Heart and Home~ Edmund Pevensie

Chapter 9| Fire and Ice

I'd always enjoyed flying. The air racing across the my skin, caressing me into a state of goosebumps, gave me a sense of a deeper meaning behind my purpose, as Amelia and as the Silvanus. Before I came to Narnia, I would go with my father to his air base, just south of London, and he would take me for a ride in the old aircraft that the army no longer used. It was exhilarating. The air, the noise, the freedom. It felt endless, like the world was before me and I could do whatever I wanted with it. When I was flying, the land was barren sand waiting for my footprint; waiting for me to shape it, change it and mould it.

I realize now that my father had probably developed his love for flying by flying griffins, like I was. Whilst I was soaring through the dark night's fog in the claws of a potential killing machine, my heart remembered flying with my father. I knew this was what he enjoyed – the adrenaline, the rush, the meaning – and I could imagine him doing it all those years ago with my mother at his side.

Edmund was beside me – flying with absolute grace and precision – despite mine and Caspian's argument. He hadn't spared me a single glance the entire ride, nor had we had a proper conversation since I first saw him in the woods. It appeared that time was against us, becasue now we were crawling into what would certainly be death.

"Are you sure you're alright to partner with him?" Caspian's worried gaze made my heart melt.

"Yes, I'm sure. Peter has a point, Cas, if I go with you then the group will be too large. Four people can easily get caught." I explained, "Besides, someone's going to have to make sure that Edmund doesn't screw up."

He chuckled, but grew serious soon after, "I really don't like this."

"Neither do I," I gave him a knowing look, "Just promise me you'll stick to the plan. I know that castle holds many of your memories, but don't let that cause you to do something stupid." I gave him a hard stare, "Promise me."

He nodded, "I promise."

I risked a glance at the dark-haired boy to my left, only to be met with a pang of heartache. Do what you came to do, Amelia. Don't worry about him.

The castle soon came into view, the fog thick with impending doom. The sheer size of it sent goosebumps littering my skin. How were we supposed to besiege that? I pushed the negative thoughts from my mind and tunneled my focus to the task at hand: Do not die.

The griffins gradually tilted their direction to the left and we soared over the sleeping stone. The flying beauties timed it perfectly, and managed to safely drop us on a tower, while the guard had his back turned, before flying away again.

I looked at Edmund, my hands gripped tightly on the cold tiles, and he made eye contact with me for the first time in what felt like forever. For a second, I remembered all the good things we shared, before my anger at him took hold of my heart once again and I gave him a simple nod. He seemed to understand, because he gracefully rounded the tower to the other side where the guard stood on watch. I followed his lead and climbed to where the guard stood right below me, unsuspecting. Edmund wasted no time. He jumped onto the oblivious guard. The man let out a loud oomph before his lungs were winded and he was sputtering to scream, shout and make a sound. Edmund secured his arms behind his back as he straddled the man on the floor – his stomach on the ground...

I hopped off from my perch on the roof and quickly crouched down to the guard's level. I didn't have much time before the air re-entered his lungs. My hands felt slightly sweaty, the nerves making me shake slightly. I hadn't done this particular spell before, I had never even heard of it.

"Professor Cornelius read it to me during one of our lessons on Narnian Magic. It can knock someone out faster than a bump to the head." Caspian's voice rang in my head.