The Path of the Brave [Edmund Pevensie]

Chapter X: A Hunch

"That's a freefall, kid. There's no way you could make it out alive."

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Her skin reacted quickly to the change of temperature. The simple act of stepping inside the dungeon and feeling the cold made her uncomfortable. That was probably part of why people turned crazy there.

Leaving her uneasiness aside, she continued her way down the stairs, onto the hallway where the cells were located. She had only been there once before, many years ago, when Caspian had dared her to stay for five minutes at night. It was still as scary as then.

"Dad!" She exclaimed at the sight of the man curled up in a ball, lying on the floor. She hurried to take the keys off the hook hanging on the wall; she thanked whoever was above for there being no soldiers.

Weirdly enough, the cell was already open. She couldn't care less, and with shaky hands, went in for a needed hug. The Professor's eyes were watery, he was shaking because of the cold, and his glasses were misty. He was dirty. "Alexandra..." He murmured into her ear, still not letting go of the embrace. "What... what is going on?" His tone was hopeless, like he believed her presence to be an illusion. 

"I am saving you, father." She pulled him up; the man was still disoriented. "Caspian is okay, we will--

"I know Caspian is okay. He came here only minutes ago. But he didn't... he didn't say you were with him. He promised to take care of you--

She interrupted, her worst fear being Caspian betraying her, coming true. He knew how much her father meant; the last bit of family she had left. And he let it go. "Caspian was here. And he didn't let you out? That bastard... he will not see the end of this, I'm telling you--" She turned, decided to grab the boy by the hair and drag him around until she felt like it.

"No, Alexandra. It was my fault." He grabbed her by the arm and spoke with a trembling voice. "He came here to free me and I... said something. I-I thought he was mature enough, but I made a mistake. I set off something inside him, my girl, something aggressive."

"That doesn't account for you being left here, rotting. You don't deserve this, dad." Looking directly at his tiny dark eyes, surrounded by wrinkles, she nodded. "You don't. Now come on, we need to get you out of here." Alex grabbed his hand and started running through the halls, opening one door after another. 

She was not really familiar with the dungeon, but she knew that castle upside down. She knew where every secret passage was and could find her way through them with her eyes shut. That was how she knew the stables were behind that door.

She grabbed three horses from the stables as her father prepared the gear. The animals were anxious, stressed; war did that to them, and they could smell it right outside. "Here," She helped the man get on the tallest horse.