The Call To The Old - An Edmund Pevensie fanfiction

Chapter twenty-six

Talia woke up in the early hours of the morning- not too long after midnight, after tossing and turning for a couple of hours. The anxiety of the day ahead had finally gotten to her, and she began to hear the stirring of her ancestor's voices from within her, growing louder. The girl sat upright, and watched as the Narnians surrounded her, slept peacefully; tonight, she slept next to Trumpkin and Trufflehunter, rather than Edmund- in fact, she hadn't even spoken to Edmund since the night before in the large room of Aslan's How. He had been consumed with helping his brother practice before his fight with Miraz, and she spent the evening with Trumpkin and Trufflehunter, catching up on all that they had missed. She scanned the faces of the sleeping Narnians in an attempt to spot him in the masses, and she did so- he looked so tranquil, she watched as his chest slowly grew and shrunk, with his breath. She continued to stare for a moment longer, before shaking her head and getting up to get some fresh air.

Once again, the girl went to sit on the outside steps of the tomb, admiring the night sky above her. She sighed, and brought her knees up to her chin, making herself small, as small as she felt. The night was so quiet, but of course, the voices within her interrupted this peace. As always, they began as gentle whispers, this time she could make out what they spoke of- they feared that she was distracted from her tasks, that she hadn't focused enough upon magic. They spoke only truths; Talia had practiced no magic- nothing at all.

When her ancestors spoke, they all spoke; in harmonies, in choruses and it drove Talia crazy, "What do you want of me?" she whispered, pleadingly.

"For you to practice!" the voices harshly, shouted back at her- causing her to jump at their unexpected sharpness.

Talia was frustrated now, as well, "Practice how exactly?" she spoke back just as sharp. This time, the ancestors did not reply, sensing that they wouldn't be listened too by the annoyed girl. However, even though they did not respond, Talia sensed her answer in the nature that surrounded her- the magic of Narnia itself had given her answer, and it was enough.

She lifted her hand out to hover over a beautiful, green leaf that sat on the stone before her. The young girl fully embraced the energy of the nature around her, the flowing of the wind; the moonlight that shone over her; the calls of the birds in the distance- she relaxed into the magic of Narnia, taking several deep breaths. She could hear the rising of the ancestors within her, but this time rather than ignore them, or let herself get angered by them- she fully embraced their words. She channeled into their energy, as well as the nature that surrounded her. The leaf twitched, ever so slightly, underneath her hand. The ancestors got louder now, their voices all chorusing loud shouts. The leaf lifted. She had done it. She stayed focused and suddenly, all the fallen leaves around her were now flying also. A wide smile broke out across her face, "Start small." she muttered, with a soft grin- she was proud of herself.

But the voices continued to grow in volume, as the girl got distracted, and the leaves continued to fly around her- picking up speed and the wind flowed heavily now too. Rain started to pour from the night sky. Wolves started to howl in the very distance. The voices inside of her began to scream. The young girl was far from being able to control her powers, and quickly became overwhelmed. She stood from her seated position, as nature grew harsher in its conditions- the magic of Narnia was glad it finally had a body to flow through, but it was far too much for the young girl. The wind now howled through her hair and whipped around her body- making it almost impossible to stand still. "Stop!" she begged, tears now falling from her eyes, "Please!" she pleaded, her voice cracking slightly.

She screamed. It was an earth-shattering scream, a scream that echoed immediately throughout the whole area. It sent shock waves, like an earthquake would. It didn't quieten the harsh conditions of the nature around her, in fact it only seemed to get worse- she couldn't even move now, the fear of her magic having frozen her to the spot.

~~~

Edmund woke with a start, upon hearing a scream from outside, and he quickly grabbed his sword to rush towards the voice- alerting his brother on the way. The pair sprinted outdoors, without a word between them; each sharing a heavy concern for the girl who had screamed.

Upon exiting the tomb, they spotted the girl straight away. She had curled into herself on the floor; surrounded by a tornado-like wind that shook her, harshly. Rain pounded down onto her, and the once green leaves, had now turned an angry black colour, and they, too sharply span around her. She girl appeared so small in comparison to all that was occurring around her.

"Talia!" Edmund shouted, rushing towards her, but his voice was no match for the roaring of thunder that now controlled the skies.

Talia kept her head facing the floor, overwhelmed with what she was doing. Her body filled with panic: air dragged painfully though her throat, as her body spasmed from violent coughs. Her throat was constricted, her airways inflamed, there was hardly any room for the oxygen to get through. She felt as if she was breathing through a straw, except there were tiny knives inside of it, that dug into her airways as she inhaled, and it hurt. Then she felt it in her chest, as her lungs filled up with oxygen, they expanded, and this pain spread like cold fire, burning her with each breath and then leaving this icy feeling behind. Then as she started to exhale, the fire burnt stronger, her heart was pounding, throat was closing and the world started to spin, then the air finally leaves her body, and the cycle of pain began again- not only was her magic destroying the world around her, it was destroying her- she was having the most ghastly of panic attacks, and now struggled to even breathe.

"What on earth is even happening?" Peter shouted, but his voice was only a mere whisper in comparison to the noise of the wind.

But Edmund wasn't focused on petty conversation, "TALIA!" he screamed again, this time louder than ever before, and it caused the distressed girl to look up from her position on the floor.

She looked at him with the most pleading of eyes, begging for help, causing Edmund to jolt forwards towards her.

"ED! Get back!" Peter roared, but his brother ignored him. He attempted to chase after the younger boy.

Talia looked towards Edmund running towards her and was paralysed with fear- she didn't want to hurt him. "Ed." she muttered, under her breath, attempting to warn the boy- but a whisper was all that she could muster. The voices still roared within her, but now she didn't know what they were saying; they sounded like demons screaming within her. She had to get under control- her ancestors were testing her control. She had to get under control. Talia focused completely upon the boy running towards her- she focused upon how he had made her feel earlier, his comfort, her butterflies, the blush that covered both of their cheeks, his touch. She completely relaxed into her memory of how he made her feel, ignoring all that was going on around her, bar him. She remembered the deep colour of his eyes, and the richness of his soft hair.

Nature began to calm, the winds softened, the rain halted, and the thunder no longer roared. It all stopped- leaving behind a small girl, cowering on the floor, a shivering wreck.

"Talia!" Edmund exclaimed, once again, with Peter trailing after him.

The girl looked back up at him, a sorrowful expression plastered onto her face- but before she had the chance to explain herself, Edmund slammed into her, embracing her into the tightest of hugs, "C'mon," he muttered softly into her ear, "let's get you inside."