Lost - Edmund Pevensie

Chapter Twenty

The sun was bright, making Madelyn squint until her eyes had adjusted to the sunlight. The day was bright and warm, but there was a cold air that lingered on from the night.

Although Madelyn had done her best to assure all of them that she would be fine with the rest of the Narnians, Edmund insisted that he wanted her next to him and Peter. Her theory was that Edmund's persistence had something to do with the night when they were at the Telmarine castle. The issue led to one of the most useless arguments she'd ever had. In the end, when it was her word against Edmund's, he won. Easily. Madelyn was fairly annoyed that the rest of the group seemed to instantly agree with Edmund, she chose to look at the positive. Being in the front with Edmund and Peter meant she could see the duel up close and would essentially be in the front lines.

Edmund and Peter walked side by side out of the How, followed by Madelyn right behind them. Peter was clad in full armor as he walked, equipped with a sword and shield. If Madelyn was being honest, she respected Peter for his courage. He was strong and would do anything for the good of the people. Madelyn hoped that if something like that ever came up to her, she would be able to make a similar decision.

 Edmund was in full armor as well except for a helmet. Madelyn was wearing tight black pants that allowed her full movement without getting in the way as a dress would've and a shirt that could barely be seen with all of her armor on top. Her sword was sheathed at her side and she kept a hand on it. Madelyn had tried to convince Edmund that she didn't need the armor and all it did was weigh her down, but he'd made sure that she wore it anyway. She didn't want to argue about everything he said, but she was telling the truth. She was smaller than most of the Narnians for whom the armor was made. This meant it was also a lot heavier than she preferred.

Speaking of that, there was something weird she'd noticed lately. When she was around Edmund, she felt different. When she was around him, it was easier to make her angry. Her emotions felt all over the place and she hated feeling like that.

The closer they got to exiting the How the louder the cheers got. The Narnians were standing on both sides of them as they walked out. Madelyn could see how much hope and pride they held in their eyes and under the gazes, a small part of her felt uncomfortable. One thing she knew though, was that no matter what happened, she would do everything she could to uphold that hope.

As they approached the place where Peter and Miraz would be dueling, Telmarine soldiers were surrounding them. Miraz was sitting on a throne in the middle making Madelyn roll her eyes. She was still very uncomfortable with everything. She just knew that Miraz wouldn't let this go. 

Edmund on the other hand glared at the man as he approached him. If Edmund had his way, he would be the one dueling Miraz. He wanted to make the Telmarine "King" pay. Although one reason for that was the suffering of Narnians, the other reason was what they'd done to Madelyn. It filled him with rage beyond imagination. He could still see how battered and bruised she was when he got her out and it broke his heart.

***

Miraz glanced at the three teenagers approaching him. As his eyes landed on the girl, his gaze filled with venom. He was still bitter about the fact that they'd snuck her out of the castle without anyone even noticing. Miraz turned calmly towards Glozelle and spoke in a low voice that the Narnians couldn't hear.

"If it should appear to be going poorly..." Mirax motioned towards the crossbow in Glozelle's hands. Glozelle glanced down at the crossbow before turning back to Miraz, slowly.

"Understood, your majesty." Glozelle nodded. Although there was a small hint of hesitation on his face that Miraz either didn't see or simply chose to overlook.