The Call To The Old - An Edmund Pevensie fanfiction

Chapter thirty-one

Aslan.

It was Aslan she was sure of it; it had been he who had made the trees move.

She pulled the reigns of Edmund's horse, quickening the pace, escaping the battlefield.

Her ancestor's words whipped around her mind, giving her the instructions to find the source of the magic at hand. But she already knew it was Aslan, no one else could restore Narnia's magic like that. She rode across the bridge across the river that the Telmarines had made, and into the trees beyond.

In the distance she was sure she heard a roar of a lion- she was close. She was sure of it, "Lucy!" she called, also sure of the fact that if Aslan were back, it would be her that would be with him.

"Talia?" she heard in the distance. And the elder girl quickened her pace towards her voice.

There amongst the trees, the young girl stood. Her auburn brown hair, swaying in the gentle wind; with a smile so wide, and so kind, it brought a smile to Talia's face also. She jumped off Edmund's horse and ran over to greet her, "The trees! Was that you?" she exclaimed.

"Not me." she grinned, turning to her right.

There he was, just like in her dream from what seemed like so long ago. Aslan. Only this time she did not make the mistake of bowing to him; instead, she just let the shock and excitement rise within her.

"You are just the person I wanted to see, Talia." his voice spoke, soft as ever.

"Me?" she questioned.

"Yes, you Talia!" Lucy said with a giggle.

"Young lady," Aslan began, "I trust that now you know the secrets of your past?"

"Well, yes, I suppose." the girl returned.

"And I also trust that you feel as though you cannot control them? That they are too strong for you? That sometimes the force within you grows unmanageable?"

"With that you would also be correct, yes."

"Then I ask you this Talia, how hard have you tried to control it?"

The girl paused but could not answer his question- knowing that the answer would be, not a lot.

"And then I also ask you, how hard have you tried to suppress it?"

Again, the girl frowned in response. Knowing that every time she ignored the calls of her magic, she only pushed it deeper down within her, making it harder and harder to control.

"So, finally I question you: How can you expect you have control over something, when every day you attempt to suppress it? Is that not the very cause you are fighting the Telmarines over?"

The girl nodded in reply, "But how? How can I control it?"

"You focus into it, onto your intentions. And you visualise what you wish to happen. You remain calm, even if you feel it slipping from your grip. The extreme effects of the power, will only slip out of your control when your emotions run too high- I trust you have experienced this before?"

"Yes. Again, you would be correct."

"And practice." he continued. His voice growing louder to compete with the sounds of shouting Telmarines, growing closer. "What better time to practice than now?" the lion added.

"Now?" the girl exclaimed.

"C'mon!" Lucy shouted, jumping onto Aslan's back, as he began to run towards the commotion.

Talia mounted Edmund's horse and followed after, "What on earth am I getting myself into?" she mumbled under her breath.

She followed behind the lion, occasionally spotting glimpses of his golden fur ahead of her within the trees. The wind raced alongside her, flowing freely through the tresses of her raven, black hair. It sung to her, whispers of encouragement and she felt the magic of Narnia begin to seep into her veins and mix with her own power. As usual she heard the rise of her ancestor's voices, who now chittered with excitement for what was to come. And following Aslan's direction, she listened into the voices, rather than pushing them aside. She listened to the songs, the screams, the laughs, the words- she took in all of it, and embraced it completely. Upon doing so, she felt herself gain control over them, limiting them from ever getting too overwhelming. Then she focused upon her intentions- victory. Not a doubt of her power ever crossed her mind, she was powerful, and she was ready. Ready to protect everyone she cared for. Ready to protect the Narnians- just as she had been destined to do.

The girl motioned her horse to go faster, and in doing so she caught up with the great lion, who carried Lucy upon his back- who smiled, with happiness at being reunited with her old friend, but also because she knew that the both of them would enact justice for her people.

Aslan suddenly stopped in his tracks, and began to speak, "It is time." his elegant voice sounded.

Lucy slowly dismounted the lion, landing gently on the grass below her. And Talia followed, jumping from the back of her horse. One of her hands ran through it's gentle locks, while she used the other to tie the animal to a nearby tree; not wishing to upset Edmund if it ran away, after all, it was his horse.

The older girl took some time to fiddle with her sword, which was still within it's sheathe on her side.

"I doubt you'll be needing that." Lucy laughed, nodding in the direction of her sword.

"I suppose you are right," Talia smiled back, "at least... I hope you are." she looked up, towards the clearing in the forest, where the river ran through. She could hear the sounds of shouting Telmarines coming closer.

Lucy gripped her friend's hand, "You've got this." she complimented.

"Are you ready?" Aslan asked.

"Yes." She wished she could have said something more inspiring here, something like 'I was born ready!' or perhaps something jokey like 'As ready as I'll ever be!' But despite her growing faith in her magic, she doubted that she would be able to speak a much longer sentence, without it all exploding out of her- she needed to focus. Focus purely on her intentions of justice, not inspiring words.