Hope [Edmund Pevensie] (UNDER HEAVY RECONSTRUCTION)

Chapter 5

February 3, 1936

              Ashlynn knew she was no longer in the woods. Her back was far too comfortable to still be laying on the jagged leaves and rocks that blanketed the earth. Her head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton and then hit a few hundred times with a baseball bat. Her senses were gradually returning, notifying her of the surroundings. Edmund's voice was the first sound she recognized. 

            "Ash, I know you can hear me," Edmund whispered faintly. "Your nose twitches when you wake up." 

Redirecting her energy away from her ears to her eyes took longer than she suspected. She lifted her eyelids up before adjusting her vision into focus. Edmund grinned when he saw the movement. 

           "She's awake!" He cried to the rest of the family, making Ashlynn flinch as his voice ricocheted. 

The Pevensie family teleported into the room. All four children were immediately at her side, bombarding her with questions. Unable to focus with the din, Ashlynn squeezed her eyes shut, as if it would be able to block out the noise. 

           "Let her breathe!" Her mother announced. 

Ashlynn's mother was a thing of beauty. Adorned with the same golden locks Ashlynn had inherited, and a perfect complexion, Mrs. Connolly could have any man in the world. But by some miracle, she chose Ashlynn's father, a bumbling idiot who couldn't learn to tie his own shoes. 

           "Ashlynn? Queenie? Can you hear me?" Asked her mother. 

Unable to form words, Ashlynn nodded her head gingerly. The pain was increasing as she became more aware. Her mother fussed over her, testing her reflexes, sensitivity, and even her memory. The Pevensie's watched from the side, anxiously awaiting a diagnosis. 

             "Good news, there doesn't seem to be any severe brain damage. Unfortunately, you most certainly have a concussion, which means you'll be bed ridden for a few days," Her mother finally informed the group. 

              "But she is okay? She's not going to die?" Lucy inquired. 

Mrs. Connolly chuckled gracefully. "No Lucy. Queenie is not going to die." 

The relief pulsed through the room and Ashlynn watched as everyone's shoulders dropped their tension. Edmund watched her carefully, offering a smile of support when he met her gaze. Ashlynn beckoned him over to her bedside while the rest of the Pevensies followed their mother into the kitchen to prepare dinner. 

             "It's not your fault Ed," Ashlynn spoke before Edmund could apologize. 

             "But you were chasing me, and I lead you into the woods. If I had just stayed in the clearing like we were supposed to..." Edmund's weight shifted beneath him.