Wanted ? Peter Pevensie [2]

Chapter II - Back From Gone

He smiled and sat down on his throne, for the first time since his coronation. He rested his arms on the sides, unused to the feeling. I sat down next to him, hoping to get tales of his adventures but instead I was once again swarmed with the next girl. Edmund had made me forget that this was my courting ball for a few minutes.

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"Lucy, why is everyone looking at me like they are preparing for battle?" I ask, not intimidated by the small girls in dresses that outlined the dance floor.

Lucy chuckled a bit at this, "They are checking you out, the competition."

"What?"

"You do know this is Peter's and Susan's courting ball, correct?" Lucy asks me curiously.

"Yes, but Peter and I, that's history. If I'm being honest, I'm really just here to see you." I tell her with a smile.

"Mhm. You dressed up like that to see me?" She questioned, making me roll my eyes.

"And to dance, of course," I tell her, pulling her to the dance floor, hoping she would dance with me. And as the cheerful, polite girl she is, she never turns down a dance.

Lucy and I took over the center of the floor, under the grand chandler. The music picked up making it more suitable for us. Soon more people joined, including Edmund who had to squeeze away from the girls surrounding Peter and a few who had discovered they would be too young for Peter, deciding to go for the younger brother instead. Edmund met Lucy and I in the middle, just in time for the switching of the partners. Edmund made a funny face, as he started dancing with his sister. It was really a sweet sight.

As I was spun around by a nice smiled older gentlemen I noticed a dark brown haired girl standing off to the side. She was clapping along to the music but did not join. It didn't take long for me to realize that the girl was the wild child of the Loxley family, Alyssa, known to strictly friends as Allie, Hood, it was different seeing her without her bow and arrow across her back and dirt on her knees. Her dress and light makeup only emphasized her natural beauty. As I expected, she was accompanied by her older brother. Edmund and I had met all of the Loxley children on a visit to Loxley, instantly Ashton could see the attraction and chemistry between Edmund and Allie. Everyone else did in the manor as well, causing the older brother protective side to come out of all five of the Loxley boys. Edmund learned to keep his distance, in public at least, there were mornings when I found him coming back from the woods just before sunrise. In the beginning, I believed he just couldn't sleep or went hunting in the morning. But then I saw the same tired look on Robin Hood's daughter at breakfast and nearly spit out my drink at the table.

Unfortunately, the day came that we had to depart and Allie wasn't even present for our farewells Edmund refrained from talking about it. Brushing it off as nothing happened but he never made the mistake of growing too close to anyone on the road again.