Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of its characters or fictional land/lands; I am not C.S. Lewis, sadly. I only own the plot and characters not featured in the original books.
It was her last day in the cell and that evening she was allowed out and had been requested to dine with the monarchs, though at first she was to go chained up but Carlisle defended her saying as long as he was there with her, he knew she wouldn't harm anyone.
She hadn't expected any visitors that day but then she heard footsteps down the stairs and along the dungeon corridor. Then his voice spoke. "Leave Carlisle, I'd like a word with the girl." None of the royals had requested for Carlisle to leave before and when she turned around from her corner, King Edmund was opening up her cell.
"What do you want?" she asked as he entered the cell and locked the door behind him, her dreams flashed in her mind but she shook them away.
"I came to speak to you." He simply said. Edmund stood looking at her for a moment, deep into her eyes, searching for something then he simply asked, "What is your name?"
The girl blinked at Edmund, he hadn't offered her any sign of friendship or forgiveness for what she had done, he had plainly asked her, without any kindness in his voice, but a cold, demanding voice and that was why she answered him. "I think it is my name, it was the name that came into my head when I awoke in your woods… Ryder."
Though the name was male, he didn't doubt the girl was lying. The way she had simply answered him was proof enough. "Well then Ryder, I heard you've been putting off changing your bandages and I don't think it's fair that Peter and I have to go through the pain and you don't."
Ryder then noticed that on his left shoulder, visible through his white shirt, was a thick bandage. "I'm sorry." She said. "I truly am, but I must say you shouldn't have come running at me with a sword."
"Well, you shouldn't have run off and injured so many of my men." He shouted at her, his anger rising up in him once again whenever they spoke to each.
"Well, you should have let me go, instead of having me locked up, like a criminal!" She spat back at him, marching towards him and squaring up to him, though she was many inches off his height, she still looked menacing.
"Well, you were locked up because you once again attack my men!"
"That was because your men had me dragged here without my permission!"
"You weren't literally dragged you were tied up because you once again attacked my guards, the Wolves!"
"I didn't want to come here!"
"No one made you!"
"Yes they did! Did you not just hear what I said? I was brought here against my will!" She shoved the King away from her but he caught her wrists.
"Now, don't throw a tantrum!" He laughed at her.
"Urgh, I can't stand you!" She struggled against his grip.
"Now, just keep still, like a good girl, so I can change that bandage for you." He let go of one of her hands and tugged at her shirt.
"Keep your hands off me!" She said tugging her shirt back down and pushing the Kings hand away, which was resting on her hip.
"I'm trying to help you here!" He was getting impatient now. "Just let me change your bandage and then I'll leave."
"Just leave it, I don't need it changing."
"Yes you do." He once again made an attempt to pull her shirt up and this time she shoved hard on his wound shoulder and a stream of angry words shot out of his mouth. "Why you do that for?" He pulled down his shirt and pointed to the now bleeding wound.
"I told you not to touch me, I'm… so sorry!" She stuttered, placing her hand on his wound. "Come here, how about I change your bandages and I'll let you change mine, how about that?"
The King looked down at her and noticed she was smiling at him. She had the most heart breaking smile he had seen. Though her hair was a tangled mess and her face was covered in dirt, he could see she was very beautiful, with long, flowing dark hair and a set of blue eyes, which reminded him of the ocean. She had full, pink lips and a lovely shaped face with high cheek bones.
"Go on then but if you hurt me, I'll hurt you." He opened the cell door and sat on Carlisle vacant seat and handed her a roll of bandages.
"Whatever you say, King Edmund." She said, stepping out of the cell, she took one swift look down the corridor no one was down here except her and Edmund and she thought of escaping but she couldn't, because she thought the King had trusted her to be out of the cell without running away again. She looked back at the King who was studying her intently. "Well you're going to have to take your shirt off first; otherwise I'm not going to be able to bandage it."
The idea seemed to send shivers down both of them. Edmund didn't know what made him so nervous or self conscious, he'd let women see his body before, though only from a long distance, and this mysterious stranger was going to see it up close and was going to be touching his bare torso.
Ryder watched as he tugged the shirt up over his head and stared down at his toned stomach and chest. She was marvelled by how toned it was but she also could see the shiny scar along his stomach and wondered to herself how he could have got it; possibly battle wounds, he's already going to have two scars from where she had wounded him. She slowly approached him and began to unravel the bandage from around his shoulder, she felt him shiver as her hand brushed against his skin and she thought to herself, get a grip Ryder, it's not like he is full on naked.
You'd like that wouldn't you though, another voice said.
She smiled to herself and pulled the bandage away from his wound. It was very deep and the only reason it was healing was because of Lucy's magic cordial. It had reopened and blood was slowly seeping out. "I'll need something clean this."
"There is a tap over there on the wall, you can use water from that, and there should be a bucket underneath." As he said she wondered over to the wall and there was a lion tap on the wall and she filled the silver bucket with water and carried it to the table next to Edmund, she ripped some bandages and wet them in the water. She wiped the blood away from the wound and Edmund gripped the chair as she did. "I'm sorry." She said when she saw how much pain he was in.
"Well, this just means I'm going to hurt you" And he laughed through clenched teeth and she laughed with him.
Once she was done cleaning the wound, she unravelled new, clean bandages and began to wrap it around Edmunds shoulder, and to keep it in place, she wrapped it around his back, up over his other shoulder and then under his injured shoulder, wrapping it once more around his wound.
"There." She said tying a knot in the bandage.
"Thank you." He pulled his shirt back over his head, and Ryder stole a quick glance just as his face resurfaced from his shirt. "It's your turn now."
She pulled up her top, just to display her stomach and nothing else, and showed him the bandage that was wrapped around her stomach. It was soaked in dried blood and as Edmund pulled away the old bandages, pain shot through Ryder's body, that she didn't even realise the soft touch of Edmunds hands against her stomach.
"Ah, it's gotten infected." Edmund said, grabbing more clean bandages and wetting them in the bucket of water and dabbing the along her stomach.
"Ow!" Ryder exclaimed, jumping up from the seat. "That hurts!"
"Well of course it hurts; you've left it to get infected." He made an attempt to wipe at her stomach but she dodged his hand. "Keep still, I did for you."
"Maybe we should get that Narnian healer to look at it." She said backing away from him.
He grabbed her wrists and pulled her back, dumping her back onto the seat and kneeling down and wiping at her stomach. She shouted out. "Ow!"
He clamped his hand around her mouth. "Shut up complaining." She frowned at him and Edmund thought she looked adorable when she frowned.
He once again made to dab at the infected wound but she once again jumped and knocked Edmund onto his back. "Stop moving, then I can get it done and be out of here."
She shook her head, reluctantly. He grabbed hold of her wrists and dragged her to the floor. "Now, keep still." He sat on top of her hips, pinning her to the floor and held her two hands above her head. She turned her head away and squealed in pain as Edmund dabbed at her wound.
Suddenly, Carlisle burst into the room and looked down at Edmund and Ryder in a very compromising position. Now, from the view of Edmund or Ryder, he was just cleaning her wound on her stomach, well more like torturing to Ryder, but from Carlisle view it looked very different.
"Your majesty!" Carlisle exclaimed.
Edmund looked up and so did Ryder. "What?"
Carlisle raised eyebrows and looked down and Ryder, who looked awfully comfortable, and was now blushing a deep scarlet.
Edmund climbed off Ryder and handed her the bandages. "I'm sure you can bandage them up yourself." He turned to Carlisle. "And make sure Ryder looks presentable for this evening." He shot at the guard and with that he left the dungeon.
"Don't say anything." Ryder warned as she climbed back up off the floor, the red colour in her cheeks still visible.
"I wasn't going to say anything." He grinned at her and she blushed once again.
"Help me with my bandages will you, instead of grinning at me like a child." She handed him the bandages.
"Yes, my lady."
But secretly, Ryder was grinning like a child inside too.
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