October 4th - Prompt: Mermaids
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Edmund smiled gently to himself as he wondered along the shoreline, enjoying the peace and quiet and the slight warmth of the sun.
He was glad to get out of the castle for the time being, Susan was busy preparing for the Autumn feast, and Edmund would rather not be roped in to helping.
He glanced out across the ocean, but frowned when he saw movement in the water a little way away.
Maybe a fish or something?
He was about to continue walking, when he heard someone singing.
It sounded like it was actually coming from the water, and before Edmund had known what he was doing, he was walking towards thee noise.
He didn't remember anything after that, but after being dragged into the water, and after holding his breath for as long as he could, he eventually passed out, unable to hold on any longer.
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"Peter!"
Peter jumped and his head snapped up at the shrill scream from his sister as Lucy came bursting into the study, pushing the door so hard it thudded against the wall behind it, maybe even making Lucy jump a little.
Peter leapt from his chair, eyes wide as he caught Lucy by her shoulders. "What is it?" He asked, panicked. "What's wrong?!"
Lucy looked absolutely terrified, as well as horrified and worried, and this worried Peter beyond anything. "Ed - Edmund - Edmund!" She cried.
Peter's heart was pounding. "What about him?" He choked, already fearing the worst.
Tears quickly made their way down Lucy's cheeks, even though she was clearly trying to keep them back so that she could just explain. "He - He was down the - the beach." She stuttered. "I saw him from - from my balcony. He - He was by the sea and - and then we was - was pulled into the sea-"
Peter shook his head. "Wait, pulled into the sea?" He questioned, before swallowing hard. "Take a deep breath Lu, you need to take a deep breath."
Lucy let Peter sit her down, before doing as he had said and swallowing hard. "He was walking along the shoreline." She whispered, managing to calm down a little, but the tears were still falling. "Just like normal, but then he started walking into the sea, staring at something in the water, and - and there was definitely something there, I saw something." She paused for a moment, noting the terrified look in her oldest brothers eyes, before taking a deep breath. "He carried on walking until the water came up to his waist, before he was pulled under - right under, and - and he didn't come back up again!"
The last sentence was said with a quiet cry, and Peter quickly pulled her into a hug despite his own pounding heart. "Shhh, it's okay." He murmured.
"He didn't come back up!" Lucy sobbed quietly, clinging to Peter.
Peter squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep shuddering breath, before slowly pulling away. "Take me to the spot you last saw him." He murmured.
Lucy stared at him for a while, before taking a deep breath and nodding, grabbing Peter's hand and leading him quickly from the room.
They made their way down to the beach and across the sand, until Lucy glanced back up at the castle, finding her balcony before nodding and stopping. "Here." She whispered, her voice shaking. "I think."
Peter nodded slowly, letting go of her hand and walking up to the shoreline, and he continued walking until the water came up to his knees, when he stopped, scanning the ocean. "Edmund!" He screamed, as loud as he could. "Edmund!"
Lucy stood on the sand, tears trickling down her cheeks as she watched, praying Edmund would be somewhere, even though she had a horrid feeling that he wouldn't be.
"Edmund!" Peter screamed again, taking a sharp intake of breath when his brother didn't appear.
"He's not here, is he?" Lucy choked out, her voice shaking.
Peter ran a hand through his hair in frustration and worry, absolutely terrified by this point. "We-" He paused. "We need to speak to Orious, come on."
By the time Peter found Orious he was sick with worry, and didn't hesitate in explaining everything to the centaur, rather out of breath by the end of it.
Orious looked extremely concerned by everything that Peter had told him, and seemed to be thinking for a very long time, before something clicked on his face.
Peter froze. "What?" He murmured, voice shaking.
Orious frowned a little, before turning to Lucy. "He walked into the sea?" He asked.
Lucy nodded slowly.
"In almost a trance?"
Lucy frowned, before something clicked on her own face and she slowly nodded again. "Yeah..." She whispered. "Now that you mention it, yeah just like that."
Orious took a deep breath. "And then he was pulled under..." He mumbled.
Peter was growing impatient. "What?!" He choked. "What happened to Edmund?!"
Orious sighed. "Sirens." He muttered, looking extremely angry.
Peter's heart skipped a beat. "Sirens?" He choked, sounding almost horrified.
Orious took a deep breath. "Best way to describe them is evil mermaids." He said slowly. "They're known to lure people to their - their deaths."
Peter choked slightly, reaching out to grip the wall as he forced back the tears that suddenly flooded his eyes.
"To their deaths?" Lucy whispered, voice shaking as she reached out to grip Peter's sleeve. "Edmunds not going to die... is he?"
Peter swallowed hard, the weight of what Lucy had just asked quickly hitting him, and he immediately stood up straight. "No, no he's not going to die." He muttered firmly. "Because I'm going to find him, even if it's the last thing I ever do."
"Sir, searching the ocean... its impossible." Orious said hesitantly.
Peter shook his head. "I'm gonna take a Gryffin." He explained. "Fly across the ocean, and try and find any signs that prove Edmund is still alive..."
"And then what?" Lucy murmured when Peter stopped talking.
Peter hesitated. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He mumbled. "But if I see anything that tells me Edmund could still be alive, I will find a way to find him, that I promise you now."
Lucy nodded slowly. "I really hope he's okay." She choked out, on the verge of tears again.
Peter nodded slowly, biting his lip. "So do I." He whispered. "More than anything."
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Edmund was in so much pain when he woke that he couldn't help but groan.
A cold breeze blew around him, and he slowly realised he was laying, slightly upright, on something extremely hard and sharp, little bits sticking into his back and breaking his skin.
He lay there for a moment, before finally plucking up the courage to open his eyes, and when he did he got the absolute shock of his life.
He was sat on a small patch of rock, in the middle of the ocean, not a single bit of land in sight... anywhere.
Water lapped at the edge of the rock, sometimes splashing him a little, and not even the cry of a seagul could be heard.
He panicked a little, and quickly tried to sit up, but he soon realised he was way too weak to even think about moving, and only ended up coughing weakly, alarmed when he tasted blood.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, he slowly looked down at himself, and sighed at what he saw.
His hands and feet were tied together, so tightly it had probably already cut off the circulation. But they weren't tied with rope, and taking a closer look Edmund realised it was seaweed...
Seaweed?
After a few more seconds he noticed that he was soaked to the bone, and now he noticed it, he could feel how cold and wet he was, and he hated it.
Taking a few more moments, he felt something trickling down the side of his face, and eventually realised it was probably blood... Maybe he'd hit his head against the rock?
Edmund sighed, whatever he'd done, it was now really, really stinging, and what was clearly salt water really wasn't helping in the slightest.
Edmund squeezed his eyes shut as he lay there... What on earth was going on, and more importantly, what had happened?
The last thing he remembered was walking along the seashore, and now... now he was stuck, on a tiny spit of land (if you could even call it that) in the middle of the ocean, no land in view, no help anywhere, and he wasn't even able to try and swim to safety.
Oh Aslan... Please send help...
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