One: I know somethings up with the formatting, and I do apologize. I will go back when this has been completely posted and edit those chapters which are seriously annoying me, however with finals coming up I can barely justify writing this authors note!

Two: This chapter... it's just been a while since I've read it, and (like I found out with the last chapter) there may be a bit of confusion. I don't think it should be terrible (though it is fairly short) but let me know if anything doesn't make sense or someone is out of character. Thanks to the great advice on the last chapter, you all gave me a lot to think about!

Finding: Trust~Chapter 8: Edmund:

Closure?

Of all things... closure? I understood the revenge thing. I had broken the Witch's most powerful weapon, after all. But saying they wanted closure was like saying the Witch had been, say, their mother or something. What did they need closure for?

I was focusing on the wrong thing. I didn't need to worry much about the what. At least not now. I had to worry about the how they were going to get revenge.

It wouldn't be fun. At least, it wouldn't be fun for me. I suppose whatever was to come would be fun for the evil creatures wishing revenge. They seemed to be having a lot of fun already, and we were only walking. They kept pushing me to my knees, and laughing as I struggled to get up.

I did not want to go to the Stone Table, even though it meant we were closer to Aslan. The Witch had been planning to kill me there, had probably killed many other creatures there before. And it wasn't hard to guess that whatever was to come probably ended in my death.

Had Mr. Tumnus escaped? The Wolves hadn't returned, so we had left without them. This was good news... right? The Wolves had been planning to bring Mr. Tumnus back alive, and it wouldn't have taken this long unless they still had to catch Mr. Tumnus.

I had to believe Mr. Tumnus had escaped, and that he was getting help. I had to believe that Aslan was on his way, that everything would be alright. Because I knew there was no way I would be able to escape all these creatures on my own, especially without being able to see. And I knew the prophecy wouldn't be able to be fulfilled if only one Son of Adam was crowned king.

What would happen if I died? Would I go back to England, or would I be dead in both worlds? Would Mum and Dad ever know what happened to me? Would Peter and the girls go back to England without me? Would they miss me? If the prophecy wasn't fulfilled, would the Witch be able to come back to life?

Peace, child. Trust us. I will never leave you.

I blinked.

Aslan?

Trust me. That is the only thing that will save you now.

Aslan, I can't see!

I know, child.

How can I trust you? It... it's just so hard!

Edmund.

I can't see anything, and a hag is planning to kill me on the Stone Table. What will happen to Narnia? What will-

Edmund!

My parents are going to be so disappointed. Well, I suppose they already are, but now will be even worse because-

EDMUND!

Aslan?

Breathe and trust us. Trust me, trust your brother and your sisters, and trust the Narnians.

I-I will, Aslan.

I blinked, even though I knew it wouldn't clear my vision at all. I felt like sobbing. I don't know how, but Aslan had spoken to me.

He had asked me to trust him.

I tripped over another rock with a cry.

Trust him?

Somehow I knew trusting Aslan shouldn't be this hard. It was as if something was keeping me from actually doing it, but that didn't make sense. How could something keep a person from having an emotion? How could something keep a person from trusting? Was it really just fear that kept me from trusting in Aslan? Or was it something worse, some sort of dark magic that the hag was responsible for?

How on earth was I supposed to do trust someone when I couldn't do much more than focus on where I was stepping? How could I trust him when I was absolutely terrified? When things looked... seemed so bleak?

I sat on the ground, hands tied uncomfortably behind my back, suddenly too tired and scared and confused to do much else. I didn't try to move until I felt a sharp kick in the ribs, knocking the air out of me. I struggled to my feet, trying to find my balance and my breath at the same time. We continued on, and as we went I tried to as hard as I could to trust Aslan.

So... yeah. Sort of a change of pace. I just want to say, as much as writing this for my audience (you guys!) is important, I'm also writing for myself. This story was born in a time when I couldn't figure out who to trust, how to trust, or what to believe, and I needed to sort out my thoughts. I'm still working on trusting and figuring out the answers to this sort of stuff. I guess I'm just trying to say that if this seems cliche or whatever, this chapter in particular was a conversation I had with a certain Someone (my personal Aslan, if you will) and this chapter (or really the symbolism to my own conversation) is really what this story in particular was written for.

If you want to know more about what I mean, I'm totally willing to talk about my journey. However, I won't waste the time of those who don't wish to know. PM me if you want to know more about what this story (and the rest of this series) is about for me.

Thanks so much for your reviews and support through this story!