Well, I know this chapter is pretty short, but it took me forever to write. So I hope you like it, haha.

This is why I bumped the rating up to T. It's not bad, but it does definitely imply some things. :D

BeckyBoo12221- That's fantastic, haha. Seven times? I'm quite jealous

Don't forget reviews!

Chapter Thirty-Six

We sailed along the narrow current for several more days, until the glassy green sea was merely an emerald strip on the western horizon. All around us was the Silver Sea, as we had come to call it. Each day we took a sounding to see how deep it was, but it remained the same for about four days. But on the fifth day, the water got suddenly shallower, and the next day even more so.

By this time, I knew our journey was nearly at its end and that there were only a few more days until we found the World's End. And each day, my sense of urgency grew stronger, and I felt inside of me that mine and Edmund's time together was dwindling.

On the evening of the sixth day of sailing on the Silver Sea, when we took our measurement of the depths and found how shallow it was, I knew that the Dawn Treader wouldn't be able to carry us much farther. Maybe one more day of sailing before we would run aground, and I wondered what we'd do then.

When I went to bed that night, I tossed and turned. I lay staring up at the planking on my low cabin ceiling, thinking about the time, and how, so quickly, it was suddenly gone. Because I knew, just like I knew Edmund and Lucy would come to me like Aslan had promised, that now they would be leaving again. They may not have known it then, but I could feel it in my bones. Tonight was our last night to be together, and I was lying here, wasting it with useless attempts at sleep.

I threw back my sheets with a sudden determination, my heart racing. I quietly opened my door and crept down the narrow hall, clad only in my flannel nightgown. I avoided all of the squeaky floorboards, being as silent as I could.

When I reached his door, I took a deep breath, my heart pounding, and then gently pushed it open. He was awake, lying on top of his sheets on his bed, still fully clothed and a candle lit on his bed stand. His dark eyes darted to me in the doorway, and he quickly sat up.

"Rosie?" he whispered.

I stepped inside, quietly shutting the door behind me. "I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep tonight, I just couldn't. Not with…" I stopped, biting my lip.

His dark brows knit together slightly. "What is it?" He asked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, but remaining seated. "Not with what?"

I took a shaky breath. "I…I'm…" I stuttered, not able to say what I needed to. How could I just say something like that? Put everything I was thinking into words? Edmund stood now, closing the short distance between us.

He took my hands and looked into my face. "What is it?" he asked again, even softer this time.

I couldn't help it; I started crying. A few tears slid down my cheeks, and I sniffed softly. And then it all came gushing out.

"I've been having these feelings that you and Lucy are going to have to leave soon, and I know it's silly and I have no real reason to think that, but I know it's true. And if you leave, I'll be alone. And we'll never have gotten the chance to spend time together, by ourselves, maybe be married. And I'll never know what it's like, I'll never have gotten to…" Here I trailed off.

I just couldn't say it. Edmund's dark eyes were searching mine as I spilled out my thoughts. When I stopped, I could see his puzzlement.

"What what's like?" he asked, tucking the red curls that had fallen in my face behind my ear.

I looked at him, my green eyes looking into his brown ones. Then I looked back down, ashamed, but saying it anyway, just barely audible. "What it's like to love you."

I heard his breathing hitch just slightly. There was a moment in which he was completely still and silent, and I panicked. But then he tilted my chin back up, and kissed me. He kissed me slowly and sensuously, and his fingers running through my hair. I breathed in deeply, melting into his body, and circled my arms around his neck. One hand ran down the back off my neck and onto my shoulder, tracing designs onto it. The he was tugging the material over my shoulder just slightly. He traced kisses along my jaw, slowly down my neck, onto my shoulder.

Then he whispered into my ear, "Is this what you want?" I nodded slightly, breathing shakily as my heart pounded in my ribcage. "Are you sure?" he whispered again.

I nodded again and then said, "Yes, I'm…I'm sure."

I could feel him smile as he kissed my collarbone, and barely heard him say, "Good. Because I do too."

He began to tug at my other sleeve, while I un-buttoned his shirt, and then slipped it off. His bare chest was beneath my fingertips, and this made my heart gallop even faster.

I unbuckled his belt, and then he slid my nightgown all the way off. I immediately felt exposed in the flickering yellow candlelight, and tried to cover myself. I looked away from him, embarrassed by my skin, freckled from so many days spent out of doors, and all of my scars from battle.

But then he was taking my wrists, pulling my back to him again, saying, "Don't try to hide yourself, Rosie. You're beautiful." He pulled me onto the bed, and then leaned over to blow out the candle, wrapping us in darkness.