Author's Note: Hello, I'm alive! I have no time to do anything lately, so for that I am sorry. This being one of the three most important chapters of this story did not help much either, but I have finished it and I hope you enjoy. Thank you to Allie Danger Bgirl, LaylaGreene, jasmine nightshade, UnitedFandoms, skullsarecool, and Rocketship2Mars for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. I love you all!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia.
"Lucy, I do not think I can do this." I said.
"Of course you can, now hold still." She said as she tightened my gown. Oh how I hated corsets.
"Are corsets typically supposed to make you feel nauseous?" I asked.
"No, but nerves are." She said simply, not realizing what implications she was making with that statement. To distract myself, I looked ahead into the mirror. My dress was blue like my eyes, and Susan said it went well with my hair. She must have been right, because she and Lucy had worked a miracle with me. If I did not know better, I would have said it was magic. As I came back to reality, I noticed that Lucy had stepped away.
"You ok?" I asked.
"Just taking in the whole picture; you look wonderful." She said and I smiled in spite of myself.
"Thank you." I said.
"No problem. Now Ed will be here to escort you in half an hour and as much as I would like to see him speechless when he sees you, I must finish preparing myself." She said and left me to my thoughts. It was alright to be nervous, I told myself. After all, this was the day Jadis was sure to test me. But according to Lucy, that really would not be a problem so why was I nervous? You know exactly why. An annoying little voice said. No! I am ok. I just need to toughen my resolve. I am becoming too soft. Just breathe, I told myself. Just breathe. I was so lost in thought that the knock on the door caused me to jump.
"You in there Princess?" I heard him ask.
"Just a minute!" I said and went over to the mirror to make sure my mental breakdown had not ruined any of the girls' handiwork. Thankfully, it was still intact. I then took a deep breath and answered the door. For a minute, he just stood there. "Cat got your tongue?" I asked playfully.
"Sorry. You look beautiful." He said.
"Thank you." I said softly.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Ready as I will ever be." I said and we began to walk to the ballroom.
"Introducing the Princess Crystal escorted by King Edmund the Just." A man at the top of the stairs announced. Everyone was staring at me. I was never really one for big crowds, so this was rather unnerving. But then we began to dance and it all melted away. The music was beautiful and I felt it soak into my soul as I swayed and spun. For a moment, I forgot. For a moment, I was just a girl in a beautiful dress dancing with a boy. Then I heard a noise outside and it all came rushing back. At the end of the dance, I excused myself to get some air. The night air felt wonderful, but I was not able to enjoy it for long. Mother's henchmen showed up and soon had me in their grasp.
"Help!" I screamed and kicked, trying to get free. I saw Edmund take out his sword and follow my scream. "Edmund, help me!" I screamed. He did not need to be told twice. In a matter of seconds, I was free and the creature that had been holding me was dead. I watched as he killed the other minion with the same fire that had almost killed me.
After they were dead, he turned to me. "Are you ok?" He asked with concern in his eyes.
"I am fine. Why did you save me?" I asked.
"That is what friends are for." He smiled.
"Do you fight so aggressively for all of your friends?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"The fire I just saw in your eyes I have seen just once before." I said.
"When was that?" He asked.
"When you almost killed me." I said and he understood the point.
"I guess I do not." He said.
"What makes me different?" I asked. He thought about it for a minute and began to look nervous.
"Let us just go back in there. Everybody is probably worried sick about you." He said evasively.
"Edmund." I said.
"Crystal, come on." He said using my name for the first time.
"You are avoiding the question. I am not going back in there until you answer me." I said.
"I love you ok! You happy now?" He professed angrily.
"I am not sure I believe you." I said with a mischievous glint in my eyes.
"What?" He asked.
"Prove it. " I stated simply, but also as a challenge. He took the challenge and he kissed me. In that moment, any resolve my head had kept was obliterated. I completely melted into him and began to understand the warm feeling that overwhelmed every inch of my being. It was love.
"Ahem." I heard behind me. I turned around to reveal Lucy. I turned red as a tomato. "I just came out to see if you were ok. I see now that you are quite taken care of." She said and went back inside. The rest of the night was a happy blur as I pushed to the back of my mind how complicated everything had just become.
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