The Call To The Old - An Edmund Pevensie fanfiction

Chapter fifty-three

Peter and Edmund walked back to join the others, and not a word was spoken between them. Each of them felt sore with emotion; neither of the pair wishing to return home to their war-torn country, or their preppy boarding schools. Edmund slowly brought his hand to his eye to wipe a tear that had fallen, he missed Talia more than he ever thought that he could, and he was beyond angry with the way in which she had handled things. Although in some strange way he was glad that the last moments that they had spent together had been beautiful and happy, and that way he could remember her for the happiness she had brought him, not some tearful goodbye. But his hands thought otherwise; his hands wanted to run through her hair from sunset to sunrise and all over again; and his legs wanted to walk beside hers; and his ears wanted to be blessed with the sound of her voice; his eyes wanted to take in hers; and arms wanted to hold her, tightly, until the whole world had moved on and there was only them left. The boy was only young, but he knew that he could never love someone as much as he had loved her, ever again. Truly, he didn't want her to become some distant memory, to the point where he wouldn't be able to even remember what had she looked like; he didn't want to forget her voice, or her mannerisms, and he believed that he could not live out his days without her comfort; he had been toyed with the most extreme variant of happiness only for it to have been stolen from him.

But he knew he must continue. And he knew that he must forget her, because if that was what she had willed him to do, then who was he to not take her orders, for if he did not was his love for her even true? But if he had had his way, he would have chased her to the ends of the world, and never let her go again.

"Narnia belongs to the Narnians just as it does to the man," Caspian addressed those listening- he was their King now and spoke with the same level of eloquence and power, as his father had once done so, everybody looked up to him with respect, he continued, "any Telmarines who want to stay and live in peace are welcome to. But for any of you who wish, Aslan will return you to the home of our forefathers."

From the crowd an older man spoke, he was tan and his face was decorated with a thick, dark beard, "It's been generations since we left Telmar."

Now Aslan chimed in, "We're not referring to Telmar. Your ancestors were seafaring brigands. Pirates run aground on an island. There they found a cave, a rare chasm, that brought them here from their world. The same world as our Kings and Queens," he nodded to the Pevensie siblings- who gave each other confused glances. "It is to that island that I can return you. It is a good place for any who wish to make a new start."

The crowd all looked around, seeing who would be the first to wish to leave Narnia, and a man from the back was the first to speak, "I will go." It was General Glozelle, the Telmarines chief general, "I will be the first to go." he spoke.

Caspian nodded his head as the general, indicating a respect towards the older man for his bravery.

"So will we." Prunaprismia, Caspian's aunt, spoke, holding onto her newborn son; she joined General Glozelle to stand before Aslan.

"Because you have spoken first, your future in that world shall be good." he let out a gentle breath, and with the air from his lungs the gigantic tree that stood just behind them all, began to move, it slowly parted in the centre to reveal a small oval shaped hole. It was through this hole that Aslan motioned the Telmarines to walk through to return to the home of their ancestors.

The crowd murmured in shock as they stepped through and instantly disappeared and they began to shout, "Where did they go?" "They killed them!" "How do we know he is not leading us to our death?" One man even exclaimed.

Reepicheep, the mouse who stood just two foot high on his hind legs, spoke braver than them all, "Sire. If my example can be of any service, I will take eleven mice through with no delay."

But Aslan looked on to the Pevensie siblings, and Peter stepped forward, knowing what he must do, "We'll go."

Edmund did not speak, biting his tongue at his brother's forever attempts to be the most chivalrous person in a crowd. He felt numb at the whole situation, and every time he heard a noise his eyes scoured the area in an attempt to be the first to catch a glimpse of the curly haired girl, of whom his heart longed for.

But Peter continued with his chivalry, stepping forwards towards Caspian, "Our time's up." he spoke, and with a smile he continued, "after all... We're not really needed here anymore." He took his sword from it's sheath and handed it to the new King."

"I will look after it until you return." Caspian replied, clutching onto the sword.

But Susan intervened, "I'm afraid that's just it. We're not coming back." she spoke, with a sad tone to her voice, looking over at Aslan and then back to Caspian.

"We're not?" Lucy questioned.

Peter walked over to his younger siblings, "You two are. At least, I think he means you two." Peter looked back to Aslan.

"But why?" Lucy asked, "Did they do something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite dear one. But all things have their time. Your brother and sister have learned what they can from this world. Now it's time for them to live in their own." Aslan explained, with a gentle tone to his voice.

"It's alright, Lu." Peter comforted his younger sister, "It's not how I thought it would be..." he paused, "But it's alright. One day you'll see too. Come on." he grabbed a hold of her hand and walked her over to the portal that would take them home.

Edmund frowned; he was sad that his next adventure to Narnia would not involve the company of his siblings but a small, perhaps selfish, part of him smiled, at the thought that maybe one day he might be able to see Talia's face again. And he, too, followed after his older brother. Each of them saying a tearful goodbye to their closest Narnian friends.

Susan walked over to Caspian, who she had grown close too, "I'm glad I came back."

"I wish we had more time together." Caspian replied.

"It would never have worked, anyway."

"Why not?" the boy questioned.

"I am not sure Talia ever liked me that much," she smiled, which he returned, "besides, I am 1,300 years older than you." the pair both chuckled, and they each engulfed the other in a kind hug.

Susan returned to join her siblings, and they all stared out into the crowd of onlooking Narnians and Telmarines; with soft smiles decorating their faces.

Each of them didn't really know how to feel; but Edmund knew that the second that he stepped foot in Narnia again he would forever search for the girl that he loved- and if Aslan decided to throw them into a time in which she no longer lived, he would search for anything, and anyone who would give him any information into how she had lived out her life; and he would instead join her in death.

With one last pained look each of the Pevensie siblings stepped into the portal, and Edmund only hoped that with this look he would catch a glance of Talia... but he never did, and instead he now saw the dirty, cream tiles of the train station walls, and the bright, red train that whizzed past them. And instead of being dressed in his princely outfit, a school uniform fell over his body, and a hat sat atop his head instead of a crown. His siblings stood beside him, each in their own uniform, holding their suitcases.

For comfort, the boy reached his hands into his pockets, and in it he felt a crumpled up piece of paper.