An Unexpected Romance

Chapter 5

We had since left the boat, and the Pevensie siblings, Trumpkin and I were walking through a thick wood in search of the Narnians. Peter had taken the lead.

"I don't remember this way," Susan said dryly.

"That's the problem with girls. You can't carry a map in your heads," Peter laughs back at her.

"That's because our heads have something in them," I cock my eyebrow at the oldest Pevensie.

I hear a chuckle from Ed behind me, and Susan nudges my arm and wiggles her eyebrows. I lean towards her and whisper,

"Sue come on, I would tell you if I were into Ed. I promise."

"I know you would, if you realized you were into him," she whispers back with a slight smile.

"What do you mean? I always know when I fancy someone," I say with genuine confusion.

"I know you do, y/n, but I think in this case you may have a crush forming that you haven't picked up
on yet," Susan says. "That whole charade with the falling off the boat? VERY convincing!"

Susan laughs and walks ahead to join Lucy and Peter.

"Not a charade!" I call after her in a sing-song voice.

"What's not a charade?" Edmund inquired from behind me.

I pause before responding. Maybe telling him Sue thinks I have a crush on him isn't a good idea, especially since I didn't quite know myself, but the idea intrigues me. I hang back and match Edmunds pace, and Trumpkin walks ahead of us.

"Your sister seems to think I pretended to fall out of the boat earlier," I explain to him.

"What a silly idea," Ed says with fake shock.

"What, do you think I was faking too?" I ask pretending to take offense to his statement.

"Please, you just wanted me to catch you,"
Edmund says with a twinkle in his eye.

"That so?" I half-smile at him. "Not to bruise your ego, King Edmund, but I'm just that uncoordinated. Besides Ed, if I really wanted you, I'd have you."

I brush my arm against his as I walk ahead of him, making sure I add a little extra swing to my hips as I walk away. I feel his eyes on me.

If he's gonna be snappy with me, I'm going to give it right back.

I catch back up with Susan. "I wish Peter would just listen to the D.L.F. In the first place," she quips.

"D.L.F.?" I ask.

"Dear little friend," Lucy says with an innocent grin.

"Oh, that's not at all patronizing is it?" Trumpkin mumbles behind us.

"Not as patronizing as Y/n," Edmund mumbles back.

"Heard that!" I call over my shoulder.

"You're going the wrong way," Trumpkin calls to Peter.

"You last saw Caspian at the Shuddering Wood, and the quickest way there is to cross at the river Rush," Peter says with a defensive tone.

Lucy and I glance at each other, taken aback by Peter's tone.

"Unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing in these parts," the dwarf says back.

"That explains it then. You're mistaken."

Peter turns his back to the group and proceeds down the path. We finally reach a steep ledge and are forced to stop. Susan gives her brother a look of "I told you so," despite the fact that she did not, in fact, tell him so.

"Is there a way down?" Edmund turns towards Trumpkin.

"Falling," I suggest with a sarcastic tone.

Peter glares at me.

"The girl's right. There's no passing here," Trumpkin explains.

The group turns back, having decided to swim across the ford at Beruna when Lucy cries out, "Aslan? Aslan!"

"The Lion?" I ask, rushing to Lu's side and eagerly looking for the beast I've heard so much about.

"Yes! Over there!" She points across the gorge. I squint my eyes and search as far as my eyes can see, but I see no Lion. The other siblings join us back at the ledge.

"I'm not crazy," Lucy said, half to herself. "He was there. He wanted us to follow him!"

"I'm sure there's any number of lions in this wood," Peter says calmly.

"I know Aslan when I see him," Lucy says with a look of hurt that her siblings don't believe her. Something in me urged me to believe Lucy, despite my not having seen the Great Lion myself.

I put my hand on Lucy's shoulder. "I believe you, Lucy."

"Y/n, don't encourage her," Susan says.

"The last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid," Edmund says softly looking at his sister with kind eyes before glancing over at me, keeping the soft expression.

I smile at him for a split second before we both turn our eyes back to Lucy.

"Why wouldn't I have seen him?" Peter gazes across to where Lucy has just pointed.

"Maybe you weren't looking..." she says.

Susan, Peter and Trumpkin walk away. Lucy turns back and looks longingly with tears in her eyes back towards where Aslan may have been. Ed and I exchange another quick glance before he grabs his little sister's hand and starts walking with the others. I follow closely behind them.

We continue walking in silence for the next hour or so, with the exception of Edmund and Peter chattering about directions every so often. Suddenly, the boys stop. Their hands move to their swords almost in sync, and they're completely still.

"Peter, what is it?" Susan walks forward to join her brothers.

"Shhh!" They both hush her.

Standing in the silence, I hear clanging and men yelling. Peter motions us forward and proceeds slowly. We walk forward until we reach a beach. We crouch behind a large pile of lumber. Peter slowly rises to see what's going on, as does Trumpkin.

"Telmarines," Trumpkin whispers.

The soldiers are building machinery. No, weaponry.

"Perhaps this wasn't the best way to come after all," Susan whispers to her older brother. Peter nods and motions for us to leave. We head back from where we came.

"Lucy, where exactly did you think you saw Aslan?" Peter asks.

"I don't think I saw him, I did see him. Stop trying to sound like grown-ups," Lucy pouts.

"I...I am a grownup," Trumpkin grumbles. Edmund smiles lightly in amusement at the dwarf's comment.

"It was right...over...ahhh!" The ground under Lucy's feet crumbles.

"Lucy!" We all runs toward her.

We look down to find she just fell a few feet...onto the pass!

"Would you look at that," Trumpkin mutters under his breath. "Maybe there's something to this Lion after all."