To those of you who enjoyed "The Phoenix Archer," I present to you its sequel. It is a bit darker than the first so I'm bumping the rating up to T just to be safe (the movie itself was darker but I think this might have some moments that are worse). I hope you enjoy this one as well.

For this story, I have the children at the following ages
Ana: 15
Lucy: 11
Edmund: 15
Susan: 17
Peter: 19
Caspian: 19

*I'm saying the Edmund and Peter both had two birthdays before their return. Assuming it wasn't exactly a year (a little over) it's plausible. Their ages seem to make more sense that way.


Prologue

Crash! Another boulder hit the castle ramparts and rubble went everywhere. Some Narnians were injured by the blast while the archers were knocked off and fell to their deaths. Ana shuddered, feeling hopeless and having no idea how to defend against this enemy. Their weaponry greatly overpowered their own. They had yet to breach the castle walls but each catapult they launched made it that much easier. One more good hit and soon they would be inside and the Narnians would have nowhere to run.

With the disappearance of the royals, Narnia entered the Dark Age. Ana had been doing her best to protect the castle while the Kings and Queens were away. It was difficult though. At first, there were minor tiffs and battles when the Kings refused to speak with nobles. But soon they began to realize that there was no one on the throne and Narnia was ripe for the taking. Ana sent word to Archenland—knowing they had a claim to their throne—and they agreed to rule and help protect their ally.

But eventually Archenland couldn't rule both Kingdoms. Narnia would have to defend their country on their own. It became too dangerous and they couldn't risk both Kingdoms. So when the Archenlanders left, Narnia's weakened army was all that remained. Ana hoped it would be enough as most of their enemies hadn't made a move since they called on their allies. She was greatly mistaken.

Calormen's threat was quashed as well as several other invaders. The Narnians rallied like never before, fallen beasts and Narnians alike defended the Kingdom. And it was enough. For awhile. But in the year 1998, several centuries after Their Majesties disappeared, a new threat arrived. Telmarines.

Their country, Telmar, suffered a terrible famine and the Telmarines were driven from their country. All three of Kingdoms—Archenland, Narnia, and Calormen—were all battling through the Dark Age and the Telmarines realized they could overpower the Narnian's disorganized forces. Conquering Narnia would allow their people to recover from the famine as well as allow them to restore Narnia's prosperity, in the Telmarines opinion at least.

First, they migrated east through the Western Wilds and into Narnia's boundaries following the Great River. They entered Narnia at the Great Waterfall and continued towards Beaverdam. Any troops Ana sent out were immediately killed and they sieged Beaverdam, making it their capital. From there they began to take control of Narnian mainlands and worked their way toward the castle. Ana did not know the fate of the Narnians that had lived in those areas.

She knew they would lose when the second attack came. Ana didn't want to believe it, but something in her soul told her they couldn't win this one. They weren't meant to. But she kept a brave face and kept planning strategies with the others. Several of her former commanders and generals had died and she was always searching for new ones but had not found any at the time of the invasion. Their forces were severely weakened. The Telmarines were culturally militaristic and the Narnia Army was no match for them, especially without a strong leader.

"Ana!" a centaur shouted across the courtyard, running towards her. "There's too many! What are we going to do?!"
Ana knew he was right. "We need to retreat. Evacuate the castle and citadel into the woods. It's our only hope!"
"But-"
"Windmane, just do it!" she shouted, cutting him off.

He nodded and blew the horn, signaling the armies retreat. The Narnians scrambled, knowing what that signal meant. Another boulder crashed and took down the wall, allowing the Telmarines to finally push their way in. They knew the Narnians were retreating and Ana knew she had to provide them with enough time to do so.

"Grab the horn!" Ana shouted amongst the roar of the battle and hoped one of the Narnians heard her. If they had any hope of summoning the Kings and Queens of Old, they couldn't let them Telmarines find it.

The Narnians retreated inside the castle and began escaping through the many secret passageways. Ana never wanted to result in this part of the plan, but she knew it was the only way. If they were captured, the Telmarines would likely kill them all. At least this way they could live. They would have to live in hiding, but they would live. Ana would gladly give her life to do so.

A stray arrow caught Ana in the leg and she stumbled, crying out in pain. She limped off the battlefield and quickly removed the bolt. Wrapping it as best as she could, she ordered the griffons to attack. Ana still had a duty to protect Narnia inhabitants, even if she couldn't protect Narnia itself. As the griffons took to the sky, Ana joined them.

When she was close to the Telmarines near the edge of the woods, she began picking up and tossing them. The Telmarines didn't have good aim with their crossbows. Ana was easily able to dodge them. Although she hated dropping the Telmarines to their deaths, she was the distraction. If they were focused on her, they couldn't chase the Narnians into the woods. The griffons dropped boulders on the army and attacked them as well.

Once all the Narnians made it into the woods, Ana ordered the griffons to follow. They had kept the Telmarines distracted long enough to let the few remaining Narnians escape. She wouldn't risk any more lives lost from either side. So as the griffons headed for the trees, Ana burst into flames and created a small barrier at the edge of the woods. She knew the fire would be put out before too much of the forest was destroyed, but hoped it was enough. This distracted the remaining Telmarines long enough for them to forget about the fleeing Narnians.

Unfortunately, due to Ana's injury, when she transformed back, she was unable to land and crumpled to the ground. Before she could even think to retreat into the woods, the Telmarines were on her. Many brandishing their weapons, ready to kill her and Ana froze. An order caused them to lower them before they could and instead, the Telmarines strip her of any and all her weapons. With a rather unnecessary hit to the head, Ana fell into darkness.

The next thing she knew was that she was in a partially constructed dungeon. Though the dungeon itself wasn't finished, the cells were sturdy. And they were under heavy guard so escape was near impossible. She noted several injured Narnians and others in the remaining cells. A glance out her cell window allowed her to see several Telmarines hard at work. They were constructing a castle and had started with dungeons for any prisoners they captured.

As construction continued, Narnians were dragged from their cells. None of them ever returned. Ana assumed they were killed and wondered when they would come for her. They barely passed her a glance and all she could hear were the sounds of construction and what appeared to be a ceremony. They were crowning a new King—Caspian—who was also the person who had ordered the Telmarines to spare Ana's life. She found it a cruel irony when they later brought her for 'questioning.'

She was beaten for her role in defying the Telmarine Army. They hurt her for the magic she possessed, called her names, and belittled her. They asked where the Narnians fled, but she didn't respond. They could've been anywhere and even if she did know, Ana wouldn't have told them. She would pass out after a while and awake in her cell. Each time it grew darker and darker and Ana cried in agony. Other prisoners came and went, but she alone stayed in the cell.

Eventually Ana was left alone when they realized she would do nothing for them and she waited to die. If they forgot about her, they likely wouldn't feed her. But the King ordered a physician to treat her injuries and after much resisting, the physician convinced her to start regaining her strength. He was kind, not like the other Telmarines she had met, and eventually, they became friends.

As years passed, Ana knew the King had forgotten about her. The physician still came, bringing her food and water so she could survive. But he never set her free and Ana didn't mind. If she was free, where would she live? She could probably pass as a Telmarine but the thought of living amongst them made her uncomfortable. Especially when people began to notice that she wasn't aging. She would likely end up back in here, especially since the Telmarines had a strong aversion to anything magic related. Besides that, Ana knew she was exactly where Aslan wanted her.

Years turned to decades. Ana had to say goodbye to the physician eventually but bonded with Telmarine through her cell window. It allowed her a view into the courtyard and a boy had spotted her one day. As he grew, he took a position in the castle and took over the physician's task. He offered to break her out, but Ana didn't think it worth the risk. Instead, she told him stories about the old Narnia and asked that he pass them on. He agreed and always listened intently.

And though Ana remained locked in a cell, she never felt trapped. She was at peace with Aslan and her circumstances. When the loneliness grew, Aslan always sent someone to her. She did grow a bit bitter at the world and the Telmarines in general, but after being in a dungeon for over three hundred years, one could hardly blame her. It wasn't until 2303 that Ana finally got her freedom.


A/N: So I did a lot of research to make sure the background information was as canonically accurate as possible. I took some liberties with some things simply because I couldn't find out exactly what happened from 1015-1998. But everything else is based on that information.