"I'm not a soldier," Caspian said with slanted eyes as he stared at the dwarf and stood up tall and regally. "I am Prince Caspian. The tenth."
"So it looks like the line continued then," the dwarf said at a slight whisper but loud enough that Caspi...
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Chapter Three
Kings and Queens of Old
"Shame you're not as quick as me Ed!" Peter taunted as he sprinted down the beach.
As the five ran down the beach, they kicked off their shoes and socks, ripped off their ties, took and off their jackets, leaving them in the sand. The sand tickled their toes and kicked back in the air as they ran across the sand. The group was a fit of giggles and Elizabeth pulled her hair out of the long braid it was in down her back for the school uniform. One of the ridiculous rules was that the girls had to have their hair up when they were at school, so now she let her hair hang loose with the air and boy did it feel good to be so free again. Not stuck to the real world's conformity and rules, but here they could be themselves. Here, they ruled and were known by everyone and respected by everyone. It absolutely never felt better to be home.
"Last one in's a rotten egg!" Lucy retorted to the group as she was in the lead heading straight for the water.
"Here I come!" Peter yelled as he ran past the girls and ripped off his jacket and playfully shoving Susan before running directly into the refreshing water. The sisters were quick to follow after him and ran into the water as well, splashing and giggling as they did so.
Elizabeth was smiling and laughing at them but abruptly stopped at the edge of the shore and looked down at the water almost reaching her toes. She looked down at her feet and the water coming up, barely reaching her toes, and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. When she looked back up, she watched Peter and the girls goofing around and splashing one another with water and giggled as she watched them. They didn't take that much notice that she wasn't in the water and they didn't mind, they knew she was afraid of water and didn't try to force her into joining them. If she was okay where she was, that was fine with them.
Back when they used to rule over Narnia, the only time Elizabeth had ever gotten into the water (to the three's knowledge) was when Edmund had coaxed her into the water. That was back when the two were engaged and Elizabeth trusted him enough to guide her into the water. She would occasionally go back, but would never get in the water unless Edmund was there. When Edmund was there, she knew she could trust him to keep her safe, and even though she used to be a really good swimmer she always made sure Edmund was near her just in case. It wasn't like she had forgotten how to swim, it was easy muscle memory for her. Like riding a bike that she hadn't ridden in years. But the memory of her mother constantly reminded her of why she choose to stay out of the water. Now that she and Edmund weren't exactly in a good place right now either, she preferred the shore more than the water in front of her. Even if Peter, Susan, and Lucy were in it.
Edmund continued to stand on the shore hopping on one foot to take his sock off his foot and tossing it in the sand. Then he ripped his hat off his head as well as his jacket leaving them in the sand as well. As he looked up ready to run into the water after everyone else, he saw Elizabeth just standing on the shoreline and watching his siblings with a small smile on her face. Her blonde hair danced along with the wind and as Edmund watched her he felt his stomach tighten. She really was beautiful, he missed the way she used to look at him back when they lived here than when they returned back home and from then on she always looked at him with a sense of loneliness and regret.
