I'm sorry, I'm really really really sorry!

Hi, so I know I should be too ashamed to show my face on here anymore but I couldn't just ditch this story. It's really grown on me and Ed and Celia are too important to me. I had dengue so I was in the hospital and down for months, and had to catch up on a lot in real life. I thought, no way I could manage to finish this story, but then I went through all the reviews and everything made me so happy, and I felt so guilty for leaving everyone hanging like that...and I felt I owed it to anyone reading to see this through to the end.

So yeah, next chapter. It's sort of boring, just a sort of summary of everything (because it's been way too long) with a side of tension between Ed and Celia and some trust building and relationship deepening, of course. Sorry if it's boring, and I don't blame you if you stopped reading this story, but if you still are, do let me know how it can be better.

And to all my reviewers: THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH. I really, really love you all. It's your reviews that have even inspired me to keep going. I got one review from a guest reviewer asking me not to stop and I practically melted and jumped up to update this fic. So yeah, means a lot to me. Thank you.

"Are you always this unintelligible at three in the morning?"

Her response was an icy glare.

Edmund, Celia, Lucy and Caspian sat in Lucy's sitting room, thick blankets draped round their bodies and nursing steaming mugs of hot cocoa. The night was unnaturally cold, but the atmosphere in the room was cozy. It had been a month since the Spring Festival. Narnia had strengthened its relations with several nations after the successful event, but unfortunately, there had been no progress with the situation in Calormen. Though the situation had not worsened, it had certainly not gotten any better.

The three monarchs and Celia had been working all day, sorting through official documents from Calormen, writing to other nations to strengthen ties and subtly coax for support in case of conflict (Lucy was quite persuasive when she put her mind to it) and trying to determine their next move. Celia felt exhausted, yet strangely enthralled. She could not remember putting her mind to something so complex for a long time.

"Ed," Lucy berated, "Don't act like you're much better. At three in the morning you're asleep and drooling all over your pillow." Edmund protested faintly at that and Celia just grinned.

"I may be unintelligible at three in the morning, Edmund, but you're that way all the time," Celia teased lightly. Ed's jaw dropped open, and he gave her a victimised look.

"Oh?" he challenged, "Say that when I beat you the next time we play chess."

"That's gonna be at three in the morning too, because you beating me at chess is only happening in your dreams." she shot. Caspian boomed out a hearty laugh and Lucy watched the two with something a little bit more shrewd than amusement, Celia noted. It was scarily easy how often she and Edmund would fall into a pattern of teasing banter, and his sister observed all of it with a knowing eye. If she were to put it in 21st century teenager English, she would say that Lucy totally shipped them together.

Edmund rolled his eyes but grinned all the same. "Well, at least I can be sure your brain's working again, Celia," They would have gone on and on, but Caspian dumping a stack of papers loudly on the floor distracted them.

"This is pointless," he rubbed at his beard, what Celia had observed was a true sign of his exasperation. "There is nothing in any of these correspondences with Calormen to suggest that anything in our relationship with them would provoke what they're doing, or that they had any intention of doing anything like this in the first place. This isn't helping."

Edmund ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, Cas, put those down before you destroy them with your gaze of hatred." He sat up straighter. "Okay, let's look at all the facts again…"

"It started when you and I were…attacked, at the lake, with the sand" Celia began.

"And then the water bodies started drying out, and the Naiad of the Great River vanished. According to several eye witnesses and King Aedan, she's been kidnapped."

"We found a ring with the insignia of a high-ranking Calormen official on it and we know that Karim is missing one…" Lucy put in. "Also, several Calormen individuals are roaming Narnia and it's borders around the Archen river, uninvited and unidentified."

"And all the while, the rivers are drying and filling with sand. The days are hot, the nights are cold, making Narnia even more like a desert." Caspian finished gloomily.

"At first, we thought Arood Tarkhan was the obvious perpetrator, because the initial crimes seemed targeted at me and he has a personal vendetta against me, for not marrying his daughter," Edmund said darkly. Celia wondered what the whole story behind this marriage thing was anyway. "But he has neither the means nor the motive to do something on such a vast level."

"And after the first crime, where you were attacked, everything that happened was against Narnia as a whole, not just Edmund," Celia pointed out. "It doesn't make sense for the Tarkhan to go that far just to attack one person."

While Ed darkly muttered, "A Calormen is capable of anything," Lucy continued, "And then there is Karim. He could be in line for the title of Tisroc himself. It would definitely be faster for him to gain the title if he led Calormen to victory in a war against Narnia, a country with which they have a hostile relationship."

"But Narnia has way more resources than Calormen does, and under ordinary circumstances, would win against them in a war. The one way to defeat Narnia would be to drain them of the most important, primary resource needed to go to war with a desert nation - water."

"That makes a lot of sense," Caspian admitted. "By attacking Edmund first and making it look like a personal vendetta, Karim may have aimed to distract us, lead us the wrong way. We would focus our attention on Arood Tarkhan, naturally. This gave him time to prepare a larger set of actions, like draining our water supply."

Celia let out a breath. Their theory held well, covered every angle. But how to prove it? And how to take action that would prevent an all-out war, if it was proven?

"We have the ring. If we somehow establish that it is Karim's, then we can put him at the scene of the crime. " Edmund pointed out.

"Yes, but then what?" Lucy asked, and the grim expression on her face seemed unnatural. She was usually the optimistic one. "We will have no choice but to confront Calormen, and they won't take that lying down."

"This is exactly what they wanted." Edmund said. "They wanted us to find out it was them. They want a confrontation, so that they can declare war on us, or worse, we would be forced to declare war on them. It would be a terrible show of weak leadership and responsibility for our nation if we sat back and let their crimes go unpunished."

"And at the same time, if we do declare war, how will we fight? We have no water." Celia's voice was defeated, dismayed. And as she said this, she realised something. She'd said we. How will we declare war, how will we fight. Was she so immersed in this strange, unbelievable land that she already felt a part of it completely? Was she leaving her world, her reality, behind?

She swallowed, pushing the intrusive, unanswerable questions to the back of her mind. She tried to keep her expression perfectly composed; a mask. Edmund looked at her curiously, his sharp eyes missing nothing. She looked away before he got a chance to read her right.

"It's a death trap." Caspian said, his voice steely and hard. "There is no politically or morally correct way to get out of it."

"If we try hard enough, we will find one." Edmund said resolutely.

"Ed's right," Lucy said, and somehow, as always, her words rang with faith, and gave them a spark of hope. "We aren't giving up so easily. We'll find a way out of this. Aslan will be with us."

Celia pushed away her doubts about this Aslan character as well. "We have to find a way to tackle this from the inside," she said. "Back door channels." She was recalling Earth knowledge now, thinking of ways the United States dealt with hostage situations without causing all-out war.

"Think of something Calormen wants from Narnia, maybe, and offer that if they stop doing all this. An underhanded agreement will work where direct confrontation won't."

"She's right," Caspian said. "But what do we have to offer them that they need so much? They are too proud, and, unfortunately, wealthy, to seize an opportunity to take anything from Narnia."

"Resources…" Lucy trailed off. "We have larger forests than they do, we could - "

"No." Edmund cut her off. "Won't work. Firstly, it' s nothing they can't get from a nation much less hostile to them than us, and secondly, how do you think the spirits of the forests, or any of our citizens would feel about this? You forget our people's feelings towards the Calormen in general. The dwarfs in the mines and forges would never provide metalwork or minerals. The giants have a tedious relationship with us, and by asking anything of them, we could easily provoke an even larger war. The dryads and naiads hate the Calormen with a vengeance, especially the naiads. There go the forest offerings. We need to keep our relationship with our countrymen strong no matter what. There can be no greater ally to us than our own citizens."

Celia had to take a moment to admire Edmund then. He was right, and made sense from a logical as well as a moral standpoint. It wasn't like he'd said anything too great, but she'd seen too many situations where the Government had been too hasty to make peace with other nations, and in the process, caused internal instability. Ed was right; it was always better to a maintain unity within the country. There was a strange fluttering in her stomach when she glanced at him from the side. He spoke with conviction, but not arrogance, and held his head high. She could see the straight line of his nose, the definition of his jawline and his broad shoulders, in the dim light. It was an unexpectedly appealing sight and she drew her gaze away from him hastily.

"I hate to say this." Caspian's words drew her attention. "But…" he hesitated.

"Say what you have to, Caspian." Lucy encouraged. "No option or idea is out of bounds for us at this point."

"Well…the Calormen are doing all this to gain political control over Narnia, yes?" He said, and Celia could see his hands balling into fists, his jaw clenching. He was enraged at the idea, but was trying to keep calm. "Political control would grant them access to resources anyway."

"Well, yes…"

"We could - we could try and maybe…I don't know…form some sort of political alliance that allows them the power of status in our court?" And Celia understood what he was saying, in that roundabout way.

"You mean like marriage?" she asked. Immediately, she looked over to Edmund, whose face gave away absolutely nothing. Of course. But if he was so unbelievably composed the idea must have disturbed him quite a lot, since he was trying extra hard to mask his emotions.

"Well…yes. Though that wouldn't at all be preferred or desirable." Caspian sighed.

Lucy had a peculiar, hard look in her eye. "No matter how abhorrent or undesirable to us, we must do whatever it takes to keep our country safe and happy."

That was when it hit Celia that Lucy truly was the Valiant Queen, in each and every way.

"It could work." Edmund said, face betraying nothing. "Though you aren't marrying anyone. If anything, it is well beyond time for Caspian and I to be wedded - "

"Edmund, after last time, I doubt you're the first candidate anyone would consider in Calormen, no offence.." Edmund couldn't help snorting in amusement despite himself. "And honestly, well, wedding a woman to High King Caspian would give the Calormen too much status and power, and it's much easier to abuse from that station…"

"It only leaves Lucy as an option." Celia said gently. "She's not, by title, as high in power and status as Caspian, but she's high enough to be valuable. And, well…" She would be going well beyond her bounds saying this, but she had to put her point across. "Well, if she married Karim," Celia ignored the look of utter shock on Edmund's face, which disappeared after a split second, "If she married Karim, he would definitely be satisfied with the power he could hold in Narnia, and it could stop a war."

"But, more importantly…" Ed trailed off, and for a moment, she felt so satisfied that he caught the whole meaning of what she was saying without even her voicing it. "Lucy marrying the future Tisroc would give her quite a bit of influence and power in Calormen high society, and we would have control of quite a few going ons in the inner circles of the nation, where all the power is."

"So it's a victory for all of us." Lucy said, her voice quiet, persuading, and holding the strength of her iron will. Edmund was a master of hiding his true feelings, and Celia was an expert at that as well. But Lucy was so much more, and so much better than either of them could ever be. She was selfless, noble. She wasn't hiding her true feelings - all she felt about the situation was her undying love for Narnia. Ed and Celia could manipulate a situation to suit their desires, but Lucy was the bigger person, because regardless of her desires, she would do what was right.

Celia observed Edmund carefully. His eyes had been dark with desire, expression intent, when he'd talked about controlling Calormen high society. He was ambitious; he wanted power. She could see how badly the logical, desiring part of him yearned for victory, for a situation he could so ardently bend to his will. But after Lucy's simple, persuading words, it fell apart. His lips were pressed together tightly, and his expression was pained. His hand picked restlessly at the loose strings in his tunic, knuckles tight. In that second of change, Celia understood. He feared losing his sister far more than he desired anything in the world. He had already betrayed his family for greed, for power, once. Despite his actions going out of the way to prove otherwise, he still felt guilt, and any time he felt ambitious, anytime he was tempted by power, he carried the burden of that guilt with him.

It was a number of things that did it for her. The rage Caspian held carefully beneath the surface, trying to be the best ruler while looking out for his family (because Ed and Lucy were family to him). It was Lucy, her undying faith and hope and her understated, frank nobility, the hard strength of her iron will and her passion and caring that showed themselves simultaneously. And of course Edmund, with his fear of losing those he loved because of the darkness within himself, the way he was a ruthlessly objective statesman but was guided by fierce loyalty and love for his siblings and nation. Everything hit her at once, but Celia managed to realise that she had never met anyone as extraordinary, as sincere and real as these three people in this strange, imaginary world, and neither had she felt so connected to anyone as she felt to them at this moment. It was a puzzle that she would try to solve later, but all she knew right then was that she desperately wanted a way to minimise their suffering, stop their pain.

Her mind turned over every corner, every diplomatic term and condition and loophole she could think of, but she came up with nothing. Absolutely nothing. Lucy and Caspian were discussing something lighter and Ed was staring into the distance. The early morning light was starting to come in through the closed curtains, the sunlight highlighting tiny dust particles in it's path and giving the room an almost magical effect…

"Magic," she murmured, turning it over. Then she realised, in their hurry to find out a solution to the Calormen problem, they were forgetting the most important, simple thing.

"Guys," she said, a little too loudly, perhaps. They gave her weird looks, the phrase probably wasn't used much her. "All of us have been total idiots. Complete morons. Unbelievably stupid."

Edmund huffed at her. "Speak for yourself." But the intent look he gave her, the slight smile, proved she'd lightened his mood.

"We're thinking of this all wrong, you know. We've been looking at solutions that involve getting Calormen to stop…well, stopping our water supply. Now, I don't know a whole lot about how things work in this world, but it can't be easy to just empty out rivers and fill them with sand. Or attack Edmund in a swirling tornado of sand. Or kidnap an important and powerful naiad."

"Of course!" Caspian smacked a palm against his forehead. "Why are we even looking at Calormen? There is magic, powerful magic, being used for these crimes. It will be dangerous, and maybe even deadly. But if we can find whatever person or creature who's helping the Calormen, and rescue the naiad, cut off the magic at its source…"

"Then Calormen is completely weakened. They cannot do anything, and everything goes back to how it used to be!" Lucy exclaimed. She jumped up, tackling Celia in a sudden hug. "I'm so glad you thought of that,"

"Um…yeah," Celia said, after she'd gotten her breath back from Lucy's bear hug. "It's going to be difficult, but it's important to know exactly what you're dealing with here if you want to be effective."

Edmund looked at her, his gaze penetrating, examining. After a moment his expression was normal again, and he said, "I certainly think that's the best approach as well. We should check the books, find out what kind of creature is capable of this and where they reside. We can broker some sort of deal with them, or worst case, get them to cooperate by force." Celia was reminded that Edmund Pevensie was considerate and kind, but he was also the Just King, and at the end of the day, justice could be cruel. "And we have to look into the naiad's disappearance too. We cannot be certain, but the same people who have the naiad may be causing everything else. No normal human can simply abduct one as powerful as the naiad of the Great RIver."

"I can write to Aedan. Since he brought us more information about the abduction, he might know better thanks where to start looking with that. And we can trust him." Lucy said.

"Yeah, do that. Meanwhile, I'll look through the books and try to find some information, anything alluding to what we're dealing with here." Edmund said

"And I'll help with that," Celia added. She felt most in her element in the library, researching and formulating theories.

"I'll investigate the scenes of crime," Caspian said, and it would have sounded dramatic if he hadn't been so grim. "I'll find out information, go through the areas where naiads and dryads have spotted Calormen men roaming, and I'll ask around."

After that, there was silence. It hung heavy in the air, full of worry and fear, but there was a feeling of determination as well. Each of them spent a moment lost in their own minds, and she found her eyes trailing in Edmund's direction yet again, studying his expressions, the way his dark eyes gazed out the window, the way his hands clenched against the fabric of his shirt. What was he thinking? His hands still plucking at his tunic was an obvious sign of stress, of nervous anticipation. He bit down on his bottom lip. Was that a sign of holding back something he wanted to say? What would his lips feel like against her own?

Whoa, okay, Longburn, slow down there, keep it PG, she berated herself sarcastically, trying to quell the rising panic in her mind at that sudden thought. That was supposed to be a purely objective diplomatic study of his facial features to determine his thoughts. Sure, he had nice lips, but she could save thoughts of kissing for later…uh, never. Not like she was going to think that again.

She suddenly realised that he had realised that she'd been staring at him, and he was now staring at her. She couldn't help it and she hated herself for it; she blushed. She could feel her cheeks heating up and the familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach was back. He gave her that infuriating smirk of his, the one that made her feel like he was taunting her with knowledge she didn't know.

She looked away and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, so at least we have a plan now," she said. "We'll start reading up right away, and the sooner we find out what exactly is capable of doing this, we're that much closer to figuring out it's weaknesses and stopping it. And of course, finding the naiad."

"And that way, we can avert a war." Lucy added.

"I'll get to work on asking questions. I shall set out tomorrow, after breakfast." Caspian said. They all smiled at each other tentatively. There was a difficult path ahead, and it was dangerous, but they could save so many lives by putting their own in danger for a while.

"Well, I'm glad you're eager to do some work for once, Caspian," Ed remarked, earning him a friendly whack from the older man, "But we haven't slept for more than…well, thirty hours. And unless you plan to sleepwalk around Narnia and scare the life out of our people, I suggest we get some rest."

Lucy yawned and stood up, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders. "I never thought I'd see this day. Edmund, the night owl of the family, suggesting we go to bed," she teased. "But I am compelled, as always, to obey my older brother's wishes." (Edmund laughed out loud at that; Lucy obeying anyone's wishes was somewhat ridiculous) "Good night, then, or morning, or whatever it is." She smiled and padded off towards her bedroom, and Celia, Caspian and Edmund let go of the blankets they'd borrowed, leaving as well. They walked together down the corridor until they reached the place where Caspian went left, to his chambers. He reached out and patted Ed on the shoulder, and to Celia's surprise, hugged her. He towered over her and smelt comforting, of pine. She wasn't sure how to react, but Celia was surprised at how natural it felt.

"It's going to be hard, you know," he said, looking at Edmund. "Usually, we have some sort of idea what we're up against." An unspoken conversation passed between the two men, and Edmund gave Caspian a genuine, comforting smile.

"Whatever it is, I'm certain we can face it together, brother," Caspian's own smile grew miles wider at his words and for a moment, Celia felt a sting of envy. She'd never had anyone so close to her that she could call them her own family. Even her own family, her father, was nothing more than another acquaintance.

The two men held each other's gaze for a moment and she felt like she was intruding on something too private. But then Caspian turned to her.

"Celia," Caspian said, "I know that it's going to be much harder for you, and it already is. You come from a place so different, and you're tied up in the politics of nations you don't know, in a world full of unbelievable things." She took a breath; she had no idea Caspian knew how she felt so well.

"But please, don't ever think that you don't belong here." he said, sincerely. "You may have been born somewhere far away, but for as long as you're here, and even after that, you'll always be a Narnian, and a friend, to us."

No one had ever said anything like that to her. It had always mattered, more than anything, where, and to whom, she was born. Hell, it had mattered so much to her, too. The first thing she had done when she'd landed up in Narnia was to announce she was an American citizen. She was the daughter of a high-level diplomat. She had the arrogance of her first-world privileged upbringing. She was used to people approaching her and seeing her through the lens of her social status, of her father's position.

But here was Caspian, who had grown up as royalty, who'd experienced the same social pressure to measure up, who'd known worse than her what it must be like to have someone want you for the privileges of your birth. And here he was, seeing her as just herself, as his friend.

It was stupid of her to feel so emotional about it, but she couldn't help it. She swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled at him softly. "Thank you," she said awkwardly, wishing she could be as smooth and put how she felt in better words. "It - it really means a lot to me that you feel that way."

Caspian gave her a smile. "I know." Then he said goodnight, and headed up the stairs. Celia took a deep breath as she walked down the corridor with Edmund. Her head was spinning and her heart was thumping. This was very good, and very bad. She never thought she could feel like she belonged in a place as much as she felt that way in Narnia. She'd never felt so close to anyone as she did to these three, though she knew them for such a small amount of time. At the same time, alarm bells were ringing in her head. Who knows if this is real or imaginary? Don't get emotionally invested. Don't get attached. There's too much to lose.

And then there were two.

Edmund and Celia walked down the hallway. The silence between them wasn't awkward, but it wasn't comfortable either. There was a tension in the air, an electricity pulsing between them. Edmund scoffed at his thoughts. Electricity? Tension? The Ed of six months ago would have laughed out loud at such an idea. But tonight, as he glanced at the girl walking next to him, drank in her features and felt her hand brush his, it was impossible to ignore the heat rising in his stomach.

He groaned internally. It was both amazing and terrible to be in her company. He enjoyed being with her more than anyone else, but the thoughts and feelings he found himself with were agonizing. He couldn't help noticing the slope of her neck; the curve of her waist, the way the light hit her hair. But that wasn't even the worst part. He'd seen beautiful women before, that was nothing new.

No, he was increasingly aware of her thoughtfulness, how she was always seeking a solution that was not just efficient, but also agreeable to everyone involved. She could be coy and charming in diplomacy, but when it mattered, she was straightforward and sincere. The urge to know more about her, and not in a purely intellectual way, was so strong it was alarming. Edmund had always been intrigued by her, and he admired her intellect, but that admiration had turned into something new, something he hadn't been ready to acknowledge for a while now – it was affection.

He had to get his mind off of this. There were more important things to think about. Besides, even if Celia returned his affections in the same way, there were a hundred things that could go wrong; they were from two different worlds, they were so –

"So, we meet tomorrow in the library to start working?" Oh, thank Aslan, Celia had broken the silence and brought him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm? All right, yes. After breakfast…or whatever meal we manage to wake up for. There's a lot to do." He glanced at her sideways in the dim light. "Celia, are you alright?"

They'd reached the end of the hallway, and stopped in front of her door. She made no motion to go inside, but he positioned himself a little behind her just in case she tried to escape without having this conversation.

"I'm fine," she was so good, it hurt. Her mask was so well put up, she did nothing to indicate she was being defensive, her hands were spread to show openness, she was smiling just a little bit.

It was exactly what he would've done if he wasn't fine, and that's the only way he knew.

"No, you're not." He said bluntly. "You're giving a wonderful impression of being fine, to your credit, but this is me, Celia, I can see through it. Tell me what's wrong."

He felt her suck in a breath, and it occurred to him they were standing far too close if he could feel her breath on his face. But he didn't move away.

"Why is it always you?" she asked. "Why can you see through it?"

"I – I don't know," he admitted. "You… you do what I do, just…differently." On an impulse, he placed a hand on her shoulder, aiming to comfort. "We're a lot alike, you know. But just different enough to help each other."

"Okay," she said, and he could see trepidation in her eyes when she spoke. "Let's test that theory. Tell me what you think is bothering me, and I'll tell you what's bothering you."

Bothering him? Was it about – earlier, with Lucy, and Calormen…but how did she? She couldn't know.

"I'm up for that." He said. "I'll go first." He took a breath, tried to collect his thoughts. "Every time we mention the…. magical element, of what happened, you freeze. It's because it's against everything you know. You've accepted Narnia as reality and dealt with it by comparing your past to your present. The diplomatic situations, the politics, the countries…you can relate. It's similar to where you come from. But magic, and Aslan, and all that makes Narnia, well, Narnia, you can't process it. It brings you to your age old conflict of 'is this reality or all a dream?" That's what's disturbing you now. You thought you were dealing so well with all this, and now the same questions come crashing down, don't they?"

She was visibly shaken up and wasn't bothering to hide it – something that, he knew from experience, took a great deal of nerve for a diplomat to do. Her hand on the doorknob was shaky and her breathing, uneven. But the look in her eyes was determined.

"I'm not confirming or denying anything until I finish my assessment." She said firmly. He resisted the urge to grin. Even here, she wanted no loopholes, equal exchange. Then she began to speak.

"After the stint with the White Witch, you don't feel so guilty about the act of betraying your siblings anymore. But you do still feel some guilt. You're ambitious, Edmund." She had put it so bluntly. It was almost painful how true it was, though. "You're ambitious in a way Lucy or Caspian can't even begin to be. You know how to get what you want, you know how to get rid of whatever

is in your way to get it. You feel guilty because you crave power where your siblings don't, and you're terrified of going too far to get it, like you've done before."

He had no words. This was not part of the deal. He'd never expected her to get this far. Yes, the fear was always at the back of his mind, but no one, not Lucy, not Aslan, no one had actually been able to put it into words and say it out loud. Even he'd been afraid of doing so. But this girl turns up out of nowhere, observes him with her bright blue eyes and after a few months puts his darkest fears out in the open, fearlessly?

Edmund felt like running from her screaming and kissing her senseless at the same time. Running, because having someone know his fears meant that they could be exploited, and that was terrifying. Kissing her, because she was perceptive and brave and understood him and her lips, full and soft-looking and inviting, were so close…

"Edmund?"

He blinked back to reality and she looked embarrassed, amused and expectant at the same time somehow. "Right." He managed. "Confirmation. You go first."

"You're right." Her voice was a mere whisper. "Not knowing what reality is really scares me. And every time I hear about something unfamiliar, it makes it worse. I just – it makes just doing things every day harder.

"And yet," Ed said, softly, "You were the one who suggested we look into the magical angle of things. That really saved us, there, you know. It saved my sister. It was awfully brave of you."

She sighed. "It's easier when everything is theoretical, so suggesting it wasn't all that bad. You're right, though. I've always compared things here to in my world, and that's helped me. I don't know how you guessed it." She looked at him expectantly, and of course he realized she was trying to coerce him into telling her his methods by the power of suggestion.

"Nice try," he smirked, and she rolled her eyes. "And, well, Celia…" he swallowed. Confessions of any kind were difficult for him. "You were right about me, too. Losing my family is terrifying, but being the cause of their loss, that- that's just – " He'd never struggled with his control like this before. What was this girl even doing to him?

"It's okay," Her voice was so soft, soothing. "Edmund, wanting to be powerful isn't a crime, you know. There's nothing wrong with being selfish either. Each man was finally made to serve himself; it's survival of the fittest. It doesn't make you a bad person. Just because your siblings are unbelievably martyr-like" he snorted at that, and she smiled too, "It doesn't mean you have to be."

Her voice lowered to a teasing tone, and suddenly the temperature around them seemed to go up several degrees. "You know, ambition is attractive in a man."

He couldn't help it, he gave her something between a smirk and a grin. "Are you saying you find me attractive, Miss Longburn?"

Her face was visibly reddening, and it was far too close to his. "I – I was just giving a general statement."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'm not obliged to."

"Denial is more incriminating than confession."

"You can't prove I have anything to confess."

Suddenly, one hand was at her waist, and the other reached up to cup her cheek. Edmund had no real idea what he was doing; it seemed that when he crossed a certain acceptable distance between him and Celia, his body acted of it's own volition. But she was so close, and so beautiful, and her eyes were half-lidded in the dim light and her lips, slightly parted…

"Are you sure about that?" he breathed, his voice a lot lower than he intended for it to be. He could press his lips against hers, a second was all it would take…

The hand at her cheek moved, and his thumb extended to wipe softly at the corner of her mouth. "You have chocolate all over your face," he muttered, and then he drew back his hand awkwardly; the moment was lost.

So he had chickened out at the last minute. But taking the risk would have a hundred consequences, and a thousand more unforeseen ones. It didn't matter that she looked disappointed or that he felt like he'd just lost something terribly important – they could not afford to be doing this. He could not afford to be doing this.

"I should go now," He said heavily, making to retract his arm from around her. But she placed her hand on it, stalling him.

"Yeah, just – well, thanks." She said. "I'm not used to being able to talk to people…bothering," she was awkward and flustered. "It's nice of you."

"Well, you should get used to it, because it's going to happen annoyingly frequently in the future," she grinned at him, and suddenly her arms were around his neck and he was holding her and her face was pressed into his throat and he was somewhere between feeling thrillingly flustered and contentedly comfortable. She was soft and warm against him and it felt ridiculously good. When she pulled away, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, grinning at her expression.

"Nothing to confess, eh? I'll get it out of you eventually," he said cockily

"Oh, you can try," she challenged, and her smirk had a hint of something more in it.

He was tempted to try, right there, right then, in a multitude of ways. Instead, he raised an arm in mock solute and said, a little hoarsely, "Goodnight,"

"See you tomorrow," she called, before the door shut softly. Edmund took a deep breath, just trying to take in the multifaceted paradox that was Celia Longburn, before walking to his room and drifting off to sleep.