4.
Edmund had been stabbed. He had been stabbed, but he had saved Peter and he had destroyed that awful staff that gave him nightmares every night. The same staff that had frozen Tumnus and Enola forever.
He heard a roar in the distance. Maybe he would die. It hurted, his head throbbed too hard in pain that it was as if it would be his real cause of death.
Then the breathing. He couldn't breathe. Maybe it would be his way to redeem himself. By dying.
He heard his name, and a scream of pain. Then the blurry faces of his family appeared in front of his eyes.
Had the hour of death arrived?
He closed his eyes; he was done for.
Then he felt it, fire in his lips, in his tongue, down his throat and life in every vein and artery of his body.
He opened his eyes and there they were again, his siblings staring down at him. Peter hugged him. Edmund could tell that his brother didn't really care if he was still hurting, he was happy to see his young brother alive.
"When are you gonna learn to do as you're told?" Peter joked between tears. Then Lucy, hugged him, then Susan. At the end, they were all hugging.
They got separated when they heard the paws of Aslan nearing them. The lion stopped and sat down. His mane was so majestically large that it had covered the presence of a young girl on his back. She was carrying a crutch in her right side.
Susan and Lucy smiled knowingly, while Peter and Edmund were stunned.
The girl took her time to climb down Aslan's back and arrange her crutch. Well, mini-crutch.
"Don't worry, Aslan" Enola who had just met the great king of Narnia a few hours before, and already seemed so comfortable around him. She reached his left arm to the lion's mane and gave him a quick kiss on his nose "I'll figure out how to use this crutch... "she said as it fell to the grass "Eventually"
And then she jumped her way to the Pevensies using only his left leg, muffling her groans each time her right leg hurted.
"En!" Edmund exclaimed as the girl approached them and sat with the Pevensies around him. "When...? How...?"
Enola smiled at him and turned around just at the same moment Aslan was unfreezing a Narnian soldier with his breath. The view answered Peter and Edmund's questions.
"En, I'm so sorry! I..." Edmund grabbed the little kid's hands.
"Don't worry, Edmund." En smiled and giggled. Then she talked to herself out loud "I've said 'don't worry' more times since I woke up than I've said my whole life" En turned her eyes at Peter "Though I don't really understand his methods, your brother's survival skills are great! And he's brave. Yes, really!" She shrugged "I was scared the whole time we were at the castle and he was, just there, facing the witch. Talking at her face. I couldn't..."
"No, Enola. Listen up..." Edmund commanded "you probably don't understand the whole picture right now." Somewhere down the road Enola had gotten her hands out of Edmund's hold but he took them again. "You are young"
At this, En wanted to argue, but Edmund didn't let her.
"But just as I've sworn that I'll never doubt Lucy again, I swear that I'll spend the rest of my life making up for what I did to you..."
Edmund knew he was right, he saw it in Peter and Susan's faces when they heard Enola's perspective of everything that had happened. She was young, she couldn't comprehend the real magnitude of Edmund's actions. But Edmund could and he would fulfill his promises.
"I'll always protect and take care of you" Edmund promised and right there he saw a little twinkle in Enola's eyes.
"Okay" The girl responded with a smile showing all of her teeth.
He reached for her, hugging her. And so, did the other Pevensies.
"So, will I" Edmund heard Peter.
"And I" Susan said.
"And if you ever get hurt again, I'll use my cordial in you, En." Lucy joked.
Days later, the coronation took place.
Enola walked down the aisle behind the beavers, next to Tumnus, wearing the most beautiful dress that she had ever used. Sadly, she still had to use the annoying crutch, which she thought ruined her looks. She had finally understood how to use it, but she didn't like how weird it made her walk. Still, "Orders of the healer" Susan would have said to her.
En looked up at her friends, they all looked beautiful. They really looked like royalty.
"Why can't I be a queen too?" She had asked Aslan a day before, pouting.
"Because you are too little. You need to grow, to learn. Become a ruler at heart and you'll be a ruler in life" He had answered her.
That had motivated her. She would become brave as Lucy and intelligent as Susan, then she too, would be a queen. Meanwhile, Aslan had given her the title of First Royal Lady of Narnia.
"First young Royal Lady of Narnia" Peter had joked.
En's mind returned to the coronation just in time to see Tumnus put a flower tiara in Lucy's head. She wanted a tiara, too! It looked so beautiful on Lucy, with its silver flowers. If Susan's was golden, and Lucy's was silver, could she get a bronze one? What about an all sapphire made one? Even with a metal one she would be ha...
"Enola?" Aslan's sweet voice called her. He had just announced Edmund and she was the one who would deliver the silver crown.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She excused herself mischievously and walked to Edmund.
He had to lower himself so she could put the crown on him.
"So slow" Edmund joked with her and she stuck her tongue out playfully.
Then she went to Susan for she would deliver her golden tiara. Susan too, lowered herself and after she raised she wiggled her eyebrows funnily at En. The young girl smiled.
En's favorite part of the coronation was the feast. It had been a long time since she had eaten cake and cookies. They were delicious.
"En! Your manners!" Susan approached her looking scandalized.
"Sorry" En said before chucking one last cookie. Susan gave her "the face". The "I'm reprimanding you about something you are doing and you keep doing it!". "That was the last time, I swear!" En said, while crossing her fingers behind her.
Susan smiled and rolled her eyes.
"It's late. You should go to bed."
"Why isn't Lucy going to bed? She's young, too!"
"En..." Susan complained.
"Besides it's coronation day. Don't I get a special treatment because of it?"
Enola didn't know that Susan was having the time of her life with her. Her siblings had never really looked up at her like a mother, not even Lucy being the youngest. But Enola... she was like a living doll that she could dress up. Of course, using her like a doll was not the only reason why Susan was always around her. Susan really liked her. It was probably a maternal instinct inside of her.
"Su," Edmund came to them and Enola started "boo"ing him. "I'll take care of it."
"And here comes the worst king of Narnia. Edmund, the Slow!" En cheered.
"Shut up." Edmund joked, squatting in front of the kid.
En handed him her crutch and put her arms around his neck. Susan saw them as they disappeared from the ball room, Enola on his brother's back.
"They are getting along" Susan hadn't noticed Peter walking to her.
"She's a kid" Susan said to Peter "I really think she doesn't understand what happened."
"I hope it won't affect their friendship when she does"
Susan smiled.
"I don't think it will." She said before going to find a dance partner.
Meanwhile, Edmund was walking up the stairs of the castle.
"So, Edmund," Enola said on her back "when I am queen of Narnia, can my tiara be made of jade?"
"I don't think they have an arsenal of jade in Narnia but sure, why not?"
"What if they don't have one?" She asked with worry.
"Then I'll travel around until I find jade enough for your crown."
"Mmm. What about ruby? Susan says I look better in red." She said looking at everything around her. The castle was stunning.
"Then, ruby it will be" Edmund smiled as they arrived at her chambers.
"Jade or ruby. Jade or ruby..." he heard her whispering at herself as he softly placed her on her bed. He pulled out the sheets to cover her. "Oh! My grandmother had an ancient locket and it had an opal stone," Edmund saw her unconsciously reaching for the raggedy doll that Lucy had given to her the first night after the battle. "it shined in several colors. Mother never saw it but I bet she would have loved it." En sighted "Mother..."
She didn't look sad when she said it, which raised up curiosity in Edmund.
"Do you miss them? You parents, I mean" He took a seat in the bed careful not to hurt her leg, a constant reminder of how much he owed the girl.
"Yes, of course. Don't you miss yours?" En asked back as if it was even ridiculous to ask. Edmund nodded. "I miss my father the most." Enola leaned to him "He went to the war, you see."
A nostalgic smile appeared in Edmund's face.
"Mine, too." He started "Mother wanted to keep us safe so..."
And so, he spent the following minutes telling her about the Pevensies' story. How they had ended up in Narnia. Enola was a great listener, she loved stories, back at her house it was his father the one who would tuck her in bed and tell her a good bedtime story every night.
"You see," It was now her turn to tell her story. "mother's British and Dad's American. My mother's family never really liked dad because of it, even though they came to America to live when the war started." Enola sighted and shrugged "But the war got worse and Dad had to leave. So, mother and I ended up alone in New York City."
"It must have been hard, for your mom, I mean" Edmund put his left leg up on the bed and rested his chin on his knee. "Peter wasn't that old, but I think that having a male presence in the house was comforting for my mom."
"Yes, it was hard. Eventually it drove mother crazy, literally crazy." En hugged her doll. "She studied nursing in England, before getting married and moving to America. So, when pamphlets of women volunteers started to fill the streets of New York she took me to my grandmother." Edmund's heart stopped for a minute. "And she left." She paused. "She said she would come home with Dad, but a year passed before I arrived at Narnia and there was still no sight of them."
Edmund didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry" he murmured.
"Don't be!" Enola giggled, moving her hand around. "Mother wanted me to become a lady!" Enola faked a shiver and Edmund tried to smile.
They stayed in silence for a moment, then Edmund stood up. He was losing his coronation party and he had forgotten!
"I should be going" He informed En.
"Okay" Enola nodded energetically and smiled at him, just as she always did, showing all of her teeth.
"Good" Edmund said before going to the door and opening it. "Wait." He turned around "Does your leg hurt?"
It didn't. Not really. But Enola didn't want to go to sleep yet. Saying "no" would make Edmund say good night and leave her alone. Saying "yes"...
"Actually, it does." En grimaced "It hurts so bad"
The color drained out of Edmund's cheeks.
"What do you need? Should I call the healer? Or, or Susan? Maybe, I could bring some medicine..."
"Can't you just stay here until I fall asleep?" En responded "if I keep talking the pain goes away."
And, that night, and almost every night after that, for almost 15 years Edmund fell asleep on the couch by Enola's bed.
And so, the real story begins. I'm so excited for you to read it. I really hope you enjoy spending time with my OCs as much as I did.