soldier, poet, king || e. pevensie | slow updates

the king • 16

there will come a ruler, whose brow is laid in thorn, smeared with oil like david's boy, oh lei-oh lai-oh lord.

Edmund walked down the steps to the dining hall, joining his siblings at the head of the table.

"Where have you been all day?" Peter muttered.

"Errands. My bodyguard needed something."

"So you went for her?"

"With her. Besides, you could use the practice for your social skills." Edmund grinned, and Peter kicked him under the table. Peter made a speech, and the feasting began.

Edmund spent much of it talking with Lucy, who kept commenting on Coralia's new dress. Lucy was very fond of his bodyguard. "She looks so beautiful tonight, Ed. You picked that dress out?"

He nodded. "Yes, I did pick it out. And she looks alright. Better than usual, I suppose."

Lucy laughed and went back to her food. After everyone seemed to be finished eating, Peter called for the group to move to the ballroom and begin the dancing. He started the dancing with one of the ladies, then Susan joined in with Prince Rabadash of Calormen, Ailee's brother.

Lucy refused to dance with anyone. She was too young to do so anyways. She just enjoyed the food, smiling at the festivities.

Edmund danced with Ailee for a while, rotating between queens and countesses and princesses, but always returning to the princess of Calormen. Perhaps they would see each other again that night, but it was unlikely that they would get away with it, being in his own castle. Edmund took a break from the dancing and went to get a drink. Coralia was standing against the wall.

"Come on, Coralia. At least try to look happy."

"No." She crossed her arms.

Edmund held out his hand. "Dance with me, then."

"You're a madman."

"That's treason. And so is refusing an order from your king. Now, come on."

"If you don't get assassinated tonight, I'll do it myself." Coralia pushed off the wall and took his hand, letting him lead her to the group. "This is a bit risky for you, no?"

"No one is watching us. Just relax, it's your night off." Edmund reassured her. It seemed to work, because she stopped glancing frantically around the room.

The King of Ettinsmoor was not dancing with his queen, who looked practically miserable. He was scowling at the scene, his hands in his pockets. Edmund noticed this, and smiled at the king to let him know that he was trying to be friendly. The king's frown deepened. Edmund turned his back and ignored it. Coralia's eyes widened, and she pushed him aside.

"What are you—"

Edmund saw Coralia's face before he felt the pain in his stomach. The King of Ettinsmoor was already running out of the room.

"Your Majesty!" Coralia gripped his arms so that he didn't fall any lower, but his deadweight was more than she could handle. A knife was in his torso, and he was dripping blood all over the ballroom floor.

"Peter! Stop the king!" He called out breathlessly. Peter's guards chased after the king of Ettinsmoor, who had made a break for it. Edmund was losing consciousness, and Coralia was dropping him. Someone came over to help support him, but he could no longer focus on anything other than the shuffling of feet and the muffled voices around him.

He remembered nothing after that.

When Edmund woke, Coralia was sitting next to him, propped up and sleeping on her hand. His stirring woke her immediately.

"You're such an idiot," Was the first thing she said. "I told you you'd get assassinated."

He attempted a grin, but it more resembled a grimace. He sat up quickly and grabbed her arm. His face contorted in pain. "Is the Ettin king—"

"I'm not sure. I've been here all night. I'll go see Peter and find out."

"I'm coming with you."

"Like Hell you are. Go back to sleep."

Coralia soon learned that there was no way to keep him in the infirmary, so she helped him stand. It was a short walk to the throne room, but she was trying to make sure Edmund didn't overexert himself.

"Will you relax? I've not been stabbed through the heart."

"Right, only the stomach," She rolled her eyes.

Edmund pushed open the door to see Peter having a hushed conversation with a few knights. When Peter saw his brother, he finished his conversation and called Edmund forward.

"Has the king been captured?" Edmund coughed out.

"No," Peter sighed. "He was too fast and escaped, leaving his family and all of his belongings behind. Most nobles have left at this point. The attempt put quite a short stop to the evening."

"The 'attempt' almost killed me. Don't you think this is very much grounds for war? Obviously I don't want war, but we have to be wary and ready for another attack. If we don't find him before he's reached his own kingdom, we won't be able to capture him."

Peter scoffed. "You must understand that anything against Ettinsmoor will surely start a war."

"He tried to kill me! Do you think if he didn't want war he would've done that?" Edmund shouted back, then doubled over. Coralia was watching the exchange uncomfortably.

"I don't want to hear anything else about this! Narnia cannot afford to start a war right now. We have an army, but it's a mostly new one. An untrained army. We aren't ready."

He heard Coralia let out a small noise of agreement. He sighed, and started to storm out of the room. He made it three steps before collapsing to the floor.

"For Aslan's sake," Coralia muttered, picking him back up and half-dragged, half-helped him walk to the infirmary.
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i need to stop writing at 2 in the morning bc it always turns out bad

also if u say "why did you write this miss author it's so cliche and this isn't canon" the answer is i don't care and i don't care