Romeo || Edmund Pevensie

The Prettiest Star

By morning the campfire had all but burned out, leaving only the glory of the early sun to warm through the sleeping royals. There was little luxury to the forest, and their blankets had never been in company, not since they came back. All they could do was cling to one another, and to whatever nature offered them.

     It didn't happen often, but Lucy was the first to wake up, not by her own accord. A twig had snapped, steering her away from her dreams, which had been so lovely and soft.

     Aslan had come to her whilst in a slumber as she was reminded of the way that things once had been. The trees had swayed, and talked to her. All she had wanted was for it to be like that again. She saw it as a sign. Everything could go back to being normal if they just followed his guidance... whatever that guidance was.

As she sat bolt upright, taken by surprise when there was a sudden noise, she looked around to her siblings. They all looked so peaceful... it would be a shame to have woken them. But, Lucy knew that she couldn't investigate alone. It was far too dangerous for that.

"Susan!" She half whispered, half shouted (though, still in a hush) for her older sister to get up. "Wake up!"

"Huh?" Unsure, and still asleep, Susan twisted onto her stomach, finding a more comfortable position. "Certainly, Lu. Whatever you like."

Lucy hadn't been sure whether to investigate on her own until she heard the twig snapping again. This time, louder. It was more like a heavier footstep rather than a larger log. That alone was enough to entice the young Queen.

     If not for that dream, she might have ignored it all, and stayed by their dried-up fire. But that dream was the root of her curiosity, and fed her imagination like nothing else. There was very little chance that it would be what she hoped, but there was always a chance, which was the part she preferred to focus on.

     As far as Lucy could tell, the forest was dead. The trees did not flourish as she hoped they might, nor was there any sort of life within the leaves. Everything was still. Still, and dead.

Almost begging, she reached out to one of the birch trees, and whispered to it. "Wake up." And as she walked further, there must have been a trick of the light, as she called out, louder than she should have. "Aslan?"

     She was taken by surprise, a hand around her mouth, pulled down to the ground and hidden by a series of rocks. For a moment, she thought she might have been kidnapped; but she saw that it was only Peter who had silenced her. He must have followed not far behind. Knowing that she wouldn't make a noise, he let go, planning to explore what had made the noise further.

     Often, he was the one to show little fear in the face of danger. Only, it was hard to face the danger when it was still an unknown.

     Peter was the first to look around the shrubbery, and found a Minotaur pacing through the forest. The last time he had seen one of them in anger was during the Battle of Beruna. They had never been good news for the Pevensie's, but that didn't mean they could leave it be. It was enough to strike fear into them.

     The blonde King made the break, as he knew he would have to, drawing his sword as he snuck closer to the site. Though, catching him off guard, his blade was met midair. An attack he wasn't expecting. A boy with black hair that cut off at his shoulders dared to challenge him.

The boy yelled, as if the movement was an effort. It was telling to the kind of swordsman he was; not a skilled one. Peter had to be careful, however, as his ego often made him delusional.

Even when he was duelling, he managed to get the upper hand, knocking the hilt of his blade into the boys face, making him bleed. In the process, he lost his sword, and was backed against one of the trees. It should have been an easy shot for someone as practiced as Peter, but when the boy ducked, unexpectedly, his weapon got lodged into the bark of the tree.