Prologue

"Tell me your story."

Those words opened the doors, threw them wide open, expelling the darkness and flooding his life with light. Edmund Pevensie could never have imagined the possibilities that simple request would bring pouring in, drowning him in love, peace, and pure joy, things he hadn't felt since before the war. Without a single whisper of a warning, the sixteen year old King of Narnia found everything he'd ever dreamed of in the eyes of a vivacious, spirited red-head named Serena Taylor.

The night was heavy, the clouds shielding the radiant Narnian sky from sprinkling any light from the heavens above. Winter had finally loosened its vice-like grip on the country and warm spring air rushed over everything in its reach. Sprawled across the newly emerging fields of grass covering the land, Edmund found the chill that had guarded his heart melting like the frigid ice with every look at the girl by his side.

"I'm sure you don't want to hear that," she sighed wistfully, turning her head to meet her King's eyes. Something had always been buried deep in her soft, caramel eyes, and that was one of the first things to draw Edmund in, but tonight that mystery seemed to overwhelm them.

He shook his head, the dark brown tendrils of hair sliding across his pale forehead. "You couldn't be more wrong, Serie." His lips twitched as a smile crossed the girl's face at the name he'd crafted for her the day they met.

If Edmund had never believed in a person's life changing in a single moment before, he certainly couldn't deny it now; that was exactly what had happened when he'd met Serena Taylor. Two years had passed since he and his siblings had become rulers of the logically impossible land they'd discovered and saved. Even though he thought he would never settle into the life of being a leader of a nation, meeting with delegates from foreign lands, being bowed to and praised by loyal subjects, and having the best of everything his kingdom had to offer, life at Cair Paravel felt like something he'd always been meant for. As time passed, though, the young King couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing in his life, something as vital as the beat of his heart, but he could never figure out just what it was. One winter day, though, his world, once painted in black and white, suddenly shone with a burst of scarlet as the redheaded fireball set his whole world aflame.

"Do you remember the day I showed up here?" Serena asked as she rolled onto her side, propping her head on her hand. Her almost-constant smile, lighting up even the darkest room, was noticeably absent, replaced with an emotion Edmund couldn't quite identify. Fear? Sadness? Whatever it was, he was determined to make sure it was erased; already he yearned for her playful grin, his absolute favorite grin in the world.

"How could I forget?"

The memory was as vivid as if it had happened mere moments ago; he knew in his heart he'd never forget the second he laid eyes on Serena. The date was the eleventh month of their second year ruling Narnia, four days into that month, to be exact. He'd been spending his day in his study, something he'd done often before Serena showed up and altered his entire being. There wasn't much to be done; he replied to a few letters from citizens, perused a trade agreement that had long been in the works with Archenland, and glanced at a few invitations to galas and balls in far away places, his mind already formulating polite excuses to refuse. Running a hand through his thick hair, he let his eyes drift from his desk for a moment. The window was cracked, sending icy blasts of air across his flushed face. He took in the winter wonderland spread out before him: icicles hung from the tree branches, footprints in the snow betrayed the comings and goings of the land, and the sky refused to budge from a solemn, moody gray. A shiver ran down his spine, having little to do with the biting cold of the season. Snow didn't mean the same things it once had to the young king. No longer did it bring happiness and a desire to run and play; these days, every snowflake seemed to whisper "traitor" and "betrayer". Every shard of ice took the form of the White Witch's staff, plunging itself deep into him. Every gust of wintery wind froze his heart, covering it in an icy shield he never wanted anyone to penetrate ever again.

A flash of red caught his attention amidst the powdery hues. It was too distant to tell what it was, but it laid still in the snow, surrounded by shades of blue, still more things he couldn't make out. Curiosity captured his attention and he rifled through his desk, shuffling aside papers and knickknacks until his hands closed around solid brass: his binoculars. He lifted them to his deep chocolate eyes, searched for a moment, and let out a horrified gasp when he found his target. In a trench of snow, barely out of the cover of the forest trees, was a girl's body, as pale and lifeless as the sky above, her red hair whipping in the wind.

The moments after were always a blur to Edmund. He remembered the sound of heavy brass ringing out as it hit the hard, stone floor. Someone told him later that he'd screamed his siblings' names as he tore down the hallway, willing his feet to move faster than humanly possible. He could vividly recall the terror coursing through his body, the frantic beat of his heart, the bite of the cold snow that whipped against his face when he burst through the front door and ran out across the frozen Narnian land. He didn't know what he would find, but he pushed thoughts of the worst from his mind; she couldn't be dead. He didn't even know her, but all he knew was that if her heart wasn't beating, his would break. He couldn't let someone else die right in front of him, especially not during the winter. That would hit a little too close to home.

"You really gave me a scare that day, Serie," Edmund murmured, tracing his fingers across the blades of grass to hide the pain in his eyes. The image of her broken, barely breathing body had haunted his dreams night after night until the doctors deemed her able to make a full recovery. The deathly pallor of her skin, her bloodless lips, her limp limbs that made carrying her identical to carrying a ragdoll…memory after memory hit him hard as they escaped from the place he'd locked them away.

Normally, Serena would make a witty remark, flashing her sly, playful smile as her eyes sparkled with life. She would transform the gloomy mood and push the clouds away to replace them with her own radiant sun that seemed to constantly shine inside her. This time, though, a storm visibly brewed in her overcast eyes; they drifted far away, past the rolling field, away from Cair Paravel, even out of Narnia. "That's nothing to the scare I'd just left behind," she whispered.

[Author's note: This story is one that has been in my head for a couple of years, but this is all I've ever written of it. I just wanted to see what feedback I would get. The genre will really end up being more historical fiction because WWII is a time that really interested me and I wanted to incorporate parts of its history into this. Please review and let me know what you think of the prologue so I'll know whether to go on or not! :)]