...

They're a maze, you see, but somehow, they always end up at the same place

i was enchanted to meet you

taylor swift

There's something about the castle of Narnia that can't be described. Maybe it's the fact that it's centuries old, or the fact that it's the home of four beautiful kings and queens.

Or maybe it's the fact that it's the heart of magic itself.

Lucy likes to think it's the last one. Breathing in the castle walls, she walks around, trying to find Edmund, who promised to have tea with her this afternoon. She clutches her book tighter (because 'looking for Edmund' seems like a silly reason to walk around the castle) and heads in the direction of the Throne Room.

"Looking for someone?" Queen Susan approaches her from out of nowhere.

Lucy gasps. "Susan! You scared me!"

Susan laughs. "You're looking for my brother, aren't you?"

Lucy tries to contain the blush that she feels creeping onto her cheeks. Knowing her sentences will be stuttered, she comes up with an answer before she talks.

"No. I'm-I'm going to the library," she says, holding up her book as (somewhat) proof. Susan quirks an eyebrow, and smooths the skirt of her dress.

"He's in the fencing room," says Susan, before flashing Lucy a teasing smile and walking away.

Standing there, Lucy doesn't understand why she feels so embarrassed. Shaking her head, she crosses the courtyard.

It's in full bloom, and it seems more like a labyrinth rather than a courtyard. Pink and red roses are in full bloom, orange daises smiling, and blue forget-me-nots are swaying in the breeze. The leaves are brightbright green against the Narnian blue sky.

She comes to the end, and faces a fork in the road. To the right is the direction of the library. To the left is the direction of the fencing room.

She chooses left.

-:-

Taking a breath, she pushes the door open to the jousting room. It's a huge room that's she's never been in, with an eleven-foot-tall ceiling, and mats everywhere. There are pictures of past and recent kings and queens, and equipment scatters it.

However, none of these things catch the attention of Lucy Weasley. In the middle of the room, Peter and Edmund are in the middle of a duel. Peter's face is contorted in concentration, sweat dripping down his face and shirt.

This doesn't really catch the attention of Lucy, either.

What does catch it is Edmund Pevensie. Like his brother, his sweating too, but not necessarily on his shirt. He's sans shirt, muscles tensing in the middle of a jab.

Peter stops, and looks towards Lucy. He grins, and drops his sword. "Hey, Luce!"

She unwillingly lifts her gaze from Edmund's toned chest and looks up and grins at Peter. It's Edmund's gaze that spins her stomach into butterflies.

"I forgot, didn't I?" His eyes look truly sorry, and Lucy feels a little bad. She tries to make up for it with a laugh.

"Don't worry, it's not a big deal! I can tell you're busy," she says. It's the second excuse she's made up today.

"No, I'll be right there," he says, smiling. Lucy (reluctantly) steps out of the room.

"So," he says, slipping out of the fencing room, now in a white t-shirt. "I was thinking we could take a walk around the courtyard?'

Lucy smiles. "That would be perfect. Do you think we could, er, take this book back to the library first?" She holds up her first excuse.

He laughs. "Didn't you just borrow that yesterday?'

"I go through books quickly," Lucy says defensively. They loop around to the grand library, and Lucy replaces it back on the shelf. Afterwards, they head out to the courtyard.

"Y'know, I think you may have to rename this the labyrinth, rather than the courtyard," Lucy says, looking around at the perfected mess of flowers. "It's so beautiful."

"It is," Edmund agrees.

Lucy looks up at him, and notices his crown is sloppily placed on his head. Gently, she reaches up. "Let me fix this," she says. He bends his head lower, and she plucks the gold crown off his head and runs.

"Lucy!" Edmund calls, laughing. "Come back with that!"

She runs faster and faster, out of breath and laughing. The gold crown is still clutched tightly her right hand. It's heavier then she though, and she can feel Edmund racing behind her.

She ducks into a secluded area, a granite bench resting in the middle. Dashing to the bench, she settles on it, and catches her breath. Adjusting her skirt, she tries to look nonchalant while twirling the crown gently around her wrist.

The bushes rustle, and Lucy sit up straighter, nearly bumping her head on a large honeysuckle vine.

"Lucy?" Edmund calls.

She places one hand on her mouth to muffle her giggles.

He comes around the bend, where she's full-out laughing now. "There you are!" Edmund says.

He sits beside her on the bench, and Lucy places the crown on his head. "Your Highness," she says, mock-bowing.

"Why, thank you," he says, in an equally posh voice.

She laughs, and suddenly, he's closerclosercloser. Without a second thought, she leans in and catches his lips with hers.

He tastes like sweat and pumpkin and she's hovering twothreefourfive feet off the ground. She pulls back first to find that she's actually not in the clouds, but sitting firmly on the block of granite.

Lucy realizes they're like the castle. There's something about them that can't be described. Winding and twisting from the old architecture, but they eventually ended up at the same place. But the problem is, the castle isn't the heart of magic anymore.

They are.

-:-

Lucy's adjusting her curls over her shoulders in the mirror, getting ready to go down to breakfast, when she hears a knock on the door.

"Come in," she calls, hoping the door's unlocked. It is, because she hears the familiar click and swish of it opening.

"Hey," Edmund says, closing the door behind him. "Look what I have."

Lucy turns around, and spots a small glittery object in his hand. He brings it closer, and she recognizes it as a tiara. It's tiny and perfect, with three points and sparkling diamonds.

"For the princess," Edmund grins.

Lucy laughs. "I love it!" Edmund adjusts it on her head, and she looks at her reflection in the mirror.

She bites her lip. "But- what if- y'know-". Struggling to form the sentence, she says it in the most mild way possible.

"What if I'm not always the princess?"

Edmund furrows his brow. "Never," he says, twirling a curl around his finger.

Her stomach settles, and the smile returns to her face. "Well, in that case..". Lucy reaches up and plucks his crown off his head.

She sprints to the door. "Princesses always get what they want, right?" Lucy asks, winking.

The staircase is front of her, and she slides down the banister, Edmund laughing and chasing after her, and they continue the façade all the way to the breakfast table.

-:-

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

Thank you for reading! Please review! And, please, no favouriting without reviews!

This is dedicated totally and whole-heartedly to the best virtual sister out there, Drishti (Skandar-Loves-Redvines).