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TWENTY-THREE | A PAWN IN PLAY

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For the first time in forever Angelina Murphy was finally relaxed.

Aslan had told everyone to take the night off for themselves, to relish in the victory while he made vital preparations for the days ahead. He hadn't the time to talk to her, to answer all her pressing questions and merely told her that he would speak with her tomorrow. She couldn't remember the last time she celebrated or if she had ever even celebrated at all. It was all kind of surreal that this was the life that she was living and how lucky she was to still be here. She finally had a night to be just like everyone else and she promised herself that the night was hers to do what she liked with.

A night that she was free to do whatever she pleased.

A night where she didn't have to sneak around for alone time, where she didn't have to be afraid of seeing her reflection in mirrors or puddles of water or be afraid of the new people that walked into her life. It was a scary moment, a night where Angelina could just be... Angelina. 

She honestly didn't know what to do with herself. 

Everyone had made their way to the Castle before they all went their separate ways for the night. It felt odd for Angelina to be within the castle walls for hours at a time and not surrounded by the wilderness that she called home. Laying on an actual bed rather than the self made bed of straw felt wrong to her, like she was trying to be a person that she wasn't or that she was intruding in someone elses home. Her mind kept contemplating the next step.

What happens now?

Was Caspian King now? Were the Narnians truly free? Would Aslan and the Pevensies stick around or would they leave everyone again like they did the first time? If so then where did she stand in all of this? Would she be expected to live out the rest of her days at the castle or would she be banished to the woods for the Narnians safety? What about the Enchantress?

The questions were never-ending.

She didn't even want to consider what she would do if the Pevensies left. In the last few days her life had changed drastically in so many ways and she owed most of it to them. In a matter of weeks her family had expanded for the better. The loss of Nikabrik hurt like hell but Angelina had gained so much more. She had gained a best friend who despite being a prince understood her better than she knew herself, someone who she trusted to the bone and was so genuine in everything he did. She had Lucy and Susan, both who treated her like she was their own sister and she finally felt that she could talk to about things that Trufflehunter and Trumpkin didn't understand. She had even gained something more in Peter. 

The High King initially had never believed in her, had belittled her and made her feel like a bit of dirt under his shoe. But she now understood why. He wasn't the High King from the Golden Age anymore yet he also wasn't just some kid either. But everyone expected him to be both at the same time. Angelina couldn't even imagine the pressure he had been under to provide results and to be the saviour of Narnia for the second time round. Yet the Narnia he knew was long gone and he wasn't the same King he once was as he was once again much younger than he had been when he left. He was a teenager and he had lashed out on her like any teenager in his position would do. She understood that he wasn't perfect and though it took a lot of time they were now pretty good friends and she'd forever be in debt to him.

And then there was Edmund.

There were so many things she could say about Edmund. 

He was kind and smart and handsome all at the same time. The Just King was the complete opposite of everything she originally thought he had been and perhaps thats one of the reasons why she liked him so much. He wasn't afraid to speak his mind and she adored the way he looked after his family and did his best to protect everyone. She liked that he treated her like a real person and didn't just decide to hate or pity her upon hearing her story and still wanted to get to know the real her. She loved the way he spoke her name, how his laugh filled the air and made her breath get caught in her throat. She adored the way he danced and how harmonic his singing was and most of all she loved that he was real. He didn't try and act above everyone else and he treated everyone like equals.

Though she couldn't label it, she knew the connection she had with the Just King was real.

Rising from the bed, Angelina decided that it would be wise to at least explore the castle and make the most of the night. Putting on her hooded cloak and retying her boots for what felt like the fifth time, Angelina opened the door only to get hit in the face with something quite hard!

"Angel!" Edmund said gleefully with a charming smile on his face. "I'm so sorry!"

"Ed!" She replied just as happy, briefly rubbing her forehead where Edmunds knuckle had previously hit. " I should have been watching where I was going."

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" The Just King questioned her as he took her face in his hand, his thumb lightly grazing hrr cheek as he inspected the spot on her forehead that he hit. Angelina almost melted into his hand, the warm touch putting her completely at ease as a small giggle left her lips,

"We fought a battle today Ed, this is nothing." She smiled up at him sweetly. "What're you doing here?"

Edmunds face flushed a light pink, removing his hand from Angelinas face as he lightly scratched the back of his neck anxiously. In the short time they'd know each other she had never seen him so nervous, it was cute really and ever so charming.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to go somewhere with me."

"Really? Where?" Angelina asked skeptical, folding her arms as she met the Just Kings eye.

"It's a surprise..." Edmund stated as if it were obvious, receiving a very deserved eyeroll from Angelina. "but only if you want too."

"I trust you." Angelina declared as she stepped into the hallway next to him and took his hand.

"A terrible decision really."

"Well I never said I make good decisions..." Angelina justified her words as a huge smile spread across her face. "just good memories."

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"How much farther?" Angelina complained as Edmund continued to drag her through the Woods, her feet beginning to throb and ache from being on her feet for most of the day.

"Not long now," Edmund promised before a cheeky smile graced his features. "Though if you picked up the pace a little..."

"Oh come off it, its been a long day." Angelina stopped in her tracks and lightly slapped Edmund on the shoulder, the Just King chuckling at her actions with the biggest smile on his face.

"I can always carry you if you'd like." Edmund offered as he snaked his arms around the girls waist, pulling her tighter into a warm embrace.

"What I'd like is to know where we're going...' She reasoned as she placed her head on his shoulder as the two lightly swayed. "we left our horses about half an hour ago."

"And they'll still be there when we get back... Hopefully."

Before long the two had finally made it out of the woods and were approaching the all familiar ruins in the distance. Angelina stood in awe as she took in the beautiful view over the edge of the cliff, watching as the sun set over the distant sea. Never in her life had she ever seen a view quite like this before or any truly beautiful view before. She wondered if this was what t was like to be normal, to go sightseeing and on real adventures.

"Wow." She marveled as she took everything in. "Where are we?"

"My home..." Edmund smiled solemnly as he took another look at Cair Paravel once again. "what's left of it anyway."

"It's beautiful." She muttered wholeheartedly, unaware of the Just King who was staring directly at her with a huge smile on my face.

"Sure is." All the blood rushed to her face as she finally caught his gaze, the two sitting near the edge of the cliff as they watched the waves hit the shore effortlessly. "Here, let me show you something."

"A chess piece?" Angelina asked as Edmund took the King piece of a gold chess set out of his pocket.

"It's not just a chess piece." Edmund insisted as he fiddled with the piece in his hand. 

"Okay, a solid gold chess piece then."

"When we visited Narnia the first time I was an irritable, awful and selfish little kid. I let myself be tricked, I hurt my family and I let myself be tricked into thinking there was a better life than one I already had." Edmund sighed and shook his head as he squeezed Angelinas hand. "Evidently that was far from the truth."

"You don't have to talk about this if its too hard." Angelina whispered as she squeezed his hand back, Edmund smiling at her softly in return.

"No, I want too." He promised before taking a deep breath. "I trust you."

"Then I'm listening."

"My brother and sisters always got such high praise from everyone after we were crowned. There were so many gifts and so many riches and honestly it was really overwhelming after what I'd been through." He continued, continuing to fiddle with the chess piece in one hand while lightly grazing his thumb over Angelinas hand with the other. "I didn't want to and I couldn't trust it as I was always scared that it was all a trick and I'd end up back in the White Witches ice dungeon again."

"I know the feeling." Angelina sighed as she lightly bumped Edmunds shoulder with her own. "Every time I close my eyes I feel like I'm going to wake up in her little realm again."

It felt nice to finally open up, for the two to share their struggles together and finally feel heard.  

"I struggled a lot. Though they didn't directly say it the Narnians all favoured my siblings over me. At balls they only wanted to dance with the big three, to listen to their stories and as I got older I realised the only people would talk to me were those who wanted something from me. " Edmund sighed for a second, as if it hurt to relive the memories in her his head. His voice fell to barely a whisper. "I wasn't a King to them, I was just a pawn in their little game."

Her heart broken hearing the pain in his voice. She had just assumed that when he became King that his life just became perfect. Never in her life did she think that he would have gone through so much because all she had heard as a kid was how praised all four of them were and never once had she read a bad thing about the Just King.

Maybe his struggles were just lost in history.

"That sounds awful." She admitted as she placed her head on his shoulder and squeezed his hand. "Why didn't you just leave?"

"I couldn't just up and leave my family. I couldn't imagine abandoning them again like I did when I was ten. Instead I just hid myself away and only turned up for my royal duties. And do you know what hurt the most from doing that?"

"What?"

"For a while it was as if nothing had changed." Edmunds voice broke as tears began to well in his eyes. "The Narnians never asked about me, the balls kept going ahead and my brother and sisters kept on going as if nothing was wrong. I mean what reason did they have to think any different? It was just me. The Just King who just so happened to be the least favoured of the royals. I mean there was High King Peter, Queens Susan and Lucy and then Just Edmund. If didn't matter that I helped win countless wars and helped resolved conflicts I was just there. Just a pawn in the system. I never felt like I truly belonged here even if it was my home."

"Like you were living a life that wasn't yours to live."

"Exactly." He exasperated, finally for the first time in his life feeling heard. "Then one day out of the blue Lucy turns up in my Chambers during the night of her eighteenth birthday Ball. I had wanted to attend but with all the festivities and preparations I had done for it that week I ended up ill in bed with a fever. She had bought along a present in her hand, one that she gave to me and told me it was something to say thank you for all I did for her. Inside was the chess set this very piece came from, made of pure and solid gold. Lucy had designed it herself and painted narnians on each one herself to make it extra special. She told me that she wanted to remind me that no matter what everyone said and no matter how they treated me that I was always her brother and she loved me endlessly."

Edmund wiped his tears from his cheeks with a soft smile on his face, the distant memory coming back to him reminding him of the small bit of light in his dark past. You could see on his face how much Lucy meant to him and how much he treasured their time together. It made Angelina a little envious, for she wished that Natalia had the same sentiment towards her. She knew they were only young and situations were different but she never knew why she didn't come back for her and why she abandoned her in the woods in the first place. Or even better, why Natalia hadn't taken her with her wherever she went. 

Sometimes she questioned whether Natalia really loved her sister at all.

"You really love her don't you?" Angelina asked, Edmund nodding as his smile only grew.

"She's my baby sister." He said, tears no longer falling from his cheeks. "I'd die to protect her."

"That's beautiful," The Murphy girl admitted. "I wish my sister had the same sentiment."

"You deserved better than her anyway." The Just King smiled as he wrapped his arm around the girl, a question plaguing his lips. "Where do you think she is now?"

"I don't know and I'm not sure I want too." She sighed as she leaned into his touch, her head falling onto his shoulder.

"What would you say to her if you did see her again?"

"I don't know..." Angelinas lips pursed as she really thought about her answer, a small chuckle leaving her lips. "though we'd all be guessing how many curse words I could say in under a minute."

The two shared a laugh together, feeling safe and secure in each others company and the two finally felt at peace. For the first time in a very long time Edmund felt truly listened too and understood. Never before in his life did he think he could ever be so open with someone who would not only listen but also relate. In a way it mad the bad memories better for him, made them feel more pleasant in his head and allowed him to actually move on from them It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

And it was all because he had her.

And he intended, if she allowed him too of course, to remain with her for a long while. 

"Well you don't need her to protect you anymore." Edmund concluded as he turned his body towards her, placing one hand on her waist and used the other to tuck the hair that had fallen onto her face behind her ear.

"Oh yeah? Whys that?"

"Because if there's one thing I know about you Angel it's that you fight your own battles and if you ever need backup, I'll be here for you always." 

Edmunds smile grew as he leaned in and placed a soft and gentle kiss to Angelinas lips. Though the two were still new to this kind of affection, they melted into each others embrace and it somehow just felt right. The kiss was awkward and far from perfect but so were they. The two found themselves smiling, for neither of the two teenager's had ever believed they would find themselves in this position.

"I think you're the angel here Edmund Pevensie." Angelina mustered as his lips left hers, her cheeks red and her smile growing by the second.

"No my darling," Edmund shook his head at her before meeting her lips again. "It most definitely is you."