The day that you fall, I'll be right behind you
to pick up the pieces.
****
Edmund had given in to the temptation the Witch had offered. (He'd been thinking of Peter at the time, and the way he would shout at Edmund for making his sisters cry.) He had given in, and he knew that what he was doing was bad – worse than anything he had ever done, and probably worse than anything he would ever do. He now remembered Peter, not just shouting at, but fighting the bullies at school for making Edmund cry. He remembered Susan, defending him against Peter's anger, despite the fact that Peter was only angry because Edmund had pushed Susan in the first place. He thought of Lucy, forgiving and loving him, no matter how beastly he had been to her. He had condemned a world, condemned his siblings, and condemned himself, for who could forgive a traitor?
And yet.
He was forgiven. He was cared for. Most importantly: he was given a second chance. He whom Edmund had hated, had feared was offering Edmund redemption. And in that moment, Edmund swore to himself to be worthy of this salvation: to guard his land, his siblings, and to always do his utmost to show the same mercy he himself had been given.
***
It's not always easy, but I'm here forever.