Chapter 11

Ladine turned and smiled at Edmund.

"Wake up sleepy head." she said.

"Don't call me that." Edmund said, a little more forcefully than he meant and he turned back to the slightly shocked and hurt Ladine, brushing the image of the smiling Lucy from his memory.

"It brings back memories I have to forget."

"Why?" Ladine said, sitting up onto her knees.

"I-We made our choice." he said and then he stood up and stretched out his back.

"Where are we going now?" he asked.

"Cauldron Pool. It's as far from the Palace as you can get with out leaving Narnia. Then we're going up the river through the western woods and then down the Great River and get the evacuees to Archenland." Ladine said, and silently added 'When I can show you my crown'.

"Good. Let's get going." Edmund said and he splashed his face, then untied Philip's reins from a nearby tree.

"Look at you." Ladine smiled, "Already up and ready. You'll make a great King," and she came up and one hand massaged Edmund's shoulder. Edmund shrugged her off.

"I'll go get a rabbit or something while you get dressed." he said and grabbed a bow and ran off. Ladine sighed and leaned against the tree.

"Oh Edmund. Why can't you see I'm perfect for you?"

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Lucy placed her hand on Aslan's shoulder and Susan did the same on the other. They strode out of Aslan's How, with Caspian on Lucy's other side and Trumpkin of Susan's. Lucy gasped as she saw how many soldiers and ordinary people where still loyal to Miraz and now his missing son Peter.

"Why are they still here? After what Miraz did to people who weren't Telmarines?" she whispered to Caspian.

"They probably felt like Miraz. That anyone who wasn't a Telmarine weren't as good as them." he whispered. Lucy made a face.

"How horrible." she murmured. Aslan roared beside her and she saw a few of the Telmarines shake.

"You are all the Telmarines we could find still loyal to Miraz's son Peter, even though you supposed leader is missing." he roared. Lucy saw many scared faces. However one man yelled back.

"Peter has just gone to find his traitorous brother Edmund!" and many men and women yelled with him. Lucy blinked as a nasty thought flashed in her head. Edmund. Edmund has said he had a brother called Peter.

"You all right, Luce?" Susan asked, looking at her sister. Lucy put on a smile.

"Yes. Just wondering how people could think that about someone who left them." she said. Susan nodded and turned her majestic head back to the crowd. Lucy's smile slipped a little, but it held. Aslan roared again to stop the yelling.

"I will talk to everyone, and anyone who wants to can join." he said, an expression of kindness slipping across his face.

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Edmund slipped down from his horse and Ladine copied him.

"How many people are here?" he asked, inspecting the green forest and thundering waterfall.

"At least 500. Maybe more." she said, and Edmund whistled.

"How did I never know about this?" he asked himself and Ladine smiled sympathetically.

"Wait here." she instructed. "They'll trust me more." and she slipped off into the forest. Edmund looked around and tied the horses to a rock. He stood up and walked along to the edge of the river. He looked along it, then slipped off his boots and, in his bare feet, climbed onto one of the little rocks that were placed like stepping stones across the edge of the deceptively peaceful waterfall. He got about halfway, when he felt he was being watched. He looked up and saw a large vole sitting on a rock.

"Hello.." Edmund said, and he reached into his pocket.

"Hello." the vole replied and Edmund's head whipped up and his eyes became wide.

"I will never get used to that." he said and the vole looked surprised.

"Get used to it? Don't you live here? You look Narnian." it said. Edmund gave a small laugh.

"No. I don't live here. I only found out I was Narnian a few days ago." he said. The vole looked taken aback.

"What where you before?" it asked. Edmund looked away and looked down into the mist the waterfall threw up.

"Telmarine." he could hear the vole stiffen. "Oh but it gets worse. When I was a child, I was found by Jadis and she took me back and raised me as her son." and Edmund looked over the edge of the waterfall, contemplating how painful falling off it would be.

"You stupid boy! Miraz will have sent spies after you! We are all in danger!" the vole cried and Edmund looked back to see it shaking with anger.

"Miraz is dead." Edmund told him and the vole looked at him.

"How do I know you are telling the truth?"

"Because I have been lied to all my life. Because I had to watch my father brand a Narnian girl when I was eight. Because that girl died three days later due to infection." he said, the anger and hurt rimming his voice. The vole nodded.

"Why are you here?" the vole asked, its soft blue eyes examining Edmund.

"Because I need to make sure Peter never becomes King. He would be worse than Miraz. And because every Telmarine thinks I am a traitor." he said. The vole tilted his head to the side to signify his question.

"Because I was missing for a long time. I was-" he stopped, then plunged on "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I need to tell someone! I found a girl. And she was so beautiful. But Miraz was looking for her and her sister because they held the power to put a King on the Narnian throne. Peter had been sent to capture, them I was to distract the Narnians, then help him. And then I found Lucy. She told me she couldn't help Miraz because she could never trust him. I let her go, but she got hit by a Telmarine arrow and so I picked her up and I took her to a place I knew and I healed her and I-" he faltered. "I fell in love with her." he turned to look at the vole, but it was no longer there. Instead he saw a faint glimmer of gold. He frowned and began to follow it, but he was interrupted by a girl calling his name. He turned and saw a little girl of about five running towards him

"Edmund! Edmund! Edmund!" she cried and suddenly a thousand voices took up her call and Edmund was surrounded by beavers and badgers and fish that jumped through the air like circus performers. Birds swooped above him and hundreds of Narnians appeared on the banks. Edmund smiled laughing. The water in front of him rose to reveal 10 girls made of water. Edmund gasped in surprise and the water nymphs giggled and laughed and formed a circle around him, before they all bowed to him. Edmund looked up to see wood nymphs form out of the air and bow to him too. Edmund looked around him in wonder.

"Edmund!" he turned back to see the original girl. "I want you to meet someone!" she called and held her hand out to him.

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Ladine shrunk back into the tree, ignoring the sudden burst of Narnians. Edmund could never love her, because he already loved another. Lucy. Ladine slid down the bark and cried into her hands.