"Liana, wake up."

Liana jolted awake, one hand reaching into her dress for the dagger she kept strapped to her thigh and the other pushing away the man whose face had come too close to her own. Her head was spinning. When she calmed down, she was surprised to see Peter standing above her, hands held up in surrender.

"Oh my," Liana fought to catch her breath and scrambled up from the sofa, readjusting the shawl around her shoulders that she had fallen asleep with. "I am terribly sorry, High King."

"No need to apologize," he smiled wanly and offered her a hand. "I didn't realize you'd be sleeping."

Liana took his hand and stood up. "I didn't mean to. Lyra was here, and Edmund-" her eyes widened. "Is he not back?"

Peter frowned. "He only went as far as the village. That's why I'm here, actually. He sent me to fetch you personally. Lyra is with him now. He believes you've been poisoned."

Liana frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Yes, it does sound insane, but he claims he's got quite a solid theory, and I am not one to disagree with my brother in matters of passion," Peter continued talking as Liana walked passed him towards the cupboard which held her things, his tone casual as if they were discussing the weather. He politely looked the other way as Liana reached for a larger shawl to wrap around herself. "He's in my study, with someone from the village whom he believes can help you. He wanted to come get you himself but I volunteered. I was hoping to have a quick word."

Liana blinked. "Of course. Is everything alright?"

"Perfect," Peter nodded reassuringly. He offered her his arm. "Shall we? It won't take long."

Liana accepted his arm and they walked out of the room, towards the flight of stairs which would take them upstairs to the same floor as Edmund's study. "What is on your mind, High King?"

"Just Peter will do," he rolled his eyes. Liana smiled. "Nothing significant. I was wondering if you had discussed with Edmund what I suggested. The announcement?"

"Oh," Liana bit her lip. "I did attempt to broach the subject, but then…" she trailed off and shrugged. Peter nodded understandingly.

"Of course. Well, there's no rush. There is no end to opportunities to make the announcement should you wish to, and even if there is I dare say Susan and Lucy would be only too delighted to conjure up a reason to get the whole of Narnia together."

Liana laughed a little at that image. They reached the study and the door opened before they had even knocked, by a rather tired looking Edmund. Liana's heart ached to see him. His crown was gone, his hair was messy, and his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. However, he smiled when he saw her and reached for her hand, which Liana immediately gave. In front of his brother, he could not do as he wanted. However, Peter had entered the room as if nothing was the matter and had started speaking to the other person in the room in the shadows, loudly inquiring as to how their journey had gone, giving the other two a small degree of privacy.

"I'm sorry I didn't come back," Edmund squeezed her hand. "I knew you'd be safe with Lyra, and when you didn't recognize the Count I realized what I had been missing for so long."

Liana reached with her free hand to caress his cheek. "Be that as it may, King Edmund, you are going to bed after this, even if I have to drag you myself. You haven't slept in days."

Edmund sighed and leaned his forehead against hers. "If this works, I promise I will," he drew back and kissed her hand, but his eyes said he wanted to do more. Smiling slightly, he tugged at a loose curl. "You did look radiant this evening, though."

Liana's cheeks turned pink. Before she could respond, Peter had pointedly cleared his throat. Edmund grinned at Liana, kissed her hand again, and gently tugged her towards the other end of the room. He helped Liana into an armchair and stood behind her as Peter turned towards the person in the shadows, beckoning them closer.

The human half of the centaur was undoubtedly female. Her hair was long and wild, jet black to match her eyes. Her coat was a deep brown, and a dagger hung in a strap around her shoulders. She wore a fitted jerkin of the same color. Her eyes were kind. "Well met, Healer Liana," her voice was deep and rich. "The Kings and my husband say many great things about you."

Liana blinked in response. Seeing her confusion, Peter hastily stepped in. "Liana, may we present Dreyna, wife of Orius." Liana could only nod. The presence of a centaur in Peter's study made her feel incredibly uneasy. Though she had always liked Orius, her interaction with him had been limited and Ronas's involvement in her attack meant that she currently did not believe herself to be a good judge of character. Dreyna looked kind, but Ronas had always appeared utterly harmless as well: Liana found herself wishing that Edmund would abandon propriety and put his arms around her, if only to lessen some of the discomfort she was feeling.

"Dreyna is a druid," explained Edmund quietly. "She helped us in the war against the White Witch, making salves and potions for injured soldiers. We didn't have healers at the time and even though that is not her duty, she was very willing to help."

"The balance of nature needed to be set right. A hundred years of winter was taking its toll on Narnia," Dreyna turned her eyes to Liana. "The Just King tells me you suffer from a loss of memory."

"I don't know what I suffer from," said Liana. She shrugged off Edmund's comforting hand on her shoulder: she was weak and ill, yes, but she hadn't lost all of her nerve. "I mean no offense, but I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me why exactly I need a druid to tell me what's wrong with my memory," she directed her question to Peter and Edmund. The latter flinched; Peter merely nodded understandingly.

"You'll see why we summoned her once Dreyna understands your situation a bit more," said the High King soothingly.

Liana narrowed her eyes suspiciously and was about to retort before she felt Edmund's hand touch her shoulder again, this time hesitantly. He saw through her resolve as soon as they locked eyes: the small degree of panic that was hiding behind her eyes was quickly resurfacing. He bent down and caressed her face gently. "She'll help you, Liana," he murmured. "Just talk to her. Please."

Liana's shoulders slumped in defeat. She couldn't deny him this, not after everything he had done to keep her alive. Once again, Aslan's words crept into her head, but she violently blinked away any thoughts that might be shown on her face. She didn't make eye contact, but willingly answered all of Dreyna's inquiries regarding her health. As she spoke, Edmund's hand shifted from her shoulder to her neck, and then to her hair, which he stroked gently as she finished describing the pain she felt every time someone questioned her about the attack.

Dreyna sighed. Her eyes were sympathetic when Liana finally looked up at her. "I know your case well, Healer Liana. It is one of my own drafts, used inappropriately."

Liana was speechless. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she understood fully what Dreyna had said. "You're a druid," she repeated. Her brain was trying desperately to catch up with the progressing situation. "I haven't been able to remember my attacker at all. What kind of draft did you brew?" she couldn't hide the horror and accusation that laced her words.

Dreyna's face darkened. "Those were dark times, after the Witch had fallen," she began slowly. "Many soldiers needed… more than a bandage, to function normally again, if you would. My husband saw many of his men, good men, suffer from nightmares because of their days spent in the Witch's dungeon, or lying frozen in her palace. He was afraid it would compromise their ability to protect Narnia. The Just King knew of this," Edmund bowed his head at that. "Together, we three devised a plan to aid such soldiers. I brewed a draft, which during the Witch's days had been used as a torture device. I modified it, made it gentler, thus turning it into an elixir which would lessen the pain of the memory of the war against Jadis. However, in order to do so, I brewed many vials of the original potion. It was strictly guarded, for no one but I could change it from poison to an elixir."

Liana's brows furrowed. "I'm sorry, Dreyna, I don't follow. I know enough of druids to know that their work is unique. How could you brew something Jadis created without her essence?"

Dreyna nodded slowly. "You are well-versed in your craft. Yes, in order to brew the draft, we required some of Jadis's magic. The Just King aided us in that. By the end, I assure you, no one would have been able to tell the difference."

Edmund helped? His past was no secret, and Liana knew she had but to ask should she doubt him. The information was unsettling, but she couldn't think of it now. She bit her lip. "Jadis had many different methods of torture. What poison is this?"

"She used it to extract information from the loyal Narnians. Whatever they were hiding from her, she would make her dwarves question them repeatedly while the poison was in their system. Every time they thought of the answer, but did not speak, a vein in their brains would explode, and then quickly heal," Dreyna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It was unnecessarily brutal. I changed the process, so that every time a soldier thought of his experience in the war, the gory details would become foggy, with no emotion associated with it. At one point, my husband suggested using my earlier test drafts as methods of torture. The memory of the person administering the dose could fade, but not the events they caused. Any attempt to remember would cause the same pain, but heightened. The entire experience was utterly grotesque. Of course, the High King refused," Peter nodded solemnly at that. "Ever since, I have only brewed a likeness of it once."

Liana waited for her to continue, and when she didn't, she sat up a little straighter. "Who did you brew it for?"

"For me," Edmund spoke quietly. "I intended to use it on Ronas, but Peter talked me out of it. I never returned it to Dreyna, and we kept it in the jails. Someone visiting could have easily stolen it."

Liana rested her forehead against her palm, trying to control the mixture of fear and anger that threatened to overflow. She wanted to scream at Edmund, and yet she wanted to curl up into his arms and make him take the pain away. She blinked rapidly to erase the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes, and cleared her throat. "I suppose that does sum up my situation rather well. How long until it leaves my system?"

Dreyna raised her eyebrows at Liana's question. Evidently, she had been expecting a different reaction. "I'm afraid I do not know. We never tested it, but I believe I can brew an antidote for it within a month."

Liana nodded. "Please do, Dreyna. Thank you for your help."

"It is the least I can do, Healer Liana," Dreyna bowed her head, and Peter took that as a signal to escort her out, muttering something about returning to the ball.

The door had not yet shut when Liana leaned back in her chair, hiding her face in both her hands. Her breathing felt constricted. Was she having a panic attack? The rational side of her brain tried to mechanically diagnose her problem while the other, emotional side, burst into tears. Vaguely, she heard a slight bustle around the room, harsh words uttered by Edmund, Dreyna's calm voice, Peter reassuring someone, the door opening and closing, and then, finally, silence.

"Liana," a single word broke the silence. It was Edmund. He pried her fingers loose from her face and sighed, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. However, they kept flowing, and Liana tugged her hands away from him, burying her face into them and continuing to cry. Her head was beginning to ache. Why had Aslan sent her back to Edmund if she was only going to suffer? The antidote that Dreyna talked of would take a month to brew, and if it was this Count who was responsible for attacking her, it meant he would stop at nothing to hurt her. She had a family to care for, and Edmund, foolish Edmund, so in love with her that he wouldn't care who he hurt, or whose life he would have to answer for just as long as he kept her safe, had done something reckless out of love for her. Who would keep her safe when he was gone?

"Liana," Edmund's voice was thick with emotion. "Liana, Dreyna can help you, she can take the pain away, I promise. Just please, stop crying and talk to me, please."

She barely heard him, but his grieved tone was enough to make her attempt to control her sobs. The last thing Liana wanted was for Edmund to be pained because she could not control her emotions. So, hiccuping and wiping at her eyes, she attempted to look up. When she did, she saw that his eyes were sad.

She opened her mouth to speak but he shushed her, helping her stand up and wrapping his arms around her tightly, burying his face into her shoulder. "I've wanted to do this since I saw you this evening," he murmured. "I cannot stand to see you cry. I am so, so sorry. This is my entire fault. I let my emotions get the best of me, and if I hadn't been so insistent on torturing Ronas I would have been there when you were hurt, I could have saved you."

Liana froze in his arms. Her head ached and her eyes were swollen from crying, but her thoughts were clear. She painstakingly pushed herself away from Edmund, taking a step back and resting a hand against his cheek. He enveloped her small hand in his larger one, his eyes continuing to look utterly defeated. "None of this is your fault," said Liana firmly. Her voice was hoarse, but she was glad that she did not sound conflicted. "Don't you dare blame yourself for the vile actions of one who will never be able to understand the love I feel for you, nor you for me, King Edmund. Never blame yourself," the vicious bite in her tone surprised even her. "I refuse to spend another second listening to this. I am tired. You are tired. We are going back to your room, and we are going to sleep. You are going to hold me, and we are going to remember a happier, simpler time, when you would tease me and I would scorn you. Agreed?"

The sad look did not leave his eyes, but his lips twitched. He removed her hand from his face and clenched it, pressing his lips to her knuckles. "Your wish is my command."

!

"I know some things you heard tonight must have bothered you," Liana cracked open an eye lazily to see Edmund staring down at her. Despite the flickering candle as the only source of light in the room, she could clearly make out the discomfort and lingering sadness in his eyes. They hadn't been asleep for long, and Liana judged it to be nearing daybreak. Why he would be up with a lit candle was beyond her, but she sensed that it would be wise not to argue and allow him to speak.

"Why?" she stifled a yawn behind her hand, and saw Edmund's expression change. She pressed a finger against his lips before he could sleep. "I am being lazy. It is a relief, I suppose, to know that I haven't actually lost my memory. I want to talk about what's bothering you. What do you mean?"

Edmund sighed. "Dreyna told you many things today about my past that you never knew."

Realization flickered through Liana's eyes. "You mean how you were the reason she got a hold of Jadis's magic."

"Yes," Edmund nodded. Liana sat up in bed slowly, allowing Edmund to help her despite the desire to tell him she was not an invalid. She rested her head against his bare chest, ignoring the slight blush that graced her cheeks at the realization of his state of undress. They had been sharing a room for weeks, but the circumstances were such that rarely did Liana awake before him, and never in the middle of the night was she conscious of him wearing a shirt or not. It surprised her how comfortable she was sharing a bed with another man: she had never shared a room growing up, and had always accepted that after marriage the arrangement would not change. In the back of her mind, she knew that once the antidote was made and the identity of her attacker was confirmed, there was no reason for her to continue living in Edmund's chambers.

Unless she married him.

Blinking away the sudden turn her thoughts had taken, she pressed a kiss to his hand. "Your past does not define you, Edmund. I know you made a mistake. The details are unnecessary."

"I know you believe that," his free hand stroked her hair. "But I want you to know that, should you ever have any doubts, you can always come to me and ask me anything. Many people know what I did, Liana, but few understand. I have a crown on my head and I try to be fair, so I feel that I am respected. But I know Peter and my sisters are liked more."

"You're wrong," Liana shook her head. "You are good and kind and I know for a fact that you are just as well-loved and respected as your siblings. You underestimate yourself so much, I wish you wouldn't. I wish you could see through my eyes."

"Your judgement is clouded."

"By your expert kissing skills?" Liana snorted. "Hardly. If you were not all that I think you are, I would not be here."

There was silence after her comment, and then Edmund spoke in an affronted tone. "Were you just sarcastic about my kissing skills?"

Liana giggled. "Yes, Edmund. In the midst of a serious conversation, I made a jab at your kissing technique."

"Minx," he growled playfully and wrapped his arms around her, turning her over so she rested her chin on his chest. "I suppose I'll have to remind you what an expert I am."

"You should," Liana gave him a chaste kiss. "But not tonight. I do have one question that I want you to answer."

"Anything."

"Where did you get Jadis's magic from?"

His eyes darkened a little at that, but he did not let her go, which she took as a good sign. He merely sighed and entwined their fingers, clutching her hand a little tighter than usual. "When I first came to Narnia, Jadis bribed me to spy on my siblings and turn them in to her."

He was quiet after that. Liana bit her lip. "I do not want to cause you pain," she said gently. "I am just curious. This does not change how I see you, and you do not have to tell me anything if you prefer not to."

"I know," he squeezed her hand. "But I want to tell you."

Liana nodded comfortingly. When he still didn't speak, she squeezed his hand. "I am not going to leave you, Edmund. You can tell me anything."

His lips twitched at that. "I was always the weak one of my family. Susan was always the adults' favorite. Peter was in charge. Lucy was always happy, making everyone laugh. Jadis showered me with attention and made me feel important. I was nothing special, I knew that, and she played on that. She gave me sweets and told me stories of how great I could be if I helped her. I was foolish and ignorant, and I traded confectionery for my brother and sisters," he laughed bitterly. "It wasn't until Aslan saved me that I realized what I had done, and that I would spend the rest of my life making up for it. The sweets she gave me were magic, of course, we later realized they contributed to my willingness to betray my family. I had some left, after the war, and I kept them. It turns out they held her essence. I gave some to Dreyna, allowing her to mix the draft that's gotten us into this mess in the first place."

Liana did not speak after he was done. She untangled herself from his arms, gently, still holding his hand, so she could face him. The pain that was in his voice was reflected on his face and the raw anguish broke her heart. Edmund had never struck her as a tormented soul, but oh, he was. The guilt had never truly left him, and Liana realized, with a sinking heart, that she did not have long to cleanse him of negativity. But she could try.

"Listen to me," she said quietly. "You were a child in a time of war, when love was difficult to come by. You have your weaknesses, Edmund, as do we all. You are human, and Aslan knew that, which is why he forgave you. Jadis was a manipulator, Edmund, she played on your weaknesses. We both know you have a good heart. Your weakness was your desire to be loved and respected, and to call that a weakness is foolish since it is that quality which makes you a great king. You cannot hold yourself responsible for the actions of someone whose aim in life was to destroy people. She could not destroy you, but your guilt is something left over from her, something that she would enjoy. Do not let her," Liana persistently turned his face back so they could lock eyes, not allowing him to look away. "You are good and kind and strong. You are loved and respected, and trust me, you have more than made up for any folly you committed as a child that was led astray. You are the man I love, and I am proud that you love me too, because if I am half as good as you are, I believe that is a worthy accomplishment."

She finished and breathed heavily. Though she felt much better, she was still tired easily. Edmund sensed her weariness and wordlessly pulled her down next to him, allowing her to cuddle up against his chest. The steady beat of his heart pressed against her hand, and Liana smiled a little when she felt it. "I love you," his voice was a quiet murmur in her ear.

"I know. I love you too."

He kissed her temple, almost thoughtfully. "Being with you and hearing your words make me feel that perhaps I have finally done something right. Perhaps you came to fall in love with me for a reason."

Liana smiled. "Am I your reward then, King Edmund?"

"Yes, Liana," his lips ghosted over her neck and Liana willingly turned to face him. The look in his eyes was hungry, but it didn't overshadow the love she saw in them for her. "If ever I did something right in my life, it was falling in love with you."

Hello, world! Be prepared for longer chapters now. Bear with me, I know its unforgivable, this lapse in updating, but don't give up on me yet! This story is my baby, probably the only story I've ever written that is turning out exactly as planned :) leave a review to let me know how many of my original readers are still here!