Heart and Home~ Edmund Pevensie

Chapter 5: Do Not Go Gentle

The gates they used were very intricate and hardly allowed Amelia to see into the corridor, but through a small gap she could catch a glimpse of Crazy's cell right at the end of the corridor.

"Your face," Crazy spoke, "You remind me of a King I once loved well."

"That man was my father."

Caspian. Caspian. CASPIAN.

He came. He found her. After all this time. Amelia felt dizzy, but pushed through the black spots to stay awake. She tried her voice, but when her mouth opened, no sound came out. Her throat felt like it was bleeding. Either it was gone because she of lack of water... or she was screaming too much. She doesn't use her voice for anything else really. Only screaming.

"Oh my lord..." Crazy, or Lord Bern she supposed she should call him, uttered, "Please forgive me."

"No, please, please."

Then silence.

Or rather, they were listening to the screams. Amelia didn't have to look out her window to know what was happening. The latest batch of slaves... sacrificed to the green mist. She had wanted to help so often, but her powers are useless against these people. The Silvanus refuses to let her use them against the Traders.

Lost people. Help them find themselves. It had whispered in her ear.

Not to mention she was weak. So weak.

"What happened?" Caspian's voice warmed her from the inside. She tried her voice again, but only the sound of silence escaped her lips.

"It's a sacrifice," Lord Bern explained.

"Where did they go?"

"No one knows." Bern explained, "The mist was first seen in the East... reports of fishermen and sailors disappearing out at sea. We Lords made a pact to find the source of the mist and destroy it. They each set sail, but none came back. You see if they don't sell you to the Slave Traders, you're likely to be fed to the mist."

"We have to find Lucy, before it's too late."

Edmund. It was him. His voice. The voice that gave her comfort every night in her dreams.

Suddenly her body felt stronger. She had power within her, the Silvanus, it was with her. Shakily, and with heavy breath, she lifted her hand through a gap in the iron bars and pointed a finger towards the gate that locked her friends inside.

Winds of the sea... I call on you... please help me.

As sudden as the slash of a whip, the winds entered the building. Not wind like a storm or tornado, but a calm breeze. It flittered through the air, filled with whispers. A wind spirit. She felt the gentle caress of a hand upon her cheek, but saw only air in front of her.

Tell them I'm here. Tell them it's me.

The caress faded, and her ears tuned in to the conversation once more.

"There must be something that we..."

"Did you hear that?"

"The breeze... Edmund do you really think-"

"What? What is it?"

"My Lord, do you know if anyone is in the cell next door?"

"Why, there is yes, but I don't see how she can be any help. Poor thing has been passed around in the trade for nearly a year."

She heard the shuffle of feet moving and a BANG as heavy hands wrapped themselves over the iron bars of their cell.

"Amelia! Is that you? Can you hear me?"

She tried to find her voice, tried with the deepest efforts to activate the vocal chords, but they remained dormant. Tears were falling now, wasting the only water she had.

"I wouldn't count on a reply. They haven't given her any food or water for 3 days now. If she's alive, it's only just. Her body will start shutting down soon."

"No!"

"Edmund calm down!"

"No Caspian! We came all this way! I spent all this time without her! I refuse to let her die without touching her one last time! Just once Caspian! That's all I ask Aslan for! One touch..."

Her hand was still clinging to the iron bars. With all the effort she could muster, she squeezed it through the gap. First a finger, then her palm, her wrist, her forearm. It would go no further.

Just look outside Edmund. Look at me. I'm here.

"We have to get her out! I don't care-"

"Edmund, look!"

Silence.

Then I felt it. First a ghostly touch – as if he was scared of what her might feel – but then his fore finger slid around mine and his palm fell into place. His skin was rough, but warm. As it always had been.

"You have to hold on, Amelia. Just a little longer. Please. Hold onto me."

And as my eyes fluttered shut against my will, as my body slowly shut down and my head lulled to the side, as my feet no longer tensed and my upper body fell against the wall...

I gave his hand one last squeeze.