The Golden Age - Narnia fanfiction (Edmund x oc)

12. Dancing

Diana quickly stood up brushing her hands down her dress to make sure she looked presentable. She didn't want her friends to see her cowering behind a table like that. The guy that had crouched next to her also stood up chuckling.

The Narnian royals walked through the crowd that parted in front of them so that they could get to their thrones, the people bowing and curtsying as they walked past.

They finally reached their destination and announced that the ball could begin before reclining onto their thrones in sync. Diana admired them. They looked so regal in their thrones and those dresses that the queens were wearing. The kings' attires were also splendid.

Diana wondered if she would ever manage to carry herself like that, looking completely confident in every little move. "I see that you're a fan of the royals." The brown haired boy said amused by the look she was giving them. She turned to him slightly embarrassed.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I don't think I caught your name." She said holding out a hand to greet him. "I'm Diana the youngest princess of the Isles." The boy took her hand and kissed it lightly on the back. "How lovely to meet you princess Diana of the Isles. My name is Eric Dunkeld, I am but a simple count in the land of Calormen." He said while bowing.

Diana blushed. She hadn't expected that he would kiss her hand, so she was a little surprised and withdrew her hand. "It's lovely to meet you count Eric." She said with a small curtsy. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw Edmund walk up behind Diana.

Diana felt Edmund's presence and turned to him with a bright smile. "Ah, king Edmund the just." Eric said and bowed deeply to the king. Edmund simply nodded in his direction and immediately turned to Diana. "Would you care to dance princess?" He offered Diana his hand. "I would love to." She said and took his hand. She quickly looked back at Eric, and excused herself.

The moment their hands touched Diana felt the same spark that she had felt the day that they had agreed to be honest with each other. She blushed when Edmund put his hand on her hip and placed himself in front of her, facing her. Still holding one of her hands. Diana placed her free hand on his shoulder and they started to dance along to the beautiful melody, elegantly weaving through the dancing crowd.

Diana noticed that her dad was staring at them, and her stomach made a flip. She felt sick, remembering the garden, when he had threatened her. She was suddenly called back to earth when she felt Edmund's warm and gentle touch on her chin. She focused her eyes on him and blushed when she looked in his beautiful brown eyes.

"Breathe." He said with a gentle worry, and she realized that she had been holding her breath. She let out a deep sigh. "Sorry." She said and looked down, but Edmund nudged her chin up again. "Hey, it's ok. You're with me now. You don't have to do that thing where you look down all the time to avoid eye contact. Please, I want to see your beautiful emerald eyes."

He was talking gently sending shivers down Diana's spine. She blushed when he had complimented her eyes. "But my father, he will be mad at me." She glanced quickly in the direction she had last seen her father, and saw him standing with a glass of wine watching them intently.

"Well, he will have to go through me first, if he wants to get to you." Edmund said while smiling reassuringly. Diana could feel hear hart skip a beat and she felt a warmth spreading from her core. She smiled back at him feeling completely safe in Edmund's arms as they were swirling around the room, and it suddenly felt like they were the only ones there.

Suddenly the music ended and Diana was pulled back to reality after having been lost in Edmund's gaze. They both reluctantly and a little bit awkwardly let go of each other and Diana curtsied thanking him for the dance. Edmund bowed. "It was my pleasure."

Diana felt a light tap on her shoulder and she turned around to see a gorgeous girl with dark brown hair that was put up in an elegant hairdo, with white pearls intertwined. She was wearing a gown that accented her curves perfectly, and she was decorated with pearls.

"Would you mind terribly if I stole a dance with Ed?" She asked. Her voice was silky smooth but Diana felt as though her words were cutting her right in the heart. She put on her well trained fake smile. "Of course not." Diana stepped to the side so that the woman could offer Edmund a dance.

"Shane, lovely to see you." Edmund seemed to be friendly with her and accepted her offer to dance. Edmund apologized to Diana and promised her the next dance before he left, and Diana watched them walk away arm in arm.

"Wow, she is really pretty." She heard one of her siblings' voice say from right next to her. Diana jumped and quickly turned to see her eldest sister Miriam standing there with a mocking grin. Out of instinct Diana took a few steps back and looked down to the ground.

"Sister, it is lovely to see you again." She said falling back to her old habits like a light switch. Miriam looked amused to have such an effect on Diana. No doubt she was enjoying the power that she held over her sweet little baby sister. "Excuse me, but could I have this dance?" Diana recognized the voice of Eric and quickly accepted his request, so that she could get away from her sister as quickly as possible.