Even a traitor may mend || The chronicles of narnia

First signs of spring

Edmund squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away from the knife that the witch was currently holding against his neck.
His heart was pounding in his chest, his breathing uneven, and he was in a lot of pain.
Since the whipping the witch had given him, she'd visited him three more times, each time trying to get him to tell her where his siblings were, but he never told her, and although this annoyed the witch, she never gave up.
Edmund by this point was in so much pain that evening thinking straight was hard, he was so, so cold but could feel the sweat dripping down his forehead. He was exhausted as well, having stayed up all night and been almost continuously tortured, he was tired both physically and mentally, and not to mention how absolutely terrified he was... not knowing what the witch was going to do next scared him more than anything had ever scared him before.
He took a deep breath when the witch pushed down slightly on the dagger, leaning forward so her mouth was right by his ear. "Where are they Edmund?" She whispered. "Where are your siblings?"
Edmund's eyes flickered open slowly, but it didn't help much with his vision, everything was blurry anyway. "I-" He choked, hardly able to get any words past his lips.
"Yes?" The witch said, pressing down lightly on the dagger.
Although it hadn't cut him yet, Edmund knew it was only a matter of time before it did, but no matter how much that thought worried him, he wouldn't tell her. "I-" He choked again, licking his cracked lips and letting out a quiet sob as he slumped further against the icy wall. "Please." He whispered, forcing the word from his mouth.
"Tell me where they are and I'll stop." The witch said, smirking slightly as Edmund's eyes slipped shut again.
Edmund opened his mouth again, but his throat hurt so, so much that it was near impossible to say anything else, but he did manage to force one more word out. "Water?" He choked, his eyes flickering a little but staying shut.
The witch frowned, shaking her head. "If you tell me where they are," She said slowly. "You can have some water... and some food, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
Edmund swallowed thickly, shaking his head back and forth which caused tears to roll slowly down his cheeks.
"Where are they?" The witch hissed in his ear, tightening her grip on the dagger.
"I-" Edmund took a deep breath. "I don't know." He choked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The witch scowled before all of a sudden standing, turning around to face the door.
It was only then that Edmund realised Ginnabrik had entered the room, and allowed himself to relax slightly now that he didn't have a knife pressed to his neck.
"Your majesty." The dwarf said, bowing his head. "Everything is ready for you to leave."
The witch nodded. "We leave at first light." She said sharply, before turning back to Edmund. "Seeming as Edmund won't tell me where his siblings are, I guess I'll just have to go and find them myself."
Edmund's heart skipped a beat. "No." He whispered, shaking his head. "Please."
The witch smirked. "Oh you're coming with me, don't worry." She said, before walking from the room without another word.
Ginnabrik hurried after her, and Edmund was once again left alone.
He didn't know how long he sat there, but after a short while he finaly gave up, and darkness consumed him for the first time that night.

☆☆☆

It must of been at least two hours later when Edmund was awoken to the iron doors of the cell slamming open, causing him to jump and let out a quiet groan.
He heard footsteps approaching before someone kicked his side, earning a sharp gasp. "Get up." Ginnabrik snapped. "We're leaving."
Edmund swallowed hard and forced his eyes open, slowly and hesitantly sitting up straight.
He was relieved to find out that he'd gotten some of his strength back, but the pain, if anything, had just gotten worse.
He winced sharply when the dwarf broke the shackles around his ankles, but was glad to finaly be free of them, he thought as he reached for his jumper and slipped it carefully over his head.
After rubbing quickly at his ankles, he managed to force himself to his feet, only to immediately be pushed from the cell by Ginnabrik, who pressed his whip to his back and pushed him through corridor after corridor.
He stumbled along in front of him, unable to keep back the occasional shudder when the whip touched his still (probably) bleeding back.
By the time they reached the courtyard, Edmund felt like his legs were about to give way under him, but he forced himself to stay on his feet, because he dreaded to even think about what would happen if he were to collapse.
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