It'd be better coming from Al. But it was better than nothing at all. She hadn't really expected he'd write something back...just for Edmund's sake, she'd held onto the tiny wish of it. "I will," she promised him. "And...I'll keep an eye on him. Aslan knows he needs it." Lucy offered a small conspiratorial grin. "He won't even know he's being looked after."
If she had to leave her love behind forever, she'd feel better knowing he was in good hands. Edmund would have his family. And Al would have his. It was a shame they had to be separate entities this way. Yet maybe it really was how they were meant to be, to find mates among their kind or lead in solitary devotion to their clan. Once more, Lucy sighed, then urged her horse into a gallop.
~*~
As the months passed, Edmund found his condition manageable. Nothing was as bad as that first heat. What remained was uncomfortable but bearable even on his own. He'd taken to semi-weekly jaunts in a one-man skiff, so that his absences would not seem odd. Hopefully no one would put the pieces of the puzzle together for at least a few months.
Worse was not being able to transform whenever and wherever he liked. The few times he'd dared it, he'd seen other Weres sniffing with confusion and knew his secret would not be safe in that form. Al would find it ironic, he thought wistfully. Me, being careful about turning. He wasn't truly an omega, but neither was he purely beta anymore. It was a state that few could respect, and so he kept it a guarded secret, and stayed human unless he was fully alone.
(Worst of all was the ache of Al's absence, the most carefully guarded secret of all.)
Then Kala came to Cair Paravel, a lone hunter from the north, lean and dappled with her kills, grinning as she spoke of her midnight runs and the kiss of leaves dancing under her paws, swimming in the icy waters that trickled down from the mountains. Even in her human form, she would toss her long dark hair back and smile at him over her shoulder, and nobody could mistake her for anything else but Panther.
Her lineage was proud. The Panthers rarely formed pack, and their numbers were few, but her grandmother's territory had been large and fearsome enough to earn a song or two passed down through the Great Winter. Edmund listened to the minstrels who conjured the songs in their guest's honor, and found himself wondering what Al would think of such renown heaped on a solitary hero.
Talk turned in the Great Hall to old times, of the old traditions of the great Kings and Queens of Narnia. Of festivals and tourneys and sport of all kinds, and the merriment that was enjoyed by all there. Merchants would come from many miles to sell their wares, and the local industries thrived from all the demand. The Pevensies had to agree, it sounded like a grand scheme, if they could pull it off. They signed the documents drawing up plans, expenses, provisions, and it was all set into motion.
And Al would find himself receiving certain mail urging him to return to Cair Paravel for this tournament, where his skill would be sorely needed.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2018-07-19 10:20 pm (UTC)If she had to leave her love behind forever, she'd feel better knowing he was in good hands. Edmund would have his family. And Al would have his. It was a shame they had to be separate entities this way. Yet maybe it really was how they were meant to be, to find mates among their kind or lead in solitary devotion to their clan. Once more, Lucy sighed, then urged her horse into a gallop.
~*~
As the months passed, Edmund found his condition manageable. Nothing was as bad as that first heat. What remained was uncomfortable but bearable even on his own. He'd taken to semi-weekly jaunts in a one-man skiff, so that his absences would not seem odd. Hopefully no one would put the pieces of the puzzle together for at least a few months.
Worse was not being able to transform whenever and wherever he liked. The few times he'd dared it, he'd seen other Weres sniffing with confusion and knew his secret would not be safe in that form. Al would find it ironic, he thought wistfully. Me, being careful about turning. He wasn't truly an omega, but neither was he purely beta anymore. It was a state that few could respect, and so he kept it a guarded secret, and stayed human unless he was fully alone.
(Worst of all was the ache of Al's absence, the most carefully guarded secret of all.)
Then Kala came to Cair Paravel, a lone hunter from the north, lean and dappled with her kills, grinning as she spoke of her midnight runs and the kiss of leaves dancing under her paws, swimming in the icy waters that trickled down from the mountains. Even in her human form, she would toss her long dark hair back and smile at him over her shoulder, and nobody could mistake her for anything else but Panther.
Her lineage was proud. The Panthers rarely formed pack, and their numbers were few, but her grandmother's territory had been large and fearsome enough to earn a song or two passed down through the Great Winter. Edmund listened to the minstrels who conjured the songs in their guest's honor, and found himself wondering what Al would think of such renown heaped on a solitary hero.
Talk turned in the Great Hall to old times, of the old traditions of the great Kings and Queens of Narnia. Of festivals and tourneys and sport of all kinds, and the merriment that was enjoyed by all there. Merchants would come from many miles to sell their wares, and the local industries thrived from all the demand. The Pevensies had to agree, it sounded like a grand scheme, if they could pull it off. They signed the documents drawing up plans, expenses, provisions, and it was all set into motion.
And Al would find himself receiving certain mail urging him to return to Cair Paravel for this tournament, where his skill would be sorely needed.