Threads
Chapter 4
Edmund raised his eyebrow at the young woman's comment."It's impossible. You cannot be who I think you are," she'd said. He found himself smiling unintendedly.
"So" he said, "I do ring a bell."
Eirene remained silent and he took a step back away from her. He flicked her sword and extended the pommel for her to grab. She took it cautiously.
Edmund looked around as she sheathed her sword. He took a deep breath in, feeling the warmth of Narnian air filling his lungs. He shook his muscles—how much he'd missed this. How much he'd missed Narnia. How much he'd missed sword-fighting.
He shook his hair too, feeling a certain pair of eyes follow his every move.
He side-eyed his sword fighting opponent. He found himself surprised at his interest in her curiosity. He wanted to discern if her interest was due to his identity, or due to his features. He was surprised to find that some part of him hoped for the latter.
He'd missed that too, he realized. He missed being a flirt.
Edmund turned back around only to find Eirene looking at him still, as she kept on doubting her own eyes.
He held her gaze.
"Well," he said, elongating the word a bit, "let me ask you another question then. What is a member of the royal Telmarine family doing in Narnia? And, without an escort?" He stood tall.
Eirene didn't answer right away. She instead walked around him, inspecting his strange clothes. She never took the time to consider how the Kings and Queens of Old dressed. If she had to think about it, she'd imagine something uniquely Narnian. But the truth was that whatever he was wearing didn't seem to fit any of those categories.
But if he wasn't the Just King, then who was he? He'd recognized the sigil of the royal family, so he clearly knew about politics.
She arched an eyebrow and gave him the benefit of the doubt.
"What year do you think this is?"
Edmund tilted his head.
"Why do I get this nagging feeling…" he started, "that the only way we'll be able to communicate is by asking questions—but without really answering any of them," Edmund touched his chin to give himself more of a contemplative look.
The comment made Eirene grin—but she shrugged, trying to play a disinterested role and hide her smile.
"We were both at each other's throats not five minutes ago. It seems fair not to have each other's trust just yet."
"Just yet, then," he repeated.
Eirene came closer to where he stood with the excuse of petting Nyx, still looking at Edmund.
If he truly was who she thought—then Eirene could say that not even the best history book could get him right. All the tales, all the descriptions she'd read...they all just missed so much spirit.
"Is it…" Edmund broke the silence, returning to her last question, "1017?"
Edmund knew that more time had gone by. He'd spent three years in England, but the changes in Narnia seemed to be older than that. He was well aware of it, but he wanted to see how much information Eirene was willing to give.
Eirene said nothing, clearly wondering what to do next. She pondered about his identity. If he truly was the Just King, then there was no easy way of telling him the truth.
She chose to show him instead.
"Please," she pointed the way, "it's perhaps best to see..."
Eirene reached up to him and then walked past him, in the opposite direction. Edmund followed suit, taking Rhindon with him.
"It is hard to answer any questions you may have when you still hold a weapon in your hand," she said.
"Well, you did attack me first," Edmund snarked.
"Aye. You did seem like a dangerous stranger."
Edmund smiled as he walked behind Eirene. The ruins continued over on the visible horizon. Eventually, Eirene stopped and Edmund kept on looking.
He walked across the overgrown grass and held on to Rhindon as if his life depended on it. Eirene observed him pacing about. She observed how he made sense of his surroundings. It was as if he could see the construction of the castle standing there still.
"Do you recognize it?" she asked.
Edmund took a second to reply. He figured there was no point in trying to hide it now.
"Of course. It's Cair Paravel."
He walked past halls, noting one thing or the other. He came to a halt next to what had once been staircases. His long and lean fingers fumbled over the vines that had grown on the stone. And then something clicked; he smiled after he recognized the spot. He felt as if the blueprints of his castle returned to the insides of his head.
Eirene watched as he placed Rhindon on a wall. She watched as he rolled up his sleeves and noticed his toned muscles under the fabric.
Eirene wished she hadn't felt her stomach flutter. She looked away.
And Edmund wished he hadn't noticed her blush. He wished it hadn't made him smile.
He carried on, and took a small handle that stuck out of the half-destroyed wall. He pushed it, and Eirene rushed to help him.
The ground shook as they moved until the door finally opened.
It was dark, with only some sun rays peeking inside. It was the entrance of a cave, with marbled staircases lining its entry. That part of the castle, Eirene had never seen. She'd found Rhindon inside another lavish room, but this one seemed to be some sort of secret chamber.
They took the sight in for a few seconds, before Edmund took the first step down the staircase. His eyes immediately landed on their four marble statues and the four chests at their feet. He realized that the vault now looked more like a sanctuary.
As Edmund walked towards his chest, he remembered when his own marble statue was carved. How vain he'd felt, to have his image plastered on such a scale. But looking at it now from afar, he only felt nostalgia.
Eirene stayed at the center of the vault, looking at him.
"I guess no impostor would have known this was here," she said quietly to herself.
Edmund heard her walking closer to him. "To answer your question, I believe you to be Edmund Pevensie, the Just King," she said loudly, "truly."
Edmund listened to her without turning his head.
"And the year is 1302, your highness," She said simply. Edmund didn't say anything, but he felt something inside him shake. Three hundred years had gone by, three hundred.
He had been pulled back to England to feel only anguish and loss. And now it seemed that he'd been pulled back to Narnia to feel the same. He sighed and the feeling dug deeper into his chest.
Eirene kept quiet. She took in the details of the vault. She figured that the rest of the relics would be hiding there. She wanted to search for them, but she also thought of Edmund, and how he must have been feeling. Those relics belonged to him, too. She tightened her lips.
"I think I answered most of your questions. I'll give you some privacy," she said and made her way towards the stairs. She heard Edmund move and looked up.
He was already looking at her, his eyes hollow inside. Something hung in the air but none said anything for a moment. Edmund gathered his breath and finally spoke.
"Lucy's here," he said. Eirene nodded solemnly.
"Very well then, we'll find her if your highness wishes. For now, I'll leave you." She turned away and he heard her footsteps receding.
He turned back around and into his chest. He found the swords he used to carry into battle, his helmet and chest plate. He found maps and old crumbling books. He read the spines and remembered all the years he'd spent studying magic, of his secret mission of never letting it spread in Narnia again. He chuckled dryly to himself. There was nothing else.
There were no magical objects in his possession, only practicality. He took what was useful to him and changed his attire. He dug his hand into his pocket, searching for his father's picture. He retrieved crumpled papers instead- Peter's letter, he recognized the type of paper. But the words remained absent. He folded it and snuck into the pocket of his Narnian trousers, alongside the picture of his father.
He walked towards the exit, but then pondered on his sibling's coffers. He already had Rhindon with him, but he guessed it wasn't the only powerful object in the room. Edmund thought about the potential in Lucy's vial alone. When they had ruled, alchemists all over the world had tried to replicate it, to heal people who were unworthy, to find the elixir of immortality.
Immediately, he went back to Lucy's chest to recover it. He found Lucy's vial intact, not a scratch. He then moved towards Susan's chest. He found her bow and arrow, but not the horn. He didn't remember any moment where she didn't have it with her; it couldn't have been lost, but it certainly wasn't there.
He took a leather rucksack from his own chest, and placed the items in it. Edmund figured it was better to have them all with him, until he figured out exactly who she was. He wanted to trust her, but he couldn't just yet. And until he did, he would keep the gifts safe.
It was then that he noticed that everything was eerily silent. His senses were on end. He wondered if he'd fallen into a trap. The idea of escaping was now present in his mind. He looked around the room, faintly remembering a hidden doorway somewhere.
As he began looking at the darkened corners for it, he heard voices up above him.
"Princess," Edmund recognized that it was a male voice.
"Princess? Are you quite alright? You look a bit—agitated." Another male voice.
After, Edmund was able to hear the Telmarine woman whispering softly, but he couldn't discern what she said exactly.
"She found what?" another male voice asked.
"I thought you came here looking for objects, not dead Kings!" the first male voice said.
"Oh, lower your voice please!" that was the Telmarine woman's voice.
"I can't believe—"
"I couldn't believe it either, but he's—"
"And what will we do now? This changes everything—"
Edmund braced himself as he kept on listening to the conversation.
"I know, I know, but I'm sure he'll help us," she said.
There was silence.
"If he really is—"
"He is, and he'll help us. All of us. The Narnian Cause. I know he will."
Edmund's fight instincts calmed themselves for a moment. Not an ambush then, he thought before climbing up the stairs to the main entrance.
When he emerged into the blazing Narnian sun, he found the Telmarine woman waiting. She was flanked by two other figures. A badger and a dwarf.
"My name is Eirene," she said looking at him directly in the eye, "I am princess of Telmar and Narnia, and now heir to the throne. I have the honor of presenting Trufflehunter and Trumpkin. Both are invaluable friends and allies who have helped me get to know this amazing country. I'd be at a loss without them."
Eirene's tone was...different from how she had been talking to Edmund in the past. It was regal now, and it strangely felt like honey drops to his ears. He looked at her and noticed how she had an heir of queenship about her. Everything about her screamed royalty; her stance, her gaze, her words.
Eirene breathed in, and her eyes flickered. She lowered her sight and knelt. Trufflehunter and Trumpkin followed suit, not without a slight grunt from the dwarf.
"We are honored to be in your presence, your majesty. It is on this day that I apologize to you and my fellow Narnians for the way we Telmarines have wrecked your country."
The words she spoke seemed to come from a place of sadness. She lifted her eyes and head.
"I hope that your royal highness helps us in my cause, our cause, to regain the crown, and restore Narnia in all its former glory with a just rule," Eirene stood, as did Trufflehunter and Trumpkin.
Eirene stepped closer to Edmund, a gust of air bringing her scent to his nose. Roses.
"In this endeavor, no guiding spirit seems better than the Kings and Queens of Old. Even if not all of you are together, no one seems to be a better fit than you, your grace," Eirene extended her hand to shake his. Without any doubt, Edmund extended his own hand to meet hers.
In that second, Edmund felt a surge of electricity and warmth, all at once. Eirene felt her heart stir, and her stomach drop. She could feel her body melting into that handshake, and it was taking all of her strength to keep a straight face.
She failed, and her mouth was open agape.
As if to say something else, Edmund thought.
Or to regain some of the breath he stole, she thought.
"Princess Eirene—" Edmund broke the silence, trying her name on his tongue. His vocal cords lightened on fire, craving to say it again and again.
Eirene's ears tingled with the sound of her name on his lips. He was a legend, a historical figure who came to life as if by an act of magic. He was an apparition of the past, and yet she was drawn to him as if she had known him her whole life.
"King Edmund," she replied then, her breath beginning to falter. Her heart raced, but she knew she couldn't blush. She couldn't afford feelings now. Not for him, not for anyone.
She closed her mouth and raised her eyes away from his body, away from his floating curls and lean fingers.
"I am afraid that I cannot stay," Eirene said, trying to get her feet back to the ground again, "it is already noon, and I must leave before I'm missed. Trufflehunter and Trumpkin will stay by your side, and can answer any questions that I wasn't able to." A small smirk appeared at her lips at the end of that sentence, one that Edmund couldn't help but replicate.
"I wish I had more time to explain, but I need your trust right now. Do you grant it?" she asked.
Edmund pondered for a second. She seemed genuine, and he was stranded in a land he did not know anymore. He figured he did not have a choice, even if he didn't want to trust her. He nodded. She extended her hand once again and Edmund took it.
"Today I appeal before the Council of the Lords for the crown. The political landscape has changed since your rule, and I wish I could explain it to you, but—" she looked at him, her eyes hiding a deeper emotion within. "But right now I need the relic you are sporting now."
Eirene's eyes descended to Rhindon at his hips. Edmund took a step back.
It was difficult to discern Edmund's thoughts just by his eyes. Eirene stared at them, trying to grapple at something, but they were deep, dark pools that promised that if she stared long enough, she would fall within and never recover.
She broke away from the gaze.
"That's why I was carrying it in the first place—it will make for a convincing case of an old, ancient Narnia that needs to merge with a new one. I need to take it with me."
"And if I refuse?" He asked.
Eirene cocked her eyebrow.
"Your grace..." Eirene stepped closer to him, the dwarf and the badger retreating further back. "Your visit is a welcomed surprise, but it is unexpected. I need Rhindon to take back the crown, rightfully, without having to spur a revolution. It is a pivotal token to pledge people further to the cause."
"Surely you'll understand, princess, that I am reluctant to let go of my family's possessions."
Eirene nodded. "As is your right."
She turned around from him, visibly tugging at mental strings, trying to find a solution.
"I know you don't trust me, that—that the only thing you have right now is my word. Trumpkin and Trufflehunter can vouch for me, even if that is for a little comfort."
She rested her hand at the handle of her sword, still deep in thought.
"I never asked any Narnian to step foot inside the Telmarine court. Savagery and chaos would ensue. Words are not enough to describe how much everything has changed since the Golden Age…but you can, if it pleases your grace, come with me and see for yourself."
Eirene turned to look at the monarch. Edmund turned to look at Trufflehunter and Trumpkin, who were in turn, looking at the princess.
In truth, Edmund only wanted to locate his sister and safeguard Father Christmas' gifts until he located the rest of his family. But at the same time, he also wanted to get to know the Telmarine princess better.
He breathed in. It was clear that Narnia was nothing like he remembered. And it was also clear that he had no means of navigating it on his own. He realized his best option at finding Lucy was searching the land, and Eirene seemed to know it perfectly well. And he also couldn't deny that he was somewhat intrigued by her intentions. Council of the Lords? That's new, Edmund thought.
He breathed out.
"Lead the way, then, princess," he said, looking directly at her eyes.