Ehards29: Thanks to all you guys who reviewed! You pretty much made my day, so go ahead and give yourselves a pat on the back, you deserve it! But enough with that, the show must go on! So, without further ado, please enjoy the second chapter of For a Window in Paradise.
For a Window in Paradise
By: Ehards29
Chapter Two: Momentum
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Morning comes in Paradise
Morning come in Light
Still I must obey
Still I must invite
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Her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia sat upon her ice thrown, slowly drumming her long, pale fingers against the frigid arm rest. Several days had come to pass, and her patience was wearing thin. The information the son of Adam had given her had lead her straight to Aslan, but it did her little good with three of the other humans still at large. No word yet from Maugrim as to their whereabouts, and the boy refused to provide her with any further information.
Jadis's thin lips curled into a sickening smile as she thought of her first meeting with Edmund. His innocent eyes shinning bright as the Narnian sun in the high afternoon. His begging, his growling, his desperate need for her. She drank it in like a cool sip of water from a spring. She feed off the boy's trust, off his suffering.
Off the pain his betrayal was no doubt causing his siblings, Aslan.
Oh, how she wished to be there when the Great Cat discovered that the humans who he had entrusted the future of his land to where not saints. That they had flaws, that to believe with reckless abandon such a ridiculous prophesy was beyond foolish. Somewhere below the many floors of her grand castle, in a frozen dungeon, lying helpless in chains and guilt, was Aslan's downfall, and her salvation. Jadis took a deep breath.
Soon, very soon, all the cards would be in her hand again.
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How many miles it had been since he had left camp, Peter could not tell. The further he walked, the more every tree, every rock, every cloud in the virgin morning sky began to look the same. His mind was swimming, desperate for the knowledge that he was doing the right thing. He could see his sisters' faces as they woke in the morning to find that their big brother had not returned from gathering fire wood. Lucy would cry, without a doubt. But Susan, she would not, for she knew, she always did. She would curse him for being a martyr, for being an ideological fool.
Susan always knew.
Peter trudged through the snow, his feet felt as if they were packed with lead, his head aching, his body creaking and groaning like an old door with exhaustion.
And that's when he heard it.
Peter's head shot up as the sound of paws hitting the snow filled the air. He smiled, so they had finally found him.
"Don't move human."
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Edmund woke from the grasp of a dreamless sleep to the sound of the creaking gate and the march of footsteps down to the dungeon where he was being held. A huge Cyclopes groaned as it moved toward Edmund, who made his best effort to shuffle away from the giant creature. The beast made a series of noises which sounded suspiciously like "The Queen would like a word with you" and broke his shackles in a similar matter to that of Mr. Tumnus's release. Edmund closed his eyes as the Cyclopes pulled him to his feet.
So this was it.
Jadis had gotten all she needed out of him, after all, he refused to tell her the whereabouts of his brother and sisters. He served no purpose to her anymore. And now it was his turn to be added to her sculpture garden. He relished the thought, he prayed to God that that the cruel staff cutting into his bare flesh would be a pain the likes of which he had never known. After all he deserved it, didn't he?
Edmund shielded his eyes from the alien sunlight as he entered the Queen's chambers, his charcoal eyes meeting her vapid ones. He was ready for death. But what he got instead, what he saw instead, he was not ready for. Not at all.
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Peter walked slowly painfully behind Sherow, a member of the Queen's police, his malicious teeth gleaming. The gash in his ankle where the horrid beast had attacked him hurt every time his foot made contact with the ground. Still he held his head up high. He had come here to get what he wanted, and was not about to leave until he got it. No matter the odds, he would set his baby brother free. Peter's eyes danced around the magnificent building which resided such an awful woman. It was truly a wonder to watch how the light bounced from wall to wall, how such a simple substance as ice could wield such wondrous architecture. As Peter trudged up the stairs toward the witch's keep, all he could think about was his brother walking these steps as well, tempted by the promises of the witch to give him everything his brother never did. His eyes began to sting.
"Well, well Maugrim, what do we have here." Jadis's face contorted itself into a brutal smile as she observed the limping young man, surrounded by her wolfs, trudge toward her.
Two down, two to go.
"We found him", Maugrim butted his head into Peter's bad leg, causing the youth to fall to the ground in pain, "Wandering around alone in the woods just before the Great River."
Jadis rose from her throne and stalked over to Maugrim and the boy, peering down at him.
"Tsk, tsk, "She laughed, "Little boys should know better than to be wandering around alone in the woods", she eyed his bad ankle, a glint in her pale eyes. "One could get themselves hurt. You must be little Eddy's brother, Peter, oh, I have heard so much about you."
Peter mustered all his might as he rose to his feet; he was not going to let this awful woman belittle him. However, he could not deny that he was frightened, even at his full height he was only to the witch's shoulder. She was indeed a beautiful woman. He skin as pale and pure like alabaster, her hair striking long and elegant. But behind all this beauty, her eyes held an unmistakable evil in them. Peter inwardly shuttered with the thought of what Edmund had seen in her. Was he really so blind?
Or was he just too desperate to see the truth, a thought that made Peter shutter even more.
"The reason I came alone was to make deal with you." Peter stated, but even with all his might, his voice was still shaky and weak, like a child giving his first school presentation in front of his whole class. A voice of someone in doubt. There was no guarantee the witch would even hear him out, and if not, he, Ed, and Narnia would suffer for nothing.
"Go on." The witch demanded.
"Me in exchange for Edmund."
Jadis let out a callous laugh, a sickening smile spreading across her frigid face.
"Did you hear that dearest, your brother wants to make a trade, now isn't that an interesting proposition?" Jadis questioned as she stepped aside, revealing the shaking figure of Edmund Pevenise, flanked by a cruel Cyclopes, standing not 50 feet away, his feet and hands in shackles. Edmund's eyes were wide with fear as Peter's azure eyes meet his. He had heard everything.
No this is not what Edmund was expecting, this is not what Edmund wanted. Not Peter! This was not his burden to bear. Edmund wanted to scream and shout, tell Peter to get the hell out of here while he still could, let Edmund deal with the consequences of his escape. He wanted to call Peter a stupid idiot, an awful prat. He wanted to cry. He wanted to do anything to make it stop.
But all that came out was a quiet whisper of "No". Nothing more, nothing less.
Ehards: Oh man, the angst is coming, it's unstoppable! So you know the drill, review and make an authoress smile!
Peter: You aren't going to make me cry next chapter, are you? Because if you haven't noticed, I'm a man's man!
Me: (Stifles laugh unsuccessfully). Yeah, you're a real mans' man.
Anyway, I have a couple questions that need to be answered or I will not be able to sleep at night.
1. Do you think any guys post stories on Fanfiction?
2. What happens on April 4th? ohcEEcho talked about in the end of one of Mistaken Perception's chapters, but I have no idea what she is talking about. I'm assuming it's the DVD release of Narnia, but I'm not sure. Help!
