The Last Time

“We need her to come back if the ritual is going to be completed”, a black dwarf said to one of his subordinates as they patrolled their hideout for the fifth time.

“But how? That necklace is what's protecting her”, the wolf answered.

Little did they know, someone else was watching them, hiding in the bushes about a few yards away.

“The necklace?” the boy asked in confusion.

“What was that?” the dwarf asked as he peered around in the darkness of the night.

“I'll check it out”, the wolf said.

The boy stood, running from them, the wolf catching his scent.

“It's that damn prince! Get him!” the dwarf cried.

He blew a horn to signal his group of an intrusion. Five wolves and dwarfs came out of the cave, chasing after the boy. He had been warned not to look for his friend, but he was a stubborn boy. He didn't want to believe she was gone.

Suddenly, however, he tripped over a branch, landing face-first into the ground. Groaning, he turned over his eyes widening in horror as he heard and saw himself surrounded by all of the wolves and dwarfs he tried running away from.

“You should try listening to others more often, you little brat”, the leader of the dwarfs said in a sinister tone.

The young prince may have been a little naive but he was smart as well. He pulled out Susan's horn and blew before any of his enemies could attack him.

Thank you, the Tenth. he thought in his mind before his world went dark.

...

”So, you're following me now?”

“I'm not following you. My brother and I were just in here buying food for our sisters, cousin, and his friend.”

“Thank you for helping me. Your brother should learn some manners before trying to stalk girls he encounter.”

“Stupid girl”, Edmund grumbled in his blue and white striped pajamas, scratching his head.

It had been a week since he, his siblings, Eustance, and Jill had their nightmares of Narnia, but it was Ed's full week dreaming about the girl from the train. No matter what he did, he couldn't get her out of his mind entirely.

“Alright, Ed?” Peter asked with a brow raised when his brother came down the stairs at 10 in the morning. It was quite later than the usual times they'd wake up for school which he was in the habit of.

“I'm fine”, Ed said with an attitude, grabbing a sandwich before he walked off. Peter and the others stared at him in shock.

“We'll talk to him”, Eustance said, catching them off guard. “Come on, Pete”, he added.

Peter nodded in agreement, then nodded to his siblings and Jill. Professor Kirke had been in his study all day and asked no one to disturb him.

Were things always going to be this way over the nightmares? A part of Peter hoped that he would dream the nightmare again just to get a glimpse of the girl's face instead of the shadow he remembered.

“Ed, open up”, Eustance called, knocking a few times on Edmund's door. Peter waited patiently with his younger cousin.

The door opened after the third knock, revealing a fully-clothed Edmund. His brown hair wasn't messy like it was when he appeared downstairs to the others. His black pants and blue shirt fit him nicely.

“What do you want?” he asked, the attitude clear in his tone.

“You have to talk to us, Ed. What's wrong?” Peter began, glancing at Eustance before returning his attention to his brother.

“We're here to help”, Eustance added when Edmund merely stared at them.

He bit his lip before speaking.

“Come in”, he caved, moving aside so they could step over the threshold.

Once the three of them were seated, Ed spoke again.

“How are you supposed to help when I don't even know how to fix myself?” he asked in a low tone.

“What do you mean?” Peter asked in confusion.

Edmund stood, pacing a little before he answered his elder brother.

“I can't get her out of my head, you know? It seems like no matter what I do, I can't stop thinking about her”, he said in an exasperated tone.

Peter and Eustance looked at one another, still confused.

“The girl from the dream or the girl from the train?” Eustance asked.

“Both”, Ed answered with a sigh.

“But you barely know her-er, them. It's not like you're smitten over her or something”, Peter said after a while. He couldn't believe his ears, yet he could. Edmund had a girl he barely knew on his mind, but it had to be for a reason.

“Why don't you try thinking about her?” Eustance suggested, receiving incredulous stares from both brothers.

“What?” he asked when their stares persisted.

“Why would I want to think about her? She's just a mystery is all. But she must have a connection to Narnia somehow”, Edmund answered.

“How do we know for sure? I mean, the necklace could very well just be an old family heirloom”, Eustance tried.

“But why would she wear it? It's one of the most peculiar things I've ever seen”, Peter countered.

“You're both right”, Ed said, interrupting the two, looking towards the door, the color drained from his skin making him pale.

“Why do you say tha-?” Peter began to ask, but a strong wind blew from the door causing the window to open. The wind was drawing them to the door.

The boys tried to hold onto anything sturdy in the room, but it didn't work. There was no storm or hurricane or tornado, so why was there a sudden burst of wind? Peter, Edmund, and Eustance tried to think why this unnatural occurrence was happening, but realized; this was their call back-the call back to Narnia.

…

-Downstairs with the girls-

Susan, Lucy, and Jill watched Peter and Eustance disappear around the corner before they began chatting amongst each other.

“I've been wondering what's wrong with Edmund, too lately”, Lucy admitted as she thought of her brother.

Susan and Jill nodded in agreement.

“I think he's been thinking about the girl the four of you dreamed about”, Jill said in a low tone.

“I concur. It's not odd for Edmund to fall for odd girls”, Susan added.

The girls fell silent as they thought about everything that transpired over the past week. This “girl” was indeed odd. The real question that lied on their hearts was uttered by Lucy.

“But..will she lead us back to Narnia somehow?” she asked with a slight hope in her voice.

“I don't know, Lu”, Susan said gently, rubbing her sister's back.

“But what could be wrong this time? The four of you defeated the White Witch. Eustance, Lucy, and Edmund found the seven emperors of the Lone Islands and everything. Then, Eustance and I freed Prince Rilian. There can't be anything else, can there?” Jill asked.

Susan and Lucy shrugged.

“Those are good questions, Jill, but maybe-maybe there is something wrong. Something we don't know about yet”, Susan replied.

“But why wait six years? If there was something wrong, why didn't anyone call us sooner?” Lucy asked in a heated tone as she thought about their beloved second home.

Silence fell over them once more as she looked towards the entrance of the kitchen which had no door. Suddenly, though, a strong wind blew towards the door causing a sort of suction of the things in the room.

“What's going on?” Jill cried in horror as she held onto the table.

“I don't know!” Lucy exclaimed, her hand slipped as she tried to get under the table, but Susan grabbed it.

Susan watched the items around them get sucked into the door through some sort of portal was there and sure enough, she could see glimpses of shore to Cair Paravel. A smile graced her lips as she let go of the table, flinging herself into the portal.

“It's alright! It's Narnia!” her voice said, echoing as she was sucked through.

Lucy and Jill got the message, smile on their lips as they too let go and were sucked through the portal as well.