An Unexpected Romance

Chapter 11

We approach the Telmarine castle. The griffins quietly glide through the air. Susan gives me a nod and mouths good luck before she, Peter, and Caspian head away from us towards the other side of the castle. Edmund pats the side of the griffin carrying us, and it dives, landing on the steep roof on a tower of the castle. Somehow, the Telmarine soldier on the balcony below us doesn't see us. Ed and I slide off the griffin and lean back against the roof so as not to be seen. Edmund nods to the griffin, and it swoops down swiftly and carries the guard away into the night.

Edmund nods at me and jumps from the roof onto the balcony. He looks up at me and beckons me to jump down.

"Come on!" He whispers up at me while checking to make sure no one can hear him. "I'll catch you, hurry!"

I swear. If I knew I'd be jumping off a castle this time two days ago, I would not have gone to that train station.

I suck in a deep breath of the cool night's air and step off the edge of the roof. I feel Edmund's strong hands grab my waist as my feet hit the ground.

"Are you alright?" He whispers. I turn around and am met with Edmund's dark eyes and brow furrowed with concern. I nod. He removes his hands from my hips and walks towards the edge of the balcony.

Edmund steps up onto the edge of the wall, extends his arm, and flickers his light on and off, signaling Peter, Sue, and Caspian that it's safe to land and the Narnians to head towards the gate of the castle.

"Now, we wait," Edmund walks over to where I stand with my arms crossed, leaned against the wall. "I might as well tell you the story while we wait."

"The story?" I ask, not sure if he means what I think he means.

"When I first happened upon Narnia, the White Witch was the first person I encountered. She was somewhat nice, offering me sweets and things," Edmund begins.

"Edmund, you really don't have to," I interrupt him.

"I know," he says, glancing at me briefly. "In short. She tricked me. I was struggling with Father being gone, and she told me I could be king,"

Edmund takes a deep breath. "She insisted I bring all my siblings to Narnia and tell her the whereabouts of my siblings. I knew next to nothing of the Narnian prophecy, so I did what she asked. I had an inkling that what I was doing was wrong, but I didn't realize how wrong until the Witch imprisoned me, which is where I met Mr. Tumnus."

"You were a prisoner of the White Witch?" I ask.

"Yes, not my finest moment," he says nodding with half a smile. "She took me on a hunt for my brother and sisters, and in the process, Aslan and his army rescued me. The White Witch demanded I be punished on the Stone Table as a traitor as Narnian law would have it, but Aslan took my place. He died for me."

"But Aslan is till alive now, right?" I ask.

"Very much so," Edmund smiles, "if the witch had known the true meaning of sacrifice as written in the deep magic, she'd have known the death of the innocent on behalf of a traitor wouldn't stop the fulfillment of the prophecy."

We sit in silence for a minute.

"Edmund, you realize you were manipulated," I tell him. "You're not some horrible person."

"I was at the time, though. I wanted my siblings punished. I hated them then, especially Peter. It wasn't until later that I realized I needed them, and it was only because of the sacrifice Aslan made for me that I realized the severity of my actions."

"But you realize them now," I look at him. "You need to stop beating yourself up about it. Your siblings have forgiven you, you can forgive yourself too."