The Heir of Aslan || Narnia

Chapter 5- Midnight Visit

And I don't know why
I just let it slip by
Me all the time
I just wish you'd 've tried
- Don't Know Why, McFly

• - - •

𝙸𝚃 was that night when everything changed. James hadn't expected it to happen, he wasn't even supposed to be awake, but still it happened. And, by God, was it the most magical thing.

     James had been the one to put Edmund to be whilst the other two dealt with Lucy to try and ease some of the days conflict. As far as he was aware, it worked. His blonde brother wasn't so tense upon his return to the bedroom.

     It was when James awoke in a cold sweat that he first felt something was wrong- something was different. Sleep was dangerous because dreams were uncontrollable, his always more so than his siblings. It was almost certainly a broken slumber every night for him, leaving the blonde boy with nothing substantial: never enjoyable. When he awoke, he looked to the furthest bed from his to see it empty. Edmund was gone.

     Being the closest to Edmund out of everyone, James was worried. His dark eyes scammed the blackness, trying to make sense of it all. An attempt to find where his brother could be, only to see the vague silhouette of the bedroom door wide open. Quickly, James jumped from his mattress and pulling up the heels of his slippers, ready to roam the large country mansion with the sole purpose of returning his brother to bed.

     As he wandered, James found no sign of his dark haired sibling, only being lead through a string of open wooden doors. There was no candle light to guide him, not with the risk of waking someone, so he used his hands to determine whereabouts he was. The Pevensie boy could only hope that he didn't break one of the historical artefacts Mrs Macready had warned them about. He'd never hear the end of it. Although, it wasn't as if they would be able to prove it was him.

     James followed each door until he was eventually guided towards the final one at the opposite end of the house. He was surprised that no one had awoken. Every movement caused a floorboard to creak: it was quite the miracle.

     Someone didn't want him to get caught, that's what it was. They wanted him to find something.

     That's when he entered the room. A large room with no furniture, no furniture except for one thing.

     A wardrobe.

     It was the same wardrobe Lucy had been talking about earlier that day. It was the same one they had checked for the magical hidden world. Would it let him in? James hoped so. There was nothing he wanted more than to visit Narnia. From the way his sister had described it, heaven was the only thing that came close to its beauty. So then, why was Edmund there? His clear distaste was visible to all of the Pevensie's, but with what he'd told James in confidence, maybe he did believe.

    Maybe all it would take for Edmund to believe was a little proof. He'd been like that all his life. But even then, sometimes proof wasn't enough to admit something that should have been impossible.

     James stepped towards it. Did it matter if he was just dressed in his pinstriped pyjamas? If he was cold, then it was no ones fault but his own. The boy was fully aware of that. So, tentatively, he grasped the wooden handle of the wardrobe and pulled it open.

     The blonde wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen. Certainly, he was disappointed when he found that it was just coats. Still there hung the winter coats from earlier in the day.

     He turned, preparing himself to leave when he felt it. A delicate wind brushed against his pale neck. James didn't dare face it, just in case the opportunity disappeared. Instead he walked backwards, past the coats, until nothing pressed against his back but air. Chilled air.