Tranquility (Chronicles of Narnia fan fiction)

Chapter 33

Natalie woke feeling sore but incredibly happy. She glanced up sleepily, seeing her boyfriend flopped on his back while she had slept pressed against his chest in his large bed. One of his arms hung off the bed while the other held her close to him. She smiled and trailed her fingers across his chest lightly. She moved her finger tips down to where his wound had been, noticing an odd scar there and traced it. "I got that scar on my first trip to Narnia," Edmund's voice suddenly said above her head. Natalie gasped slightly, startled, and looked up to see him gazing down at her. "She had run me through when I tried to get her from getting to Peter..." he explained and took her hand, kissing her fingers.

"Edmund?" Natalie asked softly, still tracing her fingers over his scar.

"Hm?" Edmund responded simply, watching her.

"Can you... can you tell me,-"

"What that witch meant? About me betraying people?" Edmund supplied knowingly.

"If... if you don't mind?" Natalie blushed, looking up at him through her lashes.

"I don't," he smiled. "She can't hurt me anymore," he took her hand and kissed her palm slowly, working his way to her wrist, deliberately taking his time, making pleasant shivers spread all over her. He pulled back after a moment and had a calculated look on his face. "A long time ago," he began. "I sold my siblings out to Jadis, for the prospect of becoming her King and getting all the Turkish Delights I could ever want," he grimaced. "I was a stupid kid and I was so angry at my brother. I just wanted to feel big and important too. I know that's not a good excuse by any stretch, but..." he sighed, his expression was bitter. "In the end, I betrayed Jadis as well, told Aslan everything and fought her alongside my brother," he told her. "Still, my guilt over that stupid decision I had made tortured me for years," he sighed again.

"I can't begin to understand what you felt, but I know what it's like to be tortured by a decision you made," Natalie told him, reaching up to run her hands through his hair, soothing him. "I felt that way when I refused to go with my parents... Sometimes I thought if I had just delayed them a bit longer, they could have missed their flight and had to take the one the next day... then they would have been alive," Natalie admitted. "It's part of a past that neither of us can never change, but it is also a past we both learned from, isn't it? You learned to treasure your family, treasure loyalty and you became a better person because of it," she smiled.

"You're right... I never thought of it that way," Edmund grinned and leaned in, catching her lips in a grateful kiss. He pulled back and smiled again. "I love you, have I mentioned that before?"

"Hmm, no I don't remember hearing you say that before," Natalie teased. "I could stand to hear it a bit more though," she grinned. "I love you too," she sighed, reaching over again to stroke his jaw lovingly.

Natalie all of a sudden felt a powerful need for him, almost making her gasp, as if this would be the last time they would be together like this again for a long time. Edmund must have sensed it because he had moved toward her, kissing her cheek softly and holding her close. Natalie flushed, biting her lip, as Edmund rolled over on top of her again, trapping her underneath him again, pulling her arms around his neck and legs around his middle. His fingers did tantalizing things to her as he swept them over her naked body. She felt him against her again and tried desperately to calm her racing heart down, but to no avail.

"I love you," he whispered again, against her neck, and then there was no more actual talking between them, besides the whispers of love and sounds of approval. About an hour later, Edmund and Natalie forced themselves to dress looking away from each other, on opposite ends of the room, lest they never leave the room that morning.