Author's Note: Well, a good bit of this chapter is the scene where Edmund goes to read the proposal to Miraz, but Ari's with him. Will it cause her to relive the torture she endured in the castle? Probably.
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. :) I hope you guys enjoy it, especially the little scene at the end with Ari and Edmund talking to each other. :)
Read and review! :D
Song for this chapter: Broken by Seether
"I, Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election and by conquest, High King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands, in order to prevent the abominable effusion of blood, do hereby challenge the usurper Miraz to single combat upon the field of battle. The fight shall be to the death. The reward shall be total surrender." Edmund read. After he finished, he rolled the parchment up and waited for Miraz to respond.
"Tell me, prince Edmund-" Miraz began. He may have been speaking to Edmund, but he was staring at Ari. His eyes were cold, and filled with barely hidden anger that she had escaped and had survived.
"King." Edmund corrected automatically.
"Pardon?" Miraz asked, confusion etched on his face. Ari sent a sideways glance at Edmund and arched an eyebrow at him.
"It's King Edmund. Just King though. Peter's the High King. It's confusing. We know." Edmund replied, shrugging.
"Oh, and I suppose this young lady at your side just happens to be a Queen?" Miraz said, his tone sarcastic.
"She is. And she's also my wife." Edmund said, struggling to bite back the malice that threatened to enter his tone.
"Queen Ariana the Bold." Ari said, nodding. Ari barely kept the emotion out of her voice when she spoke again. "I would say that I am pleased to make your acquaintance, but as we've already met on less than pleasant circumstances, none of us would believe that my words are true."
Edmund looked over to Ari and noticed that she was having a very difficult time keeping a look of indifference on her face. He could see the fear and memories in her eyes that threatened to break free at any moment. Then he looked back at Miraz and resisted the urge to laugh at the perplexed and annoyed expression that was on his face. He noticed that a few Lords around the tent were having the same problem.
"The young lady has quite the sharp tongue now that she isn't being forced to speak." Miraz said, narrowing his eyes.
"If you would remember correctly, I did not say anything to you and your men when I was being held prisoner except to tell them to go to Hell." Ari replied, her tone quite sarcastic. "And I still stand by those words."
"Why would you risk such a proposal when our army could wipe you out before nightfall?" Miraz asked, ignoring Ari's taunts. The redhead snorted, while Edmund gave a sly grin.
"Haven't you already underestimated our numbers?" Edmund asked, and Ari continued for him.
"After all, just last week Narnians were extinct." She said, the corner of her mouth twitching.
"And so you will be again." Miraz sneered.
"Then you should have little to fear." Edmund shrugged, casting a sideways glance at Ari and saw that she was having a hard time keeping a smirk off of her face, just as he was.
Miraz gave a short chuckle. "This is not a question of bravery."
"So, you mean to tell us that you are bravely refusing to fight a swordsman who is half your age?" Ari bit back sarcastically, her eyes dancing wickedly.
"I didn't say I refused." Miraz snarled.
"You shall have our support, Sire, whatever your decision." Said a Telmarine Lord sitting nearby. Sopespian rolled his eyes.
"You Majesty, our military advantage alone allows the perfect excuse to avoid-" Sopespian never finished his sentence.
"I'm not avoiding anything!" Miraz shouted as he stood up, drawing his sword.
"I am merely pointing out that My Lord is well within his rights to refuse." Lord Sopespian replied with a shrug.
"His Majesty would never refuse." Glozelle said from where he was standing. "He relishes the chance to show the people the courage of their new king."
Miraz glared at Glozelle for putting him in a position in which he could not refuse even if he wanted to. He lifted his sword and pointed it in the direction of Edmund and Ari who were waiting patiently.
"You had better hope that your brother's sword proves sharper than his pen." Miraz snarled, his voice deadly. Ari and Edmund smiled genuinely this time.
"You won't be disappointed." Ari said, a wicked gleam in her eyes that rarely showed anymore.
They were escorted out and joined Glenstorm and Wimbleweather. They then walked back towards the How. This was a victory in their books. It would give them the time they needed to get Lucy and Susan into the woods to go after Aslan.
Edmund and Ari walked away from the centaur and the giant, and as soon as they were out of earshot Ari began to hyperventilate, letting herself come undone. The harder she tried to reign in her breathing, the worse it got. Memories of what happened in the Telmarine castle flashed behind her eyes and she felt like she was reliving it.
"Rule number eleven..." Ari whispered, her voice barely audible. "I broke it."
"Do not scream..." Edmund said under his breath. It was one of their rules for when things went terribly wrong.
Ari's eyes glazed over and had a look of sheer terror in them. Edmund grabbed onto her shoulder and said her name over and over again before she came out of her nightmare. She looked at him and launched herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on for dear life.
Edmund of all people knew what it was like to have these flashbacks. Even all these years after it happened, he was still plagued by nightmares of things that had happened to him. He himself had been tortured beyond recognition once when one of their missions went wrong. It was only by the grace of Aslan that he was still alive.
He held on to Ari and let her cry it out. There were no words of comfort he could offer to her, and she knew it. Nothing could make the memories go away. In England, they called this Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some people used alcohol or drugs to deal with it. Other's took their own life, because they thought it was the only way out left for them. After she had calmed down enough to breathe straight, she looked up at Edmund, her eyes haunted. Edmund was the first to speak though.
"Ari, why did you have to go there today? Dear Aslan, I knew something like this was going to happen!" Edmund said. He grabbed Ari and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He rested his chin on top of her head, since she was a good several inches shorter than he was. He sighed heavily. "You've got to stop trying to be strong all the time."
"Who was it that told me all those years ago that the first step to healing isn't to step away from the pain, but towards it?" Ari said as she pulled away from him enough to stare into his eyes. "It was you."
"I know." Edmund sighed again. "And who was is that said that sometimes you have to fall apart to be made strong?"
"Me, and you just told me that I need to stop being strong all the time." Ari said, rolling her eyes.
"I hate it when you use my own words against me." Edmund grumbled.
"I know you do, but sometimes it's necessary to get my point across." Ari said, a small smile forming on her lips.
"Edmund, Miraz has to die." Ari said after a long silence where they just held each other in their arms. Edmund nodded grimly in agreement.
"Then let's hope Peter can live long enough to kill that bastard." Edmund replied, his face twisted in a grimace. He knew there was a good chance that Peter wouldn't live through this fight, and it wasn't a thought that he wanted to dwell on. Peter was good, but he still wasn't up to his normal standard. If he had been given a week, or even a few more days, Peter could have probably bested Miraz easily, but as of now, he was going to have to fight for his life.
Edmund swallowed thickly and gave Ari a strained smile. They both then walked back towards Aslan's How to give Peter the news.
Author's Note: So, this chapter has a sucky ending... It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but... Yeah. And it's a bit shorter too. Anyways, I hope you guys liked it, and there is more to come! :D
Anyways, the set of "rules" is a set of 100 rules that they followed when they were on missions and things like that. The Pevensie's (in my story) had two sets of rules. One to follow in general, and the other for special situations like Ari's. Like, being captured, going on undercover missions, things like that. Both sets were made up of 100 rules.
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