Everywhere Annabelle went, Barnaby followed. In the hallway, the courtyard, the stable, the garden grounds, even the beach with a couple of faun kids to spend time with, Barnaby followed. He didn't talk to anyone. He didn't have any participation to interact with Annabelle or the others. All he did was sit, stand, and stare. The only interesting thing was that he would munch a raw carrot to take his hunger away. She tried to understand that King Peter wanted to know if her curse was still effecting. She agreed to this. But certainly Barnaby's awkward being was unfavourable to people around.

One morning, as her father went to have some breakfast, she took over the work for a bit. Barnaby stood in the corner. Then when her father got back, she went to head to the castle for her therapy. She saw Edmund heading back in the same direction as her after his nightly duty. "Good morning, Edmund," she greeted.

"Good morning, Annabelle," he said in a smile, though he glanced at her stalker. "He's still here, I see."

Barnaby stood by a tree, munching his carrot.

"Yes..." Annabelle replied. "Quite troublesome, but I believe in High King Peter."

"If you need somewhere quiet, I can help you," Edmund said in a smirk. His playful act made her blush red, so he laughed. "I'm just kidding. Or... Am I?"

As the two of them entered the castle, Edmund headed to the meeting room, while she went to the courtyard.

###

He entered the meeting room. He had expected to see Susan and Liliandil. The guards in the East wall had reported him of their arrival this morning. He only needed to nod and took a seat.

"Right, now that Edmund's here, we can start. Proceed, Susan, Liliandil," Peter said.

"I took some notes of the books in the Library, beyond Lone Island. We hope it's as what we expect... These shadows are actually dead souls," Susan spoke.

"Dead souls?" Lucy repeated.

"Yes, they're souls of the dead. There's a world, connected here, which contained all the creatures who died. They're not supposed to be here. For one thing, The door between that world and here has been openned now. The dead souls leak out."

"Why would anyone open a door of that?" asked Edmund.

"How did the door be opened?" Caspian added the question.

Liliandil spoke after making a knowing eye contact with Susan, "The door is opened to anticipate the arrival of the right soul to get there. It is opened when the right soul has not reached there when it is their time to be. In other words, it can only be closed if the right soul has made it to world of the dead... the book we found call that world as the Underworld."

"The right soul?" Peter asked. "What's the right soul?"

"A soul of someone who should have died... but haven't."

Edmund's face paled. Peter, Lucy, and Caspian glanced at him. For a moment, they were quiet. Until Peter spoke, carefully as he knew Edmund's feeling. "I think... we know who this person is."

"No," Edmund contempted. "She can't die."

Their argue made Susan and Liliandil aware of who they were referring to. The two of them stared at Edmund in pity now, as well as Caspian and Lucy.

"She won't agree to this."

"I have talked to her about Barnaby. I'm aware that she's the compliant type. Once I explain it to her, she'll understand."

"Pete-"

Caspian spoke. "For the greater good, Edmund... I'm sorry... You are all summoned to banish these shadows... this lost souls, hoping they'll get back to their world and to safe this world... in the price of one..."

Edmund looked at each of them in disdain. "If you think you'll kill her, I'll draw my sword against you all... There must be another way."

Liliandil spoke. "She doesn't have to be killed... There's a way for her to travel there... But she can't return, I'm afraid... I'm sorry Edmund."

After much consideration, they decided that it was best to put this quest on Edmund. In time, they believed the King would understand the greater good. If he was ready, he would be the one to tell her.

In the quiet part of the castle, Edmund escorted Annabelle to his favorite hiding place in Cair Paravel. A nook of the castle's exterior wall that no one would pay any mind and it was a bit dangerous to get up there. They climbed a balcony and stepped on the outer sills of the castle. Edmund took her to sit on a deep curvature. A bird nest was at the back it and they were careful not to squash them. He made sure Annabelle got to sit comfortably.

"Sorry, a bit cramp in here... this has always been my place when I don't want anyone to find me without going far... I thought it would be enough for the two of us," he said.

They sat there, feet dangling above a sill step, but to be sure that Annabelle's shoes wouldn't fall off, she took them off and held it firm. The curve forced them to really sit really close to each other. One of them couldn't even have an arm on the side so one had to slightly be behind. Despite the cramping space, Annabelle laughed. "I can see why you like this place. You can see the vastness of Narnian land from here."

"Yes, yes we can, can't we? Look, that's the mountains to the old White Witch's castle. Then the sea slightly over there... Then the forests." The talk comforted him. He refused to tell her what the Kings and Queens expected of him. He couldn't let her die.

"My house is down on the foot of that mountain, Edmund. Over there. Near the Valley of Flowers. Have you been there when you lived here?"

"Oh, yes, of course, it was still unnamed though... It was still part of the mountain to me back in the day. We just call it West Land."

"Oh right..." Annabelle glanced at him and doing so, invited Edmund to look at her as well. "I forgot that you were here over a century ago."

Edmund chuckled. "I am ancient as people say, along with my siblings... This is my form in the time of my real world... If I'm still here... I wouldn't be alive now... Is it weird?"

"It is very weird, I can't comprehend that you are old. You're acting like you're no older than me... Did you marry a maiden in your past life?"

"I was too busy working as King Peter's Military Commando to think about marriage... I was still in my twenties... But Susan, on the other hand... She gets a handful of proposals... but she doesn't want mere marriage, she wants love."

"And did you not find love back then?" She asked with a hint of jealousy.

Edmund didn't know what to tell her. He was flattered that she felt that way. Of course he wouldn't reveal things of what he thought were an almost and maybes in those days. All he cared right now was her. He looked upon her lips.

The knowledge that she had to die for the sake of Narnia and the rest of the world bothered him. Why would Aslan bring him here to meet a girl who looked exactly like someone in his original world, yet she's her own person at all? And now he had to be dispaired to have her slip away in time.

They closed their eyes and leaned in to find their lips touched. Annabelle was unsure if she should kiss a king, but Edmund encouraged her in the gesture of his lips. He held her nape to deepen and they knew they were in love.

"I have feelings for you, Annabelle... I want to know you..." Edmund whispered before he continued again.

To be continued