Chapter 7: Broken Down Like a Mirror Smashed to Pieces

Edmund slowly lifted his head when a carriage came into his view. He gulped when he saw Jadis's smiling face.

"It's good to see you again, Edmund," she said icily. "I've missed you."

Edmund trembled from head to toe. Imagines and sounds of his past slammed into his brain and made him reel. He held his head as his stomach started to turn and he turned away from the source of his pain.

Get away Edmund...Get away...

Edmund turned and started running. He didn't really know where he was going, despite exploring the land during the Golden Age. Usually his internal compass would always lead him right to where he was going, but it was as if fear had locked onto his brain and told him to just run and run fast.

Edmund pushed tree branches out of his way, blinking the falling snow out of his eyes. Move faster, get away. Move faster, Edmund. Get safe. Find a place to hide. Fearful thought after fearful thought slammed into his brain as he forced his legs to maintain their speed so he could get away.

He could hear the sleigh moving at a fast pace behind him. His breath came out as a white fog in front of him. His chest ached from gasping for air and running so much. He started to slow down. His legs screamed at him to stop moving but his brain told him to keep going to safety.

"I have to get out of here," Edmund whispered as he quickly looked around himself. "How can I get out?" He racked his brain as he paused briefly to get his breath back. Adrenaline made his heart pump as his eyes darted around. "The light post!"

He started running in what he thought was the direction of the light post that would take him back to Professor Kirke's home. He could feel Jadis's eyes burning holes into the back of Edmund's head, which made him run faster. His legs burned but he was cold all over. Heat and ice took over his body.

Heat.

Ice.

Heat.

Ice.

Burning.

Freezing.

Pulling.

Clawing.

Dragging him down into the darkness, making him weaker and weaker with every step he took. He couldn't breathe, something was pressing down on his chest, stopping his airflow. He struggled forward.

He couldn't feel his legs.

Keep moving, Edmund. Keep moving.

The gray sky melted into the white background of the landscape ahead of him. Swirling, mixing, becoming a part of Edmund's nightmare. He stumbled and fell to his knees. He tried to get up but fell over again. He tried once more and fell face forward.

Tired.

Exhausted.

Weak...

"You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan," Jadis announced, to the shock of the Narnian army. She smiled smugly as Edmund gulped and looked up at Peter. Peter looked back at him with an expression of loathing. Edmund lowered his head and stared at the ground."His offence was not against you," Aslan pointed out in a calm tone.

"Have you forgotten the Deep Magic?" Jadis hissed, locking her cold eyes onto Aslan.

"Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch!" Aslan snarled, causing Edmund to tremble in fear. "I was there when it was made."

The silence that fell around the group added more onto Edmund's nerves. His palms flooded with sweat and he clenched and unclenched his hands into fists. He swallowed hard to calm his heavily beating heart.

"Then you will know that the boy belongs to me," Jadis announced. She then turned to the crowd. "That boy-" she pointed right at Edmund, a small smirk slid onto her face "-will die on the Stone Table."

"Come and take it then," Peter told her with disgust. Edmund's eyes widened as he looked up at his older brother. Surely Edmund heard wrong. His brother wouldn't hand him over to die like that, would he? "Take him if you want him so bad. He deserves it."

"Peter!" Edmund gasped. Tears filled his eyes as he turned to Susan. "Su, talk some sense into him."

Susan looked back and forth between Peter and Edmund before finally resting her eyes on Edmund. "I'm sorry Ed, but I agree with Peter this time," she whispered. Edmund's heart dropped a little more.

"Lucy!" He begged, grabbing her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "Please! Don't let them do this to me! I'm your brother!"

"No you're not!" Lucy snapped, shoving Edmund's hands away. He backed away as if he had been burnt. "You aren't my brother! You're someone else. The old Edmund wouldn't treat me like a little kid. He wouldn't lie to me. He wouldn't make fun of me. He would protect me. He wouldn't give us away to the White With like you did, traitor! You're a traitor!"

Edmund felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. His own family...was sentencing him to death. This couldn't be possible.

"I...I'm not a traitor!" Edmund begged, tears falling freely down his face. "I'm not! She...she wouldn't let me leave. She threatened to kill you if I didn't bring her here. I was stopping her from killing you guys! I'm not a traitor! I'm not!"

"If only we could believe you," Peter sighed, slowly shaking his head. He looked up at Jadis. "Take him away."

Edmund awoke with a start. He was shivering uncontrollably. He didn't have to look around to know where he was. With a sinking feeling he knew that he had been captured. He ran away and he wasn't strong enough to get away. He felt like a failure.

He was strong before. He was able to fight her powers. He was able to fight her bringing her back. But he let down a wall and he let her take her.

Then he tried to run away and he let her take him again.

Edmund held his head in his hands and broke down. He couldn't stop the tears that were falling out of his eyes. He knew what would happen to him in the future and he prayed that Peter would find a way to get to him as soon as possible.

"A king of Narnia...reduced to a blithering mess...how pathetic of Aslan to make you king!"

Edmund flinched when he heard Jadis's voice. He could feel the pain from his torture as if it happened to him yesterday. Now that Jadis was tearing him down, he couldn't help but take in what she said and question why he was made a king in the first place.

He was a traitor.

He led Jadis to his brothers and sisters and they could've been killed because of him.

Aslan sacrificed himself so Edmund could stay alive and he hadn't thanked him properly.

Edmund's body shook with sobs as he continued to cry.

He didn't think he'd ever stop.

He didn't think he'd ever escape Jadis.

He didn't think he'd make it out alive this time.

Sorry it took me so long to update this story. I lost inspiration for a bit but now I'm back. You'll see Peter, Susan, and Lucy more in the next chapter. Please read and review.