Edmund had dropped himself off the balcony at the sight of the griffin. He'd been cornered by soldiers and had nowhere to go but down. A thought of Zola went through his head, in that he was happy she wasn't here to see him drop himself, since he'd judged her for doing the same just an hour prior.

            He flew towards the eerily quiet courtyard. Once the courtyard was in sight, he understood why it had been so quiet. Narnians formed a pile in the middle, unmoving, bodies full of arrows, a gleaming crimson mess beneath them.

            If he looked further, he saw a figure running. Edmund squinted his eyes against the cold air. He could make out Zola picking up her sword, deflecting arrows, but barely making it. He knew that if he'd go down there, he'd probably get hit by at least one arrow. Yet he couldn't leave her.

            He pressured the griffin to dive into the courtyard. In one quick swoop, Edmund had his arm around Zola's waist, hoisting her up with him. She managed to climb onto the griffin's back behind him as he instructed her to hold onto him.

            Zola had prepared to die. Memento Mori, she kept saying to herself. Over and over. Memento Mori. Memento Mori. Remember that you must die.

            "Now who's saving who?" Edmund said to her.

            "I suppose you'll want me to thank you," She replied. She did want to thank him. But to give him the satisfaction of even the slightest feeling that he was right was too much for her. "While I admit I did not see a way out, I'm going to say the same you told me. I didn't ask for your help."

            "Sure." Edmund laughed.

           Zola looked back to the courtyard. Her eyes drooped as she spotted one last view of the fallen Narnians. She couldn't help but feel responsible for them. Not because she was their leader, but because she'd known them the longest. And because this was her home. Her friends died in her home, and it was not supposed to happen that way.

            When the griffin landed near the ruins, three very happy humans ran toward the teenagers stepping off. They knew Edmund had made it, of course, but they were stille happy to see him. Zola, however, they had thought had died along with a big part of the Narnians. Caspian had barely even let her step foot on the ground when he flung around her shoulders.

Edmund stayed behind to help a few Narnians carry Trumpkin, who'd fallen into a deep unconsciousness due to his wounds. Zola walked behind Caspian and Peter. The sphere between them was tense, they had not said a word to each other since the battle. Zola didn't care. She would always stand behind Caspian, no matter what he did.

Lucy, along with some centaurs who stayed behind to protect the tomb, ran out of the ruins at the sight of a tiny Narnian army arriving. "What happened?" She exclaimed.

"Ask him." Peter said, sending a nod in Caspian's direction.

"Pevensie." Zola warned him.

Caspian, too, responded offended. "Me? You could've called it off. There was still time."

"No, there wasn't, thanks to you." Perhaps there was something that'd happened before she joined the fight, Zola thought. Maybe that was why Peter acted the way he did. Perhaps it had something to do with the bells tolling so early on. Peter continued, enlightening. "If you kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive right now."

"If you'd stayed here like I suggested, they definitely would be!" Caspian retorted. Zola walked past them to Lucy to give her a hug. The two girls watched the fight from there.

"You called us, remember?"

"My first mistake."

Peter scoffed, shaking his head. "No. Your first mistake was ever thinking you could lead these people. Even Zola would've done a better job."

Zola scoffed loudly, but the sound was deafened by the sound coming out of Caspian. "Hey!" He yelled. "I am not the one who abandoned Narnia."

"You invaded Narnia," Peter pointed a finger at him, walking closer. The argument was getting more heated by the second. "You have no more right to lead it than Miraz does!" Caspian tried to walk off his anger. He swept Peter's hand away, attempting to walk away from him. "You, him, your father . . . Narnia's better off without the lot of you."

This time, it was Zola to charge forward. "You do not speak of our father, you—" She spat. She was ready to fight him there and then. Had it not been her, it had been Caspian.

Both Zola and Caspian had always been fond of their father. Sometimes, when they were young, he'd sit in on their lessons with the Professor. Not just because he was interested, but because it was a way of connecting to his children. It gave him something to talk to them about. Zola's mother unfortunately died in childbirth, but she never missed her. Her father was enough.

For someone like Peter to come and speak ill of him, she simply could not contain her anger. Peter must've proven himself worthy on the battlefield, and a good king a couple hundred years ago, but . . . he had no right. Not in her eyes.

"Stop it!" Edmund screamed before Zola could speak more damned words.

Zola's eyes snapped to him. He held her eyes until she switched them to Trumpkin, still unconscious. Lucy ran past her, unfastening the small vial of healing potion around her belt. She knelt down beside him, dropping a drop in his mouth. Meanwhile, Caspian walked away. Zola looked at his back as he left, but couldn't force herself to follow him. She glared at Peter as she passed him.

Zola kneeled down beside Lucy just as Trumpkin's eyes began to open. "What are you all standing around for?" He asked, as if he hadn't been dying moments ago. Zola couldn't say anything about that, she supposed. "Telmarines will be here soon enough."

"Good to have you back, Kinnie." Zola taunted him. When she met Trumpkin at nine years–old, she jokingly called him Kinnie. He despised the name, and from that moment on she only said it to tease him.

She then left the scene to begin an attempt of finding Caspian. Before she could even walk inside the ruins, a hand on her arm stopped her. The hand spun her around. Edmund somehow had a concerned look in his eyes. "You okay?" He asked, and he actually sounded genuine.

Zola nodded. She had become exceptional at hiding her emotions. "I'm gonna find Caspian."

Edmund lay a careful hand on her upper arm. He nodded. It was obvious to him this was an attempt at disguising her real issues. It really was fortunate he had this ability. People who had known Zola for years weren't even able to do so. She'd been very closed off, even as a little child.She supposed that was to be her true nature.

            After what happened later that day, Caspian needed to be alone for an evening. The White Witch had almost managed to return because of him, and it made him feel more guilty than he'd ever felt. He'd taken off his armour and sat down on a ledge behind the ruins, somewhere in a thick–wooded area, dangling his feet.

            "There you are," He turned around to see Zola standing in the doorway. "I heard I missed all the action."

            "Who told you?" Caspian stared ahead again.

            "Edmund did," Caspian felt her presence shift until Zola sat next to him. "The guy started boasting about shattering the glass with his sword. But I could see, he was spooked by her," she made a shivering sound. "Grimy little witch."

Caspian sighed, turning his head away even further. "Miraz killed father." He said suddenly.

For once, Zola was silent. Caspian turned his head back to her, and saw how her mouth hung slightly open, a hint of hurt on her face. And most of all, anger burning from her eyes.

"How do you know?"

And so, Caspian told her the whole story. How Miraz confessed to the murder, and how he almost killed him, but escaped. The time it had taken up. At least Zola could now understand why Peter was so angry in the first place.

"Cas," Zola said after Caspian finished his story. "He will get what he deserves. But we cannot be impulsive right now. We cannot allow it." She embraced him in a one–armed hug, and said. "I love you, Cas, don't forget that."

"I love you, too, Fran." Caspian gripped his sister tighter. He was afraid if he'd let her go, he'd lose her. Again. Twice he had thought her to be gone. That's two too many times.

Another pair of footsteps came closer. The siblings looked up to find the Professor walking towards them. "I'll leave you alone," Zola stood up from the ledge. She put a hand on the Professor's arm. "It's good to have you back with us, Professor."

"And you, princess." The Professor nodded with a smile. Zola left them at the ledge to talk, going back deeper into the ruins.

Except for the first part, there weren't many moments between Edmund and Zola in this chapter, which kind of makes it a filler. But if there's one thing I despise about fanfictions, it's when the mc is a sibling of a canon character and then they just DON'T interact. Like, they could be strangers. I think Caspian and Zola's dynamic is one that really adds to this fic, which is why I'm giving them more moments

And, yes, I promise to have more Edmundzola moments in the next one.

(speaking of, what would be a good ship name? I feel like there are literally none)