Disclaimer- Narnia belongs to someone who is not me. Just so ya know.
So sorry for the long wait. I had some huge troubles with this chapter (writer's block) and I recently got a job and I'm working eight hours a day until school starts up again and it is just nuts right now. But I will try my best to still get chapters out to you without long waits in the middle. Okay, so... here we go!
"Lina?" A voice called to me through the veil of sleep that still surrounded me. "Lina?" The voice sang again, the body it belonged to gently shook my shoulder to wake me.
I didn't want to wake up. Sleep was better. While asleep I was not afraid of the water or of what would come of us in Tashbaan. Sleep was easy, it was being awake that was the kicker. I had too much time to think when I was awake, too much time to talk myself into telling the royals about Rabadash and then having even more time to just talk myself out of it in fear of what they would think.
"Oh for goodness sake, Lina, will you please get up already!?" Susan asked, annoyed. I groaned tiredly before allowing my eyes to flutter open. The Gentle Queen was hovering over me when my sight finally came into focus. I jumped back, startled by her close proximity.
"What is it, Susan?" I asked through a yawn.
She gave me a gleaming smile. "We are here."
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Tashbaan looked exactly like an Arabian city. Think Aladdin minus the flying carpet and monkey and that was Tashbaan. It was so strange to see the contrast from the peaceful setting of Narnia to the high paced chaos of the capital city in Calormen. Everything here seemed brighter, more energized. A market place ran for miles and miles in the hear of the city, selling everything imaginable.
"Talking horses! Magical, talking horses!" A merchant repeated over and over as we passed.
"Fruit! Fresh fruit!" Another called as our large group went by his stand.
None of the stands really caught my eye until we came upon a couple of old woman selling handmade scarves. I paused to look. Everyone back home knew I was a sucker for accessories and I couldn't just let something like this pass me by. My group continued on-not realizing that I had fallen behind-as I went over to the stand and browsed amongst the scarves. They came in every rich color imaginable. The pinkest of pinks and the bluest of blues along with the most emerald green color I had ever seen.
My eyes were searching up and down the table until one of the silk scarves caught my full attention, making everything else at the stand seem almost dull in comparison. I picked up the shining material to examine it more clearly. The color was of an emerald and the whole piece of cloth dripped of sparkles. Along the edges lay small, gold tassels that had gold beads tied to the ends so that the scarf jingled when you wore it. I rubbed the fabric between my fingers, it was as smooth as a baby's skin. I smiled down at it.
"How much for this scarf, madame?" Edmund's voice asked from behind me. I spun around and was chest to chest with the younger king. He smiled down at me and took the scarf from my hands. The woman told Edmund the price of the scarf which, I had no clue, how much it was. Who really knew how much the money in Narnia was worth compared to that of the U.S. Dollar? I'll tell you, it was not me.
"We'll take it." He told the woman while slipping a few golden coins into her outstretched palm.
"Thank you, Ed but I cannot except it. You and your siblings have done so much for me already, I cannot allow you to give me gifts on top of everything else."
Edmund smiled down at me and wrapped the scarf on my head like the woman in the stand was wearing hers. "Nonsense, it would be a shame not to buy this scarf when it matches your green eyes so perfectly." He told me.
Like always when I got a complement, I blushed. "Thank you."
The Just King just nodded. In no time at all we had fallen into step with each other, walking down the streets of Tashbaan together. We were silent, taking in the sights, sounds, and surprisingly good smells of the capital city. The two of us walked for ten minutes before I felt like we had ended up where we started. I took a quick look around. Yup, I was positive we had been on that street before.
"Hey, Ed," I started. "I think we were just on this street a few minutes ago. Are you sure you know where you are going?" I asked.
The Just King smiled and placed his dark, mischievous eyes on me. "No, in fact, I have no clue where we are going." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
My mouth dropped open. "Then why...? You-"
He started laughing a genuine laugh that lit up his face. It was the happiest I had ever seen him look. Happy looked good on him, I concluded. "Be adventurous, Lina." He told me.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "But I am not adventurous." I said flatly. I'd rather be alive and boring then dead but fun.
He raised his eyebrow in response. "You are safe." Ed paused. "Do you trust me?"
I thought on it for a moment. Did I trust the serious, wise, reserved king? Had he given me reason to? Had he given me reason not to? I sighed as my decision came to me. "Yes."
He smiled. "Good. Now, I believe our destination is about a half mile up the road."
I sighed. "I swear, Ed if you get us lost in this strange city I will-"
"Hey," He said gently from next me. Turning my head to look at the king, I saw how relaxed he looked. Edmund normally seemed to carry all of his tension and sorrows, worries and disappointments in his eyes but today, his brown eyes were calm, soothing almost. "it'll be okay. Stop being so uptight, Lina."
My mouth dropped open out of surprise. It had been a long while since a person called me uptight, boring yes, but uptight?. "I am not! Take it back!" I fought.
He tilted his head to me and grinned. "Prove that you are not and I will gladly retract my statement." The king told me.
I narrowed my eyes dangerously at him. It was a flat out challenge. Now, I normally wasn't the competitive type but when Edmund said that I was up for proving him wrong. A lopsided smirk appeared across my face. "Deal." I said.
Edmund smiled. "Fine, then I think we shall not go back to our quarters just yet. Let us take in the city first, yes?" He asked.
"Alright, lead the way." I told him. Falling in to step once again, the two of us lapsed into a comforting silence. Most silences were awkward to me but this one wasn't for some reason or another. Rather than ruin this experience, I figured we both had an unspoken agreement that said we'd like to hear the city and not each other's voices at the moment. I was never one for small talk, I guessed Ed wasn't either so this arrangement was good for me.
The streets grew quieter and quieter as we strayed farther from the busy market space. We ended up in a small residential area. Large, clay buildings loomed over us and the sun was blocked out in certain spots by the clothes drying on the line above our heads. Soon, the rows of houses opened up to a small square. A large fountain stood in the center of the area, almost engulfing it. Rows and rows of clay stones circled the fountain as if to highlight it's architectural beauty.
Without a word, both Edmund and I went to sit on the fountain's ledge. Birds chirped around us and soon small children ran close to the fountain and began to splash each other. I smiled over at them. How nice it was to be young and carefree. To be able to run around and have fun without someone telling you that it was not proper, that you were too old. I missed those days.
"I like this place." Edmund concluded out loud. Pulling my eyes from the children, I looked over at him.
"So do I." It was so peaceful there, it held a quiet stillness almost. Like nothing could touch us. We were safe in this square. Rabadash was not a threat and I was no longer worried for Peter's safety. Nothing mattered but the here and now.
"Lina, remember the other day when I was going to tell you something?" Edmund asked after a short pause. My heart quickened as it had done before when Edmund tried to tell me something important.
"Yes." I replied rather nervously. It must have shone because Edmund grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. To my surprise, he did not let go as I expected him to. Instead, he let our hands rest on my knee as he took a few deep breaths. Ed's hands were rough and warm against my skin, like Peter's touch only different. The Just King seemed tense and intimidated by the intimateness of his gesture. I was as well but I would not let my nerves give me away, I wanted to act as if none of this made me anxious. After settling the nerves threatening to take over me, I waited patiently for him to continue talking.
"Lina, I-" He was interrupted just like he was the last time he tried to speak to me like this. Only the interruption was not a knock on the door but a small splash of water on Ed's face given to him by the small bunch of children who were playing. Edmund blinked the water out of his eyes, a little stunned at what had happened to him.
I took my hand away from his and covered my mouth to hide my giggle. The powerful king couldn't be taken by surprise by an assassin but a bit of water nearly made him jump out of his skin.
Instinctively, my free hand went up to his face to wipe the water away. It took a minute, but eventually Ed laughed off what had just happened. I smiled again after both of our laughters subsided. "So you were saying?" I urged him on.
His face fell from happy to serious again, I was starting to get used to his 'mood swings' as I liked to call them. It was just an Edmund thing, I supposed. "Oh, it isn't anything that cannot wait until later." His eyes drifted over to the setting sun. "We had better head back to where ever it is we are supposed to be before Susan has a mental break down and thinks the two of us have been kidnapped." The king suggested. He was right, Susan would flip if we were missing too long. We really should have started to go back, but then again I didn't want to leave this spot. Everything was easier here. Whether it was the fountain or the boy sitting next to me that put my mind at ease I wasn't sure. Either way, I wasn't ready to give it up just yet.
I sighed. I knew I couldn't object. Finding it useless, I didn't argue. "Okay." I agreed eventually. I reluctantly got up and followed Edmund away from the little square. I looked back at it longingly but continued to move on. It was our little haven- Edmund's and mine-from the chaos and complications in our lives. For me, it was to escape from Rabadash and his treachery and for Edmund... well I wasn't exactly sure what it was to Edmund but I knew it had made him calm enough to actually touch me and not feel uncomfortable. It made him want to tell me something that was on his mind.
Hopefully, I am just putting false faith into this fountain. Maybe it was not the space we occupied that made the two of us so comfortable but the company we held in it. Maybe all Ed and I needed was to be truly alone without Susan or Lucy or Peter around. We needed that to be able to open up to each other without holding back who we really were. Maybe that was it, because if it wasn't the reason for our calmness, I feared I would never know what it was that Edmund wanted to tell me. And I needed to know. I just had to or else I thought I just might go mad with curiosity.
So I hope you liked it. Some more Ed/Lina moments in this chapter. Next one will be more focused on Rabadash and Susan and what Lina plans to do with all this drama. Lolfanf. So leave a review if you feel inspired to. You know I love 'em. Thanks for reading! =]