As time went on. Eirlys grew up and she learned to control her powers but one day her once loving mother had a change of heart. Her happiness was destroyed and she was taken from her castle bedroom so lavishly furnished, to a dungeon in the lower levels of the castle made entirely of ice. She had been here for three years now with no one to talk to but herself. She would often talk to herself daily to keep her sanity and from time to time Redwood, one of her mother's wolves would keep her company and chat with her but usually, she had a schedule. She'd look around her and notice if the ice has melted or if any icicles grew. She would write on the walls with a shard of ice she had but after a while her hands would grow numb from the cold which forced her to stop and sigh, Luminess would sneak her a warm meal at least every other day but meanwhile she would nibble on frozen bread her mother would give her and even chew on ice just to trick herself into thinking it's something good to eat but today was different. Jadis came in this morning with Luminess and two other maids in a fit of rage but she hid it well.
"Get up." she commanded in the coldest tone. She tried standing up but the lack of strength made her fall to her knees. "I said get up!" Jadis exclaimed in anger. "Get her strength up now! I want her dressed like the princess she is and bathed and ready to come with me immediately!" she snarled at the maids as they helped her up and led her to the bathing room upstairs. "Oh my dear I'm so sorry." Luminess whispered to herself as she gestured for the other two to leave them alone so she could bathe the girl. Eirlys was embarrassed to say the least but didn't have the strength to argue so she left it at that. Once that was done, they had her put on a gorgeous sky blue dress with white trim and put her hair into a ponytail nicely and led her to the dining room so she could eat and gain some strength for a while. She remained stone cold and silent as she ate her soup and drank her water. "How are you feeling?" Luminess asked kindly. "Does it matter? She'll just get what she wants and make me do what she wants then throw me back in that rotten dungeon." Eirlys replied through gritted teeth, her stare not leaving the bowl of soup in front of her. She was no longer the bright eyed child she was back then. She changed in these three years as anyone would. She was so filled with anger and bitterness that it changed her graceful disposition into that of a snarling beast waiting to attack it's prey, this is what worried Luminess greatly. "My dear, don't you remember the prophecy I told you?" she gulped. "What about it?" Eirlys rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I believe it's unfolding as we speak. Rumour has it that a daughter of Eve has been spotted!" Luminess beamed with hope. The young girl burst into a fit of hysteric laughter so much so that tears were streaming down her face from laughing so hard. "You don't expect me to believe me that childish story do you?" she exclaimed in between breaths while panting for air. Luminess' heart sunk to her stomach, this child she had raised had completely denounced her teachings. "I pray Aslan comes quickly…" she mumbled and led a still laughing Eirlys to her mother's sleigh where Jadis was awaiting. "Hurry up Eirlys, we've no time to lose!" she hurried. "Right." Eirlys sighed and composed herself as she climbed in and off they went.
The ride was terribly silent until the sleigh stopped. Someone got in the way and I couldn't help but laugh. 'What fool was dumb enough to not clear the way for the queen?' I thought to myself with a small laugh. A smile of amusement etched onto my lips as I saw mother get off and stop Ginarrbrik from hitting the trespasser. I stood up in curiosity and glanced at the sight, I couldn't tell what they were saying but she suddenly began walking with a dark haired boy around my own age, they were walking towards the sleigh and I quickly took my seat, hopefully without her noticing my curiosity. "Come sit with me." she told the boy who hesitantly got in the sleigh and glanced at me before between my mother and I at her command. "Darling don't be rude, we have a guest. What do we say to guests?" she stated in such a sweet tone anyone who didn't know her would be fooled easily by it, to me it was such a venomous underlining of a sweet tone. Like honeysuckle laced with botulinum and the glare she gave me had the same tone. I smiled fakely but enough to convince the boy that he was safe. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Eirlys." I introduced kindly. I don't know why but I suddenly felt as if the worst was about to happen. I had never in all twelve years in my life, felt this scared before but I tried my best to hide it. He smiled sweetly, "Nice to meet you Eirlys, I'm Edmund." he replied with a voice that seemed calming and reassuring. Unlike anything I was used to. My mother quickly noticed how cold he was and gave him her fur coat. Now I knew something was going on for sure. She even gave him a hot drink and some sort of candy, I'm assuming it is candy but I have never heard of Turkish Delight in my life. He offered me one but I had a gut feeling telling me to refuse his offer. I felt even worse when I remembered where the candy had come from and what could have been done to it. "Tell me Edmund, do you have siblings?" mother asked sickly sweet while smiling down at him. "I have my brother, Peter and my sisters, Lucy and Susan but they're nothing special." he said in a matter of fact tone which caused me to let out a snicker and he looked at me oddly. "Sorry." I apologized and kept to myself, feeling the cold glare from my mother. "How about you bring them here with you next time?" she asked him. "Why?" he sassed. "A king needs servants you know?" she smiled. "You can make me king? What about Eirlys?" he mused. "Eirlys is my servant. You can be king." she answered coldly.
I stared at the ground, pushing back tears. Even after that day, I knew she didn't see me as her heir or child but as a prisoner held for ransom. "Oh, I thought she was your daughter though." Edmund countered as he looked at me. "No, I'm merely a servant sir." I replied softly. "But you two look so similar!" He replied unconvinced. "That girl is not my daughter Edmund now listen to me! Bring your siblings to my castle up there between those mountains and I will make you king over all of Narnia!" She barked at him coldly while catching his attention and pointing between the mountains she spoke of. "Alright. I 'll do it then. But can I have more candy?" he asked shyly. "Only if you do this for me." She rudely replied which was enough to send him on his way. "See you later Eirlys." he waved at me and of course I waved back as we rode away, leaving him behind as I saw a little girl a bit younger than I am run up to him. I then heard a voice whisper to me, "Don't tell Jadis. Leave them alone or you will suffer a worse fate." I knew that voice wasn't my own but I had never heard it before and it sounded like thunder on a dark rainy day so I decided it best to listen to it and not say anything.
As I sat in my cell once we returned, my thoughts drifted off into space as I thought about that boy and girl. I thought about the prophecy that Luminess reminded me of. I thought about the way my mother acted around the boy and asked of his family. I thought about the worried look in her eye when he mentioned he had a brother and two sisters. At first I thought it was a coincidence but now, maybe, just maybe, could they be the ones the prophecy spoke about? Could they be the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve? Why would my mother give the kingdom to this boy? Would she give it to him or would she treat him the way she treated me? If he is one of the sons of Adam then I am in deep trouble. The candy Edmund ate was laced with a strong magic that would have him coming back for more and the more he ate, the stronger the magic would be over him. I let him eat it without warning him. I should have warned him as that voice instructed. Who was that voice? I need to warn Edmund. I don't even know if the prophecy is true. What if I am right and it is a lie? My main question is this, where and who is Aslan and will he return soon if this prophecy is true?
When I arrived in my cell this time, I noticed something different. Through the cracks of my ice wall, I could see into the next cell. Curiosity seems to be my strong suit right now and I peered into the crack as Luminess drew close from my left which faced the cell door. There was a faun in the next cell. He was chained to the floor, unlike me who was free to walk around in my cell for an hour a day. "Dear I've brought you lunch." Luminess whispered quietly. "What about him?" I asked with a softness in my voice. Luminess glanced at the faun in the next cell. "He must be new, that cell was empty a few days ago." she pondered. "I see." was my reply as she handed me the sandwich and canteen of water. "Thank you Luminess." I smiled at her as she waved and left in a hurry before she was seen. I once again glanced into the next cell. "H-hello?" I called out quietly. He seemed to have panicked and was shaking from the cold. "W-w-who's there?" he asked shakily. "I'm in the cell next to you. There's a crack in the wall and I can see you. Can you see me?" I asked curiously. He scooted himself towards me and peered back into the wall. "I believe I can see you now miss." he half-heartedly chuckled. I smiled. "So why are you here?" I asked with a sigh. "They say I commited treason. I hid a daughter of Eve from the White Witch after I told her I had her." he sighed with regret. "You know a daughter of Eve?!" I asked excitedly. "Shhh!" he replied with a finger to his lips. "My bad." I whispered apologetically. "Yes. She had short brown hair and a green sweater." he began describing the girl and my eyes widened. That was the girl with Edmund. "Her name was Lucy. She was so kind!" he continued with a smile. "So that's her name." I whispered. "Do you really think the prophecy is true?" I asked and he looked at me as if I had two heads.
"You mean you don't think it's true?" he asked in disbelief. "Well….I still haven't made up my mind. At times I think it's true but then other times I think otherwise. I don't know what I believe anymore." The brunnette sighed in confusion. She was torn to say the least. She didn't have any hope but she desperately wanted to hope that Aslan would return and that the prophecy would come true but how could she hope when her world was full of darkness? "I see. Oh how rude of me, I'm Tumnus." he said with a smile. I smiled in return and gave him my sandwich to which he nodded in thanks. "Oh it's nice to meet you Tumnus, I'm -" I was cut off when a guard dragged me away. "Come on princess, you're getting a new cell." Ginarrbrik scoffed and threw me by my arm into a cell a few spaces over from Tumnus. This one looked more like a jail than a dungeon and I could see Tumnus clearly from where I was. Ginarrbrik cuffed my hands in some special cuffs made for my magic and chained me to the floor like he did the first time I was in the dungeon. "I don't understand." I began but he slapped me and I fell back onto the cold ice. "We have another prisoner." Ginarrbrik snarled and another was brought into the cell next to me. "Edmund?!" I asked in shock and he looked at me with pain in his eyes as my mother came in. "No talking!" She yelled at me. I stared away and sighed. She and Ginarrbrik walked away while Luminess came out of her hiding. "The time has come my child. The prophecy is unfolding. You were born for a reason." she said as she unlocked my cell. "I will stay here, take this letter and follow the wind. The wind will take you to a small village called Securas, there you will find an older couple named Ziv and Aldo. There you will find answers to whatever questions you will have. Now go! There isn't much time! Run and don't look back. Trust no one!" Luminess tried rushing and reassuring me as I glanced back at Edmund. "Hurry before it's too late!" Edmund cheered in approval yet sadness. "I promise I'll come back for you both!" She exclaimed before running out as soon as Luminess undid the cuffs. "Follow the wind and be on guard!" Luminess exclaimed as the young girl ran out of the castle and into the courtyard and mounds of snow. "Don't you worry your highness. I received word by a friend that Aslan is on the move!" Luminess smiled with tears in her eyes. Her hope was finally on his way as she watched the girl disappear from her sight. "Aslan grant her the wisdom and courage to do what must be done." she prayed and hurried into the castle again, leaving Edmund and Tumnus alone.
