p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The chill of the night had raced down Edmund's back in a second as he hugged Lucy, desperate as she felt. She tensed after a moment, still not looking at him. And the moonlight reflected the light from her crown, like a halo, so that Edmund thought for a moment that something divine had touched her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm fine, I'm fine," she said suddenly. "I'm sorry Edmund. I think I drank a little more wine than I should have. Susan was right, I'm not old enough yet."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Her brother made a face. Lucy's hands flew away, but Edmund caught them firmly, always accurate. And she no longer forced him to release her, but allowed him to lead her to a nearby stone bench surrounded by wild little flowers, so uneven that they held Lucy's attention for a second, while her hand trembled in Edmund's./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You don't exactly strike me as a drunken lady, Lu," Edmund objected, ever sincere. Lucy felt found out, although that hadn't exactly been a ruse. For starters, she hated lying, and if she ever had to, she wouldn't believe for a second that she could fool the most observant of her siblings. But it was true that she had been drinking perhaps too much, under Mr. Tumnus' kind warnings about the effects of alcohol, narnian or not. "Or at least, it doesn't seem to me to be the reason for your anguish. Tell me, sister. Don't you trust me?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Lucy finally met Edmund's gaze. He had messy black hair, piercing eyes as wide for her to read as his heart. It was Edmund. Honest, humble. Those words would have been so inadequate to describe him before they arrived in Narnia, but in some impossible way Lucy knew they weren't incompatible with everything else he was, so dark and light at the same time. It ached to her heart that Edmund even thought she might not trust him. Her brother. Blood of her own blood./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Of course I trust you, Ed," she hastened to reassure him, wanting to release her hand from his burning grip, yet feeling unable to pull away from him. A lump settled in the queen's throat. She wanted, more than anything, she wanted to tell the truth. She wanted to feel worthy... But she could lose everything, so soon, so suddenly. Aslan's roar echoed through her mind. Brave and full of strength. He had given them a lot, a lot. And she chose to repay him like this, like this…? But then Edmund slid a hand to the braid of her hair, frowning a little. Lucy inhaled sharply as he undid what Susan had done with gentle fingers./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Do you miss England?" he asked, and there was no accusation or mockery in his voice, just a desire to understand. "Or did Susan say something to you before the party? Are Mr. Tumnus all right, the beavers…? Have you dreamed of Aslan again?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She almost wished he didn't know her so well, for she felt that at any moment Edmund would see through her veiled heart to her little secrets, to the things she was so ashamed of. At one point, Lucy's hair fell to her shoulders, not quite as long as Susan's, brown and dark in the night. Edmund drew her to himself to let her snuggle against him, like those old nights when she was still so young and she yearned, she missed their mother and father, though now she couldn't exactly remember them. However, Lucy tensed in the embrace, and Edmund's gaze seemed hurt and puzzled as she hurried away from him. But he didn´t insist./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Edmund!" Lucy protested. She seemed to have meant so much in that word, so Edmund drew back slightly, and a strange feeling fluttered in his chest, as if he wanted to understand, to find all the meanings of his own name spoken on her lips. his sister. "Oh, Ed. My brother"./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"And he knew that something was coming from which he could not turn back, for the stars shone high in the sky and were reflected in Lucy's eyes as she looked up into the night, searching for a way not to feel./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Lu," Edmund called softly again. He was patient with her, so patient./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Listen for a second," she requested. She had looked at him again and the crown was shining again between her brown hair. And though winter was fast approaching, Aslan's light and spring shone on her face for a second, captivating Edmund. There was something strange about her face, an expression half tormented half unable to contain her feelings. Lucy spoke, and Edmund suddenly found himself unable to move. "Up to here you can hear the sea, do you feel it? I wish I could go there and hide everything, because I really am a monster or at least I feel like one. I'm glad Aslan isn't here to see what I am, but I can't stop you from doing it anymore"./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Anguish had crept into her voice, the lump in her throat tightening by the second. And her fingers trembled as she slid them across Edmund's cheeks, and it was only Lucy, so he felt her, valiant and hopeful, when her mouth reached his./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Lucy tasted of wine and sweet apples. Edmund opened his mouth to take in more of the taste of her, uneasy. He knew it in that instant, he had belonged to Lucy from the moment they set foot on Narnia. His heart tried to break out of his chest, he felt dizzy. He couldn't think.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"As suddenly as it had started, the kiss ended. Lucy was crying softly, but she didn't take her gaze from him this time./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Forgive me, Edmund," she begged, distraught. "I wanted to know how…"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Lucy!" Susan's voice called, coming closer. "Lu! Are you here?" Then the eldest of the sisters came to the little garden, she put a hand to her chest, relieved, and smiled. "You are here with Edmund. What a relief. Everyone inside is looking for you, it's time to cut the cake"./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Lucy took one last look at her brother, embarrassed and red in the face, and followed Susan toward the gallery. Edmund stayed on the bench a while longer, listening to the waves of the distant sea intermingle with the rapid pounding of his heart./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm fine, I'm fine," she said suddenly. "I'm sorry Edmund. I think I drank a little more wine than I should have. Susan was right, I'm not old enough yet."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Her brother made a face. Lucy's hands flew away, but Edmund caught them firmly, always accurate. And she no longer forced him to release her, but allowed him to lead her to a nearby stone bench surrounded by wild little flowers, so uneven that they held Lucy's attention for a second, while her hand trembled in Edmund's./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You don't exactly strike me as a drunken lady, Lu," Edmund objected, ever sincere. Lucy felt found out, although that hadn't exactly been a ruse. For starters, she hated lying, and if she ever had to, she wouldn't believe for a second that she could fool the most observant of her siblings. But it was true that she had been drinking perhaps too much, under Mr. Tumnus' kind warnings about the effects of alcohol, narnian or not. "Or at least, it doesn't seem to me to be the reason for your anguish. Tell me, sister. Don't you trust me?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Lucy finally met Edmund's gaze. He had messy black hair, piercing eyes as wide for her to read as his heart. It was Edmund. Honest, humble. Those words would have been so inadequate to describe him before they arrived in Narnia, but in some impossible way Lucy knew they weren't incompatible with everything else he was, so dark and light at the same time. It ached to her heart that Edmund even thought she might not trust him. Her brother. Blood of her own blood./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Of course I trust you, Ed," she hastened to reassure him, wanting to release her hand from his burning grip, yet feeling unable to pull away from him. A lump settled in the queen's throat. She wanted, more than anything, she wanted to tell the truth. She wanted to feel worthy... But she could lose everything, so soon, so suddenly. Aslan's roar echoed through her mind. Brave and full of strength. He had given them a lot, a lot. And she chose to repay him like this, like this…? But then Edmund slid a hand to the braid of her hair, frowning a little. Lucy inhaled sharply as he undid what Susan had done with gentle fingers./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Do you miss England?" he asked, and there was no accusation or mockery in his voice, just a desire to understand. "Or did Susan say something to you before the party? Are Mr. Tumnus all right, the beavers…? Have you dreamed of Aslan again?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She almost wished he didn't know her so well, for she felt that at any moment Edmund would see through her veiled heart to her little secrets, to the things she was so ashamed of. At one point, Lucy's hair fell to her shoulders, not quite as long as Susan's, brown and dark in the night. Edmund drew her to himself to let her snuggle against him, like those old nights when she was still so young and she yearned, she missed their mother and father, though now she couldn't exactly remember them. However, Lucy tensed in the embrace, and Edmund's gaze seemed hurt and puzzled as she hurried away from him. But he didn´t insist./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Edmund!" Lucy protested. She seemed to have meant so much in that word, so Edmund drew back slightly, and a strange feeling fluttered in his chest, as if he wanted to understand, to find all the meanings of his own name spoken on her lips. his sister. "Oh, Ed. My brother"./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"And he knew that something was coming from which he could not turn back, for the stars shone high in the sky and were reflected in Lucy's eyes as she looked up into the night, searching for a way not to feel./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Lu," Edmund called softly again. He was patient with her, so patient./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Listen for a second," she requested. She had looked at him again and the crown was shining again between her brown hair. And though winter was fast approaching, Aslan's light and spring shone on her face for a second, captivating Edmund. There was something strange about her face, an expression half tormented half unable to contain her feelings. Lucy spoke, and Edmund suddenly found himself unable to move. "Up to here you can hear the sea, do you feel it? I wish I could go there and hide everything, because I really am a monster or at least I feel like one. I'm glad Aslan isn't here to see what I am, but I can't stop you from doing it anymore"./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Anguish had crept into her voice, the lump in her throat tightening by the second. And her fingers trembled as she slid them across Edmund's cheeks, and it was only Lucy, so he felt her, valiant and hopeful, when her mouth reached his./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Lucy tasted of wine and sweet apples. Edmund opened his mouth to take in more of the taste of her, uneasy. He knew it in that instant, he had belonged to Lucy from the moment they set foot on Narnia. His heart tried to break out of his chest, he felt dizzy. He couldn't think.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"As suddenly as it had started, the kiss ended. Lucy was crying softly, but she didn't take her gaze from him this time./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Forgive me, Edmund," she begged, distraught. "I wanted to know how…"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Lucy!" Susan's voice called, coming closer. "Lu! Are you here?" Then the eldest of the sisters came to the little garden, she put a hand to her chest, relieved, and smiled. "You are here with Edmund. What a relief. Everyone inside is looking for you, it's time to cut the cake"./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Lucy took one last look at her brother, embarrassed and red in the face, and followed Susan toward the gallery. Edmund stayed on the bench a while longer, listening to the waves of the distant sea intermingle with the rapid pounding of his heart./p