The Golden Age - Narnia fanfiction (Edmund x oc)

7. Confessions

Edmund's eyes widened as he looked at the princess. He was dumbfounded by the question she had just asked him. "S - sorry, I'm not sure that I understand what you mean." He said. "Well you... you always go out of your way to avoid me... so I just thought that maybe you were mad that you had to marry me..." She said visibly shaking, and her voice was barely audible as she looked down at her hands that were fiddling with her dress.

Edmund felt a sting of guilt as he looked at the nervous girl in front of him. He sighed and gave her a sign to sit down on a sofa. She complied and he sat down across from her not wanting to make her uncomfortable by sitting next to her.

"I'm really sorry, let me try to explain myself." He started. Diana still with tears running down her face nodded her head. "Look, I can't pretend to be happy about this arrangement and I can imagine you are not either. I mean we are both marrying a complete stranger... But I do care about my people, and I want what is best for them. That means that I really do want this to work out... but I realize now that I've been acting like a jerk to you." Edmund shifted in his seat.

"You see, I saw you having fun around my sisters, but I noticed that every time I entered the room you would tense up... so I thought you hated me, and then I didn't want to make you uncomfortable so I thought I was doing you a favor by staying away." He said looking at her waiting for her reaction.

Diana sniffled and wiped her tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand. She realized that she had also been acting unkind towards the king, and was ashamed of herself. "I... I'm... really sorry..." she stammered, barely able to make any sound at all, but it was enough for Edmund to hear.

"No please don't apologize it wasn't your fault, I should have been more considerate..." he started but she interrupted him. "No!" She almost shouted looking up at him sharply, but quickly lost her nerve again looking back down. "I... I mean... it's not your fault either, I could have just talked to you instead of deciding that you hated me without letting you explain." She said more quiet but still determined.

Edmund smiled although Diana was too shy to look up to notice. "Look we have both misunderstood each other so how about we call a truce, and start over, what do you say?" He said, earning a slight smile from the princess. "I would like that." She said and finally looked up at him properly. She hadn't noticed before because she had been too scared to look at him for long but he was actually quite handsome. She blushed and gave him another smile and looked back down, but this time out of shyness rather than fear or embarrassment.

Edmund had noticed her looking at him and blushed as well. He cleared his throat. "Alright, so from now on we promise to be honest with each other, otherwise this will never work out." He said reaching out a hand as if to form an official contract.

Diana took his hand and felt a small rush run through her when she felt his warm strong hand. His touch was gentle unlike when her brother would mockingly shake her hand to congratulate her on her birthday. (He only did it because he had been forced to.) She didn't want to let go, but forced herself to retract her hand before it got awkward.

Edmund felt his heart skip a beat when Diana had taken his hand. Her hand was so delicate and warm. She had even looked him in the eyes and smiled. He could see her blush even though she had retreated and was looking down again. It slightly annoyed him that she did that all the time, because it meant that he couldn't see her face. But he thought to himself that she would stop when she became more comfortable around him, like he had noticed she was around his sisters.

"Now let's see if we can get out of here, I really need the bathroom." Edmund said jokingly which made Diana giggle. It made his heart leap with joy to hear her giggle. She had actually laughed at something he had said.

Later that night Edmund was laying in his bed looking at his hand. He could still remember what it had felt like to hold her small hand in his. He blushed and buried his head in a pillow. Was he really falling for her? No it couldn't be, right? He barely knew her.

In the room just next door Diana was also having trouble sleeping. She couldn't stop thinking about his beautiful brown eyes, and how warm his hand had been around hers.

The next morning at breakfast the two of them were exchanging looks and smiling at each other. Luckily no one else in the room seemed to notice, or if they did, they didn't say anything. They were much too busy planning the upcoming ball.

The next few days went on like that, and Diana was spending more time in her room with Ava, because she didn't wanna bother the queens. They seemed quite stressed and she would only get in the way if she tried to help.

One day the weather was beautiful so Diana decided to go for a walk in the gardens. She was admiring the beautiful flowers and chatting with Ava who had officially been assigned as Diana's personal guard. They bumped into Peter who was also taking a stroll in the gardens to get a break from his kingly duties.

"Lovely day isn't it?" He said cheerfully. His smile was bright when he saw them. "It really is." Diana said looking around her taking in a deep breath of fresh air. The High King cleared his throat. "I was actually hoping to talk to you in private Dina." He said with a friendly voice, but the words sounded threatening to Diana. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked terrified, but trying not to show it. Peter laughed making Diana relax a little. "No no, of course not. I just wanted to talk."