A/N: Hey guys. So...this is the next chap. I'm going to be finishing this story probably in the next few days because I really wanna get cracking on the next one. Like I said, this is a series and I wanna do it possibly before school starts again or else i will have no time.

ALSO...

There is a video of Edmund/Ella on YouTube which my wonderful fanfic friend Maddie Rose made for me. She is so awesome, you should check out her videos and stories as well.

Anyway, you can visit my profile which has a link to the video.

PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!

Chapter 10: Matters of the Heart

"HEY!"

My head snapped up as I got down from the Gryphon with Nerine still in my arms. I could see Peter and Caspian in the front. Everyone had stopped at Caspian's sudden outburst, and now the two were glaring daggers at each other.

"I am not the one who abandoned Narnia." He muttered, his voice shaking a bit.

"You invaded Narnia." Peter seethed, pointing a finger at him.

"You have no more right to lead it than Miraz does!" He exclaimed.

Caspian shook his head and walked away, shoving Peter in the shoulder.

"You. Him. Your father!"

Caspian froze in his tracks as Peter continued to yell out from behind him.

"Narnia's better off without the lot of you." Peter spat.

Caspian let out a huge yell as he pulled out his sword and pointed it at Peter. In a flash, Peter had his sword at Caspian's neck as well.

"STOP IT!" I yelled, sick and tired of their spew.

The soldiers in front of me parted as I lay Nerine down carefully on a raised stone platform. Her breathing was becoming shallower by the minute and her face was a deadly white-pale. I heard a few gasps and I could make out from the corner of my eye Lucy run towards us, whipping out her cordial. But I couldn't look at her. My eyes were only fixed on Nerine as images of Ella's dead body flashed in my mind.

Please be alright…

I could feel a presence behind me but I kept all my attention on Nerine as Lucy slowly pulled out the arrow and poured a drop of her cordial juice into Nerine's mouth. For a moment, Nerine stopped breathing and I held my breath as well, waiting for her to open her eyes. Finally, she coughed a bit and her eyes fluttered open, revealing those damn ocean-blue orbs.

"Thanks." She whispered.

I wasn't sure if it was to me or to Lucy, but I was just so relieved she was alright.

"Oh Nerine. Thank goodness you're alright."

I turned to see Caspian's friend, Lorenzo, gripping Nerine's shoulders as she tried to stand. A red fury suddenly filled me as Nerine leant into Lorenzo's support and smiled weakly at him.

I shot up and stormed away, not wanting to see anymore. I could hear Nerine call out to me, but I just couldn't take it.

I walked past Peter and Caspian, who gazed apologetically and almost shamefully at me. But I couldn't be bothered about them at the moment. I stormed into the How and went over to a secluded area, which we set up as our sleeping or resting chambers. I sat down on one of the make-shift beds and ran a hand through my hair, sighing out in frustration.

"Why Aslan?" I thought out loud to no one in particular.

"Why are you doing this to me? What type of sick game is this? Why do you make me lose the one I truly love, and then send her back only as a stranger in another man's arms? Why do you hate me so much Aslan?" I whispered pathetically, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. As I closed my eyes to prevent that, I heard a soft voice.

"Edmund."

I looked up and saw the Great Lion himself standing before me, serene and majestic as usual.

"Aslan? I murmured in confusion.

"You are losing faith, dear one. Don't. In time, everything will be set right." He rumbled.

"But Aslan…"

"Listen to your heart when in doubt, Edmund. For it is never wrong."

Before I could reply anything, Aslan had disappeared in a blink of an eye. I looked around, puzzled, before looking down and sighing, wishing things would be clearer.

Nerine's POV

"I was so worried when I saw you in that state."

Lorenzo and I were sitting by a small lake just behind the How. After Edmund had stormed off, Lorenzo suggested we escape from the How for a while to get away from all the stress and tension.

"I thought the whole point of this is to try and forget what all happened." I chuckled lightly.

"You're right, you're right. Sorry." He murmured, gazing into the water.

A couple of seconds passed in silence as I stared at my reflection in the water. The same girl was looking back at me, but there was something different about this reflection. It was almost as if I was looking at myself, but at the same time at a complete stranger.

"Lorenzo? Have you ever looked at your reflection in the water, and seen someone else?" I casually asked, still gazing deeply at the image before me.

"Um…no. Not really. Why do you ask?" he questioned, furrowing his brows at me.

"I do sometimes. And I just find it weird. To look at my reflection, know it's me but still feel like I'm looking at a stranger. I know you probably don't understand a thing I'm saying now." I laughed lightly.

"Actually, I kind of do. Before my mother passed away, she used to tell me that our reflections did not show what we looked like, but what we were. She said they reflected what was in our hearts. And sometimes, who we were on the inside was a different person from who we were on the out. I never really understood her until I got a bit older, and experienced some things in life as well." He spoke, his face in deep thought.

"Like?" I prodded softly, suddenly rather curious.

"Well, to begin with, I never really knew my father. He was always in court, always doing his duties as a lord. My mother passed away when I was five. So, you could say I grew up rather alone. Caspian was my best and only friend. He too experienced the same things as me, so we got along well. He's like my brother. My father always praised Caspian as being a better son and prince. Though I was never jealous of Caspian, it did hurt to see my father proud of him more than of me. At one point in my life, I started acting like Caspian a lot, just to please me father. But, it didn't really make a difference to me. I was confused as to why he would still view me as Lorenzo when I literally started to appear and behave like Caspian. Then one day, I looked at myself in the mirror. I had grown my hair like Caspian's. I was wearing his same clothes. I had even tanned my skin to match his. But when I looked in the mirror, I didn't see Caspian at all. I just saw myself, as what I used to look like. Lorenzo. And my mother's words came back to me and that was when I really understood what she meant. Even though I looked a certain way, I was still the same old me inside. My heart never changed. That was why I could recognize myself in my reflection. And no matter what my father says, that's something I'm rather proud and happy about." He grinned, looking at himself in the water.

I smiled in understanding and turned back to my reflection.

Who am I, then?

We sat there for a little while longer, pondering over our discussion before Lorenzo finally sighed.

"We should be heading back into the How now, before people start worrying about us." He laughed as he got up.

I nodded slightly and with one final glance at the image of the girl in the water before me, I stood up and walked back to the How with Lorenzo.

A/N: DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE VIDEO! (link on my profile)

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