Chapter Four

"I think you went too far this time. Why would you do it Ciera? I thought that you were doing ok? I don't even know what I did to make you run away. Is it because I made you talk? Did I push too much? I can't help but think that you're in this state because of me." A voice, Edmund's beautiful voice, was the one I woke up to. Hisvoice was broken, cracked and ridden with emotion. He sounded so guilty and in so much pain that my heart clenched and I felt guilty. My eyes fluttered open to see him sitting by the bed I was on. I couldn't tell how long it had been since I passed out but Edmund looked like he hadn't moved in a while and his hair was an absolutely adorable mess. His head was in his hands and he was bent forward, not looking at me.

"It wasn't your fault," I managed to say. His head snapped up and I gasped as his eyes connected with mine. They were full of hurt and tears. He shuffled closer to the bed as I sat up.

"How can you say that? Why else would you do this, Ciera? You didn't talk to anyone else between me and making that cut! What did I do?" he asked, grabbing my hand in a fit of helplessness. I gripped it back.

"You didn't do anything, I promise you Edmund. I was just confused and upset and I didn't know what to do. It's an automatic reaction to heavy emotion, Edmund. I can't cope. You didn't do anything," I insisted and it was true. He hadn't done anything, not intentionally. His eyes bored into mine.

"Then why did you run away?" he asked and I chewed on my lip. His finger from the hand that wasn't holding my hand gently tapped it and I reluctantly released it. I closed my eyes as I decided whether or not to tell the truth.

"I ran away because the way you make me feel terrifies me," I whispered. His hand had moved from my mouth and now rested on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to look at him and saw that his eyes hadn't left mine.

"And how do I make you feel?" he asked in a remarkably steady tone. I hesitated as his eyes peered into mine.

"Like I'm floating. You make me feel like I've never felt before. For the first time in a long time, I feel happy. And that's because of you," I said quietly. He smiled gently.

"Why does that terrify you?" he asked and I saw that he was truly trying to understand. That was a new experience as well. I slowly blinked and he was still staring at me patiently when my eyes opened again.

"Everyone I love ends up dead or leaving me. The thought of that happening to you is too unbearable, Edmund. I don't want you to die because you got close to me!" I protested and his eyebrows shot up in his first show of confusion in this conversation.

"That's coincidence. I'm not going to die because I know you," he said carefully and his other hand drifted up to my other shoulder. I shook my head adamantly.

"It's too dangerous. I will not be the cause of your death," I insisted but my argument was getting weaker along with my resolve. Edmund took full advantage of this and leaned forward so that our faces were about two inches apart. His breath was making me dizzy but it was so different from the kind I'd felt when I'd cut too deep. Unconsciously, my right hand drifted to the now bandaged wound on my left wrist. Edmund noticed and pulled back but only slightly.

"We almost thought the blood loss would be too much. Lucy wanted to use her healing cordial but we managed to stabilise you. I just can't believe you did it," he whispered, staring at my wrist. I looked at him.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I didn't mean to cut there or to cut that deep. Edmund, when I saw what I'd done, I was scared," I told him and his eyes travelled up to mine. They were filled with compassion and I smiled just a little.

"You weren't trying to kill yourself?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Not this time." He frowned. "Not any time," I clarified and he smiled gently at me. I grinned back, my first full smile in a good long while. It felt strange on my face but I decided that it was a good strange. Edmund leaned in once again and this time our noses were touching.

"Don't scare me like that again," he whispered and his breath made my head reel.

"I promise." And I meant it. Before I could say anything more than that, his lips crashed against mine. For one moment, I was in complete shock but then it registered in my brain. Just like that, all my resolve against this relationship vanished. Edmund was more than capable of handling himself and he would keep me safe, especially from myself. His utter perfection was startling and it made my heart stutter massively. I ignored it and deepened the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck as his left my shoulders and wrapped around my waist. His lips were warm and inviting and his intoxicating smell left my head spinning in the most wonderful way.

"Are you still worried about me dying?" he asked when we broke apart and I scowled.

"Yes but not because of me," I said and he kissed the tip of my nose.

"That's good enough for me." I giggled as his lips came down on my own again. Oh yes, King Edmund the Just was an excellent kisser.

ECECECECEC

I was in the claws of a griffon as we flew towards Miraz's castle. Peter's plan was to attack it when there were limited guards. It was a really stupid plan and I knew people were going to die, perhaps more than necessary. I was strictly on watch duty with Edmund, upon his insistence. I didn't mind, at least I would know he was alive. Both of our griffons approached the watch tower and Edmund dismounted. His griffon snatched the guard up and Edmund dropped, turning to look up at me and hold out his arms for me.

"I might be too heavy," I whispered worriedly. He laughed.

"I think I can handle it," he said and I sighed, dismounting. I slid down the roof then dropped straight into Edmund's arms. He caught me easily and we looked straight into each others' eyes.

"See, you weigh almost nothing," he said and I knew he wouldn't lie. He began to lower his head.

"Edmund, the signal," I reminded him and he gently put me down, turning towards where we knew the others were. He clicked his torch so that it flashed the signal and we saw the others approaching. Once they had vanished, we turned to one another. We had nothing to do until Peter ordered the signal once again. Edmund wrapped his arms around me and planted his lips on mine. I smiled and kissed him back. When we broke apart, Edmund was smiling like an imbecile but I found it endearing and rather cute. He began throwing his torch in the air and catching it. That was until it went tumbling over the edge. We both ran to look over and saw a guard come out and pick up the silver instrument. He clearly didn't know what it was. Edmund pressed his finger to his lips and gestured to the small window. We both crept up to it and Edmund leapt down. I knew to wait until he was in deep trouble before intervening. The torch was on and I wondered what the soldiers thought as they saw it flying around. Fighting had broken out down in the courtyard as well although it was merely between Peter and a couple of guards as he tried to get to the gate.

"Give the signal!" Peter called to Edmund.

"I'm a bit busy, Pete!" Edmund yelled back. Another guard came and joined in the fight and this time I jumped down. I landed right behind him and kicked the back of his knee. He crumpled slightly but whirled to face me and drew his sword. I drew mine and quickly blocked above my head, then to the right then the left a bit clumsily. Desperate, I swung my foot out and kicked his 'family jewels', so to speak and he yelped as he fell to the ground, clutching the area of pain. I cracked my right foot across his jaw and he fell to the ground, his head hitting the concrete and knocking him unconscious. I looked up at Edmund who was looking at me appreciatively.

"Impressive," he complimented. I beamed.

"I had a good teacher," I replied modestly, shrugging. He grinned and turned to signal the soldiers after almost beating his torch up to get it to work. Once that was over, we crept up onto the roof and saw that the fighting in the courtyard was in full swing. Edmund looked down and frowned so I followed his gaze. There was an archer ready to shoot. Edmund carefully went over the edge and slid down, kicking out to make the guard fly over the edge of the castle. He yelled as he went tumbling down. I vaulted over and landed on Edmund's right, almost toppling over. He grabbed me at the last moment.

"Ed!" Peter yelled from below. I looked over Edmund's shoulder and saw the archers had noticed us.

"DUCK!" I cried but threw myself at him anyway. We landed on the ground with a thud as arrows flew over our heads. I grabbed Edmund's hand and scrambled up, running for the nearest door, slamming it behind us. We ran through another one and locked it behind us. The guards were pounding on the door as I let go of Edmund's hand and looked over the edge of the tower that we found ourselves on. It was a long way down and I knew a lot about long drops. I turned to look at Edmund and found him right behind me, staring at the drop.

"Did you jump from this high?" he asked, not looking at me. I sighed exasperatedly. He was choosing now!

"No, it was nowhere near this high. I would still have died though, which should tell you that we have a highly negative chance of survival," I stated matter-of-factly. He still didn't look at me but this time it was because he was analysing the drop carefully, his pale forehead crinkling. He seemed to come to the same conclusion as I had. Before we could even think of a plan, the guards burst through the door and pointed their crossbows at us. Edmund now stood in front of me protectively. I looked over the edge then back at the guards with a smirk. They looked at me in confusion. I grabbed Edmund's hand and jumped off the tower, dragging him with me as he yelped. I saw the guards rush to the edge just as a griffon caught us and we took off into the night.

"I just might forgive you for just scaring the life out of me," Edmund said in my ear.

"I said we had negative chances of survival. I didn't say I believed it!" I called back. He pinched my shoulder lightly and I simply laughed as the griffon flew us out of the castle, close behind Peter on his horse.

Alright, there's another chapter. Can anyone tell me something: is Ciera a Mary-Sue? I don't know the exact characteristics but I really hope she isn't. Please tell me! Love Bianca :) x