outburst ~ edmund pevensie

VII.

It was bright and early, and as Grace had promised, she was out in the fields. She and Amathus had been practicing her close range combat for a few hours before Edmund came out.

"Hey Grace, Amathus. We're starting the meeting. You might want to come join." Grace nodded and sheathed her sword, as did Amathus. Grace wasn't horrible with the weapon, but she much prefered a bow or a set of daggers. Amathus bowed at the girl, and she returned it with a giggle before hugging the centaur. She jogged over to Edmund with a wide grin on her face. He held out his hand with a matching grin, and she took it, swinging it wildly as they entered the How. Ever since Grace had arrived in Narnia, she had changed. Her anxieties visited far less often, and she felt bubblier, almost ecstatic, all the time! Perhaps it was because of the Narnian air, or her Narnian friends. Or perhaps it was the boy who laughed along as she swung their hands down the tunnel.

The mood became quickly solemn as they entered. Peter was pacing slightly, and Caspian sat on a step nearby, frustratingly running his hands through his hair. Peter looked up as he heard the two enter the room.

"About time, is Amathus coming?" Peter turned to Grace, but she simply shrugged. She and Edmund sat down near Lucy, who was perched on the Stone Table.

"I can inform him of anything he misses, sire." Glenstorm assured the King, and he nodded.

Peter began. "It's only a matter of time. Miraz's men and their war machines are on their way. That means that those same men aren't protecting his castle."

"What do you propose we do, your majesty?" Reepicheep spoke, his paw on his blade. Caspian and Peter both spoke

"We need to-"

"We should be-"

Peter and Caspian glared, and Grace cringed, her eyes flitting back and forth between the two. Caspian stood down, and Grace sent him a sympathetic look. He just shook his head. Peter continued.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us." He spoke.

"That is crazy, no one has ever taken the castle." Caspian stepped forward again.

"There's always a first time." Peter shrugged.

"We'd have the element of surprise." Trumpkin offered.

"But we have the advantage here!" Caspian argued. Susan stepped to his aid.

"If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely." A flash of hurt crossed Peter's eyes, he couldn't help but feel offended that his sister stood against him.

"I for one, feel safer underground." The badger spoke up.

"Look, I appreciate what you've done," Peter turned to view everyone. "But this isn't a fortress, it's a tomb." Grace decided to step in.

"But Peter, we have no idea how many men they have. Caspian has lived there his whole life, shouldn't we trust his judgement?" Peter snapped his head to her and gave a slight glare.

"No Grace. We'd be sitting ducks if we stayed, practically begging for them to attack. We need to make the first move."

"And even if they don't strike, if the Telmarines are smart then they'll just starve us out." Edmund added to his point. Grace glanced at him, flashing him a look.

"Surely there are more Narnians out there, if we just waited a while, we could train more, and wait-" Peter cut her off.

"No, Grace! I will not let our base be destroyed because we waited for some Narnians that don't exist! What are you even doing here? You're no help here. You've been in Narnia for a week. I ruled for years." Grace was slightly taken aback from his words. His eyes softened a bit after the words left his mouth, but Grace wasn't looking to see it. She sat down with a huff, shoving Edmund's comforting hand off her shoulder.