Chimerical [Edmund Pevensie]

three

IT TOOK THE PEVENSIES—and their new friend, Trumpkin, a day at least to travel to where the other Narnians were.

They hiked and looked for shortcuts since apparently, the old paths they knew were blocked by rocks or waterfalls. They ended up going back to the same path after realising the first one they took was filled with Telmarine soldiers.

It was night now, they created a bonfire and most of them were asleep. Well, Lucy and Edmund were the only ones left awake, both were sat around the fire, warming their hands.

"I wonder what's happened to the Narnians," Lucy thought out-loud.

"I don't know, Lu," Edmund answered. "But hopefully, things will change."

She looked at him and saw that he was smiling, the kind that attempted to give comfort. She smiled back, a reassuring one, and then yawned.

"Yes, hopefully." After that, she lied down on the grass and before Edmund even knew it, his youngest sister was asleep.

The young king had it figured out that the reason why he couldn't sleep was because it was rather too algid, but not winter algid. He warmed himself some more by the fire, stretched and then began to lie down. He figured that he needed to rest since they were to continue hiking by tomorrow.

Yet, before he set his back on the grass, he heard some leaves moving and some twigs and branches breaking. Someone—or something—was coming towards them.

Edmund quickly picked up his sword and stood up, ready to fight whatever it was approaching. He raised the blade up yet when he was about to strike, he saw her.

Edmund saw that same girl he met earlier. She hopped out from behind the bushes with her hair—and entire body, actually—wet. Edmund was surprised, if anyway. Well, either way, his heart was still beating a thousand times faster.

"Oh, it's you," he said, calming himself as he sat down and laid his sword down.

He didn't hear her response. He looked up to see that she didn't look satisfied, like he portrayed the wrong reaction upon seeing her.

"Uh . . . Hello?"

"You didn't wonder why I left? Or why I came back?"

This girl really is something, Edmund thought. Then decided to answer her with, "I'm wondering how you found me. Does that answer your questions?"

She was cut off, like she thought her next reply wasn't adequate to what he said. She crossed her arms. "No . . . But, um, I saw the fire. I was swimming and I saw the fire."

"You were swimming? In this cold of a night?"

"If you're about to scold me—"

"I'm not." He chuckled. "Here," he continued, taking his vest off, "in case you're cold."

"Thanks," she said as he wrapped it around her shoulders.

"You better bring it back, though," Edmund said.

"Why, has it got your name sewn onto it?" she joked.

"No," he said, laughing. Afterwards, he caught her smiling, and that made his day better than anything else.

"I saw you raise your sword, you were to strike me, weren't you?" she said. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"I would've, though I didn't know it was you," he replied.