Chapter 9✨

Raina stomped out of Aslan's How, onto the field, her arms crossed against her chest. She abruptly stopped, and let out a huff. Why is Peter acting like this? He was never this way. Raina wondered to herself. It seemed Peter was more focused on exerting his position, than he was at doing his job. Clearly he's going ahead with his plan for a night raid, as an uneasy feeling settles over Raina's stomach. As Narnia's protector, she has to ensure the safety of every Narnian, no matter what. So if Peter is to barge into enemy territory with limited troops, it's her responsibility to maintain their safety. And to do that, she needs practice.

'Raina?' Edmund called out. She jumped slightly.

'Edmund.' She turned around.

'For what it's worth, I agree with what you said.' He said, softly. Raina gave him a tight lipped smile.

'If only Peter did.' She huffed in frustration.

'He's not in an ideal state right now.' Edmund began.

'Well, as King, that shouldn't get in the way of his duties, right?' Raina asked, eyebrows cocked. Edmund shrugged and nodded.

'Well, if he wants to do that, then it's my duty to ensure the safety of every Narnian that accompanies us on the raid. I wouldn't be a good protector if I didn't, now would I?' Edmund laughed slightly at that.

'Let me practice with some of the powers I seem have.' She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt herself floating in the air, as Edmund gasped.

'You-You're-' He stuttered, and Raina laughed from her place, few feet above him.

'What? Cat got your tongue?' Edmund began mumbling something to himself.

'Sorry, I can't hear that.' She said, as she used her power to lift him up into the air, when he let out a scream.

'AHHHHHH!'

'Oh shut up.' Raina responded lazily. 'I'm not letting you break anything on my watch.' She jokingly spoke, as Edmund calmed down.

'It's not so bad, now is it?' Raina asked. Edmund gave her the side eye.

'Whatever happened to you giving me a warning before doing something like this?' He huffed. Raina gave him an innocent look.

'Big deal.' She replied as she brought them back down.

'Hey Raina?' Edmund said.

'Hmm?'

'I know you already know how to sword fight, and you also, have, well, powers but the last time actually held a sword was over a year ago, so if you want-' Edmund spoke when Raina cut in, already knowing what he was suggesting.

'I'd like that Ed. I also heard that you were an excellent sword fighter, I'd love to see if it's true, or if you started that yourself.' Raina laughed as Edmund looked offended.

'Hey, I am the best sword fighter in Narnia.' He tried to sound serious, but Raina continued to laugh.

'We'll see now won't we?' Raina challenged.

Edmund raised an eyebrow as he smirked. For a split second, Raina's breath got caught in her throat.

'We will.' He said in a low voice, as he unsheathed his sword. Raina followed.

They began to circle each other, warily noting each other's movements.

'I hope you'll put up a better fight than Caspian. Poor guy was out in a minute, tops.' Raina laughed as she spoke.

'Heyyy!' Caspian groaned, a few feet away, watching their fight with an amused smile

Raina turned to him with a questioning look.

'Was I wrong?' She raised an eyebrow, and Caspian just grumbled and walked away.

Edmund took advantage of this. Just as Raina turned back to him, he swung his sword.

'Hey! I wasn't ready.' Raina yelled as she hurriedly parried his attack.

'So?'

Raina met his gaze, and gave him a smirk.

'You're on.' Was all she said, before she twirled out of the way, and swung low. Edmund jumped and struck high from the side, which Raina bent backwards to avoid. They clashed numerous times, trying to gain on each other. Edmund was taller and stronger, but Raina was fighting smart. She anticipated his attacks but was unable to gain on him.

'If this is the best swordsman in Narnia, well the standard is pretty low.' Raina snickered, as Edmund looked at her pointedly.

'I'll show you what I can do.' Edmund growled.

'Is there supposed to be this much talking in a fight?' Raina asked jokingly.

'Shut up.' Was all he said, as he attacked with more strength. Raina was taken aback by this display of strength, and for a moment she felt her cheeks grow extremely warm, and her throat was dry. She couldn't dwell on it though.

As they fought, the Narnians watched from the corners of their eyes. What was meant to be a practice spar, has now become a very exciting duel between a King of Narnia and the Narnian Protector.

Peter, Caspian, Susan and Lucy watched from a distance, placing bets on who would win.

'My money's on Ed, annoying as he is, he's undoubtedly the best swordsman in Narnia.' Susan commented.

'Nuh-uh, Raina's going to win. She's smart, and she's fast.' Lucy piped up.

They both looked at Peter.

'Honestly, it's 50-50 for me.' He admitted. Caspian looked up.

'Actually, I believe Raina will win. She surprises you.' He spoke, causing the rest of the Pevensies to look at him, curiously.

'I'm sure you know we had a duel this morning and she beat me.' He stated, matter-of-factly.

On the other hand, Raina and Edmund were still locked in an X-formation, desperately trying to gain on each other. Both of them broke out into a sweat. Edmund swung high which Raina ducked and she accidentally slipped, causing her to fall flat on her back. Edmund attempted to disarm her, but she rolled away.

'This is getting boring.' Raina spoke, slightly out of breath. 'I thought you'd beat me by now.' She taunted.

'Me too, guess we're just full of surprises, aren't we?' Edmund replied.

Raina noticed a tree a few feet away, and she got an idea. She didn't notice Edmund gain on her, as she struggled to parry his attack, when she fell from the force of it, on her bum. She gave him an annoyed look before springing back.

'I'm gonna bruise by this point.' She spoke, annoyed. Edmund smirked.

'Get used to it.' He winked, and once again Raina was captivated for a split second before she implemented her plan.

She started swinging with a newfound strength. It forced Edmund back, further and further until he was a foot away from the tree. He swung high which she ducked, and further pushed him into the tree, backhandedly swinging his sword away, and aligning her sword at his neck. They stared at each other, breathing heavily, as a smile tugged at Raina's lips, an infuriating one at that.

'Guess you're not the best swordsman in Narnia, are you?' She asked. Edmund had an emotionless expression, until he smirked.

'Actually.' He spoke in a low voice that made the hairs on the back of Raina's neck stand up. Raina squinted at him.

'I am.' He ended, and before she could react, Edmund used her now signature move, swiping her legs out from under her, causing her to fall on her back. She yelped in surprise.

'Oof!'

He grabbed the sword out of her hands and used the force of his body to keep her down, as he held it at her neck. To say Raina was shocked, was an understatement.

Their faces were inches apart. They were so close that their chests were almost touching. Both of them were breathing heavily, tired from the adrenaline, but they just couldn't avert their gaze. Raina was losing it, as butterflies erupted in her stomach, and her heart rate was a million miles an hour. Edmund too was no exception, as his own heart rate sprang up, and for a moment it seemed as though their hearts beat at the same rate. Their moment was interrupted by raucous applause from the spectating Narnians.

Both Edmund and Raina blushed as they got up, and met the gaze of the spectators. To diffuse the tension, Raina bowed dramatically, as did Edmund who laughed. The crowd dispersed soon after.

'You were sneaky, but I respect that.' Raina said as she turned to him. He shrugged and smiled coyly.

'When you're fighting Telmarines, being sneaky is a good thing.' He replied, to which Raina stilled before nodding slowly.

Raina noticed Caspian on horseback, and turned to Edmund.

'I haven't learnt horse riding yet. I should, shouldn't I?' She asked, worriedly. Edmund let out a small laugh.

'You can learn now, you know?' He cocked an eyebrow.

'You're an expert on horse riding too?' Raina asked, unamused.

'Your words, not mine. But yes.' Edmund replied, cockiness lacing his voice. Raina rolled her eyes.

'Come on, you need to get ready for the raid, and knowing how to horse ride won't hurt.' He spoke, as he led Raina to the stables, where she met a female black horse named Alexa. She was very beautiful and Edmund explained that earlier the horses could talk, but now they don't, but they still understand english commands. Edmund helped Raina onto the horse, his arm lingering on her waist for a moment longer than necessary, before he swiftly withdrew it. He blushed slightly, as he pulled himself up on his horse. The two of them trotted through the field, savouring the beauty of it. Raina was undoubtedly a fast learner, because shortly thereafter she learnt how to ride. She looked at Edmund and gave him a smirk.

'Let's see if you're as good as you think.' She said, as she slapped the reins on Alexa, and rode into the forest at a high speed. She heard Edmund say 'heyy!' before he too urged his horse to run. Raina opened her hair as the wind rushed through it, and she felt completely at home.

'Woohooooo!!' She yelled happily, the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Edmund couldn't help but smile at how carefree she looked. He was competitive by nature, but seeing this smile on Raina's face, it made him forget what he was trying to win, regardless of how minuscule it was. He stared after Raina, completely overtaken by how beautiful she looked. Before he could think more of it, they arrived at a clearing, where Raina stopped, and looked back at Edmund, with a winning smile.

'Hey, would you look at that? You're not as good as you think.' She laughed after speaking. Edmund snapped out of his trance and gave a grumpy look at the girl.

'I am, I was just distracted.' Edmund spoke, and then he realised his blunder. A blush creeps it's way to his cheeks.

'Why would you be distracted?' Raina questioned.

Edmund tried to stutter out a reply.

'I-Well.. I was just..' He couldn't reply. Raina laughed.

'I understand, it's hard to lose. Maybe it'll do you some good to loosen up that ego of yours.' Raina replied.

Shock took over Edmund's features for a split second, then he nodded.

'It's alright, I won't tell. Wait, who am I kidding? Of course I'll tell everyone!' Raina burst into laughter, as Edmund grumbled.

'Shut up. We should get back.' Edmund spoke, looking at the ground, as Raina nodded.

They began walking back to the stables.

'Raina, can I ask you something?' Edmund asked.

'Sure, what's up?'

Edmund took a deep breath.

'Is everything okay? With you and me?' He asked, softly.

Raina's heart stopped for a moment. She couldn't meet his gaze. She didn't respond for a few moments.

'Raina?' Edmund grew concerned.

Raina took a deep breath too. Suddenly she felt like she had a lot to lose.

'No, Edmund. It's not.' She admitted, sadly. Hurt flashed on her face.

'What's wrong?' He asked, as though he had no idea. Raina began getting angry.

'Do you even have a clue?' She asked, hurt replaced by anger.

Edmund mulled it over, he looked at her frowning.

'Is it because we drifted apart last year?'

Raina's hands were in fists now. Drifted apart?!

'To clarify, Ed, we didn't drift apart. You stopped talking to me.' Raina retorted, angrily. Edmund was taken aback.

'What?'

Raina looked at him, hurt and fury in her eyes.

'You stopped talking to me. Can't remember that?' Raina spoke with venom. 'I'll remind you. We were sent away, you went to Professor Kirke, I went to my aunt. I wrote you over 13 letters, over a period of 6 months. And what did I get from you? Nothing.'

Edmund was angry now.

'You don't know what happened. To all of us.' He spoke in a low voice.

'How would I? If you don't tell me?' Raina said, sadly.

'Raina-' Edmund began, but she cut him off.

'No. I'm not shutting up anymore. If something happened to you, I would want to know. We may have only been friends for a year, but you were one of the most important people in my life. When I didn't have my parents, I always had you. And if something happened, I would damn well want to know. The last thing I need is to lose another person that I care about. I've lost enough for two lifetimes.' Raina yelled, tears pricking her eyes. Edmund's grumpy expression was long gone, hurt was etched all over his face.

'Edmund, if you won't talk to me, cut me out of your life, without giving me a reason, other than 'you don't know what happened', and then expect me to be buddy-buddy with you now that we're in Narnia, it's not going to happen. I was really hurt. I still am.' Raina spoke, softly, trying to hide the fact that she was fully crying now.

'Raina, I'm-' Edmund started again, when Raina cut him off.

'Once whatever we have to do in Narnia is done, I can go back home, back to my normal life, and forget you existed. The life I got used to, when you pushed me out of yours.' Raina spoke, coldly.

To say Edmund was heartbroken, was an understatement. He didn't like talking about what happened the last time they were in Narnia. It was traumatic for him. If there was one person in the world he would want to talk to about it, it was Raina, but he cut her out. He couldn't talk. She was the one person he trusted with everything, and maybe, if he had the courage to speak about it once, maybe things would've been different. He knew that Raina's biggest fear was losing people. He knew that, and he still did what he did. He only had two words to say.

'I'm sorry..' He whispered.

He looked up from the ground and saw Raina crying. He instantly felt guilty and reached for her, but she pulled away.

'It's too late, Edmund.' Was all she said, as she jumped up onto Alexa, and slapped the reins. She galloped ahead, as Edmund watched, feeling the weight of her words on his chest, on his heart. He realised now, he didn't just cut her out because of what happened in Narnia, it was something else.

Something that was so complicated, yet so simple. He just needed to say three words, eight letters. Somehow, that was even harder to say.

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