Tranquility (Chronicles of Narnia fan fiction)

Chapter 23

The next morning, Natalie met her friends in the hall, this time with Caspian absent. She smiled at them as she walked over. "Good morning," she said softly.

"Good morning, Nat!" Lucy greeted her happily.

"Lu, could you go on ahead to breakfast? I need to talk to Natalie..." Edmund said.

"Oh, um, sure!" Lucy blinked in confusion but shrugged and walked off.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Natalie asked after waiting a few moments for them to be alone.

Edmund turned to Natalie. He decided that morning that he had enough. He was all for giving Natalie time to adjust before he 'swept her off his feet' – as his inner pride might say – but when she played hard to get like that, no, he had had enough. "I'm a bit tired of this game we're playing..." he began, his hands in his pockets and his head tilted down to give her a piercing look.

Natalie knew what he was talking about and felt bad for frustrating him so much. Perhaps it was time to get serious. "Alright," she nodded. "What do you suggest we do then?"

Edmund stepped over to her. "Nat... I'm going to kiss you," he warned her, walking closer to her. "If you truly don't want me to, you'll just have to stop me now..."

"I..." Natalie placed hand on his chest, keeping him at a distance. "The truth is..." began, chewing on her lip a bit and blushing as his eyes became slightly hooded. Edmund continued moving forward a bit, and she moved back until she was pressed against a wall gently. "I don't really know how to kiss..." she admitted, finding his shirt suddenly fascinating. Edmund wasn't sure whether to feel surprised or understand because of his knowledge of her past.

"It's okay, I can teach you," he smiled. Truthfully, he liked being the first guy she ever kissed, he felt pride in being the man to teach her how to kiss too. He smiled again and placed his palm on her cheek, cupping it, tilting her head up to look at him. "It's simple, just relax and go with it for now... you'll know what to do," he promised her and leaned in. This time, Natalie didn't stop him. She let her eyes drift shut as his soft lips finally touched her's in a sweet kiss. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, she felt her own arms wrap around his neck. She felt a bit dizzy as he pulled away slightly after a few moments. Edmund smiled and pulled her closer. "See? That wasn't so bad..." he said, before leaning in to kiss her again.

Natalie was glad he wasn't doing anything a gentleman wouldn't do. The kiss was soft and chaste, no tongue, no hands all over the place, or anything of the sort. He was being sweet and easing her into it. She relaxed on him and pressed her forehead against his when he pulled away again. Natalie could tell he was restraining himself a bit, and cherished his self control. She wasn't sure how she would react if they did anything more, even if a little part of her told her she would enjoy it just as much. She hugged him, pulling him closer and Edmund cocooned her in his strong arms. Natalie had never felt so safe, so loved before.

Meanwhile, Caspian slapped his knee in mirth. "And then I said, 'I'm sorry Captain, I was talking about the whale... I don't see how you thought I was talking about your wife?'" he chortled at his tale. He and Lucy sat at the dining table, waiting for their friends.

"Oh my goodness!" Lucy laughed as well. "I can't believe he called his own wife those things!"

"I couldn't believe it either! I-" They were interrupted when Edmund and Natalie walked into the room, looking rather flushed and with wrinkled clothes.

"Took your time getting here, did we? So I see you two had a very productive morning..." Caspian smiled cheekily.

While Natalie blushed, Edmund glared. "Shut it," he warned. Throughout breakfast, Natalie would find herself being asked if she was sick or if she was alright. She cursed herself for not being able to stop blushing, and Edmund was making it more difficult by sitting next to her and bumping his arm or leg against her's every now and then. She knew he was doing it on purpose because he would give her 'innocent' smiles whenever he would do so.