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✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩🌊The River🌊✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩

Charlotte's eyes fluttered open, hesitantly greeting the bright sky above. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, surveying the view. She could not believe she had just seen her parents in her dream. It was a lovely dream, one where she enjoyed tea with them and met their effulgent smiles once more. Vexation took over her at the fact that her body had already regained consciousness.

"Looks like you two were up late," Susan gave a teasing smile.

Charlotte sat up and followed her eyes, seeing Edmund beside her, still deep in slumber.

"Nothing happened," she assured Susan, worried that she might think they were doing something indecent, "we were only talking."

"Of course you were. Wake him up, will you?" Susan chuckled, "how are your legs, by the way?"

"They're still sore, otherwise I suppose I'm alright to continue," she said sheepishly, a shade of pink spreading on her cheeks.

She looked back at Edmund and broke into a smile. He looked adorable with his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted. She poked his cheek, uncertain how to wake him. When he did not respond, she lightly shook him by the shoulder. He stirred in his sleep and his eyebrows furrowed. He let out a groan, flipping to his side and showing her his back.

"Ugh," he moaned groggily with a croaky voice, "piss off, Pete."

"It's not Pete," Charlotte giggled.

Edmund's eyes shot open instantly and met with hers. He sat up and cleared his throat, abashed at how he'd spoken to her.

"Oh," he said, running his fingers through his dark locks and combing it down, "sorry. Didn't mean to curse at you. Er... Good morning."

"Good morning, Edmund," Charlotte smiled.

"If only Ed was this nice to me every time I woke him up," Peter rolled his eyes, walking past the two.

"You should live with us, Charlotte," Susan teased, "it's practically the first time he hasn't woken up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Shut up, Susan," Edmund wiped his face, rubbing his eyes.

"We've still got a prince to find," Trumpkin urged.

"Let's go then," Peter prompted.

"Hold your horses, your Majesty," Trumpkin warned, his virile voice stern and low, "Telmarines were spotted earlier this morning. We have to be careful."

"How many are there?" Peter asked.

"I saw three, maybe four, but I don't know how many there are. They must be close by."

"Let's go check it out then. I'm sure we can take them," he said confidently with his nose stuck in the air, "come on."

"Peter, maybe you should listen to him," Susan argued, causing Peter to stop in his tracks.

"Well, do you know any other way to cross the river at this moment?" Peter challenged his sister.

"No," Susan frowned, her chest rising and falling angrily.

"Peter, not all of us are skilled at fighting," Charlotte reminded him gently, "Trumpkin knows what goes on in Narnia's current state. There has to be another way around if we just stop to think for a minute."

"We don't have a minute to waste, we need to find Caspian as quickly as possible, we're losing daylight," Peter insisted sharply.

"It's morning," she crossed her arms, "I'm sure Caspian is also looking for us."

"You can wait here if you don't think you have what it takes," he suggested, "We'll come around to get you."

Charlotte fell silent, taken aback by his condescending tone. Edmund noticed her sullen expression and turned to Peter.

"We won't be leaving anyone behind," Edmund insisted, "she can stick with me."

"Fair enough," Peter nodded in approval, "let's go."

They continued their search, with Edmund accompanying Charlotte behind everyone.

"Thanks, Edmund," Charlotte spoke, "for having my back."

"No, it's not a problem," Edmund shook his head, "don't mind Peter, he just gets like that sometimes. A bit impulsive and arrogant, that Peter. Always thinks he has matters sorted."

"I can see that," she agreed, shifting her gaze between them repetitively, "but he often needs your help."

"Yeah," he made a face, scrunching his nose, "doesn't always appreciate it, though."

"I'm sure he does," Charlotte disagreed, placing a hand gently on his shoulder, "as you said, he's a bit arrogant. He's just embarrassed to admit it."

"Anyway, my arms are wide open if you need another lift," Edmund invited with a cheeky grin.

"There's no need," Charlotte assured him, rolling her eyes, "my legs are fine."

"I know you enjoyed it," Edmund smirked triumphantly, "I know I did."

"Actually, I would prefer the choice to give my consent before you touch me," she scoffed, "I never agreed to it."

"You didn't tell me to put you down though," he held his hands up in defence.

"That's because I was too exhausted to argue at the time," she shrugged, "I normally don't like being touched."

"Alright, I apologise," he apologised with a light-hearted chuckle, "I never meant any harm, just offering my help."

Trumpkin stopped in his tracks, halting everyone.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked.

"Sh!" He whispered harshly and gestured them to follow him.

There were noises. Instructions being shouted from here and there, and sounds of sawing. The noises grew to a crescendo as they all laid low and followed him. They crept up behind a pile of wood, poking their heads out to find out the source of those noises.

"These! And these!" A man bellowed, pointing to a pile of logs.

"Look out!" Another voice roared.

Charlotte gulped, her eyes widening at a wide group of soldiers gathering and crafting wood.

"Steady! Steady!"

"Timber!"

"Looks like we've underestimated their numbers," Charlotte whispered.

Peter looked down shamefully. They all hid upon seeing men on horses trotting into the scene.

Due to the lack of space, Edmund had to lie down against some of the wood. Worried about Charlotte's tall stature, Edmund pulled her down further, only to regret his actions when his eyes met with her stern glare. They were so close that their noses were touching, and she felt his chest against hers. He pressed his lips together, uncertain what to say. She attempted to push herself off, but he encased his arms over her, shushing her.

"Perhaps this wasn't the best way to come after all," Susan whispered, shifting her gaze to Peter.

"Perhaps," Lucy parroted after her dryly.

Peter shrugged in response. Peter retreated back into the woods, prompting the rest to follow suit.

Charlotte lifted herself off of Edmund, dusting herself off. Her cheeks reddened at the close contact she just had with him. Abashed, she refused to meet his gaze.

"Why did you do that?" She whispered, huffing an irritated sigh, "creep."

"I'm not!" He raised his hands defensively, "You're just tall! Alright then, I'll let them catch you next time."

"I'm your height!" She protested, crossing her arms.

"Hey, I'm a few centimetres taller," he corrected her.

"Still, I'm not some giant! If you're taller than me, you're the giant!" She huffed an exasperated sigh once more.

"Yes but if you haven't noticed, we didn't exactly have much space beside Lucy," Edmund shrugged in defence, "After all, I did carry you yesterday too. It's not any different to what just happened."

"Did you listen to a word I said this morning?" She snapped at him, "I didn't want to be carried."

"Don't you think you're just a tad overreacting?" He suggested with a confused frown, "you were extremely exhausted."

Charlotte's jaw dropped at his words. Her eyes squinted at him with fury. Without another word, she stormed off furiously to catch up with the rest of the group. Edmund heaved a sigh and followed after her.

"Alright," Peter initiated maturely to the group, "I'm sorry, everyone."

"Where should we go then?" Charlotte looked to Trumpkin for advice.

"So," Peter began, turning to Lucy, "where exactly did you think you saw Aslan?"

Lucy turned and shot him a glare.

"I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grownups," she said in frustration, "I don't think I saw him. I did see him."

With that, she walked past Charlotte, Trumpkin, and Edmund, trying to retrace her steps.

"I am a grownup," Trumpkin muttered lowly, but loudly enough for Edmund and Charlotte to hear.

They met eyes when Edmund gave her a grin. To his surprise, she ignored him and rolled her eyes. Edmund frowned and pressed his lips together. It seemed to him that she was not going to let go of the encounter anytime soon.

"It was right over..." Lucy began, before the ground underneath her broke instantly, sending her down with a loud scream.

"Lucy!" Susan cried out and everyone rushed forward.

She sat underneath the cliff, and turned her head up to look at everyone, "here."

"Well, there's our answer," Trumpkin said, turning to Charlotte.

"Lead the way, Lucy," Charlotte smiled warmly.

They proceeded to head down the rocks to cross the river. Edmund gestured to Charlotte to go first, but she stuck her nose up high and refused to budge.

Peter frowned at the two of them, giving Edmund a questioning look with a raised eyebrow. Unwilling to address it, Edmund shrugged and took a step first.

Then, Charlotte let out a shriek, slipping in her tracks. Both Peter and Edmund frantically reached out to her to help her regain her balance. She panted heavily, placing a hand over her chest.

"I don't need your help," she snapped rudely at Edmund.

Peter raised an eyebrow at the both of them, but Edmund shrugged again and turned to the front. This caught Susan's attention too, and she shared a look with Peter.

Once they had crossed the river, they settled deep in the woods and stopped to rest for the night. Charlotte refused to interact with Edmund at all, prompting Susan and Peter to confront him by pulling him away to gather firewood.

"What happened?" Peter asked.

"I- er, well," Edmund stammered, running his fingers through his hair anxiously, "I may have held her too close to me when we were hiding."

Susan's mouth fell open, "you don't do that that to ladies."

"Yeah," Peter agreed, "You only do that when they want you to."

"I- No! That isn't right either!" Edmund protested, "you don't ever disrespect ladies!"

"I'm only joking," Peter snickered, only to groan when Susan slapped the back of his head.

"Mum raised us to be gentlemen," he said more strictly.

"I was only looking out for her," Edmund said with flushed cheeks, "I never meant any harm."

"Well, looks like you owe her an apology," Peter snorted with laughter.

"Don't you think she's overreacting, though?" Edmund rolled his eyes, "we were trying to avoid being seen by Telmarines who'd kill us."

"Take it from a lady, Ed," Susan insisted, "it doesn't look very gentlemanly of you. You could have moved aside, or told Lucy to move over."

Edmund let out a sigh, "you're right."

When night fell, Charlotte proceeded to lie down beside Lucy, only to be interrupted by Susan.

"Sorry, Lucy needs me beside her," she insisted.

"Susan, I'm older now," Lucy protested.

"Hush," Susan snapped.

Later that night, Edmund ran over his apology in his mind while stealing glances at the girl beside him.

"Charlotte," he called, seeing that she was still awake.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, "I didn't mean any harm."

"Are you sure?" She hissed, refusing to look at him.

"I promise," he assured her, "I know it looked bad, but I really didn't want to risk them seeing you."

"I'd rather they killed me," she grumbled.

"I know what I did was misleading, but I only wanted to protect you. Please, believe me. I'd never make you feel uncomfortable on purpose."

They laid in silence for a few moments.

She let out a sigh, "Alright. I'm sorry too, I guess I overreacted a bit."

"I would never disrespect you, I care about you, you know?" He admitted shyly.

"I care about you too."

"I'm glad to hear that," he smiled.

"Charlotte?" He began.

"Hm?"

"About the prophecy," he began, "it mentioned of you mourning."

"I'd say the portion on sacrifice is more worrying," she scoffed, "but sure, what about it?"

"I'm sorry about your father," he apologised.

She was silent, exhaling deeply as she gathered her thoughts.

"It wasn't just my father," she shared, "my mother's passed too."

"Oh," he said sullenly, "I'm so sorry. If you need someone to just listen, I can. Just like how you did for me last night."

Charlotte managed a weak smile at him, nodding, "thanks, Edmund. It means a lot."

"I've never really talked about it, and my Aunt Jill isn't helping either," Charlotte shared, exhaling a sigh as she fiddled with her bracelet, "but I know, she's mourning her sister too. We're sort of handling these emotions on our own."

"It sounds terrible, you shouldn't have to handle it all on your own," he empathised.

"Thanks, Ed. It feels nice to escape from reality," she shared, "and to come here, where they've been. Even though we're pretty much in danger here as well."

"Yeah," Edmund agreed.

"Well, I'm a bit tired," she excused herself, rubbing her eyes lazily, "goodnight, Edmund."

"Goodnight, Charlotte."

He kept his eyes on her as she fell into a deep slumber. He could sense that she was hesitant to address her emotions, but they were clearly implied from the way she dismissed the matter so easily. Just how long could she keep up this facade?

He laid awake for a few more minutes, thinking to himself that he was willing to wait for their friendship to grow.