Metamorphosis || Edmund Pevensie

Fight Back

Robin fit right in with the lifestyle of living in a castle. She had to follow certain rules and regulations, which Oreius had warned her about. She was certain that she would never stop feeling grateful towards him as she was taught the correct method of addressing people and the right way of using cutlery. Oreius had also warned her to not wander or leave anywhere unannounced.

All his instructions rained down on her as a month passed by and a letter from Edmund came for her, requesting her to attend the next day's training lessons at the front courtyard. Robin equipped herself with her set of bow and arrows and woke up very early in the morning; not that she went to sleep in the first place.

She talked with Susan and Lucy about the things that they had in common as all of them practiced together. It was strange to see them as themselves because she had always heard their royal self more than their mischievous side.

"How are you finding the castle?" Lucy asked, her dagger hitting the spot on the target right in the middle.

"The castle is huge!" Robin exclaimed. "But it is beautiful in its own way." She threw her dagger towards the target. It hit right outside the middle red portion.

"We got lost many times ourselves during our first few weeks here." Susan revealed. "I had a hard time trying to find the correct passageways that would lead me to the right rooms."

"The only path I knew was from my room to the stables." Lucy chuckled.

"Thank you for everything." Robin said. "I don't think that I have been this happy in a very long time."

"Of course." Lucy said as she wrapped her hands around Robin's arm.

Susan noted how comfortable everyone was around the newcomer. She never tried to interfere in situations but always took part in the debates in the courtroom. Her arguments were always to the point and her side almost always won. 

She also noticed the secret glances that Robin was sending Edmund. Although she had thought about the future of all the four of them, since she couldn't help being the mother of the group, she was glad that Edmund had found someone good.

Meanwhile, Peter and Edmund sparred with each other and tried new methods of disarming and escaping in that time. Peter swung his sword directly at Edmund, who then blocked it quite cleverly. When Edmund swung his sword at Peter's legs, he jumped up and defended himself quite well. They tried to use the 360 technique of swinging the sword away by rotating theirs in a full circle like Oreius had taught them, but they somehow couldn't hold it together.

"Why are we gathered here so early anyway?" Lucy asked her brothers. "We get enough practice in our own time."

"We should be prepared for any attack that might come our way." Peter said in between the sounds of the clashing of swords. He disarmed Edmund swiftly, picking up the new technique but fell to the ground with him when Edmund tripped him on purpose by jotting out his leg. "Ow! Not fair, Ed!"

Edmund stood up first and gave Peter a hand, who accepted it and pulled himself up gracefully. "I had to do it sometime." He answered with a silent smile on his face. "Besides, you need to learn to look down while walking."

"Oh, is that so?" Peter laughed.

"If you two wanted to spar on your own," Susan started as the brothers shared a laugh. "Why are we here?"

The brothers knew that their sisters preferred to train in the evenings right before dinner. But there was a reason that Peter had suggested that all of them train early in the morning.

"We need to learn each of our defense moves." Edmund said.

"If Carmis can go anywhere without anyone knowing, we need to be on alert at all times." Peter continued.

"There was a fresh batch of complaints that arrived from the town yesterday. One of them talked about sounds of explosion from the edge of the town border." Edmund revealed. "And we believe that it could be where Carmis is right now." His eyes fell on Robin's.

"We don't know the exact location yet." Peter said. "And that's why we are gathered here. I have sent Callahan and Eddard to search for any usual activities in that area. They're our best knights." He informed Robin. "Hopefully, we should receive an answer soon."

"We will." Susan replied. It seemed like she could always support her brother in need but there were situations where the Pevensies felt that she was withdrawn. They never dared to talk to her about it because they didn't want her to pull back entirely.

"We need to be able to fight back." Lucy said. "We are in no match to someone who has magical powers. Or so people think." She smirked as she turned her first Christmas gift in her hand - her dagger.

"I'm sure we can take down Carmis." Susan said. "I believe that we can."

"We won't strike first but we will be on our best defense." Peter said.

"I informed the navy yesterday to look out for anyone suspicious near the harbours." Edmund said.

"I don't assume that she will try to leave." Robin said. "Carmis loves a fight. She is more lethal than Jadis and yet, she is very calculated. She won't make a move unless there is a bigger picture to it."

"She may be older than all of us put together and control fire," Lucy started. "But we will be the ones to light the fireworks for celebration."

"I like that plan." Peter said.

"But I want to be the one to light." Edmund said.

"No!" The other three said at the same time. "You always light the fireworks. We should get a chance sometime." Lucy said.

"What are the fireworks about?" Robin asked, curious to know how the topic went to a literal sense from a metaphorical one.

"Every year," Susan started to explain. "We have a fireworks show down from the lower grounds of the castle and Edmund...."

"Edmund is always the one to play with fire." Lucy said.

"He gets to the fireworks before any of us can, taking them all to himself." Peter groaned. "Well, this year, he is banished from the new location of the show."

"Banished?"

"Yes."

"But-"

Edmund had been right about the Pevensies' quarrels because they were really fun to watch. Whenever they started to have a fight, they would ask Robin to take a side, which she would profoundly refuse to do. "I will intervene when I need to." She would tell them.

As they headed back into the castle, Robin turned around once and looked at the swaying trees in the distance. She started to miss her home. There was something that bothered her, and she knew that she had to get some advice.