*The Day of the Fall Festival*
"I escaped from seeing that Duchess but I had help Edmund out of embarrassing situations. I would normally send Chrismo to 'deliver him a message' to let him escape. I didn't want to meet this woman again and Chrismo agreed with me. I told him about how I meet her. His fur bristled when I told him how she grabbed my neck. "You're not going near that mad woman again" he stated when the story was finished. I scratched him behind the ears. Most Narnian animals disliked being pet by a human but Chrismo enjoyed me scratching his favorite places. That night, I was busy working on my desk. Piles of paper,ink,runes that I had gotten,scrolls,and books were on my desk. Then the door burst open almost making me spill my ink. "Autumn! You have to get dressed. The ball starts soon!" Susan called. Lucy bonded in behind her.

I slipped the dress on behind the screen. It was sleeveless but it had a circle of golden leaves around my shoulders,attaching to the front and back of the dress. The rest was orange but the bottom of the dress was golden with leafy imprint on it. I wore no jewelry and put on a pair of golden shoes. Susan and Lucy did my hair and pulled to a side so that all my hair rested on one shoulder and tied it with some string but placed a leafy ringlet around the string for decoration. My golden crown was the last thing. "You look amazing!" Susan complimented. Susan was wearing a red dress with golden details and Lucy was wearing a light yellow dress with silver details. Each had their hair neatly curled or put in a bun with their crowns atop their heads.

There was a knock at the door. It was Peter and Mr. Tumnus. Edmund was behind them. Susan took Peter's arm and Lucy took Mr. Tumnus. Edmund was the last and came up to me. "You look beautiful" he said. "I look like a girl". "You still look good when you're in full armor,bloody, and sweaty" he joked. I took his arm and headed down the hall.

"NOW PRESENTING HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS KING EDMUND ESCOURTING QUEEN AND PROTECTOR AUTUMN" the announcer called. Edmund and I slowly walked towards the thrones. A few eyes watched us but they were excited eyes.

We finally reached the thrones and sat down.

"I High King Peter hope you all have had a safe trip to Cair Paravel and I hope that you all enjoy your time here during this Fall Festival. The rest of this week there will be games,stands,and more to help celebrate this joyous occasion. The last day of the Fall Festival we will be having a grand feast and everyone is invited. So let the Fall Festival begin!" Peter call to the crowd. Cheers rose when he was finished. Music began and couples started dancing.

Chrismo came to my throne and put his head under my hand that was slightly hanging off the arm of my throne. "Why don't you go dance?" he asked. "I'm not the dancing type". "You're a very good dancer but you never choose to dance with any of the 'fine' gentlemen here". "If there are any here" he chuckled.

I saw Edmund dancing with Amberylla. He was smiling. I hope that's a fake smile but there was no tension in his face. Now the music is really getting to me!

"Would you like to dance?". A young man a bit older than me asked. I stood up and bowed. He offered his hand and led me out to the dance floor. I didn't like dancing but I couldn't refuse when people asked me to dance. Either that or face the wraith of Susan. He had a mix a auburn and carmel hair and he had gray-green eyes. "My name is Sir Dilon. I'm a knight of Archenland. And you must be Queen Autumn or Protector Autumn" he said,leading the dance. "Yes that's me". "I never thought such a strong guardian could look so beautiful" he commented. "Thank you". The dance finished and I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Edmund

"Would you like to dance?" he asked. "Of course my king". I took his hand and the music started. Great a slow dance. He placed his hands on my hips and I placed my arms around his neck and we swayed to the music. "So you finally managed to escape?". "What excuse did you use this time?". "Her presence was making me weak and hot so I needed a drink" he said with total disgust. "So what's wrong with her?". "What do you mean?". "Ed, you're 15 and I read that once you're of age or 18 that's when you need to be...you know". "Hitched, Wedsville" he finished. "Yeah". "Well she may be rich,nice looking,funny, and so on but I'm not looking for that in a girl". "Then what are you looking for?". He chuckled "Someone who has a kind heart,brave,strong,witty,someone who has their own beauty, someone different". While he was talking, I noticed that we were getting closer by the second. My breath was getting shallower. His thumbs were rubbing slow circles on my hips. I was feeling hot. Edmund was my best friend. What was happening?!

"And someone loyal" he finished. Oh gee I wonder who owns that title! His lips were inches away from mine. I had to do something. A million thoughts rushed into my head. "Ed" I said quietly. He didn't respond. He only kept on staring at my lips. "Edmund" I said a bit louder. He look into my eyes. "I'm sorry" I said. The song ended just then and I torn from his grasp and quickly walked away. I sat down on my throne. I put my hand on my forehead and I felt Chrismo nudge my other hand that was on the arm of my throne. "What was that about?" he asked. "Personal problems" I stated. "You humans and your ways to show affections always puzzle me". "You're telling me".

After the ball, I went to my room to get out of the dress I was wearing. Edmund had tried to talk to me but I was able to slip away before he could. Sometimes Amberylla dragged him off some where. I got into my night shirt that almost reached my knees and my night pants. It was pretty plain compared to what Susan and Lucy slept in. The only thing it had was a red ribbon that around the shirt under my chest. I loosely pulled on my red robe and headed to the library.

I lit one of the candles and started to read. It was another book that explained magic but the words were blurry to me.

Little did I know that i wasn't the only one there.