Sorry you've all had to wait! I had exams for a while and obviously I had to put them first, but I'm back now! Thank you everyone who reviewed the last chapter, please review this one toooooo! Enjoy!
Edmund jolted awake and tumbled out of bed hastily, falling with a painful thump onto the floor in a jumble of sheets and legs.
He jumped up and sleepily fumbled his way to his door, stepping out into the cold corridor in his bare feet he jogged the few steps to Safie's door and walked in, shutting it quickly behind him so that her screams would not wake everyone in the castle.
A torch still flickered on the far wall and Edmund could make out Safie's form in the bed; if it hadn't been for the screaming he would never have guessed her to be having another nightmare.
He shook her gently and she woke up with a gasp. She froze for a moment before burying her face in her bed and trying to hide from Edmund.
"You alright?" He asked, worried that her nightmares had returned. After 6 months of not being woken up by her screams in the night, it was alarming to find that her progress was all for nothing, stopped by the flippant remarks made by the Duke.
"I'm sorry I woke you again, Edmund." Her muffled voice said from amongst the sheets. Her voice was quivering and her shoulders were shaking slightly with the effort it was taking to stop herself from crying.
He sat down on the edge of her bed with a sigh and leant his elbows on his knees.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Safie." He said honestly, thinking of Duke Torin with venom. "We all just want you well."
Safie remained silent and he pulled her up gently by her shoulders, turning her to face him. He smiled sadly at her unhappy face and watched her silently as she brusquely rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. The torchlight was flickering slightly, casting shadows on both of their faces and all around her room, making harmless objects seem almost sinister.
"Where's Geladine?" Edmund asked, realising the wolf had been with Safie earlier.
"I sent her away. I needed to be alone for a while." She explained shortly. She swung her feet over the side of her bed and sat next to him and the two descended into silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
"When I was younger I used to sleepwalk." She said suddenly. Edmund held his breath; he'd very rarely heard her speak of her past. "I nearly drowned myself once by walking into the river, but my dad found me in time and took me back in to the house. He said he'd always protect me. But then he didn't even protect himself; so how could he protect me?" It wasn't really a question; just a sad observation that Safie had made. Edmund forced himself not to shout for joy that she'd mentioned her father without sobbing.
"He did protect you. He built that hole we found you in so that you could hide; so that you could enjoy your life." Edmund replied after a moment. "And the best thing you can do is just that."
"It's not enough though, is it? My family are gone; I have no protection in the world. Everything I own is from you and your family, Ed. Not mine." She said sadly.
"I cannot make promises on my sibling's behalf, but I promise to protect you and take over the role of your family. It's what we've all been doing for years, it just hasn't seemed that way to you." Edmund said with a sad smile.
Safie too smiled sadly as she realised he was right. "Have they really gone?" She asked suddenly, swallowing loudly, her voice sounding better already.
Edmund nodded and Safie's face became wondrous. "I can't believe Peter would actually do that for me!"
Edmund stayed silent; she didn't need to know it'd been he who'd done it for her.
"Did Susan protest?"
"Of course she did." Edmund replied with a snort of laughter. "You must always think of how we appear in the political world, Edmund." He mimicked her high voice badly and Safie giggled. Edmund grinned as she started smiling again and stood up, crossing his arms and pouting his lips as Susan did when she was annoyed. "What do you think you're doing? Fun? You can't have fun! You're 12 now; you're old enough to know that it's all work and no play!" Safie crossed her legs and giggled some more; Edmund frequently imitated Susan who was the most serious of his siblings. Edmund too began to laugh and gave up his impersonation, unable to keep up the high pitched voice whilst laughing. He held out his hands and helped Safie climb to her feet on the bed and then jump off onto the cold floor.
"Come on, let's go raid the kitchen and have a midnight feast." He suggested, taking her hand and leading her out of her room. The corridor floor was even colder than Safie's and the two ran quickly, trying to spend as little time as possible standing on one foot.
Edmund pulled ahead of Safie slightly and stopped around a corner, jumping out with a stage whisper roar as she emerged around the corner. She squealed and jumped before bursting into giggles with him and clamping a hand to her mouth as she risked waking up half the palace.
They ran into the kitchen and stood at the numerous cupboards, hopping from foot to foot as they searched for the food they wanted.
Edmund pulled a fruit cake down from the top cupboard Safie couldn't reach and she uncovered a plate of Mrs Beaver's famous ginger snaps hidden behind a huge bowl of fruit.
Edmund grabbed a bunch of grapes as well and sat down at the kitchen table whilst Safie still rooted for food.
Taking out two goblets he poured wine into them, adding two scoops of honey to sweeten Safie's just the way she liked it.
Safie emerged from deep within a cupboard holding a loaf of bread under one arm, a pot of jam underneath the other and a small plate of leftover cold ham in her only free hand.
"Mrs Beaver's going to kill us." Edmund said, only half joking. Safie smiled and dug into a small slice of fruit cake with Edmund pretending he wasn't watching her. Though she now ate at every meal, she was still slightly too thin for her age and only ever ate small amounts. Edmund stared at her blatantly as he wondered if Safie would ever truly be healthy; if she'd ever be normal or if she was too affected by her past.
"What?" She asked him, swallowing her mouthful.
"Just thinking about what to get you for Christmas." Edmund said quickly; it was not a complete lie; he had been thinking about it a few weeks ago.
"I'm more concerned about what to get you." She replied, finishing off the slice of cake. "What are you supposed to get a king who has everything?"
"The one thing he doesn't have. A pair of warm socks for times like this." Edmund replied cheekily, looking at his feet that he was resting on the seat of his chair to keep them off the floor. Safie laughed; she was in exactly the same position with her knees to her chest.
"Fine. Warm socks it is, but then that's what I want too."
"Fine." Edmund replied with a happy smile.
%*$&£
"Here, Mr Tumnus, look at this." Peter called out quietly as Mr Tumnus walked down the hall towards Peter a few hours later.
Looking through the kitchen doorway he saw Safie and Edmund sitting on opposite sides of the table. Each was slumped forwards with a cheek resting against the wood and their arms stretched over the table in their unconscious states, the remains of their feast lay haphazardly over the table.
Peter crossed the room and banged a wooden spoon against the kettle a few times, making both jump as they woke up and looked sleepily around, trying to focus on their surroundings.
"Bit early to be eating breakfast already isn't it?" Peter joked, biting into a biscuit.
The two only blinked sleepily and Peter laughed, giving Safie a side hug to show his joy that she was ok. "You better get out of here before Mrs Beaver discovers who's eaten the biscuits she was saving! Go on; I'll clear up."
The two smiled at him gladly and staggered off back to bed.
"I saw you sending back Tarkhaan Visirish's newest gift, I must ask if that was wise, my King?" Mr Tumnus asked softly as they watched the two disappear down the hall. "You no longer run the risk of insulting him; I am sure you have done it!"
"And I reminded him that he was insulting me by obviously trying and failing to seduce her and that as my ward, she is under my protection and can barely move, let alone be courted without my consent." Peter said calmly, he had thought the situation through and read up on the laws of Narnia; he knew what he could say to remind people that Tarkhaan Visirish was not the only one who had been offended.
"You really disapprove of the match so strongly?" Mr Tumnus asked worriedly.
"His persistence with the gifts tells me he will not give her up easily and I am prepared to consistently batter him down until he realises that I will not let him have her." Peter said, biting into another biscuit and putting away what remained of the fruit cake.
"Why ever not? Are you worried that he cannot love her? Surely his persistence alone is testimony to his feelings for her."
"How ever could he love her when they have met only once? She is a very pretty girl, but even now that she is much better she is still too fragile for someone like the Tarkhaan to handle and to precious to us for me to allow her to marry someone who will then go on to wrongfully marry many more women, indeed, how do we know he does not now have several wives?" Peter asked, slightly surprised that Mr Tumnus did not share his feelings on the subject.
"I suspect it is not just that, tell me, what else is troubling you?"
Peter scooped away a few crumbs from the table and turned to Mrs Tumnus, revealing the true reason as to why he would never allow the Tarkhaan to have Safie. "I find it troubling that he looked at her in such a way when she was so young, and there is something I do not trust about him. But I only have gut instinct to go on."