18.

They were back on the ship, after having found the blue star. But the bad news were still arriving. The wind was not in their favor, they would be stuck in the middle of the sea for day...

"Eustace, that's brilliant!" Edmund exclaimed as he saw his dragon cousin pulling the Dawn Treader towards their destination.

Edmund finally felt that he could relax, so he went up to the helm's level and decided to enjoy the view and wind from up there.

"Hey...kid" He heard Elle as she approached Phineas sitting on the stairs near Edmund.

"Hey" Phineas said back

"So..." Edmund saw Elle and he smiled as she saw her fidgeting with her hands, just as Edna did. It was weird to see it in Elle, though, since it was a sign of nerves, and the Italian girl was never nervous. "are we okay?" She asked.

"I don't know." Edmund heard Phineas "Are we? "Phineas asked nervously as if asking for her permission. "You know I can't stay mad at anyone for a long time..."

"Just like mother" Elle said.

"Just like mother" Phineas repeated in agreement.

Edmund wanted to meddle right there, he wanted to say "that's because you never saw her with Peter...", but he knew that it was a special moment for the siblings. Probably their first real talk after everything they had gone true.

"So are we okay?" Phineas asked her.

"Are we?" Elle asked back, funnily.

"I think so." Phineas smiled and she smiled back.

"Good." She said before awkwardly putting a hand around his shoulders.

"Too soon?" Phineas asked her.

"Yeah, too soon." She said before quickly putting her arm away from the kid.

Phineas laughed at his sister and that was when Elle's eyes looked over her brother's shoulder. Edmund had been busted looking at them. Yet, his friend didn't mock at him or anything, she just signaled him, using only her eyes, the crow's nest. Edmund nodded. They would meet there later.

Elle climbed up the mast towards the crow's nest.

"Gosh, I hate Narnia" she muttered all her way up, blaming Narnia of the height of the mast.

Edmund was already there, waiting for her, his eyes in the island in the distance. Romandu's.

"Last time I came up here I almost die of the Black Plague" she joke as she stood next to him.

"Why do you complain?" He said his eyes still in the horizon. "It was your idea to come up here"

"I know, but" she smiled "it's like our official meeting point or something."

"I guess so" Edmund smiled at her.

"Caspian declared to me!" She blurted out, incapable of holding it inside anymore.

Edmund frowned and blinked several time.

"Of course, he did." He muttered with a sight.

"Did you know?" She narrowed her eyes at the boy of her same age. "How...? When...?" She blinked too "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked him with hurt "I probably looked like a stupid, didn't now what to say...If-If I had known..."

Edmund faced her.

"If you had known..." His previous joy had disappeared of his face. "What would you have done?" He was now the one hurting "What did you answered him?"

Elle stood in silence, looking him directly on the face.

"You don't seem to like the idea, do you?" She frowned "You're blaming it on me when you're the one who didn't tell me..." She muttered "I thought we told everything to the other"

Edmund was now looking away.

"Edmund?" She called him "Are you okay?"

He turned to her, looked her in the eyes and then covered his face with his hands.

"Edmund?" She asked again.

"I don't think I can go through this again" he muttered and leaned on the railing. "I can't..."

Elle had missed the signs with Caspian, she wasn't stupid to miss them again. She wasn't stupid.

"Are you..." she bit her lip. If it wasn't what she thought, she'd end up sounding like Regina George. Of course, Edmund didn't know who it was. She took a deep breath "Are you...in love with me?"

Edmund kept shaking his head, his face covered by his hands. Elle took his hands away.

He looked at her, defeated.

"I know you've a lot in your mind..." He started "With Phineas, your mother, your family...your home" He muttered with a frown "I didn't want my feelings to be an extra burden to you..." He lowered his head "Elle, I haven't felt this way in a long time..."

Elle started shaking her head.

"Ed... you know I'm not my nonna." She said uncomfortable to be caught inside a mess of long saved memories and feelings. It would ruin their friendship. "Right?"

"I know." He answered instantly, he was 100% sure of it. "That's why I'm certain of it, El" he really sounded like he was hurting. "But I'm also certain that not only I have to worry about not being corresponded, but also about you leaving, about never seeing you again after you do." He closed his eyes as he said this.

Elle grimaced and pushed him.

"Idiot! You could've told about this in advance too!" She scowled with hurt. "I don't know what to say now, just as I didn't knew with Caspian." She shook her head "When did this happened?"

Edmund's face filled with confusion and entertainment, watching at her reaction.

"I don't know when it started." He leaned on the railing and stared at the horizon again. Elle did the same "but I can tell you how." He smiled, his side face backlit with the sunset. "It started with your quirks."

"Quirks?" Elle scoffed "I was preparing myself to hear something cheesy like "the black of your eyes" or "the smell of your hair""

"The smell of your hair?" Edmund snorted "That's creepy."

"Hey, I was just wondering." She waved her hand "Do continue, please. I want to hear the story of how you fell for me" She joked with a sincere smile.

Edmund smiled back at her, just as the last rays of sun fell on her eyes and he noticed that they were actually a dark brown.

"Listen everyone!" Phineas smiled when he saw his sister jumping up to the starboard railing "Just for the record..." She raised a finger as everyone turned to see her.

They were getting ready to get into the boats to go to the island. She had been asked by Drinian why was she coming with them. The close group of friends had looked at her.

"You hate Narnia" Lucy's voice raised while the girl on the railing had still her finger pointed up "We know, you've said just a thousand times" Lucy joked.

"Yes!" Elle exclaimed and pointed at her "Exactly, I do hate Narnia, but..." then she pointed at Phineas and signaled him with her finger to go near her.

Phineas pointed at himself as if saying "me?". Elle nodded. He walked at her.

"My youngest brother" she announced while touching Phineas blonde hair and playing with it, giving him weird hairstyles. "knows something you all don't. And that is?" She asked out loud to everyone to hear "Don't fail me hear, bro" She muttered behind him.

"Elle hates everything" He finished, grinning.

She extended her arms to her sides as if that answered everything.

"We already knew that" Edmund nodded at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm still at lost" Caspian followed the game.

"What I mean is that you, Narnian people, should not feel...too bad," she announced loudly "about me saying bloody hell of your kingdom." She nodded "So don't get surprised about me wanting to come with you." She finished awkwardly "it was just for the record" she repeated before jumping down.

While everyone got read on the boats Phineas walked to his sister.

"Seriously, why do you want to come?" He asked her.

"You're going, dumb-dumb." She put an arm around his shoulders "that's reason enough. "She shrugged "Also," she smirked "I have to avenge myself against the green mist. That thing tried to kill me."

But Phineas sensed there was something else.

"And?" He asked making her roll her eyes.

"If nonna and mother's so dearly Narnia is in danger, the least I can do, after all this time, is help"

Lucy looked around at the terrifying statues that raised around them on that dark forest of Romandu's island.

The night had fallen during their journey and everyone was on edge in that mysterious place. Lucy saw Elle behind her muttering to herself, while Phineas next to Lucy was fidgeting with his hands and sending his sister reassuring smiles every now and then. Lucy smiled at this, Phineas was not the best athlete or the bravest of man, but he sure had a great heart. On the other hand, Elle was a great athlete, especially with the sword, as Lucy had seen her sparring with Edmund. Elle was one of the bravest and boldest woman she had met, though her heart... well, Elle was working on it. What best evidence than to have her there willing to help them all save Narnia? Edna had raised a good pair of kids.

Lucy's thoughts were interrupted when they walked under an arch shaped tree. Behind it was a table filled with delicious meals. Yet everyone stayed alert as they saw it, it was too suspicious.

Everyone except Tavros who was already enjoying the food in his mind.

"Wait." Drinian warned him.

At the end of the table, sitting, were Lord Revilian, Lord Mavramorn and Lord Argoz, as Caspian recognized them. They weren't moving, yet they were breathing.

"They're under a spell." Edmund said, his torchlight illuminating the lord's faces.

"It's the food!" Caspian yelled before Tavros could take a bite of the apple the minotaur had taken from the table.

They had found Aslan's table and soon placed the swords they had found during the journey, along with the ones of the found lords, over the table

"That's 6." Edmund said.

"We're missing one." Caspian added just before the 6 swords on the rock table started glowing up with blue light.

"What the..." Lucy didn't allow Elle to finish her sentence.

"Look!"

A light in the sky was coming down to them. When it touched the ground, it turned into a beautiful woman.

"Travellers of Narnia" Everyone fell on their knees "Welcome." She was one of the most beautiful woman Lucy had ever seen, topped only by the White Witch. Lucy shivered. "Arise!" The woman said sweetly "Are you not hungry?" She asked them.

"Who are you?" Lucy saw his brother looking at the woman with a dumbstruck expression. Actually, everyone looked the same way. Even Elle.

"I am Lilliandil." The woman spoke up "Daughter of Romandu. I am your guide."

"You're a star." Caspian realized and the woman looked at him and nodded. "You're beautiful."

"Hey!" Lucy heard Elle "I thought that was me!"

The men around the table shook their heads after being distracted by the acutely interruption.

"If it is a distraction for you, I can change forms." Lilliandil said

"No." Edmund, Caspian and Elle said.

The two men looked at the third girl, frowning.

"What?" Elle whined "I know when to accept that a girl is prettier than me." She shrugged and looked at the star "Believe, darling, you should never change the way you look for what a man says" She advice the star and then turned to Lucy "It happened to me once"

"Jim?" Phineas asked his sister.

"Yes." Elle scowled remembering her past "That son of a..."

"Please." Lilliandil spoke again "The food is for you." The glowing woman raised her hands and the candles on the table lit up "There is enough for everyone that welcome to Aslan's table. Always. Help yourselves."

"Wait." Edmund called with suspicious "What happened to them?"

"These poor men were half mad by the time they reached our shores." Lilliandil explained "They threatened each other with violence. Violence is forbidden at the table of Aslan, so they were sent to sleep."

"Will they ever awake?" Lucy spoke up for the first time.

"When all is put right." Lilliandil answers her "Come. There is little time."