No Matter What - Edmund Pevensie X Reader

Chapter 8 - Eustace the Dragon

"I'll go find him," Edmund sighed.
"I'll come with you," said Caspian.
Y/N thought Edmund was going to scoff at Caspian, but instead, he just nodded appreciatively.
"I'd better come too, then," Y/N announced, "Just to make sure you two keep your swords off each other's throats."
Lucy giggled.

**********

Edmund, Y/N and Caspian had been walking for a while now - around 15 minutes, Y/N would have wagered - but still, Eustace was nowhere to be seen.
"It's quite shocking, really," Y/N muttered to Caspian, "You'd think we would have heard some of his grumbling and wailing by now."
She made sure that Edmund hadn't heard her though; she was happy that he was finally showing signs of warming up to his cousin.

The three of them had called out - no, more like yelled out - Eustace's name over and over, but to no avail. Then, they stumbled upon a valley. A valley which was, much to Y/N's annoyance, filled with gold. Gold vessels, gold jewellery, gold treasure chests!

"Treasure," Edmund said softly.
"Trouble," replied Caspian firmly.

Caspian went down into the valley first, then Edmund. Y/N followed them down, watching as Edmund picked up a single, flattened shoe from the ground and mumbled his cousin's name. They walked a little further in, before they found a pair of clothes scattered on the ground, which oddly looked like they had been burnt. Edmund rummaged through the clothes, and found something that confirmed all of their fears - Eustace's diary.

"Oh, cousin," Edmund said dismally.
"I'm sorry," said Caspian.
"He was just a boy. I never should have left him."

While Edmund was busy mourning his cousin, Y/N knew immediately that something wasn't right. Nothing was right about this place.
"What could have happened to him?" Y/N heard Edmund say.
"In this place?" she replied, "Anything."

Edmund and Caspian turned their attention towards Y/N, and noticed she was heading for something.
"And he wasn't the first."
Edmund and Caspian made their way over to Y/N, to find that she was staring down at the skeleton of a man.
"It's Lord Octesian," Caspian announced, "We should find his-"
At that moment, Edmund picked up, from amongst a few golden goblets, a sleek, silver sword, only the handle a bit rusty.
"-sword," Caspian finished.

The three of them left the valley, and made for the end of the island, where the boats would be waiting for them. Caspian walked a little behind Edmund and Y/N, smiling lightly at the way the two were holding hands and walking. Suddenly, Edmund and Y/N heard Caspian shouting their names in a frenzy, but by the time they turned around, it was too late.

They had been picked up in the clutches of a dragon. Well, actually, Edmund had been picked up - Y/N was holding on to him for dear life! The great, golden dragon carried Edmund and Y/N over to the Dawn Treader, where Lucy spotted them and began to panic. Before they could have a proper word with Lucy, however, the dragon turned around forcefully, back towards the island.

Y/N reckoned the experience would have been a lot more pleasant if the wind wasn't constantly whipping her hair into her face.
As the dragon toured them back over to the island again, Edmund's hands started to get a little sweaty.
"Edmund Pevensie, don't you dare drop me!" Y/N yelled.

The two of them coughed heavily as they flew through a cloud of smoke, before Edmund looked straight ahead and noticed that there were some words carved into the surface of the earth below them. These words, to his horror, and a little bit to his relief, read, "I am Eustace."

"You have got to be joking," Edmund said, looking up at the dragon, who he now knew was his cousin.

**********

Eustace howled in pain, drawing everyone's attention to broad, gold hoop around his arm.
"He must have been tempted by the treasure," Edmund concluded.

The crew had come back to shore to investigate Eustace's little 'dilemma'.

"Well, anyone knows a dragon's treasure is enchanted," said Caspian, earning him a sharp glare from Eustace, "Well, anyone from here."
Lucy moved towards Eustace slowly, and yanked the gold hoop off of his arm.

"Is there any way to change him back?" asked Y/N.
"Not that I know of," replied Caspian, turning towards Drinian.
"Aunt Alberta will not be pleased," said Edmund.

"Sorry about the hand, old boy," Reepicheep said to Eustace sheepishly, "I can be a little overzealous at times."
"The boats are ready, Sire!" called out one of the minotaurs.

"We can't leave him alone," said Lucy.
"Well, we can't bring him on board, Your Majesty," Drinian responded.
"Drinian, you and the others take one boat back," said Caspian, handing Lord Octesian's sword to Drinian, "The rest of us will stay here till morning and work out what to do."
"But you've no provisions," said Mr Rhince, "And no means of staying warm, Your Majesty."

Eustace looked like he was thinking for a few seconds, when suddenly, he blew out a great ball of fire, such that it caught on to a pile of wood. He did this ever so coolly, as if it was normal to blow fire and he had been a dragon all his life.
"You were saying?" quirked Reepicheep, to which the others laughed lightly.

**********

"I've never seen these constellations before," said Edmund, who was lying down beside Y/N.
"Me neither," responded Caspian, "We're a long way from home."
"Home," Y/N thought, as Caspian continued talking to Edmund.
She knew that this would be the last time she, Edmund and Lucy were in Narnia; she had known it for a while now. And while she would do anything she could to be with the Pevensies forever, she knew that she couldn't change a thing because it was all part of Aslan's plan. Maybe she wouldn't like this plan, but if Aslan was reigning over it, she trusted Him, and knew that it would only be for the best.

Y/N looked up at the sky, her eyes brimming with tears. Her world would never be able to hold a sky so beautiful. The stars twinkled a bright silver, contrasting to the deep purple and blue richness of the atmosphere around. The fire crackled and burnt brightly beside them, providing warmth, but Y/N also found it comforting. If it hadn't been for the dark ideas ruling over her mind, she just might have been able to savour the moment properly.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Edmund inched closer towards her.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and mumbled a soft, "Good night," before kissing her gently on the forehead and cradling his head in her hair.
Y/N smiled softly and sighed. She was going to miss this.