Disclaimer: I am not C.S. Lewis and nothing in the Narnian world belongs to me.
Edmund had had enough of listening to the Beavers and his siblings. He was going to go to Jadis. They never listened to him. They did not respect him. If he ruled by the Queen's side, they would have to respect him. They would have to start listening to him, and they would finally see all of the good that he was capable of. They would see that he was not just a child. He could be brave and good like their father. They would see. And they would come back to him. They would all want to be around him again. He would be a good king.
He slipped out of the beaver's dam without them noticing, surprise, surprise. They never really noticed him until he was acting out, which he did because they did not notice him. Peter was too old for him now. Susan was trying to act too grown up. Lucy was the golden child. Everyone loved her the most, including their parents. No one saw Edmund. He and Peter used to be so close. Growing up, he looked up to Peter the most, and Peter actually wanted to be around him. They played together, and chased each other, and Peter would even read him bedtime stories. He would sneak over to Edmund's bed after their mother had turned out the lights and read to him under the covers with a flashlight. Then Peter grew up too much for him. He tried to be the man of the house when father left for the war. And then he had no more time to give to Edmund. He missed Peter most of all.
He thought of all of this as he walked to Jadis' castle. When he walked through her castle gates he was excited. What would it be like to be a king? Would it be like the storybooks? Would he have servants? Would he get to wear a crown and sit in a thrown and eat Turkish Delight all day? The possibilities were endless. Now he was so close. The wolf was going to find Jadis. He waited in a thrown of ice for her. It was singlehandedly the greatest thing Edmund had ever gotten to do. He started daydreaming about bossing Peter around from that thrown, and having his servants wait on him hand and foot, and making kingly decisions with Queen Jadis by his side.
But when she came out, all of his hopes and dreams came crashing down. She was screaming at him, furious that he did not bring his siblings with him. This was not the same queen he had met his first day in Narnia that promised him life as a king. This queen was scarier, her eyes seemed darker, her voice deeper. A tremor shook through Edmund. "What am I doing?" The thought was brief in his mind before he was interrupting her and telling her that he brought them halfway, that they were in a little house with the beavers not far from here! She would forgive him for not bringing them right? They didn't listen to him! They never believed him! She would have to forgive him and not be angry with him for too long.
But Edmund quickly realized how wrong his thinking was. Once Jadis was angry, she would stay angry. She threw him into her ice dungeon and chained him up to the wall by the ankle. She's just mad. She'll get over it. She has to get over it. She promised me a kingdom. She will find my brother and sisters, she'll understand that they did not listen, and she won't be mad anymore. This dream was all that he had left. If he did not have this, then he had nothing.
He was not alone down here in the dungeon. The other occupant was a faun, who happened to be the very infamous Mr. Tumnus who knew his sister. And that was when it all came crashing down. The faun was not evil, he was not a villain. He was good, and he worried about Lucy. Which meant that Jadis… she was everything the beavers said she was. How could he be so stupid? He was never going to be a king. She did not want to help him. She most likely wanted to kill him, and Peter, Susan and Lucy as well. He started to panic. What was he going to do? He pulled his legs up to his stomach and wrapped his arms around them. He had just sent Jadis after them. He prayed and prayed that they would not be caught. That somehow they knew to get away. Please, God, let them be okay.
While he was locked away he talked to Mr. Tumnus, in whispers of course. Tumnus told him about what the old days of Narnia used to be like. Of course, Mr. Tumnus had not been alive to see them, but he had heard many, many stories about them, and he told Edmund all of the ones that he knew. He whispered to him about Aslan, how he was the real king of Narnia, and that he was all things good and light. Edmund liked to hear the stories of the great lion the most. It made him feel like there might be hope after all. If Aslan was here, he was definitely looking after his brother and sisters. They would be safe.
It was not long before Jadis came back, screaming at him once more. Thank God, they were okay! They had made it out. The wolves did not find them at the beaver's dam. They were still safe, and they had to be looking for him. They were looking for him, right? They had to be. But what if they weren't? What if they did not care about him anymore? He did go behind their backs. But no, he was their brother still! They just had to be looking for him.
She threatened him, but he would not give anything else up. She could do what she wanted to him, but his family was safe from her and he would not give them up again. He stood his ground… until she threatened the faun. But he was innocent! He cared about Lucy, and he even seemed to care about him, Edmund. He could not let Jadis hurt him. So he said the first thing that came to his mind. "The beavers said something about Aslan!" He practically shouted it. But he knew as soon as the words came out that he should not have said anything at all. The faun looked disappointed and shook his head at him. But what was he supposed to do? Jadis was going to kill him! He had to do something.
Jadis liked his information. She was going to take Edmund with her and they were going to search for Aslan and his family. But first she was going to deal with the faun. She ordered her troll to release the faun and the troll pulled Mr. Tumnus to his feet. "No, leave him alone! No!" Edmund shouted over and over, but it was of no use. The faun was taken away to Edmund did not know where, and Ginarrbrik the dwarf was hauling Edmund to his feet.
He did not know where they were going, but wherever it was, it was getting warmer outside. The snow had begun to melt. The sun started to poke out from behind the clouds. He no longer felt cold. This had to be a good thing. Something was changing, that much he could tell. The whole time they traveled in the witch's sleigh, she stared down at him with dark, menacing eyes. And Edmund glared right back at her. He could not be afraid of her. Well he could, and he was, but he would not let her see that. In fact, he was downright terrified of her. But she could not win.
The wolves led them to a crossing at a waterfall. His family had been here. They had been able to cross the river because it had been frozen an hour or two ago. But now it was completely unfrozen, and the water ran fast downstream. They could not cross that way. Edmund managed to smile a little.
A howl alerted them that the wolves were back, and with them they had a prisoner: a fox. The fox, Edmund learned, had helped his family escape from the wolves when they came searching the beaver's place. Jadis was furious. She was going to kill him, and once again, Edmund found himself spitting out words before he could he even think about it. The fox would not give Jadis information, so Edmund would. "Aslan is going to the Stone Table!" He frowned at himself. The fox was disappointed in him. Jadis thanked him for his information, and then she lifted up her wand. His information was not going to save the fox. She was going to kill him anyway. So he did the only thing he could think to do.
He stepped in front of her wand, and then he saw black.