𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ━ edmund pevensie¹

Four

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𝕬𝖓𝖞 𝖜𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖘 𝖆 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓 𝖒𝖞
𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖎𝖘 𝖏𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖆 𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖙𝖍 𝖜𝖆𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌
𝖙𝖔 𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖕𝖊𝖓

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[spring, year 1001]

━━━━━━━Ｅｄｍｕｎｄ

THANKFULLY, THE arrival of spring lessened his nightmares and he was able to have a solid night of sleep more often. The relief came not a moment too soon, either, since spring was when activity picked up and the castle became busy again. Therix was already talking about returning to the North for the last vestiges of the White Witch's army, though Susan shut him down the moment he planned to leave once the snows up North had thawed— her brothers must attend the first summer ball.

Therix grumbled once he was out of earshot of the queen but obliged, instead choosing to sort out the army so it would be ready to go as soon as the ball was over. Edmund, on his part, half-wished the Centaur had argued back as he wasn't particularly fond of anything party-related, whether it be dancing or socializing with the dignitaries.

Out of all his siblings, he'd always been the least outgoing and crowds of people didn't appeal to him. If the army could have left before the ball, he could have skipped the torture that was entertaining. Still, a part of him was glad that they were leaving later as it gave him more time to spend with Cornelia, whom (to his delight) he'd been able to talk to more after their chess game.

While she was a surprisingly terrible player (she'd lost every single one of their twenty games), it was easier to have a conversation with her now that they had common ground. They were still hesitant around each other but at least they could move past just "hi" and "hi." (Though that didn't stop their pink faces or the butterflies that swarmed in his stomach every time she was in the same room as him.) Edmund could even see the spark that her letters had held and he quickly grew fond of the blonde girl which was why he was loathe to leave her soon.

He now wandered through the gardens— knowing it was one of her favorite spots— in search of his soulmate. Chess was well and good, but they were both outdoors-loving people and so Peter had suggested that he ask to go on a walk with her (or a horseback ride, but he didn't think he was ready for that yet.) Notes of laughter floated on the breeze, clueing him in to where she was most likely sitting with Lucy and he followed the sound.

Sure enough, the two girls were sitting on a stone bench in one of the courtyards. This one was surrounded by a tall, green hedge. There was a ring of soil before the stone pathway that held different herbs, filling the air with spicy fragrances of rosemary, sage and thyme. In the center of the circle stood a square birdbath as the centerpiece of the garden which was often frequented by both talking and non-talking birds alike. Right now, the space was empty except for the two girls who were giggling at something (Edmund had a sneaking suspicion that it was him) and quieted abruptly at his approach. His eyes focused on the blonde, "uh, hi."

The two girls looked at each other and immediately burst into laughter again, causing his face to flush as Cornelia tried to quell her chuckles, "um, hi," (Lucy continued to snicker at the interaction. The blonde elbowed her none-too-subtly.)

"I was, uh—" he shifted uncomfortably, "I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk."

"Oh," the blonde said— her go-to response for whenever he asked her something, "Lu—"