Pale lips pressed together as he came into full view of the wolf captain and the Queen. Edmund was trying to keep quiet and as insignificant as conceivably possible as he proceeded down the aisle of the Great Hall towards the enormous throne of ice. Even seated, the White Queen was still taller than a 10-year-old boy; perhaps he was 11 now… When he stopped in front of the staircase he refastened the buttons of his coat. He was almost positive that the air around the Queen was 10 degrees colder; whether this was from being closer to her dark magic or because her demeanor was so icy, Edmund didn’t believe he would even know. Jadis didn’t seem too interested in casual conversation and Edmund wasn’t naïve enough to test his luck in seeing if she would respond to an inquiry of a comment like, “How’s your day been going,” even if he added Your Majesty at the end for respect.
Though Edmund had grown taller, disillusioned, and more detached from his humanity, he felt he knew his place in Jadis’ chessboard—a pawn and little could be done to move up in the ranks. He was not singular in any sort of sense, as he once thought when he was enchanted by the Queen’s sweets and sweet talk. He might have been the only human in the Palace, but he was still just a prisoner, but perhaps he could take up a higher chess piece to aid the White Queen. So, in an attempt to make his worth in her keeping him from being another stone statue in her courtyard, he had devised a plan where he would play out the part of a knight or bishop in her game.
A shiver, or was it a shudder, rolled down the entire length of Edmund’s spine. It was hard to tell which sensation it was when standing in front of the Queen; she made him feel so many emotions all at once, (fear, disdain, even hedonism) that he had learned to subdue reacting or entertaining those feelings. This proved to help him a great deal when dealing with the White Queen, yet, it had also made him grow more and more emotionless and compassionless towards others. To forget his own emotions were also to discredit and disbelieve others experienced emotions at all either. In reality, Edmund had begun using this tactic as a barrier to protect himself from feeling the sting of cruelty that he was surrounded by. But time had desensitized him from such brutality. It was hard to gauge how long he had been in the company of the Queen of Narnia, it was always winter, never-ending cold and dying landscape; inside the Palace of Ice, there was nothing of comfort. Even the echo of his footfalls was unnerving. Moments lead into hours, hours into a day, days into months. The only hints he had of time’s movement was that his clothes didn’t fit quite as they once had when he first came into this snow-covered land and his hair was no longer in a style, but an overgrown shag.
Smooth as glass tones of voice flowed from ruby red lips, but Edmund was no longer so easily swayed by the smooth sound of it. It was to say, he wasn’t particularly affected by the Witch’s words. Not in the way he was when he’d hung on almost every word Her Majesty spoke when they had met in the wood. He knew now that she was willing to destroy anything to keep what was her’s… and Edmund was prepared to help her do it.
“Your Majesty,” he bows his head, and decided he rather liked not looking at her directly, but couldn’t decide if it was rude or not, so he looked up towards her again. “I have a plan that may work in capturing the two Daughters of Eve and the other Son of Adam.” His eyes stayed fixed on the outwardly beautiful woman in front of him, but her eyes showed only cruelty of someone who had lost her soul longer than this world had been alive. Still, it attracted the young, impressionable boy. With such cruelty as her’s, would he no longer feel remorse for his actions, would his dreams no longer have him shaking in terror, would he be able to live with his choice of betraying “If you will hear it, I will speak.” Another puff of white breath spilled from his lips before he bit his bottom lip to keep from having his teeth chattering. It wasn’t his intent to be so fidgety, but on instinct, he shifted to pull his muffler up around his mouth. He pulled his coat around his shoulders more and curled his fingers into the sleeves of his coat.
The approach of the Son of Adam was an affront. He should have known better by now not to interrupt Jadis’ silences, or to break into her thoughts uninvited. Still she admired his courage. Ever since it all started, ever since Edmund had tried her sweets, he had grown. From a scared pup, lost in a world that was not his, he had changed his beliefs, changed his behaviour towards her even. It was not everyone who would dare to speak to the Queen if she did not ask, or to try to change her mind about anything. Would she ever die, he would be a good successor. Fortunately, she will live forever.
A smile crossed Jadis’ lips. A teasing smile, sarcastic and evil. The cub had grown. He had actually grown, his legs, his arms, even his hair seemed to be longer. The poor boy’s pants were too short for him and his hair fell in his eyes. One thought crossed her mind quickly and vanished: a boy with dark hair and a silver crown in his head, smiling proudly upon her defeat and his victory. Brother and sisters. Humans. The smile faded and the anger returned.
“I understand you are saying your plan is better than the ones I have tried? Better than the ones my Wolves have tried? Any plan involving coming near Aslan is a flawed plan. Those insolent liars and traitors have changed sides as soon as the Waterfall defrosted and I do not believe you want me to trust the judgment of a boy WHO BETRAYED HIS FAMILY OVER SWEETS!”
Her voice echoed in the halls of ice. The silence that reigned for a few seconds was deafening. The Queen sat back on her chair and smiled once more, pretending the explosion of bad temper had never happened.
“How rude of me. Perhaps you are not unintelligent as I think you are. Go on. Prove me how smart a boy with short pants can be. Prove me what a man you are.”
