On Edmund's return to the tomb to check on his brother, he was stopped by the lookout who told him that he had spotted something in the distance. The younger boy rushed inside to tell his brother, "Pete, you'd better come quickly." he announced, signaling for his brother to follow behind him.
All of the Narnians rushed outside to see what was going on, and that was when they all saw it; a storm of bloodthirsty Telmarine soldiers encroaching on their base. There were thousands, no tens of thousands of men marching up the field, with angry looking masks plastered onto their faces, and huge wooden spears in hand.
Lucy rushed inside to find Talia, who looked ever so confused, "Talia! Hurry!" she shouted, grabbing hold of the girl's arm, and dragging her towards the lookout position where Peter, Edmund and Caspian stood.
The girl sighed, "Oh my. There's millions." she exclaimed, shocked.
She felt overwhelmed and drew back from the lookout position, rushing away to get some time alone. All this new information had weighed heavy upon the girl, and now the professor wanted her to find some power that was buried so deep within her, and that was the only chance of the Narnians survival? How could she? She stared at her reflection in the cracked ice that littered the floor, from the mornings run in with the White Witch. "What do I do?" she mumbled.
"My child, you must do whatever you can to help them." a voice spoke from behind her.
Talia drew a sharp inhale, and tears welled in the corners of her eyes, "mother?" she questioned, turning around, and there her mother was, like some sort of beautiful ghost, her skin glowed, and her hair danced all by itself. Her dress flowed beautifully around her, in a gorgeous white colour. The young girl rushed towards her elder, falling to her knees before her.
"Dear, please stand." she ordered, and Talia complied, "For years I did not understand. I saw myself grow weaker, but I never saw my magic passed onto you." she reached out to grab her daughter by the shoulder, "and then I understood, for it was only when my late mother, came to me in a dream that I ever felt her strength. Then I realised, it was in death that my powers would pass onto you fully. But I had pushed my powers down so deep within myself that even death could not bring them out, so I came to you in dreams but in those dreams I could not speak. So, I asked Aslan to speak for me, and he got the message across, all be it you woke up far too early. And then, well, then I worked out how to come to you, just like this-"
"As a ghost?" Talia questioned.
"Think it more like as a memory. A shadow of who I once was. A witch gets a certain amount of power bestowed upon them to pass on their magic to their child; my mother, for example, as I said, used hers to come to her in a dream. But I am terrible at magic, you see, so it took me a couple attempts, but here I am before you, my darling daughter, ready to pass my powers onto you so you can protect them all."
"That sounds like an awfully large responsibility."
"Yes, but if you do not shy away from it, like I did, you can save them- it is their only chance."
"How will I learn magic in all but a couple of hours?" she questioned.
"Once inside you, the magic will call to you, speak to you and if you embrace it, you will not need to learn you will just, simply know." she paused, "give me your hand." and Talia did so. She felt her mother's energy flowing into her, "Close your eyes." she ordered, and Talia felt her mother's magic even stronger now; pulsing into her, like how a heart pumps blood, and as it did so she heard the magic calling her name as it flowed around her body. Generations and generations of power lapped into the young girl, and she felt her strength grow.
And then, just as quickly as it began, it ended. "Mother?" Talia questioned, before opening her eyes to find nobody in front of her, nothing. Her mother was no more, and yet Talia still felt her, in the energy that now flowed within her.
That was when she first heard the voice of the magic, calling her forward- giving her strength, and the girl rushed back up to the lookout tower, hoping that she had not missed too much.
The walked over and stood next to Edmund, "Sorry I left." she apologised.
Edmund turned to her, a confused look on his face, "you left just a second ago?"
"What, no, I've been gone for ages?"
"No, seriously, Talia- you've been gone for about a second."
"Huh." she frowned, "How odd?" No time had passed when she went to meet her mother, almost as though it never happened. She looked up, and saw the never-ending amount of Telmarine troops, still stalking forward, now with King Miraz at their front. Every Narnian felt it then, all the hope they once had was beginning to dwindle.
"C'mon, inside." Peter ordered, and everybody followed him into the tomb, to discuss what they would do next.
"You alright?" Edmund turned to Talia, "What was that earlier?"
Talia frowned, "I don't know," she muttered quietly, "I, um, I think I just got a tad bit overwhelmed."
The boy nodded in response, and then the pair, too, followed Peter inside.
"Cakes and kettledrums." Trumpkin's voice echoed throughout the small room that they were in, "That's your next big plan?"
"Sending a little girl into the darkest parts of the forest?" Talia continued, "Alone!" She shouted, stepping towards Peter, Edmund swiftly grabbed hold of her, pulling her back.
"It's our only chance!" Peter reasoned.
"And she won't be alone." Susan finished.
Talia freed herself from Edmund's grip and walked over towards Lucy tears in her eyes, and then turned back to face Peter, "haven't enough of us died already?" she begged.
"Nikabrik was my friend too," spoke Trufflehunter, trying to reason with his old friend, "But he lost hope. Queen Lucy hasn't, and neither have I. Talia, this is the only way."
"For Aslan." Reepicheep called, and the other Narnians repeated his call.
"Then I'm going with you." Trumpkin added, stepping forward towards Lucy and Talia.
"Yes, or I'll go." Talia added, she had always felt protective over Lucy.
"No. We need you here." Lucy answered, placing a reassuring hand upon Trumpkin's shoulder, and sending a smile Talia's way.
"We have to hold them off until Lucy and Susan get back." Spoke Peter.
"If I may..." spoke a soft voice from the corner, and Talia turned to see Caspian, now standing, ready to declare his point. She smiled softly at him before he began, "Miraz may be a tyrant and a murderer, but as King he is subject to the traditions, and the expectations of his people." he turned to face Talia, who nodded adamantly, like a lightbulb went off in her mind. What Caspian was saying was true, it would be easier for the Narnians to defeat Miraz by damaging his Kleos or reputation, than it would be to defeat the thousands of men who now crowded around the tomb- preparing for battle.
Talia turned to Caspian, nodding her head, "Yes. There is one in particular that may buy us some time." Everyone looked curiously at the pair.
YOU ARE READING
The Call To The Old - An Edmund Pevensie fanfiction
Fanfiction[Completed] With her birth the fulfilment of a thousand year-old prophecy was bound to be brought to life. They saw it in her eyes- her power, her strength. Her magic would bring peace to a land of toil- a land full of war and subject to the harshes...
