The song Belongs the Aly and Aj. Narnia and Edmund belong to C.S Lewis.

4-22-08

"You'll never get away with it!"

"Oh, so you think your precious King will save you? Well, I overheard him saying that he only keeps you for amusement. And once he's had his fun he'll leave you on the curb to rot."

"It's a bit late for that, seeing as he's 'kept' me for 8 years now" I said sassily.

My only response was a sharp thwack on my cheek. The man loomed closer, the evil was plain in his eyes. I tried not seem nervous, but I couldn't help it. I was terrified.

Then suddenly I heard a sound. My captor whipped around, and found his throat being threatened by a sword.

"Touch her again, and you will die a slow, agonizing death. Is that clear?" said a young man with fire in his dark, usually calm eyes.

The coward nodded, and then fled into the shadows.

"Clara, are you alright? Are you hurt?" asked the young King, the fire in his eyes replaced with worry mixed with compassion.

"I've been better." I replied.

"I was so worried; the moment we heard you were gone…." Here the monarch trailed off. I looked up to see a lady, who hurried over to me.

"We sent several search parties out for you." finished the lady.

"Nice to know I'm missed….but really, you almost came too late." Here I turned to the youthful king, and said "Er...I don't think I can walk…."

Without further notice, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to his horse. He put me on his steed, and set me in front of him so he could hold me and steer the horse. I allowed myself to relax into his warm embrace. And fell into, for the first time in 2 weeks, a deep, restful sleep.

You, You're always there for me
When I need you most
Day and night you're by my side
Protecting me
When I feel like crashing down
You seem to be around
There you are
You're not that far cos

Whenever, where ever baby
you'll protect me
No matter what
hold me tight with all your might you'll never let me go

"Edmund…? Where are you?" I called into the darkness.

"Clara" said a deep voice behind me. I could've sworn I jumped 10 feet in the air.

"EDMUND! Don't do that!" I said trying to be stern but failing miserably. My only response was his laughter. When he finally calmed down, I said "Ed, I need to talk to you. Now." My face, if he could've seen it, was filled with utmost seriousness.

When we got to the library, our favorite spot, he waited until I sat down, before taking a seat himself.

He then inquired, "What did you want to talk about? I highly doubt you wanted to be scared; although it was quite comical." He ended with a small chuckle. I glared at him, and then answered, "Edmund, you know that the Prince of Doirince wants my hand in marriage…." Edmund's face grew dark, and then said, "Yes, I know, he also wants allegiance with Narnia as well."

I ignored that comment, and continued "Tomorrow, he's going to ask for Peter's royal edict, declaring that I am betrothed to him." Edmund's eyes grew huge; I almost thought they would explode.

"How dare he, demanding that we give him to you! Does he think that you mean nothing to the crown of Narnia?" Edmund ranted.

He then started to pace, which I knew from experience wasn't a good sign. "Edmund, I…I...I accepted him" I faltered briefly and then relapsed into silence. He knelt down on the ground; put his fingers underneath my chin forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Clara, do you love him?" he asked; all the while thinking 'as I love you.'

I said nothing, for I knew and he knew that I didn't. "Edmund…." I said trailed off pathetically. He stood up, and just looked at me. "I wish you all the happiness in the world, Clara." Then he walked out the door. It was then that I realized, that I had made a horrible mistake, but it seemed too late, or was it?

A few days later, a lady came storming in to the castle, demanding to see the Prince of Doirince. It was his other fiancé, evidently. The prince tried to pacify his now 'former' fiancé, while trying to keep me. He left almost immediately. Edmund found me looking at the lake; he said nothing but then again, he didn't need to. "Edmund..." I paused to look up at his face, and I met his eyes, "Never let me go."

He smiled, and said "I promise, nothing like this shall ever happen again to you." He hugged me tighter to himself, and I allowed myself to once again sink into his caress.

You listen to me when
I speak out loud and you
You know right when my heart's been bent
When my life's tumbling around
You take me off the ground
You tell me everything's ok

Whenever, where ever baby
You'll protect me
No matter what
Hold me tight with all your might You'll never let me go

You'll never let me go
You'll never let me go
You'll never let me go

When it's my turn (My turn)
to help you out (Help you out)
I gladly lift you up without a doubt
Whenever, where ever baby
I'll protect you
No matter what
Hold you tight, with all my might
And I'll never let you go (Let you go)

Two months later, Edmund had a lady visiting him; she was the Crown Princess of Gafinia. Edmund couldn't stand her; she was loud, obnoxious and extremely rude. But he had to be polite, of course, and overlook it. The only good she served, was to bring the patient side out in Edmund (He didn't have very much).

One day as I was walking in the garden, I saw Edmund and the Princess talking. Or rather, Edmund trying to pull his arm back from the death like grip she had on it. I passed them, and smiled at Edmund who beamed at me. The princess did not like this at all, so she said "Eddie, dearest, let's go somewhere private and talk…" I had to pretend I was coughing violently, because Edmund twisted his face in horror when she called him "Eddie, dearest" so on and so forth. She leaned closer to him, and almost kissed him, except he dodged away. She marched away in a huff, which was quite customary.

"Well, that went well' I commented dryly.

"I couldn't help it…" He stopped when I arched my eyebrow.

"Alright, I didn't want to kiss her. Are you satisfied now?" he asked sighing over dramatically.

"Very."

"You should be." He then did something unexpected. He pulled me closer to him and kissed me gently, after a small amount of seconds it deepened and I found my hands automatically drift to his hair. After a few intoxicating minutes, he pulled away. I instantly missed his warmth, but looked at his blushing face.

"What was that?" I asked hesitantly.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to that..." He lowered his head. Edmund looked at me again. "Everyday I think I'm going to tell you how much you mean to me, how if you ever left I'd die, that you're the first thing I think about when I wake up, the last thing I dwell on as I fall asleep. How you're my whole world."

"Then tell me…" I whispered softly in his ear.

"I have loved you for years, when you said you were engaged to the Prince of Doirince, my heart felt like it had been ripped in two."

"Edmund…." His eyes were locked with mine. He leaned down and kissed my jaw line until he found my mouth.

"I love you, Edmund" I murmured into his neck. "And I always will."

(Whenever) Whenever, where ever baby
You'll protect me
No matter what
Hold me tight with all your might You'll never let me go (Let me go)

Whenever, where ever baby
I'll protect you
No matter what
Hold you tight, with all my might
And I'll never let you go (Let you go)