Restricted

~. ~ Chapter Seven ~. ~

"Darling, I need you to be really quiet." Josephine hushed the crying daughter in front of her as her heartbeat raced against the clock. She was aware that she had little time left and decided against taking a chance by postponing it any longer because doing so might endanger the life of her child.

Aliyah looked at her mother with tears pouring down her delicate face as she was put inside a cramped underground hideout. She was astounded by how chaotic her home was and by the loud gunfire that could be heard from the streets. Her father was nowhere to be found.

"What's going on mommy?" Aliyah asked timidly, clutching onto her mother's arms, not willing to let go.

Josephine forced a reassuring smile at her daughter, wishing time would stop because she knew what was about to happen. She would do anything to have more time just to remember her daughter's look for the last few moments of her life.

"Promise me Aliyah." Josephine kissed her forehead, staining it with her tears. "No matter what happens, do not come out here. Do you understand?"

Aliyah nodded her head obediently and she asked innocently. "What about you mommy?"

Josephine gave Aliyah one final hug before unclasping her necklace and placing it around her daughter's neck. "I will always be with you. Promise me that you'll be a strong girl."

"I promise, mommy."

"That's my daughter." Josephine smiled as reluctantly close the wooden door with Aliyah looking straight back at her. Her small hand reaching out and waved at her depressed mother, not realizing that is the last time she will be seeing her mother, alive.

All she remembers after that is a barrage of gunfire that echoed loudly throughout the house as she buried her tiny frame in the basement chamber and muffled her cries with a teddy bear she was carrying. As much as she wanted to go out there, she remembered what she had promised her mother. She could only pray and hope that this nightmare would end soon.

The sound died down after a while so as the dried tears on her face. She sobbed quietly as she climbed the ladder and carefully placed her ear against the wooden plank.; dead silence.

Aliyah pushed the heavy wooden plank upwards with all her might as a ray of sunlight sipped through the opening into the basement chamber, revealing the rest of her house into her sight. She felt something moist on the floor, sipping through the gap and dripping on to her face as she carefully climbed her way up. Her face turned into terror upon realizing what it is.

Blood everywhere.

The young girl frantically searched for her mother for comfort as she ran around the kitchen, realizing she was nowhere to be found. She quickly made her way to the living room, where she came to a halt when she saw what was in front of her.

"No!" Aliyah screamed as she shot opened her eyes and sat up with sweat pouring down her face. She breathed heavily as the same memory haunts her from time to time, reminding her of her mother's death. That is something a child should not witness at a very young age. She was seven years old when she saw her bloodied mother's lifeless body lying dead in the living room, and it scarred her for the rest of her life.

She desperately looked around, slowly acknowledging that she was back in one of the quarters at Aslan's How but no one was in sight. She was rather relieved that she was alone so no one could see her in this state. Her hands quickly reached for her neck, searching for something, but pain grew in her heart even more as she figured that the necklace her mother had given her was no longer there. She buried her head in her hands before letting out a loud agonizing cry.

Aliyah then got up and walked out of the sleeping quarters towards the armory without even attempting to wipe the tears from her cheeks. She approached a young fawn who was sharpening the swords and took one from the metal basket.

"My lady." The fawn stopped her as he reminded her cautiously. "You need to be careful with it. I just sharpened this. It will be extremely dangerous for you to use it if you have no prior experience with it."

"I know how to deal with it." She replied coldly and walked off, leaving behind the fawn who was looking rather dumbfounded at the treatment he had gotten for being helpful.

Aliyah ignored the stares she received from passers-by after they saw her walking quickly with an unsheathed sword in her hand. She entered the empty dimly lit chamber and was greeted by the tall stone structure of Aslan, which was facing her. She stared at it for a long time, as if conveying a message to the Great Lion before raising the sword with both hands and slashing away mimicking what Peter and Caspian had done the day before.

She blamed herself for not protecting her mother. She hated her existence even more when her mother had to die in order to protect her. She endured years of misery while being clueless of the circumstances surrounding her mother's murder and being ridiculed by others for being parentless. She had no recollection of her father, who was frequently absent in her childhood life and, even when he was, he would be intoxicated and mistreating her mother. He vanished from her life completely after her mother died. She despised everything that had happened to her.

Aliyah persisted in swinging the sword from side to side, slashing the air as she let out her frustration. However, she swung it so hard at one point that she cut her finger on the sharp edge. She winced in pain as she watched the blood trickle from her finger and onto the ground. She grabbed the sword again, biting her lip and ignoring the constant pain emanating from her finger, and continued practicing. As she swung her sword upwards, it collided with another sword, causing a loud clang to echo throughout the vast chamber.

When Aliyah looked up, Edmund was standing on the other side of her, leaning his blade on hers in the air as they stared intensely at each other. Although Edmund's face appeared grave, his eyes were filled with worry. With one hand, he swung her blade skillfully away from her grasp, causing it to fall to the ground. Aliyah proceeded to pick it up but Edmund stopped her by pulling her back.

"Leave me alone." She said harshly, without looking at him.

"You know I can't do that." Edmund simply told her.

"I wish to be alone." said Aliyah, refusing to look him because she knows somehow, she will reveal her weakness to him inevitably.

"Let me at least tend to your finger first." Edmund replied as he made his steps closer to her, taking her hand and sat her down forcefully.

"My finger is fine." Aliyah hastily hid her hand under her dress, but Edmund yanked it out, exposing the hand that was being coated with dried blood.

Aliyah tried to read his face but he kept his poker face on, hiding his emotions behind it. She reasoned that it had to be habitual for him to do so since his Golden Age era as he is the ruler of a kingdom and being open with his emotions would not benefit him. Edmund quietly got up and left the chamber, but he quickly returned with a bucket of water and a cloth in his hands.

He sat down next to Aliyah and softly examined her hand while he cleaned it with the wet cloth. Throughout the entire process, they made no exchange of words and Aliyah silently observed the boy who was before her again. She was perplexed by his behavior, but she could not help but be grateful for his presence because he was always there for her whenever she felt vulnerable. He always had the ability to calm her down which that is something she thought she would handle alone perfectly well.

"Thank you." Aliyah said genuinely, looking down.

Edmund placed his hand on her chin and gently pushed it upwards till he met her at eye level. He admired her brown eyes as they stared into his. He sat closer to her and whispered, "Why are you here alone? Especially dealing with such deadly weapon."

"I came here to vent my frustrations." Aliyah replied, honestly. She appeared to be drowning in a sea of his stares, unable to escape no matter how hard she tried. He always succeeded in grabbing her attention. "I want to learn how to protect myself so I can protect the others."

"You need guidance when you're learning how to fight with a sword." Edmund explained to her, "I'm not sure whether you're fighting or dancing when I saw you just now. I'm still figuring out at this moment."

He received a stern glance from Aliyah and answered it with a sly smirk in which she responded with a meek laugh shortly after. She, too, may have thought she looked hilarious jumping around with a sword in her hand and being judged by one of Narnia's finest swordsmen.

"There you go. You're finally smiling." He said, stroking her face gently as he wiped away the excess tears on her face. He too, broke into a grin and looking accomplished with himself.

"Can you teach me how to fight?" Aliyah asked innocently, disregarding the fact that Edmund was caressing her face.

"I will, but not now. Not when you're injured." Edmund told her, soothingly.

"Edmund, it's just a finger." Aliyah protested as she raised her bandaged finger at him, swaying side to side in front of his face. "I still do archery even my fingers are injured. It's nothing."

"Well there's something you need to learn before that." Edmund stated, smiling at her and she stared blankly back at him.

With that, Edmund then pulled Aliyah up and led her out the chamber, holding onto her hand tightly and he had no intention of letting it go. They passed by several Narnians who greeted them and Aliyah saw one particular familiar face in them.

"Wait." She stopped as she approached a fawn while Edmund stayed behind and observed the two.

"My lady." The fawn bowed his head at her, fearing that he would receive another lashing from her.

"I'm sorry for how I'd treated you just now." Aliyah began, her face filled with remorse. "I should not vent my anger on you."

"Your apology is accepted, my lady." The young fawn replied and Aliyah could sense that he is still cautious around her.

"Please, call me Aliyah." She told him as she held onto his hairy hand, "What's your name?"

"Re… Remus, my lady." The fawn looked up at her timidly but Aliyah gave him a warm smile.

"It's my pleasure to meet you, Remus. You made a fine sword." She lifted up her injured finger and showed him, "See, I should have heeded your advice."

"Oh no!" Remus exclaimed as he held onto her hand worriedly, "Have you seek the physician yet my lady?"

Aliyah laughed at his response as she patted his shoulder to calm him down. "Fear not. King Edmund had it cleaned up and bandaged properly for me."

The young fawn turned around to see Edmund smiling and nodding at him as if to acknowledge his assistance and sage advice given to Aliyah. He immediately bowed his head respectfully at his King.

"I shall not hold you back any further, my lady. It's not good to keep a King waiting for you." Remus smiled at her and Aliyah noticed a glint in his eyes as he continued softly, "I've heard he turned down every maiden who was interested in him back in the Golden Age. You must hold a special place in his heart."

"I'm sure he's just kind enough to show me around. Besides, I'm kind of new to your world." Aliyah reasoned out, shaking her head at the fawn, disagreeing with him. "And I would be delighted if you could call me just by my name. I'll see you around, Remus."

Aliyah bided him goodbye and joined Edmund where he was waiting for her. The two of them made their way further to the end of the mound where the horses were. Aliyah remained rooted to the ground as Edmund made his way into the stables, carrying a saddle with him as he motioned her in.

"What are we doing?" She asked, cautiously as she refrained herself from startling the horses.

"We're going riding." Edmund replied.

"But I do not know how to ride!" She remarked.

"That's why I'm teaching you."

"This is absurd, Edmund." Aliyah commented but he did not seem to listen to her protests as he finished fixing the saddle onto the white horse.

He extended his hand to her and motioned her closer to the horse. He held the reins for her as she reluctantly climbed up, using him as a support before regaining her balance on top of the horse. Aliyah shifted uneasily as she gripped the saddle horn tightly, feeling the need to be on the ground where she felt safer. Her heart beating rapidly as she struggled to balance herself when Edmund walked the horse out slowly through the back exit to the dense forest away from Aslan's How.

Edmund resisted the impulse to laugh as he remembered how his own encounter with his old friend Philip went and watched Aliyah struggle in her first horseback riding lesson. His heart ached a little when he thought about his companion, especially since he and his siblings had vanished unexpectedly during a day hunt with the rest of the Narnians not knowing that they had been sent back to their own world.

"You need to stop fidgeting." Edmund told her after sometime.

"Well, says the man who had experience riding a horse." Aliyah replied.

"I remember for my first time, I wasn't as bad as you." Edmund mocked, jokingly.

"Thanks for the encouragement, King Edmund." Aliyah rolled her eyes.

Edmund broke into smile upon hearing her sarcastic reply. He stopped walking halfway and began mounting the horse, sitting behind Aliyah, who squealed from the sudden movement.

"You need to relax yourself. You're too tensed up." He said, guiding her.

Aliyah could feel his breath tickling down her neck because of their proximity with one another and she gulped nervously, trying to stay focus as she felt her whole body numb by this interaction.

"Lean on me." said Edmund.

"What?" She quickly turned her head, realizing she had made a mistake because her face was just inches away from him and he was looking down at her nonetheless.

"I can't possibly ride with you blocking my view, right?" He reasoned and carried on teasing her relentlessly, "Especially with a woodblock like you."

"What?!"

"Come on."

He hovered his strong arms around Aliyah protectively, pulling her firmly against his chest as he griped the reins in front of her and trapping her in his personal space. She rested her back comfortably against him as a strong sandalwood scent infiltrated the air around her, making her feel calmed and relaxed unconsciously. And she knew very well who wore that scent. Somehow, only Edmund Pevensie has the ability to do that to her and despite her reservations, she had to admit that she enjoys his company.

"I used to ride in the woods when I'm feeling stressed out. It helps to clear my mind a bit." Edmund broke the silence between them. They rode along the forest with a stream nearby Aslan's How as Edmund dared not to venture too far away for the sake of their safety and despite the scorching sun, the stream provided some relief to them.

"So, are you feeling stressed now?" Aliyah asked, as she refrained herself from moving about too much, especially in such small space between the two of them.

"No, but you are." He replied.

"I dreamt about my mother, the day that she died." She felt him tightened his embrace behind her as she told him. Except for Susan, she had never spoken to anyone about the death of her mother, but she felt she could trust Edmund with her feelings and she did not mind sharing them with him.

"It must be awful for you." said Edmund as he thought about his parents who were back in England. He had not seen them over a year due to the ongoing war and their conversation made him miss them even more.

"Not everybody thinks that way." Aliyah continued. Her confidence grew as she offered to take the reins in which Edmund gladly handed over while he guided her hands from behind. "People thought I am blessed despite the ordeal I've been through. I was found days after my mom's death and was put in an orphanage. The Spenvesons adopted me because of the funding that the government provided and you know the rest of the story from there."

"Have you not thought of running away?" asked Edmund.

"To where?"

"Your father?"

"I never really knew my father. I do not have pleasant memories of him."

"I'm sorry." said Edmund. His heart went out to Aliyah, who had to deal with both her mother's passing and her father's disappearance at a very young age.

"Is alright."

"How about your relatives? I bet they can do some help." Edmund prompted.

"I lost touched with them. In fact, I do not know who they are because my mother eloped with my father back then you see." Aliyah's voice dropped into a whisper and Edmund felt her sadness as it reminded him of a certain someone whom he kept his promise to.

"But you've got me now." Edmund told her and quickly elaborated more upon realizing his slip through, "I mean, you've got us now. I'm sure Susan and Lucy will be more than happy to treat you as family. Peter as well. I know he's a bit grouchy these days but he's normally not like this."

"Thanks Edmund. I really appreciate it."

Aliyah smiled gratefully at him as she turned her head and faced him. She took the opportunity to study his features; starting with his lovely brown eyes, which she had looked into so many times that she had lost count. Her gaze moved on to his slightly pointed nose, which is covered in gentle freckles, and finally landing on his soft lips, which caused her heart to beat more quickly unconsciously.

It was as though time had stopped for them as his attentive eyes fixed on the girl in between his arms. He never imagined she would be here with him, in this place that held so many special fond memories for him. He cannot suppress the urge of showing everything in this magical land to her. At the same time, he knew that in spite of the uncertain future they might face, he would not risk a single thing to harm her.

"Just call me Ed will do." said Edmund.

"What…do you mean?" Aliyah asked as she furrowed her brows.

"I would prefer you calling me that rather than my full name." He replied and thought he must have lost his mind after returning to Narnia. Never once he would allow anyone to address him by his nickname other than his family. Aliyah is the first.

"Well, your full name is Edmund George Pevensie, for your information." She corrected him.

"How do you know that?" Edmund asked surprisingly, looking rather bewildered at the girl who never cease to surprise him.

"I'm your classmate in school, remember? Good old King of Narnia." Aliyah teased him.

"Right. Let's see who's laughing now." He smirked as he came up with a witty thought. The horse began galloping as Edmund reclaimed back ownership of the reins while Aliyah held her dear life onto the saddle horn tightly, screaming all the way back to Aslan's How.

The two of them re-entered the stables after returning from their brief respite from the outside world, both laughing and arguing at each other at the same time, unaware that there was another presence in the same vicinity as them. Edmund carefully assisted Aliyah down the horse while holding her hands as a rough voice interrupted their brief blissful moments.

"Your majesty, my lady." A minotaur bowed at the both of them and Aliyah could tell right away that what he was about to say was serious by the look of his face.

"High King Peter requested the both of you to be present at his council immediately."

Hello all my dearest readers!

I hope the week has been good to everyone so far! Here's another update and I hope you guys will enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing this chapter! This is something new that isn't in the movie / book, so yeap! I just want to focus on the progress of Edmund and Aliyah's relationship in this chapter haha. Please look forward to the next one!

Take care and stay safe everyone!

XOXO

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