CH11.
Edmund's POV.
It's so warm. The sun beats down on us as we lay on the blanket. The clouds drift slowly across the sky. I can hear the birds chirping, woodland creatures rustling the grass, and the waterfall running in the background. I close my eyes and just feel my surroundings. A small fish breaks the surface of the pond before submerging again. A gentle wind blows, ruffling my hair. Reyna shifts slightly in my arms.
I open my eyes and look down at her. She's sleeping. Her peach colored dress is spread out across the grass and blanket. Her corset is laced loosely. I can see her chest rise and fall peacefully. I glance down and see her waterfall necklace fitted perfectly, falling just above the swell of her breasts. Her legs are intertwined with mine and our hands are interlaced and positioned over my stomach on my green and brown tunic. Her warm breath slowly drifts from her barely opened mouth. I can almost see her teeth peeking through her mouth. Her head is lying on my shoulder, her face angled towards mine. The wind has brushed some of her long auburn hair across her face. With my unattached hand I slowly swipe it away from her face, lightly touching her soft cheek. She sighs deeply. Her eyes open slowly. The sun sparkles off of her beautiful violet eyes. They swirl as they slightly change color. They turn to a deep purple and then to a light lavender. She breathes gently and then softly says, "Goodbye, my Edmund."
She drifts away. She's leaving me. I reach out to get her. She turns away. It's cold now. My body aches. I can barely breathe. I try to step forward and go after her but my body is frozen. I can't move. I feel the life drifting out of me as she walks away.
"Reyna…" She keeps walking. She won't turn around.
"Reyna…" She won't come back.
"Reyna…" I say, reaching out towards her. She can't leave me. She has to stay with me.
"...Reyna…don't go…" I say finally resigning myself to the fact that she isn't coming back. I said it faintly. It must've gotten lost in the wind. She couldn't hear me. Wait, no. She's coming back! She's walking towards me! Something is off, though… She's too tall. Her hair is changing. It's growing longer and curling; turning so blond, it looks almost white. Her face is morphing into sharper features; her chin juts out, her cheeks grow gaunt. Dark circles form under her eyes; ugly bruises of purple and grey. Her skin pales; it looks so thin, almost like paper. Her rosy red lips became chalky white lines; they curl into a maniacal smile. The last thing that changes are her eyes. Her lovely violet eyes slowly transform. They go deep purple, to a mauve color, then to a pale lilac, then finally to a sharp silver. I'm no longer looking at the Reyna I know. Instead, standing before me is none other than my nemesis, Jadis, the White Witch.
"Hello, Edmund." She says, silkily; the words slipping off her tongue like chocolate. They sound melodious, seductive. She kneels down to where I am. Her eyes lock with mine. I can't look away. "I've been waiting for you..." She smiles, evilly. She caresses my cheek with her hand, sending shivers down my spine. Her hand is as cold as ice. Colder, if possible. I can't pull away. My body is rooted in place. Her hand travels down my face to my neck, she pulls me close, her lips mere centimeters from my ear.
"Little King, you will never win. You never can. You thought you beat me once, but I will never be truly dead. As long as there is evil in this world I can come back. I can escape through the thin veil of death and return to torment you. I will haunt you for the rest of your days. Leaving devastation in my path. All the lives that have been and will be lost are on your shoulders. I will kill everyone who you care for. I will torture you until you wish that you could die. You will beg for sweet release from the pain that this world will bring, but I will not give it. I will let you live your life tormented and alone. Your brothers, your sisters, your countrymen, your friends. All will suffer. All will die."
"…Ed…"
She pauses for a moment, draws back and looks into my eyes again. It's like she's reading me, searching my soul for my deepest thoughts. Her evil smile returns and she quirks her head to the side. She bats her eyelashes before whispering, "I will have to plan something especially gruesome for your precious love… Reyna, is it?" Her smile widens and she begins to cackle maniacally. She disappears but her laugh still echoes throughout the meadow. Something materializes in my peripheral vision.
I turn to see Reyna standing in our meadow. The sky is no longer blue. The sun no longer shines. Everything is eerily quiet. Reyna stands drenched in sweat. Blood pouring from her body from wounds that I can't see. The witch now stands behind her with a dagger at her throat. Reyna's eyes are dark, almost black. She looks so frail, nothing like how she normally looks. She resembles a corpse. Her skin is tinged with green and grey. Her lips are cracked and stained blood red. Her skin is stretched so tight across her bones, so that you could perfectly see the outline of her skeleton. Her dress is ripped and falling off her skinny limbs – many of which are twisted at sickening angles. She looks broken. Fragile. Jadis, the witch looks at me right in the eyes, still laughing her horrible laugh. Tightening her grip on Reyna, she draws the dagger quickly across Reyna's throat. A shout is caught in my throat. My hand reaches forward for her. Reyna's eyes roll back into her head, blood spurting from the new wound. Reyna falls to the ground lifeless. My eyes shoot open, wildly.
"Run." I say, fear drenching my words, "She's coming."
