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🙏Fighting Together🙏
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Edmund grunted as he hoisted himself at the very top of the sail. He watched the serpent, positioning himself to strike. Then, a familiar beguiling voice sent chills down his spine. His face paled and his throat blobbed with fear. He paused in his tracks, his eyes landing on the White Witch.
"What are you trying to prove, Edmund?" She shook her head in disapproval. "That you're a man? Worthy of respect?"
Meanwhile, Caspian skimmed through his crew members positioned with their weapons as they locked their target. "Ready? Now!"
The whole crew released their harpoons into the air, penetrating the serpent's abdomen with accurate aims.
"Pull its head down! Lead it to His Majesty up there!" Caspian gestured towards the Just King.
The crew hurled their weapons at Caspian's orders, driving the serpent towards the sail. The creature initially adhered to their targeted direction, but it was a task easier said than done. It retaliated with an explosive dive into the crowd, knocking them all over the vessel.
Charlotte crashed into a stack of crates, groaning as her palm flew to the side of her head where agony spread through her thick skull. Her eyes flew to Edmund, immediately noticing his diverted attention. He barely took notice of the havoc, before he was shortly engulfed by a cloud of green mists which concealed him from her view.
"No," she murmured to herself, turning to Caspian, "I'm going to help Edmund!"
Before Caspian even responded, she tossed her crossbow to him, and took off. Caspian stumbled as he caught her weapon, immediately leveraging on it in aiming at the creature.
"Charlotte, be careful!" Lucy warned while preparing her bow and arrows alongside Caspian as Charlotte grasped the ropes and began her ascent.
"I can make you that, I can make you my King," Jadis extended her hand towards Edmund.
"Ed, can you hear me?!"
"I'll make my subjects respect you..."
"I'm coming, Ed! Hold on!"
"Just take my hand..."
Edmund shut his eyes, blindfolding his sight against the witch's face, which brought him to his senses. He reminded himself that he was no longer a young victim of this puppeteer but an empowered Just King. He then glared at the entity for the very last time, fiercely pointing his sword towards her.
"No, Jadis," he finally asserted, "you hold no power over me, and I will no longer live in fear of you. I respect myself too much to ever fall for your trickery again."
Jadis retreated her hand, silent at his assertion. Then, her sinister smile returned, unfazed by his claims. "Then I shall tempt the one who is your weakness."
Before he could process her words, Charlotte's voice soared through the skies. "Edmund!"
"Charlotte, you fool!" He caught a glimpse of her ascending to his level, and reached his hand out to pull her to safety. "I told you to stay with Cass!"
"You're forgetting that we have each other's backs," Charlotte flashed her seraphic smile, "even in battles."
He shook his head at her pertinacity, and wrapped his free arm around her waist. She reciprocated his hug, but her eyes fell on the mists. She inhaled sharply as her pupils constricted at the figure — the very same witch that haunted her nightmare — and her muscles tensed when she left Edmund's embrace.
"Jadis..."
"Charlotte, focus on me," Edmund dissuaded, but his voice was already drowned out in her mind.
"We meet again, Charlotte..."
"Charlotte, listen to me!"
"Jillian chose to follow my path here, and I gave her what she sought," Jadis sent a promising smile, "I can give you what you seek, Charlotte, I can erase the memories... You just need to reach out a little further."
"You can..." A captivated Charlotte approached the edge. "Erase... The memories..."
"No, she won't, you'll fall!" Edmund's alarmed voice barely had any effect on her.
"Just give in," Jadis' four fingers summoned Charlotte.
"Char, come back to me!"
As the serpent eluded the weaponry from the seamen, it knocked itself against the mast. The vessel vibrated vigorously, sending Edmund tumbling over the edge before he could restrain the girl. He clung onto a loose rope dangling from the sail with all his might in one hand, with his sword in the other, preventing his plunge.
"Edmund!" Lucy's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes streamed with tears watching her brother swinging like a pendulum.
Caspian's attention was drawn to Lucy's shrilling scream, evanescently losing his focus as his eyes frantically searched for Edmund. The serpent struck again, sending him flying and crashing into a pile of barrels. Meanwhile, Charlotte was just a few steps away from her demise, leaving Edmund trapped in helplessness.
"Charlotte, please!"
Charlotte glanced at Jadis' fingers about a metre away, pondering over the veracity of her promise. Her boots paused at the edge, anticipating another step.
"It'll never get easier, I know, but you'll never fight your battles alone," Edmund attempted to reason with her, catching a glimpse of the rope cleaving thread by thread, "We'll fight through every one of them!"
Charlotte eyelashes fluttered, as her pupils dilated and constricted in a liminal void of consciousness. Edmund's voice rang in her ears, permeating through her enchantment.
"You're much too strong to let this be your final battle, so let's keep fighting together!"
A wave of memories flooded through Charlotte's mind at his words — from the moment they learned of each other's existence at the train station, to the days of their blossoming friendship in combat practices, the battles they fought through relentlessly as a team, and finally, to the several heartwarming conversations and intimate embraces they shared — an attestation to their unconditional love for each other.
"He's been that friend who goes above and beyond to protect me from danger, ever since we met."
Her eyes became wet, recalling her own words describing their relationship.
"You know that feeling, when you're walking through a dark tunnel, barely pushing yourself, and you come across a light that accompanies you through the darkness, and suddenly, you have reason to continue pushing on? You don't feel so alone anymore."
She shut her eyes, allowing her tears to fall.
"Yeah, that's Edmund Pevensie to me. He's the light in my life."
Her mind immediately pictured his features, ruminating their conversations.
"Would you want to forget me?"
No, her mind echoed, finally concurring with her heart. No matter how torturous her losses were, she could never rid herself of the halcyon memories with Edmund. His words of wisdom were imprinted in her mind as she soaked in sentiment.
"I'm not sailing away, I'm still here with you, aren't I? But you need to float, or it would be difficult for me to pull you on board."
His soft eyes gazed into her own, as his touch lingered on her hands, and his soothing voice flowed through her ears.
"If your heart feels heavy, you'd sink. Otherwise, you'd float."
"What should I do, then?"
"Let go of everything that weighs you down, and hold on to everything that lifts you up."
He was her lifeboat that kept her afloat, especially when her grief weighed her down like an anchor. He was always there when she needed him. Her eyes shot open in an epiphany that, at that very moment...
He needed her.
"No, no, no!" Edmund watched as the rope took its final breath, before its final thread sundered thoroughly. He shut his eyes, drained of hope, as he forced himself to accept his fate.
Only, he sensed his body hovering mid-air, defying the laws of gravity. His eyes shot open, staring at the ground. As it turned out, a pair of hands enveloped his arm with a tight grip. He shifted his focus to his saviour, heaving a gasp in relief.
"Charlotte!"
Charlotte grunted through her struggles as she clung on to him with all her might, and yanked him up. Once his arms had gone past the edge, Edmund tossed his sword over and hoisted himself. She drew her sword, as he picked his, and their eyes sparkled with a new hope, ignoring the voices of the green mists as a team. A bright blue hue glowed within the swords, evanescently blinding their vision.
The serpent left the crew, lured by the fluorescent lights of the two swords of great Kings. It inched higher and closer to the pair, creeping up on them soundlessly.
"Do it!" Caspian urged them.
The serpent snarled at them, aligning itself with their heights. It leant back, preparing its open mouth full of fangs, and launched its strike at a lightning's speed. With a cuing nod from Edmund, they both struck the roof of the beast's mouth.
Jadis' cries drowned in silence, ceasing to exist as the mists vanished into thin air. Lightning struck within the serpent, plunging it into the sea. As it sank deeper to the seabed, it morphed into mists, eventually dissolving from existence.
The two stared at the sea, withdrawing their swords as they processed their victory. The sea was silent as serenity spread through its surface. The sinister whispers of the mists were replaced with amicable zephyrs of the winds.
"Thank you, Ed," Charlotte wiped her tears, processing the gravity of her consequences had she fallen for the mists' deceptions.
"No, Char, thank you," Edmund gently caressed her cheek, his thumb removing her dried tear stains. "I'm so proud of you — of us."
Charlotte sought solace in his touch, a bashful beam breaking through her lips at their close proximity. Her eyes darted between his gaze and lips as her hand flew to his lifted arm.
Edmund mirrored her gaze, acknowledging her silent request, and snaked his other palm around her waist, gently pulling her towards him.
Their lips connected in a tender kiss, and they embraced the exploding butterflies in their stomachs. Rapture flowed through their veins as they savoured each other's soft taste, and their hearts pumped in swift synchronisation. Charlotte smiled through their kisses, prompting Edmund to cup her face fervently. Her hands gently rested on his shoulders, melting into the process. Their lips were locked with every soft smooch, attached with a lingering desire.
After he gently let go, they rested on each other's foreheads, with Edmund's fingers softly caressing her cheeks. Charlotte giggled to herself in a daze and lightly shielded her lips where the gentle texture of his kiss remained.
He smirked at his effect on her. "The first of many?"
"Slow down, my dear King," she rebutted, still giggling giddily as she pulled away from his arms. "Let's join the others."
Edmund was pleasantly surprised at his given sobriquet, and smiled at her endearingly. "Yes, my dear Queen."
As they lowered themselves towards the ground, Lucy's joyful cries echoed. "Charlotte! Edmund! Caspian! Look!"
The sun's rays penetrated through the thick fog, liberating the sky from its darkness. An abundance of boats of the lost then sprouted in existence. All the sea folk and lost citizens were baffled by their surroundings before it dawned on them that they had been liberated from the mists.
"Narnians! Narnians!"
The crew erupted in cheers at the unveiling sight before them. Rhince rushed forward with Gael in his arms in search of his wife.
"Mummy!"
"Helaine!"
The two dived straight into the waters, splashing their way to her. Once they had reached her boat, she pulled them to safety, encasing her arms around them.
Lucy, Edmund, and Charlotte watched the family in a melancholic state. Their reunion reminded the trio of their own families, whom they missed dearly. Edmund placed a hand around Lucy's shoulder, consoling his sister, and reached out to a pensive Charlotte, gently holding her hand.
"Let's help them on board, clear the decks!"
"We did it, I knew we would," Lucy affirmed their victory.
"It wasn't just us, though," Edmund toggled his vision between them, "someone had to have lifted the curse."
"You mean..." Caspian pondered aloud.
Then, a cry echoed from the other side of the ship. "Hey! Hey, I'm down here! Lucy!"
"Say, that sounds like..." Charlotte lit up as they inspected their surroundings for the owner of the voice.
"Over here! Hey, Lucy! I'm in the waters! Lucy!"
"Eustace!" Lucy broke into a grin at the boy floating in the waters.
"I'm a boy again, I'm a boy!"
"Eustace! I see your wings have been clipped!" Reepicheep rejoiced, diving into the waters and reciting his chant. "Where sky and water meet, where the waves grow ever sweet!"
With a taste of the seawater, Eustace and Reepicheep were stunned, processing the phenomenon.
"It is sweet," Reepicheep commented in exuberance, "it's sweet! Do you realise what this means?"
Then, he climbed over Eustace's shoulder, catching a glimpse of a rare sight before them. "Look, look!"
Their eyes followed his trail, onlooking the sea and its horizon coated with bright celestial clouds.
Charlotte gasped in an epiphany. "Is that really..."
"Aslan's country," Caspian confirmed her suspicions. "We must be close."
"Well, we've come this far," Edmund turned to Charlotte, "shall we explore?"
A beam of ebullience spread across her lips at his suggestion, as her mind immediately wandered to the possibility of reuniting with her parents.
*****
A/N: Whoa, that was a huge emotional rollercoaster there. Even I need to process my thoughts about this chapter, but feel free to share your thoughts my dear readers 🥹🩵