Tranquility
Disclaimer: I do not own anything Chronicles of Narnia related, but I do own Natalie and Orecar
Natalie dreamt of his arms, wrapped around her. She dreamt of his sweet smile and gentle caresses. Natalie felt them drift closer, closer still until they were complete, and all that was heard was sounds of harmony, of joined breaths and...
Natalie shot up from bed that morning, drenched in sweat, her bed sheets tangled about her and her heart hammering against her chest. "What the f-" she shook her head, rubbing her temples. "That was... with Ed? No way! Why would I have such a dream?" she whispered to herself. Her whole body felt like it was fire, just as it did when Edmund touched her in her dream. She swallowed hard, trying to moisten her dry throat and focused on getting up. Part of her knew why she had that dream, but she would not listen to that part! She wouldn't! She hurriedly got ready for the day, keeping her mind occupied by going through her morning ritual. A knock on her door made her gasp and whirl around, not having expected it, even when she had visitor come by ever morning since she arrived there.
"Who-Who's there?" She asked, making a face at how stupid that very question was, I mean really, she knew who it was! 'I have got to get a hold of myself,' she sighed inwardly.
"Who do you think it is, silly?" Lucy's laugh could be heard from the other side of the door.
Natalie smoothed her dress and cleared her throat. "Come in!"
"Are you alright? It looks like you've seen a ghost," Edmund asked in amusement as he and his sister walked in. When she didn't answer, he frowned in concern and instinctively placed a comforting hand on her arm. He removed it when she suddenly jumped and flinched away. He felt hurt by her rejection, but tried not to show it.
"What? No. I'm fine, I just had a... bad dream," She told him. "Ready to go? I am! Let's go!" Natalie quickly swept by them, leading the way.
"What's gotten into her this morning?" Edmund muttered as he watched his friend quickly leave the room.
On their way to breakfast, Natalie scolded herself for being so jumpy. It was just a dream! She had fantasies before, this wasn't new! Her eyes drifted to him every now and then, noticing for the first time how attractive he was. He wasn't exactly her usual types, as she tended to like the buff blonde jock stereotypes more... he was the polar opposite, which was not to say he was not fit. If his tight tunics, stretched snugly across his wide shoulders, tight around his chest, and toned exposed arms were any indication, she figured he was in pretty good shape himself. Natalie's eyes drifted on their own accord and lingered on his strong-looking arms, wondering idly what they would feel like wrapping around her slim waist.
"Hey, Natalie..." Natalie successfully held in a gasp as she was torn from her wandering thoughts and blushed, looking away violently. This caught Edmund's attention and earned her a confused look from him. "I've been wanting to know a bit about the future, mind telling me what it's like?" Lucy asked, having missed the entire episode. Natalie paused, collecting herself once more and thought about the question. Would it be proper to tell them about their future? Wasn't there some rule that said you couldn't reveal stuff? Or was that just the sci-fi shows talking?
"I suppose I could tell you some stuff," she shrugged. Anything to keep her mind off... stuff. "The future is... well, I guess you could say there's a relative time of peace, at least, no 'world wars' or anything, just a never-ending fight against global terrorists..." Natalie trailed off at their shocked expressions. "Too much information?"
"No, sorry, it's just that the 'never-ending global terrorist' thing sounds positively frightful," Lucy answered.
"Where there's humans, there will always be corruption and suffering," Natalie said.
"Poetic," Edmund added.
"Poetic but true," Natalie sighed. "Anyway, you said you're from nineteen forty-eight, right?"
"That's right," Lucy answered.
"So the war has been over for a few years. Nothing new there. Besides that, not much has changed, politically anyway, though I could be wrong, I'm not really up to date with politics. I stopped watching TV or listening to the radio a while ago, too busy, you know? I could go on with a huge list of technological and cultural changes but that would take forever," Natalie smiled.
"That's alright, we don't want everything spoiled," Edmund laughed.
Natalie ate breakfast quickly, wanting to go somewhere quiet, such as the library maybe, to collect her thoughts. "Mind if I head over to the library?"
"Of course, but professor Marcus isn't in today," Caspian informed her.
"That's alright, I ...wanted to look at the books anyway," Natalie shrugged. It was half true. As per usual, as it had become a custom it seemed, Edmund offered to go with her, claiming he enjoyed the peace and quiet of the library as much as her company. Oh that didn't help her situation at all, did it? 'Crap...' Natalie thought with an inward sigh. "...Sure," she said, though she was unable to look him in the eye.
"If you don't want me to go with you..." Edmund trailed off and Natalie wished she hadn't looked up and seen his hurt expression.
"No, you can come, I'm just... tired," she lied. One of the reasons she wanted to go somewhere quiet, was so that she could try to get him off her mind. Edmund going with her probably wouldn't help matters much, but she found it difficult to say no to him for some reason. Besides, she was tired of scaring people away from her and isolating herself. She didn't want to do that anymore, not here, not with them... not with him.
As they walked, Natalie and Edmund fell into an awkward silence, neither knowing what to say. After a little bit though, Edmund had enough of the weird tension between them that morning. He glanced over at Natalie, wondering what was wrong with her. "So... do you miss it? Your home? Your time?" he asked weakly.
Natalie thought for a moment. Since she arrived here, her only attachments to her old home were the memories of her dead friends and family. Something she would rather forget if she was being honest with herself. She had worked hard most of her life, worked two jobs just to keep herself afloat, and could never really have the free time to really enjoy life... so did she miss it? "Not at all," she smiled. "This is my home now and I'm happy to be here."
"I'm -we're glad you're here too," Edmund said, quickly covering up and hoping she didn't catch his slip up. When she didn't comment on it, he relaxed. He caught her eye and couldn't stop himself from giving her a slow and easy smile. Natalie felt herself blush. She cleared her throat and glanced down at her feet. When they reached the library, they sat and talked for what felt like hours. Natalie even opened up to him and told him a bit more about her parents, how they were the goof-around kind that made you feel embarrassed and amused at the same time. She even told him about the plane crash, but was fortunately able to keep herself from crying this time, though that didn't stop him from having to put an arm around her to comfort her. Fortunately, Natalie was able to push the dream to the back of her mind and finally felt herself relax around him once more. She would not pay any attention to her racing heart at his mere touch or proximity, she wouldn't!
Elsewhere, Lucy had spent a lot of the rest of the morning practicing with her dagger and bow. Caspian had stopped by and tried to show her a thing or two about sword-fighting, polish her skills a bit more. "Should we go see how Edmund and Natalie are doing?" Lucy asked after a bit of practice.
Caspian holstered his sword. "Are you sure we should disturb them?" he grinned mischievously.
"Oh stop, they're just friends," Lucy shook her head incredulously. "Honestly, Caspian. What's come over you? You were not this way the last time we saw you," she reminded him
"I know, forgive me, sometimes I let myself get carried away," he sighed.
"It's alright, I wasn't upset, I was just curious. Come on," Lucy led him out and they walked over to where they assumed their friends still were.
"Ed's probably telling her about another one of his heroic adventures," Caspian chuckled. He had great respect in his old friend for his valor and vigilance, and didn't doubt for a second his skill and prowess in battle, but sometimes he wondered if he wasn't inflating the truth a bit when he spoke to Natalie.
When Caspian and Lucy reached the library, they were surprised by the sight they were met with. Edmund and Natalie were both passed out on the couch. Natalie was half-way on top of him, laying her head against his chest, and his arm was around her. They looked so comfortable it almost looked as though they were married and had been doing that for years already. They looked so natural. "Aww!" Lucy uttered, trying to be quiet. 'I wouldn't be surprised if Natalie became my sister-in-law soon!' she gushed inwardly.
"Didn't I tell you?!" Caspian tried to hold in his laughter, his hand covering his mouth and his eyes crinkled in mirth.
"Shh! Let's come back when lunch is ready," Lucy said, shooing her older friend out the door.
Natalie felt very nice. She had fallen asleep on something hard and yet warm and comfortable at the same time. She liked it. Natalie snuggled in closer and felt something tighten around her... wait, what was that? Blinking sleepily awake, she frowned in confusion at the sight of a dark blue fabric with gold trims and intricate patterns. Wait, the fabric was steadily rising and falling? Was that wind on her cheek or..? Natalie gasped when she realized what she had fallen asleep on and made to pull away, however, Edmund's hold on her was surprisingly strong for someone still asleep and she found herself falling back against his chest.
Edmund woke with a start and looked down at the strange but pleasant pressure he had felt against him as he slept. "Ah!" Edmund said in surprise and withdrew his arms. "I-I'm sorry!" he apologized. Natalie sat up quickly, straightening herself and looking away from him, hiding her blush as best she could.
"It's alright," she muttered. 'I need to get out of here...' she thought, but didn't budge.
"You okay?" Edmund asked in concern, hoping she wasn't angry with him.
"I'm fine," Natalie answered cooly. Edmund winced at her callous reply.
"Well um..." he glanced around, trying to find something to lighten the mood and his eyes landed on the large grandfather clock on the corner of the room. "Should we head down to lunch?" he asked carefully.
"Okay," Natalie stood and began heading out. Neither said anything as they made their way down the hall. When they entered the dining hall, they were greeted by a suspicious looking Lucy and Caspian, who smiled 'innocently'.
"What?" Edmund demanded, not liking their looks.
"So tell me, did the two of you enjoy your nap?" Caspian answered, his expression utterly serious but an obvious sparkle of mischief in his eyes. He got the desired reaction from them when they both flushed a deep crimson. Lucy and Caspian laughed as their friends both glared at them as they joined them at the table. To their surprise, it was Natalie that answered.
"It was fine, thanks," she said calmly, taking her glass and sipping on it quietly. Lunch went by quietly, with Lucy occasionally trying to break the tension at the table, but failing miserably. She had given up and slumped against her chair in defeat. She would have to ask Natalie or Edmund what was going on. Did they have a fight?
Natalie didn't mean to come off looking so cold, but it was the only way she was able to deal with the level of embarrassment and resentment toward her self for actually wanting more of Edmund - around her that is. While she had given up trying to keep them away, she was still certain if she allowed anyone that far into her heart, they would end up suffering. It was for his own good. And so, Natalie firmly decided she would not allow him to get that close again, she couldn't, she wasn't sure what would happen if he did but she felt it was safer not knowing.
After lunch, the four broke from the table to head off in different directions. Caspian once again had to entertain his council-members and listen to reports and politics, often feeling like he now knew why Peter had been so hard on him when they first met, it was a lot of responsibility to be King and Peter had been experienced. Lucy decided to head off and visit Trumpkin in the barracks where he helped train others for Caspian's army. Edmund had decided to go down to the practice ranger to keep his skills with a sword sharp, unfortunately, it was in the same direction as the stables, where Natalie had decided to go brush the horses...
"I'm sorry," Edmund said when he bumped into Natalie as they both tried to go through the same door.
"It's okay," Natalie shook her head, but this time, she was the one to collide with him when she seemingly tripped on her own feet. Edmund had seen her falling in the corner of his eye and quickly spun around to catch her. Edmund swung his arm around her shoulders, at the same time pulling her flush against him. 'Too close!' Natalie thought, feeling her heart race at his closeness. All she had to do was look up and just stand up on her tips toes and... and what? She couldn't! She... But he was so...! Natalie bit her lip. Edmund's eyes drifted to her lip as she bit it, and she could have sworn his eyes turned black then. They hadn't even realized they were drifting closer to each other until they heard a throat clear behind them. Caspian stood with his arms crossed and a sly grin on his face.
He had seen it all!
"Oh please don't stop on my account," he chuckled. Natalie's eyes widened and, ignoring her cheeks that felt like they would burst into flames, pushed away from Edmund without a word and walked away briskly, feeling mortified, trying to ignore the feeling of loss at leaving Edmund's embrace. So much for refusing to get closer to him! Edmund, on the otherhand, watched her go, feeling lost and helpless, wondering if he'd ever be able to get along with girls not related to him, and turned to glare angrily at his old friend. Edmund now knew it was him that tripped Natalie. "Augh!" Caspian winced in pain when Edmund slammed his fist into his arm.
"That was not funny!" Edmund growled and stormed off.
"I'm sorry!" Caspian called to his friend. He rubbed his arm, wondering when Edmund had become so strong. A simple punch made him feel like his arm was about to fall off! Edmund continued to walk off with his hands in his pocket and his back tightened in anger. "I'm really sorry!" Caspian yelled again. "I honestly didn't mean to upset either of you!" he said in genuine regret. He watched in relief as Edmund paused and waved his hand. "So... I'm forgiven?"
"Go to your meeting, Caspian," Edmund called back, though his voice no longer held any hostility in it. He continued on his way to the practice court and paused at the stables. He looked in and saw Natalie brushing Jack's fur, a peaceful look on her face. He grimaced, not knowing if it was a good idea to go in an apologize again or not. In the end, he decided to give her some space. Throughout the day, Edmund's mind wandered over to Natalie, hoping she was okay and wondering why she would react the way she did. Could she...? No, no way, not at all.
The less of Natalie Edmund saw, the more upset he became. He had become so used to seeing his friend throughout most of the day, that being ignored by her felt like torture. He decided he needed some answers, so he headed to the one other person who spent just as much time with Natalie as he. "Hello, Trumpkin," Edmund greeted his old friend with a smile as he reached the barracks. He and Lucy sat at a table, drinking tea. Seems like she hadn't left since that afternoon. That was the great thing about Lucy, she could inspire even the grumpiest people, such as Trumpkin, to enjoy spending time with her.
"King Edmund, it's good to see you again! I see you've grown as well," He commented, nodding respectfully to him.
"I suppose I have," Edmund smiled. "For some reason we were brought back here differently than before," he shrugged.
"Was there something you needed, Ed?" Lucy asked curiously.
"Um, could I speak to you a moment?" he asked, gesturing her to follow him.
"Excuse me," Lucy smiled at her old friend and followed her brother. The walked out of the barracks and into the courtyard of the castle. Lucy frowned in confusion at Edmund's worried expression as he looked over toward the stables. "What's wrong, Ed? Why the serious face?" she asked him in concern.
"Lu, something's wrong with Natalie..." He began with a sigh. Lucy frowned in confusion and took him aside to sit down at a bench out of earshot. "Ever since this morning, Natalie's been a bit... off? You've seen her, right?" Lucy nodded. "Well, this morning we kind of fell asleep, um, together... but you already knew that," Edmund gave her a tolerant look and Lucy smiled at him sheepishly. "She seemed kind of worse after that, have you noticed? Kind of reserved. Then after lunch, Caspian tripped her, and I caught her from falling... I don't know, maybe she just doesn't like being around me? She took off after that and I barely saw or heard from her all day! I think she's ignoring me. At dinner she refused to talk to me, what's up with that? You spend a lot of time with her, do you know what could be wrong with her?" Edmund asked, the pain of rejection evident in his eyes.
Lucy had a pretty good idea what was "wrong" with her friend, and in that matter, she knew what was "wrong" with her brother as well. 'Bless him, he can be such a dolt,' Lucy thought with a fond smile.
"What?" Edmund frowned, confused about the smile that appeared on her face.
"...I'm not sure what's wrong with her, but Ed... am I right to say that you have feelings for Natalie?" Lucy questioned. She wasn't about to give away her suspicions about how Natalie felt, but she could try to make a crack in her brother's dense head.
"She's a good friend," Edmund replied a little too defensively.
"Just a good friend? Ed, really?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. Edmund shuffled in his seat and looked away from his sister. He watched the leaves fall from a tree in the courtyard, landing in a small section of water that gently curved around it. "Ed?" Lucy gently poked her brother's arm.
"I barely know her, Lu," Edmund finally said.
"So?"
"So... I barely know her!"
"Edmund, you're just using that as an excuse," Lucy frowned.
"I am not," Edmund crossed his arms defiantly.
"Yes you are! Besides, it doesn't even matter if you barely know her or not, you know her enough to like her," Lucy argued.
"Ugh," Edmund frowned, refusing to argue further.
"Don't pout," Lucy teased.
"I am most certainly not pouting! Anyway, what does this have to do with what's wrong with Natalie?" Edmund gave his sister a questioning look.
"Not much, just thought I'd enlighten you a bit," Lucy smiled.
"I do not fancy her!" Edmund stubbornly insisted.
Oh who was he fooling?
"Ed, just go to her and talk to her, okay? I bet she'll tell you if you just confront her – but by Aslan don't be so blunt and scare her away!" Lucy insisted. Edmund smiled over at his sister and pulled her to him in a one-arm hug, kissing the top of her head.
"Since when did you get so wise?" Edmund teased softly.
"I've always been wise, you've just been too dumb to notice," Lucy giggled. As Lucy watched her brother go, she smiled, thinking about how much he really did change. He went from a total jerk, to a total sweetheart – when he wanted to be.
It took him a while, but Edmund finally found Natalie in the castle kitchen, talking to one of the cooks seemingly cheerfully. Her expression dropped though as soon as she noticed him. Edmund frowned in confusion and irritation. This had to stop. "Hey, Natalie. Can we talk?" he asked her as gently as he could.
"We are talking," Natalie retorted. It was then that Edmund noticed the hurt look in her eyes when she said frigid things like that. She was doing that on purpose!
"You know what I mean, please just come out here with me?" Edmund asked, nearly begging her. Natalie pursed her lips but to his relief, told the cook goodbye and walked passed him. Edmund followed, closing the kitchen door and stopping in front of Natalie. "So what's your problem with me?" Edmund asked, wincing when he remembered Lucy had warned him not to be blunt.
"What?" Natalie exclaimed with wide eyes.
"Ah- I mean, why have you been avoiding me all afternoon? It felt weird not sitting with you and telling you a story... it kinda made me worried..." Edmund admitted, shifting his eyes down to his scuffed up boots and kicking a grape that must have escaped the kitchen.
"I haven't-" Natalie stopped and frowned. "You were worried?" she questioned.
"Well, yeah! You've been acting weird since this morning, I was concerned, you know, about your health?" Edmund cringed inwardly at his lame excuse.
"Oh... well, I feel fine," Natalie frowned. She had expected him to say something else, but truth be told, she was half relieved he didn't reveal some hidden deep feelings for her. What would she possibly do if he did that! "Look, I know I've been a bit... scarce, and I'm sorry for worrying you, I really... it's just..." Natalie shook her head. Natalie could no longer deny that she was... mildly... attracted to him, not that she'd ever admit it to him. But how could she explain her disappearance and rude behavior, without telling him he was the sole reason for it because of a stupid dream?
"Please?" Edmund resorted to begging, sighing inwardly at what he had to do for this girl.
"Alright, look, I had this... nightmare, you were in it, and it kind of freaked me out, since then, whenever I look at you, I remember the nightmare. I know, it was really stupid of me, and it wasn't even that bad! Err, I mean,- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push you away like that." Natalie was certain she was about to implode from all the nerves in her it took to tell him even a lie like that. And she was probably going to hell for it too.
"A dream? That's all? Wow... that must have been one intense dream," Edmund nodded. Natalie recoiled in shock at how incredibly on the dot his comment was. She shuddered as the memory of the most intense part of the dream filtered through her vision without her permission. "So... are we okay?" he asked her in a hopeful tone.
Natalie forced the images out of her mind and scolded herself once more for being so weak. "Yes, we're 'okay', Ed," Natalie smiled weakly.
"Great! So... want to go to the library? I.. I thought of a brilliant story to tell you," Edmund grinned. Oh how he hoped she truly was okay with him now. Was she embarrassed by him? Could it have been that little accidental 'hug' after lunch? Replaying the memory in his head, he figured they had been pretty close, hadn't they. The memory of her soft breath on him, her sweet scent... blinking back to reality he blushed, looking away to hide it.
Natalie relaxed and rolled her eyes, smiling fondly. "Sure, let's go." She had finally overcome her dream, as long as she kept reminding herself that this was Ed and he was like... like a brother to her? Well, as long as she kept trying to convince herself of that, she should be okay.
A familiar face greeted them in the hall. "Ah, good evening King Edmund, Lady Natalie," Marcus smiled at them as they walked toward the library. "Were you here for a lesson?" he asked.
"No, sir, we just wanted to spend some time in the library?" Natalie answered with a smile.
"Ah yes, very good, I shall see you at another time then, my child," he bowed to them, then went on his way.
They sat once again in the library, where their whole... neither of them knew what to call it, started. This time though, after Edmund had relayed another of his adventures with his siblings, they shared a companionable silence as they stared into the warm fire before them.
TBC...
End A/N: Well now, looks like things are starting to (finally) heat up between Edmund and Natalie, gotta love tension! Wow! Long chapter this time! Please let me know what you thought of this!
