Could Have, Should Have, Didn't - A Narnia Fanfiction

Chapter Six: Nothing Hurts Like Regret

"Tickets, please." A young man demanded. His clothing gave away that he was a part of the check-in crew. The minute they had reached nearer to their level, the haughty fellow had appeared out of nowhere to make sure they weren't stowaways.

Edmund had to force himself not to roll his eyes. This man looked to be his age. And he had a nice, comfortable job- telling other people what to do. Based on his attire, he had to be rich. Unfair.

Anger, also a little unfair, bubbled in Ed, and he wouldn't look the man in the eyes, choosing instead to "accidentally" run his shoe into his ankle as he handed over his ticket.

He hoped it left a bruise- just a small one. Just so that his perfect little appearance was ruined.

Rita scurried in front of him before the man could even begin to accuse anyone of anything. "Mhm." She made eyes at the man as if to say something. Probably to say that he shouldn't treat someone above him like that. But he didn't care.

Breathing out heavily, Edith gave the ticket to the man and joined her cousins and Ivy on the other side of the crowd. Lucy was one step behind Ed, getting a ticket out of her bag.

"You're holding up the line," the man stated, straightening his back to avoid a child running behind him as he looked Rita up and down. He shouldn't be looking at her like she was dirt; she was the sun. He shouldn't be looking at her at all, he didn't deserve to.

For this very reason, Ed stayed put a few feet away and didn't join the rest; he had to make sure Lu and Rita would be okay.

Rita smiled apologetically and set down her suitcase for a moment, grasping the strap of her satchel. "Sorry, just give me a minute while I get my ticket, it's in my bag."

"Why is it in your bag and not in your hand?" Sniffing, the man got closer to her and ran a hand through his perfectly blonde slicked back hair. Invasive.

Rita stepped back.

Ed stepped closer.

However confused she looked, Rita managed to mask it with another polite smile as she opened her satchel. "I didn't want to lose it, that's all."

Beginning to move away, he stopped when he heard a small squeal from Rita.

The man had taken her satchel and was rooting through it! A few items dropped to the floor, scattering on the wood with faint thuds. A solid black shoe stopped her hair clip from escaping.

Ivy gasped from across the boat. Timothy narrowed his dark eyes. Lucy looked very concerned. The other two stayed silent.

"What are you doing?" She asked, slightly horrified, the hair by her ears frizzing up from the sudden movement, she bent down to pick up the other items in her hands, taking the hair clip out from under the man's shoe; the crowds around them all murmured or got their tickets out of their bags.

"Getting your ticket."

"Hey!" Lu shrieked, ferocity surprisingly building in her voice as she stepped beside Rita, hands clenched. "You can't simply take things without asking!"

Ignoring her words, the man continued flipping through the bag. There was no reason for him to be taking so long. Now it seemed he was trying to spite them. Because he was at a higher station and because he could.

Now, the anger was fair. Clenching his fists just like his sister, Edmund advanced back towards Rita, his shoes squeaking on the ground. But the man's hand met his face, not in a punch or a slap, but just a palm that squished his nose, urging him to stay back.

Stopping him.

"No further." The edge to the man's voice was as bad as a pig's. And he was as dirty as a pig too.