You showed me something that I couldn't see. You opened my eyes and you made me believe... ~ Crazier, Taylor Swift
xxxxxx
Though she didn't create an argument over Peter's decision to proceed with the raid, Amy stood by her decision to remain in Aslan's How. Her reason? No one knew what the enemy was planning, so it was for the best that she stayed and protect the Narnians that would be left there.
Edmund was just looking at her, though. But she knew he could tell that she had already made her point across. And she was thankful that the Just King didn't force her to do anything at all. Then again, perhaps she knew he couldn't convince her to do otherwise. She didn't attend the meeting. Instead, she continued sorting out the medicinal herbs and helped the other Narnians prepare to head out.
As much as possible, Amy didn't want to cross paths with Peter while she was almost fuming in anger. And fate seemed to be in her favor. She was done setting up the saddles and armors on both the centaur and the griffin beside her when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned rashly, only to be surprised to see Edmund standing behind her.
"Edmund! I thought you were preparing for the raid," she started and patted the griffin to signal that she was done setting it up.
"Yes, I was. But... I knew I have to talk to you before I leave."
Those words were surely enough to make Amy's heart pound fast once again. But she knew she had to control herself or the conversation could lead nowhere. Especially when she was still angry over Peter's rash decision.
"Is there anything else that we need to talk about?" she asked instead and proceeded to walk towards the weapons aisle.
"Amy... please don't be like this."
Before she could even take anything from there, Amy faced Edmund who now had a worried expression on his face. By the way, it wasn't what she expected.
"I'm not mad at you, Edmund. So please, don't look at me like you've done something wrong, and you badly want to apologize."
"But -- "
She cut him off upon placing a sword on his hand. Edmund frowned at the sight before facing her once more. She sighed before speaking.
"Use this sword. At least... this is my way of being with you on this mission. I can't keep you safe myself. So, I want my sword to do that for me," Amy said, without looking away from Edmund.
It took a while before he took the sword from her hand, not removing his gaze from her. Without a doubt, the gesture accelerated her heartbeat. But so did this mission that Edmund was about to head out to. And she couldn't deny that she was worried. Not just for his safety, but also for the others.
"Be careful out there," she whispered as she held his hand that was holding the sword that she gave to him.
One more long look at her and then he nodded. "I will. Thank you."
xxxxxx
It was a long night and Amy, for the first time, couldn't wait for it to end. That night raid was making her more anxious than ever. Then again, it wasn't like she could easily admit it. Well, she was able to do that -- in her adventure journal. They were still thoughts related to her adventures in Narnia, after all.
The other thing she was able to admit in her journal was her worry for one particular person in the group. She had been sighing nonstop since she finished writing and decided to head to the top of the How to wait for the group to finally return from the raid. Being outside could possibly help her calm down, as well.
"Please come back safe..." Amy pleaded in a whisper as she looked up to the still dark sky, even though dawn was already starting. It had been the only thing she'd ever think of ever since Edmund and the others headed out. Perhaps she won't stop uttering that until they return.
The sun was about to rise up to the sky when she saw figures approaching the How that she immediately stood up as soon as she realized who they were.
"Thank goodness, they're here!" she breathed out in relief.
But the smile that formed on Amy's face along with the relief she felt soon disappeared upon noticing something strange.
What happened? They weren't this little before they left. They were more. Her heartbeat accelerated as a thought struck her. She was shaking her head, almost in denial. She tried to find Edmund among the crowd that had arrived in the How from her spot. She managed to do so almost immediately.
Amy was about to approach the said young king when she heard Lucy shouted and swords pulled out from its scabbards. Her eyes widened at the sight of Caspian and Peter pointing swords at each other.
"What happened?" she could only ask in confusion as she watched how will the situation unfold from her position.
It took a while before the intensity of the situation died down and she saw Lucy approaching the dwarf Trumpkin who appeared to be injured. It looked like she used the Polyjuice potion to heal the dwarf.
While it was all happening, Amy could only look at Edmund who appeared to be calm while all of this was going on. But she knew, he was only trying to stay calm. And when he looked up to where she was standing, her heart broke at the sight of hopelessness in his eyes.
At that moment, Amy knew she had to do something to help him.
xxxxxx
Though rested enough after the ordeal they went through following the raid at Miraz's castle, Edmund wasn't feeling good at the moment. He couldn't help feeling down and restless. Because of that, he didn't even go out and face Amy, even though he knew very well he needed her presence to help him somehow at the moment.
Unexpectedly getting summoned back to the place that he and his siblings once ruled as kings and queens, meeting Amy and befriending her was the last thing he had expected. And now, needing her presence to calm himself down and stop himself from feeling bad about what happened was an unexpected thing for him to feel, as well. How did it come to this point, anyway?
He sighed as he looked around while sitting at Amy's favorite spot at the top of the How. He decided to go there when he knew he had rested enough. Also, he went there when he knew that Amy wouldn't be there.
"It's unusual for you to be here."
Edmund froze at that voice he heard that he didn't even turn around. He remained in his position and sighed not long after.
"You're really not going to face me, huh?" she asked.
The next thing he knew, Amy sat beside him that made him face her. To his confusion, however, she was looking at him with a smile. It was as if she was reassuring him.
"You don't have to hide what you're really feeling from me, you know. I can tell you're not feeling good because of what happened. Susan told me all about it."
"We could've done something more to save them. And yet..." He couldn't continue what he wanted to say. Instead, he looked away from Amy and faced the surroundings. To be honest, he didn't want to show to Amy how badly he felt for what happened to the other Narnians at the raid.
On the other hand, that was all he could do. His heart felt heavy just remembering that once again.
"Maybe this is the reason why you thought that Peter's plan was such a bad idea, to begin with," he said, before facing Amy.
Her understanding smile was still on her face, and he couldn't help starting to feel good at the sight of that.
"I'm not a seer for me to know what could possibly happen. But Peter's mind hadn't been in its clear state since I met all of you here. And you know that making a decision with such a mind can lead to dire consequences. We can't do anything now to change what had happened. But we still have a chance to change Narnia's future once and for all. We just have to keep believing that there is a way for us to do that now that we're here."
Edmund could only look at Amy even after she said those words. It was unbelievable for him to realize the effect that this young woman had on him even at such a dreary time. He wanted to believe that she was just saying this to calm him down and she'd forget about it soon.
But this was Amy. They've only gotten close over the past days, but he could feel her sincerity in her words. Now he could see why Grandfire and those wolves had chosen her to be a queen back then.
After sighing, Edmund smiled at Amy and held her hand. Though the act had obviously startled her, she didn't do anything to remove it from his hold. He took it as a signal.
"Thank you, Amy. Thank you for understanding."
The girl just smiled and nodded not long after. "You're welcome. So how do you feel now?"
"A little better. But unsure on what to do next. The Telmarines are surely going to strike at us any time soon because of that," Edmund admitted.
Silence surrounded them after that. He couldn't help frowning because it only meant that Amy was doing some thinking again. He patiently waited until she was ready to talk before he spoke.
"I guess retrieving that flute is my only way to help, then." Amy faced Edmund with a determined expression. "If we're sure to be heading out on a sure war, it's best to be prepared."
But before he could even say anything about it, he soon noticed something approaching that made his blood run cold. Amy then followed his gaze as soon as she noticed his expression.
"What the --?"
It took a while for them to comprehend the situation. But they knew it was real this time.
"They're here."
xxxxxx
This was supposed to be my update last night (Philippine time), but I didn't get to do so. That's why I'm doing it now. I know it's been a long while since I last updated this story. Though I have an outline for this story, I didn't have enough time for me to proceed with the story, for some reason. But now I have some. And now here is the update. This will be 12 chapters all in all, so I still have 5 chapters left before I can say that this story is finished. By the way, as decided by lottery, this story would be updated every Sunday. Maybe I should put that on my profile just so people would know. In any case, enjoy reading!
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