"You know," Lucy's amused voice drew Liana out of sleep as she opened her eyes, blearily making out the young queen casually leaning against her bedpost. "If you two are going to make sharing a bed a habit, at least lock the door."

Liana's eyes widened and she sat up immediately, jostling Edmund who grunted and attempted to tug her closer. A quick glanced showed that he was shirtless, obviously having taken it off sometime in the night since Liana remembered him falling asleep with it on. She blushed scarlet at Lucy's knowing look and jumped out of bed, ignoring the slight headache that was forming. She snatched her dressing gown from the divan and stuffed her arms into the sleeves.

"Good morning, Queen Lucy," she gave her a brilliant smile, slightly out of breath but fighting to remain calm. "And your brother came only a few hours ago. He-"

"Its alright, Liana, I know when he arrived. That's why I'm here," Lucy still looked amused, but she folded her hands and nodded in a business-like manner. "Peter wants you present when he questions the Count. Its only a formality since Edmund has said he would rather do the full interrogation himself once he's been fully locked up. So for that, we need to dress you appropriately," Liana finally noticed the bundle of clothes in Lucy's arms and grimaced. The younger girl rolled her eyes, her professional aura dwindling. "They're clothes, Liana, they don't bite. Since you're somewhere between me and Susan in terms of size, we got a few new ones made for you to try on. They're very casual, but they're quite nice," Lucy offered her the bundle, which Liana took wordlessly. "They're also all Susan-approved, so whenever you're ready you can join us in Peter's solar. We will be leaving to see the Count at noon. And," she seemed to add as an afterthought, turning around on her way out of the room. "Please make sure Edmund doesn't kill him."

Liana blinked as Lucy shut the door. Behind her, Edmund was barely stirring, obviously still too exhausted to wake up properly. She sighed and checked the time; they still had about five hours before they had to leave. Groaning in annoyance, she threw off her dressing gown and tossed it and the dresses onto the divan, crawling back into bed and cuddling closer to Edmund. He merely grunted in response and wrapped his arms around her.

He spoke a few minutes later. "You know I can't go back to sleep now," his voice was husky.

"Neither can I," muttered Liana, stubbornly keeping her eyes closed. "I hate your sisters."

Edmund snorted. "I share your feelings. What did she want?"

"Peter is talking to the Count at noon and they want me there. Lucy came to give me clothes," Liana glanced up to see that his eyes were open, watching her carefully. "Apparently, I don't dress very royal."

"You look beautiful in anything," his response was automatic. "But maybe its best for him to see you looking well. It'll throw him off."

Liana hummed in response and pressed a kiss to his bare chest, giggling when he made a sound of surprise. "I missed you," she murmured, angling her face up so she could reach his jaw. "I wish you had taken me with you."

"I don't want you to have to see him ever again," admitted Edmund. Liana quirked an eyebrow at his statement. He sighed. "I know you can look after yourself, Liana, you can even pin me down now with enough effort, but I want to protect you sometimes. Let me do what I can, please."

"If you insist," Liana sighed and gave him another kiss before sitting up again, running a hand through her hair. "I should get dressed, and you should go back to your room."

"I should," he made no move to leave. "Do you want me to go?"

Liana gave him a small smile. "I never do, Edmund."

"Then you can get ready while I finish sleeping."

She rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to laugh at his theatrical slump. "You cannot make my room into yours, you know that."

"I'm king," he sounded like a petulant child, and it made Liana want to laugh. "I should be able to do whatever I want, wherever I want."

"You can finish sleeping, but you're not spending the night here until you save my life again."

"Or until we're married," he winked slyly, causing Liana to blush scarlet.

!

"If you feel the need to leave Lyra will go with you, but please stay near the doors until I come find you."

Liana rolled her eyes. "As long as that man doesn't try to kill me on sight I see no reason why I should run, Edmund. Stop fretting."

"I'd fret less if you took this more seriously than you are taking your hairstyle."

"I like my hair more than I hate the Count," Liana shrugged and finished pinning her hair back in the way that Susan had taught her. It gave her a slightly older look, but Liana knew it also made her look a little intimidating. Her almond shaped eyes were unnaturally bright as she put the hairbrush down and turned back to Edmund, clicking her tongue in disapproval at his messy hair. "Maybe I should ask the druids to make something that can keep your hair from sticking up so much. Glue for your hands, maybe," she swatted his hand away as it reached up to run through his hair. "Stop being nervous. You caught him and now you're going to spend hours inflicting pain upon him, you should be happy."

Edmund frowned. "I just have a bad feeling. I wish you didn't have to see this."

"I've seen much worse than a formal questioning."

"Its the principle of the matter."

"You cannot protect me forever," Liana kissed his cheek. "Let's go now."

They walked in silence, the only indication of their worry being their clasped hands, each holding the other with more force than usual. When they got to Peter's solar, there was barely enough time to sit and chat. Peter stood behind his desk, reading something with a frown on his face that he crumpled as soon as they walked in and set about grabbing the papers he needed to take with him. They filed out of the study quickly, surrounded by a few guards, Mr. Tumnus, Orius and Lyra, all of whom looked grim. Susan had a slight sneer on her face, no doubt at the thought of setting eyes on the man who had almost killed her friend. Lucy merely looked troubled. Liana sighed, noting that Edmund's expression was not much different from Lucy's. She squeezed his hand comfortingly. "It won't be that bad."

He merely squeezed her hand back.

The hall was overflowing with people. Apparently, once the threat of the White Witch and her followers had dwindled, there had never been a public hearing for a criminal until that day. Liana could feel everyone's eyes on her, most of them not unkind but merely curious as they wondered what was so special about the petite woman who walked so close to King Edmund that a full criminal trial was being held for a man who was connected to her.

Liana zoned out for most of the formalities, which comprised of Peter addressing the room, followed by Orius reading his crimes to the prisoner. It was only when Edmund stood up to speak to him that Liana focused on what was happening. The first thing she noticed was that the Count hardly looked like himself. His lip was purple and swollen, his right eye appeared to be permanently closed and crusted with dried blood and his knee had a bloodstained bandage wrapped around it. The second thing she noticed was how calm he looked. It made her skin crawl.

She watched in amazement as he quietly admitted to using Ronas' desire to keep Liana away from Edmund for the sake or propriety to his advantage. He had approached her house with him, hoping to kidnap one of the children, but the nurse had been a witness and he had been intent on keeping his face out of the sight of anyone who may remember him. He admitted to seeing her in the orchard after Edmund had left, taunting and disarming her before proceeding to beat her within an inch of her life when she refused his offer of marriage continuously. He had assumed she was dead when she stopped moving, and had used the poison he had stolen from the prison as a precaution, in case she was found in time. By the end of his story, Liana could feel herself getting ill. She was sitting alone, the seat next to her having been occupied by Edmund who was standing further off to the side near Peter. His hands were clenched into fists and he was speaking through gritted teeth. It was a miracle he hadn't punched him yet.

She needed to leave, but she knew she couldn't. She refused to let him see how damaged she was, so she kept her head high and her eyes trained on Edmund as he continued asking his questions. It wasn't until he asked the Count if he had anything further to add that her eyes snapped back towards him.

He smiled slowly, whether it was because of his injuries or something else Liana couldn't tell. She felt her skin crawl when his eyes flickered to her. "Healer Liana, you are looking remarkably well. Love suits you."

"You do not have permission to speak to Healer Liana or anyone else in this room except for King Edmund," said Orius, smoothly interjecting before Edmund or Peter could speak and create a scene. The centaur rested a hand on the sword he wore at his waist. "Know your place, prisoner."

The Count nodded. "But not everyone in this room seems to know their place," he turned to Edmund. "Did you know your future wife was a noble before she came to Narnia?"

Edmund's eyes narrowed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Liana saw Peter shake his head, obviously displeased that the conversation was even happening. She turned and caught his eye. He jerked his head towards the two, annoyance written on his face. She shrugged helplessly and turned back to hear what they were saying.

"Healer Liana was once Lady Liana Strom of the Winding Arrow," Liana felt her blood run cold at the old title. It shouldn't surprise her that he knew, but the memories it brought back made her sick. "You will remember, the Winding Arrow is the name of a river in Archenland. What you will not know, however, is that the Winding Arrow was also the name of a weapon, a dagger to be specific, too small for a man to wield in battle but ideal for a woman," his smile was cruel now. Liana's hands shook, her breathing erratic. Edmund tore his gaze away from the Count to look back at her, his face unreadable but his eyes concerned for her. He was ignoring him, she could tell, but again from the corner of her eye she could see Peter stiffen. Peter wasn't ignoring him. "It was the weapon used to kill one of the king's nephews as he slept. Your betrothed owns that weapon," he smile widened as silence fell across the room. Everywhere Liana looked, she saw horrified faces. Peter had not moved a muscle, and Susan's face was carefully blank. She couldn't make herself look at Lucy, nor would she dare meet Edmund's gaze which she knew was fixed upon her. Her eyes flew back to the Count as he said the words that finally made her crack. "It appears her charge is greater than mine. I only attempted murder. She succeeded."

Liana felt the blood rush to her head, her vision going black as her mind both fought to keep her in the present and automatically took her back to that fateful day, the first and last time as a woman in Archenland that she had let her emotions get the better of her. Her body was shaking so much she was sure she was about to fall out of her chair at any moment and she was fighting her hardest to keep from wailing at the memories. It had been years since she had even thought of it, not allowing herself to dwell on anything from her past once she had left her home. Had she not paid for her sins, giving up her money, her home and everything she loved so she could start a new life, free from everything that wealth had forced her to do?

She was too busy trying to calm down that she only heard the last part of Peter's speech. "The prisoner will be escorted back to the dungeons. We will hold a public trial where he will pay for his sins. I would like to remind everyone that Healer Liana is not the one on trial here. Good day to you all," and with that someone was grabbing her arm, forcefully but gently, and tugging her out of the room.

Be honest... NOBODY saw that coming!

I would like to remind everyone that the story is rated T but I will be changing the rating to M now out of paranoia.

Also, if anyone could give me a quick summary of the royal family of Archenland that would be appreciated, I read the books years ago and there's only so much Google can help with. Fear not, I have a plan for this part of the story, I just want a little help (and maybe induce a few people to review me a bit more :))

Much love to everyone for sticking with me through this story, if you're still here please leave me a review so I know who to thank next time I post for encouraging me to stick by Liana and Edmund 3