Letters To Edmund |book 1|

Chapter 24. When A Good Man Goes To War

Peter put the letter down and turned to the young lady, "I'm sorry, I mistook you for my sister."

"It's quite alright." She smiled weakly and sat down on the chair Lucy sat at before.

"What's troubling you?" Peter asked.

She looked up at him, "what if he dies?"

"I doubt he will if we are talking about the same person." Peter tried to encourage her.

"I was supposed to marry him. Why doesn't he love me?" Johanna's eyes seemed to fill with tears. To explain to her that his brother simply didn't love her was not an option, Peter was not about to break the heart of an already broken young lady. Peter didn't know how to handle this situation. Of course his sisters cried in front of him, but never over a boy, and most certainly never over his brother.

"Let me be honest with you, I don't really know. Edmund is a peculiar soul, even I can't really understand him." He answered her, hoping that she would accept his answer without more questions.

Johanna shifted in her seat, "He didn't even know her, then she suddenly comes in and ruins everything! That's just not fair, he's not supposed to love her!"

With every word she seemed to get angrier and Peter was a bit confused as to why she came to him with her troubles, they weren't even close and he was a high king. "All I know is that when you let anger overtake your heart that's when the witch knows how to steal it."

"I'm stronger than her, I can save Narnia too!" Johanna spat out.

Peter had enough of her fit, "don't compare yourself to Aslan's warrior, above all she is that. She's not our enemy."

"You are on her side aren't you? Why is everyone on her side, why can't anyone see she is evil!" Johanna stood up and walked out of the room, shutting the door very loud behind her.

"What is it with girls and slamming doors today!" Peter shook his head and got back to reading his letter.

Johanna angrily walked down the castle halls thinking about how she was right. She realized then that Edmund had never paid needed attention to her, and it angered her even more. She figured that if she was stronger in his eyes, if she had a purpose he would love her. Johanna had forgotten that people love in very different ways than what she thought. To her love was a complete foreign language, at least that's how she treated it. Which is exactly what the white witch decided to grab.

"Johanna." She heard a whisper in the distance of the dark place of the castle.

A bit afraid of the voice Johanna asked, "hello?"

"Come child, and I will show you the future that awaits you." The white witch whispered again and now blue-green fog appeared out of nowhere.

She followed the whisper into the dark parts of the castle where everyone was afraid to go. Johanna kept following the fog until a silhouette of a woman appeared in front of her.

"I know you," she spoke, "you are the white witch."

"So, my reputation precedes me. I know your deepest hearts desires Johanna." The white witch smiled. The white witch twirled her fingers around in the air and a ghostly image of Edmund appeared, he smiled deceptively, as if he were not Edmund at all.

Johanna knew about the horrors the white witch does, "I don't believe you. I will never make a deal with you!"

"But Johanna, it's not fair, she took your place, your place as the rightful queen of Narnia!" The white witch didn't stop.

"Edmund would never marry her. She would never marry him! All I have to do is prove that I'm strong enough, all I have to do is prove it and it will all go back to normal." Johanna said it more to herself than the witch.

Jadis circled her with her fog, "wouldn't it be much easier just to make him forget-One tiny little spell."

Her offer intrigued Johanna and the heart of the young woman was open to take it. "I can't make him forget, all I've practiced, I'm not strong enough." She confessed to the white witch.

"With my magic you can be strong enough, all it takes is one drop of your blood, and I will teach you the arts of dark magic. The strongest magic." Jadis spoke with such certainty that her tone gave confidence to Johanna.

The young lady reached her hand out to the fogy which was in front of her. Strangely, the ghostly image of Edmund grabbed her hand and cut the palm of her hand, joining it with the witch. Then he disappeared, as if he weren't there to begin with.

"Good," almost instantly Johanna's hand was dripping with blood and the young woman was afraid of what came next, the allure of darkness had won and she was empty of her free will, "now child go get your books and burn them, you will not need to learn witchcraft anymore, for you already have it."

The white witch got what she needed human blood and an alliance with someone on the inside. It was only a matter of time before her army struck again. The shadows around Johanna started to turn grey until they covered her in the fog and she screamed out in pain. When she moved her hands around, nothing but darkness and chaos came to mind. She was afraid of the white witch, but stretching her hand out for Johanna to grab insured the young lady that for the time being she was safe and all of her dreams might come true. Making that decision she didn't even think twice, for darkness was already taking over every organ in her body bit by bit, in the shadow of her fears and in the places where she couldn't see, like her heart.