The Golden Age - Narnia fanfiction (Edmund x oc)

18. Safe

Diana woke up not knowing where she was. She realized she was outside and that Edmund had his arm around her, and that she also had her arm around him. She blushed looking at his peaceful face as he was sleeping. It didn't take long for her to remember what had happened the night before.

She tightened her grip around him not wanting to let go, and buried her face in his chest. She then felt his arms tighten around her and heard him yawn. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and chuckled. "Morning princess." He said with a hoarse voice.

Diana blushed even more, and didn't want him to see it, so she kept her face buried in his shirt. "Morning." She managed to say, though her voice was muffled by his shirt. He chuckled.

"I will admit I do like this, but we do have to get back to the castle at some point today." He teased.

They all got up, and bringing the wagon with the last surviving captor, they headed back toward Cair Paravel. Diana was riding on the same horse as Edmund, holding her arms tightly around his torso. She didn't like that they were bringing the man that had held a knife to her throat the day before, but Edmund had said that they might be able to use him to expose her father.

Once they reached the castle, Diana's family all came out to greet them. Diana could tell that they were only pretending to be relieved to see her safe. Edmund definitely didn't buy it either, he kept her at his side, letting her squeeze his arm, and as quickly as possible navigating past them and back to her room.

"How are you?" He asked once they stopped in front of her door. "I... I'm scared." She managed to say. Edmund intertwined his fingers with hers and brought her hand up to his lips, giving it a light peck. "Of your father?" He asked. She nodded, but then seemed to change her mind, shaking her head. "I'm scared that I will never be good enough." She admitted. Edmund's heart sank.

"You are good enough. You always have been and always will be good enough, and I hate that he has made you feel like you aren't! I swear, if it wouldn't be for the fact that it would most likely start a war, I would have probably run him through with a sword by now." Edmund grumbled. Diana blushed and looked down.

She then felt his warm hand gently push her chin upwards, to make her look at him. "I promise you, I will do everything in my power to tear down the lie that he has made you believe, and I will make you feel loved like you deserve. Understand?" He said solemnly. She nodded, feeling her heart beat wildly in her chest.

They stood there for a moment before Edmund broke the silence. He cleared his throat. "Well princess, you will probably want to rest and maybe change clothes before you get some food. I can imagine you would want your food brought to you?" Edmund asked. Diana nodded. He reluctantly let go of her hand. "Very well then, if you need anything I'll be right next door." He smiled and gave her an elegant bow before going to his room.

Diana decided to take a shower before she changed into another dress. It felt good to wash off the dirt that had stuck to her when she had been sleeping on the ground. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and her first instinct was to look away. She had never liked the way she looked and therefore would prefer not to look. But this time she was surprised by what she saw.

She had gained some weight from eating full meals, rather than the occasional food she was fed back home. Her dad had said she was too fat, so he put her on a diet. But now she had some more weight on her she looked more healthy, filling out her curves better.

Her face looked brighter in a way that she couldn't quite put her finger on, even though she had dark circles from the night before she still looked better than before, she didn't look as pale.

Her hair had grown out quite a bit since she had gotten there. She used to cut it short because it was easier to manage, and didn't look as bad when she didn't care for it properly, but now that she had the resources to care for her hair it was shinier and looked softer, and she didn't have the urge to cut it off when she looked at it.

She stood there and marveled at herself for a while until there was a knock on the door. "Princess Diana, your meal is here." She recognized Tumnus' voice. "I'll be right there." She shouted back. Throwing on a robe over her night gown that she had put on, intending to take a nap.

She woke up when it was dark outside, hearing a gentle knock on the door. "Hold on." She said with a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes. She threw on the robe again before opening the door.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Susan asked, with that motherly look on her face that Diana always found so comforting. Diana smiled. "It's no problem at all, I'm actually starving, so its good that you woke me up." Susan relaxed.

"The kitchen will have something ready for you in five minutes, I just wanted to see if you were ok? I mean it must have been terrible what you went through, and knowing that it was your own father's doing..."

Diana shrugged. "He has done terrible things before, I just... didn't think he would ever go that far. But i guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Diana suddenly felt Susans arms wrap around her, taking her by surprise. "I'm so sorry... I just... I wish we could have taken you away from there sooner." She whispered, and Diana could hear that she was holding back tears. She smiled, and hugged the high queen back.

"It's alright Su. I'm safe now. I know I am."