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I HAD ELEVEN DAYS to know Edmund Pevensie.
I never thought our time together would be so fleeting — a flare of light and magnificent colour before the sun falls beneath the horizon. If I had known, perhaps I would have remembered more. I might have spared an extra moment each time he smiled or held me to remember how his arms felt and how the left side of his mouth lifted just a little more than the right. How vividly the gold in his eyes came to life under the sun.
I held onto Edmund as best I could over the years, but still the memories slipped away. I'd forgotten so much and only now that he's real and standing before me again does that realization dawn.
As he and Lucy recount their time in England, I begin to recognize all the mannerisms and habits that were once so familiar to me. Like how restlessly he shifts his weight, constantly changing positions in his chair despite being hyper-fixated on every word spoken by me or Caspian.
All through lunch and dinner, the four of us chat in the stateroom, telling stories of our adventures and catching up on lost time, alternating between England and Narnia.
Edmund insists nothing at all exciting has happened, while Lucy seems able to talk endlessly about stories from boarding school and their father, newly returned from the war just a few months ago. By his distant attitude whenever she mentions him, I can tell Ed still holds a grudge against his father.
"What about Susan?" I ask them. "How is she?"
At that, Caspian straightens and falls silent, waiting to hear about his gentle queen. For as much as I miss Susan and her soothing presence and the exceptional advice she'd always give, I'm reminded almost every day that he misses her far more.
"Oh, she's wonderful!" Lucy exclaims. "We just received a letter from her today! She gets to visit all these universities with mum and dad in America and go to parties — they're nothing like the ones here, but quite fun, she says." Her eyes shimmer as they move between me and Cas. "She misses you both; I know that."
Her words fill Caspian with so much hope and life I think he might burst. "She does?"
Lucy grins. "Well, we all do," she adds, "but yes, before her and Peter left for the summer, we were all talking about Narnia and the last time we were here and she said sometimes she sneaks around Saint Finbar's opening closet doors, just in case one might lead back here. Oh! And once..." she starts laughing before she can finish the sentence, snickering into her hand. "Once...she opened a closet and caught some girls snogging. And she flung the door closed but one of them got hit right in the forehead!" Lucy makes a circle with her fingers the size of a walnut. "She had a massive egg for a week!"
I lift my hand over my mouth, trying to show some pity for the poor girl who got hit with the door but finding it hilarious nonetheless. Susan the Gentle... It's impossible to contain myself any longer and I join Lucy in laughing over her sister's unfortunate incident.
Caspian, on the other hand, is still mystified. "What is snogging?" He asks, a little nervous to hear the answer.
We're in full-blown laughter now and Edmund's looking at the balcony like he might want to dive off of it.
So I tell the king of Narnia that snogging is an English term for kissing and he laughs with us.
By the time the sun begins to set, we've exhausted all our questions and stories. The maindeck has quieted so you can hear the ocean rushing along the hull and the wind in the sail. Most of the crew have retired to their quarters for the night, so when Lucy heads belowdecks to check on Eustace, who's gotten quite seasick, the only people on deck are Edmund, myself, Tavros, and Rynelf.
I have a watch shift tonight, so I take up a perch on the forecastle bulwark. Edmund follows like he's afraid losing sight of me will mean I'll disappear forever. I know the feeling, so I don't say anything but lean against the dragon figurehead and bask in the last warm rays of sunlight.
The Dawn Treader rises and falls with the endless waves, a motion that once drove me crazy but now feels so familiar it barely registers in my mind. Sealegs, the sailors call it. It took me a long time to find mine. I used to fly amid the clouds to escape the sensation of rocking with the ocean's endless movements, to be somewhere quiet and feel free from the bounds of the ship. I used to spend more time in the sky than on the deck until I realized my place among the crew was just that — among them, not the clouds. When I stopped flying to escape and started finding a home in the rigging and the crew I finally found my sealegs. Now, I think I would lose my balance without the ship's rocking.
"I'm so used to seeing you in a dress."
I pull my gaze away from the horizon and the dancing waves. The setting sun in the west casts a radiant orange glow across Edmund's face, sharpening the lines and indentations. I forgot how he looked under the Narnian sun — serene and showered in gold. I forgot what it was like to be us without any other worries.
A heartfelt smile lifts my mouth. I know this won't last forever. If he and Lucy were summoned back here, it was for a reason. This voyage is bound to turn bad and there's nothing I can do to stop it. All I can do is enjoy the time we have, treasure moments like these where he stares at me like a lovestruck fool and makes my heart flood with warmth richer than the sun.
That. Right there. If there's one thing I remembered about Edmund Pevensie after all these years, it's the way I felt with him — like lush grass under my feet or sweet air in my lungs. That kind of peace is something I could never forget.
"Dresses and sailing don't mix well," I say with a shrug. At first, I loathed how cumbersome the crew's uniform was to take off and put back on just so I could shift, but after six months at sea, I've learned to work around it. Besides, for all their convenience on land, dresses at sea are not plausible. The long material gets caught up in the pulleys and blows upward from the constant wind and you absolutely cannot climb the rigging with all that loose fabric billowing about your legs.
"I suppose not when you're a part of the crew," Edmund agrees. "Susan and Lucy would wear them whenever we sailed, but their work was in the stateroom."
I can sense the question as it's formulating on his tongue. I've been expecting him to ask me all day.
"Why didn't Caspian assign you to a higher role? You're on his council; you shouldn't have to work the bilge for three weeks."
"No, I deserved that," I say with a lighthearted laugh. "He offered, but I chose to be a crewmember. I'd lose my mind on this ship if I didn't have something to keep me busy."
Edmund has this look on his face like I've lost my mind. "My God, Ryn, a ship has got to be the worst place for you to be."
He's right, of course. I may have found my balance for now, but I hate having my wings clipped. I hate that I can't stretch my legs properly until we reach dry land, and that I've subjected myself to working under Drinian's strict orders every day. I hate that I can't hear the birds or the hum of insects or the leaves in the wind. But even though I miss Narnia and Nyssa and Trumpkin and my patience wears thinner with every hour on this log, the mystery that lays beyond the horizon and knowing the chimæras are out there somewhere is enough to make it all worth it.
He watches me for another second, a disbelieving chuckle falling from his lips. "You couldn't walk away from an adventure, could you?"
"Never." Not if the wind itself fought against me.
Lucy emerges from belowdecks looking grim — Eustace mustn't be improving.
Edmund doesn't seem too concerned, but I feel obligated to ask. "How is he?"
"Still quite sick," she says. "He doesn't want to eat much of anything, right now. Nausus thinks it should pass in a few days."
"A few days?" The excitement in Edmund's voice is not well concealed, and his sister isn't very pleased about it.
"Your cousin is sick, Edmund. I know he's horrible to everyone but you can't be this excited about it."
He just snorts, leaning comfortably against the balustrade. "When he's better and acting an ass again you'll wish you appreciated the peace while it lasted. Just wait."
Lucy meets my gaze and shakes her head helplessly, fighting a smile.
The three of us watch the ocean in peace, breathing the salt on the wind, wondering what will come over the horizon next to meet us on our adventure.
Today feels so much like a dream.
I pull on the tether — tentative and soft, just to be sure. You're real, right?
Not a moment later, I feel a tug in return. I'm real.
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Edmund is real. I know that now that I wake up every morning and find him in the hammock beside me, and I'm reminded every hour of the day thereafter as he bickers back and forth with Eustace Scrubb.
The brat has been cured of his seasickness for over a week now and I'm starting to lose all hope of keeping my sanity during this voyage. He's still convinced he's in his own world rather than accepting the reality of many, going on endlessly about the British Consul and calling the minotaurs and fauns wild animals. I'm positive he'll faint when he sees me shift for the first time so I'm waiting for the opportune moment to turn into a bear right before his eyes, securing the crew an hour or two of peaceful quiet. Aslan knows we need it.
"This is barbaric!" Eustace cries, scrambling out of Edmund's path as I force the king back. His concentration doesn't waver, and he swiftly deflects my thrust, raising his own sword to counterattack.
Adrenaline kicks in and I duck under his arm to avoid the wide slash. Roaring cheers arise from the watching crew as he recovers, pivoting to face me again with a breathless grin.
I settle into the stormfront guard, rotating my arms downward with the tip of my blade angled behind me. Ed's eyes skip over the unfamiliar form, analyzing before he engages with a lunge. He expects my next attack, parrying before I can think to retreat or riposte.
Remise, I think, but he blocks that, too, with a smug grin.
Over the last week, Edmund began to grow restless, being trapped on the Dawn Treader with nowhere to escape from his cousin and craving the exciting adventures of Narnia. He's resorted to sparring to keep himself occupied, though Drinian only allows it on the maindeck when the waves are calm and the wind is strong enough to warrant the crew a short break from their duties.
Sometimes Caspian will take up the role of his opponent, but usually, I fill that role. It's refreshing to have my sword in my hand again, dancing across the deck and feeling my muscles burn. I look forward to it every day. And the men who take the opportunity to place bets on us can say the same.
"Kick his ass, Witchslayer!" Rithar shouts. That man always has a bet going.
Edmund takes up the window guard, one I've seen him use a hundred times before, though the mischief in his eyes prompts me to stay wary.
I narrow my gaze at him. What are you thinking?
I'm ready for his attack and make a clean shed but he gets in close, locking our swords into a bind I'm not prepared for. The men cheer and pound their fists on the bulwark. I fight to break it first, matching the king's strength only for a few seconds before he overpowers me.
The crew shouts and applauds the match, doling out crowns amongst themselves before Drinian calls for everyone to get back to work.
I let my hair grow back to its usual length, raising an eyebrow at Edmund. "That was sneaky," I note breathlessly.
This just makes his lopsided grin widen. "Thank you," he says, bending into a mocking bow, which is exactly what I did after my win yesterday.
I shake my head and scoff at him, "there's always tomorrow, Pevensie."
Edmund nods, eyes shining thoughtfully. "What guard was that?" He asks, positioning his sword in a rough mimicry of the stormfront.
I shift my hands on my grip and position my blade for him to see it properly. He corrects himself, finding the right stance after a few moments.
"Like this?"
"Yeah. That's the stormfront guard, I learned it from the Galmians at their tournament. It's good for ascending diagonal –"
"Lunatics, the two of you," Eustace complains, butting his way between us. "I nearly had my head cut off this time!"
Sighing through his nose, Edmund meets my gaze with irritation in his eyes, silently asking me to take care of him this time.
I meet his cousin's gaze with disdain. "Why did you come out of the hatch when you knew we were sparring?"
He sputters in disbelief, thrusting his hand toward said hatch. "What, am I supposed to live down there amongst all that filth like one of those wild animals?" He demands. "I should be allowed to go where I want without the risk of being killed, thank you very much."
Every word Eustace says eats away at my patience, and when I open my mouth to respond, he just cuts me off.
"Why can't you take up a reasonable hobby while we're trapped on this log? Like chess," he offers, crossing his arms indignantly, "or gambling, I suppose, would be more fitting for your intelligence."
Edmund snaps, taking a warning step toward the brat. "Oh yeah? Would you like to know what the odds of me throwing you off this ship are?"
Eustace's eyes widen as he jumps backward. "That's a threat!" He squawks, looking at the crewmembers around him like they're supposed to care. "He just threatened to kill me!"
Dusnun glances over at us, trying not to laugh. Thankfully, Lucy hears his outburst and hurries down from the quarterdeck to our aid.
"What's wrong?" She asks, trying to calm both boys down. If I hadn't known any better, I might mistake her for Susan.
"Your brother is a lunatic and just threatened to throw me overboard!" Eustace points an accusatory finger at Edmund. "I'll make sure you're arrested when the British Consul arrives!"
Before Lucy can say anything to resolve the matter, he scurries off to a little corner by the forecastle where he likes to wedge himself between the barrels on the ground and be a nuisance.
Brat.
"I hate him," Edmund mutters, roughly sliding his sword into its sheath.
Lucy settles herself against the bulwark, watching their cousin as he shoves the barrels aside to make room for himself and begins furiously writing in a dirty little book.
"At least he has something to keep himself busy with most of the time," she says, trying to stay optimistic.
"That's true," I mutter, not wanting to think about the menace he'd be without that stupid diary to scribble in. If he wasn't annoying Edmund, trying to steal food, or sulking on deck, he was busy writing in that thing.
The three of us watch Reepicheep approach the boy, swinging from the rigging to land on one of the barrels and ask what he's writing about, as he often does. The only response the mouse receives is a terrified shriek and Eustace scrambling from his corner, whining about "yapping rats" and the "utter lack of privacy on this log."
When he finally disappears belowdeck, there's a collective breath of relief from the crew.
Edmund turns away from the scene to look between me and Lucy. "Let's just hope he doesn't run out of pages in that diary before we make it to the Lone Islands."
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author's note
Chimæra is being translated to Spanish by Maribi231 for anyone who's interested!
so I'm dumb and I didn't know that the reason the pevensies go to america is because their dad comes back from the war and tours the universities there...I had to go back and fix some stuff in the last chapter my bad
school ended like two weeks ago, it took me forever to write this chapter I apologize. that said, i think I'm going to be using some major time skips to keep this story moving and my inspiration flowing, i don't want to risk falling into a rut while I'm on break. i want to write as much as i can while i can which means skipping to the important parts
that doesn't mean I'm gonna glaze over six total months of sailing and deprive y'all of all that bountiful edryn fluff — I'm thinking I'll write a bunch of shorts/scenes and post them in an "extras" chapter, that way i can be as efficient as possible with my writing!
so comment any other scenes/interactions from the voyage that you'd like to see (from any point in the story)!
otherwise, enjoy this long-awaited chapter and rest assured that I'm back on track to updating on a solid weekly schedule again!!
also i really missed you guys haha I'm v excited to be bringing y'all updates again