"fate awaits for me to break your heart in two"
-
NINE.
CADY SIGHS IN BLISS AS SHE DIPS INTO THE LAKE OUT BEHIND ASLAN'S HOW. The trees shield the river from other people's sight and it's perfect for a soak. Cady washes the grime off herself and ducks into the water.
The water is like a cold embrace, holding her tight safely. It reminds Cady of her mother, of how she would come home and speak of tales of underwater kingdoms. "It's my home, my darling," she would say. "One day you'll see it too."
"Mind if I join you?" A voice snaps through her reminiscing and Cady spins, turning to see Edmund in his shorts, putting down his towel on a branch nearby.
"Just don't look." Cady nods, sinking into the water with only her head above the surface.
Edmund only smirks before he dives in, creating ripples of waves that cause Cady to giggle and she rides the waves as she goes underwater.
Her hair feels clean when she breaks through the surface, grinning as Edmund swims towards her.
"What do you think is going to happen tonight?" He asks, staring up at the stars.
"I don't know," Cady replies, dragging a hand through her hair in an attempt to untangle the knots. "I hope everything goes as planned."
He stares at her with a ghost of a smile on his face before shaking his head quickly, beads of water flying from his dark hair.
Cady holds up her hands with a small shriek of surprise, shielding the water from her face. Edmund chuckles before getting out of the water and ducking behind a tree, taking his clothes with him.
Cady makes sure that he is out of sight before she emerges from the lake, kicking her feet up as she wraps a towel around herself.
Cadu pulls on her riding pants before shimmying into her dress, arranging it so that the slit will allow her legs to move easier. She pulls on a loose shirt of chainmail and pulls a leather vest over the woven metal shirt.
There is a cough behind her and she turns to find Edmund holding out her boots for her.
"Thanks," Cady says, taking her boots from him.
Edmund is smiling shyly when she finishes dressing, taking her towel from the side and standing up.
"Just in case something goes wrong, I don't want to regret not doing this," Edmund says as they start walking back to the How.
Cady tilts her head at him in confusion. "Do what?"
Edmund reaches towards her until his fingers brush against her cheek.
He has never touched her before, not like this, not intimate like this.
Cady freezes, her eyes widening. Edmund carefully brushes her hair away from her face. Her heart is thundering in her chest. And he leans forward, curling his fingers along the curve of her jaw until he finds her pulse point with his fingertips and the dip behind her ear.
He tilts her face up and captures her lips with his.
Edmund kisses her slowly, hesitantly. Her eyes flutter close, breath catching and lips parting to move against his. Her eyes immediately flutter close for reasons she can not justify, and she grabs his shirt and pulls him closer.
He kisses her a moment longer and removes his hand. And the heat on her lips disappears as fast as it appeared.
"Edmund?" She breathes, drawing air greedily into her lungs. He has stolen her breath, body, and soul so easily.
Instead of responding, he shoots a smile over his shoulder and hurries inside.
Cady moves quickly to catch up with him but before she can reach Edmund, the blonde gets pulled aside by the oldest Pevensie.
"Cady," Peter starts, releasing his grasp from her arm.
Cady is jittery, she has so many questions but the look in Peter's eyes makes her pause. "What is it?" Her blue-grey eyes searching for Edmund in the anxious Narnian army preparing for the night raid.
"Look, I promised Caspian to keep you safe, and I–"
Cady arches a teasing eyebrow. "Caspian asked? Of course he did."
"You know what I'm trying to say, but I don't think I'd live with myself if you got hurt," Peter says and Cady feels a faint flush take over her cheeks. His hand comes up and softly tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear. His fingernails just barely pass across her cheek like a soft fizzle. Just as quickly as he does it, he pulls his hand away, almost as if he couldn't believe he did it himself.
Cady holds up her pinky and begs her mind to calm down, her legs are weak from the talk with Edmund already and she doesn't know how much she can take. "I'll take care of myself, pinky swear," Cady promises. Peter links his finger with hers and gives it a tight squeeze before releasing her.
When she blinks again, Peter is already gone, and her emotions come crashing into her like a heavy wave, engulfing her and dragging her into their cold embrace.
x
AT THE FIRST SIGHT OF DUSK, the Narnian troops begin clearing out of the How, moving into the forest in a tight formation. Edmund leaves first, hopping aboard a griffin and launching into the dark night sky. Cady watches as he disappears into the darkness, losing sight of him when he flies closer to the Telmar Castle.
Five minutes later, Cady finds herself soaring through the air, the wind whooshing in her face with a griffin's talons wrapped around her body securely.
The castle looms before them threateningly and Cady readies her falchions, her dagger pressing tightly around her hips as she swoops down, passing Edmund's flashing light from a nearby tower.
She barely catches sight of his fluffy brown hair before the griffin dives down. Cady couldn't concentrate properly after what he did less than an hour ago and she shakes her head, trying to force herself to focus.
Caspian hangs from one hand from his griffin's talon as he pulls his sword out, swinging it swiftly at a guard before slipping back into the grasp of the flying creature.
A guard points his crossbow up to where Edmund is stationed at and Susan quickly notches an arrow and fires at the guard. He crumbles down as his partner draws his sword, turning to face Peter who immediately takes him out.
Trumpkin drops from his griffin and rolls on the ground, agile and quick in his step as he follows Cady's lead to the doctor's office.
Caspian knocks on the door, "Doctor?"
Cady crouches down slightly, nicking her dagger through the slit of the glass door and pushing it ajar. She hurries inside as the others follow her through.
Caspian practically dashes towards their tutor's desk, picking up a pair of glasses abandoned on the desks. "I have to find him," he says, turning to look at them.
"You don't have time," Peter whispers. "You need to get the gate open."
"You wouldn't even be here without him," Caspian shoots back before turning to look at Cady with burning eyes. "And neither would we."
Peter looks over at Susan, who simply shrugs and says, "You and I can deal with Miraz."
"And I can still get to the gate in time," Caspian adds before running out of the room.
Cady follows him out of the room quickly. "I'll go to the gate, go get our doctor back."
She dashes through the familiar corridors of her childhood, passing huge tapestries and delicate portraits of her ancestors as she makes her way towards the gate.
"Focus, Cady. Focus," the girl mumbles to herself, urging her legs to move faster, her boots thudding along the stone corridors.
It is when she reaches the empty courtyard do the bells start tolling an alarm chime.
"We're under attack!"
"Sound the alarm!"
Cady huffs in annoyance, running full speed to the wooden wheel of the gate and begins turning. She expects to have more time but nothing with the Telmarines ever goes as planned.
"Now, Ed, now! Signal the troops!" Peter yells to Edmund above them as he runs towards Cady, his sword drawn and slashing two guards down behind her.
"I'm a bit busy, Pete!" Edmund replies, struggling with a guard from the tower.
Peter joins Cady without a beat of hesitation and they heave the wheel up, turning it as quickly as possible as Susan and Caspian reach them.
"Peter! It's too late! We have to call it off while we can!" Susan shouts in protest.
"No, I can still do this!" Peter shouts back from beside Cady. The fire in his voice is hard to miss. "Help me!"
"Exactly who are you doing this for, Peter?" Susan asks when Caspian and her join in spinning the wheel with Cady and Peter.
Cady sees the way Peter purses his lips and he doesn't reply, continuing spinning the wheel instead.
"Attack! Attack!" Screams from both the Narnians and Telmarine soldiers echo through the night as the first of their troops stream through the gate.
"For Narnia!" Comes Peter's shrill yell before he runs into the fight.