Chapter 6

1951, Somewhere in Ukraine

Lena awoke the events of the last twelve hours a hazy blur. The bruises on her arms where he had pinned her down were the first things she saw, the dress he ripped now lying on the floor was the second. She pushed herself up in bed only to feel another bruise on the back of her shoulder from where he had slammed her into the wall. If she looked hard enough, she could still see the blood on her hands from where she shoved the knife in his neck to return the favor.

Then after the terror came a euphoric bliss she'd never felt before. Lena could still remember the look in Little King's eye as he reached his own bliss. She could remember the feel of his lips on her skin and the way he felt moving inside her, not so little after all.

But where was Little King now? The space in the bed beside her was empty and they'd only gotten the one room. The door to the toilet was open, so he wasn't in there either. A sudden, gripping fear took hold of her. They'd been found! They came for him and left her in a foreign country alone! He was already dead!

The air was escaping her. She couldn't breathe. She was going to die too. She'd never see Meri again. Never get to hear her laugh, never get to dry her tears, never earn the title of Mamma.

Suddenly there was the scrapping of metal on metal as someone tried to unlock the door. They were coming for her! She decided she wasn't going to make it easy for them. Lena wrapped herself in the sheets and looked around for a weapon. She saw the bloody murder knife she'd used.

Wait. That can't be right, she thought.

Lena blinked. It wasn't the same knife. It was much smaller, less bloody. It was one of Little King's throwing knives. She grabbed it and threw it at the head that appeared behind the door. It landed with a thud in the door frame behind him; he'd ducked just in time. She grabbed another and prepared to throw.

"Wait! Ileana, it's me!" he poked his head around the door. One hand was raised in surrender, the other was clutching his ribs.

"Edmund!"

He stepped into the room slowly, locking the door back behind him. Lena saw he was carrying a bag. It took a little effort, but he pulled the knife from the wall on his way in.

"That was a good throw," he said with a smile.

"You're alive!"

He paused, his expression turning grave. "Thanks to you."

The weight of words left unspoken hung in the air. Lena flashed back to the look in his eye as he told her to run before launching himself at the Polkovnik. She shook the image out of her head.

He moved slowly towards the bed and dropped the bag on it; every step clearly sent a shockwave of pain through him. "I bought us some clothes, though, I do like that dress your wearing." He smirked cheekily over his shoulder. Lena knew he was trying to lighten the mood, to put her at ease; it would take more than that to pull her off the edge, however. "And I…acquired us a new car. We shouldn't stay here long."

"You should have woken me," she said softly.

"I was going to, but you looked so..." he turned serious again. "At peace. I didn't want to take that away from you again."

Lena let his words sink in a moment before moving towards the bed.

"Merda!" he whispered as he tenderly fingered one of the bruises on her arms. Then he saw the one on her back and cursed more fervently. "I'm so sorry, Lena. I never should have let him touch you. It was a stupid mission."

"It doesn't matter." Her voice was less than a whisper.

"It does matter, Lena."

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes…"

"He's dead!" She shouted suddenly. "I killed him and now he's dead. So it…it doesn't matter." Her voice faded to a whisper again. The air was thick between them. She grabbed her new clothes in a hurry and made for the toilet room.

"The first one is always the hardest," he said making her halt in her tracks as tears threatened to spill forth at the mere thought. "I wish I could tell you otherwise, but the first one has a way of sticking with you. It's been years since mine, and I can still remember the look in the Fox's eye."

"That's the thing though, I'm not so sure he was my first kill. How many times has the intel we provided led to the demise of another?" Lena turned and looked back at him waiting for an answer but receiving none. "I thought my life would be different here, better, but I have just traded one cruel captor for another. I…I can't do this anymore. I can't…I…" She began to cry hopelessly as the emotions and adrenaline caught up to her.

He came to her as quickly as he could and took her in his arms. "No. No, you won't have to. Promesso. Never again."

Lena couldn't say who kissed whom first that time, but her dress of sheets fell to the floor before his new clothes joined them.

Narnia

After fleeing the training grounds, Lena found some quiet corner of the castle to sit down and have a good cry. Since arriving, the only thing she's wanted to do was go home, to see Cuore's face again, to feel his breath on her skin as he whispered '*Ti amo, luce mia.' Now, a terrible thought occurred to her for the first time.

What if there was no going back? What if it was already too late? She'd never see Cuore again, never hear him whisper those words, never get to tell him how much he meant to her or how he saved her life.

Someone sat down beside her and held out a kerchief. "You look like you could use this, Lena."

The voice, so gentle and friendly, was a welcome relief. "Oh! *Grazie a Dio sei tu, Lu." Lena looked over into the warm, smiling eyes of Lucy Pevensie, one of her dearest friends, and saw the same unfamiliarity in them as in all the others. She leaned her head back against the wall as a fresh wave of tears threatened to spill.

"I'm sorry; you don't know me," she said.

"I really wish I did," Lucy replied. "I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you."

"But you…you called me Lena though."

"Is that not right?" Her eyes grew wide with worry that she'd said something wrong.

"No. No, it's perfect. You all call me that there, but here, so far, everyone's only called me Ileana."

"Oh! Good! I wasn't sure, but I thought you would appreciate something a little more personal and friendly. Because the way I figure it, if you're married to my brother then you and I must be friends back there; you would need someone to complain to when Ed's being a dollophead."

The sudden laughter was a nice change from the crying Lena had been doing. "Oh, Lu, I have missed your colorful digs at your brother. And you're right; you and I are very good friends there. Though, your brother swears up and down that I'm a bad influence on you."

Lucy snorted in laughter and reached to her side, where she pulled out two cups and a clay jar. "That just shows how little he knows. Would you like a drink?"

"Is that the Dwarven Ale?"

"No. It's Faunish Wine. Care to try?"

"Please," Lena said enthusiastically. Lucy, equally enthusiastic, poured them each a cup. "Hmm, it reminds me of this red we like from Tuscany, with a hint of…something I can't place."

"That would probably be the Ash and Maple; they had a very big season this year. So, shall we toast to the beginning of a wonderful friendship?"

"To a wonderful friendship," Lena repeated, knocking her cup against Lucy's. They sat and talked for a few minutes before Lucy asked about Meri and Sara.

"I would very much like to hear about my nieces."

"Why just hear about them when you can meet them?"

"Even better!" Lucy jumped to her feet with the spryness of a teenager. Then she helped Lena to hers. "Do you know where they are?"

"Meri is giving Sara her music lesson, but I… I'm not sure of our location in relation to theirs."

"Friends Todrick and Bea, can you help us find the girls please?"

"With pleasure, Queen Lucy," the Fox and Hound replied together.

Along the way, Lucy asked Lena all sorts of questions concerning the girls. "What do they call me? What do I call them? What's our favorite thing to do together? How often do we see each other?" When they finally found the girls, on the other side of the castle, Meri was singing in harmony with Sara.

"Oh! Brava! Brava!" Lucy exclaimed while clapping merrily.

"Lulu!" Sara screeched.

"Hello, my little darling!" Lucy replied sweeping Sara into her arms with familiar ease.

Meri turned to Lena in confusion. 'Did she know?' her eyes were asking. Lena shook her head. That was just the way Lucy had always been.

1951, London

"I don't know about this, Ed. Perhaps we should wait."

"It's Christmas, Lena; there isn't a better time than now," he replied.

"Caterina says Christmas is the time to be with the people who mean the most to you," Meri chimed. "Unless you can spend it in New York."

"I know, Topa," Lena smiled. "Which is all the more reason why you and I shouldn't impose ourselves on Ed's family."

"What's impose mean?"

"It means to be a burden or a problem to someone," Edmund answered. "And you won't be an imposition, Lena. Peter and the girls, especially the girls, are excited to meet you. And Susan has planned this dinner meticulously…"

"What's metic—metic—what does that word mean?" Meri tried to ask.

"…to cancel now would be considered the imposition," Edmund continued.

"What does that metic—ly word mean?" Meri asked again.

"It means very well planned, almost to the point of obsession; every excruciating detail thought out and accounted for," Edmund answered.

"Well, you're making this dinner sound more exciting by the minute," Lena said dully.

Edmund leaned into her, one arm sliding across the back of the seat behind her while the other went to her knee. He whispered in her ear, in French.

"If you want excitement, then I say we leave Meri at my sister's after an hour, or so. Then you and I head back to my place where I'll show you a jolly happy Christmas." His hand slowly began to slide up Lena's thigh sending a spark of heat with it; Lena pulled her lip between her teeth and closed her eyes as she relished the feel.

The taxi came to a sudden stop.

"Oh! We're here!" Edmund said with excitement, his hand jumping off her leg.

Meri and Lena crawled out of the car while Edmund paid the driver. Lena crouched down before Meri on the sidewalk and nervously straightened her dress and coat. Every inch of Lena's skin felt like it had something crawling on it, or was on fire, or both. Her fears and doubts were telling her to flee, to take Meri and run back to Sicily, or maybe fly to New York with Caterina.

Lena never thought she'd be in the position she was, not again. She never thought that she'd be sleeping with another Narnian King, or that she'd enjoy it as much as she did. Things with Edmund, however, felt different somehow; he made her feel different. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't want it to end and she was terrified that it would. People like her didn't deserve people like him.

Suddenly the door to the brownstone opened and three figures stepped out on the stoop. In the center stood a tall, fair-skinned and fair-haired man. His sisters flanked him; one had dark hair and the other light, both were radiantly beautiful. The light from inside cast a warm golden glow around them. The youngest of the three ran down the steps and threw her arms around Lena's neck.

"Lena! You're here! I'm so glad you could make it! Ed's told us so much about you!"

"Whoa! Easy, Lu. You don't want to run her off, do you?" Edmund said, coming to Lena's rescue, his hand sliding around her waist.

Edmund's sister rolled her eyes. "I'm Lucy, you can call me Lu. I just know we're going to be great friends! After all, you're going to need someone to complain to when my brother's being a turniphead."

Lena smiled while Lucy turned her attention to Meri.

"Well, hello little darling. What's your name?"

"Merina Maria of the house Caterina. But you can call me Meri. Are we going to be friends too?"

"Oh, I certainly hope so," Lucy replied before taking her hand and leading her up the walkway.

Narnia

Meri turned back to Lucy and smiled before walking over to hug her neck. "Aunt Lulu; it's so great to see you."

*Translations

Ti amo, luce mia: I love you, my light

Grazie a Dio sei tu, Lu: Thank God it's you, Lu