𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ━ edmund pevensie¹

Thirteen

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𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖊 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊 𝖎𝖘 𝖍𝖔𝖒𝖊 — 𝖍𝖔𝖒𝖊
𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖋𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝖒𝖆𝖞 𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊, 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖓𝖔𝖙
𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖘.

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━━━━━━━Ｃｏｒｎｅｌｉａ 

THAT NIGHT, Cornelia lay awake in her shared room. Her mind spun with the events that had happened and while she felt better, her head still didn't feel completely normal. In addition to that, she had a strange sort of itch that made her want to get up and pace which prevented her from sleeping. She'd gone to bed excited to be bunking with Lucy again; the two girls had talked for several hours until the younger one's lack of sleep caught up to her. Now, all Cornelia could do was stay awake with her thoughts running in circles about how Edmund was right on the other side of the wall.

He was older now, of course, though she'd already seen him at seventeen during the Golden Age. Earth-seventeen was different somehow. Perhaps it was because his hair wasn't in the messy curls it had been in Narnia but instead flat against his head. Maybe it was the drawn, tired look that he hadn't been able to hide despite his obvious happiness at their reunion. It might've been how he dressed which (while very attractive) was unusual clothing for her to see him in— nothing like the Narnian tunics or breeches. All of those differences didn't erase the one similarity that remained: he was still her soulmate.

She could feel the same unease that she felt at going to sleep in fear they'd wake up to a different reality. She could feel the lingering excitement and joy from her unexpected appearance and she could feel his love for her through their bond.

Cornelia threw back the covers and sent an apologetic glance in Lucy's direction before quietly making her way out of the room. She padded down the hall and had barely placed her hand on the knob to Edmund's room when the door suddenly opened to reveal the boy himself, dressed in pajamas with tousled hair. She gave him a small smile, "couldn't sleep?"

"Not without you," he responded softly, "I didn't want to wake up and—"

"Have it be normal again," she agreed with a nod. Her eyes focused on her feet, "can I, um, stay here tonight?"

"Of course," the boy answered without hesitation. He gently grasped her wrist and tugged her into the room, shutting the door behind them.

His bed was a little small for two people but they made it work. Cornelia curled up against his side in the crook of his arm and closed her eyes, shutting out the darkness of the room. She could hear her soulmate's quiet breaths and relished in the warmth that emanated from him, proving how alive he was. It was easy to block everything else and just focus on the steady rise and fall of his chest, the palpability of the movement proof that he was still there. That she was still there.

And when she closed her eyes for the last time that night, sleep finally took her, dreamless and rich.

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Cornelia had never been more grateful for the weekend. She woke up after her first solid night's rest in years to find that everything was exactly as it had been the night before only much later in the morning. She couldn't help but admire her soulmate as he slept peacefully next to her and she gave into the urge to gently trace her fingers over his features, lingering slightly over his lips.