"The years wore on and changed my heart
The leading role for a smaller part"
–East by Sleeping at Last
—-
Edmund was cold. So cold that he'd given up on any escape attempts through his cell's tiny window. He'd just curled up in the corner of the cell, knees pulled to his chest. His fingers and toes had gone numb hours ago, probably before he'd woken up. His bad leg was feeling the cold the worst, throbbing and aching no matter what position he tried.
A headache had persisted since he'd woken up too. It felt like a dwarf was inside his head, pounding at his skull with a forge hammer. Edmund reached up and pressed the heel of his palm into his forehead. The warmth of his hand felt good, though it did little to actually stop the headache.
The chains around his wrists clanked when he moved, the sound echoing abrasively against his ears. Memories of the first time the witch had held him captive were ever-present in his mind.
Every so often, he could hear guards walking by, or talking to each other as they traded places.
What worried him the most though was the fact that he had no idea where Susan was. He'd been unconscious when he'd been captured; a product of the minotaur throwing a radio at him. He always listened carefully to what the guards were saying, but they never once mentioned Susan, or Lucy for that matter.
Edmund could only wait and hope that his sisters were okay, and that Peter would come.
He guessed it was past lunch time when the door to his cell swung open. A dwarf stood just outside, a hag looming behind him.
"Get up," the dwarf snapped, and Edmund complied.
The hag glided past the dwarf, drew a knife and pressed it to Edmund's side.
"Don't try anything," she rasped.
She was so close Edmund could smell her vile breath. He willed himself not to react to her, knowing she only stood so close to intimidate him.
The dwarf used a rusting key to unlock the padlock that attached Edmund's chains to the wall. He picked up the end of the chain and gave it a tug.
Edmund stumbled forward, gritting his teeth as his bad leg throbbed. The hag kept the knife pressed against his side as the dwarf led him out of the cell and down a short hallway. They went down a spiral staircase, then down another hallway, longer than the first.
The second hallway was lined with cells, though they had open fronts instead of doors. Edmund tried to peer into as many as he could.
He spotted a badger, two fauns and even a dryad. In the final cell, there was a man, hunched over. He had to be about Edmund's age, maybe younger.
The man at the front of the cell looked up as Edmund passed, and gasped. He shot to his feet, exclaiming, "Edmund!"
The moment Edmund got a better look at the man's face, he realized who it was. It was Allin, only surviving son and youngest child of Sir Peridan.
The family had come from Archenland in the fourth year of Edmund and his siblings' reign, seeking a fresh start after the death of Sir Peridan's wife and eldest son.
Peter and Edmund had swiftly befriended Allin, their sisters doing the same with Sir Peridan's two daughters. Peridan himself had become a valued member of Narnia's army.
Where Sir Peridan or his two daughters were, Edmund didn't know. Safe, he hoped.
He just stared back at his friend in surprise as others took up Allin's cry.
"King Edmund!" echoed up and down the hallway.
Edmund tore his gaze away, looking down. What could he tell them? That they would be freed? He himself didn't hold too much hope that help would come. Who knew if Peter had heard his message, or if Peter even had the forces to stage a rescue.
There was nothing Edmund could do.
Then, from a distance, a desperate voice shouted, "Edmund! Ed!"
Edmund twisted so sharply and suddenly that he yanked the dwarf holding his chains off his feet.
"Susan!" he screamed back. "Susan, I'm—"
The hag kicked at him, landing a blow on his bad leg that sent Edmund to his knees with a yell of pain.
He gasped, hunching over as his leg throbbed, stabbing pains shooting up it. His vision swam as he gasped for air. The hallway was quiet behind him now, save for the haggard breathing of the hag.
She grabbed his arm, fingernails digging into his skin as she yanked him upright, the dagger pressed hard into his side.
"If you value your sister's life," the hag hissed angrily, "you won't do that again."
Edmund didn't give her the dignity of a response. He just let the dwarf tug him down the hallway and down another set of stairs. To his horror, there were stone statues in the hallways, each of their faces twisted in horror.
They approached a set of double doors, guarded by several wolves that snarled and snapped at Edmund as the dwarf opened a door and tugged him inside.
Edmund bit back a gasp as he took in the high, vaulted ceilings of the room. It was a courthouse he realized. His cell probably wasn't a cell at all, though the other cells were likely holding cells for prisoners awaiting trial. His eyes swept over the room; someone had removed the chairs and the judge's pulpit. In the place of the pulpit there was an ornate ice throne.
His hands began to shake as the dwarf led him closer. He'd gotten the briefest glimpse of who was sitting on the throne and it made his blood run cold.
"Edmund, dear," her voice sent shivers down his spine. "Is this your soldier?"
Edmund forced himself to look up.
There was a man kneeling in front of the throne, shoulders shaking. The man raised his head, and Sir Peridan locked eyes with Edmund. His eyes widened in shock. There were bruises and cuts peppering his face, and the pain that mingled with shock in his eyes told Edmund that the Witch had been torturing him.
Edmund's anger flared. He squared his shoulders and raised his chin, forcing himself to look the part of the king he was. He shifted his gaze from Peridan to the Witch.
"This man is a knight of Narnia."
Jadis smiled cruelly. "Then certainly he would know the location of your armies, would he not?"
So that was what she wanted.
She stood, descending the throne dias toward them. "And if he doesn't, perhaps you do?"
Edmund kept his voice even and steady, "Where Narnia's armies are, I do not know."
Jadis waved her hand and the hag kicked Edmund's knees out from under him. He dropped down next to Peridan, biting back a yelp of pain as his bad leg made contact with the floor.
The Witch reached down and seized his chin. Edmund flinched.
"Where," she yelled, "Are your armies!? What are you planning?!"
When Edmund raised his eyes to meet hers and glared, she pulled back, and smacked her hand across his face.
He refused to make a noise, even as she let the hag kick his side, sending him sprawling across the floor.
Two dwarves drug Peridan away. He heard the older man grunt in pain as they roughly shoved him to the floor.
The Witch bent down and seized Edmund by the shirt collar. She lifted him up, eyes blazing with anger.
"Have you forgotten your true allegiance?! Where are Narnia's armies?!" When he didn't respond, she hissed. "Perhaps your sister's life will get the answer out of you."
Edmund didn't care whether she hurt him. But to threaten Susan, hurt Peridan and imprison his people? That made his blood boil.
"My true allegiance is to Aslan," Edmund hissed back. "I don't know where Narnia's armies are, but I know who is at their head." He couldn't resist the grin that spread across his face at the thought of his brother. "Death is coming for you, Jadis."
The Witch dropped him and Edmund cried out as his bad leg hit the ground. He took a couple deep breaths, trying to steady his heartbeat. He was terrified, though he'd never let Jadis see that. He was banking everything on Peter rescuing him, despite the fact that he had no idea whether Peter even had an army to lead or not.
He raised his head. He'd just have to trust his brother.
Jadis strode back to her throne. Edmund grinned; he'd made her angry.
She addressed the dwarf that stood by her throne. "Ginarrbrik, fetch the Narnian queen. Unless of course," she trained her eyes on Edmund, "you want to divulge the location of your armies. You too, knight of Narnia. Either one of you can save the queen's life."
Ginarrbrik descended the steps, walking for the doors into the hall. Edmund swallowed. What could he tell the Witch? He didn't know a thing about where Narnia's armies were, or even if there was a Narnian army. How could he save his sister?
"Wait!" Peridan cried.
Edmund twisted around, staring at the knight.
Ginarrbrik stopped, and the Witch shifted her gaze to Peridan.
"I, don't know where Narnia's armies are," Peridan said. "But I know they are gathering. High King Peter will lead them." He addressed the Witch, but his eyes were on Edmund.
Edmund didn't tear his gaze away from Peridan. Peter had an army. He was coming. They would be okay.
He shifted back to look at the Witch. She was contemplating Peridan's words. After an excruciatingly long moment, she motioned Ginarrbrik back.
"Very well. Thank you, knight." She snapped at the dwarves still holding Peridan by the arms, "Take him back to his cell."
The dwarves drug Peridan away. Edmund managed to catch the knight's eye and give him a nod. Peridan had just saved Susan's life when Edmund could not. Edmund had a sneaking suspicion that the information Peridan had given had been as much for him as it had been for the Witch.
Peridan nodded back, and Edmund turned his attention back to the Witch.
She was studying him, frowning.
"I will deal with you later," she eventually said. "But do not forget, Edmund, that you are mine."
No, Edmund thought as the hag and dwarf tugged him away. I am Narnia's.
Edmund did not sleep well that night. He'd gone back to the corner of his cell furthest away from the door, and curled up. Between the cold, his throbbing leg and worry over his family and his people, he got maybe two hours of sleep.
He'd given up trying sometime after midnight, and settled for pacing his cell to keep warm. They'd given him some unidentifiable soup for dinner that was barely warm, and a glass of water. Edmund had eaten all of both, knowing he'd need the energy. He was regretting that now as his stomach churned.
From above him, there was a faint sound. Edmund stopped pacing, looking upward. Maybe it had been his chains?
When he didn't hear the sound again, he continued to pace.
Something small and heavy hit him in the side and Edmund cried out as he stumbled and fell. Whatever had hit him squeaked in alarm.
Edmund froze, then looked down at his side. Even in the dim light of the cell, he could make out the shape of a bat.
"My apologies, your majesty," it squeaked, looking up at him.
He gaped at it. It was a talking bat. Hope surged through him, and Edmund was unable to suppress the smile that began to appear on his face.
The cell lock clicked open and Edmund quickly hid the bat behind him.
A minotaur stuck its head into the cell, surveying Edmund.
"I slipped and fell," Edmund provided.
The minotaur simply grunted and left, locking the door behind it.
Nausea forgotten, Edmund brought the bat back in front of him, cradling it gently in his hands. Careful to keep his voice low, he asked, "What is your name, good my cousin?"
"Piper, your majesty. I bring news from your brother, the High King Peter."
Edmund bent lower over the little bat, unable to keep the desperation and hope from his voice, "What news do you bring?"
"Your brother inquires after your health, and your sisters' whereabouts. He also asked me to inform you that he is gathering Narnia's armies."
Edmund leaned back against the wall. Peter knew. And not only did he know, but he was gathering an army.
Edmund grinned.
"You may tell my brother that I am in decent health, and even better spirits. The Witch has Susan, but as far as I know, Lucy is free. There are other Narnians held prisoner here; Sir Peridan and his son among them. There may be more prisoners that I don't know about."
Piper nodded. "Anything else, sire?"
"Give the Narnians my regards. And tell Peter not to worry."
I'm back from my week long hiatus! I'm rather proud of this chapter.
Leave a review if you enjoyed it!
I also want to thank everyone who's been leaving me reviews on previous chapters. They've made this fic much easier to write and it shows me that you guys are enjoying the writing I'm throwing into the void. Thank you all so much!