Chapter Nine

Upon reaching camp again, we slowed to a walk, both me and Anduril panting. I leaned forward and patted his silky white neck. "You did well, Andy, just like always." We reached Aslan's tent and I slid off of his back, and Edmund did the same. But while I landed on my feet, his legs gave out under him and he crumpled to the ground. I reached out a hand to help him back to his feet. He was still speechless and breathless from the rescue and wild ride back, so he just gave everything a bewildered look. I gave him a lopsided smile and said, "Aslan probably wants to speak with you. Then you can see your brother and sisters again." I was turning away when I remembered to introduce myself. "I'm Rose. Nice to meet you, Edmund." I said, shaking his limp hand. He just nodded and then I turned to go when I saw Aslan emerge from the tent.

I walked back with Anduril, talking to him quietly as we went. "That was so-exhilarating!" I exclaimed, the adrenaline still pumping through my body. "And did you see the look on his face when we showed up?" I went on, and Andy bumped me occasionally with his soft nose, or would bob his head up and down in agreement. After I had rubbed him down and made sure he was comfortable, I started walking back to my tent. I glanced up the hill and saw Aslan sitting with Edmund. I wondered what they had to talk about. Probably a lot, I thought to myself.

That night, long after Lucy and Susan had fallen asleep, I lay awake, staring up at the top of the tent. I thought about the day's events, and what lay in store for us tomorrow. But mostly, I thought about Edmund Pevensie. He, like his brother, was quite good looking, but not in the same way. While Peter had fair hair and eyes, Edmund was the opposite. He had dark brown, nearly black hair that fell into his eyes. Peter's was straight while his was wavy. And Peter had blue eyes, and Edmund had chocolate brown ones. And then there was the whole issue with him betraying all of Narnia. I sighed and rolled over onto my side. Time to get some sleep…

I was up again at sunrise, but yawning a good deal more than usual. "What's the matter, Rose? Early mornings finally catch up to you?" Peter teased. He had grown accustomed to rising early and had rapidly transformed from rather awkward at handling a weapon to a brilliant swordsman in just a few weeks. I grumbled in response, drew my sword, and adopted an offensive stance.

After the usual grueling two hours, we had collapsed on the ground. "Well, Peter, I think you've mastered everything I can teach you. Guess you can start practicing with the other men, instead of a girl," I teased as I lay on my back, gazing up at the puffy white clouds in the sky. Peter laughed. "Aw, you know I don't feel that way anymore. I was just in a bad mood that first day." He gave me a lopsided grin. I grinned back and said,"Yes, I know. I was just teasing. But it would be better for you if you had some practice with bigger, stronger opponents." I stood, brushing stray bits of grass off. "Well, I'm off to the stables. See you around."

Upon reaching the horse tent, I found Anduril had company. The usually amiable unicorn had his velvet tipped ears flattened against his skull, and he snorted and brandished his horn threateningly. I quickly realized why. Edmund was standing not far away, looking very sulky. I went to Andy's side and began trying to talk some sense into him. "Hush, Andy! That's no way for you to act towards your own king! Show some respect!" He stomped one ivory hoof and tossed his head, snorting again. His brown eyes were narrowed as he lowered his head, pointing his silver horn at Edmund. I frowned and tugged one ear down toward me, whispering so only he could hear. "I don't care if you trust him or not. Aslan does, and that's what matters. I highly doubt he's on the Witch's side; don't you remember how relieved he looked when we got there? Hmm? So cut it out! Or else."I stepped back, ignoring the unhappy unicorn and turned toward Edmund. He just stared back, a small frown on his face. "What's wrong with that thing? It's been like that since I got here. They told me to hang around the unicorn until the ginger girl got here, so I assume that's you." The frown on my face deepened. "First of all, this thing here understands every word your saying. He is a unicorn, and he has a name. Now, I don't mean to disrespect my king, but I must ask that you please apologize to him." I raised one eyebrow and put my hands on my hips, waiting. He looked at me incredulously. I raised both eyebrows farther, and jerked my head toward Andy. The boy sighed and bowed to my unicorn and said in a sarcastic tone, "I'm so very sorry for any offense you may have taken at what I said." Then I smiled a little and replied, "Well, not quite the apology I was hoping for, but it'll do. Now, second, my name is Rose, so you don't have to call me "the ginger girl" anymore. Now, why did "they" send you here to wait for me?" Edmund shrugged. "I don't know. They said something about teaching me," he answered. I felt my little smile slowly spread across my face. "Ah. I see. Well, if you'll follow me…" I turned and Andy followed, "accidently" swatting his silky tail at Edmund as we left the tent.

When we reached the forgery, I selected a sword that was the right size for Edmund. It was heavy and crudely made, and rater unbalanced, but would be perfect for training Edmund. "This'll do," I said after I was done inspecting it. I tossed it to him, the hilt aimed at him. He jumped back and caught it awkwardly, and then glared at me. I flashed him a grin, and then turned and headed up the small slope that led to the training grounds.

"All right, Edmund. I'll be teaching you how to fight and escape with your life on the battlefield. First we'll start with hand-to-hand combat, since that is important." I lifted my sword, and he tried to do the same. He hefted his sword, testing its weight. Grimacing, he tried to follow what I was teaching him. But I wasn't going to be easy on him. He had a lot of catching up to do, and even though Aslan had forgiven him, I felt like he had to be punished just a little more.

After an hour of constant practice, I called out, "All right, Edmund. That'll be enough fencing for today. How are you feeling?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. He glared at me. "Fine, thank you. How else would I feel?" I gave him a small, lopsided smile. "Oh, I don't know, I guess I thought you'd be a little tired or sore maybe. But if you're still feeling good, let's move on to riding." Without another word from him, I turned and stuck my fingers in my mouth and blew. At the sound of the shrill whistle, Andy came loping up the hill from where he was grazing below. Edmund's eyes grew wider. "I'm not riding him! He'll kill me!" Smiling as I stroked his nose, I answered, "No, Andy would never do that. Unless I told him to." I grinned broadly at him. "Come on, mount up." Edmund crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his brown eyes. "I refuse to ride him. I want to ride a real horse, if I have to ride at all. Not some unicorn who has already decided he hates me. Now get me a horse." The grin vanished from my face. I mimicked his posture, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes. "Okay, Your Highness. Since you refuse to do what I ask, and I have no right to force you to do so, I'll find you a suitable horse. See you in the morning." And with that, I swung up onto Andy's back, and he picked up his rolling lope right away.

Once again, that night I lay in bed, thinking about Edmund. What a little…! He was so moody, and the way he talked to me! He has every right to, I supposed, but Peter, Susan, and Lucy never addressed me like he did. My cheeks flushed with anger. Well, I've found you the perfect horse for tomorrow.