and catching it by the blade, Adeline gave him a scathing look. "Shouldn't you be over there, tutoring our future leaders?" He merely raised his eyebrows in response. They were both very aware that none of her foul moods was bad enough to scare him away. Friendship tended to have that effect. Adeline scoffed. "I assure you, I shall remain equally as morose when the lesson is over," she said darkly, "Could you perchance spare me the interrogation until your pupils are no longer in need of your instruction?" Oreius snorted, though she did not know if it was a reaction to her words or just his horsey manners breaking through. He did leave her alone though, returning to the Pevensies.

Though she would have loved to spend as much of her day as possible in solitude, Adeline found herself sitting with the siblings as they ate their lunch. Lucy had all but begged for her to join them and Adeline had found that she had a difficult time saying no to the young girl. They were talking about the inevitable battle, and while Peter had seemed accommodating enough regarding his siblings' lessons with her, he was trying to convince them to leave Narnia and let him fight alone. A slow smile, hidden behind her hair, broke out on Adeline's face as Edmund, in spite of the somewhat understandable reasons for Peter's worry, declared that they had to stay, that he had seen what the Witch could do. As she listened to him speak, Adeline finally understood him. While he may have been a traitor, he was a protector. He had changed his mind once he had realised the extent of the Witch's greed. Peter wanted to protect his siblings. Edmund wanted to do right by everyone who would suffer at the hands of his mistakes.

"I suppose that's it then." Susan stood, walking over to collect her bow and quiver. "Best get in some practice."

Peter stared incredulously after her. "What of our afternoon lessons?" Adeline chuckled beside him, she too rising from her seat with a bushel of grapes in hand.

"You needn't worry," she assured him, "Mastering your weapon of choice, or any at all for that matter, is far more important right now than learning the art of diplomacy." She started to follow Susan, only to turn around when she realised that the others were not. Smiling playfully, she raised her eyebrows in challenge. "Well, are you coming or not?"

After watching Susan attempt to hit the middle of her chosen target a few times, Adeline helped her correct her posture just a little and instructed her to consider the currents of the wind before firing again. Lucy stunned both Susan and Adeline when she threw her dagger and it met its mark perfectly. The blonde warrior had to laugh as the sisters bickered lightly about which weapon had a bigger advantage, just as Edmund and Peter came crashing forth on their horses, swords clashing as they practised what Oreius had shown them that morning. Something was not quite what it should have been though. Adeline looked up, noticing that the normally blue sky was slowly being overtaken by clouds. Almost as though…

"Peter," Mr. Beaver called as he came running towards them, "Edmund!"

All movement ceased. Edmund rushed to reassure his horse, Philip apparently, that everything was all right. But everything was not all right, not in the slightest.

"The Witch has demanded a meeting with Aslan," Mr. Beaver continued urgently, "She's on her way here."

All colour drained from Adeline's face. She shared a quick look with the siblings hearing even from a distance the announcement of the Witch's arrival. They all rushed towards the encampment. The battle was imminent. Though swords had yet to ring, though spears had not yet hit their mark, Adeline could taste the blood in the air.

Biting his still healing lip, Edmund winced when the Witch reminded Aslan and all others present of his treachery. A hand found his and he looked to the side to see Adeline. She was not looking at him but her silent gesture of comfort reassured him more than he had expected it to. It was so very uncharacteristic of her that it momentarily distracted him from the scene before them. Only momentarily though.

"Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?" The Witch lifted her chin defiantly, eyes trained on Aslan as she spoke.

"Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch," Aslan growled, "I was there when it was written."

Taken aback by his outburst unwilling to let it show, Jadis refused to step down even in the face of what she knew was immense power. "Then you'll remember well that every traitor belongs to me," she stated rigidly, "His blood is my property." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see movement. A mass of golden hair, rippling as swords were pulled from their sheaths. But that could not be possible. No, she had ended that line hundreds of years prior.

"You seem to be forgetting that we have more than one traitor in our midst," Adeline spoke cooly as she stepped forward, "You usurped the Narnian throne, it is not yours to keep." Slowly, she sidled up with her father, never turning her back on her life-long nemesis. To the fraud who had cursed Narnia, she owed all the pain she had ever felt. "You are within your rights to claim his blood," she continued darkly, "But there are others who have a claim on yours."

Jadis was stunned. How was it possible that any of the children from the Land Beyond the Sea still walked among them? "You're supposed to be dead," she stated, "Your ilk disappeared a near millennium ago." Murmurs erupted around them and a wicked glint appeared in her eye as she realised that there was much that the Narnians did not know of the Lion's daughter. A fact she would take advantage of once she had claimed her vengeance. "Even you, daughter of Aslan, are not above the Deep Magic," Jadis continued, "Edmund's blood and treachery belong to me as it is written."

"Try and take him then."

Startled, Edmund looked up at his brother. Peter's defence of him, while not fully unexpected, was grander and more heartfelt than he had ever thought possible. He had done horrible things. Adeline's expression was both exasperated and contemplative as both she and the Witch regarded Peter. The Witch looked frightfully bored, as though she knew that there was nothing anyone could do to save him. She turned to Aslan and Adeline again, announcing loudly what would happen if she was denied her rights. Edmund felt hope leave him. He was to die at the Stone Table.

Suddenly, Aslan asked to speak to the Witch alone. Adeline glared at him fiercely. "Absolutely not."

"Do your duty," he replied calmly, "The time has come."