4. Bouncing

"Try not to bounce as much," laughed Edmund. "I swear you are imitating a rabbit."

"Nah, you're the one with the buck teeth!" Lillian retorted, smiling at her friend.

"Oh, that hurt, Lily, to deep." Edmund put a hand over his heart and stubbled back, acting wounded.

With a giggle, Lillian threw her weight into swinging her sword, knowing Edmund would easily block it in time. The force the boy used to hit her sword away made the blonde spin and stumble back. Edmund threw his sword away and caught Lillian, who was laughing joyfully. With a snort of laughter the young king joined in.

"Something tells me that wasn't right," Lillian stated in a giggle.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree." Edmund stood his friend up and rubbed his jaw in thought. "Okay, take the pose." She did as he asked and held her sword up, facing him. Edmund circled her, looking at her stance and the way she held the sword. He moved behind her and ran his hand along the arm she had outstretched, turning it so she held it more proficiently. "Straighten your back," he told her, touching her lower back, making her do just that. "Alright, shoulders back."

Lillian did as she was instructed and Edmund moved away from her, picking up his sword and facing her.

"Now, try not to bounce so much." With that said he swung his sword at her with a reasonable amount of force, making her go on the defensive.

The campsite was filled with the clanging of metal on metal, mixing with the sound of the fire that was crackling.

They had set up camp for the night, and since no one was too sleepy, Edmund decided to teach Lillian how to use a sword properly. The two would have been having better luck if they didn't keep dissolving into laughter.

Susan and Peter kept telling them to behave, and grow up, Trumpkin kept staring at them in awe, for some reason the others did not know, and Lucy just kept giggling at them and paying attention to the advice Edmund was giving Lillian.

Next minute there was the noise of an object cutting through the air and a gasp and a laugh.

"I did it! I did it!" declared Lillian, stabbing her sword into the ground and jumping up and down, looking at where Edmund's weapon had landed after she had disarmed him.

"You did," the boy agreed, holding open his arms, letting Lillian jump into them.

She squealed with delight and wrapped her legs around Edmund's waist, making him hold her up. "I actually disarmed you... wait you didn't let me, did you?"

"No, you just got me a good one," assured her friend.

"Congratulations, Lillian," admired Lucy, looking at the older girl as her brother set her back on the ground.

"If she got you that easily, brother, then perhaps you shouldn't go up against the Talmarines," Peter sniped, looking at the two teenagers.

"Peter, don't start," sighed Susan, rolling her eyes.

"Any man like Edmund would have lost his sword versing a challenge like Lillian," Trumpkin cryptically worded.

"I wouldn't," Peter defended himself, puffing out his chest.

"If you understood what I meant, then yes you would." Trumpkin stared broadly at the High King. "Prouder men then he have fallen to a female. They have... an enchantment about them that help them in fighting."

"How very untrue," the blonde disagreed.

Instead of arguing, Trumpkin grunted and looked at the Just King and the Heart of the Just as they practiced fighting more.

The camp was quiet. The fire was still going, Peter and Susan were on the brim of the camp talking in a low murmur, Lucy was sitting by a tree hugging it, and Edmund laid next to Lillian, trying to sleep. Lillian was sitting up, staring at Trumpkin who was shifting under her gaze.

"What?" he finally snapped.

"Do you have a bellybutton?" the blonde girl blatantly asked, making Edmund snort sleepily.

"Excuse me?"

"A belly button! I have one." Lillian lifted her top up enough to expose hers. "See?"

"Yes I have one," admitted Trumpkin.

"Interesting... can I see it?"

"NO!"

The haziness was thick in the morning and all Lillian could register was a foreign weight around her waist. It was warm, the foreign weight, and every now and then would pull her tightly against a solid object.

With a sleepy moan, Lillian turned over and buried her face into the warm object that had just been behind her. Moving her arms, she hugged the object tightly, not wanting to wake up. Even though she was still theoretically asleep she was able to work out that the object was breathing, and human.

A ruff voice broke through the sleepy hue and woke them up. "Your Majesty, Just Heart, wake up, King Peter and Queen Lucy are missing."

The two forms snapped awake and sat up, seeing Trumpkin looking down at them and Susan standing off to the side pacing in worry.

"We'll fan out and search the rimming of the campsite. They wouldn't have gone far," Edmund instructed, fully alert and awake.

All four got up and did as instructed, all grabbing their weapons as well. Lillian stepped lightly into the trees. As she walked she kept an ear out for any predators that might be lurking in the trees or bushes. She picked up the sound of something that was a lot like a small animal scurrying through the shrubs.

She turned, her blonde hair whipping around, her hand barely touching the holster before she was knocked to the ground. Looking up she found a mouse with a sword and a feathered cap like thing.

"Say your last words, Talmerine!" he demanded in a slight accent.

"E...e... EDDY!" she bellowed, eyeing the sword.

"Well that was original," the mouse admitted as the sound of heavy feet thundering through underbrush was heard.

"Get away from her!" Edmund yelled, drawing his sword.

The mouse jumped off Lillian, allowing Edmund to take her hand and pull her up, his dark eyes never leaving the creature.

"King Edmund?" the mouse asked in disbelief.

"Yes," hissed the dark haired boy, pulling Lillian behind him. "And you attempted to hurt my friend."

"I am greatly sorry, my lord." The mouse bowed. "I am Reepicheep."

"Where are Lucy and Peter?" the King demanded to know.

"Follow me!"