Hey guys. So, I know there was a longer wait for this chapter than for the others and I have a very good reason for that. I want to stay at least two chapters ahead of my updates. I've been so excited about all the reviews that I just wanted to keep updating and updating! But, now we have reached a point where I have to continue writing and stop posting every other day. So, the wait for the chapters is going to be about as long as the wait it took for this chapter and maybe even a little longer. However, I WILL NOT go more than two weeks without an update. If I start to have brain freezes, I will make sure that I contact all my readers. I'll not leave you all in the dark.
On a brighter note, I've decided the Reviewer of the Month for the month of November! Congratulations to Lulu14168! For Stormie's awesome prediction/advice skills, I have decided that she is my new Reviewer of the Month! Stormie, look for your character in the next update of Lion Eyes!
Also, special thanks to Emily (dreaming of narnia) and pixie dust. Your consistent feedback really drives me to update frequently. You guys rock!
Now, just a warning on this chapter. It's not incredibly graphic, but there is a relatively intense scene at the end of this chapter. :) Edmund's a little needy and Ashlynn seems more than willing to help him out. ;)
I found myself surrounded by books the following morning. I had, once again, opted to skip breakfast in order to explore more of Cair Paravel. In my exploits, I discovered a secluded library in the eastern wing of the castle. I found myself quite delighted at the prospect of such readings and decided that I would spend the day immersing myself in learning about Narnia and Narnian literature.
I had flipped through and read intermittently passages in three enormous books, which all weighed nearly a much as I did at the time, before I was discovered. I was learning of the adventures of the Pevensie's when they first arrived in Narnia when a noise struck my ear. I flipped the book closed and turned around sharply to face my intruder. It was none other than the dark king himself, looking slightly surprised and guilty.
"Oh, um...hi." He stuttered, unsure of what to say to me. I grinned at his nervousness and said hello.
"You weren't at breakfast." He commented, clearing his throat.
I shook my head. "I wasn't hungry. I decided to explore the castle some more and I came upon this cozy little room." I said looking around the small library with a smile.
"Ah, yes. You have discovered my personal library." He replied with a grin, looking around the room proudly. "I had it constructed a few years after we came to thrown. The castle's full sized library was usually too full, and I needed a more quite place to study in."
I blushed. "I had no idea this was your private library. I wouldn't have intruded had I know."
He waved at me dismissively. "No, don't worry about it. You are welcome to use it as you wish."
I nodded in thanks before sitting back down in my comfy chair and picking the book of Narnia's history back up and continuing my reading. I felt a presence behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Edmund observing my readings.
"The first adventures of King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant." He read with a small smile. I smiled up at him in response.
"Yes. I wanted to learn some of Narnia's history. If I'm going to be living here I should know more about it."
Edmund walked around my chair and took a seat in the chair across from me. A table separated our chairs and upon it I had laid many different books with a hope to read through them all.
Edmund smiled at me and nodded his head in agreement. "Narnia is a wonderful place."
I agreed quietly and continued reading. There was a comfortable silence between us for a while. Edmund decided to interrupt it with another apology.
"I'm sorry for my behavior towards you since your arrival in Narnia." He stated suddenly. I looked up at him and blushed.
"Really, Edmund, this isn't necessary."
"No, it is." He interrupted. "I've been quite dreadful. Just because you look like my Ashlynn doesn't mean you are her. I should respect you enough as a living being to know that and to treat you like an individual."
I half smiled at him and closed my book once more. He looked away from me and towards the window facing the ocean. A comfortable silence surrounded us and I embraced the familiarity in it.
"What is your favorite thing to do in the world?" Edmund asked softly, still looking out the window. I looked up at him and felt my heart flutter at his handsomeness.
"I used to play guitar back home. There was nothing more comforting for me, and nothing I was so passionate about as that." I replied, a faraway look overcoming my features.
"Guitar?" He questioned. I explained to him what it was and a look of recognition crossed his face.
"That's funny, because we found a strange stringed instrument in the same field you were in not too long after we discovered you." Edmund commented. A memory passed my mind and I remembered the guitar arriving with me in Narnia. A joyful look crossed my face and when I met Edmund's eyes, whose eyes shone with happiness at my joy.
"My guitar! I remember now! It arrived with me! Where is it?" I asked quickly, thinking only of getting my greedy fingers on its strings.
Edmund's smile widened. "We put it in the storage room. Come on, I'll show you to it."
I leapt up and followed Edmund out of the library. We walked for about ten minutes through several different passages before coming upon a small door. Edmund pushed it open and showed me inside. The room was organized chaos. There was an assortment of different weapons, instruments, pieces of furniture, and books decorating the small room.
"It should be right over...Here!" Edmund exclaimed, pulling my guitar from behind a stack of old texts. I squealed in delight and, jumping up in down in my zealotry, stole it from his hands. I ran quickly out of the dark room and took off for my room. I heard Edmund laughing behind me as he tried to keep up. On the way to my room, I passed Peter.
"Woah!" He shouted as I darted past him. "What's the emergency?" I heard him ask Edmund who was running behind me.
"She just reclaimed her strange instrument!" Edmund replied with laughter in his voice as he continued following me. Peter let out a chuckle and claimed that he needed to see this for himself and took off after us.
I found my bedroom door and darted in. I quickly sat myself on my couch and admired my guitar. Surprisingly, it was still in excellent condition. The wood was hardly scratched and none of the strings were broken. I sighed with pleasure and caressed the dark wood. It was an antique guitar. My father had it restored for my nineteenth birthday and I had cherished it ever since then. It had been his first guitar and it was worth tons of money.
Peter and Edmund entered my room out of breath and laughing.
"I didn't know someone could get so excited over a silly instrument." Peter exclaimed good-naturedly as he leaned against my wall and looked over me. I beamed at him and looked briefly at Edmund.
"I don't believe I've ever seen you this happy." Edmund admitted as he leaned against the wall next to his brother. My smile softened and I looked back at my guitar.
I plucked the strings and cringed when I found it out of tune. That, of course, was to be expected. It had been two weeks since it had been touched. It took me no time to tune the guitar and when I found myself finished doing so, Peter and Edmund were looking at me expectantly.
"Well, are you going to play or not?" Peter asked, earning an elbow shove from Edmund. Edmund shot me an apologetic look and I grinned.
I let my fingers caress the strings for a moment before starting. It was as though I had never stopped playing. My fingers glided across the strings with ease and I found myself picking out an unforgettable melody. It was magical. My eyes closed and the chords flowed effortlessly. G's turned into F's and A minors led to E minors. Chords without names fell out amongst the common ones, and I lazily plucked random strings in between the chord progressions.
With my fingers, I painted an explosive image. Colors flew past my eyelids and I was positive that should I have opened my eyes, my vision would have been in technicolor. I told the greatest epic story in my music. In the end, the hero succeeded. When my story and painting were complete, my fingers stopped and I opened my eyes.
I cautiously looked over at Edmund and Peter. They were both watching me with shocked and impressed expressions. I grinned sheepishly at them and blushed.
"Ashlynn, that was..." Peter started with a thick voice.
"Bloody brilliant." Edmund finished quietly. I chuckled and set my guitar aside. I looked down at my fingers and saw them bleeding. It wasn't the first time I had played until they bled. It also wasn't surprising considering the callouses on them had gone away in the two week absence from playing.
"I can see you really are passionate about it." Edmund commented softly as he walked towards me and grabbed my injured hand.
"Ashlynn, you really must play for Susan and Lucy sometime. Perhaps when you are healed?" Peter suggested as he walked over and looked at my torn fingers.
I nodded with a smile and he bows his head and took his leave.
"Truly amazing." I heard him mumble to himself as he left and I couldn't help but flush. I heard Edmund chuckle and I looked up at him. He was standing over my sitting figure, still holding my hand tenderly. He was inspecting my fingers.
"I've never heard of an instrument that injures the musician." He commented with a small frown.
"It doesn't always. You build up callouses with practice, but it's been a while since I played. And, I don't play lightly. My soft fingers were torn apart." I laughed lightly taking my hand back from him. He watched me a few more moments before offering to walk me to the infirmary to fix my fingers. I agreed, only because I was worried that they would get infected and I wouldn't get to play again for a while.
The walk to the infirmary was quiet at first.
"You really were amazing, Ashlynn." Edmund whispered. I looked over and smiled at him.
"Thank you."
"It was an interesting experience to be sure." He paused. "It was like listening to a story."
I smiled wider. "Music is a story, Eddie."
He looked at me with a disheartening smile. I felt my smile fall off my face.
"I'm so sorry, Ashlynn. I don't mean to be this way." He apologized quickly. Tears formed in his eyes and I was unsure of what I had done.
"Ed, what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.
"Nothing." He answered quickly, avoiding my eyes. "I must leave you here. Good day." He walked away quickly and I felt my heart drop. I looked up and noticed I was in front of the infirmary. I contemplated on whether I should go after him or have my fingers looked at for a few moments. It didn't take long for me to make my decision.
I found myself outside of Edmund's bedroom door, wondering whether I should knock or not, and if I should knock, would he answer?
I made up my mind and knocked timidly. I heard some shuffling from inside the room and a quiet 'come in' gave me permission to enter. I pushed open his doors slowly and stepped into his room.
His room was much more grand than my own, which was to be expected as he was a king. I took very little time to admire his room and instead found my eyes admiring a shirtless and clearly upset Edmund. My eyes drifted to his bare torso and I found myself blushing at his beauty. He was pale and very well defined and muscular. A white scar ran along his abdomen and I felt myself wanting to caress it. He was standing near his bed, obviously having stood up to accept me into his room. His eyes were wet and slightly red and alarmed. He had obviously been crying and had not expected me to be the one knocking on his door.
"Lady Ashlynn, I did not expect it to be you. I would have covered myself." He said quickly, a blush reaching from his face to his chest. I admired the color contrast of his pale skin and the red blush that covered it before responding.
"I was worried about you. You were...are," I corrected myself, "upset."
He raised a hand and waved me off. "Do not worry about me. I will be fine. I'm just finding myself..." He started but did not finish. He obviously couldn't find the right thing to say to explain himself. He was avoiding looking at me and it broke my heart.
I found myself approaching him softly. "Was it something I said?" I asked in a small voice. His eyes snapped to mine and they softened slightly. Tears stains decorated his face and I found myself wanting to kiss them away. I was a foot away from him, close enough that I had to look up to meet his eyes, when he responded.
"No." He muttered hoarsely, looking down at me. "I mean, yes. But, it isn't your fault."
I nodded slowly and looked away from him. "What did I say?"
He was silent. I looked back up at him and he was staring at me with sad eyes.
"You called me Eddie." He whispered, tears filling his eyes again. Realization took root in my mind I felt myself starting to tear up at his weakness. It's not everyday you see a man who is usually so strong and fierce crying. His vulnerability tugged at my heart and I could barely take seeing his pain.
"Did she call you Eddie?" I asked quietly. Edmund gave me a pathetic look before sitting on his bed and putting his face in his hands. He was shaking with silent sobs and without thinking I ran to his side to comfort him.
"I'm sorry, Edmund. I didn't know. I won't ever call you that again. I'm so sorry." I apologized profusely, rubbing his back and hugging him to me. I was crying at this point.
He lifted his face from his hands. "I don't want you to never call me that again."
He saw the tears on my face and he quickly reached up with both hands and wiped them away. "Please don't cry. Not because of me." He begged.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Edmund. Truly I am." I whispered after he had calmed down. He looked at me for a long while, our eyes connected.
He reached out and touched my cheek, a longing look in his eyes.
"Please," He begged. I gave him a questioning look. "Please, be Ashlynn."
My heart fell, once again, from my chest. I gave Edmund a sympathetic look. "Please." He begged again.
I opened my mouth to respond to him, but found I couldn't speak. Edmund's lips were on mine before I could. It was startling at first. I didn't know what to do. Of course, at that point, I was sure my heart had fallen below even my stomach because I could feel it beating somewhere down there. Heat flushed my face and my stomach flipped over. I found myself responding to his needy lips as though it were the most natural thing in the world. He tasted like salt, and I found myself yearning for more.
His kisses became more demanding. His tongue darted out and when I opened my mouth to let him in, he bit down on my lip. I squeaked quietly, but he did not stop. His hands joined the game too, caressing my face, my shoulders, and my waist. Eventually, they pushed me down on the bed and his body was quick to cover mine. By now, I was so intoxicated by what he was doing that I wasn't going to object. His mouth worked across my face and down my jaw and neck. When he reached my collar bone, he stopped.
We were both breathing heavily at this point. My chest was rising and falling, connecting to his bare one with every rise. I felt him fall flush against me and put his face against my neck. His weight was comforting, not suffocating as I thought it would be. His perfect nose was touching my pulse point and his breath was fanning my neck with warmth. His lips connected with my pulse. I shivered.
"I'm sorry." He whispered gruffly. I swallowed.
"It's fine. Me too." I replied. He placed another kiss on my neck, still not getting off of me. He nuzzled my neck before sitting up.
He sat up over me and looked down at me. If I were as ruffled as he were at that moment, then I knew I looked as goofy as he did. He gave a small smile before laying down beside me on his side and gazing at me. I stayed on my back but allowed myself to turn my head and look him in the eyes.
Several long minutes passed before he spoke. "You don't have to be my Ashlynn to be loved by me." My heart fluttered. "You are admirable just as you are."
"Thank you." I whispered. He smiled at me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him.
"Stay with me." He whispered against my neck. I shivered and I felt him smile.
"Okay." I responded and he sighed against my neck and we fell asleep.
Yay! I hope you all enjoyed Ashlynn and Edmund's first "romantic" scene. There will be plenty more where that came from, I assure you! Please review and let me know how you liked it. Also, from this point forward, more details are going to be addressed in the upcoming chapters that I mentioned in all the previous chapters. I'm going to tie some of that information up while adding to the "mystery" of Ashlynn!
Please, please, please, if you have advice or if there is anything you would like to see happen in future chapters, let me know. Stormie's success as a reviewer stems from the fact that she is getting so involved with the story that she is thinking ahead and offering me help for future chapters!
Thank you all so much!