I don't think I took THAT long updating this time...or, what I mean to say is I HOPE I didn't take that long :p
I think now would be a good time to finally put in a disclaimer? :L Just for all those people who hadn't known already (?) I don't own anything except my pitiful imagination.
See why I avoided it till now? I feel pathetic. Utterly pathetic.
WARNING - you know the way I said I'd warn you if theres any...action (winks suggestively) in the chapter? Well, there you go...can't say I didn't warn you...
But don't worry. It's not that bad. She won't get pregnant, or anything of the sort. You'll see.
Chapter Twenty Five
Edmund POV
Edmund sat nervously on the rickety, wooden bench that lined the wall outside of the castles infirmary, folding and unfolding his arms, crossing and uncrossing his legs, reaching up every two seconds to run a hand through his messy hair, fidgeting anxiously.
Aetak sat tensely on the ground across from him, motionless, perfectly still, her deep eyes watching him with growing irritation, and an unreadable expression on her face.
The door to the infirmary suddenly opened with a slow creak, and a young girl dressed in a white uniform quietly stepped out, holding a jug of water in her hand.
"Is she OK?" Edmund exclaimed worriedly, rising to his feet.
The girl looked at him apologetically, her eyes sympathetic. "I'm sorry. I don't know." She mumbled. "I just provide food and stuff for the doctor."
Edmund sighed resignedly. He nodded dejectedly at the girl, and then slowly seated himself again.
Within thirty seconds, a mere half a minute, Edmund's right leg was hopping up and down nervously. Blood suddenly appeared on his lip, trickling down the side of his mouth, a result of him biting his own lip too hard.
Still, Aetak remained motionless, not even a hint of emotion evident on her empty face. Only the delicately raised eyebrow she aimed toward Edmund and his more than obvious agitation.
"Are you not worried? At all?" Edmund finally burst out, looking at Aetak desperately.
Aetak's face immediatly hardened, her eyes going cold. "Just because I do not show my concern as blatantly as you do, does not mean that I am not worried. I am worried, incredibly so." Aetak hissed, icy venom in her voice.
Looking taken aback, Edmund remained silent for a moment, trying to cease all signs of his nervousness, his worry.
"I'm sorry." He sighed, after a minute's heavy silence. "I'm just...just so..." he trailed off, words evading him. Propping his elbows on his knees, he buried his head in his hands.
Aetak shook her head brusquely. "She'll be fine." She said shortly.
Edmund's head jerked up, looking at Aetak with wide, frantic eyes. "What? How can you know?" he said, sounding suprised, hopeful.
Aetak frowned, her face thoughtful. "The Green Lady doesn't leave anyone alive, not if she wants them dead." She said gravely. "If she wanted Amber dead, which she appears to, Amber would be dead right now. Either that, or Amber was just incredibly lucky." Her face tightened.
Edmund thought over this for a moment, staring at the floor in contemplation, before looking up at Aetak with a worried, agitated frown.
"Why...why does she want Amber dead?" he asked quietly, gazing at Aetak.
Aetak looked at him silently, thoughtful. "I..." she hesitated momentarily. "I...don't know." She said carefully, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden.
Edmund frowned at this. He sat back in his seat again, resting his head wearily against the wall and folding his arms. Why would anyone want to kill Amber? What could their motives be? What would they gain? Why Amber? Even just the mere thought of it...
Pushing the unwelcome, unpleasant images from his mind, he sat forward yet again. Burying his head in his hands, he let out a weary sigh.
"You should get some rest." Aetak said suddenly. Her tone sounded offhand, but there was an undercurrent to her voice that he couldn't quite place. It sounded almost...challenging.
At this, Edmund bristled slightly, sitting up straight and folding his arms defiantly. "I'm fine." He responded shortly, blinking extra hard to make himself look more awake.
Aetak raised an eyebrow quizzically, her mouth in a disapproving line. "It's been a long two days." She pushed.
Edmund narrowed his eyes at Aetak. "I'm not going anywhere." He replied firmly.
A flash of irritation passed over Aetak's face before she hastily masked it. She looked at Edmund evenly, her face expressionless yet again.
It continued like this for awhile, Aetak frowning concernedly while looking thoughtfully at Edmund, who sat poker straight on the bench, trying to appear as awake and alert as he possibly could.
Then suddenly, Aetak sighed resignedly. She looked almost defeated, and suddenly all Edmund could see all the emotions that had been hiding beneath her careful mask. And The anxiety, the weariness, the distress, it was etched all over her exhausted face, and it floored Edmund.
"You really care about her, don't you." She said quietly, her eyes sad.
Edmund was unsure of how to reply. It hadn't sounded like a question, more like a statement, or a conclusion of sorts that she had come to on her terms.
Taking Edmund's silence as confirmation, Amber nodded slowly, briefly, before lapsing back into silence again.
Edmund resumed fidgeting frantically after a minute, his leg hopping madly again.
"You shouldn't, you know." Aetak suddenly said, her voice grave, as she looked at Edmund with eyes that held a slight hint of pleading.
Edmund looked up, distracted from counting the floor tiles yet again. "Sorry?" he said politely.
Aetak eyed him with a hint of impatience. "You shouldn't care for Amber." She repeated.
Edmund felt his eyebrows rise in suprise, and confusion, as he stared at Aetak in perplexity. He certainly hadn't been expecting this.
"Why do you say that?" he asked carefully, leaning forward slightly, watching her carefully.
Aetak looked at him blankly for a moment, as if unsure of what to say. Her face looked unsure, hesitant.
"Well." She began slowly, pausing hesitantly.
Edmund looked at her expectantly, waiting. "Well?" he probed after a minute, his eyes questioning.
Aetak glared at him, obviously put out with his persistence on the subject. "Well...you...you're too young." She said quickly, her voice lacking conviction. "As a King of Narnia, you should be focusing wholly on your royal duties, and not recklessly chasing after women. You would do well to remember that, King Edmund." She finished stiffly.
Edmund raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Is that it? I'm too young?" he said sceptically.
Aetak scowled at him in response.
Edmund folded his arms. "If we're going to be technical about it, I'm nineteen, and fast approaching my twentieth birthday. And Amber is eighteen, so she is officially a woman now. So age, Aetak, is not an issue here at all." He smiled slightly, his tone mocking. "You'd do well to remember that."
Anger flashed through Aetak's eyes, as Edmund threw her own words back at her. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"But there are countless more women out there." Aetak argued angrily. "Plenty more fish in the sea, a lot more apples on the tree, etc, etc, etc." her eyes narrowed further as she glared at him. "You know, you shouldn't...you shouldn't go counting your chickens before they hatch." Her voice faltered hesitantly, and she began to sound unsure, struggling for the right words. "Because for all you know, there could be...nicer...chickens out there, if you know what I mean." She rambled.
Edmund snorted at the thought of other 'chickens', as Aetak described them. All other women Edmund had ever met had been dull, simpering, twittering idiots, who wore frilly dresses that made them look like puff pastry, and feathered dresses, making them look like some sort of wild bird. Not to forget the bright red lipstick and glowing red cheeks. They looked like they had had a fight with a box of crayons. But it was just terrible, terrible make-up that made them look like something akin to the court jesters.
They acted like jesters too, making bad jokes with bad punch lines, attempting to talk politics and law, but getting it all terribly, terribly wrong, whilst fanning themselves continuously, and looking at Edmund with what seemed to be their idea of seduction – i.e., wearing the lines of their dresses dangerously low, laughing outrageously at every little thing he said, regardless of whether it was funny or not, brushing off him 'coincidentally' every two seconds in what they thought to be a flirtatious manner and batting their eyes so hard at him that it lead him to believe they must have something in their eye.
Oh yes, they would be some catch. Lucky him.
Amber was entirely different. She wasn't like those other girls who wanted him just because he was royalty, or rich, or well-known, or handsome.
No, she didn't seem to give a toss about that. In fact, she teased him about most of the above on a regular basis. And she was exactly what he wanted, what he needed. He wanted someone different from the rest, someone who was real, who wouldn't change for him, and wouldn't want him to change for them. He wanted someone who would take him exactly the way he was, someone he could laugh with, fight with, and someone he could love with all his heart.
He wanted Amber.
"I think," he replied to Aetak, smiling slightly to himself as he thought of Amber. "I'm willing to take that chance."
An unreadable expression crossed Aetak's face as her eyes widened, something close to...respect, and sorrow.
"But...you're only nineteen." She protested weakly, her voice lacking certainty.
Edmund shrugged in confusion, frowning lightly toward Aetak. "I don't see how it makes a difference." He said, his voice sounding slightly irritated, what with the repeated mentioning of his age.
Aetak looked at him beseechingly, running out of excuses. "I...well...what about when we leave?" she said quickly.
Edmund looked at Aetak sharply, his eyes widening in suprise, before narrowing to a worried frown. "What? You're leaving? When?" he exclaimed, sounding suprised and horrified.
A look of satisfaction passed over Aetak's face, obviously feeling slightly relieved to finally get an appropriate response from Edmund. "Well, we haven't set a date exactly, but we can't stay here forever." She said indifferently.
Edmund rose to his feet, shaking his head in protest. "No, really, you can stay as long as you like! You're more than welcome! We don't-"
"We'll be leaving soon." Aetak cut across him sharply, finality ringing in her voice. "It's for the best."
A panicked look flashed on Edmund's face. He opened his mouth to protest, but Aetak cut across him yet again.
"You and Amber could never be together anyway." She said quietly, looking incredibly sorry.
Edmund froze at this, staring at Aetak in confusion, clearly taken aback. Appearing to be stunned, he didn't even notice when the door of the infirmary opened behind him.
"You're highness?"
Shaken from his thoughts, Edmund slowly turned to face the doctor standing in the open doorway
"The immediate treatment has been successfully completed." The doctor informed him quietly, his voice low. "She had to get numerous stitches in her head, her hands, and her leg..."he leafed through a few sheets in his hands. "She's awake now, but just one visitor at a time, please, for her sake. She's still quite weak, from loss of blood, and also just pure exhaustion from a very long two days." He finished, glancing at both Edmund and Aetak.
Clearing his head, Edmund nodded briefly at the doctor and shot Aetak a cold glare, before cutting before her, stepping around the doctor, and entering the infirmary. He vaguely heard Aetak's growl of protest before he firmly shut the door behind them, blocking them out.
Edmund squinted. It was incredibly bright in here, what with bland white paint everywhere, and bright sun pouring through the window. Edmund sniffed the air hesitantly, catching a whiff of something. It smelled like...bleach. He wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"Ed?" called a faint voice from across the room.
Edmund felt a sudden wave of relief wash through him as he saw her pale, scarred face across the room. Her head was poking out from beneath the covers of a bed to the far side of the room, beside one of the windows. He cracked a smile for the first time in two days, crossing the room quickly, sliding into the seat positioned beside the bed, leaning forward toward her.
"Hi." He said tentatively, smiling uncertainly at her. "How are you?" he asked softly.
Amber smiled weakly, like it required a lot of effort. "I'm fine." She whispered back.
Edmund snorted. She didn't look fine. She was even paler than usual, which was saying something, as Amber was always so incredibly pale anyway. There were dark circles beneath her tired, exhausted eyes. Horrific scars still marred her beautiful, thin face. She looked drained, as if the life had been sucked out of her.
Amber moved her head slightly, looking toward the window, squinting at the sun pouring in. "What time is it?" she asked slowly.
"Around midday by now, I think." Edmund replied quietly. "We got back here early yesterday morning, and the doctors have been working on you since. He finished around six hours ago, and you've been sleeping since then, being monitored all the time." His soft expression disappeared suddenly, his eyes narrowing accusingly as he scowled angrily at her. "You know you nearly died?" he scolded.
Amber made a poor attempt at a smirk, her effort halted by the scar stretching across her face. "Nearly." She pointed out. "But I didn't." Her mouth tried to smile again.
Edmund sighed resignedly. "I can't leave you alone for two seconds." He complained reproachfully.
Amber smiled thinly, looking apologetic. "Sorry, I guess." She offered.
Edmund's eyebrows shot up, his eyes widening as he looked incredulously at her, shaking his head in disbelief. "How is all of this your fault?" he exclaimed.
Amber's meagre attempt at a smile disappeared; quickly replaced with a disapproving frown, her forehead creasing. "I should have known." She said, irritated.
Edmund frowned in confusion, puzzled. "What?"
"That you would turn it all back on you!" Amber exclaimed. "I should have known you would blame yourself! You always do!"
Edmund smiled wearily, waving off her reprimanding, not even trying to argue with her. "But I have to take some level of responsibility, when it comes to you. I have to take special care of you." He laughed softly, reaching out and taking her small, frail hand in his.
A slight tinge of red tinted Amber's pale cheeks. "Why is that?" she tried another smile, her irritation vanished.
Edmund mock frowned at her, looking disapproving. "Because you always manage to get into the most trouble." He chuckled, shaking his head reprovingly. He rubbed his thumb gently over the palm of her hand, mindful of her stitches.
Amber smiled mischievously up at him, wincing in pain slightly as she did so. "Well." She sighed sadly, her tired eyes laughing. "I suppose I better stick with you then."
Edmund didn't reply. A thoughtful look took over his features as he held her hand softly in his, frowning worriedly.
Amber frowned too at his sudden change, squeezing his hand lightly. "Ed?" she said worriedly. "Edmund? Is it what I said?" he didn't say anything. "Look, I was only messing." She said reassuringly.
Edmund still didn't say anything, looking at her contemplatively, his eyes still worried. Amber sighed exasperatedly.
"Oh for crying out loud, Ed, take a joke." She scolded. "Is this really about what I said? You're taking things far too seriously, Ed. Of course I want to stay with you. What makes you think I wouldn't?" she looked pretty irritated.
"But," He said suddenly, frowning. "What about when you leave?"
Amber's expression froze. Her smile faded as she frowned up at Edmund, clearly confused. "What?"
Edmund's brow furrowed. "What happens when you leave?" he repeated.
Amber didn't say anything for a minute, looking up at Edmund silently with an unreadable expression on her face. "Do...do you want me to leave?" she asked quietly, unsurely.
Edmund couldn't help but smile tiredly as he rolled his eyes exasperatedly at her. "What kind of a question is that?" he chuckled sadly.
Amber's brown eyes looked uncertainly at him, flickering across his face worriedly. "Is that a...yes? A no?"
Edmund shook his head, exasperated. "No, you silly little girl. The last thing I want you to do is leave." Here, Edmund frowned again. "But, if you want to, I'm not going to stop you. I would never do that to you." He said sincerely, his eyes sad.
Amber shook her head instantly. "I don't want to." She said firmly.
Edmund raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked. He smiled wickedly at her, his eyes playful. "You don't want to what?"
Amber sighed irritably, glaring at him, smiling at the same time. "Leave. I don't want to leave, you idiot."
Edmund stiffened at this, dropping her hand, much to Amber's disappointment. Sitting back in his chair, he folded his arms angrily, glaring at her with narrowed, accusing eyes.
Amber eyed him warily, uncertainly, confused by his sudden mood swing. "Ed?" she said tentatively, hesitantly.
Edmund let out a huge, exaggerated sigh. "I thought," he complained, looking incredibly offended. "We were over this whole 'idiot' thing." He looked extremely put out.
It took a moment for Amber to realise what he was talking about, and when she did, she had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. Seeing this, Edmund cracked a smile too, shaking his head sadly.
Amber held back your laugh. "You're the best idiot in the whole wide world, though." She offered reassuringly, taking his hand in hers again.
Edmund laughed softly. "I'm failing to see how exactly that is a compliment, but I suppose I might as well take it. It's not often I get a compliment from you, of all people." He complained.
Amber let out a laugh too, but stopped abruptly when her jaw protested in pain, sending shoots of agony through her. Wincing, she gingerly raised her free hand to gently probe her aching jaw, wincing again at the tenderness she felt.
Immediatly, Edmund ceased all laughing, his own hand flying down to her face as his own face pulled into a concerned, worried frown.
"What is it?" he said worriedly, urgently, gently caressing her face. "What hurts?"
Amber shook her slowly as the pain gradually subsided. She stayed perfectly still for a minute, waiting for the pain to disappear fully. As it did so, she sighed in relief, smiling reassuring up at Edmund. Meeting Edmund's worried eyes; she smiled gently, intertwining her hands with him. Despite her weakness, she pulled him gently towards her. His frown disappeared instantly as he rose slightly from his seat, leaning toward Amber with a soft smile, tilting his head slightly.
"Wait." He whispered suddenly, his lips inches from hers.
Amber sighed. "This had better be good." She complained.
Edmund shook his head, smiling. "You're injured. And you're in recovery. I don't think this would-"
Amber sighed in exasperation. "Oh, shut up." She murmured, pulling him toward her again.
Edmund gave in, knowing he'd probably lose the argument anyway. Anyway, it wasn't like he didn't want this as much as she did. Like hell he did.
Their lips met slowly, carefully, Edmund being mindful of her injuries. Inwardly rolling her eyes, Amber released his hands from hers and placed her hands on his chest, bringing them up slowly to wrap around his neck and pull him closer. Half sitting on her bed, Edmund moved closer to Amber, planting his hands on the headboard either side of her head, effectively trapping her. Ever careful of her injuries, he kissed her slowly, passionately, with Amber giving as good as she got, tangling her hands within his messy, unruly hair.
A sudden, urgent knock at the door sounded. Edmund leaped swiftly back into his seat with a muttered swear, attempting to calm his ragged breathing and tidy his ruffled hair, courtesy of Amber, who was trying to cool her flushed cheeks and bite down on her swollen lips.
"Enter." Called Edmund, attempting a normal-sounding voice, but instead, it came out hoarse, ragged.
The door opened quickly and a terrified looking servant rounded the door. Wasting no time in formalities or greetings, he looked urgently at Edmund.
"Your majesty." He said quickly. "You're not going to believe this, but..." the servant took a deep breath, as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. "The White Witch is outside, in the courtyard, and she requests to speak with you."
(Evil laugh-I would type it out, but I'm not going to attempt to spell it :L)
I think that's a sort of cliffy? Yes? No? Maybe?
Tell me in your review? :L