❝and if you're gone tomorrow, what was ours still will be.❞
There has been rarely a moment where tragedy has not riddled Lydia Nowack's life. The invasion of Poland, her homeland, killed her maternal grandparents. The very first night of the Blitz...
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☾ ☽
Edmund watched reluctantly from across the deck as Lydia and Caspian delved into yet another animated debate about Aslan knows what. Last time he'd overheard a debate of theirs, it'd been about the content of a book that existed both in Narnia and on Earth—Homer's The Iliad. Lydia had been trying to convince him that the war written about in the book wasn't necessarily fiction from the mind of the man who wrote it but rather an actual event from Greek mythology, whilst Caspian argued it was indeed fiction, citing that it came from mythology. Edmund figured he was just humoring her.
It was the fourth time he'd seen them enter into such a conversation in the week it had been since the storms cleared. The sight of them conversing only served to remind him that he hadn't had a conversation like that with her in almost a month. Not since the accidental kiss (an accident on her part, of course, not his) had they spoke to each other so happily. Well, they had spoken, but it wasn't like it used to be.
At least Edmund knew Lydia felt as awkward and confused as he did about it. He could tell that just by looking at her when they did speak—she always avoided eye contact with him. He felt some solace in knowing she felt somewhat the same way he did about the kiss.
Somewhere near him, someone groaned, and Edmund let out a groan himself when he realized it was his cousin. "Can I help you?"
"You're staring at her, again," Eustace stated. Lucy looked up from where she sat with Reepicheep. "It's nauseating. And a bit creepy."
"Watch your step, lad," Reepicheep advised. Eustace rolled his eyes. "Does he ever listen?"
"Never," Edmund said.
"Eustace," said Lucy, "perhaps Reep should accompany you to get another orange lest you starve." Eustace grumbled as he walked away, sitting down between two barrels and taking his diary out of his sock, where he'd kept it since washing up on deck. Lucy stood, setting her hands on her hips as she looked at her brother. "All right, Ed, out with it. Why do you keep staring at Lydia but not going over to talk to her?"
Reepicheep piped up, "Well, she does seem to be occupied with a lively conversation. Maybe that's why he's not approaching her."
"She's not always occupied with a lively conversation," Lucy remarked. "So, Edmund, why?"
Edmund considered answering with the truth, that a kiss had made things different with them, and he also considered answering with a simple 'it's none of your business.' Before he could decide which answer to give his sister, the crew member stationed in the crow's nest called, "Land ho!"
—
There were no buildings or vegetation on the first island spotted since the storms cleared up. It looked deserted and lonesome, and even more so as they piled into longboats to sail toward it. Lydia fiddled with her locket absentmindedly, tilting her head at the island.
