Disclaimer: Everything but the plot is not mine :D
A/N: So yes, it's Friday so I update today!
Now, my lovely readers, I present to all of you, chapter eleven of "When Two Worlds Collide"! Do review afterwards. Enjoy!
Chapter Eleven: Alone with Edmund Pevensie: Part I
"Peter, what is it?" Lucy asked, obviously alarmed, when his brother suddenly turned pale.
Hermione thoughtfully looked at the High King. His meal was now left untouched as Peter's face grew paler, his eyes skimming down on the letter that he was holding now.
"What is it, Pete?" Edmund asked this time.
Peter finally finished reading the letter and looked from one of his siblings to the others. "Susan and Caspian were caught by the rebelling Telmarines," he declared with an exhausted sigh.
"WHAT?" Edmund exclaimed at the same time Lucy closed her mouth with her right hand to suppress a gasp.
"No, no, they're fine," the High King said distractedly. He neatly placed the parchment on the table and smoothed its creases, which formed after he had held it none-too-gently. "They were able to escape and are now hiding with a Centaur in the country of Archenland. They're safe, thank Aslan. But… but Caspian's badly injured." He shifted on his seat and looked at his younger sister. "Lucy, Susan's begging you to bring your healing potion. I-I think if we did not go there as soon as possible, Caspian will not be able to make it."
"I'll gladly go, Peter," Lucy said with so much determination but it was dampened by the tremor in her voice. "I'll go and be ready now."
Peter sighed. "I'll come with you," he declared. "God knows what might happen to you if I left you alone with selected soldiers. I must be with you just to keep my mind at peace."
"I'll come, too," Edmund offered but Peter vigorously shook his head.
"No, you stay here, Ed," he said. "I thought of sending you with Lucy instead but I have some important matters to discuss with the King of Archenland. Stay here and take my place for now. Govern over Narnia and make sure that nothing will happen with our people."
Edmund nodded his head and also determinedly held Lucy's hand. "You'll all be fine," he assured the now trembling queen. "I'm sure Caspian will be able to make it."
They all just hoped that Edmund was right.
"Queen Lucy?" Hermione whispered, opening the queen's door and peeking inside. The said queen was sitting quietly on her bed, her eyes staring blearily into nothing. Her face was an alarming shade of white and it had prompted Hermione to move inside without even waiting for permission from the young queen. "Queen Lucy, are you all right?"
Lucy's eyes slowly landed on Hermione's warm, brown ones and the brunette was struck with the fact that the usual happy twinkle in her eyes was gone. It was replaced by deep worry and unadulterated fear. Hermione, not knowing what to do, gathered the queen into her arms.
"Shh… everything's going to be all right," Hermione comforted, patting Lucy's back as the young girl started to softly cry.
"W-what if Caspian d-didn't make it?" Lucy blubbered and buried her head deeper into the nape of her neck. "T-they just got married, Hermione. Oh, poor Susan. Poor, p-poor Susan."
"He'll be fine," Hermione assured, pulling the queen up into a standing position. Lucy's knees were a little wobbly because of overwhelming fright and the brunette tried her very best to wipe away the tears that were continuously streaming down her eyes. "Listen to me, Lucy. King Caspian will be fine. I bet Queen Susan's undergoing a very difficult time right now and I think it is best if you showed her that you're strong and hopeful. You have your healing potion, yes? Arrive safely and I'm sure King Caspian will be able to make it."
Lucy sniffed and showed a determined face. She hastily wiped away her tears and nodded. "Thanks," she said, giving Hermione a watery smile. "I guess I just lost it for a while."
Hermione smiled and clutched Lucy's hand. Her other free hand grabbed for Lucy's small trunk and together, they descended down to the throne room.
Peter and Edmund were talking seriously in hushed tones when the two young ladies arrived. Upon seeing the dried tearstains on Lucy's face, Peter walked forward and wrapped a possessive arm over her shoulder, wordlessly assuring her that everything would be all right.
"Keep in mind what I told you, Edmund," Peter said, nodding seriously at his brother. Edmund wordlessly nodded back. "I promise to send a letter before midnight tomorrow. If twenty minutes after midnight passed and still there's no letter from me, I'm giving you the permission to gather your own troop and follow us to Archenland."
"Be careful," Hermione voiced aloud. Peter's eyes landed on the brunette's form and for the first time that night, the king gently smiled.
"We'll be back soon," he swore, stepping forward and clutching her hand. Hermione's cheeks grew red when the High King bent down and kissed her knuckles, squeezing it with his unspoken promise before he finally let go of it.
Lucy launched herself into Edmund's arms and hugged him tight. "Take care of yourself," Lucy warned, tears once again forming at the corner of her eyes. "You're a bloody worrywart and I don't want you to kill yourself with too much worry, Edmund."
In spite of himself, the just king softly chuckled and tightly squeezed his sister. "Please come back safely," he whispered, kissing the side of her head. Lucy completely pulled herself away from Edmund and went back to Peter's side.
Soon, Peter, Lucy, and some of the great soldiers of Narnia left for Archenland.
The tension in the castle grew thick the very next day. So thick that Hermione already felt suffocated by it. It did not help that King Edmund was obviously worrying himself. Like now. Even though Lucy was gone for a while, Hermione still chose to eat meals with the king.
He ignored her all the time. Hermione did not find anything wrong about it. In fact, she basked under the silence that always seemed to form whenever she accompanied him.
One reason why she stuck with his side for the whole day was probably because she took it upon herself to look after the king. Although she did not exactly like him, Hermione knew that she would be doing Peter and Lucy a favour if she looked after the substitute High King of Narnia now. That, and because for some strange reason, sticking with him had somehow kept her sane during this tense and dangerous time.
"Eat," Hermione finally announced after almost half an hour of watching King Edmund playing with his food.
Blinking, the just king looked at Hermione. She almost smiled when a surprised look appeared on his face, guessing that he had not noticed her presence at all. "What?" he asked, a little distracted.
"Eat, your highness," she said, gesturing at his plate. "A little nourishment in your body will do you some good."
He glared. "Don't tell me what to do," he snarled, but Hermione was unfazed. His temper was excusable for her today and she knew that being mad at him too wouldn't help the both of them.
"Please," she finally whispered, softening her face upon properly seeing the fear and worry on his face. "For your siblings."
He stared at her for a while, his face now void of any emotions.
And then, wordlessly, he lifted his fork and started to eat.
They were in the Throne Room now. Dinner had ended and Edmund decided to go to the Throne Room and sit on his own throne. Hermione followed without putting much thought in it and was now seated on the stone floor, her chin resting on her right palm.
Her eyes hadn't left Edmund's form ever since they arrived and she was starting to notice that he was becoming uncomfortable under her gaze.
To prove her guess, the said king now glared down at the lady-in-waiting and said, "Stop staring at me. It's getting annoying now."
"Sorry," she said, shifting her gaze away from the king. Her eyes landed on the nearby intricate vase displayed at the far left of the room.
A few seconds after, her eyes were once again latched onto the king's form. Hermione couldn't help it, although she had no idea why she kept on doing it. The king had ordered her a few more times to look away from him but once again, her eyes would land back on his form.
Soon, he stopped ordering her to look away. In fact, her presence seemed to be becoming more and more insignificant as time ticked away.
An hour and thirty minutes was left 'til midnight and still, there was no letter from Peter.
Her eyes were drooping close but she willed them to stay open. Sleep was beckoning and it somehow made Hermione ashamed that despite this very important and dangerous time, she was allowing sleep to call her.
She shifted on the cold floor, already feeling uncomfortable. Her bottom was already sore and she shot a longing look at the obvious comfortable throne of Lucy.
An hour already passed but still, Peter had not sent a letter. Edmund was already pacing in front of the thrones and for the whole hour, he did not notice Hermione. The brunette did not really mind, though. She'd rather have a silenced Edmund than a volcanic Edmund for now. Her mind, body and soul were too disoriented and exhausted to fight against the wrathful king.
"Ten damn more minutes and I'm following you, Peter!" Edmund suddenly exclaimed. Hermione jolted and scowled, her bottom growing more painful due to the sudden pressure she had exerted on it.
"That's it, Edmund Pevensie," Hermione exclaimed in exasperation, slowly standing up on her feet. "I've had enough."
Edmund's eyes landed on her, surprise written all over his face. "You're still here?" he asked with a loud gasp.
"Sorry to disappoint you," Hermione snarled, rolling her eyes. She took a few steps forward, her heels loudly hitting the stone floor. "Dear Merlin above, there's still thirty minutes left and calming down for a bit wouldn't hurt, you know."
"Calming down? CALMING DOWN? Are you out of your mind?" Edmund exclaimed, also in exasperation. "There's thirty minutes left and still there's no - excuse me for the next word that I'm going to use - fucking letter and I'm slowly growing insane with - another curse word ahead – fucking worry." He stomped towards his throne and plopped down, a huge scowl now plastered on his face. "And why are you exclaiming the name of your dog again?"
Hermione stared at him disbelievingly. A full minute passed, just her staring at him, when suddenly a chuckle escaped from her lips.
Edmund looked deeply affronted. "Pardon me, but did I just hear you laugh?" he snarled.
More chuckles escaped from her lips and Hermione covered her mouth, trying to stifle them.
"Are you laughing at me?" he barked, once again standing from his throne.
"S-sorry," she said, although tears of mirth were already forming at the corner of her eyes. "You're just…"
He scowled. "What?" he asked, a hint of warning in his voice.
A few more giggles escaped from her lips. "F-funny," she said, now clutching her stomach.
"WHAT?" he demanded, his face now red with fury.
Hermione had calmed down and smiled at the still fuming king. Now with a gentle smile, she approached him closer until she was a few feet away from him. "See, for a full minute, you've forgotten your siblings," she softly said. "I bet for that whole minute, you've forgotten the worry that you were feeling a while ago."
Edmund was about to protest, his mouth already ready to retort something back, but her words suddenly sunk in and he was quietened. Hermione's smug face came into view and he frowned, although he did not say anything at all.
Begrudgingly, the king thought what she said was actually right.
Their little conversation was suddenly interrupted when the wooden door opened. Both simultaneously looked at the newcomer, a small Satyr with, to their immense relief, a letter clutched in his right hand.
"It's a letter from - "
"Peter. Yes, I know," Edmund exclaimed. Running with an almost inhumane speed, he thanked the kind Satyr and ripped the letter open.
Hermione jogged to his side, surprised that he was able to immediately reach the Satyr at such a great distance. Once she arrived beside him, he was done reading already.
And for the first time she had ever met him, King Edmund Pevensie the Just smiled at her.
"They're safe," he declared. "Caspian's safe. They arrived just in time and Lucy was able to pour some of her healing potion into Caspian's wound. He's resting now, although still a little weak."
Hermione genuinely smiled up at him and said, "That's good to hear."
Dear Edmund,
We arrived safely in Susan and Caspian's hiding place. Caspian's fine. We arrived just in time, although his nasty injury had drained all of his energy. Stop worrying now, though. Things are going to be all right.
Now, for safety reasons, we decided to stay here for approximately a week more. Susan reckons that there are a few more rebelling Telmarines lurking around, especially because they know that she and Caspian are in the vicinity. Don't worry. Our hiding place is quite secluded. Our soldiers are now scattered all over Archenland to guard us.
Take care of yourself and Narnia. Our people need a High King now and I'm giving you that responsibility.
Peter
P.S. This is a message from Lucy – take care of Hermione or she'll disown you. I concur with her, though.
Edmund scowled at the postscript for the umpteenth time and tried his very hardest not to crumple it and throw it away. Although the letter brought good news to him, he did not want to admit that the corresponding postscript made him somehow afraid. Lucy always, always throws monumental fits; hence, he knew that her warning was nowhere near empty.
He finally walked inside the Dining Room and was surprised to see that the brunette was already seated at her usual place, waiting for him to arrive. He gave her a strange look, which she returned with a confused one. He thought that because she was alone with him, she'd rather choose to eat with her Rabbit friend instead.
The luncheon commenced with slight awkwardness, mainly on his part. Last night was actually one of his weakest moments and this strange and enigmatic girl was able to witness it. One thing he had learned from all of the numerous battles he had been was that the enemies should never see your weak side; else, they'd use them against you. And so, it had alarmed him that he had let his guard down around this suspicious lady.
He must admit, though, that her presence last night had calmed him down. Even the little stunt that she had pulled yesterday was appreciated.
Edmund was growing more and more confused as the young lady spent more time in Cair Paravel. He was so sure that she was hiding something from them; a secret that he must discover soon so as not to jeopardize the safety of his sister and his people.
But now, he was starting to think that she was actually not a bad person at all.
Hermione terribly missed Lucy's constant presence. She hated to admit it but she also missed Peter's uncomfortable kindness.
Spending time with Edmund Pevensie was painfully hard. Hermione had no idea why she still spent time with him. She could eat meals with Babbity but her feet always directed her to the dining hall. She could skip afternoon tea but she would always find herself in the veranda, sipping tea with an equally tensed king. She could always continue reading the book she had snagged in his library, but she always spent her free time perusing his personal library, the said owner working quietly on his study table.
Hermione probably thought it was because she had seen him at one of his worst. Some motherly instinct in her was triggered and for some strange reason, she wanted to believe that her mere presence would somehow calm him down.
Her thoughts were suddenly halted when a loud knock from her door was heard. Curious, Hermione stood up from her bed and walked slowly to her door. She opened it and gasped in surprise. "Err… yes?" she asked at the obviously discomforted king.
"Go dress up," he ordered, his eyes refusing to meet her brown ones. "We're going for a walk."
She blinked thrice. "Excuse me… what?" she asked, willing her eyes to go back at their normal size.
"Just do what I told you to do," he barked, his cheeks now a shade of red. Whether from embarrassment or anger, Hermione did not know.
Hermione stared at him strangely, before saying, "Okay." And then, she slammed the door on his face, almost smirked when he heard his muffled protest, and then went to her wardrobe to change into a simple, nice dress.
Edmund blamed Lucy for this awkward moment he was currently having with his sister's lady-in-waiting. Lucy had threatened him that he must take care of the brunette and he did not have any idea what to do. Thus, he thought, since he was the king and she was a "newcomer" that it would be nice if he were to tour her around Narnia.
Still, even though he knew he was doing something noble, the awkwardness was unbearable. He looked at her at the corner of his eyes and was annoyed to see the calm expression on her face. Her right hand was placed on top of her head, trying to keep her straw hat from flying. Her green dress, which he suspected was Susan's, billowed with the playfully wind.
She was… nice, he must admit. He had seen her sometimes with the Talking Animals and his people and she always acted so gracious and polite. She was quite a beauty, too! No wonder Peter had taken a special liking towards this mysterious girl.
But then again, she was enigmatic. She should not be easily trusted. Looks could be deceiving. Even actions could be pretended. Sometimes, Edmund wondered if Hermione was actually acting in pretense or not.
"So, where are we going?" she finally asked, peering at him.
He shrugged, still refusing to stare at her eyes. "Probably the forest," he said. "Yes, the forest. It's nice there."
She hummed in agreement. "Yes, I guess it's nice," she added, her voice strangely soft.
They finally stepped into the clearing of the forest and the silence between them lengthened. Edmund was growing restless already and soon, unable to supress it anymore, he ordered, "Say something."
The brunette looked at him in surprise. "What?" she asked, frowning.
"I don't know. Anything," he said. "Maybe spout more lies about some mumbo jumbo you came up with."
It took him exactly thirty seconds to notice that he was walking alone now. "OI!" he cried, whipping around and saw that Hermione was standing a good distance away from him, her face a furious shade of red. "Why did you stop?" he demanded.
Hermione released a strange sound at the back of her throat and stomped towards him in anger. To Edmund's horror, she slapped him on his face.
"YOU -! What did you do that for?" he cried in disbelief, now cradling his smarting cheek.
"You know what?" she exclaimed, her eyes ablaze with anger. "I thought that for a second you finally, finally believed that I'm not a bad person. That you finally, finally surrendered to the fact that I have no dark 'ulterior motive' as what you fondly call it."
Edmund scoffed. "Then I believe you've misunderstood," he said. "Just because I'm touring you around Narnia doesn't necessarily mean that I'm trusting you already, girl-who-claimed-she-lost-all-of-her-memories."
"You… you…" she blubbered in fury. Hermione then released a loud shriek in frustration, turned around, and strode away from him.
"That infuriating, no-good imbecile!" Hermione exclaimed in frustration, stomping away from the king as far as she could. "And he calls himself the 'Just'. HA! It's like calling Bellatrix sane."
The brunette huffed and puffed, stomping farther and farther away from him, before finally deciding to take a rest. She sat on one of the fallen logs, her face still sporting a huge scowl, and placed her chin on top of her hand. She removed her straw hat from her hair and placed it none-too-gently on her lap.
She actually thought that this little trip she was having with the "just" king of Narnia was an indication that Edmund had finally trusted her. No, scratch that. Hermione thinks that trusting her immediately after what happened last night seemed very improbable.
'I thought that at least he accepted that I don't have evil intentions or something,' she sullenly thought, annoyed that she was proven wrong by his behaviour a while ago.
Hermione thought it was kind of… sweet of him to tour her around Narnia. He was the king and she thought he was being noble and polite when he finally decided to tour her around Narnia since she was a newcomer.
These past few days, Hermione had somehow gotten used to the king's uncalled hostility towards her. 'He did not trust me. Fine,' she thought, but her frown deepened in frustration. She was starting to think that with him constantly hovering over her and lurking in the dark, waiting for her to make a mistake so that he could finally have a reason to kick her out from Cair Paravel or Narnia, was starting to infuriate Hermione. She hated it when people misunderstood her but she knew she could only convince Edmund that she has no dark intentions if she revealed her secret to him.
"Still, that doesn't give him the excuse to act like a jerk," she grumbled to herself, now twirling her straw hat with her finger.
A few hours passed when Hermione decided to stand up and look for the exit of the forest. She had taken quite a few steps around when she finally admitted to herself that she was lost.
"Hello?" she cried aloud, looking left to right. A group of crows took flight, startling Hermione. She instantly pulled her wand out from her sleeve, but then she remembered that she could not do magic.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake," she hissed, now running wildly around. "King Edmund? Are you around?"
Hermione did not know the reason why she suddenly remembered the remnants of her nightmare a few days ago. And to think that she was back in the forest again.
At normal circumstances (meaning she could use her magic), Hermione would be calm and ready herself against surprising attacks from suspicious beings. But then again, she was defenseless; even a mere dagger or a knife was out of sight. Hence, she bent down, grabbed for the thickest and sharpest branch she could ever find and continued to call for the king's name.
"KING EDMUND!" she exclaimed, whipping her head left and right. A loud groan from a distance resounded in the seemingly empty forest and Hermione involuntarily trembled.
She thought she was hearing things due to her overactive mind, but when the groan was heard again, Hermione knew she was not hallucinating anymore.
"Hello?" she cried, cautiously approaching the source of the sound. Midway, Hermione halted and scowled. 'This seems a little familiar to me,' she thought, abruptly turning around and stomping away. Hermione knew that if she were to continue approaching, she might put herself into danger.
"He-help," the voice called once again and Hermione froze. The groan was getting louder and the voice awfully sounded familiar.
With a horrified look on her face, Hermione once again turned around and ran towards the source of the voice, only to see King Edmund inside a deep abyss.
"Your majesty!" she exclaimed, noticing the dark substance pooling around the king's body. Hermione bent down and upon closer inspection, she discovered it was blood. "Oh Merlin, y-you're - "
Her words died down when the king blacked out.
"You're awake," a voice told him from above as Edmund slowly opened his eyes, a huge scowl plastered on his face.
"Oh, yes I am," he grumbled and almost glared when the Narnian Healer, a Centaur, raised an eyebrow.
"You received a nasty concussion on your head, your majesty," the creature continued, unfazed by the sudden hostile look on the king's face. "I apologize but I think it is best if you retire for the day. Without Queen Lucy's healing potion, your injury must heal the normal way."
Edmund sighed and slightly nodded his head. "I understand," he said.
The Centaur bowed down and galloped away, his footsteps almost making King Edmund's head explode.
With a groan, he rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. He could not believe that this had happened to him. Silly accidents like these never happened to him before. He was always alert and ready; accidents rarely happened because he properly planned things.
But apparently, not today. Perhaps it was because of his fury towards a certain bushy-haired brunette that had made him act like a foolish imbecile. He admitted that he expected that their little tour around Narnia would end smoothly, seeing that it started as one. But no, their tempers had to rise and clash against each other. And as he watched the brunette run away from him, Edmund knew that touring her was a bad idea after all. Turned out he was right when he suddenly fell into a hole he did not see due to the irrational anger he was feeling that time. And so, here was he, a large patch plastered at the back of his head to stop the bleeding. His head was roaring and almost tearing him apart.
Suddenly, a figure from the corner of the room suddenly moved. Edmund released a small shout of surprise and glared at the sole reason why he was feeling like a mess right now.
"Sorry," she sheepishly said, complete with an apologetic smile. "I did not mean to scare you."
"Y-you," he sputtered, his cheeks now turning into a furious shade of red. "How did you get in here?"
"I've been here all along," she shot back.
Edmund answered with a glare. "Leave," he ordered. "I'm not in the mood to interact with anybody right now."
He heard her release a soft, frustrated sigh and expected that she would follow his order. But then, to his surprise, the brunette pulled a chair closer to his bed and sat down on it.
"Look, before I leave, we must talk," she said, frowning.
"There's nothing to talk about, you infuriating woman," Edmund growled. "I said leave."
"Merlin, I'm sorry, okay!" she claimed in exasperation, throwing her arms in the air. "I feel very guilty over this because I ran away and left you. But it was your fault, you know! You made me angry!"
Edmund looked scandalized. "My fault?" he scoffed, glaring at her. "And now you're blaming me?"
"YES!" she bellowed and Edmund flinched back, her scream suddenly hurting his injury. He watched as her face softened, the apologetic look once again back on her face. "Listen. It's plain to see that you dislike me and trust me, the feeling is mutual. We both have volcanic tempers that once they clash, disasters will ensue. Like what had happened to you now."
He glared.
"Let's have a deal, okay?" Hermione finally said, a hint of desperation in her voice. "Let's be civil to each other. Just for now. You could suspect me for all I care, but for God's sake, let's act civil. Not only for us but for the others around us. You're badly injured because of our fight. I'm afraid that if this continued, others will get hurt, too."
He contemplated her suggestion for a while and thought that she made sense. Finally, with a resigned sigh, he pointedly looked at her and muttered a begrudging, "All right."
She followed his answer with a smile and surprised him when she extended her hand. "Let's seal that with a handshake," she said.
Edmund looked at her hand in hesitation. And then, after a few minutes, he slowly raised his hand and grasped her own, only to retrieve his hand back almost immediately due to an electric surge that had ran through his arm.
"What in Aslan's name - ?"
The chair scraped back beside his head as Hermione abruptly stood up from her seat.
"I'll be leaving now, your majesty," she muttered. She then turned around and left him alone in his room.
Once she was gone, Edmund stared in confusion at his arm. He was extremely sure that electricity did surge through his arm.
Unbeknownst to him, Hermione had felt it, too.
A/N: Lol, I love it. Hermione's alone with Edmund while the others are away *smirks evilly* So yeah, they finally struck a truce. But, what's this? Electricity? Oh my. Haha, what do you think, though? Tell me in your lovely reviews!
So yes, this story is starting to gain more reviewers. Wah, thank you so much! I send all of my love and perhaps even my whole being to all of you, which is creepy, so I return the being thing back. UGH. Okay, okay. I feel a little perky today so excuse whatever weird words I say.
Okay, so remember the Merlin/Hermione story I've been shamelessly endorsing in the previous chapters. You know, the HP/BBC Merlin crossover. I finally finished writing the whole outline today, and oh my dear Rowling, I was able to make up fifty-four chapters, including the epilogue, and I CANNOT EVEN. I mean, dear God! Fifty-four chapters! That's the longest story I would have ever made as soon as I finished it. I thoroughly enjoyed coming up with all of the things that will happen in each chapter and, well, I think I just fell in love with Merlin's character more. Mind you, it's very hard to write because I had to research a lot of things about the whole Arthurian legend thing. I'm done writing the first chapter now and moving to the second. UGHHHH, I cannot honestly wait to share this story to all of you. So I promise to finish it before summer starts. Again, as a warning, the story will be filled with so many BBC Merlin spoilers so I suggest you watch the whole series first before reading it :D
That's it for now! Again, thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. Thank you also to those who made me their favorite author (Oh, stop it you people :D) and placed me in their alert list.
With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe