Peter walked into the throne room wearing his crown proudly. He was only a young man but already the king of a country. Wondering how he even got this position, Peter sat on his throne and looked at the map which was on the wall next to him. The strange markings on it bothered him. He knew Narnia was at war with whatever evil managed to crawl inside, but he refused to believe that there was no way to win. Caspian already marked some territories which were saved from the witch's power; evil still works even when it's dead and gone from this world. Peter feared that above all the witch still owned the hearts of some Narnians whom she managed to trick, including his brother. He knew that Aslan died for Edmund, but he doubted the strength of Edmund's heart, what if a mended traitor goes back to betrayal.
"Morning, Pete." Edmund walked into the thrown room, tying his belt around his pants and securing his sword. His hair was wet and he had an unusual smile on his face.
Peter looked at his brother, remembering how good he was with swords. It was like Edmund was a natural, the sword was a brush and Edmund, the artist. At any point, he could take over and kill Peter. Fear was slowly taking over Peter's thoughts. "Good morning, Ed."
"What's wrong?" He noticed his brother's worried face.
"Narnia is losing to the witch's powers. We need more backup, more soldiers. I don't know, I guess I am just stressed out." Peter confessed. He caught the thought he had earlier, about his brother betraying them again, and locked it far away. He was thinking ill of his own family and that was exactly what evil wanted.
"Don't worry, Narnia will always win, with Aslan. Plus we have a secret weapon among our midst and we don't even know it," Edmund gave his brother a bright smile and a pat on the back.
"And how do you know that, Ed?" Peter questioned, knowing that Edmund knows a lot more than him.
"Because I know things, things I cannot reveal." His brother smiled again and sat on the throne beside him. When Edmund gave Peter the book of Narnia to read about the keeper of light, Peter was more focused on the war and refused to read a silly book when his mind could have been focused on battles. So Edmund realized that he couldn't confide in Peter with this one particular thing that could change everything. He kept the secret to himself.
Peter slouched in his throne, trying to figure out where his brother got enough optimism to say such things. He knew that Narnians were strong, but there was still a slight chance they might lose. That slight chance worried Peter, he didn't sleep well that night thinking about the war. Even Caspian didn't show signs of distress, even Susan. Peter felt alone like it was the witch's army versus him, and his siblings were just watching him fight in the distance.
He pushed all the bad feeling aside and stood up, "we are meeting the king of Telemar."
"How come Caspian didn't want to stay there, he was the prince?" Edmund asked his brother referring to the lands they gave to Telmarines who decided to stay.
"Well, Caspian chose us, he chose to stay here in Cair Paravel." Peter started pacing and thinking about all the decisions he made so far. Caspian was a big help not only through the war, but before as well. The Pevensie siblings haven't been in Narnia for many years, and Caspian helped them adjust to ruling new Narnians.
"Do you think he will help us? The prince I mean." Edmund asked, a serious tone in his voice.
"I sure hope so, Ed."
The trumpets sounded and the big doors were opened. Two men walked in carrying gifts for the kings of Narnia, and a young man followed behind them. He was dressed in blue, showing off the proud colors of his father's emblem. He looked fairly young for a king of a country, but then again, both Edmund and Peter were young and they were both kings.
"Greetings, your majesties." The man bowed.
"Welcome to Cair Paravel," Peter extended his hand for the young king to shake.
The young king proceeded to explain all the positions his army took around the enemy. Peter was pleased with the information and Edmund kept looking at his hand watch. A luxury he brought with him from his world.
"Ed, do you have to be somewhere?" Peter asked his brother, noticing his distress.
"No, not at all," He shrugged his shoulders.
Peter sighed and looked at their new guest, "please take a seat at our round table and we shall discuss everything."
The prince of Telmar sat down, his right-hand man beside him. Taking out one of the maps, Peter rolled it out in front of all of them. Caspian and Susan both joined the three at the table. With his eyes fixed on the prince's right-hand man, Caspian was a bit suspicious of something, but he didn't know what. Edmund was looking through the rest of the maps instead of sitting down with them. He listened to everything that was discussed, mostly strategies on how to stop the evil that is trying to take over. To him, the young prince of Telmar seemed too confident in his army to judge for himself whether they would lose or win. Peter asked him many questions about his soldiers, and they all came to an agreement that they weren't all required to be present on the battlefield.
Edmund rolled his eyes, "a good king never leaves his army alone to battle," he said, putting his hands to the sides of his hips, ready to attack whatever the prince's excuses would be. The prince didn't comment on what Edmund said, he just looked at Peter as the one who was in charge. In fact, he did the same to Caspian and Susan, only acknowledging Peter out of all of them. Edmund leaned against one of the walls, his arms now crossed in front of his chest, he was always second to Peter.
All of them now noticed how the prince was treating the rest of the kings and the queen. Susan smiled at her younger brother sympathetically, and Caspian joined his disappointed expression. They all wished they were somewhere else, Edmund in particular. He remembered at that moment that he promised Angelina that he'd teach her how to ride a horse. Not needing to wait for too long, Edmund saw how Peter shook the hand of the Telmar prince and put the maps away. The Telmar prince was invited to dinner and was promised to be shown around the castle.
Edmund ran down the stairs, skipping the steps in between to get down faster. He was buttoning up his shirt that he put on recently. He couldn't ride in the clothes he wore inside. On his way down he noticed Johanna walking with Corrine and hid behind a corner of a wall, waiting for them to pass. Whatever they were talking about, Edmund couldn't make out, nor did he want to. They finally passed him, Johanna showing Corrine some shades of cloth and asking her opinion on them. He managed to slip away and run down the large halls to the outside. The guards greeted him everywhere he ran, not caring if he was in a rush. He was a king and it was their duty to bow to him.
The stables were where he ran to, for he knew that she'd already been there. Angelina was watching the horsemen take care of their horses, brushing their hair, and checking their hooves. She didn't dare step closer to the majestic creatures. They were far too big for her. She stepped back a little every time she heard a horse neigh. When she took another step back her body was met with someone else's. Hearing that person laugh, she turned around knowing exactly who it was.
"You're late," she slapped his arm.
Edmund dropped his riding boots, which he picked up from a nearby shack, "only for about twenty minutes. Besides, it isn't easy looking this good on a day like this."
Angelina shook her head, "I'll be the judge of whether you look good or not," she let him cross from the outside to the horse shed. He took off his shoes and pulled the boots on his feet. It would be much comfortable to ride with them on, besides, he was not just going to ride his horse, but teach someone else to do it. Ignoring her comments, Edmund took the saddle and put it on his horse, Philip.
"Are you ready?" He said, tying the saddle around his horse a bit tighter.
She looked at the horse in front of her, "I don't think so-"
Edmund turned around with a smirk, "oh I'm sorry, I was talking to my horse."
Rolling her eyes, she pouted her lips. He sure knew how to get under her skin. With a bright smile and a stretched out hand, Edmund pleaded with her, "I am only joking, hop on."
"Hold on, we are riding one horse?" She pointed her finger at Philip.
Edmund looked from left to right, "yes, you are not ready to saddle a horse by yourself."
Complying, she took his hand and hopped on the horse, waiting for him to get up after her. Looking down at Philip she was a bit scared, the horse had a certain naughty spark in his eyes, just like his owner.
He got on the horse after her, grabbing the reins and pulling himself closer to her. Her back was touching his chest and she twitched uncomfortably from the proximity.
"Sorry," she heard his voice right above her ear and turned around abruptly. Edmund was never this close to her before, and looking up at him from a horse was a different kind of view. He smiled innocently and commanded the horse to go. Philip galloped using all of his might, and she fell back on Edmund's chest, not sure what to hold onto. Laughing, he gave her the reins and held onto her hips.
"Is that really necessary?" She asked sarcastically.
He nodded his head, "yes, unless you want me to fall."
It was a strange sensation. She felt the horse move through the pathway of the castle until the guards opened the huge gates and Philip freely roamed through the fields in front of them. She could feel the horses every movement as if connected with it, trying her best to ignore Edmund's hands on her hips. The air hit her face with a breeze and her hair went flying back. This was freedom. All in matters of seconds, the whole world of Narnia was seen through her eyes sitting on the back of a horse wondering whether her life even made sense at all. She missed her mother, thinking that she probably was so worried about her. She had spent so much time in Narnia, nearly a month. Although she could consider the owner of the horse her best friend, there was a subtle feeling creeping up on her, a feeling she couldn't catch on time, a feeling that grew with every movement his hands made. She was getting closer to him physically and emotionally, she trusted him. It scared her a little, that she could trust someone she had only known for about a month, but looking at Edmund she couldn't imagine him causing her any harm.
Edited (4/1/2020)