— STARRY STARRY NIGHT —
WOULD YOU DANCE
WITH ME AND
FORGET THE REST
OF THE WORLD?
JAMIE FOUND HERSELF DREAMING about Yoringal, the person who she had tried so very hard to forget. It was no doubt, a pleasant dream. Despite wanting to forget the past, Jamie was ecstatic to have seen her best friend again, even if it was only a dream. She unconsciously smiles, clutching her blanket closer to her.
Most of them were asleep while some of the soldiers kept guard, so as to avoid sudden attacks. It had been a tiring day of planning, and Peter was still thinking about what Jamie had said. He refused to give in to her opinion, for he had such pride, yet he couldn't deny that she had made several points.
Rethinking the events that had happened earlier, he had come to the conclusion that going on the warrior queen's bad side was not ideal. He thought she was intimidating, and made a note not to anger her in the future.
Edmund couldn't stop thinking about Jamie in a different light, though. He had sparred with her earlier that day and he was astonished at how swiftly and graceful her attacks were. She was no doubt, a very skilled swordsman. That's why he lay there, unable to sleep.
His thoughts wandered to Jamie's physical features. The way her icy blue eyes would glint in mischief when something she does involves her using her weapons, the way her dark hair would shine in the sunlight, the way she'd look at him weirdly. It was all a very new feeling for Edmund, he had never encountered such a thing before, and he was sure he wouldn't in the near future.
Yet here she was, making him rack his brain for ways to catch her attention.
He smiles to himself, thinking about seeing Jamie in battle tomorrow when they attack Miraz's castle. He may have disliked her at first, for she had every intention to slit his throat the first time she laid her eyes on him, but as the days went by, he had began to notice her more.
Back in Jamie's dream, the first scene revealed to be when she had a peaceful afternoon riding her horse with Yoringal. The two had discovered a grassy field, where flowers bloomed and butterflies roamed. It was a rare sight at that time in Narnia, so they decided to enjoy it to themselves.
"Race you past those trees, James!" Yoringal had yelled, smiling cheekily back at the smitten girl. Jamie was seventeen then, a year older than she was now. She laughs, a genuine one that was rare to be heard from her.
"Whatever you say, Rhin!" She replies, quickly catching up to him with the help of Ciel, her horse's name. Yoringal bursts out into laughter, still finding his nickname funny and different. It wasn't long before they had reached the boulders where you could overlook the grassy field.
Dismounting their horses, Yoringal and Jamie sat side by side on the grass as they leaned on the trunk of the willow tree that stood tall at the corner of the grass field. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was not as hot as a few hours ago. Glancing at Jamie, Yoringal felt like his heart could jump out any minute, taking note of how beautiful she was in the afternoon sunlight.
"Rhin, did I ever tell you that Jamie isn't my real name?" Jamie asks, turning to look at the boy who had been smiling to himself.
"So you mean its fake?" He asks, raising a questioning eyebrow. Jamie lets out a giggle, which Yoringal thought was incredibly adorable. He cracks up a smile as well, not really understanding why the girl was giggling at his sincere question.
"No, its like a shorter version of my name, silly." Jamie explains. As realization dawns on him, Yoringal forms an 'o' shape with his mouth and nods in understanding. "I haven't told this to anyone, and only my father and mother know."
"What is your name then?" Yoringal never knew that Jamie was a nickname, so he had given her another nickname: James.
"I hate it though." Pressing her lips into a thin line, Jamie turns to Yoringal. "My real name's Jeremiah." She says. Yoringal raises his eyebrows as if to ask really? Jamie slowly nods in confirmation.
"I'm still going to call you James. Its a pretty name though." The boy announces, his word and decision final as he had made up his mind from the very start.
"Did you know James is a boy's name?" Jamie asks, cocking an eyebrow at the boy. Yoringal lets out a laugh, a sound that Jamie could listen to forever. He couldn't believe he had given the love of his life a nickname for a boy, but he still liked the nickname despite that fact.
"I'm still going to call you that." Yoringal once again announces with a huge grin on his face. Jamie shakes her head, a smile implanted on her face. For a while, the two were basked in silence. As Jamie stared at the scenery in front of them, Yoringal couldn't seem to take her eyes off of her, even if he knew he should stop.
"I wish there'd be more places like this in Narnia." Jamie says, staring straight ahead with a dreamy look in her eyes. Yoringal, who was still staring at her, forces himself to look away, and admire the view in front of him. Though as much as he wouldn't like to admit it, Jamie was a view he could stare at forever.
"I wonder what all of Narnia would look like if it was like this grassy field." Yoringal wonders out loud. "Cair Paravel isn't even about half as beautiful as this is." He continues, thinking back to the old castle where Jamie had been crowned.
"Dimwit, Aslan is gonna kill you when he hears you say that." A smile appears on Jamie's face as she turns to look at Yoringal, who also mirrored her smile. For a split second, Yoringal had glanced down at Jamie's lips, and for another second he thought about leaning in for a kiss. And he scolded himself for even thinking about it.
"Well, he probably already heard me." The boy says after a while of silence, turning back to look at the field. Jamie wasn't gonna lie about wanting Yoringal to kiss her, but she wasn't going to admit it either.
"True." Silence ensured between the two as they listened to the birds chirping by them. Soon, the scene changes into what looked like the middle of a battle, Jamie was in her mid twenties, and they had been battling the ruthless pirates that invaded Narnia.
The warrior queen was in the middle of hacking away at the pirates when she catches a glimpse of Yoringal who was having trouble with one of their crew. She screams out his name to catch his attention, but when he does turn to her, the pirate jabs his machete in Yoringal's abdomen, resulting in Jamie to scream in horror.
The boy gave her a sorrowful smile when Jamie jolted awake and sat up from too much shock. "Yoringal!" Was what she had exclaimed upon waking up. Edmund, who was still awake, wondered what woke Jamie up, and why had she yelled out an unfamiliar name.
Jamie tries to calm her ragged breaths as she stood up to get some fresh air. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she wipes away a stray tear that had escaped from her eyes. Her heart was pounding out of her ribcage as the picture of Yoringal smiling sadly at her etches itself into her brain, and now she couldn't stop thinking about how it was supposedly her fault.
She was hit by the cold Narnian air as soon as she stepped out. The sky was dotted with stars, and the moon was shining bright above. Jamie breathes out a sigh, as her heart slowly calms down from beating so fast. Looking up at the stars, she wishes to reunite with her best friend, even just for a tiny millisecond.
A curious Edmund decided to follow Jamie and see if she was alright. He finds her at the ledge where the satyrs- i mean- fauns usually look out for any signs of danger. Pursing his lips, he gathers up his non existent courage to open up a conversation to her. "May I ask?" He starts to say, though Jamie doesn't even flinch or get startled.
"Sure."
"Who's Yo- Yori- Yor-" Edmund couldn't quite put his mind to what the name was when Jamie decided to cut him off.
"You heard that?" Jamie looks back at Edmund, a questioning look on her face. She never thought anyone had heard that
"Well, its not like the walls here are sound proof." Edmund joked, trying to lighten up the tension that had settled in the air. Jamie frowns, and turns around to look back at the vast expense of horizon. Edmund notices this, and quickly says, "Sorry, bad joke."
Jamie says nothing and keeps quiet. Her thoughts wander back to the boy that she had tried so hard to erase from her memory. It feels like she hadn't seen him in three thousand years, although technically, the last time she saw him was three years ago. Time works in mysterious ways, and so does Aslan. She thinks to herself.
Edmund thought of some kind of way to break the silence between them. For him, it was getting awfully awkward, though the silence wasn't in any way uncomfortable for Jamie. Edmund racked his brain for something, something he could say to remove the tension from the air around them.
Suddenly, a thought occurs to him. Looking down at the brunette, he smiles to himself. "Stand up." He orders softly. Jamie furrows her eyebrows in confusion as she turns to Edmund with a questioning look.
"What?"
"Just stand up." Edmund repeats, holding out a hand for her to take. Jamie's eyes glance between his hand and him as she contemplates on whether she should accept his offer. "Come on, trust me." Edmund smiles down at her, and for a moment Jamie's heart had skipped a beat. Finally ending the battle inside her, she slips her hand into his, and stands up.
Edmund guides both her hands around his neck, and placed his own around her waist. Jamie shoots him another questioning look, wondering if he was doing what she thought he was going to do. "Are you asking me to dance, Edmund Pevensie?" She asks, an amused and easygoing smile appearing on her face.
The young king lets out a chuckle, amused at her asking the obvious. "Yes, although there's no music," He pauses, looking her directly in the eyes. "we could make it work." This statement made Jamie's heart race a little, but the way it did was different from when she had jolted awake from her nightmare. No, it was the same feeling Yoringal had made her feel all those years ago.
"Fine." Edmund smile got wider at Jamie's response. Swaying to non existent music, the two basked in silence as the cold Narnian breeze tickled their sensitive skin. Jamie rested her head on Edmund's shoulder, mostly because if she kept looking into his dark eyes her heart might just spontaneously combust.
Edmund starts to hum a tune, even if he had no idea what he was humming. Jamie smiles to herself, gently pulling on the hairs of the nape Edmund's neck unconsciously. Edmund found this to be extremely adorable, which made his heart race all the more.
After a while of swaying, Edmund pulls back from the embrace to look at Jamie. Both lost in each other's eyes, Edmund starts to lean in.
Closer
Closer.
And closer.
Until Jamie steps back, removing her hands from around his neck. Confused and slightly hurt, Edmund blinks twice for a reality check. Knitting his eyebrows down at her, Jamie feels a pang of guilt, but she was just not ready yet, not to mention she hasn't fully moved on from the past that continued to haunt her.
"I think we should go back to sleep." She starts to say. "We have a long day ahead of us." Was what she said before walking past Edmund and back to their quarters. A speechless Edmund stood there, mouth slightly agape, and not believing that just when he was about to kiss her, her mind changed.
Maybe her heart changed too.
A/N: Okayyy i know its kinda early but this is where Edmund and Jamie's attachment to each other starts!! Not gonna lie, I had so much fun writing this chapter, as its full of fluff and cuteness, and oh that almost kiss- sksks
Although, is it just me, but I can't help shipping Jamie and Yoringal? Like they're just too adorable together- Even I don't know who to ship, honestly.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It may not seem like it but its a little ways over 2000 words, lol. The story is going to be very slow paced from here on so i'm hoping you'd stick around till the very last chapter!
Xuan xx