Liana's eyes fluttered open and she raised a hand to rub her eyes, only to let it fall back in confusion on a soft surface. She distinctly remembered falling asleep on the divan in Edmund's room, but now she was unmistakably lying on a bed. Frowning, she looked around hazily and realized she was still in Edmund's room, but he had obviously shifted her onto his bed after she had fallen asleep. She heard voices and immediately went still, unwilling to confront a stranger who would undoubtedly notice her asleep in his bed.
"Really, Edmund, I thought you would have mentioned it to her by now, you've been with her for over three hours!" it was Lucy. Liana frowned, but didn't move. The young queen was whispering, and though Liana felt guilty for eavesdropping she couldn't resist.
"I haven't exactly had the luxury of time with her for quite some time, Lucy, forgive me if I had other things on my mind," snapped Edmund. Liana blushed at his words, her hand itching to run through his hair and calm him down. She knew he was irritated.
Lucy sighed. "Edmund, you should at least prepare her for it. Peter needs an answer now, we cannot give her the luxury of time!" huffing in frustration, the young queen turned around and evidently left the room, judging from the sharp click of the door. Realizing she could no longer pretend to sleep after such noise, Liana ran a hand through her hair and got to her feet, slipping them into her shoes that lay on the floor next to the bed and glancing at the desk. Sure enough, Edmund was seated there, his head in his hands as he read over something. The frustration was evident in his posture. Liana padded over and nudged him slightly, causing him to jump. Liana swallowed the questions she was burning to ask and knelt down next to his chair, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Sorry," she murmured. "I heard the door close and I woke up."
"I'm sorry about that," Edmund kissed her cheek quickly, obviously unwilling to speak more on the subject. "I moved you because I realized I had work to do," he reached for her hand, resting his cheek against her palm as he pushed the papers away from him. "These reports are giving me a headache."
"You should have slept when you had the chance," chided Liana gently. Edmund merely muttered something unintelligible and rested his head back in his chair. He looked exhausted. Liana bit her lip, moving to stand behind him so she could gently knead his shoulders with her palms. Despite her lack of strength, she knew exactly where to press and soon Edmund's eyes had shut, his breathing even and relaxed. Liana was tempted to leave him there, with a pillow for his neck to avoid any cramps. However, a quick glance out the window showed it was almost time for lunch, and she knew he couldn't miss any more meals. Almost apologetically, she nudged him again. He cracked open an eye lazily and gave her a questioning look. "We should go downstairs, I haven't even met the others."
Edmund yawned, but nodded. "I know," he threw one last glance at his desk before standing reluctantly and offering Liana his arm. She held up one finger to halt his movement and quickly moved towards the small mirror that hung in one corner of his room. Her eyes were bright, but no longer red from lack of sleep. She quickly splashed cold water onto her face from the basin near the mirror and wiped her face hurriedly. Her hair was messy, so Liana quickly braided it and tied the end with a ribbon that she had wrapped around her wrist before leaving the village. She turned back to Edmund and raised an eyebrow, causing him to chuckle. "You know I will always say you look beautiful no matter what," he told her, wrapping an arm around her waist and tugging her towards the door. "Why would you even ask?"
"I have no idea why I bother," Liana rolled her eyes, but accepted the quick kiss he gave her willingly enough. Edmund gave her one last smile before opening the door and ushering her out of the room. Lyra was waiting for them right outside.
Liana did not speak much on their way to the dining-room. Edmund and Lyra kept up a steady stream of conversation, mostly in reference to their travels and Edmund's hunt for the Count in Lyra's absence. By the time they reached the door, Edmund had already given Lyra several instructions to pass on to the search parties he had established, and Lyra left without argument. Liana knew capturing the Count was a priority for both of them, but she didn't have time to question Edmund on his efforts or on his conversation while he thought she had been asleep. As soon as the door was pushed open, she was bombarded with hugs from the Pevensies.
"Oh, Ed, you sneak!" cried Lucy. Her arms were thrown around Liana's waist as she glared at her brother. "You could have told me she had arrived, I waited for hours!" well, that answered that. She was obviously not supposed to know of Lucy's visit.
"A bit of sunlight will do you good, Lucy," responded Edmund dryly. "She fell asleep as soon as she arrived anyway.
Susan smacked his arm on her way to greet Liana. "You should have told us, Ed, I was getting worried," her reprimand was gentler. She hugged Liana herself and immediately frowned. "You haven't been eating properly," she stated matter-of-factly. "No matter, there is plenty of time to gain back some of the weight you finally put on."
Liana rolled her eyes. "Thank you for your kindness, Your Grace, but I prefer to remain this size."
"Do shut up, dear," responded Susan sweetly. Lucy giggled. Peter reached out to give Liana a quick squeeze around her shoulders and escorted her to the table himself, away from his sisters. Liana threw an amused glance at Edmund, who grudgingly offered his arms to his sisters and followed suit.
"We will have a meeting about official matters later," said Peter as soon as they were seated. The table, Liana noted, was mostly empty. Lias sat next to Edmund across from her, and she was seated on Peter's left, followed by Susan and Lucy. The seating arrangement itself was odd, but Liana didn't comment and merely helped herself to food, making sure to take more than she usually did to satisfy her friends. When she saw Susan's approving nod, she sighed in relief and began to eat.
She did not contribute to the conversation often, relieved to be spared that duty since Lias was incredibly chatty and Edmund was being particularly civil. The others kept the small talk flowing until it was time to retire, at which point she willingly accompanied the Pevensies to Peter's solar. Edmund fell into step beside her and discreetly touched her hand. Liana glanced up at him curiously. They lagged behind the others and were the last to enter the room. As Edmund held the door open for her, his quiet voice faintly reached her ears. "I was hoping to do this in a more private setting, but Peter is intent to steal my duty from me."
Liana blinked in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"
He grinned, a little abashedly, and ushered her inside, closing the door and once more grabbing her hand. As he tugged her towards one of the arm-chairs near the fire, Liana realized he was suddenly being more affectionate than usual, indeed more affectionate than she could ever remember him being in front of his siblings. He settled down in the chair and Liana found herself sitting on its arm, her ankles crossed neatly on one side as Edmund's shoulder gently rested against her waist, supporting some of her weight as she leaned against him. A quick glance at Susan and Lucy showed that they didn't seem to think this display odd, but Peter was smirking slightly. Liana bit her lip, but the comfort that she was deriving from Edmund's close proximity prevented her from moving.
"Well, we can discuss your mission in a few minutes," began Peter. "First, Liana, I have a proposition for you."
Liana looked up curiously. From opposite her, Lucy snorted. "A proposition, brother?" she asked. "Is that the best you could do?"
"This is exactly why we didn't want Edmund to say anything," said Susan, rolling her eyes. "I told you not to make it seem too business-like."
"I wouldn't have made it seem that way," interjected Edmund. Susan merely waved a hand at him, instructing him to be quiet.
Peter rolled his eyes. "As I was saying, Liana, certain new discoveries that have come to light regarding the honourable Count Hirof and his slight… obsession with you have led us to take precautionary measures. The first measure is that Lyra will now be your personal guard and will be given the sole task of shadowing you for as long as the count is deemed a threat. Now, the law demands that I ask for your approval over such an action. Do I have it?" he raised an eyebrow.
Liana was acutely aware of Susan's pointed stare and Edmund's hard clasp on her hand. She sighed, knowing she was defeated. "Yes, High King."
"Excellent," Peter's face broke out into a smile. "Now, onto the next order of business. How do you feel about marrying my good for nothing younger brother?"
Liana's eyebrows shot up at the blunt question. Lucy groaned, burying her face in her hands as Susan's began to scold her elder brother furiously for his lack of tact. Next to her, Edmund remained still as a statue. Ah, so that's what Lucy had told him to warn her about.
Unable to stop the small smile that tugged at her mouth, she leaned down to whisper in his ear, the argument of his siblings giving them a small amount of privacy. "I suppose this is the duty you were referring to?"
Edmund cleared his throat. "I wouldn't call marrying you a duty, exactly."
"Exactly?" she didn't know why she was saying these things. Inside, she was feeling over a hundred emotions at once, and her outward calm was disconcerting, even to herself. But she needed to stay in control, otherwise the chances of her squealing like the love-sick teenager she had once been were very high.
"Well, with reference to Peter's argument, a betrothal is the easiest way to get the Count away from you, and I just thought-"
"You thought that, with you around, picking a suitable candidate would be unnecessary."
"Is it necessary?" at her statement, his eyes locked with hers, and they were dark and unreadable. Liana gulped and drew back slightly, unwillingly to become lost in the danger that was Edmund's gaze when there were so many people around. She realized that the argument around them had stopped, and the three other occupants of the room were looking at them with small smiles on their faces that immediately caused her to blush scarlet.
"Well, I feel like you just answered my question, but I would like verbal confirmation as well," Peter sounded even more amused that before. "What do you say, Liana? We knew it would happen sooner rather than later, and I understand that this is sooner than you might want, but-"
"Oh, no, I have no objections," interrupted Liana. Lucy giggled at the interruption, causing Liana to blush harder. "I-I mean-"
Peter merely clapped his hands together, ignoring her embarrassment completely. "Well, I think that's all the words I need out of you for the night," he stood up and grinned down at the flustered couple. "We will have a ball to celebrate, of course, and an announcement will be made first thing tomorrow morning. I wanted to have you join the council meeting tomorrow night, Liana, so that you may brief us all on your recent trip and your discoveries. Would that be alright with you?"
Liana nodded and Peter went to the door, no doubt to send a messenger and inform the rest of the council about Liana's presence. Susan drifted off towards the window seat with a small bunch of letters that she would no doubt be catching up on and Lucy curled up in an armchair opposite to Peter's desk, a book already open on her lap.
"Would you like to take a walk with me?" Edmund's quiet voice interrupted Liana's observations. She glanced down at him and saw a small smile on his face. She returned it and nodded, standing up and accepting his hand. To her surprise, he didn't offer her his arm as he usually did when they exited the solar. Instead, he intertwined their fingers and strolled towards the main doors casually. Liana's raised eyebrows, however, caused him to pause. "Is something wrong?" he asked quietly.
"You're holding my hand," pointed out Liana. At his look of confusion, she elaborated. "You normally don't do that."
"I see no reason that I cannot do it anymore. By morning, everyone will know of our betrothal."
Liana bit her lip to hide the smile that threatened to overtake her face at her words. "Yes, I suppose you're right."
Edmund hummed in agreement, tugging on her hand to make her walk faster. They made their way towards the general direction of the stables and once there, Edmund paused for only a fraction of a second, as if asking permission. Liana merely smiled and allowed herself to be led inside. Philip inclined his head in greeting when he saw her.
"I am pleased to see you have returned safely, Healer Liana," said the horse kindly. Then, with a sour glance at Edmund, he added, "The amount of rides I've been forced to go on to allow His Grace to calm his nerves…" he shook his head. "Horrifying. Not as young as I once was, you know."
"I suppose it was my fault for causing him to worry so much," said Liana, fighting to keep the smile off her face. "I apologize."
"No need," Philip willingly trotted out of his stall when Edmund opened the door, ignoring the king's look of annoyance. "For you, I can make an exception. Has he asked you to marry him yet?"
Liana couldn't resist laughing at that, causing Edmund to roll his eyes, muttering something about a lack of respect. Biting her tongue and nodding at Philip to confirm his suspicions, Liana leaned against Edmund, her hand absently brushing some of his hair out of his eyes before he turned away. He threw a gentle smile in her direction, causing her heart to soar as he saddled Philip. Once he was done, he grasped Liana's waist and, without warning, settled her on top of the horse. Liana poked him when he joined her.
"I can get on a horse by myself, Edmund," she reminded him as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back. "You don't always have to look after me."
"I know," he answered. He urged Philip to go faster and through the noise of the wind Liana just barely made out his next words. "I just felt like doing it, for once."
!
"I didn't know you liked the beach."
Edmund shrugged. "I don't mind it. I like the outdoors."
Liana smiled and ran her fingers through the soft sand idly. Philip was tethered not far from them, seemingly taking a nap. The beach could clearly be seen from the upper stories of Cair Paravel, and not too far was the clearing that Edmund had first taken her to many months ago. As it had been that day, the sea breeze was pleasant, but they were seated on the ground, a bit closer than proper so Edmund could play with her hair. They hadn't spoken in the past few minutes, but Liana knew the conversation in Peter's study and his conversation with Lucy needed to be addressed, sooner rather than later.
"I heard you and Lucy speaking," she confessed finally, opting for the lesser evil. "I had just woken up, but I didn't know who it was so I didn't say anything. I'm sorry for eavesdropping."
"Don't be," Edmund sighed. "I should have at least attempted to warn you, but," he sighed again, and she felt him kiss the top of her head gently. "When Peter spoke to me about the betrothal, I was so intent on finding ways to keep you close to me that I agreed without even consulting you."
"He wanted me to speak to you originally, the day I was attacked," Edmund hummed in acknowledgement, but didn't respond. Liana knew he preferred not to think of that day. Suddenly, she realized what he had just said and smacked his chest in reproach, causing him to grunt in pain and give her an incredulous look. Liana snorted. "You thought there was something to consult?"
His eyes remained somber. "I couldn't be sure of your answer, not when I am the reason so many bad things keep happening to you."
"You're ridiculous," Liana rolled her eyes. "As if someone as insignificant as the Count could keep me from marrying you."
"Don't underestimate him, Liana, because I will not," his voice was hard.
A fit of boldness overtook her, and she met his gaze head on. "Don't underestimate my love for you, King Edmund, because clearly the Count has."
Edmund narrowed his eyes at the accusation. Undaunted, Liana continued to look at him challengingly. His gaze softened. "Perhaps I do not give you enough credit."
"Yes, but I will not blame you," Liana huffed, but resumed her position against his chest so that he could play with her hair again. "I must admit, this is a surprise. I didn't think anyone would take too kindly to such an idea."
"I didn't plan to surprise you," admitted Edmund. "I wanted to talk to you first and see how you would react to the idea. The council doesn't know, but I never needed their permission or approval anyway, it was just something we wanted to do so that there would be no issues with trust. Of course, Susan and Lucy wanted a large and highly extravagant romantic gesture and Peter just wanted an answer."
Liana giggled. "You didn't like the romantic gesture idea?"
"I didn't think you would appreciate something like that," said Edmund sheepishly. "I thought you might have wanted to discuss it with me before anything else. Of course, if you prefer-"
"I don't," interrupted Liana. Images of fanfare and glittering costumes danced in front of her eyes and she felt her head spin. "I liked your version just fine."
"There was no version. Peter made it sound like a business deal, which is exactly what Lucy and Susan thought I would do when I said I wanted to talk to you. But I wouldn't have," his voice was so earnest that Liana turned back to look at him in surprise. His eyes were bright and happy, something she had been yearning to see since the day he had confessed his feelings in inadequacy. "I understand that you may feel I'm doing this out of necessity or some desire to protect you, and I am, but I want you to know that I love you and this is something I've wanted for us since the day I realized I was in love with you. I've wanted to bring it up so many times, but I knew it wasn't right, and when Peter suggested it, it hit me that I couldn't keep waiting for the perfect timing," his fingers trailed down her cheeks, brushing away the tears that had begun to leak from her eyes as he continued to speak. "Nothing about us has ever been traditional or conventional, even though you've tried to correct my behavior any chance you get. I love everything about you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I wish I could have said this to you sooner, or in a better setting, but I-"
"Stop," Liana interrupted him. She rested two fingers against his lips to ensure he wouldn't speak and gave him a watery smile, which was oddly more beautiful than the previous smiles she had ever given him. "You foolish man, why would you think the absence of a proper setting would make me change my mind after a speech like that?" Edmund tried to protest, but she silenced him again. She shook her head laughingly. "I love you, King Edmund, more than I thought myself capable of. These past days without you have been torturous, and I don't want to imagine my life with you after this," her voice broke at that, and Edmund took her into his arms immediately, running a soothing hand through her hair. Liana clutched at him helplessly, willing her tears to slow so she could speak. Her heart was breaking, but the light in Edmund's eyes had never been brighter, and she would not put him through the pain of a rejection. He deserved better than that. "I don't care about proposals and circumstances," she whispered, knowing he could hear her. "I just want you."
It was the most candid conversation she had ever had with him, and she knew he felt it too. He pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against hers, a smile playing on his lips as he smoothed her hair out of her face and wiped away her tears. When he was done, he pressed a kiss to her nose. "You'll always have me," he promised. "I'm not going anywhere."
Liana smiled again, willing her tears away. "I know," she lied.
Oh dear, I think I just made myself cry!
