The Call To The Old - An Edmund Pevensie fanfiction

Chapter fifty-one

Before the sun rose, Talia slipped out from Edmund's sleeping arms, deciding that there were some things that she needed to do before the day broke. As Aslan had said, she needed to prepare her goodbyes. The girl ran through the corridors back to her bedroom, and sat herself at her desk. Talia was never one for goodbyes, so from her desk she pulled out four pieces of paper and a pen. It took her a while to collect the words she wanted to say onto paper, but once she had finished she was proud of all she had written, although there were many feelings and emotions that were almost impossible to simply write into words.

For Peter, she detailed her gratitude to all he had taught her. He had taught her patience and cunning, he had taught her wit and how to behave with assertiveness. In the letter she recollected upon their moments of disagreement, but also their moments of laughter and tears. She hoped that the boy would one day find comfort in his world, and assured him that she knew that he would grow to be a wonderful man, and that she would forever remember him fondly.

For Susan, she thanked her for the long talks and discussions that they had shared together. She remembered how grateful she was to have a girl in her life, who was filled with laughter, and smarts. She also detailed how she was glad that the remaining Pevensie siblings had such a lovely role model in her, and how she knew that the girl would achieve much greatness in her life. Talia thanked her for her concern over her siblings wellbeing, mentioning that she was glad that they each had someone to look out for them.

It was hard to write words for Lucy, but Talia persisted. She wrote that she was so lucky to have a younger sister in Lucy, and that the pair of them made such good friends. She wrote that she adored the younger girl's compassion and love of life and nature. She loved the way in which Lucy never saw someone's faults first, and how Talia aspired to be like her one day. She reminded her of her beauty and told her to quit comparing herself to others. Talia wrote that she admired the girl's strength and courage and ability to persevere despite the circumstances.

Edmund's was of course the hardest, and by the end of the letter Talia had completely broken down in tears. But she completed it, and like the rest of them she folded it away and placed it into an envelope, writing his name on the front, eloquently. She placed each of the letters into the pocket in her dress which she had just changed in to, and set about her day in the castle; except this was no ordinary day in the castle, this was a day of goodbyes.

The girl paced the halls of the castle, her fingers tracing over the walls; she would miss this place when she left, although she much preferred the freedom of living in the forest. In fact she would miss everything when she had to leave- but most importantly the people. The first person she visited that morning was Caspian.

"Good morning!" she shouted as she jumped on to Caspian's sleeping body.

To which the boy cried out, "For Aslan's sake! What are you doing here so early?" he laughed, with a yawn, his brown hair messy from the night's sleep.

"I am leaving." she announced.

Caspian rose from his bed, shoving the girl off of him with a laugh. He walked over to his window and stared absent mindedly out of it, "Not for a couple of days though, right?" and when Talia did not respond to his question he asked again, "Right?" he turned around to look at her.

"I believe I will leave today, although I am not sure when, so I wanted to say goodbye now in case I did not get a chance."

Caspian narrowed his eyes at the girl, "I'm sure you will get plenty of chances today, you can even do so at the ceremony."

Talia dipped her head, and wiped away the tear that had fallen from her eye, "yes, the ceremony." she spoke plainly, "I suppose I will do it then." and without much more, the girl got up and left the bedroom, leaving Caspian alone questioning their interaction. On her way back to her room Talia slipped each of the letters under the Pevensie siblings doors, and for Edmund she slipped quietly into his bedroom, not wishing to wake the sleeping boy, and with her magic, hid his letter somewhere she was sure he would eventually find it- then the girl continued with her plan for the day.

*Two hours later*

Peter was the first of the Pevensie siblings to wake. He rose sleepily from his four poster bed, and clambered over to his dressing table to sort out his messy, blonde hair. As he stared at his reflection something in the background caught his eye, a letter that had been delicately slid under his door. The boy, who was remarkably curious in his nature, quickly sped over to it. Bending down to pick it up, he recognised Talia's handwriting, and immediately furrowed his eyebrows. The boy moved to sit down on his bed, before ripping open the envelope to read whatever was inside. By the end of the first sentence, however, he was running down the hallway to his brother's bedroom.

Meanwhile, Edmund sleepily blinked his eyes open as the sun began to shine through his windows. A smile quickly spread over his face as he was reminded of the girl who would be next to him. The boy reached his hand over to feel for the girl's sleeping body but instead he was met with the cold linin that covered his mattress. Edmund speedily span over to check, but Talia was gone. Before anything else could happen, Peter fell through the doorframe, and breathlessly he spoke, "Where's Talia?" he questioned, concern written all over his face.

The younger brother was quickly woken up from his sleepy state, sitting bolt upright, "What?" Peter was running around the room, searching for something, "What are you looking for? What's going on?"

"Did she leave you a letter?" Peter asked, but Edmund just looked at his brother blankly, full of confusion, "Did she leave you a letter?" Peter asked again, this time much more aggressively.

"Pete, I woke up like two seconds ago, would you care to give me some insight as to just what is going on?"

Peter, ran his hands through his hair, "Ed, sit down." he ordered.

"What? Why?" he rushed over to his brother, "Can you tell me what the fuck is going on?" he shouted.

"Edmund sit down!" Peter roared, and his brother complied, he placed a hand on his younger's shoulder, and spoke in short sentences, "We are leaving today. Going back to England. Aslan's orders. But-"

However, the boys words were interrupted by two more voices who simultaneously fell through Edmund's doorframe, just as Peter had done. They each called their brothers names. Susan was the first to speak coherently, waving her letter, "Did you each get one?" she asked.

"I did," Peter answered, quietly.

Edmund was standing now, "Get what? A letter? From who?"

"From Talia, Ed." Lucy spoke innocently, causing her to receive a daggering look from Peter.

Edmund's face went blank, "saying what?"

Susan walked over to her younger brother, reaching out to grab his hand, "Has Peter told you we are leaving today?" she asked, and the boy nodded, with faint tears in his eyes, "Well," she swallowed, and inhaled sharply, "Talia has already left."