AN ENCHANTER'S FORETELLING. [NARNIA]

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE | BEGINNING

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
BEGINNING

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Half past eleven. She's not coming.

Edmund Pevensie had kept his promise to her: he sneaked to the library when the clock struck eleven o' sharp, as Rose had told him. But, it was half past eleven now, and she was still not there. Had something happened to her? Why had she not come? He wondered as he paced desperately in front of the warm fireplace. Fiddling with the hems of his sleeves, he strolled about the labyrinth of bookshelves aimlessly, skimming through the many titles in hopes time would pass by quicker.

But as quickly time stretched on, Rose Lovell did not arrive. He had begun to doubt she was coming anytime soon.

Should I go after her? It was strange for Edmund to be asking himself all those questions, and worry over her like only a partner would. Because in that very little time since they had officially become friends the night of the masque, Edmund had grown to care for her, and frankly, he did worry a lot when she did not come.

Rose was usually punctual when it came to times like this, and whenever she made a promise, she stuck to it. No matter what. And during those two years of their ridiculous ongoing feud, Edmund had began to notice that; whether it was for events, meetings, suppers, or for anything, she stuck to her word. But, as time had passed by, and it became eleven-forty quicker than he had anticipated, he grew a bit impatient.

Had she lied? Edmund still wondered, as he entertained himself by stuffing a stack of books under his arm that could potentially help them with the book of prophecies. He could return to his quarters if Rose never came, yes, but as the wintertime was nearing, that simple task would soon become a difficult one to fulfill. Whenever wintertime approached the joyful realm, it was like as though the castle drowned in despair.

Usually, the Narnians would be wary whenever it snowed, or when the winds picked up and it grew cold out of the blue, but as his royal siblings had made it clear that the wintertime was not to be feared, the Narnians would relax and everything would return to normal. Usually. To Edmund Pevensie though, that was not the case at all. As Rose did not come as seconds stretched into minutes, he began to worry that the winter was to be feared after all. But still, either something had happened to her, or she had bailed on him.

Although, Edmund did not think it was latter. Perhaps, something really had happened, and instead of picking out books to skim through, he should begin looking for her. It was not like him to worry this much, not even with his siblings, but ever since the incident in the southwest wing, Edmund really began to worry for her as Rose did not know how to defend herself with a weapon yet.