Mount Weather - After the breaking of the wand Who: Edmund Pevensie & Reyna Avila Ramírez Arellano What: Edmund breaks Jadis' wand and Reyna comes running. In which both of them struggle with feelings. Cue awkwardness and talking around the issue at hand. When:March 30, when Edmund breaks the wand. [Slightly backdated] Where: 603. Ratings: G/PG for almost talking and acting on feelings?
Edmund had wanted to do this as soon as Erik handed him the wand. Real or imagined, its presence in the box he carried made him queasy. Councillor Adaar had argued previously against destroying it, powerful and dangerous magical object that it was, and considering her background in magic Councillor Rogers had supported her. Edmund respected both of them, even if he didn’t agree. He had no respect for Lucifer Morningstar who had shown up to the trial with snacks and a look of obvious interest on his face and campaigned for saving the wand for future use. A part of Edmund he rather deplored could understand the temptation to see if the Witch could be affected by her own magic, but he wasn’t so desperate as to take his cues from the devil.
He’d paid enough heed to the Councillor’s warnings to take the wand to the least populated part of Mount Weather he could readily reach. Section 603 had few residences, and as popular as the Rose might be on most evenings, it would be nearly deserted this morning with an attack expected any moment. He didn’t remember anything earth-shattering occurring the first time he’d done this. Admittedly, he remembered little of Beruna after dodging the last ogre to bring his sword down on the wand until opening his eyes in the medical tent ... pain and a smothering heaviness and words whose meaning he’d been too confused to grasp until months later … Must more people die for Edmund?
No one else in Mount Weather, at least, would fall to the wand, whether by spells cast or temptation’s influence. In retrospect, perhaps he ought to have given more credence to Councillor Adaar’s words.
Reyna had run toward 603 as soon as she got Ed's message. Sword in hand, she muttered a prayer to Bellona to take care of Ed and protect him.
"Bellona, please.." she cried out when she heard the explosion, running faster, praying that the cloak would protect him. It had to. If anything happened to him….
She burst through the door, sweat on her face, "Edmund!"
Isolating himself with the wand had been a good idea, at least. So had wearing Reyna's cloak. Even with the cloak absorbing most of the blast, the force knocked Edmund's sword out of his hands, and the flash temporarily blinded him. He was sitting on the floor, amid the shards of the wand, trying to blink the spots out of his eyes when he heard Reyna's voice.
Thank the Lion she hadn't come any earlier.
"I'm all right," he called back, feeling for his sword and starting to his feet.
She couldn't even yell at him. She just threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, pressing her face into his neck. Thank Bellona. And Athena. She stayed like that for a long moment. "I heard- I thought-"
Her voice was shaking. She thought she'd lost him. She pulled back far enough to glance around, the broken pieces, and realization dawned. "You did it.." She said with a proud grin. Once again she hugged him tight, lips almost brushing over his cheek before she buried her face in his shoulder. Now was not the time for that.
The explosion had shaken Edmund more than he realized. It must have. The mixture of worry and pride made him feel more like an abashed school-boy than he had when he was a schoolboy for the last time. "I'm sorry," he said. Not for his actions so much as the way they'd obviously upset her. "They were going to argue forever about what do with it, and most of the suggestions were terrible."
"No.. don't.. You did the right thing," Reyna said, pulling back again and casting a critical eye over Edmund, hands running over his shoulders. "I just- I heard the explosion- and feared the worst and-"
There was a lump in her throat. She thought she'd lost him. But this wasn't the time to be emotional. She pulled her hands back. "People would have argued for days. Now it's destroyed and she can't use it. That's a good thing, Edmund."
"She can't use it, and no one else can," he agreed. "There was so much about saving it for a rainy day. Soon, someone was going to call for taking it out on the battlefield today." He cleared his throat, trying not to think too much about the implied admission.
"I'm still sorry. For scaring you." He meant more than that, but it wouldn't quite come. “You - your cloak that is - probably saved me. I think it took most of the blast. So. Thank you,” he finished.
Reyna felt herself flush, fingers reaching out to brush over the cloak, flecks of gold catching the light amid the roman purple. "Good. I mean, I'm glad.. You're welcome.. It.. it saved my life too. I.. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I'm glad it did. But you keep it for the battle, Edmund, her army's going to go after you.."
Reyna swallowed hard. "I need it to keep you safe."
“Perhaps.” He couldn’t exactly argue with her reasoning. He’d made himself a target precisely so they would go after him rather than someone else. Intelligence reported that the members of the army hailed from a number of worlds, but more than enough were from Narnia. The witch’s general would certainly recognize him, not to mention that blasted Ginabrik. “Probably. Some of them, but-” He cleared his throat again to make it a simple point of logic. “-she had spies. There are some of our own in that army. They’d know who I care about. Who--it would hurt me to lose.” True, most of Jadis’s followers tended to have less complicated attitudes towards revenge than she, but that didn't erase weeks of nightmares in which he’d been forced to watch the systematic elimination of his nearest and dearest.
"So we make sure we keep your sisters safe and protected. Jacob too," Reyna said, her mind going into full on strategy mode. "Susan's probably likely to be with the ranged fighters. Jacob would be in the thick of it I think. We can put the word out, have people keep an eye out on them. I'll have the zombie army, so I can send a few of them on special protection details."
"You-" Edmund held back a laugh she might have hit him for and bent his head until his forehead touched hers. He took a shuddering breath and released it with a sigh. "You're a true leader," he said, finally. "You're right. That's right. Lucy always fought with the archers at home, as well." Although she might not, this time. Lucy had been far from herself since rumors of Jadis had come to Mount Weather, yet another thing for which Edmund blamed both himself and the Witch. "And Wanda will likely be with her people. Councillor Rogers and the rest. Just - keep a few for yourself." This wasn't the time, if there was an appropriate time, to say how much it would hurt if she didn't come back, but the temptation was strong. Equally strong was the temptation to dispense with words and kiss her.
"Of course," Reyna said, closing her eyes as she felt his forehead against his. She let out a soft sigh. She could hear Piper's voice in her head, to tell him how she felt, to do something. But she couldn't, not with a battle looming. It wasn't fair to him, especially if he didn't return her feelings. She wanted to make him promise to come back, to promise to be careful, but they were experienced soldiers and they both knew what battle was like, the risks and costs. And she wouldn't let him do anything stupid just to try and protect her.
"Edmund," she whispered. Reyna bit her lip and slipped her fingers through his, squeezing them. If something were to happen.. she should tell him. Just in case he didn't come back. Or in case something happened to her. It wasn't her style though. She was the stoic one, the leader. And they had a battle to fight. And to win. "We should…"
With that one should, all the responsibilities that could follow cascaded down on Edmund’s mind like a landslide. There was a besieging army without the walls, and the final assault could come at any moment. Susan was still guarding the Witch, along with Cullen, the Doctor and Sandry, and would be worrying if he didn’t return soon. Jacob, jokes aside, would worry as well, if he didn't check in. They both needed to report for duty, and the shards of the wand still lay scattered about the floor. It would not be safe to leave them.
“We should,” he agreed aloud, grateful that the power to see his recent less-than-gentlemanly thoughts was not among her abilities. He couldn't very well go kissing a woman, a friend, without permission, without warning, even if they did not have duties calling them. “I'll get the wand.” He stepped back a pace and turned to suit actions to words.