An Unexpected Romance

Chapter 10

Your POV

Peter and Caspian spent the rest of that afternoon preparing small troops for the attack. Trumpkin taught me the basics of wielding a sword, which actually came quite naturally to me.

"Wow, Y/n, you're quite good!" Lucy beamed at my progress.

"Thank you, my queen," I smile over at her. "I figure it might come in handy given the happenings of this evening."

Peter and Caspian ride up on their horses. Susan and Edmund make their way out of the How.

"We've assigned each of you a position for tonight," Peter turns to me. "Including you, Y/n. Are you okay with that?"

"I am if you are," I nod to the boys. Peter nods with a sense of approval at my answer. Caspian also seems impressed by my confidence.

"Queen Susan, you, Peter, and I will take care of Miraz once we make our way inside," Caspian explains. "Queen Lucy, you'll be staying here where it's safe."

Lucy nods and smiles, obviously content with her assignment. Caspian smiles down at her before turning to Edmund.

"Edmund, we've decided you'd be of best use as the signal for the troops. You have that... that... light," he looks puzzled as he finds the words to describe Ed's electric torch.

"The griffins will bring you in. Once we're ready, you'll signal the troops. Y/n, you'll go with Edmund as it's the safest vantage point of the whole operation. You'll be guarding the inside."

I nod to Caspian and look over to Susan. I lean over and whisper to her, "You can stop drooling over the Prince now."

Her eyes widen as she looks at me. I laugh quietly to myself as I walk back towards the How. She hastens after me.

"Excuse me, Y/n, but you can't just drop that comment in front of everyone and not expect me to tease you about Edmund," Susan says embarrassed but suppressing a smile.

"Oh, but I can and I will," I say. "Let me see, you didn't by any chance have anything to do with my getting partnered with Ed and you going off with Caspian? Hm?"

Sue rolls her eyes.

"Maybe I mentioned to Peter it would be a good idea for you to be in the smallest amount of combat," she smiles. "And I simply demanded I go with the boys. So yes, you're welcome."

"Well, thank you, I guess," I smile at the ground.

"WAIT," Susan stops in her tracks and grabs my shoulder. "YOU LIKE HIM!"

"Shhhhhh! Can you keep your mouth shut, Sue!"

"Ah hahaha you like Edmund! You like Edmund!"
She sings and dances around me.

"Yes, yes, but let's not make this a big deal," I tell her. I'm not trying to add my feelings into the weird dynamic Ed and I picked up earlier today.

"Not a peep will be heard from me," Susan says as she makes a gesture of zipping her lips.

"Good, now I need to prepare for tonight."

———————

Night has fallen, and we're preparing to attack the castle. The army has already started making its way to the Telmarine gate. Caspian, Susan, Peter, Edmund and I are preparing to mount the griffins and fly to the castle.

Peter hops up and pulls up his sister. Caspian pulls himself up onto the griffin and situates his sword next to him. Edmund mounts our griffin and looks down at me. He offers me his hand with a small smile. I take his hand. Ed's strength surprises me as he swings me up onto the griffin with a single hand so that I'm seated in front of him.

"Y/n," Edmund whispers behind me.

"Uh...yes?" I ask, confused as to why he felt the need to clarify he was talking to me considering I was right in front of him.

"I'm sorry about my response to you earlier," he says. "You were very nice, and I was, well, embarrassed."

"It's ok, Ed," I turn my head back a little so he can hear me better. "I trust that you would do no such thing now. Either way, no need to discuss it further."

"Right," he says. He moves his arms past my waist and around my arms and grabbing the mane of the beast. I gasp at his sudden contact with me. I feel his chest press against my back as he leans forward, preparing to take flight.

"Breathing might be a good idea," Edmund smirks in my ear.

I slowly breath out so Ed doesn't get the satisfaction of knowing he made me slightly nervous. However, Edmund's flirting with me, which means our relationship is back to normal.

"Hm?" I lean back into his chest and turn my face so that my nose and his are quite close to each other. I feel him catch his breath at the closeness of our faces. "Who's not breathing now?"

"It's time," Caspian calls to us. With that, we all rise into the air. The cool wind of the night blows my hair back. The sudden lift into the air makes my stomach flip, but the night sky over the landscape of Narnia take my breath away.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Edmund says.

"It is," I whisper. The moonlight cascades over the hills of Narnia. Whispy clouds flow across the night sky, and the stars and moon offer a light blue light as a guide to the Telmarine castle.

I feel a hand brush against my neck and pull my hair to the side. I turn back and look at Edmund behind me.

"Sorry," he says. "You're hair was blowing in my face."

"Right," I say.

Of course, our flirting is just flirting. I'm the only one with feelings here. Nothing has changed between us other than a couple awkward moments and this whole situation is because of Susan and-

"I hate to interrupt your mumbling again, Y/n, but we've arrived," Edmund interrupts my thoughts.

I look forward and see a dark castle in front of us. Even it's architecture is ominous. As we get closer, I see guards standing with crossbows below us. My heart starts beating faster as I realize what I'm about to do. I tense up at the idea of fighting.

Edmund senses my tension. He puts his arm over mine and says, "I've got your back if you've got mine?"

"Deal," I respond with a deep breath.

And with that, we descend towards the dark fortress of Telmar.