AN. This chapter is also drama and angst. Okay, here you go, and be ready for anything!

Heads turned to stare at their King as he led this new girl through the castle, both of them in light moods, hand in hand. Well…this was new. Their boy King with a girl? By the time they were outside, Lila was a mess of giggles. She was finding this immensely entertaining.

Edmund glanced over at her every now and then, half giving her looks of insanity, half of amusement. Lila wasn't the only one having fun…After all, he had been released from his duties! The freedom from one of Orieus' lovely lectures and lessons was wonderful. Not to mention, he had stumbled across a not so bad girl…for once. Wow.

"What's your friend's name again?" she asked as they continued towards the pastures.

"Phillip…Bre-hwinny-something-or-other." She laughed as he shrugged. "I know it, it's just terribly hard to pronounce," he added defiantly.

"Ah." She swung their hands back and forth slightly, sighing. This did beat being in hiding with a bunch of mediocre wolves who were oh-so-annoying. "Do all Horses have long names like that?"

He swung his hand with hers. "Yes…Or at least, I haven't met one without it. They bear their origins proudly." He looked up. "Not that they don't have a reason not to."

He whistled long and sharp, pausing to call, "Phillip!" Lila turned her eyes to the west, where there stood a proud Horse amongst the others, lifting his eyes from the turf to hold his head high, ears pointed forth in recognition. He stood there for a moment, still as statue, before bursting forward into a brisk trot, muscles flexing beneath a glimmering chestnut coat.

"He's beautiful," she acknowledged in awe.

Edmund snorted. "'Handsome," he corrected.

She scowled at him teasingly, before turning to look back at the nearing Horse. "He's yours?"

"No." He smiled. "I'm his."

Phillip slowed before them, meeting his Boy with an extended muzzle into Edmund's waiting hand, receiving a friendly pat before turning an intelligent eye to Lila. "Am I correct when I say that you are the new Daughter of Eve?"

She smiled. "I'm Lila."

"Well met Lila." The Horse flicked his ears, chuckling softly. "Well met indeed, compared to that Maible."

"Indeed," agreed Edmund, releasing her hand to move beside the Horse. "This is Phillip."

Lila curtsied slightly. "Pleasure."

Phillip nodded in acknowledgement before turning to his Boy, a horse-grin pulling at his lips. Edmund rolled his eyes, sighing exasperatedly, muttering, "Why does everyone think this is so funny?" Phillip playfully pushed the King with his muzzle in turn.

Scowling at the Horse, he finally composed himself to proceed with his original intentions. "Phillip…do you think that maybe we could go for a ride?"

Phillip smiled. "Of course."

Having mastered the skill after many years of lessons from his brother, Edmund swung lightly up on him, a handful of mane clutched in one hand, offering the other to Lila. She accepted it, pulling herself up behind the King, placing her hands on his waist for balance.

"Do you have a destination in mind?" The Horse turned his head to look up at the King. Edmund shrugged.

"No." He patted the Horse's arched neck. "It's a free run."

Phillip snorted, tossing his grand head once before leaping forward at an easy canter. Lila's grip tightened at the sudden plunge, and she could have sworn his hand brushed hers concernedly. But it was not long before she had settled into the rhythmic strides, counting them; 'one, two, three; one, two, three; one…' and she let her hold relax.

But, all in all, it was a thrill. She hadn't ridden a horse for oh so long, let alone a Talking Horse, goodness no! She had never heard of such a thing. But here she was, defying all she had been told, laughing aloud as they pressed along through the thin trees of the forest, some Trees pausing to watch the grinning trio thunder past.

Water was not a problem for the Horse; in fact, it was bliss all in all. Phillip's strong strides plowed through the bubbling water with ease, sending fine sheets of water all around with such grace, and before they could even enjoy it properly, it had passed, sending them forward into the trees once more.

However, logs blocking their path were a problem. Already, hours had passed, though ever so quickly. Lila had been too mesmerized by the scenes, and was unprepared even as Phillip ran to the challenge, lifting his forelimbs from the earthy soil and tucking them neatly beneath him. She gasped, throwing her arms around Edmund's waist for dear life as they went airborne; he was laughing!

He continued to laugh even as they fell, rolling along on the earth in a mess. Managing his composure, he propped himself up on one elbow, looking over at Lila, who was giggling a bit. "Are you alright?"

She sighed, brushing her now tangled hair from her face, leaves and bristles dotting it. She made no move to remove them. "Yes; are you?"

"I'm fine!" he assured, ceasing his laughter after a few minutes of hard trying.

"Good; King Peter would have my head if you weren't." Phillip snorted as he circled around, stopping behind the sprawled-out King, giving him a look. Edmund coughed before laughing again, stumbling to his feet.

"He would not," Edmund sympathized.

Phillip consented. "I suppose you're correct; he would thank me." For this, Edmund gave his a shove, which did nothing to the Beast but move him a step sideways, but of course, not all jokes are meant to fulfill their purpose.

The young King offered his hand to Lila, who took it in gratitude and made to her feet. Phillip had already brushed away stray autumn leaves in an exciting hunt for grass, which he had found and was munching away, green blades poking out from either side of his mouth.

"You shouldn't eat being as hot as you are," Edmund warned. Of course, they had not run the whole way, leaving room for the Horse to catch his breath. Nonetheless, the horse was dotted in beads of sweat. Phillip heaved a sigh, but lifted his head from the turf. "It'll still be there," scorned the boy, grinning.

The Horse snorted, tossing his regal head before going on to say, "Well, I suppose I'll walk it out. Don't leave," he added, glaring at Edmund. "You do have your sword, correct?"

There was the ring of metal as he slid the weapon from his sheath, lifting it so as the Horse could see it. "Yes."

"Good." Phillip flicked his tail, plodding away into the forest, the crunch of leaves beneath his hooves disappearing soon enough.

The two watched him depart; then Edmund turned away, plopping down on a stump. "A good ride," he confirmed, speaking both their thoughts.

Lila nodded in agreement. "Except I pulled you off," she added, blushing.

Edmund laughed. "I did that to Peter once, the first time I rode without a saddle."

"Did you?" She grinned.

He nodded. "He was trying to teach me on Flisk, his unicorn. When he tried to trot, I started so bad I pulled Peter to the ground." He chuckled. "Flisk found that amusing."

Lila laughed. He stopped to listen. He liked the sound it made; it was clear, joyous. The melody rang through the trees, its echo carried along a whispering breeze.

He didn't laugh too much. Today, he had, and for a good reason, too. But Peter laughed, even though he was High King. And, of course, Susan and Lucy were always threatening to burst into giggles at any minute. There were times where all he had to do was glance at Lucy and she had dropped whatever she may be holding and laugh for no apparent reason whatsoever. He had found that all girls were like that, especially when Peter was around. That was about when Edmund had made up his mind; that girls were just a mess of nonsense that wasn't worth bothering over.

But he was beginning to change his mind.

"I'm glad I've not gone down in history as the only one to pull a Narnian King from his Horse!" she exclaimed, managing to die down her laughter. He was almost disappointed that she had. Almost.

"Indeed," he smiled.

She twirled, her skirts flowing around her in ripples of fine silk. "I'm not accustomed to wearing dresses of such precision," she commented, stopping in a flurry.

"Lucy loves them; Susan, too."

"It's easy to understand why; they're so pretty."

He rolled his eyes. Girls and their dresses. But Lila didn't go on to rave about them; instead, she leaned against a tree, looking him over.

"Aren't you from a place in a different world?" The sudden change of subject caught him off guard. He blinked, looking up at her.

"Spare Oom."

"…of War Trobe?"

"Drobe," he corrected, smiling.

"Spare Oom of War Drobe." She sighed. "It's a nice name."

He raised his eyebrows. A nice name? It was a mistake Mr. Tumnus had made when he met Lucy. And that had turned into a nice name! Well…you learn something new everyday.

"And where do your origins lay?" he questioned.

Shoot. She really had to watch her questions.

"It's a mix, really," she said casually, trying to filter her words. "I'm of Archenland, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"My mother was a naiad of Narnia during the Witch's reign."

He blinked, his mouth forming an 'o', but it took several seconds for the word to escape him. "She's…alright, isn't she?" It was the equivalent of asking if she was still alive.

Lila was silent for a moment. "She was killed by the Witch shortly after I turned five after joining a small rebellion."

A pang rang out inside him (was it guilt?), and he fell silent, his eyes downcast. "I'm sorry for your loss."

She made no comment, but instead went on. "I never lived in Narnia though. Mother had forbid it, and sent me off with my father. He was, as fate had it, not the man she had interpreted him to be." She took a strand of her hair in between her fingers, it's shine rippling…like water. "I've always been attached to water more than other Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve. And then there was the day my spirit of water shone through. It took only that for the villagers to run my father and myself out of town. Of course, he was angry, and he abandoned me at the dividing line between Narnia and Archenland. I haven't seen him since." She looked away. "He should be glad."

Edmund had no way of preparing himself for her story, and no way of taking it. Sympathy was having a hard time working it's way from his mouth, because he was not normally one to give it. She lifted herself from the tree, moving to sit beside him on the ground. He was being rude, he should offer her his seat. She didn't look sad about her losses, but of course, there was no need for sadness when your father abandoned you. Well, there was, but…He was thinking too much.

"That's terrible," he finally managed. His voice was hollow. Why was he trembling?

He continued on quickly, hoping his words would help stop his shaking. It was annoying him. "My father left us...not like that, though. He left for war."

"Spare Oom was at war?"

"Yes; we were sent away because of it." Unwanted memories were coming out with each word. He needed to shut up. "We were sent away to the country, away from all the warfare and bombings-"

"What's a bombing?" She looked at him quizzically. He wanted to cry.

He swallowed. "Well…a bomb is like…a big explosion, with lots of fire and…destruction. There were a lot of them where we lived."

"Did your mother go with you to the 'country'?"

He swallowed again, composing himself a little. "No; it was… just us."

"You were ripped from your family, then." Her voice had gone quiet.

He ignored that. "I didn't want to go. But we all did, and then Lucy found Narnia…"

"Edmund." He whipped his head to look at her a bit quicker than he should have. His face had gone ashen. "You're trembling."

Goddamn it, couldn't he control himself? He turned to look at her, tears brimming his eyes. What was wrong with him?

He really was being rude; he needed to get up and offer her his seat. He wanted to, but his body wouldn't let him. Maybe she would make him move. Then everyone would happy. Right? He felt shaky. Was this a dream? It was too painful to be a dream. Her eyes...her eyes...everything else was fading from view. The forest, the ground...it was gone. Just her face, her hair and her eyes.

She kissed him, her lips light against his, the faint taste of salt bearing them. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, except for the fact that his heart was racing for no apparant reason. He didn't know how long it lasted; perhaps only a few seconds, or maybe even for many sunlit days. It was bliss, and that was all that registered with him.

And then it ended. He opened his eyes and found that he could see again, and that he had finally managed to stop shaking. Good. Lila's face was flushed. She was still crouched in front of him, and it was all he could do not to gape at her. Had that really just happened? It was hard to believe it had now...It had happened so quickly that it was hard to tell. But, he realized, it didn't matter.

This time, he leaned forward, not quite sure what he was doing, and kissed her back. The blush of embarassment faded pink as she smiled, raising her gaze to look up at him. He blinked, before a small smile drifted across his face.

"Are you two ready?" The sound of Phillip's voice coming nearer scared them apart, both of them turning to see the chestnut horse plodding towards them.

It was Lila who managed her composure first, speaking up for the lost-for-words King. "Yes, we are." She turned to look at Edmund, who was finally on his feet, and took his hand in hers, leading him to the Horse. And for once, Edmund didn't notice nor even care that the Horse was grinning that silly smile, clambering up on Phillip's back and helping Lila up behind him.

Had it been real? Edmund Pevensie never liked girls...This one was no different, right?

Lila wrapped her arms around his waist lightly for her balance.

Okay...maybe she was different.
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It has been said; "You may kiss a fool; you may let a fool kiss you; but never let a kiss fool you."
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A.N. Okay, I know, it moved really fast. But, you know, Edmund doesn't seem like a fellow who would have a normal romance, if one at all. So that's why I sped it up. Plus I didn't want this to get boring with all the waiting. :D Please, as always, review!