Nobody's Son, Nobody's Daughter

Five

The two remained this close for quite a while, perhaps longer than necessary. It felt nice to be held like this and even Y/N, through all her efforts to remain professional, had to admit that being this close to such a remarkable man made her feel a bit giddy.
Eventually however, Edmund got up "Y/N, please, after this endeavour, would you please join me for breakfast." he offered and put on a charming smile, extending an elbow to her. Y/N gave him a polite smile and grabbed his elbow "I would be happy to, Your Highness"

Edmund led the two down to the dining hall where a lavish breakfast was already waiting for them.
This time the words came more easily to him. Edmund felt that this involuntary display of vulnerability broke some sort of ice between them and he found himself rather comfortable around Y/N, happy almost.

Althea watched Edmund's sudden change in behaviour and couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. To him it looked like Edmund was trying to seduce her after his newfound pleasure from last night. As if he was simply trying to get her to sleep with him, jeopardising their entire work as a professional team.

After the breakfast Althea practically scolded Edmund "Edmund, please, I understand that you are yearning for.. intimacy , but please satisfy this desire by calling on one of the mistresses, not by serenading our most useful resource in this investigation."
"Excuse me Althea, what in Merlin's name is making you say that!"
"Do you think I don't notice the way you look at Y/N, the way you talk to her. I understand that she is an attractive young woman but don't lose sight of what is important. She is not your toy to play with !"
"Althea! Stop this at once, you know very well I respect women far too much to ever view them as a toy! And I have no intimate intentions with Y/N. I enjoy her company. That is true, I find her to be intelligent, well-educated, pleasant to work with and caring. Yes, she is attractive but we both know I am not one to go around seducing women."
"Caring? ... Whatever, please keep in mind that she is here only for this investigation. She is an employee of the royal court of the Yuvak, even if you two enjoy each other's company her stay here is limited."

Their conversation did lead Edmund to questioning his behaviour towards Y/N. He understood that exploring these feelings was not only dangerous but also in vain, because she was not his to keep.

The following weeks were filled with work and a close collaboration with the Yuvak people. Thanks to Y/N's help a good relationship was established between the two kingdoms and they combined their forces to work against the mysterious men threatening the stability of monarchies. Edmund's excellent military leader skills came in handy and he was able to contribute to the safety measures taken.
Edmund felt like they were making serious progress even though the end of this struggle was still far away. During all this time he tried his best to keep a respectable distance between him and Y/N.
He tried to satisfy his desires and distract himself with other women but his mind always wandered to her no matter who he was with.

Slowly summer was starting to spread its warmth and brightness. This meant their annual Summer's Night ball was approaching. Y/N had heard of it. The two sisters had started this tradition to celebrate the start of the new season, and secretly to find a match for their oldest brother and perhaps themselves. The ball started the official season in the capital and families from all over Narnie came to try and find matches for their children.

"I will bring the seamstress to your room to get you fitted for a dress." Ruth explained cheerfully. "I'm sorry, Ruth please, my current wardrobe is more than satisfying. I do not need a new dress." Y/N tried to shake it off. "But Miss of course you do, attending the Summer's Night ball without a proper dress would be wildly inappropriate."
"The ball? I had no idea I would be attending Ruth, I have not received an invitation." "Yet," added Ruth "You must know, we, the servants, we talk to each other and King Edmund's messenger boy just so happened to catch your name on one of the invitations. Your invitation has been sent out, it just hasn't arrived yet."
"Oh ... in that case I must apologise, you were right then."
While Ruth rushed away to get the seamstress Y/N couldn't help but smile to herself, being invited to a ball by a proper King was certainly exciting and being able to wear a beautiful gown made her even more giddy.